Desk made by Ludwig Kaller, 1908

This drop-front desk has a story that begins 1500 kms away in a tiny town in Minnesota.

In 1908, Ludwig and Theresia Kaller moved their family and all their possessions from Heron Lake, Minnesota in the United States to the Burr area southeast of Humboldt. This  journey on today’s roads and in modern vehicles would take over 14 hours, but in 1908 it could take up to a month.

Once they were settled on the new farm, Ludwig reclaimed the wooden packing crates that had transported all of their worldly goods to make this desk.

Ludwig and Theresia’s son Frank Kaller and his wife Cecilia started a dairy on the Kaller family farm called Frank’s Dairy that delivered milk from house to house from 1930 to 1945. Eventually, the tough economic times of the Great Depression and World War II forced Frank to sell the farm and move to Humboldt.

The desk was donated to the Museum by Frank and Cecilia’s eldest daughter Frances, who, after entering the Ursuline order became known as Sister Colette. She was a primary school teacher in Humboldt for 31 years.