Dakota Fred’s Old Time Egg Case

“Dakota Fred” Seehusen was my great uncle; he was called “Dakota Fred” because he left Minnesota for South Dakota. You see over the years the Seehusen clan had used a limited number of first names with the middle names always being the name of their father. This way the clans could keep track of who was who without having to employ a genealogist. So, everyone had a nickname: Dakota Fred, Fat Bill, Short Bill, Hank, H.T., Barber John or Quiet John.

At one time Dakota Fred had a homemade wooden egg case (crate). It was a case made especially to carry eggs to town to be sold so that they wouldn’t be broken.

Now here is where life takes an interesting twist. For four years, I have been involved in a men’s Bible study in Cokato, Minnesota. Tuesday night I arrived early for Bible study (we hold it in Morris Brothers’ Excavating Shop) and I was helping clean up the floor when I noticed an old box against the wall. Burned into the box was F. H. Seehusen, Danube, Minnesota. I was shocked. I asked Tom, the owner, “Where did the box come from?” He said he’d had the men clean up the shop one day this week and they had found it and brought it to him to see. Tom has no idea where the box came from and he gave it to me.

I wonder—why did this box, how many years later, end up in the exact shop where I have Bible study? The shop is 60 miles away from Danube, my current home and origin of Dakota Fred’s egg case. What’s going on here? We were all amazed and left wondering. Is God trying to tell me something or does he just want me to return the egg case to Dakota Fred’s descendents? That’s what I did and they were extremely pleased to receive it.

Where has this egg case been for 70 years? Only God knows. Isn’t that good? Only God knows! Another question to ask when I get to Heaven. Trivial, yes, but you must admit it is intriguing.