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Florence Eugenia Vadnais (part 1)

2 Comments / Cynthia Vadnais / October 12, 2023

Twenty seven year old Adlore and twenty eight year old Ellen celebrated their 7^th wedding anniversary the same year their daughter Florence Eugenia, my aunt, was born. Florence, the 5^th of twelve children, was born on June 8, 1917 at the family home on 4^th Street in White Bear Lake. The first of the daughters, Florence joined her 7 year old brother George, 5 year old brother Charles and 2 year old brother Henry; her brother Lawrence had passed away in 1914.¹

**Minnesota Delayed Birth Certificate for Florence Eugenia Vadnais (page 1)**²

**Minnesota Delayed Birth Certificate for Florence Eugenia Vadnais (page 2)**²

**Minnesota Delayed Birth Certificate for Florence Eugenia Vadnais (page 3)**²

Father Kelly baptized Florence on June 17, 1917 at the first St. Mary of the Lake Church in White Bear Lake, which was then located on Bald Eagle Avenue near the head of Birch Lake Avenue.

**1918 St. Mary of the Lake Church interior – decorated for Armistice Day**

**Baptismal record for Florence Eugenia Vadnais – her sponsors were Adlore and Mathilda (Vadnais) Dupre (Florence’s granduncle and grandaunt)**³

Florence had just had her second birthday when her brother Henry died on June 19, 1919.⁴ She is enumerated with the rest of her family in the 1920 U. S. census: Adlore J. is 30 years old, Ellen L. is 31 years old, George A. is 9 years old, Charles A. is 8 years old, Florence E. is 2 years 7 months old and the newest member of the family Richard A. is 6 months old. Adlore’s occupation is yard clerk for the railroad (Northern Pacific).⁵

**1920 U. S. census showing Adlore J. Vadnais and family**

**Circa 1919 Florence holding her Dad Adlore’s hand**
(the other 2 girls are unknown)

**Circa 1921 – back: George(about 11 years old) and Charles (about 9 years old), front: Florence (about 4 years old) and Richard (about 2 years old)**

Between 1921 and 1930 Florence would welcome 6 more siblings into the family: Mona Celestine born on April 5, 1921, Leona Rose born on April 4, 1923, John Russell born on February 19, 1925, Marguerite Marie born on October 17, 1926, Gordon Francis born on November 20, 1928 and Anna Mae Ruth born on March 27, 1930.^{6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11} Florence was 12 years old when the last of her siblings was born.

Florence was in the first group of children to celebrate their First Communion at the newly built St. Mary of the Lake Church at 4^th Street and Bald Eagle Avenue. The church was dedicated in November 1926 and her First Communion was probably in 1927 when she was 9 years old.

**Ellen and Florence on Florence’s First Communion day – outside of the family home on 4^th Street in White Bear Lake**
(I think it is Dick looking out through the porch screen)

Florence, along with her other siblings, attended the 8-room St. Mary’s School where classes were taught through the 8^th grade. The original church (shown below and where Florence was baptized) was torn down and the convent was built in 1925. It was in the convent that Florence took piano lessons from Sister Bibiana and helped with meals for the teaching sisters.¹² Florence would graduate from St. Mary’s in 1931.

**St. Mary’s School and Church – circa 1916**
The flight of concrete stairs seen at the edge of the road directly in front of the doors to the school were used to help access a wagon or a buggy.

**Circa 1930 – Florence with her siblings at their home on 4^th Street**
Back row: Florence (about 13 years old), Mona (about 9 years old), Richard “Dick” (about 11 years old), front row: Leona (about 7 years old), Gordon “Gordy” (about 2 years old), Marguerite (about 4 years old) and John “Jack” about 5 years old

The 1930 U. S. census records show all 10 children living at home. Anna Mae, the last child born was only months old when the census was taken. Florence’s brothers George and Charles must have been at work when the above picture was taken.

**1930 U. S. census showing the Vadnais family at 1309 4th Street, White Bear Lake**¹³

**1931 St. Mary’s 8^th grade graduation class showing Florence (2^nd row far right) and her classmates**
Father Fahey is shown in the back row. Florence would have been about 13 or 14 years old.

It was at age 13 that Florence went to work as a clerk at Kohler’s Romance Parlors in White Bear Lake. Over the following years she was a housekeeper in a number of White Bear Lake area homes, a cook at Aldin’s Coffee House in Mahtomedi, a cashier and a hardware store assistant.¹⁴

**1936 Kohler’s Romance Parlors showing Delia Thein and owner Aloys Kohler**
*Courtesy of White Bear Lake Area Historical Society*

**Early 1940s – Florence with then boyfriend, and family friend, Pete Bacon (by his ’32 Chevrolet) at 411 Bald Eagle Avenue, White Bear Lake**

Florence would meet her future husband, John Jule O’Neil, during WWII when they both worked at the Ammunition Arsenal in Arden Hills. He worked in the art room and she screen printed ammunition boxes.

To be continued…

Thanks for visiting, come back soon,
Cindy

Footnotes for Florence Eugenia Vadnais post

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