^Stf3*G DIAMOND^ ^ JUNE 10 -11, 1957 ^ STATE BISMARCK, ti. DA

1882 1957

STATE LIBRARY COMMISSION

BISMARCK, H. DAK.r • ••*-. F Petersburg Diamond Jubilee.

. PU?x

NORTH DAKOTA STATE LIBRARY BISMARCK 58501

AUG 2 3 1974 TH DAKOTA STATE LIBRARY NORTH DAKOTA BOOK OR AUTHOR 3 3105 00040 4374

North Dakota State Library Bismarck, ND 58501

Dedication This book is dedicated to those early settlers of the Petersburg- Dahlen area of North Dakota who courageously faced the hardships, pri­ vations and dangers of the early pioneer days in order that their children and their children's children might have a heritage and a home on what was then Dakota Territory.

Acknowledgement The Editing Committee would like to take this opportunity to I hank all those who have helped in amy way to make this book become a reality. Special thanks to Marvin Breton, Olaf Haugen, Ingward Reiten, Bin'g Iverson, Clyde Ralston, Anna Hanson, Mrs. Eihler Ricmcrs, Car) Ftam Jr., and others who spent countless hours in helping us to ga'Jher material and checking its authenticity. The committee has taken every precaution within our means to eliminate errors from tihis hook. We have stated .the facts as they were reported to us. To the best of our knowledge we believe them to be correct.

—The Editing Committee: Carl Flem, F. L. Byrnes, Glenn Resell History of Adler, Dahlen and Petersburg Area In the year 1881 the first settlers arrived in the vicinity of this com­ munity. In 1882 the first government survey was made in these parts. The land was opened for settlement in the spring of 1883. Accordingly, although the earliest settlers might choose the land on which they wish­ ed to make their future home, they could not file upon the land until it was opened for settlement. Public land was available under the pro­ visions of three laws, namely, the Homestead, the Pre-emption, and the Tree-claim Acts. A quarter section of land could be obtained under each of the three acts. However, there Were restrictions to this privilege. No person could make use of his homestead and his preemption rights at the same time. Tree-claims were restricted to one in each section, and homesteads required residency. Moreover, pre-emption to be proved up required a fee to be paid of one dollar and twenty five cents ($1.25) per acre, which very few of the early settlers could procure. The result was that very few were able to obtain more than one quarter-section of land. The first settlers, who came before the land Was placed on the mar­ ket, were known as "squatters." Sod houses, dug-outs in the hill-sides, and rough board shanties banked up with sod, served as their first homes. On April 14, 1883, the date of the opening, the Land Office at Grand Forks was besieged by land-seekers, and in a few days much of the land was taken up. New settlers began to arrive, and new shacks sprang up on the prairies. Many of these "squatters" came with no intention of making their future home here. Many were unmarried, or "bachelors," and many of these left to find work elsewhere, in spite of the residency requirements of the law. But there were a few who really planned to make their claim their permanent home, and they began the work of transforming the virgin prairies into productive fields. The past does not end: it only glides silently from yesterday to to­ day and then into the tomorrow; but something in the heart of man makes him love to recall old friends, retell old tales, and recount old experiences of joy or hardship. i To a degree, these desires are satisfied by this Diamond Jubilee. Your committee has judiciously named this historic event, for the word, "Diamond," somehow fires our imagination. Webster defines a diamond as something transparent, free from flaws, and highly valued; so it is that our Diamond Jubilee is something that is clear in purpose, free from pretense, and very precious. We believe this celebration will bring warmth and comradship to the families of this area. We need celebra­ tions of this kind not only for commemoration but to brighten the light of hope and new enthusiasm for all of us. The light of the past, memory, and the light of the future, hope, become intertwined in such celebra­ tions as this Diamond Jubilee. Seventy-five years ago, there were still American frontiers to be homesteaded and immigrants (mostly from western Europe) were mi­ grating to this country. Some of the hardiest pioneers came from the Scandinavian countries to this area. These sturdy pioneers, by their cour­ age, hardihood, self-sufficiency and restlessness, pushed our North Da­ kota frontiers westward. They blazed trails, put up their sod shanties, and endured at times almost unbelievable hardships. Yet some of them lived to see the raw prairies transformed into well-kept farms, the trails into hard-surfaced roads. They helped to build those white-painted school houses which gave to the countryside that air of a certain stabili­ ty and marked the beginnings of a new and typically American culture. But we must not forget the shawled and bonneted women of that era. For they too, had the courage, the self-sacrificing spirit, and the deter­ mination to build permanent homes and leave a heritage for future gen­ erations. Sometimes the men might become discouraged. Oftentimes, it was the women who had the vision to see the churches and the schools and the golden opportunities for their sons and daugters in this new land. The hospitality among those early pioneers has become a treasured legend of those days of the dugout and the sod shanty. In this book, you will find recorded instances of the open-handed hospitality of those early pioneers. " 'Tis the human touch in this world that counts, The touch of your hand and mine: That means much more to the human heart Than shelter or bread or wine. For shelter is gone when the night is gone And food lasts but a day. But the sound of your voice Will live in my heart ahvay." We believe the following very short poem epitomizes the hopes ami aspirations of those early pioneers better than we can do in words of our own. "Men look to the East for the driving things, And the light of the rising sun: But they look to the West, to the crimson West, For a view of things that are done. For the eastward sun is a new born hope, From the dark of the night distilled. But the western sun is the sunset sun. The sun of a hope fulfilled. For there in the East we dreamed a dream Of the things we hoped to do: But here in the West, the crimson West, The dreams of the East come true." 3 History of Petersburg

You might expect that in 75 years of history, the scenes and skyline of any village would change a great deal. The purpose for which a towrt is established quite often determines how rapidly these changes take place. Boom towns grow quickly to meet the needs of those that it serves. When these needs no longer exist, the towns begin" to shrink and eventually become ghost towns. The primary purpose for establishing a townsite where Petersburg stands was, and still is, to serve an agricultural community — a place where people could market their produce and buy their needed supplies with convenience. Agriculture has long been the backbone of our econ­ omy. When the rural people prosper, so do the people engaged in the businesses that serve them. The agricultural area surrounding Petersburg developed rather quickly, so it is only natural that Petersburg also de­ veloped rapidly as a center of 'business. Before relating the history of the several businesses of the Village, it may be well to look briefly at how this town got its name and loca­ tion. The original plotting for the townsite was first proposed by the St. Paul, 'Minneapolis, and Manitoba Railroad Company. They proposed townsites along the railroad right-of-way at intervals of six miles for this seemed to be a reasonable distance in order to provide market centers for all communities. In the mid-years of the 20th century, their reason­ ing may be questioned but we must remember that modes of transporta­ tion and highways have advanced beyond anything our forefathers antici­ pated even in their most fantastic dreams. The early settlers, desiring to be close to future townsites, estimated that the first town in Nelson Coun­ ty would foe five miles west of the Nelson County line. They based this belief on the location of towns already located east of Nelson County. Among the early settlers to arrive in this community, was L. H. Pet­ erson. To this man came the honor of naming this town. There were two reasons for his decision to name the town Petersburg. First, to honor his own name; and, secondly, to honor the old manorial estate of Petersborg in Telemarken, Norway. Telemarken was Mr. Peterson's original home and birth place. Petersburg Business Community

Early day view of Petersburg's Main Street General Stores The first building built in Petersburg was a general store erected by L. H. Peterson in 1883. This store was located just west of the present Adamson Lumber Yard. The building was later moved to the present property of Harry Erickson. A part of the original building is still 'being used as a granary. In 1887, another store was built by N. M. Venberg. The original building is still standing and, until recently, has been in use. It is lo­ cated across from the present postoffice. It is now owned by Manley Hel­ ling hut it is still known to most people as "Brineys." N. M. Venberg sold this store to A. R. Swendseid and it was operated by him until 1897 when he built a new store building on the present lo­ cation of the Petersburg Supply Company. Shortly after this, Ole Knold became a partner of Swendseid. Mr. Knold left Petersburg in 1907 and moved to California. Mr. Swendseid again became sole owner of the store. He continued its operation until the building was destroyed by fire in 1918. In 1893 another store was built by Martin Ekrom, P. I. Flem, Hans Flem, Andrew K. Reiten, Ole Somderland, Ole Hildre and Olaf Hild>e. The original store is the northeast part of the present Eber Bull building. This store was later incorporated and became known as the Petersburg Mercantile Company. The store was enlarged in 1905 when the south part was built. In 1924 Mr. and Mrs. P. I. Flem became sole owners of the store. Its name was then changed to the "Flem Store." They contin­ ued its operation until 1941 when the store was purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Eber Bull. They ran the store under the name of "Fairway Store" until 1954 when they sold their merchandise. The building is still owned by them, but has since been vacant. 5 In 1902, G. Rustebakke erected a store building which he operated until selling to Knold Brothers in 1907. This building is still being used as a grocery store in its original location, now known as the "Petersburg Cash Store." The Knold partnership existed for only about one year when John Knold became sole owner and operated the store until 1924. At that time, the store was sold to Chris Hardland and H. R. Nicholson. The store was operated by them until December 31, 1948, when Andrew O. Reiten became the propritor. He is still operating this store and it is still known as the Petersburg Cash Store. The most recent of the Petersburg businesses is Iverson's Fairway Store completed in the fall of 1956. This store is of the modern grocery self-service type locatetd just south of the post office. Mr. and Mrs. Olaf Iverson, the proprietors, quit farming in 1956 and have moved into Pet­ ersburg.

Banks Bank of Petersburg — First National Bank The Bank of Petersburg was organized in 1900 by Mr. L. B. Ray and associates, i The bank was converted to the First National Bank of Petersburg in May, 1918. In December, 1930, it was consolidated with the Citizen's State Bank of Petersburg. The Farmers State Bank — Citizens State Bank The Farmers State Bank of Petersburg was organized in August, 1906 by John O. Engesather, E. 0. Engesather, L. H. Peterson and Torger J. Nass. In December, 1930, the name was changed to the Citizens State Bank of Petersburg, North Dakota. Present officers of the Citizens State Bank are: H. E. Engesather, President; E. M. Engesather, Vice President; and J. H. Engesather, Cash­ ier.

Blacksmith Shops The first blacksmith shop in Petersburg was built by Michael Broton in 1885 on the site where the present shop is located. A residence was built near this shop for the Broton family. A new shop was built in 1902 on the same location. Fire destroyed the shop in the fall of 1948 and the present shop was immediately erected. This shop has been in continuous operation by mem­ bers of the Broton family since 1885. In 1903, another blacksmith shop was built by Louis Johnson. This was located approximately on the present location of Bill Erickson's living quarters. 'Mr. Johnson was the stepfather of T. C. Overland. He moved his shop to Dahlen in 1912. 6 Barber Shops In 1897, the first barber shop was built by Mr. Brown, a negro. This building was located to the east of Vance Johnson's service station. He was commonly known by early settlers as "Colored Brown." He also had a brother who worked with him. He built a living house on his lot to the south of his barber shop located approximately across from the present meat market. It was later moved and is now owned by Einer Severson. The next barber shop was opened by Albert I. Cole in 1902. It was located just east of the Petersburg Supply Company. It was later moved to its present location south of the Iverson Fairway Store. This shop was operated by Mr. Cole until his death in 1933. The building is currently known as the "Reiten Apartments." Mrs. Cole continued to own the build­ ing and John Hildre operated the barber shop util 1937. Virginia Swend­ seid then took over the shop and continued until 1944. Allen Grove began barbering in Petersburg in October of 1950. His first location was in a building owned by Sparky Hildremyr and located on the present site of the Iverson store. He later purchased the building in which he is presently located.

Bowling Alleys and Pool Halls In 1903, P. I. Flem and Peter P. Hildre built Petersburg's first and only bowling alley. The bowling alley operated as such for only a couple years. During those two years, however., bowling became a popular sport. One night each week was set aside as ladies night when only the fairer sex could use the alleys. It was operated as a pool hall for many years af­ ter the alleys were removed. Still later, it included a confectionary. The building had a second floor Which was used for public dances for some time. The building was purchased by P. J. Erickson in 1923. He continued to operate it as a pool hall. The building was eventually purchased by the Petersburg Cash Store and moved to become a part of that store.

