Memories from our 2021 Garland Days Auto Show
Welcome to our new vice president Austin Kiesling and our two new board members, Helen Harold and Mariah Terry! Thank you for your service to the West Salem Historical Society!
In Loving Memory of our dedicated Vice President Sue Strauss.
Susan Marie Strauss, age 86, passed away peacefully on July 15, 2021. She was born July 1, 1935 in La Crosse, WI to the late Gerald and Elnora (Miller) Fitting. She married Robert D. Strauss in 1956 and he preceded her in death in 2006. Sue graduated from Central High School in 1953 and attended one year of evening school at Vocational School (now WTC). She was employed at WKBH-WKBT as a Secretary/Copy Writer, Microcard Corporation (National Cash Register Company) as a Bookkeeper, Northern Micrographics as an Office Manager/Bookkeeper/Production Manager and Courtesy Corporation – McDonald’s as an Office Manager/Bookkeeper where she retired after 33 years at age 83! Sue was an enthusiastic and active member of her community. She was quiet in her faith – she didn’t quote the Bible on a daily basis, she lived it. She lived her faith by the time she gave. She was a member of the Presbyterian Church of West Salem where she served as the church treasurer for over 30 years. She was involved in the church choir, PC USA Women’s Organization and had served as an elder and active member of session. She was instrumental in the church’s salad luncheons and rummage sales, often volunteering 10-hour days as the rummage sale cashier. She was a supporter of the monthly community dinner both financially and by preparing food to share. Sue was also active with the West Salem Historical Society serving as the Vice-President for many years. She was a long-time volunteer tour guide at the Hamlin Garland Home and could always be counted on to coordinate and promote the Historical Society’s annual Christmas raffle as well as the holiday home tours. She promoted Historical Society events in the way that only she could, encouraging participation and tending to the Silent Auction at Garland Days for many years. Sue generously gave of herself, especially when the going was tough for the Historical Society. With her quiet, down-to-earth wisdom, her presence in the Historical Society will be sorely missed. Sue also volunteered at the Care and Share Food Pantry at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in West Salem and made reminder phone calls for the Red Cross blood drive. Sue was known for her German Potato Salad and no family picnic, potluck or “pish-to-dash” would be complete without her 10-pound batches. Sue’s passion for “stitching” was known to all. Sue was rarely seen without her green stitching bag full of her latest cross-stitched pillowcase project. If you’ve been the recipient of one of her handstitched pillowcases, consider it a love-filled treasure! In her free time, Sue loved reading Danielle Steele books and she acquired quite the collection! She also enjoyed watching Lawrence Welk, The Gaither Gospel Hour and gameshows on TV. One of her greatest joys was singing in the church choir and she loved listening to Charley Pride, Alan Jackson singing his Precious Memories hymns and Joey & Rory. Sue recently boasted that she had been playing bridge with the same card club for over 60 years! Over the years, she joined multiple additional card clubs, playing bridge as often as her work schedule would allow and with increasing frequency once she retired. She also played a mean game of Euchre, often with her sister Gloria as her teammate and showing no mercy in her competitiveness!
Sue will be greatly missed! We are grateful for her years of service to the Historical Society!
About Us
The West Salem Historical Society preserves and advances the culture and history of the West Salem area. To fulfill this purpose the Hamlin Garland Homestead, the Palmer-Gullickson-Octagon House, and the Palmer-Lewis-Octagon House are used as a center for cultural events and local history study. It is the hope that these houses will become a living testimony to the pioneer spirit fostering our American heritage and contributing to our own growth as a community.