Not everyone can reach 100 with such grace about them
By Ginna Young
Anna Tauchen has come a long way in this world, from the time she was born Sept. 5, 1924, in a log cabin just north of Withee. Born to Fred and Katherine Mattson, she was one of seven kids – six girls and one boy.
Her parents had their bed in the main room, while Anna and her siblings slept in the loft above. Three of the girls slept on one side of the room on a strawtick full-sized mattress, while the other three slept across the room and their brother had a smaller bed in the middle.
Anna’s mother was from Montana, and they lived in the Dakotas, before homesteading the Withee property, where Anna’s father carved a farm out of the wilderness.
“Basically, it was just forest and he came in there, and started cutting down trees,” said Anna’s son, Bob.
At that time, there wasn’t much money, so Anna’s family used empty flour sacks, which were finely woven cotton cloth, to make underwear out of.
“My grandmother was a professional dress maker,” said Anna. “So, she made a lot of things.”
While the family did have a Model T automobile, luxuries were few and far between.
In the summer, the family would pack up, put the children on the floor of the car and drive to Chippewa Falls to the fair, for ice cream.
“That was their treat for the year,” said son, Henry. The Model T was used, even in the winter, when they would heat up bricks for the floor of the car to go to church, to keep their feet warm. The family also took the tires off when it got too cold, wrapping them in newspaper and hanging them in the shed to preserve them.
Of course, at that time, small country schools were scattered around the farm country, so Anna attended Forest Grove School. Once she reached high school age, she boarded in town with relatives, to attend high school.
“She was the first one in her family to go to high school,” said Bob.
Anna then went to Taylor County Normal School, to become a teacher, then to Stevens Point, for a couple semesters. She started teaching back in this area, at the age of 19, doing so, until she married Rudy Tauchen in 1951. The two rented in Rudy’s home area of Dorchester for a couple years, then bought the farm near Curtiss, where Anna would live until just a few years ago, when she still drove to the grocery store and bank at 97 years of age.
She and Rudy had three boys and a girl – Bob, Henry, Joe and Mary, which led to 11 grandchildren and at least 18 great-grandchildren so far. They were married until Rudy’s death in 2004.
Although she stayed at home to care for her family for a time, Anna went back to teaching until her mid-70’s, and was part of UW-Stout’s student teaching program. Altogether, Anna spent 49 years in the education system, and her favorite part of her life now at Cornell Health Services, is when the after-school kids come to read.
She misses her large garden, but was excited to have a 100th birthday party Sept. 5, of this year, to celebrate the century mark. Even at 100 years old, Anna remains a tough lady, who has led a dedicated and fulfilling life.
“I’m just going to keep going until I don’t,” she said.