The Petersburg Cemetery Association The Petersburg Cemetery Association was incorporated in July of 1904, the first three directors being Elling N. Mork, A. R. Swendseid, and F. 'M. Shotswell. All the early records of the Association were lost in the Swendseid store fire of February, 1918. In 1917, the Association bought an additional two and one-half acres of land fromKnute and Tillie Erickson. This land lies along the west edge and the south side of the original cemetery and is known .as the First Ad­ dition. In 1955 and 1956, U. S. Highway No. 2 was changed to the south side of Petersburg and it took the south 158 feet of the First Addition for a right-of-way. The directors at the present time are Elmer Slettebak, Clarence Ben­ son and Dwaine C. Broton. Confectioneries and Drug Stores In 1897, the first confectionery was opened for business. One of the big sellers in the soft drinks of the early days was cider. Every confec­ tionery had its large cider barrels. This confectionery building is now housing Al's Barber Shop, operated by Allen Grove. About 1904, R. E. Swendseid opened a drug store in the building previously built by N. M. Venberg. Swendseid wanted to return to school to study law so he hired' T. C. Overland to work for him in 1907. Later Mr. Overland purchased this business and operated it as a confectionery which included the sale of patent medicines. This work was in addition to his duties as postmaster. This became a drug store again when it was purchased toy O. R. Benson. It was operated by Theodore Benson and became known as the "Benson Drug Company." It was operated in this manner until it was sold to Tony Hentges about 1930. Mr. Hentges operated it as "Hentges Drug" until about 1936 When the drug business in Petersburg came to an end. In 1914, Mrs. K. A. Minkle built the building now known as the City Cafe. She operated this as a confectionery until 1922. Mrs. Minkle also served as postmaster at this time with the post office housed in the same building. 'Marvin Broton bought this building in 1922 and continued to op­ erate both the confectionery and post office until 1934. In 1934, Mrs. Christine Loken took over the confectionery and post office from Marvin Broton. She continued its operation until the post of­ fice was moved to its present location in 1945.

Electric Lights Petersburg reached a milestone in its history in 1916 when M. O. Lo­ ken started a power plant for the purpose of generating electricity. Pet­ ersburg was an incorporated village by this time, and the granting of permission by ordinance was necessary. Permission was granted in April of 1916. The generating plant was located northeast of the Creamery. This building is now owned by the Creamery and is used as their poultry house. Mr. Loken sold his interest in the plant to the Village of Petersburg who in turn sold to Otter Tail Power Company in 1925. In that same year, a contract was signed with Otter Tail Power Company for lighting the streets within the village. The modern look was given to main street in 1956 when the "White Way" was installed. The village is presently supplied with electricity by Otter Tail. In 1948, the surrounding rural communities first received electric power from the federally sponsored R.E.A. B Petersburg Farmers Co-Operative Creamery The Petersburg Farmers Cooperative Creamery was incorporated in 193il very largely under the direction and help of Clarence Swendseid. He was perhaps the first person to point out the advantages of a lo­ cal cooperative creamery, not only for the farmers of this area but for the townspeople as well. The unused Methodist Ohurch building was bought and made over into an up-to-date creamery. Shares of stock were bought by business firms and individuals in town as well as by farmers of the community. Those first years were most difficult ones for the creamery. Not only was this section hard hit by the national depression but also by several years of drouth. Two of the businessimen of Pet­ ersburg deserve special mention. Louis Waag acted as secretary of t h e Association, for some time without pay. J. O. Engesather loaned a considerable amount of money to the Association, taking only a note for the amount loaned in order that the Creamery might also borrow money from the St. Paul Bank o£ Co­ operatives, which organization required a first mortgage on all the creamery property as security. Under the able management of John Syl­ vester, the creamery not only paid off all indebtedness, but also bought and equipped a nearby building for a poultry dressing plant.

Harness and Shoe Shops In 1902 the first harness Shop was opened by EHing Mork. It was lo­ cated in the building now occupied by Manley Helling's Tavern. In the days when horse power was the only power used on the farm, harness repairing was a thriving business. Mr. Mork continued in this shop until about 1930. At this time the tractor appeared on the scene and the har­ ness shop became a thing of the past in many communities. A shoe repair shop was opened by Knute Garli in 1915. The shop was located south of Vance Johnson's Service Station. This building had been, prior to 1914, the village fire hall. He operated at this location for a time and then moved his business to his home. Adolph Aarsund operated a shoe shop during the years of 1930 to 1934. This business was located in the building vacated by the Mork Har­ ness Shop. Elevators The first elevator was built (by the Minneapolis and Northern Eleva­ tor Company in 1886. This building is located just southeast of the Great Northern (Depot and is now owned by the G.TjA. In 1892, J. H. Terrett built an elevator which was later taken over by the St. Anthony and Dakota Elevator Company. The Farmers Union G.TA. took over its operation in 1943 and it is now used as their main elevator and office in Petersburg. The following have served as managers of the G.T.A.: H. (R. Nicholson, Halvor Omlid, Kenneth Omlid, William Fairbanks, and the present manager, Ray Stewart. In 1902, the Imperial Elevator was built by the Imperial Elevator Company. This was later purchased and moved by the Farmers Coopera­ tive Elevator. It is now the east section of the present elevator. The Cornwall iElevator was built at approximately the same time. This elevator was later known as the International Elevator. This elevator was also purchased by the Farmers Cooperative Elevator and is presently used as the feed' mill section in their present location. In 1906, the Petersburg Farmers Elevator Company was formed. William Barry was the first Manager. He was succeeded by John R. (Flem in about 1908 who continued «as the Manager until the elevator was sold to the Equity Elevator Company in 1919. This company operated the ele­ vator for a short time and then sold to the Farmers Cooperaive Elevator Company in 1925. Louis Waag was named Manager at that time and con­ tinued in that capacity until the fall of 1952. George Stavig became the Manager at that time and remains in that position at the present time.

Hotels and Cafes In the year of 1888, the first hotel building was established by 0. B. Gunderson. The building was located on the present location of the City Cafe. The original building was moved to a farm north of town. In 1895, a hotel was built by J. P. Wigdahl located between the pres­ ent Manley's Liquor Store and Adamson's Lumber Yard. This hotel was sold to C. J. Bull in 1902. They managed it until their deaths in 1937. The building was vacant until it was purchased and dismantled by Erwin Rei­ ten in 1944. Part of the lumber was used to build the Reiten Implement building. In 1896, a restaurant was built west of the Petersburg Mercantile Company. This was owned by Peter L. Flem. This building was later used as a real estate office by A. N. Mork and then was taken over by Harry Clark and operated as a cream buying station until the building was de­ stroyed toy fire. Ole Opeal opened' a cafe in about 1902 located just east of Vance Johnson's service station. The cafe was known as Togo's Coffee House. Shortly after the turn of the century, another hotel and cafe was op­ ened in the house which is now the home of Peter I. Reiten. This was 10 known as .the "West Hotel," and was originally owned by Mr. Loken. It was traded by Mr. Loken to John Ness for a quarter of land in the Dahlen community. It was also managed for a time by John Velleu Sr. In 1930, Martin A. Hildre opened a restaurant in the building now owned by Allen Grove. He continued this business until 1934 when he returned to his work as a carpenter. Martin had helped to build many of the residences of the community. In the period from 1930 to 1944, several cafes were operated in Peters- bug toy the following people: Jennie Hildremyr, Mrs. Cole (Eva Valleu), Ted Dahlen and E. P. Erickson. In 1944, a cafe and confectionery was opened' toy Virginia Swendseid which she operated until 1956. In 1945 Herbert (Crow) Flem opened a restaurant in the building known as the "City Cafe." It was eventually taken over by his son, Paul, who operated it until 1952. In 1953 Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Bales took over the oafe from Mr. and Mrs. Paul Flem. They continued its operation until April 1957 when Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Ellertson, the present proprietors, assumed its man­ agement.

Implement Companies In 1898 T. R. and Carl Swendseid opened the first implement store Petersburg. Farm machinery was not nearly as numerous or complicated as it is today. Horse drawn riding plows, discs, drags and seeders were the common bill of sale. Their business was housed in the Venberg Store building and was only in operation for a short time. In 1903 another implement business was opened by A. K. Reiten and others. They erected their building on the corner now occupied by Rei­ ten Implement. Their business was known as the Petersburg Machine Company. In 1909 Iver Reiten entered the business as a partner to A. K. Reiten and they continued together until the death of A. K. Reiten in 1920. Iver then continued until 1944. A new building was then erected on the same location and the name changed to Reiten Implement Company. The proprietorship was soon taken over by his sons, Erwin and Victor. At the present time, it is op­ erated by Erwin Reiten and is one of the largest International Harves­ ter dealerships in northeastern North Dakota. The Petersburg Supply Company secured a franchise to handle Min­ neapolis Moline machinery in 1930. They have continued this business in connection with their Chevrolet garage to the present time.

Liquor Stores and Taverns In 1934 E. P. Erickson opened a tavern known as "Booty's Tavern" in the building which now houses Manley's Tavern. The business was 11 sold to Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Omlid and later to Andrew Senger in 1954. It was sold to Manley Helling, the present owner, in 1956. : Also in 1934 a tavern was opened by Milt Stein in the building which now houses the Amercan Legion Club. The business was sold to Ted Dahlen in 1938 who continued its operation until 1940 when the business was moved to building now known as "Barney's." This (build­ ing is now also owned by Manley Helling. Mr. Dahlen continued tousiness in this location until 1944 when he sold it to Adolph Adamson. He oper­ ated' it for only a short time before disposing of it to James Dalgarno who in turn sold to B. R. Swendseid in 1946. Mr. Swendseid continued its operation until 1956 when Manley Helling took over and moved its stock to Manley's Tavern. In 1946 the local American Legion Post purchased the old Farmers State Bank building from the Citizens State Bank and after a complete renovation of the building, began its operation as the Legion Club under the management of Leo Heimer. This dub has been in. operation since that time.

Livery Barns, Garages, Gas Stations and Bulk Stations Livery stables played an important role in the early history of Petersburg as in other early communities for they were the forerunners of our present garages and gas stations. They served as stables for people coming to town with horses. And they even served in the same capacity as our modern taxis for traveling men would often depend on them to get to nearby towns. The first livery stable was built in 1895 by J. P. Wigdahl. This stable is still standing and is now owned by L. A. Tennison. It is located north of the Ole Jeglum residence. This tousiness was purchased toy C. J. Bull in 1902 and he managed it for several years. Another livery barn was built by Andrew and John Wigness in 1896 just east of the present Vance Johnson service station. This barn was later operated by William Anton until culmination of the business. The first auto garage in Petersburg was opened for business in 1912 by Martin Hildremyr and Ole H. Reiten. JMartin Hiildremyr later assumed the ownership and it is still in operation within this family, presently being operated toy Martin and his son, George. It is now known as the "Petersburg Garage" and has the local Dodge and Plymouth franchise. The garage now known as the Petersburg Supply Company origin­ ated in 1925 in a new building erected on its present location. A corpora­ tion was formed in April 1926 toy H. E. Engesather, Louis Waag and Martin Loken. The Chevrolet franchise was secured at that time. Martin IMA'11!,1^8 Loken sold his interest to Arnold I. Erickson and in 1930 the tousiness was expanded to include the Minneapolis-Moline farm machinery line. In 1944 H. E. Engesather and Louis Waag sold their interests to Arnold 12 Erickson. The present partnership between Arnold I., and his son, Arnold O., was formed in 1948. In 1936 William Andrews built a service station in the building now known as Erickson's Service Station and Cafe. Mr. Andrews sold his business to R. Hedman in 1946, who managed it until 1949. At that time it was sold to Bill Erickson, the present owner. The station handles Mobilgas products. In 1941 Vance Johnson built his service station just across the street east of Broton's Blacksmith Shop. It is known as the Texaco Service Sta­ tion and has the Texaco franchise in Petersburg. Although a compara­ tively new business in our town's history, Mr. Johnson is well known.in the area. He was born in Adler township where he farmed until moving to Petersburg. The Standard Oil Company was granted permission to build a bulk station in Peterfosurg in 1910. The storage tanks were placed north of the Erickson Service Station, where they are still located. A. C. Fossum was the first Standard Oil agent to serve this community.

Oil Companies The Petersburg Oil Co., the predecessor of Sparky's Oil Co., started in business June 1, 1926, with Olaf Hildre, H. W. Hildre and A. E. Iverson, a salesman for the Pure Oil Co., as shareholders in the corporation. H. W. Hildre was manager. The old light plant, now the poultry house of the creamery was rented as warehouse. Two 15,000 gallon storage tanks were installed, one for white gasoline and one for kerosene. A Model T Ford truck with 370 gallon tank was used for delivery. Conrad Hildre was named manager in 1928. A service station was built on First Ave­ nue (then U. S. Highway 2) across from the lumber yard in 1932. O. M. Hildremyr started as manager January 1, 1937. During World War II the company was leased to the Socony Vacuum Oil Co. with W. J. Dalgarno as agent for two years and B. R. Swendsied for one year. O. M. Hildre­ myr bought the company in April 1945 and changed the name to Sparky's Oil Co. The service station was moved to the present site of Iverson's Fairway and leased to Allen Grove as a barber shop for a little over a year. It was later moved south of Petersburg where a new station is planned along the present route of U. S. Highway 2.

Lumber Companies In about 1897 lumber yards made their appearance among the busi­ nesses of Petersburg. The first lumber yard was built by A. R. Swendseid and later became known as the Swenseid-Knold Lumber Company. Its location was on the site of the present post office and Iverson's Fairway Store. This lumber yard was sold to the Imperial Elevator Company and they continued to operate it until 1917. It was then, purchased by the Farmers Lumber Company. They dismantled the sheds,and moved their supplies to the present Adamson Lumber building which they owned at IS that time. They continued in operation here until 1944 when the bus;, ness culminated.

