Charles LeVern Baxter

(l-r): Charles L. Baxter and son-in-law Henry Knosalla in the early 1960s.

BORN: JUN 11 1892 - Guthrie County, Ia.
DIED: NOV 26 1969 - Staples, Minn.
AGE AT DEATH: 77 years, 5 months, 15 days
MARRIED: Albina Adeline Jahoda, JAN 14 1914, Jackson, Minn.
MARRIED: Ora Whales, DEC 1 1966
CAUSE OF DEATH: Car accident
OCCUPATION: Railroad mechanic

Recollections from his daughter, Blanchie Baxter:

(l-r): Ethyl, Pearl, Laura and Charles L. Baxter

Charles came from a poor family. In 1916, at 24 years of age, he moved to Park Rapids, Minn., and took work on the railroad where he drove a handcart up and down the track. Along with his wife, Albina Jahoda, and children Leo, Blanchie and Viola, he moved to Staples, Minn. in 1922, where he worked for the Northern Pacific Railway Company as a mechanic in the railroad roundhouse. The couple had another girl, Valerie, the following year. Staples was a railroad town and railroad cars came from all over to be repaired. He worked there until a steam valve blew from an engine and scalded the side of his face, causing him to lose hearing in one ear. He took retirement at an early age (under 50 years old).

His pastimes included fishing and hunting ducks. He liked drinking, even during Prohibition. Alcohol acted fast on Charles, and it didn't take much for him to go haywire. Occassionally, his wife, Albina, would have him jailed for nonsupport because he would spend too much money on his drinking.

After his wife died in July 1966, he was jailed briefly in Staples for unknown reasons (see Nancy's recollections, below). He remarried in December 1966 to a woman named Ora Whales, and moved to Brainerd, Minn. He was retired about 25 years, until his death in 1969, from a car accident on Thanksgiving enroute to visit relatives in southern Minnesota.

Recollections from his granddaughter, Nancy Landwehr:

(l-r, standing): Pearl Ellen Baxter and Harry Smeltz. (l-r, seated): Charles L. Baxter and Albina Jahoda. Married January 14, 1914

As kids, my brother Mike and I went fishing alot with Grandpa and Grandma Baxter (lived with them). Grandpa cleaned the fish and Grandma fried them -- so fresh they moved in the pan! Grandma always had a large vegetable garden -- lots of picking and canning. I still make my homemade cinnamon rolls the way she did -- tying the dough into a knot.

I remember when Grandpa would "have his say," then when it was Grandma's turn -- he would reach up and turn off his hearing aid! The jail time in 1966 was for a DUI type offense -- 24 hours, but he did lose his driver's license for awhile. During the time when he couldn't drive, I would take him to Brainerd in his little red Dodge Dart to senior dances -- don't know if he knew Ora before or met her in Brainerd at the senior doings.

Ancestors

James Henry Baxter ------\
                         |
                         |
               Charles Emery Baxter ---\
                         |             |
                         |             |
Elizabeth Jane Huss -----/             |
                                       |
                                       |
                            Charles LeVern Baxter
                                       |
                                       |
                Susan Taylor ----------/

Descendants

     Leo Edwin Baxter                  Born:  AUG 14 1915
     Blanchie Helen Baxter             Born:   APR 8 1918
       | Elaine Frances Knosalla       Born:   MAR 5 1939
       | Robert Charles Knosalla       Born:  SEP 10 1940
     Viola Marie Baxter                Born:  DEC 15 1919, Park Rapids, Minn.
       | Arlene (Swanson) McGillivray  Born:
       | Jack McGillivray              Born:
     Valerie Marie Baxter              Born:   OCT 4 1923, Staples, Minn.
       | Nancy Carol David             Born:  DEC 24 1947, Portland, Ore.
       |   | John Thomas Allen         Born:  APR 25 1970, Minneapolis, Minn.
       |   | Wade Nathan Allen         Born:  JUN 26 1977, Little Falls, Minn.
       |   | Jodi Melissa Allen        Born:  JUL 30 1978, Little Falls, Minn.
       | Michael Leon David            Born:   JUN 7 1949, Portland, Ore.
       | Jerome Francis Landwehr       Born:  APR 28 1954, Staples, Minn.
       |   |   |
       |   | GREAT GRAND CHILDREN
       | GRAND CHILDREN
     CHILDREN

Leo Edwin Baxter
Died in 1973 in California, spouse named Doris.

Viola Marie Baxter
Married Archie James McGillivray on April 15, 1936. Viola died on Dec. 26, 2007 in Brainerd, Minn.

Valerie Marie Baxter
Married Donald Archie David and Sylvester Joseph Landwehr. Valerie died in 1976 in Helena, Montana.

Nancy Carol David
Married Larry John Allen.

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