Maline Kaase

Maline Kaase was born in 1882 in Northwood, North Dakota. She lived with her parents, Ole and Sophrone, and siblings Theodore, Albert, Thosten, and Tillie on the 160-acre family farm.

When Maline was 26, she spent time in Preston, Minnesota, where her family had roots (her parents married in Harmony, a nearby town, in 1879). Maline stayed with her aunt Nellie Olson and kept in touch with her Northwood family by sending postcards.

Maline’s 11-year-old sister Tillie kept her updated on life in Northwood, writing, “school won’t begin before the twelfth of October because they are fixing on the school house and it haint ready.”

Tillie appears to have been adopted into the Kaase family, and she is recorded as “Tillie Jorgensen” in the 1910 and 1920 censuses. But here, she signs her name “Tillie Kaase” showing, perhaps, a more personal relationship with the Kaases than what is reflected in government documents.

When Maline was in Minnesota, most of her postcards were sent from family and friends in North Dakota, but a few came from further away, like cousin Will who was traveling in Northern Wisconsin.

Later, when Maline is back in Northwood, her Minnesota friends ask her to visit, like when Lewis Jacobson says "I think you otto [ought to] come down and see us again some time." He ends the postcard asking for "a long letter when you have time."

Friends sent postcards to Maline in North Dakota from as far away as Michigan and Washington, though most are from Minnesota or towns close to Northwood.

Many writers from North Dakota wrote Maline to make plans, such as Caroline, who says she is “coming out pretty soon.” Without a telephone in the house, a postcard could be the fastest and cheapest way to alert someone that you’d be in town or invite them over.

Though some senders wrote one-off cards with simple messages, other postcards are evidence of deep, meaningful relationships. Read on to see what we can glean about Maline’s friendships, love interests, and family ties.