Ethel's Problems

Ethel Senter Sasse became ill after her first son, Lewis, was stillborn. She was hyper at times, depressed at others, and consequently was hospitalized at the Yankton, South Dakota, State Hospital for the insane, a facility many miles from her home near Spearfish in the western part of the state. She entered the hospital for treatment of her mental problems on August 14, 1907. She was 24 years old. The admitting certificate indicated that she had experienced "several attacks" before her admission. There, a female doctor, Dr. Bagley, cared for her until the doctor's resignation from the hospital staff, for undefined reasons, in late 1908. Ethel did try to escape several times during her stay in Yankton. In mid-December, 1908, before she left, Dr. Bagley informed the hospital administrator that Ethel Sasse was still depressed and that discharge from the institution could not be recommended.

One month later, on January 23, 1909, Mrs. Graham, a nursing supervisor, informed Dr. L. C. Mead, the medical administrator, that Ethel Sasse's menstrual periods were irregular and that the patient appeared to be getting plump. Mrs. Graham obviously thought Ethel Sasse might be pregnant. An inquiry into the matter quickly began. The hospital administration anointed the new doctor in charge of the female wards, Dr. Charles Trail, as the doctor in charge of examining Mrs. Sasse to determine if indeed she was pregnant. Dr. Trail, like Ethel Sasse, was born in Missouri. Single, he was 33 years old when he assumed his duties over the women's ward at the hospital for the insane. Educated at the Physicians and Surgeons University in Chicago, he graduated in 1902, and practiced in Iowa for two years before seeking a license to practice in South Dakota, which was granted in 1905. Dr. Trail's examination of Ethel Sasse indicated that she was probably pregnant, and Dr. Mead asked two additional physicians, Dr. Willhite and Dr. Adams, to conduct a second examination, to confirm Dr. Trail's diagnosis. They verified Trail's opinion. Dr. Mead questioned Ethel afterward about her sexual activities while confined within the psychiatric hospital. She admitted that she had "carnal relations" with a "former employee." Dr. Mead asked for his name; Ethel refused.

Christian Sasse, nicknamed Chris, was born in Chicago. His parents, Christian Lewis Andrew Sasse and Anna, were strict German Lutheran immigrants who moved from their first American home in Chicago to South Dakota to begin a new life of dry land farming on a parcel of land provided by the federal government. The days of the South Dakota Gold Rush were over. The elder Sasses had three children, Chris, William (called Bill), and a daughter, Anna. They grew up in the rigorous climate of South Dakota. Young Chris married Ethel, while Bill married an English woman, Eliza, and Anna wedded a man named Foley. Like his father, Chris Sasse was an alcoholic who worked when and wherever he found work as a brick mason. This often took him away from Spearfish and his wife and family. While Ethel was treated in Yankton State Hospital, Chris eventually wound up in Omaha, Nebraska, where he was working when Dr. Mead wrote him about Ethel's pregnancy. Mead requested that Sasse come to Yankton to discuss her problem and even offered to pay for the costs of Chris' travel back to South Dakota. Chris left immediately, less than a week after Dr. Mead's letter was written, arriving on Friday, January 29.

That same day, Chris met with Dr. Mead and the hospital's attorney, Mr. L. B. French. He denied having sexual relations with his wife during a visit with her on November 4, 1908. The couple traveled into Yankton that early winter day. During the November visit Ethel admitted to her husband that she engaged in sexual activity with a hospital employee on two earlier occasions.

Mr. French felt that the likelihood of a conviction of a former employee for rape would be nearly impossible, but that a conviction of the employee on charges of adultery would be more likely-if they only could discover who the employee was. Ethel wasn't telling. Chris "expressed absolutely no desire to have such prosecution undertaken, preferring rather to take his wife away, giving her such care as he best could, avoiding the publicity and probable disgrace that would attend such an effort." Less than a month after Dr. Bagley said Ethel wasn't ready for discharge (and about one and one-half years after she was hospitalized), Dr. Mead indicated to Chris that his wife had made virtually a complete recovery, and was ready for immediate discharge. Reassuring Chris that the hospital would cooperate in any way they could in continuing to try to find the man who had committed adultery with Ethel, Mead promised that she would receive some aid, but in fact this was the same given to help all dismissed patients. Ethel left Yankton with her husband the following day, January 30, 1909, returning by train to what would be their temporary home in Omaha.

