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| Alta Siddall Brandt |
ASB
A Sketch
Itʼs rather a shock to realize that most of you have little, if any, remembrance of ASB, Alta Siddall Brandt, Ga, Grandma... the matriarch of our family. Sheʼs been gone now for over thirty years, and with the recent passing of Aunt Jane the following generation of her children and their spouses is also gone.
Altaʼs grandchildren, we seven cousins, are, surprisingly and reluctantly, suddenly the Brandt family elders, hoping to pass on to her eight greatgrandchildren and her eight, but still counting, great-great-grandchildren some of her values and traditions. Though a small family, weʼre scattered cross country, from Syracuse to southern Wisconsin and the Twin Cities, from Denver to San Francisco and Spokane.
Only Cousin Hamp remains in River Falls where Alta lived the second half of her life and created a haven for her children and grandchildren. The big white house on Fourth Street where she lived for nearly forty years and remodeled to provide private living quarters for others remains in the family. As does the carriage barn she redesigned as a small home for son Romain and his family, and later, son Sidd and his, and, eventually grandson Hamp and his.
The remodeling occurred soon after WW II ended and her boys came home: Romain from the Army, Sidd from the Army Air Corps and Genieʼs husband, Hampton Sr., from the Navy. Romain and Muriel and their two sons moved into the “little house” while Sidd and Jane and soon baby Sally into the upstairs apartment. Genie and Hamp Jr., who had lived for a time with Alta, moved with Hamp Sr. to a nearby apartment until they built their own small bungalow three blocks away.
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| Romain, Eugenia, Sidd, Alta S. Brandt, 1943 |
For a few years, Alta had her entire family around her. Her sons worked with her on the “Town Crier,” a weekly advertising newspaper she had started when she came to River Falls in 1935, the middle of the Great Depression.
When her widowed father was forced to downsize his hardware store, Alta,
his bookkeeper, realized there was no longer a living available in
Wells, Minnesota, that would enable her to send Romain and eventually
Sidd to college. [1]
She knew she had to build a new life for herself and her children even if it meant leaving her beloved father. Romainʼs football coach suggested his home town, River Falls, and its normal school. After some scouting and planning, Alta brought with her the example of her aunt and uncleʼs small town “shopper” and established “The Falls Town Crier.” [2]
She solicited ads from main street merchants, pounding the pavement Monday through Wednesday, always well dressed and wearing a hat, bartering when necessary, particularly with grocery stores. Genie, after touring with a road company and attending business school rejoined the family and with college student Romain and school boy Sidd helped stencil and mimeograph in the basement; neighborhood kids, including a future bank president and a state senator, delivered the papers. [2]
Bulletins and fliers, invitations and publications, anything printable, were produced. Independent woman, single mother, depression or not, she built her business and made a living, and even bought that Fourth Street house. As their families grew, Altaʼs sons found it necessary to look for other opportunities. The business was sold and she retired.
Sidd and Genieʼs families remained in River Falls and Alta was a daily participant in the lives of her local grandchildren. Though Romainʼs career took him elsewhere, Alta was also an important figure in his sonsʼ lives as she joined them for family events and camping trips and as they journeyed to River Falls, staying at the big white house, for holidays, particularly Christmas. Matriarch Alta orchestrated those family gatherings, carefully organizing meals and entertainment.
Food preparation was shared, the children sent to movies and she and her “boys” would play bridge as the “girls,” perhaps a bit resentfully, cleaned up. [2] The house was always precisely decorated for Christmas, every item of brick-a-brack removed and replaced by a decoration. Sidd claimed that other home owners rarely decorated until she came to town and strung her outdoor lights. [3]
Though she seemed to puff more than she inhaled, in her seventies, Alta decided to quit smoking. Whiskey “old fashions” were, however, another story and she continued to enjoy one or two, especially at family gatherings. Considered by some the best dressed woman in town, she joked that she would buy that new dress and then dine on “wind sandwiches.” [2]
She never missed her weekly hair appointment. After she parked her 1956 white and black Mercury for the last time, Sidd was left with standing orders that he was not to be scheduled for anything when he was responsible for driving his mother to and from her hair appointment. [3]
She was interesting and interested, involved with church, clubs and cards, until the fall that precipitated her death two months later. Until then she continued to write daily in her diary as she had for forty-seven years, recounting yesterdayʼs happenings and often recalling people and events from the first half of her life...
before River Falls.
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| Alta Siddall, abt 12 years old |
Alta Siddall was born, July 25, 1888, in Wells, Minnesota, a prairie farming community and railroad stop.
Her father Eugene had been sent as a youngster from Ohio to northern Iowa to live with an uncle in hopes that a more friendly climate would alleviate his chronic catarrh, an inflammation of the respiratory tract. As a result, Gene missed out on the Oberlin College education and professional careers enjoyed by his brothers. But, he found the love of his life. [4]
After bookkeeping for the Milwaukee Railroad in Wells, he was promoted to be their superintendent of bridges and buildings in southern Minnesota. [5] As he traveled he often stayed in Fountain, near the RR tracks, at the Colby House where he fell in love with the proprietressʼ eldest daughter, Miranda. [4]
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| Miranda Colby Siddall |
Married in 1887, he settled in Wells and soon partnered with a cousin to open a hardware store.
