Genealogy from [WalzHjelmstad]

Thecla was named by her mom after St. Thecla. This is an article on St. Thecla.

She attended public school instead of Catholic school so that her uncle Tom Walz would have enough students for his school bus. She remembered riding the 4 miles in the sleigh when it was so very cold.

She attended CSt. Michael School Catholic school for the 4th through 8th grades.

Al Hjelmstad bought the Engagement Ring for Thecla Walz.

Two Photots of Thecla in Car Dealership that Louie Walz worked in.

Thecla made the Deans' Honor Role both semesters of the 1967-1968 school year.

Agnes Thecla Hjelmstad was admitted to the Zeta Alpha (Casper College) chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa Honorary Fraternity

Thecla was issued her Teaching Certificate and it's updates.

Thecla attended Casper College in the Fall of 67, the Spring, Summer, and Fall of 1968. She then went to the Univeristy of Wyoming for the Spring, Summer, and Fall of 1969, graduating in January of 1970. She graduated in 3 and 1/2 years by attending Summer Semesters and taking many correspondence classes.

Thecla obtained her Master of Education in Elementary Education.

As State President of her Kappa Kappa Iota Sorority, she was representing Wyoming at the national meeting in Des Moines, Iowa, when she received a phone message that her mother had died. She made reservations to take the plane home the next morning, when she received another phone call saying that her husband Al was in the hospital, and they really didn't know what was the matter. She had to make a decision. She felt her Mom and Dad would have liked for her to be at her husband's side, so she cancelled her plane reservation and drove back to Casper. She was the only one of the ten children who did not make the funeral.

Thecla wrote a poem for the 1986 Walz family reunion. It was published by the Mahnomen Pioneer, the local newspaper the following week:

THE WALZ FAMILY by Thecla Walz Hjelmstad 1986

This poem I'll recite, about that family of ten,
Children of Mahnomen farmers, Elizabeth and Ben.
The farm was not large, the house was too small
But many fond memories are held by us all.

CHRISTOPHER, the oldest, determined our fate,
When high school he chose, we all had a date
To fulfill our education four years after eight,
While he toiled on the farm, from early to late.
Thank you, Chris, we all owe you one,
That decision of yours, wasn't all that much fun!

CATHERINE came next to join the family;
No one suspected a nurse she would be.
Daily on her siblings, she practiced for free;
Fixing a cut, a bruise, or the sting of a bee.
You became a great nurse, Kay, we are proud of you;
You are a professional in all that you do.

ELMER you are the brother none of us knew,
Would you have liked farming as older you grew?
All of us have wondered, when we've a moment or two -
Why God chose to take you, before we knew you.
But things happen for the best, as what will be, will be,
And you, dear Elmer are a fond memory.

ELEANOR followed next, our curly haired girl.
You will never know how much we envied all those brown curls.
Convent school, marriage, three boys and a girl,
You sped down life's road with a flourish and whirl.
To your folks, to your family, of yourself you share,
Qualities like yours are indeed very rare.

Fifth child born was brother LOUIS
A sailor, a mechanic, ambulaance driver, busy bee-
Wherever there is action, that's where Louis will be-
Always willing to accept, and take responsibility.
Hang in there, Louis, your ship will come in yet,
Bearing the rewards you've earned, on that you can bet.

Next is our middle girl, LUCILLE Ann,
A talented lady with the pots and the pans.
She's tiny, and pretty, with a Real Estate Man,
Who keeps her traveling in many, many lands.
We think you are happy with your niche found in life,
It's homey, comfortable and lacking in strife.

Brother ALOYS , the farmer, is next on our family tree,
Making things grow, keeping things free.
You work hard with handicaps of ear and of knee,
Never taking a rest; never letting things just be.
The rewards you've earned are not only from the soil,
God gives to those who for him has toiled.

I, THECLA came next in that family of ten,
Making no waves, making no dents.
Until an uncle drove right through that fence,
My retort gave a chuckle to ladies and gents.
A teacher I became, touching many a child's life,
As well as mother, a grandmother, a homemaker and wife.

FLORENTINA messed up things just a bit
When she turned out a girl, the boys had a fit.
So a tomboy she became with pigtails and mitt,
She was almost a boy, so everything fit.
To California she went, a bar owner to become,
A cook, a nurse, and mother to some.

ANTHONY was our musical man.
He is a charmer and can lead a band.
When that pretty girl found him, he no longer ran;
He became a machinist, a police chief, and a parksman.
Papa you kept guessing to the very end
For in you he always saw very much of him.

JOE Joe is the caboose of the ten.
You evened the sexes of ladies and men.
You took over the farm- each rooster, each hen,
You built a new home and filled up the bins.
It couldn't have been easy, being last of the bunch,
So much extra love from eleven people would make most of us crunch.

And so MAMA and PAPA, as you look down from afar,
Each of us knows just where you are.
You did a good job while you lived on this nook,
You left it three farmers, two nurses, a cook,
A bookkeeper, teacher, machinist and look!
We are all here together to celebrate the Walz name-
We hope you are proud of each of us
as we've played out life's game.

All the sons and daughters of Ben and Elizabeth Walz gathered in Mills and Casper for a Family Reunion and to celebrate the 35th Wedding Anniversaries of Thechal Walz Hjelmstad and Catherine Walz Mullin.

The poem written by Thecla is included in the article

As I was the seventh child, not even Mama remembered me as a baby. My eyes were crossed, so I got glasses at an early age of 3. I broke them when I must have been about four and carry the scar today. Another incident at this early age is remembered by all of us. It seems Uncle Mike Walz came to see us with his car and crashed into the fence as he drove into the yard. It seems I remarked "My Papa opens the fence, and then drives through". Uncle Mike thought this quite funny, and repeated it often - and once again when I was a senior in high school and visited him when he was ill. Another childhood incident I recall is when Mama and Papa got into the only spat I can remember. Many of the brothers and sisters said it was because I was in a school performance which took extra time and money. I felt so, so guilty, but then it turned out not to be what they were upset about. What a relief! While in second grade I got vaccinated for smallpox. Mrs. Stevenson said I didn't know what I was, when asked if we were part Indian. She said since my cousins were part Indian, we must be too, so vaccinated I was! I also remember Mrs. Stevenson misplacing my glasses, and then tell Mama and Papa I had lost them. Not too pleasant of memories of second grade. I loved to hear Papa sing and play the accordion. I tried some about age ten, but didn't do much more than 'Turkey in the Straw" and "Casey Jones". I wasn't very good. After high school I worked as a secretary as well as a waitress. I then moved to Casper and married Al and had three children. We are very proud of our children, and how hard they worked for their professions. After having three children, I worked as an elementary secretary for seven years, began college which I completed in two and one half years, and then got a M.Ed in Education. I taught fifth grade for 17 years, then took early retirement. Al worked at the Refinery for 35 years, finishing as a heavy equipment operator.. He proved the Worlds Greatest Dad when I went to college, taking full care of three teenage children alone. Al has a great sense of humor, and enjoys life. Our hobbies include fishing, hunting, boating, square dancing, golfing, playing cards, water skiiing, cross country skiing, and socializing with friends.

Pat and Thecla stayed in the Virginnian for their honeymoon. Al, Thecla, and the kids had stayed their in the fall of 1962 while attempting to go camping on Elk Mountain, but a blizzard caught us.