On the same day, Dr. Mead documented the events of the week in his completion of Ethel Sasse's clinical history. He knew Ethel was pregnant, and that she had probably been impregnated, not in November, 1908, but likely even earlier. He never again took up the matter. In fact, he died before anyone again tried to discover who had in fact fathered Ethel Sasse's second child.

Birth Days

Katherine Ethel Sasse arrived in this world in Omaha on June 9, 1909. And about 18 months later, Katherine's brother, Harry, was born to Ethel and Chris Sasse. Shortly, Eva Sasse made the Sasse household still one larger. Chris continued to work and to drink in the Omaha area, although he still traveled to engage in work. While alone in parenting her three children, Ethel again began experiencing periods of hyperactivity alternating with depression, when she asked for others' help in providing for her young children's needs. She often placed them in the care of others, while she went about caring for her own needs. She did this without Chris' knowledge.

Little Eva Sasse died shortly after birth, and Ethel again became severely depressed. Her brother, Orville, came to Omaha from Spokane, Washington, to assess his sister's state of health after Eva's death. Ethel's family all lived in Washington state, where her father worked for the growing railroad system. When Orville observed her mental state, he hospitalized Ethel again, this time in Omaha. In time, Ethel was moved to a Pueblo, Colorado, asylum, where she remained for much of the remainder of her life.

About this time, Chris discovered that Ethel had been moving the children from home to home in Omaha. He chose to abandon his wife at this time. He moved his children back to Spearfish, in order for his family to assist in rearing Katherine and Harry. His mother, Anna, was to be the primary care giver during Chris' absences. Katherine was about 2 1/2 years old at the time, and Harry was a little over one year old.

Grandmother Anna Sasse was a German, and remained pro-Germany throughout her life. She was intensely loyal to her immediate family. She typically was a "rigid disciplinarian who never had a chance for fun." She disliked the fact that her husband and her son Chris were "lousy" farmers and had chosen brick masonry as their life-work. She also disliked the fact that her husband drank liquor, heavily at times, and became furious when her son Chris drank to excess. One year the wheat harvest led to a bit more profit than usual, and Anna took the money and put it under the mattress. Chris, Sr., wanted the money to go drinking, and ripped up the mattress. While doing so, the money "flew up-right into Anna's apron." Her husband became incensed, and her nephews, the Foley boys, had to protect their aunt while getting their uncle out of the house.

Chris, Katherine, and Harry lived in a small house about 18 miles north of Spearfish, on his parents' homestead. When Chris and his children moved in, the house had no kitchen; one was added later. The house had a sod roof. All three slept in the same room in the little house. The nearest neighbors-the Andersens, Davises, Bronsens, Pasquales, and Cunninghams-lived at least 2 or 3 miles away. It was a lonely life: Katherine never had young friends until she entered school. However, she enjoyed working outdoors and cooking. Her favorite toy was a teddy bear, and her favorite game was horse shoes. The family had a dog-an old dog-named Shepp. She never received an allowance; she was required to earn all her own spending money. Her chores included milking cows and separating the cream.

Katherine attended a one room school house in the country. Its mailing address was Spearfish. She enjoyed reading, and her favorite book was Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, which she borrowed from the school's small collection of books. She participated in school Christmas plays. Chris was unable to see these plays since he was often gone to work in construction.

Her favorite relative was her Aunt Eliza; she was kind to Katherine.

Unfortunately, Aunt Anna Foley's children were not kind to Katherine, nor to Harry. Young Chris and Bill Foley were older than Katherine, and their father was Catholic, a fact hated by the Sasse family. Neither was able to grasp a family trade, failing to learn either farming from their grandmother or even masonry from their grandfather. Grandmother Sasse was kind to the boys, none-the-less; she only tolerated Katherine and Harry. She took no action when the Foley boys teased Katherine and her brother about Ethel, their mother. They called their cousin "Kate," a name Katherine learned to hate. While not destructively violent, they slapped Katherine for minor reasons. They were, simply, "just mean."