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| Siddall Hardware, Wells Minnesota |
Fifty years later, as he took inventory, he suffered his fatal heart attack. [2]
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| Alta Siddall about 1891 |
Alta grew up in the small village, a loved and perhaps spoiled only child, her parents prominent in the community, her mother active in the Presbyterian Church, her father in civic affairs, even mayor for some years. She worked in the store, graduated high school and attended the two year Oberlin College program, living with her paternal grandparents. [2]
Perhaps, one of the reasons her parents sent her to Oberlin was that she was in love, so infatuated that she wrote a friend: “Wish I were at home. Hot here. Hoter than Dutch love - wish I had some.” [6]
The “Dutchman”, Frederick Brandt, was actually the son of a Prussian immigrant who later deserted his family for the promise of Saskatchewan. Though he never finished high school, Fred had a true gift. Even as a youngster he would rarely be without his clarinet, picking it up immediately whenever he entered his home. [7]
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| Frederick Brandt |
As a teen he was recruited by the areaʼs foremost band, the
Kelly Brothers, and with them he learned his trade. [2] In 1913 Alta and Fred married. Gene paid the two dollars for the marriage certificate [8] and he and Miranda set aside their reservations as the young couple moved into the apartment across the hall from their own above the store which became “Siddall and Brandt.” [9]
On his part, Fred described himself as a “hardware salesman.” [10] But his gift remained. He continued to play and to organize his own groups and by the early 1920ʼs, with Alta as booking agent, Brandtʼs
Hot Points was the premier band throughout southern Minnesota, northern Iowa and the eastern Dakotas. [4]
Especially known for their waltzes they played country clubs and dance pavilions, the famous Corn Palace and summer resorts. In competitions Fred defeated Wayne King and a young Lawrence Welk. He signed the contract for the
Hot Pointsʼ first record in 1928, shortly before his divorce... and his death. [2]
He had been ill for a couple of years and even though an operation at Mayo Clinic was thought successful, heʼd often complete a set with the band, then disappear to vomit mucus and blood before resuming his performance. [7] So, his dream ended.
Eugenia and Romain, thirteen and eleven, attended their fatherʼs funeral with Gene and Miranda. Hundreds of fans stood outside the packed church, indifferent to the falling snow. Alta, eyes red, watched from her apartment window. [2]
Their divorce had become final just a couple of months before. Alta once told grandson Mike that: “The greatest disappointment in her life was finding out that the man she truly loved didnʼt love her.” [11]
There are many temptations for a man with a gift and Fred was very human, humiliatingly so. Despite their partnership, her devotion, three children and the shared sorrow of a lost infant daughter, Fred consistently looked elsewhere.
As the economic situation worsened, the family worked harder and grew closer. Grandmother Miranda helped raise little Sidd while Alta clerked at the store and did much of the book work. A common entry in her diary is: “Store all day.” [1]
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| Siddall-Brandt Hardware |
Romain steadily removed and dusted every piece of merchandise and, when done, began anew. [12] Genie cleaned the Korn Krib and with Romain popped and sold caramel corn and popcorn in the evenings. [2]
Despite everything, the Depression defeated them. Altaʼs diaries record day after day of going out to collect bills, but to no avail. Then, another blow. Thought to be improving in her battle with cancer, Miranda unexpectantly died. Emotionally and financially devastated, they tried to auction the store inventory to recoup what they could, but little sold. Gene could only move his remaining goods to a smaller site and carry on. [1]
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| Alta and her father Eugene |
Alta, too, carried on, moving to River Falls to try again. Every morning, in her River Falls Fourth Street home, she recorded her life in her diary, sitting at her polished, dark wood writing desk located in the corner of the parlor next to a small coal fireplace: Small green lamp, dark green mat, often a green diary, always a green fountain pen fueled by a bottle of green ink.
Her entries are difficult to read as she inverts her “mʼs” and “nʼs” and her hand is small and tight with only an occasional flourish for a capital. She wrote mostly of daily occurrences, exceptional weather, the triumphs and tragedies of relatives and friends. Feelings are shared. Great events are mentioned, but they are not as important as the activities of her grandchildren. [1]
Ironically or fittingly her last entry, written the morning she fell, is for June 17, 1977, the sixty-fourth anniversary of her marriage:
“My wedding, 1913. Cloudy all day. Still so tired - rested a.m. and p.m.”
Hampton L. Wilmot, Jr.
Grandson
27 July 2009
End Notes
[1] Alta Siddall Brandt, Diaries, 1931-1977, unpublished.
[2] Eugenia Brandt Wilmot, Interviews, June 1997.
[3] John Siddall Brandt, Interview, May 17, 1997.
[4] Alta Siddall Brandt, Interview, March 26, 1977.
[5] William A. Siddall, Notes and Autobiography, December, 1936.
[6] Postcard, Alta to Miss Millie Howard, Wells, MN, date unclear,190?.
[7] Mary B. Harrington, Interview, Nov. 30, 1988.
[8] Receipt, to E.A. Siddall, from Farribault Co., MN.
[9] US Census, Faribault Co., MN, T625-828, Ancestry.com.
[10] Birth Certificate, Eugenia Brandt, Faribault Co., MN, Reg. Dist: 22-29, #33, State of MN, #9524.
[11] Michael E. Brandt, e-mail to H. L. Wilmot, Jr., June 27, 1997.
[12] Romain C. Brandt, Memoir of Eugene A. Siddall, 2 pp., unpublished.
