Ernest Wenk Line

Horning

   ERNEST WILHELM (or WILLIAM) WENK (9 Jun 1914 - 26 Jan 2006) was born in Freedom Township, Washtenaw County, Michigan, to MARTIN WENK (1876-1962) and MARTHA CAROLINA GRIEB (1880-1937), the fifth of six children.
   "Ernie" married EDNA MARIE HORNING (b. 13 Dec 1917) at the home of her parents in Manchester, Michigan on 2 Feb 1942.
   Edna was the daughter of Gottlieb Frederick Horning (1882-1962) and Bertha Blinina Eschelbach (1885-1970). The surname Horning was first found in the region between the North Sea, Germany and Belgium, that we now call the Netherlands. It is a habitational name, taken on from any of numerous places in the Netherlands, so named. The Dutch word "hoorn," means a "point," or "'nook."
   Ernie and Edna moved into the farm of Ernest's father near Chelsea, Michigan, and had the following children:

CHILDREN OF ERNEST WENK AND EDNA HORNING

KENNETH KARL WENK was born on 4 Mar 1944 in Tecumseh, Lenawee County, Michigan. He married JANICE HUTCHENS and had a son named BRIAN K WENK (b. 1 Feb 1973). Ken moved to San Francisco in 1976 and became a successful real estate renovator and investor. Ken also had a home in Monte Rio and enjoyed the quiet of the Russian River area. Ken died on 25 Feb 1990¹ and his name is memorialized in the Circle of Friends at the National AIDS Memorial at deLaveaga Dell in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA.

WILLIAM ERNEST "BILL" WENK was born on 21 Jun 1947 in Michigan. He married Marlene Knapp and they a daughter, Jennifer (m. Dave Smith, children Henry and Madeline). They live in Colorado, where Bill runs Wenk Landscape Architecture & Planning. Founded in 1982, the company provides a broad range of planning and landscape architectural services to a diverse group of civic, institutional, and municipal clients.

CAROLYN ELAINE WENK was born on 21 Jun 1950 in Michigan. She married Patrick Joseph McNamara (b. 8 Oct 1950) and they had Ryan McNamara (b. 30 Nov 1979) and Erin Elizabeth McNamara (b. 02 Dec 1982). Erin married Chris Nesbitt on 9 Dec 2017, and their daughter, Evelyn Jaymes Nesbitt was born on 21 May 2018, and is by all accounts "a real cutie."

Edna and Ernest on their wedding day.

   Edna Wenk, interviewed in celebration of her 100th birthday in 2017:
   "I loved music. My folks purchased a piano for me to play at home. It was an upright, advertised in the newspaper. I told them I wanted to be able to do something. I took lessons with a woman in her home, Hazel Burkee. After my work was done, I would practice every day because I loved it. I taught children to play piano as well. Later, after the organist retired at our church, Zion Lutheran at Rogers Corners, they asked me to play. I played every Sunday for about four years and then would help out on occasion after they found a student at Ann Arbor who was willing to play."
   "I went back to high school when I was older. I stayed with my grandparents on Washington Street in Chelsea and finished the curriculum in three years. I worked in the school library office and gave my grandmother what money I earned to help defray their expenses. They were in their fifties. I did what I could to help them arond the house. We got along well."
   "I knew Ernest Wenk since we were children. We went to church together. He was a good looking, nice young man with dimples. We socialized at ice cream socials, sponsored by the church. He asked me to marry him and I said yes. We were married by the pastor on February 7, 1942 in my parents' home, in front of the fireplace. I would have liked to have a church wedding, but most folks were married at home. Ernest had 4 F status and was exempt from the draft. He wanted to stay on the farm and not enlist. He was needed at home. My dress was paleyellow. We hads a chicken and ham supper afterwards. My mom and the neighbor made all the food. Ernest's brother, Norm, was the best man and his fiancé, Lorena, was my maid of honor. After the wedding we went on a short car trip to Fort Leonard, Missouri, where a former neighbor was living."
   "We had three children: Kenneth, William (Bill) and Carolyn. They were all born at the hospital. Kenneth died when he was 45 years old. He had a son named Brian. Bill has been good to me. He went to Michigan State University and moved out West. He got married to Marlene, who had grandchildren, Madeline and Henry. They live in Colorado and enjoy skiing. I've been out to visit them. It is quite beautiful. My daughter Carolyn Elaine went to Chelsea High School and MSU, where she studied English and education. She married Pat and is mother to two children, Ryan and Erin."

The family in 1967. Top Row: William, Kenneth; Bottom Row: Carolyn, Edna, and Ernest.

The Wenk farm, 2833 Fletcher Road, Chelsea, a Centennial Farm.

   "Ernest and I had a farm on Fletcher Road in Chelsea. His dad would help us out. I would make their noon meals. I canned and froze vegetables and fruit. We raised potatoes, carrots, lettuce, beans, corn, peas, tomatoes, radishes, beets. We had cash crops; wheat, corn and oats, that I remember. We raised chickens."
   "Growing up, we didn't go to the grocery store very often. We had almost everything we needed on the farm. Our farm gained Centennial Farm Status in 1959 for being in operation for 100 years."
   "Eventually, Ernest and I moved to town and sold the farm. I don't miss having to milk the cows. Ernest passed away some time ago and I still miss him, just being there together because we knew each other so well. After Ernest passed away, I came to live at Chelsea Retirement Community. I think all the people here are nice and I have liked making friends."
   "I value my education, and music. When I was younger, most women who worked had opportunities in the factory and I preferred farm work. My advice to younger people is to stay in school if you want a good job. Farmers didn't need much formal education to raise crops successfully."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

EDNA MARIA HORNING WENK turned 100 in 2017 while living in Chelsea, MI, the daughter of Gottlieb Frederick Horning (1882-1962) and Bertha Blinina Eschelbach (1885-1970): "I was born on December 13, 1917 at my parents' farm home near Pleasant Lake, Michigan. The third of four children, I hasd two older brothers: Erwin, who was eight and Alton, who was four, when I arrived. I didn't have much to do with Erwin, who was always good to me. Alton was a bit of a rascal and would sometimes frustrate me. I had a play room in the house with a lovely doll and I often played by myself there. Ten years later my mom had another daughter, my little sister Marion.

NOTES ON THIS PAGE:

¹—Bay Area Reporter, Volume 20, Number 10, 8 March 1990: "Ken Wenk passed away peacefully on Feb. 25 at Kaiser Hospital after a yearlong battle with AIDS. Born in Tecumsheh, Mich. and a graduate of Eastern Michigan University, Ken had been a resident of San Francisco since 1976. Ken worked with accounting firms, and became a successful real estate renovator and investor in the past years. Ken loved everything Asian and made many trips to the Far East as travel was a real joy in his life. Ken also had a home in Monte Rio and very much enjoyed the quiet of the Russian River area. He lived and died courageously and will be missed by his friends and family. Ken is survived by his son, Brian, his brother, William, his sister, Caroline, and friends Tom, Wilfredo, Arthur, Brian and Mark. A memorial service will be held Sunday March 11. For information call 333-9606. Donations may be made in his name to the S.F. AIDS Foundation."

100-year-old Edna Wenk with 2nd great-nephew Atticus Hause in June, 2018. A photo of the family farm hangs behind them.