About 1902 a lumber company was started by J. A. Lamb, J. P. Lan\b and O. S. Hove which was known as the "Lamb and Hove Lumber Com­ pany" This is the present Adamson Lumber Company building. In 1907 O. S. Hove sold his interest in the company to his partners and the naOic was changed to "Lamb Brothers Lumber Company." Lamb Brothers sold their business to the Farmers Lumber Company in 1912 and it was opor- atcd by the latter group until 1944. In 1907, T. E. LaTaurette and O. S. Hove opened a lumber yai^ known as "T. E. LaTaurette and Company" and was operated by La. Taurette. This company was also purchased by Farmers Lumber in 1912. The T. C. Overland residence housed this business on its present loca­ tion. In the years from 1907 to 1912 Petersburg supported three lumber yards. This is a fair yardstick by which to measure the growth of our town during this period. All three yards were put under one name, The Farmers Lumber Company, by 1917 and this organization continued until 1944. In 1946 Leslie Adamson purchased his present building from the Farmers Lumber Company and resumed lumber and hardware service for the village and community. His business is known as the "Adamson Lumber Company."

Newspapers A weekly newspaper, The Petersburg Record, accommodated the people of this community for a period of 30 years. The original news­ paper was founded by B. A. Hall in 1905. Its first location was on From Mreet in the building now housing Al's Barber Shop. Mr. Hall continued as editor until 1913 but by this time the business was housed in a new location, just north of the telephone dialhouse and east of the former central office. In 1913 the newspaper was sold to John Tavlor. The presses were moved to a building on the corner where the present postoffice is located w ,., ™ TaS succeeded by William Weatherly who was drafted during World War I. s The newspaper was operated by Alfoin Paulson during and after the uar_ About 1921 it was sold to G. K. Ness Sr. who in turn sold it to E. u. urekken who operated until 1934, when it was sold to the Lakota American Mr Paulson worked for the owners of the paper until it dis­ continued publication.

Doctors

n [n g medical w.rlor [° ™ T doctors have served this community: Drs V.»vi!£ i i J<>hnson, Montgomery, Pearson. Haug, Jelstrup; Mclvcr; VanVJot and Haugen.

14 Meat Market and Locker Plants The building now housing Mauley's Tavern was the first butcher shop in Petersburg. This building was erected for this purpose and was operated by John Swennungsen. It was in operation for only a short period'—approximately from 1898 to 1900—when Mr. Swennungsen moved to Portal, North Dakota. In 1903 F. M. Shotswell erected a building and managed a butcher shop for many years. This building is the present shop owned by Art Magnus. Malcolm McLean, a son-in-law and F. M. Shotswell, took over the business from Mr. Shotswell. Mr. McLean was followed by Albert Asle- son who, in turn, was succeeded by the Paulson Brothers. These changes all occured in the period between 1910 and 1920. In the early 20's the shop was purchased by B. W. Andrews who continued its operation until it was sold to Art Magnus, the present owner, in 1927. It is known as the "Magnus Meat Market." In 1940 frozen food lockers were installed by Mr. Magnus in connec­ tion with the meat market. At present there are 280 lockers located in the east half of the meat market.

Post Offices Mr. and Mrs. M. N. Johnson were the persons who made applica­ tion for the establishment of a post office at Petersburg. When a post office department inspector came to survey the situation, they listened to his arguments that most of the settlers were bachelors and would be re­ ceiving very little mail, and that it would be difficult to find a reliable person to act as postmaster. Mrs. Johnson volunteered to assume the duties and the offer was accepted. The pay was only the amount of the cancelled stamps on out-going mail. As the continuation of the service would depend upon the business transacted, she made it a rule to have something to go out in every mail. She always had a letter of her own ready to post in case there was nothing else to go out in the daily mail pouch. The hatbox and till of her trunk was the official post office and was located within the Johnson home. The next post office was located in the L. H. Peterson store with Mr. Peterson acting as postmaster. This was in connection with Peters­ burg's first store. A. R. Swendseid became postmaster about 1894, moving the post of fice to his store and later to his new store which was built in 1897. About 1904 the post office was taken over by R. C. Swendseid and moved to the drug store which he operated. He continued as postmaster until 1912 when T. C. Overland became postmaster. Katie Minkle became postmaster in 1915. The post office was moved to the building where she operated her confectionery. Marvin Broton 15 became postmaster in 1922. He continued until 1934 when Mrs. Christina Loken became postmaster. In 1945 the post office was moved to its pres­ ent location. Mrs. Loken continued as postmaster until October, 1956. At the present time Harold Reiten is acting postmaster. We must also mention rural post offices in this area. The Adler post office was first located on the Gilbert Gilbertson farm, later on the Harrison farm and finally on the Armstrong farm. North of Petersburg there were three rural post offices at one time. The Baconville post office was located on the John Helland farm. The Belleville Post Office was located east of Dahlen in Grand Forks county. The Nord post office was located northwest of Dahlen in Walsh county Rural mail delivery was started in 1905. This brought an end to the rural post offices of the area. At present there are two rural routes out of the Petersburg post office. '

Telephone Companies The TriCounty Telephone Company was incorporated in 1905. Prior to this time 'telephone service was started as a line between Mr. Wm. F. Krueger and his neighbors in the Niagara area. In the course of time this line enlarged to such an ex­ tent that Mr. Krueger toad to in­ stall a switchboard in his home. From his farm, he and his family accomodated their neighbors b y switching their calls for them. About 1900 Mr. Krueger and some of his Wends decided to extend telephone service to include the area of Dahlen, Niagara and Pet­ ersburg. The resulting Company made rapid' progress under the able manaigeimeni; of Mr. Krueger and ,h':s successors. The Company had many severe 1 oases due to sileet storms, but perhaps its worst occurred in 1932 when practically all its lines were destroyed. In 1933 the Company's property was sold to Carl Flem of Petersburg. Mr. Flem operated the business until 1955 When he sold his lines Miss Alma Lybeck to the Polar Rural Telephone Com­ early day telephone operator pany, who are rebuilding the com­ plete system and converting to dial. Mr. Flem gratefully remembers the valuable advice he received from Mr. Krueger. The whole community can foe thankful for Mr. Krueger's initiative. , , 16 Jewelry Shops and Millinery Shops The first watch repair shop was operated by Knute Kopang. The original Shop was located in the east part of Briney's Tavern. It was later moved to the Harness Shop oper­ ated by Elling Mork. In 1905 a jewelry shop was op­ ened1 by M. O. Loken. It was lo­ cated in the new addition of the Petersburg Mercantile C o m p any Which was erected An that year. Watch repairing was the main business. In the days before radio, television and the telephone, cor­ rect time depended upon watches and clocks berciig accurate. Keep­ ing them accurate was indeed important in those days. A person wanting coirrect time could go to he Railroad Depot as the correct time was sent in each day at 11 a.m. on the telegraph. Mr. Loken continued watch repairing at this location until 1913. His business was conducted in his home for a time following 1913. Other interests forced Mr. Knute Kopang Loken to give up watch repairing soon after this date. The first milinery shop was operated by Bertha Broton in a building west of itfoe present meat market. This building has snce been moved away. This milinery shop was in operation during the years of 1903 to 1906. Another milinery shop was operated by Marie Donnelly. She con­ tinued her shop in the 'building vacated by Bertha Broton' and later moved to the building known as Virginia's Confectionery. She operated her shop at this location until 1913.

Miscellaneous 1014 — The present fire hall was erected. 1934 — The present city auditorium was built. 1952 — The Voluntary Fire Department was reorganized. 1956 — Highway No. 2 was rerouted to the south side of Petersburg. Main street was extended to meet the new highway. 1957 — The Village Board is negotiating for a city sewer system. 17 Schools, Churches and Organizations Schools Soon after the first families arrived in this community, the leaders among them realized the need for schools. This need was fulfilled when the first school was established in the late '80's. Petersburg's first teach­ er'was Miss Ella Wilcox. Stories related to the first school tell of Miss; Wilcox being a girl of 16 at the time. The first school h ouse was 1 ocated just south of the Lutheran Church, approximately where Arne Loken's house stands today. This was a one-room school and about 30 students was its capacity. The first school term was attended by about seven children. As it was common through­ out the land that schools operated for short terms during the winter months, so it was in Petersburg also. In those days all books were furnished by the student, and as a re­ sult any books that a home might possess were taken to school and used. There were no standard texts for any specific subject. The main curricu­ lum consisted of Arithmetic, Spelling, Rhetoric (English) which included Writing.

. The growth of this community soon required that a new and:!}:arger school be built. This building consisted of two rooms and was located on the present site of the Joseph Nelson residence. This building is known to many people as the "Opera House" for which it was later used. The first eight grades were conducted at this school. This building was put into use in 1900. In 1904, the north half of our present school was built. This building then consisted of four rooms. With this additional room, the first two years of high school were offered. The south half of the present school was built in 1914. This gave Petersburg sufficient room to conduct a four-year high school. This new addition included a gymnasium in the basement. The community was mighty proud of this gym and rightly so. According to modern standards, however, people wonder how it was ever used for that purpose. This continued to serve us until 1934 when a new auditorium was built. This served the school as its gymnasium until 1952. In that year our present auditorium was built giving Petersburg one of the finest gymnasiums in this territory. One fact that makes this new building more appreciated by this community is that so many had a part in its construction. Almost all of the labor was donated by the people of Petersburg and the surround­ ing area. 'Women, too, donated their share by coming along and prepar­ ing meals for the men.

18 Petersburg High School state championship team of 1919 Standing left to right: Coach Emil Estenson, Ingvald Velleu, Jonas Hil- dremyr, Anthory Hared and Gunnard Jelstrup. Seated left to right: Percy Flem, Charles Buckland, Hartvig Hildre and Arne Asleson

High school girls basketball team which placed second in state in 1937 Front row left to right: Eleanor Reiten, Lois Pickard, Phyllis fckrom, Phyllis Johnson, Edith Rydell, Hjordis Reiten, Mildred Hildremyr. Back row left to right: Mr. Fylling, Ruth Monson, Dorothy Kelly, and Eunice Britson Another year in our school's history that was significant is 1916. In that year we had our first high school graduation. Members of that graduating class were Esther Hanson, Olive Buckland, Mattie Leite, Anne Andrews, Eileen Anton, Eva Mellum, Oscar Hegstad and Victoria Bull. Through the years many awards and trophies have been won by our school in music, dramatics, and athletics. There are two basketball teams that deserve special recognition. The boys' team of 1919 received the highest honor in the state when they were crowned State Champions. 19

North Dakota State Library smarcK, ND 58501 There was no classification within the schools at that time, and compe« tition included schools of all sizes. Petersburg won the state ehampionN ship by defeating Mandan, 19-8. In the semi-finals, Petersburg defeated Minot, 31-21. Members of that team are listed with their picture. In 11937 the task of gaining recognition for the town Was left to the girls. The girls' basketball team of that year took second place in the state tournament. They were defeated by Dawson in the final game ot the tournament. This was the only defeat of the season for the team. Members of that team are listed also in connection with their picture. There are many people who have served this school in various capa- cities. Many of our local citizens have donated much time serving as members on the Board of Education. Teachers, too, have always played ^ prominent part in the development of this community. It would be im. possible to list all the teachers of our school down through the years. 5ev» eral people who have served as administrators came first to Petersburg as teachers. The following list of superintendents covers the years that high school has been offered. J. L. Rendahl (1927-1930) J. Messner (1905-1906) George Paulson (1930-1935) L. M. Bettinger (1908-1914) Oscar Fylling (1936-1938) Mabel Olson (1914-1916) C. J. Parker (1938-1947) Emii Estenson (1916-1922) H. L. Mansager (1947-1952) Peter Galen (19224924) L. M. Loken (1952-1955) F. L. Byrnes (1924-1927) Glenn J. Resell (1955-) Several rural schools have also operated in this area. At present one still operates in Nash Township and three operate in Adler Town­ ship. The rural schools within Petersburg District have been closed for several years. Those schools were located on the Roscoe Kelly farm and on the Viggo Hanson farm. At times enrollment in these schools reached 30 or more.

