The things that we did have, we appreciated them

Ms. Korstad talks about growing up, play, and holidays.

Audio Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2

DL: What did you do after school? What games did you play?

DK: We would play hopscotch, kickball. And then a few years down the road we got a badminton set. But we were pretty limited on money. So it wasn't like my grandparents spent money foolishly. The things that we did have, we appreciated them. But it was kind of minimal. We liked going to school, because then we could play games and do things that we didn't do at home because we didn't have the money.

DL: Makes sense.

DK: And I can remember croquet. We eventually got that. So we played that too. We were taught to take care of our stuff really well, because if we didn't, we weren't going to get any more.

DL: Did your family celebrate the holidays and how?

DK: We didn't really. We acknowledged Thanksgiving and Christmas. Real minimally as the money situation was really tight. We would have Christmas at our church and we would get a little bit of candy and stuff. It was a big deal for us to get coloring books and crayons, you know? So our gifts were real minimal. It wasn't a real big thing like nowadays [laughter]. At Easter and Thanksgiving, my grandma was really focused around a meal…Providing food and having a good time that way. So as far as gifts, like I said, that was real limited. That wasn't a priority for us kids. I guess we didn't know any different. We did good with it.

Cite
Donna Korstad. "The things that we did have, we appreciated them." https://www3.mnhs.org/usdakotawar/stories/contributors/donna-korstad/1063
Print This Page
copy-right-img

Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at Copyright and Use Information.

Oral History- Interview | Narrator Donna Korstad Interviewer Deborah Locke made in Granite Falls, Upper Sioux Community, MN | Thursday, May 5, 2011

Citation: Minnesota Historical Society. U.S. - Dakota War of 1862. The things that we did have, we appreciated them. June 03, 2025.