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 Helga's Pupil The most amazing event during my seven-week stay in North Dakota, and perhaps during my entire five-month drive around America, occurred only a few days before I headed back to the Northwest. As I poked around the nearly-deserted town of Regan on a cold and gray afternoon, I met a fellow named Otto Uhde who was a little older than myself. When I told Otto that I was a descendent of the long-gone Reinhard family, he suggested that I talk to a woman named Hester Bailey. Otto glanced at his watch and said, "You know, it's almost 5 o'clock so I'm sure Hester's eating dinner over in Wing. Why don't you follow me, because I'm going over there in a few minutes." I told Otto that I wanted to stop by the cemetery first and said that I'd meet him in Wing.
Twenty minutes later I pulled into the small town of Wing, located about 10 miles east of Regan, and found the town's only restaurant, called the Chat & Chew Cafe. Otto had arrived a minute earlier and we walked into the small, dimly-lit and smoky cafe. Otto walked over to an elderly woman who was eating alone in the nearly-empty restaurant and introduced me to her. "This fellow is related to the Reinhards who lived in Regan," said Otto. Hester extended her hand and I shook it and introduced myself. I sat down next to her and Hester told me that she'd lived in this area her entire life, so I asked her if she remembered my grandmother, Helga Swang, who had passed away in 1964.
To my utter amazement, Hester said, "Oh yes, I remember Miss Swang. She was my kindergarten teacher in 1921." I was totally dumbstruck. Hester remembered Helga fondly and I eagerly listened to her stories about the Swangs and Reinhards. I couldn't believe that I had met someone who remembered these people who I had been researching for the past several months. As she sat in the tiny cafe finishing her dinner, Hester proudly told me that she still has the leather purse that Helga (or "Miss Swang," as she called her) gave to her after she had graduated from kindergarten.
After a while, I excused myself, went out to my truck, and brought my laptop computer into the cafe. Then I showed Hester several scanned photos from Helga's old photo album, including Helga's elementary school, which had burned down in 1928. Hester remembered the Canfield School vividly and told me stories about the school and about several young children in the photographs, all of whom were now in their 80s and 90s, if indeed they were still alive.
Hester also remembered my mother when my mom was a little girl and told me stories about my great-grandmother, Petrina Reinhard (Edward's mother), who died in 1927. Before meeting Hester, I had known almost nothing about Petrina, so I was fascinated to hear Hester's stories about her and my other relatives, many who I knew only in old photos. As we continued to talk, Hester told me that she'd been married for many years but her husband died a while back. These days, her entire life revolved around the sleepy town of Wing.
After about two hours, I told Hester that I had to go. It was obvious from her glowing smile that she enjoyed meeting the grandson of her kindergarten teacher and talking about "the old days." With a smile, I shook Hester's hand, thanked her for her time and promised to write to her when I got back to Washington, which I intend to do. As I drove back to Bismarck that night, I realized that Hester is probably the only person alive who remembers my great-grandparents, and the only person in North Dakota who remembers my grandmother Helga. Even more amazing, of course, was that Hester was one of Helga's students. It was an unbelievable encounter and is something I'll never forget.
Above left: Earlier that afternoon, I had stopped in the bleak town of Regan, North Dakota to see what I could learn about my mother's family. This is virtually the entire town. Every commercial building is closed, even the Post Office, and my truck is the only vehicle on Main Street. I met a wonderful fellow here named Otto Uhde who took me to the nearby town of Wing. Above right: Wing, North Dakota (pop. 191) is a few miles from Regan and just a bit larger. As I discovered, my mother lived in Wing during the early 1930s before she moved with her family to Bismarck. I walked into the Chat & Chew Cafe and there, sitting by herself eating dinner, I met Hester Bailey.
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