20 The Petersburg Lutheran Church

Original Church Present Day Church In the year 1882 the first settlers arrived in the vicinity of Peters­ burg. That same year the government survey was made and the land was opened for settlement in the spring of 1883. Among the early settlers were a number of Norwegians who had come directly from Norway and from other settlements in this country. Most of these families came from settlements where they had enjoyed the privilege of an organized church life and they soon felt that something should be done toward securing these same privileges for themselves and their children if this was to be their future home. Pastor Stener Svennungson had also homesteaded here and he be­ came instrumental in organizing a congregation together with some of these pioneer settlers. The first place of worship was in a small school- house south of the present church. On April 4, 1886, a committee of five members was chosen to take up the problem of organizing a Lutheran congregation. On April 7, the committee met and adopted the necessary resolutions and on May 9, a meeting was held and the committee's report was accepted. The name given to the newly formed congregation was "The Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Congregation of Petersburg." Pastor Svennungen was made chairman and A. R. Swendseid was made secretary. The resolutions were signed by S. Svennungson, L. H. Peterson, Nils Peterson, A. Thoraldson, 21 Pastors who have served the congregation

S. Svennungen John Ringstad Thomas Anderson T. M. Rykken 1884 - 1887 1887 - 1920 1920 - 1930 1930 - 1945

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T. J. Weltzin A. Haatvedt Odean Monson Olaf Brandt 1946 - 1948 Interim 1949 - 1956 1957 - N. 0. Bondelid, Ole N. Mork, Elling N. Mork, Asle N. Mork, A. R. Swend­ seid and J. O. Svennnungson. At another meeting A. A. Mellum and Ole Rolles with their families joined the organization. The first board of officers were: President: Pastor Stener Svennung­ son; Trustees, A. A. Mellum, A. Thoraldson and Nils Peterson; Deacons, Elling Mork and Ole Rolles; Secretary, A. Thoraldson; and Treasurer, A. R. Swendseid. Pastor Stener Svennungson was the first minister called to this newly formed congregation and parish. He served in that capacity until 1888. On June 4, 1889, a new parish was formed consisting of Elk Valley, Middle Forest and Petersburg congregations. Pastor Johannes Ringstad accepted the call to serve this parish. On June 18, 1896, the congregation votetd to take up a subscription for the purpose of building a church. The committee chosen to take charge of this was: L. A. Tennison, Sr., L. H. Peterson and O. B. Gunder- son. In the spring of 1897 the building was begun and though far from completed it was taken into use the following fall. In 1908, an addition was built to the church to take care of the social functions, the Luther League, and the increasing number of pupils in the Sunday School. Pastor Johannes Ringstad resigned in 1920 and Pastor Thomas An­ derson accepted the call.A new parsonage was built and completed in November, 1922. Pastor Anderson resigned in 1930.

22 Pastor T. M. Rykken of Wittenberg, Wisconsin, accepted the call to serve this parish which now consisted of Lorn, Dahlen and Petersburg congregations. Improvements in the church edifice were made during this time. The Luther League was reorganized and the L.D.R., the Mis­ sion Society and the Willing Workers were organized. . Pastor Rykken passed away February 11, 1945. Rev. Haatvedt kindly helped with services and assisted in other church work until a new pastor could be secured. Rev. T. J. Weltzin accepted our call and was installed September 15, 1946. He served the parish until 1948 when he resigned. Rev. Haatvedt again served us in a temporary capacity until we could secure another pastor. .. Pastor Odean Monson of Stanhope, Iowa, accepted the call and was installed June 5, 1949. During this time a new church was built. The first regular service in the new edifice was held July 2, 1950. It was for­ mally dedicated October 8, 1950. Pastor Monson passed away Setember 1, 1956. Pastor Olaf O. Brandt of Thor, Iowa, has accepted the call to the Petersburg Parish and will be officially installed June 16, 1957. Present officers of the Petersburg Congregalion are: President, Olaf Iverson; Vice President, Carl Flem; Secretary-Treasurer, H. E. Engesath­ er; Trustees, Olaf Haugen, Arthur Magnus, Aimer Gedstad, Clyde Ral­ ston and Elmer Slettebak.

The Petersburg Lutheran Ladies Aid

Charter members of Petersburg Ladies Aid. Members not identified The Petersburg Lutheran Ladies Aid was organized at a meeting at the home of Mr. and Mrs. A. A. Mellum in the fall of 1894. Those present were Mrs. J. P. Wigdal, Mrs. O. B. Gunderson, Mrs. Knute Erickson, Mrs

23 H. A. Leite, Mrs. A. A. Mellum, and Miss Mary Wangen, who was later to become Mrs. A. R. Swendseid. Rev. J. Ringstad was the pastor. According to the by-laws drawn up by Mr. Mellum, the object of the organization was "To raise money to build a church." The dues at each meeting were to be 10 cents. Meetings were to be held every three weeks in the homes. Officers elected were: President, Mrs. II. A. Leite; Secretary, Mrs. Knute Erickson; and Treasurer, Mrs. A. A. Mellum. At these first meetings the women brought their sewing and knitting and held all day gatherings with devotion and a dinner at noon. In 1895 Mrs. L. A. Tennison Sr., Mrs. Soren Johnson, Mrs. A. R. Swend eld, Mrs. Erick Hanson and Mrs. O. T. Rodningen joined the group. This year they held their first bazaar and Mrs M. N. Johnson acted as auctioneer and toastmasler. A free dinner was served. In 1896, when the congregation was ready to build the church, the Ladies Aid had $327 to contribute. They also helped when the new addi­ tion was added in 1910. Their meetings were now held in the new addi­ tion. In 1939 the Petersburg Ladies Aid joined the Women's Missionary Federation. As the Ladies Aid grew, their work also increased. They donated to the general budget, charity work, missions, and parochial school, as well as helping with the church and the new parsonage. In 1948 the Nash Ladies Aid joined the Petersburg Aid, adding 16 new members. With the building of the new church in 1950, the Ladies Aid again assisted with money — they completely equipped the kitchen and base­ ment, carpeted the church and paid the interest on the church debt. Our membership is now one charter member, 11 social, and 54 active mem­ bers. The present officers are: President, Mrs. Orrin Hillebrand; Vice President, Mrs. S. Mork; Secretary, Mrs. L. Jacobson; Treasurer, Mrs. L. Adamson; and Pianist, Mrs. Willis Bjorge. May the Lord who has so bountifully blessed our Ladies Aid through the past continue to guide and keep us.

The Mission Society The Mission Society was organized at the home of Mrs. P. I. Flem on January 17, 1934 and the name chosen was the "Kriste Vigdall Mission Society." The purpose of the society was to stimulate interest in the Mis­ sion work of the church and to give the older women of the congregation some special church activity. They held monthly meetings, had several food sales, made clothing which was sent, together with money donations, to Missions. They also sponsored the painting of the parsonage in 1935. At that time there were 15 members. A few years brought many changes and as these pioneer wo­ men passed on, the Society as an organization was closed. May the mem­ ory of these pioneer church workers foe cherished. 24 The Petersburg Luther League

Petersburg Luther League Young Mens Chorus Front row: Gene Clark, Leonard Swendseid, Rev. Rykken, Oscar Magnus and Clarence Hardeland; second row; Harold Reiten, Irvin Reiten, Lars Hildre and Jennings Elseom; back row: Olaf Haugen, Philip Johnson and Andy Reiten. The Petersburg United Lutheran Young People's Society was or­ ganized February 12, 1911. Fourteen young people comprised the origin­ al membership. There were two types of meetings — social and religious. The social meetings, which were held in the homes, consisted of varied numbers for a program, then games and refreshments. The meetings proved to be a time of real enjoyment for all the members. The religious meetings were held at the church and took the form of a church service. Use was made of the church lecture course which was a series of lectures prepared by various pastors and Lutheran teach­ ers to suggest work for the young people. The first lecture of this type was given by Pastor Hulteng who was at that time the minister in Grand Forks. The church was filled. After the lecture, lunch was served, and the people visited together. The main purpose of the Young People's Society was, of course, to keep our young people in the church for only through active work is a healthy interest fostered. Young people like to see results from their en­ deavor and so a materialistic aim was added. The first piano used in the church was purchased by this organization. Another aim of the organiza­ tion was to purchase the music used by the choir. In 1923, the society was reorganized and has since been called the Luther League. The work and aims are very much the same. It has never ceased to function as an organization. 25 One of the late Pastor Odean Monson's strong points was his work among the young people and under his guidance the Luther League con­ tinued to prosper. It has become the custom in late years to send some of out! young people to leadership camps. These young people never fail to return from these camps with renewed enthusiasm. In 1955 the Luther League sent Jean Erickson and Marilyn Morey to the World Luther League Conference in San Francisco. S In 1951, the Luther League bought an Alter Book for the Lorn con­ gregation and also contributed $50 toward a pew in the new Petefsbu^ church. Another project was the purchase of five confirmation gowns. $| present the Luther League is engaged in the project to provide ;a suifci able memorial for Pastor Monson. Every member is contributing toward this Memorial. '••& The present officers of the Luther League are Darlene Yoney, Presi^ dent; Leslie Ralston, Vice President; Evelyn Mork, Secretary; RonnJffl Nash, P.T.R. Secretary; and Donald Ouradnik, adviser. May this worthy organization continue to prosper and may we never lose sight of the one perfect goal toward which all true Christians^ are striving.

The Lorn Lutheran Church On February 23, 1899, the Lorn Lutheran Congregation was formed under the leadership of Pastor Haatvedt. Charter members were Ole Christianson, Elef Hegg, Tom Kvamme, Gilbert Larson, Hans Berge, Elias Olson, Ole Tomte, Gilbert Hagen, Torstein Sonsteness, Paul Severson, Gilbert Gilbertson, Gudmund Gilbertson, John P. Johnson, Tom Borgen, Nils Alfson, Andrew Pederson and Martin Flem. Rev. Erich Berrum and Rev. H. C. Olsen served the congregation from 1899 to 1920. The following pastors served from 1920-1956: Rev. Thomas Anderson, Rev. T. M. Rykken, Rev. T. J. Weltzin and Rev. Odean Monson. Rev. Olaf Brandt will foe installed in the spring of 1957. On February 8, 1911, the congregation purchased a building from Field township which served as a church until 1921 when a new building was built. On October 9, 1949, the congregation celebrated its 50th an­ niversary in a newly redecorated church. Shortly afterwards the church and all its contents burned. The old basement was roofed over and used for church services until a new church could be built. The new church was completed in 1953 and on October 24, 1952, Rev. Haatvedt was honored on his eightieth birthday anniversary. Rev. Haatvedt now lives in Michigan, N.D., Rev. T. J. Weltzin lives at Viking, Minn., and Rev. Thomas Anderson lives in Moorhead, Minn.

The Lorn Ladies Aid The Ladies Aid of the Lorn Lutheran Church was organized the same year as the congregation, 1899, at the home of Mrs. Sylfest Hagen. Miss Anne Alfson was the first president. Mrs. Gilbert Gilbertson was the first 26 treasurer. Other charter members were Mrs. Ole Berg, Mrs. Lars Borgen, Mrs. Gudmund Gilbertson, Mrs. Elef Hegg, Mrs. Sylfest Hagen, Mrs. Tom Kvamme, Mrs. Torstein Moen, Mrs. Elias Olson, Mrs. Andrew Pederson, Mrs. Paul Severson and Mrs. Torstein Sonstiness. The organization has been active in church work and at the present time has purchased many of the furnishings of the church. The church has a modern kitchen and dining room in the basement. The salary of thiS vacation Bible School teachers is paid by the Aid. There are 18 active members and six honorary members at present. Mrs. Bernard Schmechel is president and Mrs. Oscar Magnus is..treffl* ruer. Mrs. Norbert Meyer is secretary. SZ The Ladies Aid also sponsors the Sunday School which has been .&• tivc for many years. Mrs. Sever Gilbertson is superintendent.

Lorn Luther League The Lom Luther League was organized July 18, 1920, with the fol­ lowing officers: President, Charley Johnson; Vice President, Hans Aa- mot; Secretary, Clara Johnson; Treasurer, Cora Johnson; and Program Committee, Halvord Odegard, Sigurd Mundhjeld and Ralph Kvamme. The membership numbered 59 at one time, and was active until 1938. Prior to this, an organiation known as the Adler Young Peoples So­ ciety was very active under the able leadership of P. E. Krogen. They put on a Norwegian play, "Jeppe paa Bjerget" and raised money by other methods to buy books for a library which contained quite a number of volumes. This library has since been lost. In 1915, this organization sponsored the building of a community hall,, complete with stage and kitchen facilities, and a barn which could hold 20 teams of horses. The stage curtain and scenery were painted in beautiful landscape scenery by Tfoorvald Sondterland. The building was completely demolished in a storm in the fall of 1916 and since that time, the organiation has dropped out of existence.

The Nash Ladies Aid The Nash Ladies Aid was organized some time before 1915. This so­ ciety, as may be seen from the history of the Petersburg Congregation, had been in existence for many years. It was a very active organization, especially in the summer and fall. It had its meetings at the various homes. This society generally held an outdoor sale during midsummer. The Parochial School children put on the program. Great interest was shown in sponsoring the Parochial School, do­ nating to Missions and contributing to church finances. In 1949 the members decided to disband and to join the Lutheran' Ladies Aid. The charter members of the Nash Ladies Aid were Mrs. 0. K. Rod- ningen, Mrs. 0. T. Rodningen, Mrs. Ole Lyfoeck, Mrs. Anton Leite, Mrs. John Nelson, Mrs. P. J. Erickson, Mrs. John Lien, Mrs. Ole Barsness, Mrs. Halvor Mork, and Mrs. H. H, Halstenson.

