White Bear Lake Vadnais Genealogy & Family History Blog

George Albert Vadnais and Frances Catherine McHugh (Part 1 of 3)

7 Comments / Cynthia Vadnais / August 2, 2024

On April 1, 1910, George Albert, my uncle, was born to Ellen and Adlore Vadnais. Ellen was 22 years old and Adlore was 21 years old. At the time of George’s birth the couple was renting and living with Adlore’s mother Jennie Vadnais at her home on the northeast corner of Murray Avenue and Third Street in White Bear Lake. The address was 253 Third Street.

**1910 U.S. census enumerating Adlore, his wife Ellen, son George, mother Jennie and brother William**¹

At the time George was born, Adlore was working for the railroad as a freight handler, a job he had held for just over 4 months.

**George Albert Vadnais Minnesota birth certificate, Village of White Bear**²

**Baptismal record for George Albert Vadnais**

George was baptized by Father M. A. Ryan at St. Mary of the Lake Church on April 17, 1910. His godparents were his grandparents Albert and Celestine Peltier. The record shows an incorrect birth day of April 5^th.³

**Baby portrait of George Albert Vadnais**

**Circa 1911 – George wrote on this postcard: “Were [*sic*] I was born. 3^rd St. house facing south between Miller and Murray – my dear mother and I”**

George’s brother Charles Adlore was also born in this home, the same home where their father Adlore had been born.

On June 10, 1912 Adlore and Ellen purchased Lot 30, Oakhurst Acres, White Bear Lake, Ramsey County, Minnesota.⁴ The address at that time was 1309 Fourth Street and the property was about an acre in size.

The family moved about two blocks away to their new home on Fourth Street where George would welcome ten more siblings and also, as quite a young boy, witness the death of 2 of those siblings.

**Circa 1913 – Home at 1309 Fourth Street, White Bear Lake, Adlore Vadnais with sons, Charles Adlore (left) and George Albert (right)**

**August 1913 – left to right: George (4years old), Ellen (24 years old) and Charles (22 months old)**

**Circa 1915 – left to right: Charles, Henry and George**

**Circa 1917 – Adlore and Ellen holding Florence and in the front, left to right: George, Henry and Charles**

George’s future wife, Frances (Fran) Catherine McHugh was born on June 21, 1912 in Aberdeen, Brown County, South Dakota to Michael and Winifred (Maney) McHugh.⁵ She was the 4^th of 6 children born to the couple.

**Circa 1912 – left to right: Siblings Thomas, Fran, Delores and Joseph Alton McHugh**

**Fran on the right with her 2 younger siblings: Mary and Edward**

In the 1920s, the McHugh family moved to White Bear Lake.

Both George and Fran attended St. Mary’s School where they probably first met one another.

**Circa 1920 – St. Mary’s School – George is in the 2^nd row, the 2^nd from the left.** Three of his first cousins are also in his class: Cornelius (Connie) Heckel (front row, 2^nd from the left), Robert Vadnais (front row, 7^th from the left) and Margaret Vadnais (3^rd row, 5^th from the left).

**Circa 1923 – St. Mary’s School 6^th grade class – George is in the top row, 5^th from the left.** Three of his first cousins are also in his class: Cornelius (Connie) Heckel (back row 2^nd from left), Robert Vadnais (back row, 3^rd from left) and Margaret Vadnais (front row 2^nd from right).

George received his first Holy Communion on May 30, 1920 at St. Mary’s Church and he was confirmed at the church on October 14, 1923.

**George’s Certificate of Remembrance of his first Holy Communion and confirmation**

**1926 – St. Mary’s School 8^th grade graduation – Fran is in the front row, 3^rd from the right**

Fran would continue her education at St. Joseph’s Academy in St. Paul, graduating from there in 1930.⁶ George would attend at least one year of high school before going to work. During his teen years he was employed as a delivery boy for Long’s Grocery in White Bear and he also worked at White Bear Drug Store as a soda jerk.

**1926 – 16 year old George driving the delivery truck for Long’s Grocery located in White Bear Lake**

**Circa 1928 – George working as a soda jerk at the White Bear Drug Store soda fountain**

**Circa 1929 – George outside of the family home which, at the time, was also the location of White Bear Oil Company**

In 1929 tragically George was burned in an accident involving kerosene. He was sent to California to recuperate. The pictures taken of him out west speak to the recuperative powers of his trip. Don’t forget, the United States had Prohibition from 1920 to 1933. George was just 9 years old when it started and when he went to California at 19 years old, Tijuana, Mexico, just south of San Diego, was the place to go to experience “the world.” Mexico had no anti-drinking laws and for those that liked to throw money around while imbibing, there was gambling. It must have been quite the draw for young George. Nothing like he had ever seen before!

**Group of tourists including George (in the back on the left) whooping it up on their “train” to Tiajuana, Mexico**

**George (left) pouring a drink at the “Log-Cabin Bar”**

**George (left) on the street with some man**

The couple with George in the Log-Cabin Bar picture is also in the previous picture. I assume that he would have been staying with someone that the family knew. Alvina O’Neil, George’s first cousin once removed, daughter of Cordelia (Vadnais) and William O’Neil, lived in Whittier, California at the time; I wonder if this is her and her husband, William Caezza. I’m not sure that we’ll ever know.

October 29, 1929, Black Tuesday, marked the beginning of the Great Depression. Judging from the growth of White Bear Oil Company, the Vadnais family was not heavily impacted. The 1930 census enumerates 20 year old George in the family home at 1309 4^th Street along with his parents and 9 siblings who range in age from 18 years old down to 13 days old. George is shown as being in the oil company industry as a truck driver.⁷ I assume he was delivering fuel for White Bear Oil Company, which by then was located on the northwest corner of 4^th Street and Bald Eagle Avenue.