World War I
Alfred Lundstrom, born in 1893 at Wilsonville, NE, was the eldest of eight children born to Nels and Ellen Lundstrom, both of whom came from Sweden. He had three sisters and four brothers, two of whom — Elmer and Curtis — were also World War I veterans.
Alfred — better known as Al — graduated from Neligh High School, but was forced to discontinue the pursuit of a degree in law when scarlet fever impaired his health when he was of college age.
He was a veteran of World War I, but the only information I could find was that he signed his WWI registration card June 5, 1917, (although that does not mean he enlisted on that date), and the U.S. Veterans Administration Master Index lists his “Military Date” as Jan. 6, 1919, which is usually the date when they are separated from the military. Speaking of which, a short line in the Jan. 9, 1919, issue of the Republican states that “Alfred Lundstrom arrived home from the Army Tuesday evening (Jan. 7), having received his honorable discharge.” So he obviously wasted no time getting home! Other than that, I couldn't find a record of where he served or with which unit, etc.
In the 1910 census, Al was still living with his parents at age 17 in Red Willow County in southern Nebraska. I couldn't find him in the 1920 census, so I don’t know for sure when he moved to this area, but his WWI registration card, signed in 1917, shows him living in Osmond working at Coleson-Holmquist Co.
Alfred married Anna Mae Cizek of Osmond on May 5, 1920. For many years he was manager of Coleson-Holmquist, but in 1948 he founded his own business, Lundstrom Motor Co., a Studebaker sales agency and repair shop. It was located along Highway 20 just east of where the depot was. In addition to Studebakers, he also sold Crosley appliances.
In 1953, Al suffered a badly shattered ankle in a fall at his place of business and retired several years later. According to an article on the incident, he broke both bones of his left leg in a fall from a ladder in a storage room where he was working. X-rays taken at St. Joseph hospital here indicated leg bones were crushed.
Apparently Al didn’t like to just sit around, however, so he accepted a position with Reed Accounting Service, where he was working at the time of his death. Despite years of specialized treatment of his injured leg, it never completely healed, and another accident involving a car door a month before his death added to the injury.
Al was a former Osmond and Pierce County commander of the American Legion, was an active member and former officer in both the Masonic Order and the Eastern Star, and was secretary of the Modern Woodmen at the time of his death. He was also a former member of the Osmond Village Board, and an active member and former president of the Osmond Community Club.
Interested in many kinds of sports, Alfred was former president of the Osmond Baseball Club. He also served as treasurer of the Methodist Church where he was a member for 35 years. In addition to his employment and work with various organizations, Al also served as volunteer farm placement representative at Osmond, according to an article I found in 1953.
Alfred Lundstrom was on the founding board of St. Joseph Hospital in 1945 and served as administrator for a number of years. He was also proud to be one of a group of men and women to receive pins from Ak-Sar-Ben for “service beyond the call of duty” in hospital matters.
The second injury to Alfred’s leg was thought to have been a causative factor in the severe heart attack which caused his death on May 13, 1962.
A delegation from the Pierce Masonic Lodge attended the last rites, and many local business firms closed their doors that day out of respect to one of the city’s foremost leaders and businessmen. His nephew, Barry Cizek, sang “Beyond The Sunset” and “The Lord’s Prayer” during the service.
Al is buried in the city cemetery with his wife, Anna. They are located right on the left-hand side of the main drive, a couple rows up from the gate.
