I got an email today from Rebecca Komppa, a newspaper columnist and local historian in the Wadena county area of Minnesota. I had helped Rebecca with an article she wrote on the Arlington Hotel, a hotel that my 3rd-great-grandfather Joseph Askew built in Menahga, MN, in 1891. This morning, she got an email from a man named John who’s a great-grandson of Joseph Askew, asking for my contact details.
It turns out that he’s my second cousin, twice removed—in other words, he’s my grandmother Harriet’s second cousin. Joseph Askew had six sons, but only three lived past childhood: William Henry Askew (1864–1927), Wilfred Lawson Askew (1873–1953), and Samuel “Sam” Clarence Askew (1876–1954). John told me that Sam Askew, Joseph’s youngest surviving son, was his grandfather.
For today’s post, I want to present a couple of interesting photos I’ve scanned of Sam Askew. One is housed at the Wadena County Historical Society, and the other is in the possession of my great-uncle Gordy Askew.
According to Gordy, Sam Askew was a skilled horseman. The two photos below show two examples of his involvement with horses, one towards the beginning of his adult life, and other towards the end of his life:
- His early days running a livery stable in Wadena, MN
- His later days as a sulky racer and horse breeder in Seattle, Washington
Just moments after I published the above, my wife found a great cache of photos from the Tacoma Public Library’s image archives that concern Sam Askew’s horseracing career:
- A mention of a July, 1948, accident involving Sam Askew
- Sam racing “Fez Hanover” in June, 1948 (his age is mistaken; he was *only* 72!)
- Another view of the same race (he’s racing against a 15-year-old boy)
- The horse Sam was jockeying, “Fez Hanover”
PRETTY DARN FUNNY, You guys make a great team. Sam must have been a small man to ride like that. And 78 what the heck, very cool though.
I wonder if John is the same John Askew I met in Japan when I was 8 or 9 years old? He was on R&R from Vietnam and visited us for a week or so. :)
I’m looking for all the pictures I sent to you of my great grandfather Sam c. Askew. Fez was in quite a few. Please advise
Hi Julie,
You won’t find those photos on the site (at least not yet), as I only post photos relevant to blog posts that I’ve done. I wish I had a way to share the database of all the historical family photos I have, but that may have to be a project that I do in my retirement, when the technology has caught up with my desires and I’ve got more time on my hands. In the meantime, I’ve just sent you the email chain that has all the photos we shared.
Michael