The Christmas Stand was such an important part of the Kuehnle house that William cut holes in the living room floor to install a pulley system to raise the stand from the basement to the front room during the month of December.

Grandpa reported epic battles in the basement between him and his brothers. While the kids weren’t allowed to play with the stand, William did make the kids their own toy soldiers made out of lead. Anyone who ever played cards, bet on the horses, or watched him play blackjack could quickly see his acumen with numbers.Īt the house on Alaska, the majority of the basement was dedicated to the Christmas Stand that William created for the holidays. It was our job to learn.” It is no surprise that his favorite subject in school was math. When I asked him how the teacher kept everyone’s attention, he told me “It wasn’t her job to keep our attention. He was surprised by the low number of students in today’s classrooms because his class had 50 students in one room. Grandpa told me many stories about his education. His class was the first kindergarten in the school. Richard attended kindergarten through 8th grade at St. Cecilia Parish where all the kids attended school. His siblings were Paul, Helen, William, Eugene, Jim, Andy, and Rose.

Richard Kuehnle was born on Jto Rose and William Kuehnle.