Margaret Elfe and Luretta Wilber, of the town of How, have been awarded the Suring Area Senior Citizen Award and will serve as grand marshals of the Suring Labor Day Parade.
The women will receive their award at 12 p.m. Monday, Sept. 2, at Veteran’s Memorial Park. The parade begins at 10 a.m Monday, Sept. 2, on Main Street and is part of a weekend-long celebration in the village.
Both women were farmers who raised families and served their community and church.
Margaret was born on a farm in How, the third child of Albert and Lillie Rakow. She attended Grignon School for first through fifth grade and St. John Lutheran School in Hayes for sixth to eighth grade. She did not attend high school because she was needed at home.
She married Elliot “Fritz” Elfe in September 1949 and moved to a farm in How, where they raised six children. Two of the children were valedictorians at Suring High School. Four of them earned bachelor’s degrees, and two earned technical college degrees.
In 1972, the Elfes lost their barn to a fire, and their cows were moved to a neighbor’s barn, until a new barn was built.
Margaret is an active member of St. John Lutheran Church, where she has been a member all her life. She belongs to the Ladies Aid and Missionary League. She held various offices for the ladies groups.
One of Margaret’s hobbies is making blankets for Lutheran World Relief using material given to her by friends and relatives. She also volunteers at the Suring meal site, plays bingo at the nursing home and serves on the elections board.
Luretta grew up on a farm six miles west of Suring and attended Grignon School and St. John’s Lutheran School. She did not attend high school.
She was employed by the John Ponsegrau family, Jim and Alice Flynn family and Art Heins family. She drove horses, butchered and cleaned chickens, and kept house. She also worked for Anna Holl at a store in Hayes.
She married Gene Wilber and moved to Oshkosh. They had five children. Some of them were musically inclined and formed the Wilber Boys Band. Luretta has 16 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.
In 1973, Luretta and Gene moved back to How to farm. They bought a farm from Leola and Gerhard Stuewer in 1972. They farmed about 18 years. In January 1990, Gene died.
Besides farming, Luretta’s jobs included child care and working at Friday Canning (now Seneca). She has worked at the Senior Citizen Center for 10 years.
Luretta is a member of St. John Lutheran Church and belongs to the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League. She volunteers at the Bethesda Thrift Store in Green Bay and is a poll worker for the town of How. Luretta can crochet, knit and embroider.
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