Creating Fiction from History: 8/31/2022

The year was 1905. Several years previous, Hans and Gisela Grothe, recent immigrants from Germany, had become the proud parents of twin girls, Sylvie and Monika. Monika was the darker-haired of the two, with a head of hair that could almost have passed for raven. Her sister, Sylvie, being somewhat lighter in complexion, had lighter, but deep auburn hair. If one caught her in the right light, they would almost think she was a flaming redhead!

Monika was technically the older of the two, having emerged, blinking drearily, into this cold cruel world on an even colder January morning in 1902. In sharp contrast to her much calmer older sister, Sylvie made her displeasure known quite clearly at being dispelled thusly from the warmth of her mother's womb. The precocious toddlers were quite the handful for their poor mother, though Sylvie was, without doubt, the more assertive of the two; at times they almost drove poor Gisela to the edge of despair. Both girls, however, received an abundance of love and care from both parents, although Gisela bore the brunt, for Hans was busy most days at the jewelry business that the Grothe family had brought over from Germany. Being an established business, Grothe Jewelers served Lanesboro and the surrounding environs of Fillmore County for several decades before finally closing its doors in 1917 due to the war that was to end all wars. As the case may be, this was not a war to end all wars, as history has made clear.

The twins enjoyed, up until that point anyway, fairly comfortable life and the accompanying photograph might picture Monika and Sylvie in their natural habitat, among a carefully chosen selection of their favorite toys and books!

If you would like to create fiction from history with one of the museum's photos, please contact the Ledger at (406) 287-5301 or email whledger@gmail.com.