Joe Parrow

                               

                             Joseph Parrow - 1886-1955

Joseph Parrow was the 7th child of Edward and Odile Parrow. According to Baptismal records he was born October 24, 1886 at Wild Rice, Dakota Territory. He died November 14, 1955 and is buried at Veblen, SD cemetery next to his mother. He has two tombstones there, one of which gives his birth year as 1885 and one as 1887, proving that “written in stone” is not always the truth!

Joe was the only one of Odile’s sons to serve in the Armed Forces. He was a cook in the U.S. Army during W.W.I., stationed in the states.

Joe was also the only one of Odile’s children to never marry. He lived with his mother near Marlow, S.D.and then they moved to Havana, N.D. After the war and during prohibition, Joe operated a garage and service station in Havana. Joe and Odile’s residence was a popular place for friends to meet and sample the beer which he brewed in large amounts. During prohibition they had a trap door under the bed where the beer was kept.

When prohibition was repealed Joe remodeled part of the garage and opened the first on and off sale liquor store in the area. This was a booming business as S.D. was still dry so it attracted lots of customers from S.D. plus the local trade. Later he bought a rural school house ,moved it to main street and opened a bar. He remained in business there until about 1948 when he retired and sold the business to his brother, Mike. Later Mike moved the building to where it stands today as the north half of the Havana Bar.

Uncle Joe is fondly remembered by many of his nieces and nephews. He was known for giving them rides to the movies and other events. Amazingly, Uncle Joe could never read or write but managed to run successful businesses in spite of it! He had a tremendous memory. While he was running the garage he would remember everything to tell his niece Catherine when she came to do his books in the evening.

After retiring, Joe moved to Ottertail Lake, MN where he lived the rest of his life.

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