87 Petersburg Cornet Band i—

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The first Petersburg Cornet Band. Members not identified The Petersburg Cornet Band was organized about 1902. Those who served as directors are: Mr. Graham, Henry Halstenson, H. E. Bilden, Louis Waag and H. E. Engesather. The Band was very active for many years — playing for various oc­ casions and celebrations. Some of the places it performed were: Red Willow Lake, Stump Lake (Wm. J. Bryan, speaker of the day), Bachelors Grove, and at neighboring towns. It also played at the dedication of the new Petersburg Village Auditorium in 1934. Annual concerts were given as well as weekly concerts during summers — the latter were played in the band stand on main street of the village. (During the past few years the band has not been active.

Petersburg Outing Club When the early settlers first moved into this prairie country, it did not appeal to them too strongly, since most of them were from the heav­ ily wooded parts of Norway. Most of the families planted groves of trees, which added much to the comfort and value of their land. It was mainly due to their love of trees and water that these pioneers soon began to look for a place of recreation. Such a place was found by A. R. Swendseid in 1911. It was beautiful Lake Plantangenet surrounded by heavy pine and located eight miles south of Bemidji, Minn. A few men bought a small plot of land and the Petersburg Outing Club was formed. By 1913, A. R. Swendseid, Ole Johnson, 0. B. Gunderson, and Even Iverson had built the first four cabins in the order named. The Charter members were A. R. Swendseid, Ole Johnson, 0. B. Gunderson, Even Iverson, T. E. La- Tourette, Ole I. Hove, Chris Engh Ole Fagstad, Martin Broton, Robert Waag, and Martin Loken. Later, J. 0. Engesather, Iver Quam, Iver Reiten, Louis Waag, Herman Klug, P. I. Fief, Ole Hildre, Thomas Anderson, and Oluf Hildre became members, and in time many more.

28 The "Petersburg Outing Club" was organized with its main purpose as stated in the by-laws for "recreation and social purposes." •' In 1921, a corporation was formed. Members included farmers, busi­ ness men, teachers, and now second and third generations travel long dis­ tances to be with family 'groups at their lake homes. There are now eighteen cabins belonging to the Club. These early settlers have given us much to be thankful for in the form of a quiet and restful place to spend our vacations. "The National Geographic Magazine" once publicized the lake as the third most beau­ tiful of all Minnesota lakes. The present officers are: President, P. I. Flem; Vice President, H. E. Engesather; Secretary and Treasurer, Olaf Haugen. The directors are Iver Reiten, Martin Hildremyer and C. J. Parker.

Norrona Chorus It was in the fall of 1905 when several young men of this community began to sing as a group during the long winter months for pastime. But it was not until in 1913 the constitution and by-laws were written and the name "Norrona" given to the group. Also in 1913, the Chorus became a member of the Red River Valley Scandinavian Singers Association and it participated in the first Singers Festival at Devils Lake. In the same year, this society joined the Norwe­ gian National Singers Association of America. In 1914, the Chorus attended their first National Festival held in Chicago and also joined the Great Jubilee Chorus consisting of 185, voices from Coast to Coast which journeyed to Norway to sing at the Centennial celebration in Oslo. J. 0. Engesather, Louis Waag, P. I. Flem, and Iver Quam took part. In 1933, Norden Chorus from Devils Lake, together with Greig from Dahlen and Norrona sponsored the Red River Singers Festival which was a big success. Norrona Chorus paid host to Red River Singers in 1941 and in spite of the bad weather condition, most of the Valley choruses were present. Medals are given for attending these festivals in both organizations. For attending five, a bronze medal is given; for 10, a silver one; for 15, gold; and for 20 festivals attended, a diamond medal is given. Louis Waag received the diamond medal at Rockford, 111., in 1956 and he is the only member who has received this medal in the Red River Association. Louis has served as director and assistant director in this Associa­ tion and he has directed the Veteran Chorus — the boys over 60 years old in the National organization. The Norrona Chorus would like to take this public oportunity to thank Louis Waag for all his years of service and loyalty shown to the Chorus and for his work in music performed in the community these many years. 29 Noroma Chorus: Back row left to right: J. O. Engesather, A. K. Reiten, Ole J. Reiten, Olaf Reiten, M. M. Ekrom, Hans Flem and Theodore Mel­ lum. Front row left to right: Lars Flem, Peter Flem, Louis Waag and Anton Alvestad

Ladies Auxiliary of Norrona Chorus. Back row: Mmes. Hans Hildre, Ted Dahlen, Chris Hardland, Ingward Reiten and T. M. Rylsken. Front row: Mmes. P. J. Flem, president; Sever Reiten, vice-president; Olaf Haugen/ secretary and treasurer. Mrs. H. E. Engesather, the other member was not present for the picture. The Ladies Auxiliary of the Norrona Chorus was active for several years and served as hosts to the wives of the singers when they attended the Red River Valley Sangerfest at Petersburg in 1941. The President was Mrs. P. I. Flem, Vice President was Mrs. Iver Reiten and the Secretary- Treasurer was Mrs. Olaf Haugen. Other members were Mrs. Hans Hildre, Mrs. Ted Dahlen, Mrs. Chris Hardland, Mrs. Ingward Reiten, Mrs. T. %• Rykken and Mrs. H. E. Engesather.

30 The Willing Workers

Willing Workers photo taken April 6, 1957

The Willing Workers, a Women's Society of the Lutheran Church, was organized at the home of Rev. and Mrs. T. M. Rykken November 7, I 1930. The first officers of the organization were: President, Agnes Ring­ stad; Vice President, Mrs. T. M. Rykken; Secretary-Treasurer, Mrs. Clar­ ence Swendseid and librarian, Mrs. M. O. Loken. The purpose of this society is to further the work of the Lutheran Church. This has been carried out by giving aid to the children's homes and to other charitable institutions of the church and by sponsoring a lo­ cal church library. When the church burned, we lost our library of 815 books. We now have 427 books in the library. Donations of food, clothing, quilts and money have been made in our own community as well as to the Lutheran charitable organizations. The society purchased one pew for the church and has made donations toward the purchase of kitchen equipment, hymnals, book shelves and racks, and to the window fund. Membership is open to any woman who is interested in the work of the Lutheran church. ! The present officers are: President, Mrs. Clyde Ralston; Vice Presi­ dent, Mrs. Andrew Slettebak; Secretary-Treasurer, Mrs. Henry Mork; Pianist, Mrs. Carl Flem; and Librarian, Miss Carrie Barnum.

Fridtjoff Lodge No. 80 -- Sons of Norway It was early in the spring of 1908, when a few men of Norwegian descent met to organize a Sons of Norway lodge in this community. In this little prairie village of Petersfourg and its surrounding territory, 31 most of the inhabitants had emigrated from Norway. Thus, it was not long before 50 members had been signed. The Order of the Supreme Lodge, Sons of Norway, was notified to send an organizer to Petersburg. This request was granted and the Su­ preme Lodge s organizer, Brother Peterson, came to Petersburg about April 15, that year. When further information was received from the Supreme Lodge, they were advised that the numeral of the Lodge would be 80: A spe­ cs meeting was then called and it was decided to postpone the founding of the lodge until the membership could be matched with the numeral of the lodge. This became a reality and on April 28, 1908, the Fridtiof Lodge No 80 was founded with eighty charter members, which was the largest lodge organized by the Sons of Norway up to that time rf'fiolnnf !t7v,°f-thf ,wmdal L°dge N°- 24 of DeviIs Lal« officiated efficiently at the installation ceremonies. The following officrs were elected: President, Ole Hildre; Vice President, Severt He-stad- Council­ lor, John Flem, Secretary, P. P. Hildre; TreasWer RoS Waag Si Director, Ole S. Hove; Marshall, Knute Erickson; Assist" t MarTha,T C. Overland; Inner Guard, A. N. Mork; and Outer Guard, E. S Asleson by B^erctisrP^e^"3 "" ^^ * ** °^ «•"** Now, after 49 years, we find the Fridtjof Lodge No 80 is still in cx- jstence and in good standing with the Supreme Lodge Sons of Norway, and is m good fmancia condition. A library has 'been maintained and gLenC,nanguagesPr0Xlm " 3°° V°1UmeS fa ,b0th the En=Hsh and No! we" The Lodge has held yearly festivals and often celebrnted «,» *m\, «f May and the 7th of June. At these festivals uSS^'J^K^ many great speakers. Visiting guest speakers from Norway have nluded such well-known figures as Prime Minister Hamforo, Kaptain Ang1 and Davld Knudson. From this country, the Lodge has heard addresses by P3• £STT o'S'r T' T6ter MyrV0,d' Dr' Richard Beck Or" P. J. Iverson, T. O. Gilbert, Bjorgulv Bjorneraa, Carl G O Hansen P n Sattre, O. L. Svedal and many others Hansen, P. 0.

ZtTcZTs^ " **" M MW »•»• ™« wa^donated to From this Lodge the following members have served as officers in the Supreme Lodge, Sons of Norway, and of the District Led- No 4 J O. Engesather held the high office of Supreme Treasurer to" 22 v ,r ' and had previously held the office of President and SecretaJ of D st ct Lodge No. 4; Louis Waag served as Social Director at conventions in ho h the Supreme Lodge and at District Lodge No. 4 conventlons '" bo.h Four of the charter members are living. They are P. I Flem M 0 Loken, Marvin Broton and Peter I. Reiten. ' 32 The 4-H Clubs The first 4-H club in the Petersburg area was organized about 1920 with Ray Andrews as its leader. It has been in continuous operation since its organization. There are now three Clubs in the Petersburg area which are the Sen­ ior, Junior and the Girls' Club. In recent years at the County Fairs, many of the prizes and sweeptsake honors have been won by members of the three local clubs. The 4-H Club, named the "Adler Happy Gang," was organized in 1956 as a combined club with Mr. and Mrs. Glenn Gilbertson as leaders. Wilford Hillebrand is President and Judy Sears is Secretary-Treasurer.

Petersburg Sponsors Mid-Winter Fairs On February 23 and 24 of 1923, the Commercial Club of this village sponsored the first Mid-Winter Fair and for seven consecutive years, this was an annual event. The first two fairs were two-day celebrations but grew in the following years to three and four days. These fairs were held in the old Opera House. During this period, our community had some of the best turkey and poultry breeders in the state, and their products were in great demand in many parts of the country. The poultry show was as large and as good as any show in the state and compared with the present shows at Crook- ston, Minnesota. At these fairs, there were large displays of grains, vegetables, baked goods, jams, jellies, pickles, sauces, sewing and needlework. The interest in these displays was great and the competition keen. Prizes were award­ ed for the best specimens in each class. During winter months, the men selected the largest and most perfect samples of their oats, barley, wheat and flax to submit as their entries and the ladies of the community prac­ ticed baking bread, cakes, cookies, etc., in order to find prize-winning recipes. Many good speakers were secured, including Jake Eastgate of Lari- more, who is believed to have attended all the Fairs; Mr. Grisvald, Pro­ fessor of Animal Husbandry, and Professor 0. A. Barton, Poultry Special­ ist from the Agricultural College at Fargo. To make this a more festive occasion, the Petersburg Concert Band, the High School Glee Clufos and many other groups were included on the program during these years of the Fair's activity.

John Larson Post, American Legion The John Larson Post of the American Legiion was first organized in 1924. The Post was named in honor of John M. Larson who died in ac­ tion in World War I. The Post was disbanded and reorganized in 1930. During World War H the Post purchased the old Farmers State Bank building and remodeled it, including a full basement. It sponsors the Jun­ ior Legion Baseball team and supports Boys State. 33 American Legion Auxiliary

American Legion Auxiliary party, 1946. Members not identified The present American Legion Auxiliary was organized in Petersburg October 18, 1933. Prior to this, as early as 1927, an Auxiliary had been organized. Our records show the following to have been Charter members' of the present organization: Mrs. Clara Emeh, Mrs. Julia Andrews, Mrs. Mar­ garet Boedigheimer, Mrs. Ida Grochow, Mrs. Anna Krogen, Mrs. Mary Swendseid, Mrs. Hannah Erickson, Mrs. Ruth Heier, Mrs. Muriel Sample, Mrs. Murle Benson, Mrs. Christine Loken, Miss Emma Reiten, and Mrs. Nettie O'Hara. Some of the first projects of the new organization included helping Legion buy furnishings for the new Auditorium, namely a piano, cur­ tains, lights, and buying dishes for the kitchen. Throughout the years the Auxiliary has contributed to Veterans' hos­ pitals, both at Christmas and at other times of the year, to all drives, such as March of Dimes, Cancer, Red Cross, etc., as well as to all the Na­ tional projects of the organization. As is true with the American Legion, one of the main interests of the Auxiliary is the Child Welfare Program. The Auxiliary has an "adopted child" at Lisbon, North Dakota, who is furnished gifts several times during the year. The child's father was disabled in World War H. Each year the organization sends a girl to "Girls' State," held at the Uni­ versity of North Dakota in June of each year. Eligible girls are juniors in high school who are superior in scholarship, leadership, character, arid cooperativeness. Girls who have represented Petersburg in recent years are Lorayne Reiten, Marlene Mork, Jeanette Engesather, Donna Harmon, Lorraine Flem, Jean Erickson, Kathleen Elgin, Norm© Gunderson, and and Evelyn Mork. All reported a pleasant and instructive week. Each year, before Memorial Day, the Auxiliary sells poppies which are made by disabled veterans in hospitals. The proceeds are used for their rehabilitation and Child welfare work. The money making venture is the dinner served on Memorial Day. Each year the two organizations sponsor a fitting Memorial Day program. 34 P.A.N. Homemakers Club

