Mom was the middle child of three. One older and one younger brother. Grandma and grandpa Sauer often spoke German in the house when they did not want the children to know what they were discussing. They lived in a modestly upscale east-side of Detroit neighborhood. Not much is known about mom's early years. The family often would visit the aunts and uncles on the farm in Columbiaville. From birth mom was the favorite niece of two aunts and they always addressed her as Anna-Louise, because, at least in their minds she was named after them. From photographs of mom and her brothers, it appears that mom had a happy and secure family life. As a young woman we know she attended church regularly and was an excellend student, graduating valedictorian of her high school graduating class. As a teenager she lived through the Great Depression, but her family was financial secure and the pictures of mom reveal a happy and loving young woman.