My Great Uncle Wesley Glewwe was born on March 8, 1914. He was the youngest son of Henry and Martha Patet Glewwe of South St. Paul, Minnesota. As a teenager he worked at Glewwe Grocery Store and when the business was sold in the early 1930's, he left the family business and went to Rasmussen Business School. He joined the SSP Fire Department and a few years later, went to work for the police department. He worked his way up to chief investigator when he left to work as a special agent for the FBI. He became known for his expert marksmanship and was awarded a gold medal for his perfect score on the pistol range. He wound up in Wisconsin where he got married and raised three children.
Eventually Wesley and his family moved back to Minnesota. When Wes retired he returned to one of his first loves, woodworking. Of course, this also gave him the time to help his nephew, Rollin, remodel his home in 1976 when they moved onto Wentworth Avenue. I remember when Grandpa and his brother, Uncle Wes, would come over every day to work on remodeling projects and would have to stop every day at 10 AM for coffee with milk and something sweet to eat. Wes always had a pencil in his shirt pocket and stories to tell. I was in awe of the things my Grandpa and Wes could build. They never had written plans except for the ones that they drew themselves and it seemed that there was nothing they couldn't build.
In 1986, Wes was interviewed by Popular Mechanics about his wood shop and his clocks with all of the handmade wooden gears. Wesley built over 500 clocks in his lifetime, selling them for hundreds of dollars. One such clock was made for a local dentist in town, which hung in his office for many years. Years later, this same clock became available, and has returned into the family where is hangs in the corporate office of Roadware Inc. Wesley passed away in March of 2000.
Happy 98th Birthday!
As a child one of my favorite pieces of furniture in my grandparents' house was the great big grandfather clock. When my grandmother died in 2011 I staked my claim (she had said I could have it, after all), and will some day have it in my home. Fortunately, my uncle is hanging onto it until we can move back to MN and buy a home. When my cousins were helping to pack up my grandparents' condo my grandfather told my cousin that the clock was built by "Uncle Wes." I didn't know until today exactly who Uncle Wes was. Thank you for this wonderful knowledge. -Katrina Volk, daughter of Julie Stassen, granddaughter of J. Robert and Arline Stassen
ReplyDeleteKatrina, thank you for the kind words. I remember your Grandmother well. So sorry about your loss! Someday I will tell the story of Bob and Arline. After all, we're all family. LouAnn
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