With few friends, and a fractured family, Katherine had little to look forward to. However, even more troubling news came into her young life a few years later.

Her Fathers' Houses

Growing up in South Dakota was tough in many ways. Katherine never felt close to Chris' family. She had never seen nor met her mother's family. But her Grandmother Senter, living at 508 Knox Avenue in Spokane, was disturbed by the fact that Katherine and Harry were living alone so much of the time. She penned a letter to Anna Sasse, the paternal grandmother charged with caring for the children, requesting that Harry and Katherine come live with her and the other Senter family members, promising more family support than she perceived they were receiving at the time. Grandmother Senter made it clear, that even though Katherine was not Chris' child, except as a step-daughter, she and other Senters in Washington expected more for both children and were willing to help provide this. Grandmother Sasse was, as expected, unwilling to concede the children to Senter family, and, of course, her son, Chris, wasn't either. Grandmother Senter's letter was carefully stored. Eventually, Katherine, now 9 years old, came upon the letter, and was disheartened to read the truth that Chris Sasse was just her step-father.

Grandmother Sasse died when Katherine was 11 years old. With no one in the Sasse family willing or able to directly care for them, the children again began traveling with their step-father/father, living with family friends and others along the way. They lived with the Workman family, relatives of the Foleys, in Rapid City for nearly one year. From Rapid City, they lived with Chris Sasse alone as he worked and got drunk in Chadron, Nebraska. The next move proved that having to provide for two children was now an intolerable burden for the Sasse family. Since Katherine wasn't "really" a Sasse, she went to live with family friends near Spearfish, the Davises, while Harry was ushered into the Foley home, at least for a period of six months. At that moment, Katherine understood her lack of family roots, and that only Aunt Eliza, Bill's wife, was friendly toward her.

Katherine was relieved to be reunited with her half-brother Harry when Chris returned for the children, moving them still another time, to Lead, South Dakota. They lived in a small apartment and went to school while Chris worked. This, too, was short-lived: Chris heard of work back east, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. And while Chris went to Michigan, both children were left back in the care of the Davises, in Spearfish, until Chris finally wired a message that he could care for his son and step-daughter, asking that they come to Ann Arbor to live with him again.

The train ride to Ann Arbor was memorable for Katherine. She desperately hoped for a more stable life. She was only 12 years old, and Harry just 10. There had been many moves in the few years of their lives. Chris picked them up, and with them moved into Katherine's first home in Ann Arbor, on Fourth Avenue near the site of the old Masonic Temple. The year was 1921.

Katherine and Harry began attending school. Katherine was enrolled in St. Thomas High School in Ann Arbor, but had little time for school activities. At age 14, she began working for the local phone company as a switchboard operator. There she met a friend who asked Katherine to attend her church, the church associated with Katherine's high school, St. Thomas. Happy to have a friend, Katherine accepted the offer. Katherine was impressed with the atmosphere of the church, and sought rebaptism from the pastor, Fr. Command. He did not feel she was sincere, but another priest, Father George, obliged her request for rebaptism and gave Katherine religious instructions. Hence, her formal conversion to Roman Catholicism began with her rebaptism in February, 1923, at St. Thomas Church. When she was nearly 18, she was confirmed at the same church using the name, Katherine Ethel Sasse. Her sponsors were also new friends she met through the church, Ed and Marie Flynn, with whom she lived at the time. Both were Catholic.

When Chris found out that Katherine had been receiving instruction in the Catholic faith, he again became furious. This reaction marked Katherine for life: She no longer liked the man who, for better or worse, had been the only "father" she had known. Because she was now able to earn her own living, she sought legal advice, and formally changed her name to Katherine Marie Flynn. Katherine Flynn was now 18 years old, and felt that the Flynns were good people who had opened their home to her, and that her life with and as a Sasse was over. Chris and Harry Sasse later left Ann Arbor, sadly only Harry had lasting feelings for Katherine.

