Amanda Benkusky, right, and her daughter Adeline go through the belongings of Elsie and Helen Anderson at the Benkusky home on September 28, 2020, in Wahoo, Nebraska. Benkusky found the box when she was moving out of the Anderson sister's former home in 2008. The boxes were full of bibles, children books and a lifetime of memories. (Elsie Stormberg/Wahoo Newspaper)
Article and photos by Elsie Stormberg/Wahoo Newspaper
Published September 30, 2020
WAHOO – As Wahoo-native Amanda Benkusky moved out of the little white house with an “A” on the door on west 10th street, she found several boxes full of old bibles, children’s books and a lifetime of memories hidden away in the home’s attic. She also finally found out what the “A” on the door stood for. The house once belonged to sisters Helen and Elsie Anderson who moved to Malmo with their mother Signe Magnuson Anderson in 1912 after their father and infant sibling Vernon died, according to Saunders County Historical Society curator Erin Hauser.
Signe emigrated with her two sisters and parents from Sweden, landing in Center Precinct in what is now Cass County. She married J.G. Anderson and gave birth to Helen on June 23, 1906 and Elsie on Dec. 29, 1907.
In 1921, the daughters and mother moved to Wahoo where Signe worked as a housekeeper and Elsie and Helen attended and graduated from Wahoo High School. Both started taking classes at Luther College in Wahoo. Elsie took business classes and Helen took education classes. Helen completed her bachelors and masters degrees at the University of Nebraska.
Elsie began her career at the Saunders County Courthouse in various positions and retired as the District Court Clerk in 1979. Helen taught in the Wahoo and Ithaca areas for about 46 years. Both regularly attended Bethlehem Lutheran Church. Neither sister was ever married.
According to Bethlehem Lutheran Church records, Helen lived to be 92 and died on Aug. 16, 1998. Elsie passed away at the age of 99 on July 15, 2007 at Haven House, now known as South Haven, in Wahoo. They are both buried in Bethesda Cemetery in Malmo.
Amanda Benkusky goes through the belongings of Elsie and Helen Anderson at the Benkusky home on September 28, 2020, in Wahoo, Nebraska. Benkusky found the box when she was moving out of the Anderson sister's former home in 2008. The boxes were full of bibles, children books and a lifetime of memories. (Elsie Stormberg/Wahoo Newspaper)
Benkusky estimates the oldest item in the collection is a bible dated 1890 that belonged to Signe. Between the bibles and children books, there are also textbooks that the Anderson sisters studied and a scrapbook documenting the get-well-soon cards Elsie received after an appendectomy in November 1936. The box also contained several Bethlehem Lutheran Church programs as well as a marriage announcement from 1902. Benkusky has also found several letters including one in Swedish.
Benkusky only recently began searching for any relatives of the sisters via Facebook. She was met with a sudden wall when she found Elsie’s obituary which also stated that Helen had already passed away. The only relative named in Elsie’s obituary was Norma Yuhas of Wisconsin who has since passed away as well.
Benkusky hopes that one day she can get the books to someone who knew the sisters or even find a relative because she feels that the items would be personally valuable.
“It’s like a family just ended,” Benkusky said.
This article can also be found on the Wahoo Newspaper website here.
The belongings of Elsie and Helen Anderson are photographed at the Benkusky home on September 28, 2020, in Wahoo, Nebraska. Benkusky found the box when she was moving out of the Anderson sister's former home in 2008. The boxes were full of bibles, children books and a lifetime of memories. (Elsie Stormberg/Wahoo Newspaper)