A young lady well known to many in the Waterville – Elysian area is celebrating her 90th birthday. Julaine Roemhildt Jacobson was born on Valentine’s Day in 1936 to Hugo and Mabel Roemhildt. They lived on a farm by Roemhildt’s Lake south of Elysian. Julaine grew up with her brother Loren and two sisters Darlene and Louise. They moved once to a larger farm house but remained in the same area.
They worked hard living on the farm as most people did in those days raising most things they ate from their garden and butchering the fowl and the livestock on the farm. Transportation was very different then too, as they say… ‘walking uphill both ways to and from school’. “Pa did have an old car, but we really did walk most places as was done more often back then than people do these days.” If she did that now… she would wear out the wheels on her walker…
Julaine and her siblings went to primary school at Saint Peter Bell Lutheran Parochial School from kindergarten through 8th grade. Julaine was one of the marching bands majorettes, sang in the choir and performed in the school plays. She graduated as valedictorian from Waterville–Elysian High School in 1955; with 10 classmates of their graduating class just celebrating their 70th year class reunion the summer of 2025.
After graduating from High School, Julaine was asked to teach at St Peter Bell school, which was still a two-classroom school. She taught the kindergarten through 3rd grade in the basement classroom. Some of the locals from the area that were her students and the older students of that time, still claim to be her ‘favorites’. The church sent her to summer school for two years at River Forest Parochial College and MSU to qualify her as a school teacher.
In 1957 Julaine married her high school sweetheart Dennis Jacobson. Denny enlisted in the United States Navy. They moved to California and then Oregon while he was enlisted during the Korean War, he was deployed out to sea but fortunately never was in battle. They moved back to Waterville after his enlistment and started their family. Julaine and Denny have four children, Terry, Sharon, Connie and Karen, and are...
To see more on this story pick up the February 12, 2026 print edition of the LifeEnterprise.