contributor: Dorothy Hagemann

1934

Funeral services were held last Friday afternoon for Mrs. Mary Margaret Grunert,
89, who was for, more than 65 years a resident of Oconto. The services were held
from the MacQueen chapel, with the Rev. Starr H. Lloyd officiating, the chapel
being filled to capacity by friends and relatives of the deceased.

Pallbearers were William Erickson, Frank Messenger, William Greenwood, Charles
Buettner, A.J. Ramsay and Fred Fisher. Among surviving relatives to attend the
services were Mr. and Mrs. Walter Grunert, Mrs. Fred Miller, of Green Bay, Phyllis
Wedgwood, of Green Bay, Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Hall of White Lake, Mrs. Walter
Schoenebeck of Bagley, Mrs. Wally Christenson of Bagley, Mrs. Herman
Schoenebeck of Haven, Mrs. Louise Ellis of Appleton, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Hall and
daughter, Winnifred, of Kelley Brook, Mrs. Dan Gaffney of Green Bay, Mrs. George
Wedgwood of Little Suamico, Mrs. John Liegeois of Abrams, Mr. and Mrs. Ralph
Hall, and Mrs. Halla of Clintonville, Mrs. R. 0. Wedgwood of Little Suamico, and
Mrs. Barclay of Green Bay, grandchildren and relatives of the deceased.

She was married to Herman Grunert on Thanksgiving Day, 1861 while she was
resident of the town of Ellington, Stevensville, Wisconsin. They later made their
home in Oconto, where Mr. Grunert enlisted in the Civil War, serving with
Company D, 9th Wisconsin Infantry. He saw action in the vicinity of Little Rock,
Ark., where he spent much of the time he was in the service. It was at this time
that he wrote a number of letters to his youthful bride, all of which have been kept
by Mrs. Gruert's daughter, Mrs. David Wedgwood.

The letters, though they carried little of the terrible conflict in which her husband
was engaged, were deeply solicitous about the welfare of his wife and children. One
letter dated March 12, 1866, told of the disaster that had befallen the 3rd
Wisconsin cavalry, when they were surprised by the, Bushwackers, many being cut
down, including a captain and a number of men. He also wrote of the trials of army
life, of the very infrequent visits of the paymaster, who didn't come around more
than once every six months.

A second letter, written April 17, 1865, began with the happy news that the war
would soon be over and that he would again see his dear wife and children, one of
whom was just learning to talk, and from whom he had been separated almost a
year. Richmond had been taken and General Lee had surrendered and everywhere
the Union forces were pushing forward at a mad pace from one triumph to another.
Following the surrender of General Lee, Grunert wrote; that the celebrating was
noisier than the actual battles in some cases there being a continuous thunder of
cannon, while riotous celebrators took possession of towns and villages.

And then he told of the news of Abraham Lincoln's assassination, when entire
encampments ,went into mourning for thirty days and soldiers and officers alike
were very despondent over the loss of their beloved president. But his death put
the entire union army into a fever heat of battle lust to avenge his death, which
they attributed to Southern intrigue. All of the letters were highly romantic, telling
of his courtship, of the high esteem in which he held his wife and of his anxiety for
her welfare.

When he returned from the service they made their home on School street, where
Mrs. Grunert had lived as a widow for the past 52 years. One of the keepsakes
which Mrs. Grunert treasured during the years following her husband's death was a
copy of the Oconto Reporter for August 6, 1881 which he read just two hours
before he died and which she was reading to him as he passed away. The paper was
a far cry from the issues of today, set on high speed linotypes and run off in
perhaps a fifth of the time required to publish it then. P. H. Swift was the editor,
and among the many whose advertisements appeared on its pages and who were
mentioned in local items, we find very few now surviving.

Those whose names were often mentioned at that time, both in the advertising,
and news columns were V. Schonfield, Fred Woelz, harness maker, Richard Hall,
father of Dick Hall and grandfather of Ed and Harry Hall, all of whom are engaged
in similar work at the present time. Grunert; often assisted Richard Hall. Another
name frequently mentioned; was that of N. B. Mitchell, undertaker, father of Mrs.
Donald MacQueen. The firm of Holt & Balcom was one of the largest advertisers at
that time.

contributor: 

Oconto 
May 8, 1934

Mrs. Mary Margaret Moloette Grunert, for more than 65 years a resident of Oconto, died at midnight Tuesday at her home, School street, following a prolonged illness.

Funeral services will be held at ? o'clock Friday afternoon from the McQueen Chapel with the Rev. ?rr H. Lloyd officiating. Burial will be in the Oconto Evergreen cemetery.

Surviving are three daughters, Mrs. Louise Ellis of Appleton; Mrs. Robert Hall, Kelley Brook, and Mrs. David Wedgwood, Little Suamico; one brother, John Moloette, Los Angeles, Calif., and a sister, Mrs. Selena Davis of Kalibell, Montana. Nine grandchildren and eight great grandchildren also survive.