Hansen, Pierre (1921-2005)

https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/gen_oh/13/ [13656]

Biographical Information: Pierre Theodore Hansen was born on August 22, 1921 in Rockville, Minnesota, to Harry and Mary (Krebsbach) Hansen. He attended grade school in Rockville, as well as Central High School and Tech High School in St. Cloud. He married Joyce Kane in 1945 and they had seven children – Pierre, Patrick, Michael, Mary Jo, Candy, Daniel, and Eileen. Pierre died on May 21, 2005 at the age of 83 and is buried in Calvary Cemetery in Rockville.

Transcript Summary: In an interview conducted on March 29, 1978, Pierre Hansen described his childhood, his family background and history. Both he and his father were born in Rockville, Minnesota, while his grandfather was from Luxembourg and came to the US when he was 8 years. Pierre recounted how his great grandfather first came to Illinois and then later moved to Midwest. He proudly mentioned how his great grandfather served for Napoleon during the Napoleonic Wars. Pierre discussed how his family got in to farming and how they slowly developed the family farm. Pierre recalled how farming tasks were done by hand including planting, and harvesting. He remembered the effects of the Great Depression that nearly closed down the family farm but found other ways to make money, including selling beer at dances in their barn. He further talked about his own family with his seven children. Pierre described the development of Rockville and how it expanded from a smaller town to be double in size. Hansen compared farming during 1930s until now and felt that he lived through the most interesting era of farming.

Interviewed by Calvin Gower and John LeDoux