Henry Bernard, Junior, and Esther (Busch) Bernard: Guest Book, 1973-1997

This second sub-series contains the vast majority of the material. Henry Bernard (Junior) was born in Grafton, North Dakota, on December 22, 1907. He was the son of Henry and Josephine Bernard. He married Esther Busch on August 9, 1937, in Berlin, North Dakota. Esther had been born on July 27, 1909, in Berlin. Both Bernards were public school teachers before retiring in 1971. The couple had five children: Richard (Dick), Mary Ann, Florence, Frank and John. After retiring, Henry and Esther lived in Grand Forks until 1978. They then moved to San Benito, Texas, where Esther died in August 1981. Henry remained in San Benito before moving to Belleville, Illinois, in 1987, to live at a Catholic retirement community known as Our Lady of the Snows. He died there in November 1997. Henry was a prodigious letter writer, who wrote regularly to each of his five children. The letters he wrote to his eldest child, Dick, comprise the main portion of this sub-series. Besides this correspondence, other materials in the sub-series include diaries, newspaper clippings and photographs. A file from Esther Busch's high school years can also be found.