P. A. N. Homemakers Club. Photo taken in February, 1943 Mmes. Thomas Crawford, Will Hillebrand, Walter Pickard, Fritz Schaley and Lillian Kelly The P.A.N. Homemakers Club was organized in February, 1925, at the home of Mrs. W. O. Pickard. County Agent, Lofthus, helped to or­ ganize the club. The following officers were elected: President, Mrs. Palmer Nelson; Vice President, Mrs. W. O. Pickard; Secretary-Treasurer, Mrs. C. P. Kelly. The following ladies became members: Mrs. W. O. Pickard, Mrs. Warren Pickard, Mrs. Wilbur Dezell, Mrs. C. P. Kelly, Mrs. Roy Harmon, Mrs. Jens Fredrickson, Mrs. Thomas Crawford, Mrs. Palmer Nelson, Mrs..Fred Schaley, Mrs. D. 0. Bales, Mrs. Art Peterson, Mrs. William Hillebrand and Mrs. George McCrae. Mrs. Archie MeCrae, Mrs. Anton Burke, Mrs. Otto Severson and Mrs. Ed Hillebrand joined later. The P.A.N. Homemakers is the second oldest continuous active mem­ ber club in Nelson County. It was originally named Petersburg Town­ ship Homemakers but the name was changed later to P.A.N. (Pelersfourg, Adler, Niagara) Homemakers. The Club placed second on a booth at the State Fair at Grand Forks portraying Whole Wheat the second year after they organized. There are three charter memfors still living, Mrs. Lena Hillebrand, Mrs. Lillian Kelly and Mrs. Emma Schaley. At present, there are 16 active members: Mmes. Louis Hillebrand, Albert Larson, Oscar Magnus, Edwin Meyer, Carl Morkrid, Ole Solseng, Francis Sears, Donald Ouradnik, Ole Peterson, Chester Schaley, Ervin Schmidt, Robert Landes, Louis Larson, David Olson, Oswald Ophaug, and Otto Gilbertson. The officers are Mrs. Louis Larson, Mrs. Oswald Ophaug, Mrs. David Olson and Mrs. Otto Gilbertson. 35 Town and Country Homemakers Club

Town and Country Homemakers Club A meeting was held June 7, 1950, in the Home Economics room to discuss plans for the organization of a Homemakers Club. Mrs. Odean Monson had charge of this meeting. On June 12, the county agent, Mr. Coles, met with us and the club was officially organized with nine members: Mrs. Hans Aamodt, Mrs. Clarence Benson, Mrs. Gerald Davis, Mrs. Oren Hillebrand, Mrs. Henry Mork, Mrs. Elverne Fredrickson, Mrs. Martin (Fredrickson, Mrs. Clyde Ralston, and Mrs. Mary Mork. Officers were elected and the rules and duties of the club were made. The first officers were: President, Mrs. Hans Aamodt; Vice President, Mrs. Clarence Benson; and Secretary- Treasurer, Mrs. Oren Hillebrand. Mrs. Henry Mork entertained at the first meeting July 19, 1950. The Club meets once a month. Members attend the council meetings, demon­ strations and the project lessons. Two charter members have passed away, the oldest member, Mrs. Mary Mork and the first president, Mrs. Hans Aamodt. Mrs. Aamodt worked very diligently to organize the Club and gave it its name. The present officers are: President, Mrs. Paul Severson; Vice Presi­ dent, Mrs. Pat McMahon; Secretary, Mrs. Melvin Miller; and Treasurer, Mrs. Olaf Helland.

The Civic Club The Women's Civic Club of Petersburg was organized July 1,1932. The following ladies constituted the charter members: Mmes. P. E. Johnson, H. Grochow, P. I. Flem, M. O. Loken, Conrad Hildre, A. I. Erickson, Iver Reiten, O. G. Heier, T. M. Rykken, H. A. Nicholson, and Miss Emma Rei ten. 36 The first officers were: President, Mrs. M. O. Loken; Vice President, Mrs. T. M. Rykken; Secretary, Mrs. H. IA. Nicholson; and Treasurer, Mrs. H. Grochow. The annual dues were twenty five cents. The original purpose of the Club was to beautify the town. They or­ iginated the idea of a Community Christmas Tree and a Santa Claus Day. The Club has supported various charities throughout the years. Funds to carry on their projects have been raised through dues, sponsoring talent shows, and presenting home-talent plays. The Club has been an active civic organization. They have contributed much to the improvement of the Auditorium. They equipped the kitchen, purchased seats for the theater, and assisted in the purchase of a movie machine.

21'ers Homemakers Club The 21'ers was the twenty-first homemakers club organized in Nel­ son County. The Club had their first meeting in July of 1950. The orig­ inal members were Mmes. Charles Byrne, Willis Riely, Harold Schmidt, Olive Halstenson, Oscar Kinneberg. Mark Johnson, Wm. Behm, Obert Sonderland, Ralph Schiller, Harvey Bales, Walter Wilhelm, John Reineke, Ole Thompson and Connie Kinneberg. The Club has followed the regular schedules of the homemakers council, extra activities have included Christmas parties for the children, summer picnics, sewing for the Michigan Hospital, card parties, food sales, fair booths, and the touring of places of interest in Grand Forks. Four of the original members still belong to the group. They are Mmes. Willis Riely, Obert Sonderland, 0!c Thompson and Charles Byrne.

Farm Organizations Nelson County Farm Bureau The Nelson County Farm Bureau was organized at Lakota in 1946 with about 80 farmers present. The first president was Irving M. Han­ son of DaMen. At present, Alfred Warmarck of Michigan is president of the county organization and Ingward Reiten of Petersburg is secretary. The Nodak Mutual Insurance Co. was also organized in 1946 to serve the Farm Bureau. Adler Local of the Farmers Union The Adler local of the Farmers Union was organized in 1927. The first secretary was Hans Berge. The local has been very active for the past 30 years and has a large membership. Glenn Gilbertson is president of the local and Mrs. Bernard Sdhmc- chel is the secretary-treasurer.

Farmers Shipping Association The Farmers Shipping Association came into being about 1922. Kmute Erickson was ;foe first manager in 1927. Hans Paulson then be­ came manager until 1950 when Ehler Reimers took over. 37 Pioneers ANTON ALVESTAD Anton Alvestad came to Petersburg in 1910 from near Aalsund, Nor­ way. He worked on farms the first two years. In 1912, he began work for the great 'Northern Railway and continued with them for 37 years. In 1913, he married Mary Benson, daughter of Christ Benson Sr. They raised 11 children, four sons and seven, daughters, all of whom are mar­ ried and have families of their own. In 1919, the Alvestads moved to Lakota and lived there until he re­ tired in 1949. They moved to Devils Lake and later to Shelby, Montana, where Anton passed away. He always said he was coming back to Pet­ ersburg, and when he was laid to rest, it was at Petersburg in 1952.

MR. AND MRS. KNUTE AXELVOLD Mr. and Mrs. Knute Axelvold came to Petersbugr in 1893 from Nor­ way. They homesteaded here in 1907. Later they moved with seven chil­ dren to Fosston, Minnesota, where they bought another farm and where their eighth child was born. The Fosston farm was all woodland so they spent the winter clearing and selling wood. When this land was cleared, they farmed it and rented out the North Dakota farm. In 1928, they moved hack to North Dakota and farmed here until 1935 when they again returned to the farm near Fosston where they lived until their deaths. Mr. Axelvold passed away in 1948 at the age of 90 and Mrs. Axel­ vold thirteen days later at the age of 81. All the children are still living.

JENS ANDERSON Jens C. Anderson (Broncho Jens) was born in Denmarck in 1871 and settled in Nelson County in 1881. He began farming on the Elling Mork homestead in Nash in 1901. He later moved to Michigan where he operated a livery barn for many years. He died there in 1948.

ANNIE ALFSON AND CARRIE BORGEN Miss Annie Alfson and Miss Carrie Borgen were two lady homestead­ ers in Adler Township. They lived on their claims for a number of years. Miss Borgen at present is living in California. Miss Alfson married An­ ders Lunden and lived on their farm until they retired. Miss Alfson was a charter member of the Lorn Ladies Aid. Mr. and Mrs. Lunden died with­ in two weeks of each other in 1932.

MR. AND MRS. ARNE ASLESON Mr. Asleson was born March 29, 1837, at Hedalen, Valders, Norway, where he spent his childhood and youth. In 1859 he, like so many other

38 young people at that time, emigrated to this country. In those days such a trip required both courage and fortitude. It meant a sea voyage of • many weeks in a small sailing vessel and after that a slow and.tedious inland journey of several weeks. , ...... : .,, He finally arrived at Rock Creek, Iowa, where he stayed a short time and then moved to Dane County, Wisconsin. While there, he met Miss Thora Guldbrandsdatter. They were married in I860. In 1881 they came to North Dakota and settled about two miles north of Niagara. They had six sons. Mrs. Asleson died in 1885 and in 1889 Mr. Asleson married his sec­ ond wife, Randine Knutsom, who was born October 12, 1852, at Torpen, Norway. She came to Niagara in 1888. Two sons, Thorwald and Martin, were foorn to this marriage. Mr. Asleson died in 1921 at the age of 84 and Mrs. Asleson in 1934.

ALBERT ASLESON Albert Asleson, an old pioneer of the community, was born' in Wis­ consin in 1865. Together with his father, Arne, and his 'brother, Albert; they came from Wisconsin to the Bachelors Grove area, traveling with oxen and taking along eight head of other cattle. It took them over four weeks to make the jour­ ney and they arrived in Bachelors Grove July 5, 1885 where .they homesteaded. On Christmas Day, 1886, on his' homestead, he mar­ ried Miss Tboretta Milevandet Iverson Who had come from Nor­ way the year before. In '1898 they farmed 'the Anton Leite farm,, in 1899 the Hoi'land farm, and in • 1900 the Anton Leite fawn again. He managed a1 meat market, for a time, in a building north of Ten- nison's barn and later in a build­ ing that stood west of Eber Bull's store 'building, and still later 'in' the meat market which is now the present meaTmarket Mrs."Asleson passed away in 1941 and Mr: Asleson •at 92 years of age is living at the Gronna Memorial Home at Lakota. They were the parents of 11 children of Which seven are still living.

EDWARD ASLESON Edward Asleson, a pioneer of the community, was foorn in Wiscon­ sin in 1862. He came with his father and his brother, Albert, to the Bachelors Grove area in 1885 where .they homesteaded. He married Miss Julia Magnussen, Who came from Norway in 1884. They lived in the Bachelors Grove community until 1898 when, they moved to Niagara. In 1901 they farmed the Hans Leite fanm and in 1902 they moved to Petersburg where they lived until Mrs. Asleson's death in 1920. Mr. Asleson then moved to Ray, North Dakota to make his home with his daughter, Tillie (Mrs. Vedvick) where he passed away at the age of 62.

CHARLEY APPEL Charley Appel was born in 1875 at Decatur, Illinois. His fath­ er was a Civil ar Veteran. Mr. Appel and Miss Mary Hille­ brand were married in 1902. Three children were born to this union, Vernon, Lester and Francis, (Mrs. Joseph Nelson). M r. Appel farmed in Adler township until 1905 at which time foe 'bought and moved to his pres­ ent farm ia Naah township where he and his two sons continue to farm. The three quarters of land which Charley now farms were alf homesteaded by three members of the LaToure'te family and were purchased directly from them or their heirs. Mrs. Appel died in 1941.

MR. AND MRS. SWEN ACKERSON Mr. and Mrs. Swan Ackeron came to North Dakota in March, 1906 with their family of Mae, Charley, Anton, John, Lillie, Ella, Ollie and Albert. Elsie was born the following year, in May, 1907. They farmed until 1915 when they moved to Niagara where they resided utnil Mr. Ackerland's death in December, 1928. Mrs. Ackerson then made her home with her sons in California until Anton died in August, 1947. After that she lived with her daughters in North Dakota. Of the family, Charlie died in 1914; Mae (Mrs. Olaf Olsson) lives in Larimore; Ella died in 1925; Albert died in 1913; John died in 1946 and Anton died in 1947. Elsie (Mrs. Ervin Swendseid) lives in Peters­ burg at the present time. Ollie (Mrs. LaBorde) lives in Omaha, Nebraska, and Lillie (Mrs. Svaren) lives in Niagara. Mrs. Ackerson died in 1955.

