August Anderson and Clara Anderson, children Keith and Ardyce lived in this house in the 1920s and as late as 1942. He was born in Sweden and came to U.S. in 1908. He and Clara Kleppe were married in Hennepin County on Mar 29, 1922. He was a house carpenter with his first language as Swedish yet in 1930. He was superintendent of a WPA work crew in 1940.
Their children were Keith and Ardyce. Keith Anderson served with the Marines in WWII, then returned to BSTC where he met his future wife Virginia Cross. They were married in 1946. His mother Clara died the same year.
Harry G. Oelrich and wife Josephine lived in this house from 1956 or before until their deaths and the house was still part of the Harry and Josephine Oelrich trust in 2014.
Josephine Wolf moved with her family to Bemidji in February 1941. She was employed at Munsingwear in Bemidji as a cutter for two years before she married Harry Oelrich on February 14, 1946 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji.
Harry served almost four years in the World War II European Theater, 727th Railway Operating Battalion. After arriving home, he was a substitute driver for a mail route in Guthrie. He was employed by a wholesale house, Nash Finch Co., for a couple years. In 1949, he began employment with the Minnesota Department of Transportation, where he worked until his retirement March 1, 1981.
Harry and Josephine operated the Oelrich Antique Shop from their home from 1960-2002. He enjoyed going to auctions and rummage sales. He was a lifelong member of the VFW and was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji. Three sons and one daughter grew up at the home.
The home then belonged to Ben Hein and his wife Shanna and family. Although the antique shop is gone, if you drive by you will still see the lettering for the Antique Shop left on the windows as the Hein’s tribute to the Oelrich family.