Delano Herald Journal

Serving the communities of Delano, Loretto, Montrose, MN, and the surrounding area

Spitz & Sophie Litfin 70th Anniversary



The secret to a good marriage is simple and
straight forward, according to Sophie Litfin, 90, – “you
fight a little bit, you get over it and you start over,”
she said.

Her husband August, 89, agrees. “If you
ain’t got arguments, you’ve got no marriage.”

During their marriage that has lasted 70 years,
disagreements happened, but grudges were never held.

Seventy one and a half years ago, August “Spitz”
Litfin met Sophie Deidrick at a house party at Andy Artmann’s.
She doesn’t know what attracted her to Spitz, but after a year
and a half courtship they were married on Nov. 21, 1927 at the
Holy Trinity parish house by Fr. Smalley. “His hair was as
white as snow,” Spitz said, “and he smoked this big
pipe. I can still see that.”

They were married in the parish house because
Sophie was Presbyterian. Her parents didn’t object to her marrying
outside the family’s faith. “My father let us do what we
wanted to do,” she said. Her father’s main concern was that
Sophie and her new husband got along.

There was no such thing as a honeymoon, Sophie
said. “You got married one day and went to work the next,”
Spitz added.

Spitz and Sophie settled in Winsted and started
their life together a few short years before the stock market
crashed in 1929 and the Great Depression struck. “Those were
the worst years to get started,” he said.

Spitz worked odd jobs from 1927 until 1933,
when he was hired by Green Giant. He retired in 1972.

At home Sophie tended to the family, which
grew to include four children, Germaine, Arlene, Marlin and Charmaine.

Even during the Depression Sophie kept the
family well fed, canning 500 quarts of vegetables and meats each
year.

“We never went hungry,” Spitz said.
They had a large garden, and animals were allowed in the city
limits of Winsted. Chickens and pigs resided in the back yard.

The Litfins bought their first house in 1936,
sold it in 1938, and built the house they still own.

During their 70 years together, the couple
has also seen Winsted grow. “I remember when the town was
404 people,” Spitz said. “It started growing in 1972,
and its been nuts ever since. Up where I live,the nearest house
used to be up on the hill, two blocks away,” he said. When
the Litfins built their home, 50 percent of homes in the city
didn’t have indoor plumbing, he said.

Their married life continued with years of
work and interjections of entertainment.

“We had our ‘crew’,” Spitz said.
“We would go out dancing, to shows, out to eat.”

“We went hopping about three times a week,”
Sophie said. “People took their kids along then. We didn’t
have sitters,” she said.

Time has given Sophie and Spitz both good times
and bad. Many of their old neighbors are gone. The friends they
“went hopping” with have passed away. “If you’ve
got a good friend, you’ve got to keep them,” Sophie said.

They have outlived their four children. Their
daughter, Charmaine, died on April 13.

“We have two nice sons-in-law,” Sophie
said. There grandchildren, Barb and Doug Robinson, also keep a
close eye on their grandparents.

They have also been blessed with seven grandchildren,
13 great grandchildren and four great-great grand children.

“We sure do love the family that we have
left,” Spitz said.

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