40 JOHN A. ANTON John E. 'Anton was born February 25, 1872 in Dundee, Scotland. He came to North Dakota in 1892 and worked for about one year for his brother, William. In 1893 he began farming for himself inNash township. He married Ella Minden of Winger, Minn., in 1919 and to this union four children were born'—Glarice, now Mrs. Hanssen; Jean, now Mrs. Leo Gregoire; William and Adaline. Mr. and Mrs. Hanssen live on the R. E. Hamilton estate farm east of Dahlen. Mr. and Mrs. Leo Gregoire live on their fruit ranch near Carmichael, Calif. William is married and operates the home farm. Ade­ line has taken up teaching as her profession. Mr. Anton died January 23, 1943, at the home farm. Mrs. Anton sur­ vives.

B. W. ANDREWS B. W. Andrews was born at Delavan, Wisconsin., and first came to this territory when he helped in building the Great Northern Railway and .worked on Ate construction as far west as Great Falls, Montana. Mr. Andrews and Miss Rose McCooey of Janesville. Iowa, were married in 1890 and they made their home on the homestead on which Mr. Andrews had filed a few years previous. They raised a family of nine chil­ dren — five boys, Ray, Edward, William, 'Frank and Arthur, and four (girls, Agnes, Annie^ Pearl and Lillie (Mrs. N. A. Reiten) now deceased. Besides his homestead, Mr. A

Louis Bennett and Miss Mary Reisch of Chequest, la., were married in 1892. They moved to North Dakota where they homesteaded in Adler township. From Adler they moved to California. They were the parents of six children, Leo, Otis, Evelyn, Audry, Verna and Loretta.

MR. AND MRS. HANS BERGE Mr. and Mrs. Hans Berge, nee Edna Borgen, farmed in Adler town­ ship until their deaths in 1938 and 1945. Their son, Lawrence, is operat-; ing and residing on the home farm. Olive Berge is teaching school in Portland, Ore. Irene (Mrs. Clarence Hardland) lives in Oregon City, Ore. Hazel (Mrs. Floyd Byrne) lives in Minneapolis.

F. L. BYRNES FARM The farm now known as the F. L. Byrnes farm has had many dif­ ferent families operating it over the years. The Hugh Patterson family moved west lin 1910. The Jacob Ericksons, Houston county, Minn., came in 1910 and moved back to Minnesota in 1915. In 1916 Jack Maland of Fulton, Mo. (a son of the owner at that time) moved on the farm and remained until the fall of 1918. Otto Haugaard then rented the farm of the new owners for two years, after which Mr. and Mrs. F. L. Byrnes moved to the farm from Swea City, la., where Frank L. Byrnes had been superintendent of schools for some years. He was also superintendent of the Petersburg school for three years beginning about 1924. 42 FRANK J. BYRNE Frank J. Byrne acquired land in Petersburg Township in 1902 while visiting with a brother, William Byrne, and an uncle, B. W. Andrew®. In 1910, the Byrne family came to Petersburg and moved into their new farm home. They brought with them two carloads .of farm 'equipment in­ cluding 10 work horses and a fine driving team. For many years, Mr. Byrne was .the assessor for the township and often had to travel: on horseback to perform has du­ ties. Mir. Byrne purchased his first automobile in 1911 and his first tractor in 1917.

Of their 11 children, Mary,' Jennie and Alfred are deceased? Floyd lives in Minneapolis; Lillian ( M r s. Leonard Kunsfaier) ifl Wyoming, Minnesota; Walter is at Vancouver, Wash.; Lawrence in Gardena, Calif.; Estella (Mrs. Alfred 'Rosenberg) resides in Laffimore;.' Charles lives on the Hans Leite farm near Petersburg; Alice (Mrs. Willis Reilly) and her husband are farming the home farm. Mr. and Mrs. Byrne retired "from farming and moved to Larimore where Mr. Byrne died in 1954 and where Mrs. Byrne now resides.

HANS AAMOT Hans Aamot was born in Gulbrandsdalen, Norway in 1882 and came to America in 1900. In 1917 he married Miss Mable Johnson of Adler township. To this union were born Gordon of Tacoma, Wash.; Marion (Mrs. Elmer Schmidt) of Melvin Township; Harold of Petersburg and Evelyn (Mrs. Thomas Reiten) of Seattle, Wash. They farmed in Adler township until 1929 when they moved to Nash township and continued farming until they retired in 1944: They resided in Petersburg until 1952 when they moved to Tacoma, Wash. Mrs. Aamot passed away in 1956. The Aamots' Nash Township farm is now owned and- operated by the James Arnold family.

MR. AND. MRS. OLE L. BERG Mr. and Mrs. Ole L. Berg came from Norway and lived in Adler township for many years. Their daughter, Marit, married and lived in this township for many years, as did their son, Louis. Louis now resides in Lakota. Another son, Bennie, lives in Minneapolis. Mr. Berg passed away in 1943 and Mrs. Berg passed away in 1956 at the age of 90.

43 THOMAS BRUSDAHL FAMILY The Thomas Brusdahl family came to Nash about 1931. Mr. Brus- dahl married Mrs. O. T. Rodningen. They lived here until about 1937 when Mrs. Brusdahl died.

CHRISTIAN BENSON • Christian Benson was born in Soler, Norway, in 1854. He emigrated to America In 1885. In 1890 he was united in marriage to Miss Marion Kmitson, who was born in Hadland, Norway. They homesteaded cast of Petersburg in Grand Forks County. They moved to Petersburg in 1896 where Mr. Benson was employed by the Great Northern Railway as a section laborer until his retirement in 1919. Mrs. Benson passed away in 1921 and Mr. Benson in 1948 at the age of 94. Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Benson. They are Christ, who married Miss Merle Benson. She is now deceased and 'he lives in Portland, Ore. Bessie (Mrs. Oscar Johnson), Everett, Wash.; Sena (Mrs. William Jen­ son), Fargo; Mary (Mrs. Anton Alvesbad), Shelby, Mont.; Oscar. BJsmarck; Bernard, East Grand Forks, Minn.; and Clarence, a''. Doyon, N.D., also survive. I Their grandchildren are Myr­ tle (Mrs. Frank Levgelly), Grand Forks; Agnes (Mrs. Clarence Lein), Crookston. Minn.; Ingvald, Necfoe; Vernald, Warroad; An'on Jr., Shelby, Mont.; Ren a (Mrs. Ralph Hiidrcth), Shelby, Mont.: Mildred (.Mrs. Fritz Pfannsmith). Shelby, Mont.; Clarice (Mrs. Deb Hay-ward, Doyon, N.D.; Lila (Mrs. David Tronson), Doyon; Mary (Mrs. Jay Jaroma), Hamar; and Robert Al vest ad, Devils Lake. Elmer Hagen, Grand Forks; Casper, Fargo; Einar, Seattle, Wash.; Lillian, Seattle. Charles Kleven, Grand Forks; and El.mcr Kleven, Lakota. Bensons — Arlene and Shirley are at East Grand Forks, Minn.! Do­ lores, Donald, Duaine and Ronald are at Bismarck; Ethel (Mrs. Ray Dun­ can), Mae (Mrs, All Apa), and Douglas are at Portland Ore.; Doro'hy (Mrs. George Lyman), Milwaukee, Ore.. Overlands — Herbert, Million and Oscar are at Everett, Wash.; and Charles is at Seattle, Wash.

44 MR. AND MRS LARS BORGEN

Mrs. Lars Borgen has an enviable record as a midwife in the nurh- ber of babies she delivered in Adler and surrounding communities. Snow, storm, thunder and rain or dark of night did not stop her from going out when called to help whenever needed, to deliver a baby or help and comfort the sick and the dying. There were no doctors nearby in those days so her efforts were in great demand. All the members of the Lars Borgen family married and settled in Adler township. They are Edna (Mrs. Hans Berge); Theodore (married Mary Anderson); Annie (Mrs. Sever Mundhjeld); Lena (Mrs. Erik Mund- hjeld); Lizzie (Mrs. Gabriel Mundhjeld); Clara (Mrs. Tom Myhrert) and Leo (married Elmira Vizna and lives on the home farm). Lars Borgen passed away in 1917 and Mrs. Borgen in 1925. Mrs. Berge, Mrs. Sever Mundhjeld and Mrs. Tom Myhren are also deceased/' - Mr. and Mrs. Lars Borgen gave a two acre plot of ground to the Lom Congregation when it was organized in 1899. •••••

MARTIN BROTON Martin Broton came to Petersburg in 1885 from Minnesota. Mr. Broton married Miss Isabel Gunderson and to them nine children were born. Emma, Bertina and Mary are deceased. Ida (Mrs. Oscar Rodningen) lives in Grand Forks; Edvin of Hoople; Martha (Mrs. Skore) of Colfax, N. Dak.; Carl of Spokane and Oscar and William who operate the home farm which is still owned by the family Mr. Broton worked at various jobs until 1896 when he became man­ ager of the Minneapolis Northern Elevator in Petersburg, which he operated until 1910. He then moved to his farm in Nash township where he resided with his family until his death. 45 MILTON L. BARNEY Milton L. Barney was born at Medford, Minn., in 1858 and died at Xos Angeles in 1943. He homesteaded in Melvin Township about 1333 where he lived until 1916 when they moved to Minnesota. In 1889 Mr. Barney was married to Miss Kate R. Armstrong. She was born in South Bend, Pen.n., in 1866 and died in 1919 at Medford, Minn. She was a sister of Walter Armstrong who lived in Adler for many years and at one time had the Adler post office. There were 10 children born to Mr. and Mrs. Barney. They were: Roy, born in 1890 and died 'in 1907; Carl, born in 1891 and died in 1892; John was married in 1932, he died in 1951 in Los Ango'.es; Grace, foorn in 1894, and married in 1916; George, born in 1896, mar­ ried in 1921 and died in 1942; Wal­ lace, born in 1898 and died in 1921; an infant boy was born dead in 1900; Warrem, born in 1903, married in 1935; Lilian, born in 1905; Ralph, born in 1910 and died in 1919 in Fairboult, Minn. All the children were born in Melvin Township except Ralph Who was born in Petersburg. Grace (Mrs. John Wheeler Evans) has eight children and ail are married — five girls and three boys. One .boy served in the Ma­ rines in World War II in Okinawa Another one served and for eight .months occupational duty in Japan. An­ other one served three years in the Marines and was discharged in 1956. Warren married Miss Olga Berg. They have three children and live in Reseda, Calif. | Lillian (Mrs. LeRoy Johnson) lives at Los Angeles, Calif., and has one daughter, Betty (Mrs. Wayne Testerman, Who lives at Wessington, S.D. George married Miss Nettie Johnson and foolfo are now deceased. They had four children, namely: LaVerne, who married Miss Sherlie Swenseth and who have two children; Milton, who married Miss Bondc and who have three children; and Miss Beverly Barney of Petersburg.

JOHN DONNELLY John Donnelly came to Nash in 1893 after having homesteaded near Bachelors Grove. He farmed in Nash until 1909 when he solid and moved to Havre, Mont. The farm is operated by the Osborne Wangen family at the present time. 46 MR. AND MRS. D. O. BALES

i••:•• David-'O. Bales was born in Davis County, Iowa, January 26, 1867. •On March 22, 1890, he was married to Josephine Reisch, who was born June 13, 1873, in Davis County. In 1894 and 1895, Mr. Bales spent the summers in North Dakota and threshed with the hand-fed ma­ chines. He liked the country so well he returned with Mrs. Bales in April of 1896 to make their home on their farm eight miles south of Petersburg in Adler townf ship. While their home was1 being made ready for use, they resided with Mrs. Bales' sister, .Mrs. L. J. Bennett, Who with her husband had homesteaded in Adler town­ ship. The Bennett fairm was later known as the Evan Smaaladen farm. Mr. Bennett helped build the railroad from Bartlett to Devils Lake. Mr. and Mrs. Bales had four children, Clifford and Gafolen of Cali­ fornia, Ruth of Oregon and Harvey of Petersburg. Mr. Bales passed away March 29, 1935, and Mrs. Bales passed away in 1955 at Vancouver, Wash.

MR. AND MRS. JAMES BARR

Mr. and Mrs. James Barr came from Pennsylvania to Adler town­ ship in 1886, being some of the very early pioneers in the area. They were the parents of six children. W. Harvey was the oldest. He married Mary Aamot in 1873 and to them three children were born'— James E. of Grand Forks and Gerald and Horace, living on the Pacific Coast. Armstrong lives in Stanley, North Dakota. Alvin married Stella Waldrop (deceased) and he now lives in Grand Forks. Lizzie (Mrs. Will Carson) lives in Canada. The other two children, Bert and Lillie, died in infancy. In addition to his farming interests James Barr owned and operated a saw mill in the Bemidji area. During the winter he and his boys drove their teams to Bemidji and worked in the saw-mill. In the spring they brought loads of lumber back with them. Most of the lumber used in the Barr farm buildings was brought back this way. The farm is now known as the George Skaggs farm. Mr. and Mrs. James Barr passed away several years ago.

