Gown made nearly a century ago worn by 70+ infants
By Teri Blair
Submitted by Joyce Blair Anderson
Nearly 100 years ago, a young mother-to-be bent over her treadle machine throughout a long, cold winter. She lived on a farm near Terrace with her husband, Christian Danielson. The March baby was going to be their first child, and the oldest of four for the Norwegian couple. Clara was creating a garment she wanted to get just right -- a christening gown for her baby to wear for a spring baptism. That’s all she thought she was doing, making something pretty for her baby to have for the service. Young Clara never would have guessed what was really happening. Her meticulous handiwork would be a treasured family heirloom that would far outlive her short life.
Norma Anderson of Farwell is Clara and Christian’s third child. At 81, she is one of the proud keepers of the gown, and amongst the dozens and dozens of the Danielson Clan to have had the honor of wearing Clara’s gown.
“I was baptized in it in 1926 at Chippewa Falls Lutheran Church. Since then, there have been over 70 children in our family who have used it,” Norma said.
Norma remembered her mother as a great seamstress, someone who was often sewing. “Besides sewing, she loved to raise chickens. We always had lots and lots of eggs around,” she said. Norma has just a handful of memories of her mother. Clara died when she was only nine.
“Mom used to have bad gall bladder attacks, very painful ones,” Norma said. “One day Dad came to my country school to get me during school hours. He was going to take Mom to the Swedish Hospital in Minneapolis for surgery. He wanted me to have a chance to say goodbye to her before they left on the train. We didn’t know it then, but mom was going to die there. That was the last time I ever saw her.”
At the time of Clara’s death, Norma was too young to consider the gown or its whereabouts, but her older sister, Mildred, kept track of it.
“To tell you the truth, I didn’t even remember the gown until I had my first child,” Norma confessed. “Mildred came to me and said, ‘Do you want to have your baby baptized in the gown Mom made?’”
Norma was delighted to see the gown again, a beautiful white dress with exquisite detailing and hand-crocheted edges her mother made in 1917. Norma and her three siblings used it for all their children, and then it was passed along to the next generation. Around 2008, it was used for Clara’s great-great grandchildren. After Norma’s great-grandson, Tate, wore it at winter baptism, the gown was taken on a plane for a family baby in New Jersey.
The gown is kept in a tissue-lined box with instructions for its care on the cover. There is pink and blue ribbon next to the gown, an accent that is threaded through the crocheting depending on if the baby is a boy or a girl. A notebook accompanies the gown, a record of who has used it. The gown has needed only one repair -- a Glenwood seamstress reinforced the top of the gown to give it more durability.
Surprisingly, there haven’t been any serious close calls with the gown. Norma’s daughter-in-law, Joyce, recalled how nervous she was when her children were baptized in it.
“I had visions of a big mess. At the church, I waited until the last second before I put it on him. I held my breath throughout the entire baptism!” Joyce said. “But more than that, I feel so honored we were able to use it for our boys. It is really important to our whole family. And now to see our grandsons wearing it, well, it is very special.”
The family plans to keep the christening gown as long as they possibly can. “My mom would never believe the dress is still being used,” Norma said. “We’re all amazed -- our family, our friends, and the ministers who see it. I feel touched every time I see it used and I think about my mom.”
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