Katherine had a new name, a new, adopted "family," and a new faith. Yet she was without a "real" family: She didn't know her mother, and her step-father had disowned her. Feeling alone in this world, she vowed at that time to find out more about her real father. The year was 1927.

On the Trail

On January 7, 1927, Louis Burke, an attorney from Ann Arbor, wrote the Attorney General's Office in Pierre, South Dakota on behalf of the child born to Ethel Senter Sasse; the girl was now nearly eighteen years old. Despite his written words, he was unaware of the identity of Katherine's natural father.

I am attempting to establish her birth right and if possible make the responsible party justify his wrong action as near as can be. I hesitate to give you the name of the party who I believe to be the father of this girl at this time, but if you will kindly ascertain for me what the hospital records show concerning this patient I will be greatly pleased. I think that it is a matter that probably your office would be interested in attending to as people who are given to the care of State Institutions should have some protection. [Burke, January 7, 1927]

Benjamin Mintener, an Assistant Attorney General in Pierre, wrote to Dr. G. S. Adams, the Superintendent for the State Hospital for the Insane in Yankton, on January 10, 1927, requesting a response to Burke's questions. Adams' response to Mr. Mintener, written on January 13, 1927, included a copy of Dr. Mead's last clinical notes on the case of Ethel Sasse, dated January 30, 1909. The cover letter asked that Mr. Mintener use his "judgement (sic) as to how much of this information should be passed on to him."

In July, Katherine went by train to visit her mother who remained hospitalized in Pueblo, Colorado. The trip would be the first of several she made to visit her mother. She went with the specific purpose of discovering the identity of her natural father. Mellowed with time, Ethel Sasse seemed to understand Katherine's desire to know more about her father, and told Katherine his name. Armed with his identity, Katherine immediately wrote the Yankton State Hospital administrator while continuing to reacquaint herself with her mother. The language and writing reveal Katherine's youthful anger.

Pueblo, Colo.
July 17, 1927

Dear Sir.
I am writing in regard to the history of the case of Mrs. Mary Ethel Senter (my mother) which contains the fact that she left the hospital in a pregnant condition, (and I being the child) whom was born June 9th 1909 in Omaha, Nebr.

The history of the case reads that this could have occurred only between Aug & Oct. (and) from evidence, it was the first part of Oct.

In the history of the case it stats (sic) that the party, whom would be my father, could easily be located as I would like to know definatly (sic) he is and as much about him as possible because of the fact that I am contemplating marriage. I want to know my birth right history.

I am visiting my mother here in Pueblo Colo. the first time I have ever seen her and I have ask (sic) her who my real father is and she repeatedly names Dr. C. J. Trail a man of about 39 yrs. old at that time and very dark complected (as I am also). She said I look a great deal like him.

I would appreciate very much if you could compare this information with what you have and give me all the information concerning the case.

Thanking you in advance.

Very truly yours, Miss Katherine Flynn
Pueblo, Colo. Gen. Del.

I go by the name of Flynn as they are the people I have lived with.

Dr. Adams wrote a response to Katherine's inquiry on July 21, 1927.

July 21, 1927
Miss Katherine Flynn General Delivery, Pueblo, Colorado

Dear Madam:-
I am in receipt of your letter of July 17th. in reference to the case of your mother, Mary Ethel Senter.

While you have given her name as Senter, our records show that she was committed to us under the name of Sasse.

Early in January of this year I received a letter from the Assistant Attorney General of Pierre making for asking for the history in this case, the request being made by Lewis A. Burke of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Mr. Burke, in his letter, stated that he was interested in the matter because of the child, who was at that time living in Ann Arbor. At that time I sent Mr. Burke a full copy of the record of the case and the statement of Dr. L. C. Mead, at that time Superintendent of the Hospital, pertaining to the matter of Mrs. Sasse's pregnancy. Mr. Burke probably has shown you a copy of this statement, which gives the facts very clearly and closely as they were known at that time.

