For the Record...


When Mom and Dad got married, Dad had been keeping a daily record book that he had started January 1st, 1935. Mom began helping him write this record. Soon she did all the writing, but they continued to confer on what was written in the book.

The early daily journals were written in the Farm Business Record Books distributed by International Harvester Co. Dad had found these record books when he and Mom attended the Chicago World’s Fair in 1934. When the Farm Business Record Books were no longer available, Mom would simply rule off pages in a spiral bound notebook - one month would be two pages with horizontal lines drawn to divide the paper into 30-31 spaces. The daily entries were brief - what they did that day and perhaps the weather, occasionally some national or local news might be entered. The next couple pages after each month’s journal were used for bookkeeping - recording farm and household expenses and income.

This daily record book has been kept from January 1st, 1935 until the present time as she enjoys life at the Pines Assisted Living facility in Jackson, Minnesota. Many times Mom’s daily record book has provided the answer to someone’s question or settled a family discussion! Thus, For the Record... was chosen as the title of this book.

As many of you know, the Ringkobs were also “picture takers” - snapshots, slides, and movies. Mom’s family photo albums and scrapbooks were a wonderful resource in putting this book together.
In addition, information about our ancestry was gleaned from family history books that Mom wrote in the 1970’s.

The first and last part of this book was written by Marita. She gathered information from the above mentioned sources plus visiting with Mom and asking her questions. The rest of the sections were written by Tom, Kent, and Kathy with the author listed by each section.

We hope you will enjoy reading about our memories of growing up in the Tom Ringkob family.

For the Record... was completed and printed during the summer of 2010.

So what must you first know about these two people - Esther and Tom - that we were blessed to have as parents? They began their married life against the backdrop of the Great Depression, the biggest downturn in history, and with World War II, the Great War, raging overseas. They tragically lost their first child. But they saw quick and important changes - electricity, mechanical farming, and a family of four children by the end of the 40’s.

One can only marvel at Esther and Tom’s unquestionable optimistic view of the future. For all of us, there are some very important lessons to be learned - lessons of courage, tenacity and faith.

We dedicate this book to you, Mom and Dad, with our love and thanks.

Tom, Kent, Kathy and Marita

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