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Jacob “Jake” Freund (1876-1940) and his wife, Mary Kattner (1877-1953), who was the daughter of August Kattner, built this pretty little house at 1918 Main Street in 1901. Jacob and Mary had two girls, Frances (1899-1991) and Julia (1901-1986), and a boy, Clarence (1910-1985) who were raised here.
In 1902 Jacob purchased the store and entire stock of Alexander and Gould’s Hardware store across the street at 1919 Main Street. In 1904, Jacob’s soldering stove exploded in the store, setting fire to the building. The building, which was saved, was insured, but the damaged stock was not, and Mary sustained such a nervous shock she was ill for a while.
Around 1920 Jake sold the store to Math Lay and left 1918 Main Street to take up farming in the English Prairie area. Clarence helped his dad with the farming chores. The family still owned the house, but in the 1920s, Kate Nimsgern and also Joe Wagner lived there.
Upon retirement, Jake and Mary came back around 1936. After Jake died in 1940, Clarence lived there with his wife, Florence and two children, Judy and Jack. (His mother, Mary, moved in with her daughter Julia May and son-in-law on a farm in Burton Township.)
Jack, Clarence's son, married Caroline Hudson in 1965. They lived on Kohl Avenue off State Park Road. Clarence died in 1985 and 1918 Main Street was probably rented out. During that time one of the renters bought a scratch-off lottery ticket, won a few million, and moved.
Caroline's mother, Norma Hudson, moved into 1918 Main Street in the 1990s. Norma was a crossing guard at Main Street and Blivin in the 1990s until the early 2000s. After Norma died, Caroline and her second husband Bill called 1918 Main Street their home. They loved Spring Grove and took great care of the house until they moved in 2022 and the house was sold.
Story by Laura Frumet
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