I have only a hazy recollection of the case. While I was an Assistant Physician on the staff of the Hospital at that time my work was entirely with the men's division of the hospital. I did not know your mother personally and she was never under my direct care.

Dr. C. J. Trail was also an Assistant Physician on the staff at that time. He was here between March 15, 1906 and October 12, 1910. His work, however, was entirely with the men's division of the hospital until Dr. Bagley's resignation in January 1909. I was associated very closely with Dr. Trail during the time that he was here. I know that there was no suspicion directed toward him at the time this matter was investigated, and personally I do not think that it could have been possible for Dr. Trail to have been responsible.

Unfortunately I cannot recall the name of the party named by your mother at that time. Dr. Mead, the Superintendent of the Hospital at that time, and who handled the investigation, died in January 1920.

Dr. C. J. Trail, since leaving the Hospital, has practiced in Wessington and Sioux Falls, South Dakota. I have understood that he has recently moved to some place on the Pacific Coast.

Mr. Sasse was here at the time of the investigation, the matter was gone over very thoroughly with him, and I know that your mother did not throw any suspicion upon Dr. Trail at that time or at any other time, as far as I know. It is quite natural that she would remember Dr. Trail because of his official connection with her ward. I assure you that we will be glad to give you any further information that we can. However, this seems to be about all the information that we have.

If we can be of any further service to you kindly advise, and we will assist you in any was that we can.

Very truly yours,
Dr. G. S. Adams Superintendent

Katherine returned to Ann Arbor, revealing the information she had obtained from her mother to both Ed and Marie Flynn and to Dr. Beebe, a local physician. Dr. Beebe was able to find out that Dr. Charles Trail was in Los Angeles. That fall, the Flynns found an ad in the Ann Arbor News requesting someone to help in driving a car from Ann Arbor to Berkeley, California. Mrs. Prochknow, the wife of an Ann Arbor grocer, placed the ad, and Katherine was one of the four persons who rode in the car, via Salt Lake City, to Berkeley.

Katherine went from Berkeley to Los Angeles, and stayed there with Adam Ritz,an uncle of her Ann Arbor friend, Mildred Fields. While there, she made an appointment to see Dr. Trail, stating that she was a family friend. She met him in his stock broker's office. Trail had a large frame and dark complexion. Katherine then told him that she was really checking parental information she had been given from the Yankton hospital in which he had worked while Ethel Sasse was a patient. Shocked, Trail stated that he "would check his files" and took her address, leaving practically as soon as Katherine informed him that she was Ethel Sasse's daughter from the pregnancy by a man other than Ethel's husband.

Charles Trail deserted his daughter. Katherine was alone in the world. Her mother was ill, her half-brother lived out west, and save for a few close and patient friends, she had no family. She returned to Ann Arbor to find a family even if she had to create one herself.

Mrs. Barnes

Katherine rented a room from the Horner family for less than $10 per month. The Horners had Katherine stay at their home at Division and Catherine Streets, where Katherine helped care for Mrs. Horner and her sister. Katherine lived there until she married. Unknowingly, her new life as a caring nurse began.

Nearly ten years later, Katherine finally met Robert Barnes at a Young Ladies' Sodality Dance in Ann Arbor. Bob was born February 1, 1907, in Detroit, the son of John and Catherine Bradley Barnes. The family relocated to Ann Arbor when Bob was 11 years old. Bob Barnes was born a Catholic, and was both an altar boy and later an usher. He went to a seminary at Assumption College in Windsor, Ontario. His mother wanted at least one of her four sons to become a priest, and pushed Bob in that direction. He did not feel the calling to priesthood, and left the seminary and the college without receiving a degree. He went to work as an engineer for the Washtenaw County Road Commission. Katherine was attracted to him because "he didn't push. He was very conservative." Katherine was 28, and Bob was 30 when they met. When he proposed marriage, she agreed because, "I wanted my own children."

