Happy 100th Birthday, Grandma Nell!

Ellen "Nell" (Johnstone) Borgreen

"Nellie" was born in Liverpool, England on 5 Feb 1912, to William H. and Mary Alice (Coleman)Johnstone. She was the 2nd of 8 children. "Nellie's" father immigrated to Canada in April 1912 and landed in Halifax on April 7th, just one week before the sinking of the Titanic.

On 4 Jun 1913, Mary Alice arrived in Quebec with her two children, Steve and Nellie and her mother, Mary Coleman. The family reunited with William and moved west to British Columbia, where they would live until immigrating to the U.S. in 1916. Nellie's brothers, William and Donald were born in Canada. Mary Alice crossed into Montana at the port of Gateway on 24 Feb 1916, with her 4 children and her mother. William entered the U.S. at some point in time, but no record has been found. The family settled in Great Falls, MT. William worked as a master meat cutter for The Great Falls Meat Packing Company.

Kathleen, Gertrude, James and John were born to William and Mary Alice over the next years in Great Falls.

Nell attended St. Mary's High School and then the Columbus Hospital's School of Nursing where she graduated in 1933. These were difficult years. The nation was in the throes of the Great Depression, Grandma Coleman and William were suffering from cancer. William was unable to work and the family banded together to make ends meet. Mary Coleman died on 14 Jun 1932 and William died on 16 Oct 1933. At this same time Nell went to work for Dr. C. H. Peterson.

On 29 Jun 1935, Nell married Carl Borgreen at St. Anne's Cathedral in Great Falls MT. They made their home in Great Falls. Nell and Carl welcomed 4 children to the family; John, Judy, Jim, and Jerry.

On 22 Nov 1959, life took a drastic and tragic turn when Carl died suddenly and unexpectedly on a hunting trip. The family carried on, the kids grew and married and had children of their own. Nell returned to nursing, working at  Park Place and Cascade Country Convalescent Hospital until her retirement.

Nell was spunky and fiesty until the very end and on 22 Oct 2000, she left us to reunite with Carl.
Today would be her 100th birthday. Happy Birthday, Grandma. We love you and miss you.

Friday Funny....Great Gams!

Nell and Carl Borgreen
circa 1940

There are two funnies here. First is this uber attractive pose of Grandma Nell's. Goodness knows what she was thinking here. The second funny is the quality of this photograph. I asked Uncle Jimmy for some copies of photos he has of the family at the cabin. He was very quick to oblige, but sent me B&W photocopies, instead of nice, clear color copies. Note to self, the next time I go to visit, I need to remember my scanning wand, so I can get good quality scans of all the really neat photos in his collection.

Workday Wednesday....Nurse Nellie

Nellie Johnstone

Ellen "Nell" (Johnstone) Borgreen graduated from the Columbus School of Nursing in Great Falls MT in 1933.
She was employed by Dr. C. H. Peterson for a time, before her marriage to Carl Borgreen. After Carl's untimely death in 1959, Nell went back to work as a nurse, first at Park Place and then the Cascade County Convalescent Hospital.

I remember going to work with Grandma Nell and all the antics she would share with us. Her stories were hilarious and even though she griped about her job, I'm sure she secretly like the work because of the way she told the stories.

There was the man who hoarded sugar packets in his boots.
One day, as she walked past a patient's room she was hit with a bucket of water. The poor man thought he was back on the farm and cleaning stalls. Once she heard a woman's voice coming from the closet. When she opened the closet door the old lady shouted "I'm not done yet!" She thought she was in confession. But another resident had shut her in the closet because they were tired of listening to her talk.
One elderly lady needed something to do every day to keep her busy. Grandma Nell found a basket of hand towels and that lady folded towels happily. When she got near the bottom of the basket, Grandma would "accidentally" knock the pile over and the lady would gladly start folding again. There are too many stories to share on one small blog. Grandma Nell was a colorful gal who brought fun and frivolity everywhere she went.

Here Comes the Bride All Dressed in....Alice Blue Lace

March 14 - Newsmakers? Did you have a female ancestor who made the news? Why? Was she famous or notorious? Did she appear in the social column?

Ellen (Johnstone) Borgreen
29 Jun 1935

Here we have two separate news items pertaining to the marriage of Ellen Johnstone and Carl Borgreen. I love the detail the papers went to, to describe the wedding, the decor, the reception and every detail in-between.
I wish there was a wedding photo. I would love to see the dress and turban she wore with the little veil. But I'll be happy that we have this clipping that describes it so beautifully. It may be the best we ever have. 

Working 9-5

March 12 - Working girl: Did your mother or grandmother work outside the home? What did she do? Describe her occupation

Nurse Nellie

Ellen "Nell" (Johnstone) Borgreen graduated from the Columbus Hospital School of Nursing in 1933 at the age of 21. .She worked for two years in the office of Dr. C.H. Peterson, of Great Falls, before marrying Carl Borgreen in 1935. Nell then spent the next 24 years as a wife, mother and homemake. 


When Carl died suddenly and tragically
in 1959 at the age of 53, Nell was forced to return to nursing as a way to support her family. She spent the next many years working at Park Place and Cascade County Convalescent Hospital. 


I remember going to work with Grandma when I was little. I enjoyed the residents, but I remember hating the hospital smell. Grandma always had fun with her patients. She was ballsy and brash and I think they all loved her for it. She always had stories to tell from work. I'll share a couple here.


One day she heard someone talking in the closet. When she opened the door an elderly lady yelled "I'm not done yet!" The poor woman thought she was in confession. How did she get in the closet in the first place? Another resident got tired of listening to her talk and pushed her wheelchair into the closet to "shut her up."


There was one lady who always had to be busy. She constantly needed something to keep her occupied. Grandma got some hand towels from the laundry and asked the lady to please help her fold them. Just as she was folding the last one, Grandma "accidentally" knocked the pile over and she had to start again. The lady happily folded towels all afternoon.


As a single mother, Nell had to deal with latch key children. She had instructed the boys not to watch TV while she was at work. They promised that they wouldn't. But as soon as she got home, she put her hand on top of the TV and felt that it was still warm. Not to be outdone, she took a pair of scissors and cut the "damn cord" off the TV. Well the next day the boys just rewired it, and watched TV all day. I don't remember how this story ended. I was usually too busy laughing at the thought of her cutting the cord and them wiring it back on again.


There are many more Nell stories, but I can't do them justice here. No one can tell them the way she did.