Characters of the Dora and the Yellow Strawstack story

This a true story of real people. I was fortunate to collect pictures of these people. A special thank you goes to Jocelyn Sommerfeld and Walter Jantzen for giving me access to these photos.

Dora

This is my mother at about the age she got trapped in the strawstack.

Henry

Henry loved pigeons and took care of them on the farm. He was born a twin, but his mother died shortly after they were born and Dora’s family adopted Henry. His mother and Dora’s mother were sisters. He is an important character in our story as he is one of the people who rescued my mother from the strawstack. He is 3 years older than Dora.

Mother

Dora’s mother and my grandmother came from a large family of 20 children, 17 of them were her mother’s. She had seven children and adopted Henry. They lived on a farm west of Carlton and north of Laird, Sask.

Willie Jantzen

Willie worked as a farmhand on my grandfather’s farm for several years. It was his quick thinking and calmness that saved Dora from the strawstack. Later, he became a pastor, as did his son and grandson.