The wedding took place on July 11, 1940, at St. Thomas Catholic Church. The wedding was "small," and none of Katherine's "old" family attended. Marie Flynn was ill and could not attend, and Katherine felt that Ed Flynn's drinking had become a serious problem. The witnesses for the wedding were Louis Brown and his wife Dorothy. The couple honeymooned in Northern Michigan for two weeks. Katherine admitted that she did have fun!

Mr. and Mrs. Bob Barnes first lived with his mother for six months, and moved into their family home at 322 Catherine Street in Ann Arbor. Katherine's family expanded quickly as four children were born to them during the next six years: John Anthony (b. June 13, 1941; d. October 20, 1991); Ann Louise (b. October 15, 1942); Mary Ellen (b. April 17, 1944); and James Robert (b. November 27, 1946). "Every one was different," Katherine recalled (1984). John was "temperamental as a small child and hyper," while Ann was "not aggressive and easy to manage." Mary Ellen was "positive and stood her ground and was inquisitive without being hyper" and Jim was "passive, more or less."

Katherine continued to work as a nurse's aid. During World War II, most registered nurses were in the service. After the war, the head of the St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor called for help from licensed practical nurses. Katherine was called as well, and was offered formal training on each hospital service for three months for a total of one year of preparation for the LPN examination. Her compassionate and caring reputation for the sick was recognized even then.

Katherine admitted she had little book work. She passed the LPN exam by waiver, and began working nights at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor. She cared for her children during the day.

Bob Barnes was an alcoholic. While Katherine was working, Bob was drinking heavily and making life miserable for the children. Katherine said that this factor alone resulted in her separation from Bob in 1955. She moved the children to the upper floor of Judge O'Brien's home on Lawrence Street, where she cared for the judge downstairs. After the judge's death, she moved with her children to her own nursing residence on Kingsley Street. The patients were housed again on the first floor, while she and the children resided on the second floor. She was helped by her growing children in keeping the nursing facility running. She prepared all the food, ever her notoriously good cinnamon rolls and coffee cake, for her patients and family. With the great demand for her services, Katherine opened her last nursing home, on Elmwood Street, in about 1960.

Katherine brought her mother to Ann Arbor from Colorado in the early 1960s, caring for her in the Elmwood Street facility. She closed the facility in 1968, after her mother passed away, and returned to her home on Catherine Street where she cared for her husband Bob when cirrhosis prevented him from working any longer. She remained there with him until he died Wednesday, January 29, 1969. After his death Katherine continued to work as a nurse, both at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital and as a private duty nurse, caring for many persons including faculty members of the University of Michigan until the mid 1980s when illness forced her to retire.

Through it all, Katherine reveled in the delight of having her own four children. They provided her with her own family, the one which she longed for as a child and young adult. The ten grandchildren were the proof of longevity in her family, and she loved being with each one, whether traveling with them to distant places, like South Dakota and the Pacific Northwest to visit her brother Harry in Spokane, or while visiting with them in Arizona, Texas, or Louisiana. None of Katherine's children or grandchildren in her later years would ever feel alone if she knew of their feelings.

Lilies of the Valley

Diabetes developed slowly in Katherine Barnes. After cataract surgery, her eyesight failed. A kidney xray showed a tumor in her left kidney in the 1980s, and surgical removal fortunately showed that this was benign. Her memory began failing around the same time, and the combination of an unsteady gait and small strokes weakened her. But her spirits remained positive. She came to rely on her children for help during those last years of her life. She knew at last the safety of being with her own family and friends.

In July, 1990, she experienced a large stroke, and quietly passed away about ten days later, on July 26, 1990. The rhythms of life never left her; George Gershwin's song, I Got Rhythm, played, echoing her life, as she quietly entered a more perfect world.

Katherine was buried in Ann Arbor, alongside her husband Bob. During her memorial mass in Corpus Christi, Monsignor Richard Shirley eulogized Katherine by recalling her favorite flower: lilies of the valley. Why? Because, in Katherine's words, "They bow their faces in humility." Katherine's life was full of challenges, which she faced and finally conquered, without anger and without bitterness. She was a lily of the valley. Who in her family could ask for anything more?