The Irish roots of this family run deep, and that’s why they chose the St. Patrick’s Day Parade as an occasion to return to Denison, to catch up with each other and to relive memories that were created in the community. See page 6 for name list of individuals in the photo above.

A local family with strong Irish roots chose the occasion of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Denison as a reason to get together and reminisce about days gone by in the community.

It all started with a group text when Tara Kruse Tucker, of Raleigh, North Carolina, said she was bringing her mom, Maureen Kruse, to Denison for the parade because their relative, Julie Fitzpatrick Lamaack, was the Irish Mother this year.

Colleen (Kruse) McLaughlin, a cousin to Tara, said some members of the family had not seen each other since their grandmother, Helen Finnegan Kruse, had died.

“So we decided to get together,” said Colleen.

Helen Kruse was raised in the Manilla area and was one of eight siblings.

She had 13 grandkids, of which 11 are surviving, and the group decided whoever could show up for the reunion would.

Each of the four children of Helen Kruse were represented at the reunion. Her children were Lois, Larry, Bob and Bill.

The roots of the family run deep in Ireland. Helen Kruse’s grandmother was a Knott from Leitrim County in Ireland.

Helen Kruse was also a best friend of the Fitzpatrick family in Denison.

“We’ve known each other since we were young,” said Colleen. “We all grew up together.”

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**Grandma Helen Finnegan Kruse with her four children behind her, Bob, Bill, Lois (Kruse) Carstens and Larry.** Submitted Photo

As with all reunions, lots of stories were shared, and fortunately Maureen Kruse (Aunt Reenie) was there to answer some questions.

Some of the stories revolved around where Grandma Helen Kruse lived. Her house was across the street from the senior center, where Frehse Manufacturing expanded to the south.

The house was up on a hill, and the two pine trees that were in the yard are still standing.

“We stopped there every time we came to town,” said Colleen. “We talked about walking from there up to the Candy Kitchen. We were Catholic and we would buy Necco wafers and do ‘communion’ at Grandma’s house.

“Grandma’s house was where everybody always went for Easter,” Colleen added. “She had a huge clothesline pole, a big round one; it must have been a power pole at one point because our grandpa worked for the REC. Our parents would sit around that pole and tell stories. They would play cards, and it would be a two-day, two-night ordeal. All the cousins would walk around town.”

Aunt Reenie and her husband, Bob, lived in Marshalltown at the time and they’d drive a little minivan to bring their children to Denison to play with the cousins.

On Saturday, the group went to the parade and to Cronk’s and to Prime Times.

They tried to figure out exactly where the house had been situated. One of the landmark memories was the grandmother’s rhubarb patch.

“Grandma would just hand us some sugar and tell us to pick and eat the rhubarb,” Colleen said.

Another of the fond memories of Grandma Helen Kruse was the buns she made. Of course, she never used a recipe, said Colleen, so no one has ever been able to replicate their favorite treat from their grandmother.

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