Lifelong St. Martin resident touched the lives of many

Henry B. Haehn was born May 15, 1886, in St. Martin. The son of Peter and Anna M. (Schneider) Haehn, William Bell Mitchell describes him in his 1915 History of Stearns County as an educator who “passed through the district schools and the St. Cloud Normal School, and then began teaching.

For two years he had charge of the school district No. 72, Munson Township, and since he has taught in District No. 22, St. Martin. He also has a photographic studio. In 1911, he was elected recorder of St. Martin village, and for some years, he has been an efficient officer of the Society of St. Aloysius.” 

Haehn lived his entire life in St. Martin, as did his youngest daughter, Peggy, (Mary Margaret Herges), 88, who remembers that her father was an important man in St. Martin but to her, “He was just dad. Dad taught school and in summers he had time for other things. One summer he went to barber school and then he had a little barber shop in the back of the store where he cut hair. He did all kinds of things.”

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In those early days, St. Martin was a small town with a main street, a Catholic church, a school, two bars, a hardware store, a post office, and two grocery stores. Haehn owned one of the grocery stores. Many St. Martin folks remember this kindly, civic-minded, entrepreneurial man, standing behind the counter in his grocery store. And during the school year he taught at District 22 for three years and the so-called “town” school in St. Martin for 30 years.

His many talents extended to being the church organist and choir director. These two duties involved two masses every Sunday morning as well as vespers — a sunset evening prayer service.  

Paging through photo albums and pages of historical documentation, Peggy offered that he also operated a wallpaper business. She’s not sure where he obtained the wallpaper, but she does remember that one day she helped him paper a room in someone’s home — including the ceiling. She stood on a wooden plank spanning the room holding the paper in place as Henry applied it.

Peggy said that because her dad was employed as a teacher and involved in many other activities, his appearances in the store was rare. She, her mother and her siblings worked in the store. Her mother also raised a large garden and did a lot of canning, preserving and her own sewing. 

Eventually son Arnie purchased the store and took over management. Then her older sister Bernie managed it for a time. When Peggy graduated from Paynesville High School, she took over. She married Claude Olmscheid on June 15, 1954.

The day Peggy and Claude Olmscheid were married in St. Martin’s Catholic Church, Peggy said she felt honored and privileged that her father played the organ and directed the choir for her marriage ceremony. Peggy was a long-time choir member.

Upon completion of his of service in the United States Navy, Claude was employed as route-man for the Haehn Grocery store’s egg business. Some farmers brought their eggs directly to the store to be candled and sold; others were picked up at the farms, so Claude knew the operation of the store when he and Peggy purchased it in 1961. Sadly, Claude died in 1963 and Peggy ran it by herself for 18 years.

“I don’t know how I did everything,” she said. “I’ve always been busy. I even built my own house later in life, did most of the work myself.” She admitted she probably learned her work ethics from her dad.

Henry was also active in politics as an elected recorder, clerk and assessor for the village of St. Martin. Peggy recalled that he had an old-fashioned desk in the house with little pigeon holes for his many papers. As a life-long resident, “he knew the town and he knew the people,” she explained.

Testimonials

S. Margaret Mandernach, OSB, St. Joseph, said “Henry Haehn was a very active, creative, hard-working, intelligent, very personable gentleman who helped put St. Martin on the map. He was my first grade teacher. Once when a classmate and I were laughing, he calmly said, ‘When the two of you get done laughing, you can come up front and join our reading group.’ That phrase became my number one goal when I became a teacher. I would allow laughter in my classroom. What child doesn’t like to laugh? When I heard laughter in my classroom, I would invite them to tell all of us, so we could all laugh.” 

Henry directed the St. Martin Cornet (town) Band from the 1930s to 1960, taking over leadership from his brother Valentine. S. Margaret said “One day he told me he needed a cymbal player, I volunteered. It was an opportunity to help make music and be with other music lovers. It was an opportunity for younger members to get to know and mix with older musicians. The band was often invited to play at parish festivals and march in parades in St. Martin, Cold Spring, Albany, Avon, Melrose, St. Joseph, Greenwald, maybe more.”

The band practiced in the St. Martin Village Hall. Stan Rausch, St. Cloud, remembers that as children he and his friends would stand outside the hall listening to the band practice. “Henry had such great patience with the band members and gave good direction.” 

Jeanette Blonigen Clancy, Avon, said “I can’t think of parish bazaars without including that band. Five siblings of mine played in it. All the while I was growing up I heard about Henry Haehn. He conducted all music making in St. Martin. He played the organ in church and directed the choir in four-part Latin Masses.” He was awarded the Bishop’s Medal of Merit in 1956.  

“But Henry Haehn also had been a teacher and owned a store in St. Martin. Besides groceries and other essentials, it had a little children’s library,” Jeanette added. “My brother Jerry happily borrowed books from it and said of Henry Haehn, ‘He was the town.’ I learned later that he was married to Amanda Blonigen, first cousin of my dad.”

Haehn was Stan Rausch’s first-grade teacher and he remembers Haehn as being well-liked by the children because of his calm demeanor. “The talent shows and plays Henry directed in the St. Martin Parish Center were a treat for us guys,” he said. For the children, he produced Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes. Stan remembers standing on the stage by himself, singing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” 

Other plays were acted and performed by and for adults. Peggy recalled a play called Uncle Charley. The word “comfortable” was said by one of the actors. Evidently, he had a difficult time saying the word without a German accent. Henry tried to teach him — to no avail.    

Peggy added that former St. Martin resident Father Silverius Schmitt has told her many times that he credits her dad’s kindness, generosity and public service commitments as a direct influence over him joining the priesthood. He felt Haehn always strove for the betterment of the people and the town.

Heritage

Haehn's parents, Peter and Anna Haehn, emigrated from Germany to Wisconsin and eventually to St. Martin. They were among the first settlers in St. Martin and raised 18 children, including an orphan train adopted daughter. Henry was the last surviving member of the original pioneer family. “But with 17 brothers and sisters, the Haehn family lives on,” Peggy added.

In 1916, Henry married Amanda Blonigen. They had five children: Ruth Lenz, Bernadine Didier, Sylvester (Shorty), Arnold and Peggy Herges. Peggy married second husband Matt Herges in 1974. He died in 2001.

Sylvester (Shorty) Haehn followed in his father’s footsteps. He became a highly successful entrepreneur in San Diego, California. The Haehn Campus Center at the College of St. Benedict’s in St. Joseph is named after him. In 1996, he and his wife Jacquie donated over $1.5 million to help build the center as a social space for students, and he also contributed to the building of the Haehn Museum.

Family lore

Peggy reminisced that her dad loved to go fishing but would not buy a motor, nor would he row the boat. He always took at least one of the children along to do the rowing. Peggy’s mother never went along. She did not like water. He fished for sunnies and crappies — panfish for the dinner table.   

The Haehns were one the few residents in St. Martin who took a family vacation each summer.

Also, Haehn would go to the local bar to play cards (Scot) with his cronies, a pastime he enjoyed. Since he didn’t drink or smoke, when playing for a round, his prizes were candy bars, which the children enjoyed finding on the counter the next morning.

Although Henry Haehn may have been “just dad” to his daughter Peggy, he left a lasting impression of kindness and generosity on many.

This column is the opinion of Marilyn Salzl Brinkman. Write to her at Brinkman1943@gmail.com or the St. Cloud Times, P.O. Box 768, St. Cloud, MN 56302.