47 JOHN BISS

John Biss, one of the very first settlers in Adler township, came to Illinois from England in 1875 and then to Grand Forks in 1881. In 1882 he and his brother, Frank, filed on their homesteads. They built their claim shanty on the half section line dividing their quarters and thus each could sleep on his own land, which was one of the stipulations. John Biss married Mary Jane Harrison, whose parents were early settlers in Melrose township, in 1886. They lived in a three-room house the first few years and housed their livestock in a sod foam. To this union were .born six children. The first child died in infancy; Nellie (Mrs. Arthur Cascaden) is deceased; Wilford is deceased; George, a World War I veteran now residing in a Home in Aneta, North Dakota; Hazel (Mrs. Fred Lee) is deceased and Alice (Mrs. Louis Hillebrand) who resides on the original homestead. Those early years were very lean as money was scarce, not knowing at times how the next postage stamp could even be purchased. Blank­ ets were cut up and made into underwear. Buffalo bones were gathered to be sold and buffalo "chips" were used for fuel. Hay was also made into "twists" and burned. Trips were made to the Sheyenne River and Bachelors Grove with a team to bring home a load of wood. It took several days to make one of these trips. The field work in those days was done with oxen, before "'Frank" and "Pete" were purchased to draw the walking plow. The gram was hauled to Niagara, N. Dak. John Biss passed away in 1924 and Mrs. Biss in 1927.

48 MICHAEL BROTON Michael Broton was born in Valders, Norway, in 1860. He came to Grand Meadow in 1878, moving later to Ada, Minn., and finally to Pet­ ersburg in 1885. This same year, he built his blacksmith shop which foe operated until 1917. He moved to his farm east of the village the next year where he farmed until his re­ tirement in 1941. He then moved into Petersburg Where he passed away in 1952. Mr. Broton was united in mar­ riage to Miss Betty Halstenson in 1885. To this union, seven children were born: Marvin, Henry, Albert, James, Chester, Elmer and Clara. Marvin lives in Petersburg at the present time. Henry had two children and is deceased. Albert lives in La Habra, Calif. James, of Petersburg, married Olga Swendseid and they have three children. His daughter, Viv­ ian (Mrs. Eugene Drake) lives in Lakota and has four children of her own. Ardell, now of New Eng­ land, N.D., married Eleanor Behm and has three children. Dwaine married Marjorie Johnson and has two children. He also lives in Peters­ burg at the present time. Chester now lives in Bigfork, Mont. Elmer, also of Petersburg, married Miss Mary Yoney and has two children. Clara (Mrs. Keith Emeh) lives in La Habra, Calif., and has five children. Mrs. Michael Broton passed away in 1944.

ERICK M. ERICKSON Erick M. Erickson was born in Norway and came to Petersburg in 1891. He worked for a number of people before purchasing the home­ stead of Mrs. Hans Flem's parents, Fiester by name, in 1895 or 1896. He sold the farm to Grunwald Larsgaard who later let it return to him. He again sold the farm to Oscar Mork in 1921. Erick then moved to St. Paul, Minn., where he lived several years and married Gina Bratakker. They moved back to their farm in Nash and farmed several years until they sold the farm to the Harvey Wixo family, who now own and operate the farm. Mr. Erickson died January 30, 1957. Mrs. Erickson survives. 49 OLE J. BARSNESS

.-••Ole J. Barsness was born in Goodhue county, Minnesota, in 1866. In 1889 foe .married Miss Brita Lunde and in 1890 they came to the Peters­ burg area where they homesteaded. Mr. Louis Waag is now the owner of this, farm..... •. ..To Mir. and Mrs. Barsness seven children were foorn—Martha, de- ceased,v:Anna .(Mrs. Clarence Rodningen) deceased; Jens, Dulutfo, Minn.; L.ena.;-('Mrs;-Oscar Nelson) now deceased; Henry of Nash township and the owner,and operator of the Andrew Richardson farm; Mabel of Grand Forks and; Bertha (Mrs. A. O. Rystad) of Fargo. Mr. and Mrs. Henry Bareness.are the parents of three thildren, LeRoy, at home; Omer, now in-rthe service and stationed at San Antonio, Tex. and Clarine (Mrs. Rus­ set Spargow). Ole J. Barsness died in 1920 and Mrs. Brita iBarsness passed away six years later.

CHARLES BULL Charles Bull was born at Rio, Wis., in 1857, where he grew up and received his education. He attended the University of Wisconsin at Madi­ son. Mrs. Bull was born Miss Ida Tenold in 1861 at Tenold, Norway. She received her schooling and was confirmed in Norway. In 1875 her fam­ ily immigrated to the United States. In 1879 she came to Grand Forks together with Mr. and Mrs. Griggs, who founded the Griggs House (hotel) how the Imperial Hotel. At that time the nearest railroad was at Fisher's Landing and one took a stage from there to Grand Forks. Mr. and Mrs. Bull were married in 1881 and a short time later filed on land in'Nash township. There were six children born to Mr. and Mrs. Bull, EVa-, Arthur, "Clarence, Ada, Victoria and Eber. Mr. and Mrs. Bull farmedfor twenty years prior to moving to Petersburg in 1902. They bought-the hotel and livery barn at this time, which they operated until their deaths ln-1937. 50 MR. AND MRS. TOM CRAWFORD SR. Mr. and Mrs. Tom Crawford Sr. came from Canada with threo-son&w Tom, Jack and Alex. Jack farmed with his father and later, with his wife and two children, moved to Kempton. He now resides in. Larimorc. Tom married Clara Bode and lived on the Billings farm befohe building a home on his own land. He served on the township board for many years and now resides near Niagara.

•

MR. AND MRS. OLE GUNDERSON

Mr. and Mrs. Ole Christianson homesteaded in Adler Township. They wore charter members of the Lorn Church and Ladies Aid. Mrs. Christianson lives at McVillc, N.D.

MR. AND MRS. HARRY CLARK Mr. and Mrs. Harry Clark came to Petersburg in 1914 from Chokio, Minn. He was an auctioneer here and also ran an elevator for a number of years. He later bought a cream and poultry station but he continued to auction at sales until his death in 1937. The Clarks had four sons, all of whom are living. Mrs. Clark is making her home at the Gronna Home in Lakota.

WILLIAM CARR William Carr homesteaded in Adler township. He married Ansoph Larson and to this union seven children were born. They lived on and operated their farm for many years until they moved to Aneta. They later moved to Lakota when Mr. Carr was elected county judge in which capacity he served until his death. Mrs. Carr now resides in Fargo, N. D; 51 MR. AND. MRS. HENRY DRAKE

Christina Drake Mr. and Mrs. Henry Drake were married in 1891 and made their home on their homestead three miles west of Petersburg. Their five children were born at the farm and educated in the Pet­ ersburg school. Their children are Hugh, Alexander. Robert, Lucile and Herbert. Hugh and Alexander are deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Robert Drake and daughter Roberta, live at Larimore where Robert operates a shoe repair shop. Mrs. Lucile Drake Oliver and daughter, Mary Ellen, live at Pinebluff, N. C, and Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Drake a son, Douglas, is in the Air Force in Texas. 'Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Drake live at Lakota, N. D. where Her­ bert is employed by the Great Northern Railroad.

MR and MRS. GILBERT GILBERTSON 102 Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert Gilbertson farmed in Adler Township for several years in the early days. They returned to their native land, Norway, where they died many years ago.

62 JOHN O. ENGESATHER

Born in Sogndal, Sogn, Norway, December 17, 1860, John O. Enge­ sather emigrated to the United States in 1883, arriving at Larimore, N.D., March 31, 1883. On April 11, 1883, 'he came to Nelson County and squatted on the Northeast Quarter in Section' 33 in Dahlen Township. On April 26, 1889, he was married to Miss Sol- veig Wangen of Aurland, Sogn, Norway. His wife died in 1907, leaving behind the husband and the following children: Oedema (de­ ceased in 1910), Henry William and Selma (deceased in 1923). One son (John Arthur had pre­ ceded her in death in 1897. Mr. Engesather was married to Mrs. Ma 11 a Hoyum in 1916. She passed away in 1936. In 1906 he organized and be­ came cashier of the Farmers State Bank, Petersburg, Which institu­ tion became the Citizens State Bank of Petersburg in 1930, of which he was president at the time of his death. He was active in the work of the Church, singing in the choir and serving as 'Klokker' for many years. He was active in the Norwegian Singers Association for many years and until his death. ( He was particularly interested in the Sons of Norway Lodge, serv­ ing terms as Fourth Dis'.rict Secretary and President. He was also elect­ ed and. served for 22 years as Supreme Treasurer of th Sons of Norway. He passed away on his 87th birthday, December 17, 1947.

DENNIS COLLINS Dennis Collins was born in Ireland and came to this country at the age of three. For some years he worked for L. B. Ray as ranch foreman. Later he bought a farm east of the Ray farm in Nash township. After farming for a few years he moved to Petersburg. In the meantime he had married and to this couple two daughters were born—Myrtle, now Mrs. J. L. Rendahl of Moorhead, Minn, and Dora, now Mrs. Young of Iowa Falls, la. Mrs. Collins passed away in 1926 and Mr. Collins in 1943. 53 ALBERT COLE Albert Cole was born in Minnesota October 31, 1878. He came to North Dakota in 1881 and to Petersburg in 1892. He married Miss Eva Eugenia Foresta Bull in 1903. Mr. Cole was a barber by profession and operated his own shop until 1933 when he was fatally injured in a cat- accident. Mrs. Cole later remarried Olaf Velleu and resided in Peters­ burg until her death in 1956.

HANS O. ENGESATHER Hans O. Engesather was born in Songdal, Sogn, Norway March 1, 1863 and arrived in the United States in June 1883. He filed on the southeast quarter of section 28 in Dahlen township. He passed away at his home May 20, 1891.

ERIK O. ENGESATHER Erik O. Engesather was born in Sogndal, Sogn, Norway July 8, 1858 and came to the United States June 9, 1878. He filed on land near Gilby, N. D., May 5, 1880. In 1882 he squatted on the southwest quarter of sec­ tion 33 in Dahlen township. He moved from there in 1902 and passed away at Brocket, N. D., December 14, 1920.

SIMON O. ENGESATHER ''Simon Engesather, twin brother of Erik Engesather, was born in Songdal, Sogn, Norway July 8, 1858 and came to the United States in 1880. He filed on a quarter of land in section 13 of what is now known as Dahlen township. He passed away January 18, 1891 at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Erik Engesather in Larimore, N. D.

PETER J. ERICKSON Peter Erickson was born in Stavanger, Norway July 18, 1864. When he was five years old the family came to LaCrosse, Wis. but soon moved to Houston, Minn. Here Peter married Emma Johnson of Highland Prairie March 15, 1894. Their son, Elden, was born in Minnesota. In 1896 the family came to North Dakota and worked in the Michi­ gan area for two years. In 1896 they also purchased the Peter Jorgenson homestead and two years lated they moved to the quarter where they made their home until 1918 when they moved to Petersburg to make their permanent home. Mr. Erickson died April 3, 1950. Mrs. Erickson makes her home with her son, Elden, and his wife, the former Gena Rodningen. . The farm has had several owners since the Ericksons left. Clarence Rodningen bought the farm of the Ericksons. Later it was owned by Clarence and Peder Nash and later by Wallace Hillebrand. At present it is owned and operated by Mr. and Mrs. Melvin Miller. 54 KNUTE ERICKSON Knute Erickson was born in 1863 near Kristiansund', Norway, and he passed away in 1952 at the age of 89 years. He came to this country at the age of seventeen and''to Petersburg in 1886. In 1891 foe was .married to Miss Tona Gardlirie Peterson, a daughter of' Halvof Peterson. >'.;' ' ''•'•"' They had five ehildern. Horry farms near Petersburg. Arnold married Miss Hannah Gedstad and has four children. Arnold O. is in the garage business i.n Petersburg with his father. LeRoy is married and eonpolyed in Min­ neapolis. Allen is employed in Denver, Colo., at the present time. A daughter, Jean, is attending the University of North Dakota, as did Arnold's other children.; '""'"';' '" Ella Erickson is currently employed in Devils Lake. 'Ida (.Mrs. Henry Grodhow had. six children: Harriet, Donald, Ida Mae, Dorothy, Raymond, and Marion. Theodora (Mrs Neil Ryall).had one son, James, and lives in St. Louis Park, Minn. Knute Erickson farmed in the Petersburg area for many years. He also operated the dairy for a long time. The Petersburg community owes him much for hiis faithful service in distributing milk in ail kinds of weather. Many times in the worst blizzards he was seen distributing milk on the same schedule he observed in nice weather. Knute's wife and daughter, Ida, preceeded him in death.

GULLICK ELLINGSON Gullick Ellingson was born in Wisconsin in 1858 and came to Nash township in 1906. He married Maria Olson of Minnesota in 1893. Seven children were born to this marriage. Alma, Emil, George,: Ste!Ia: end Henry were born in Minnesota. Myrtle and Alvin were born after arrival in North Dakota. Alvin died in action in France while in service, in World'War II. Stella is now Mrs. Edwin Glockzin and lives at Grey Eagte. Minn. Myrtle is now Mrs. Oliver Kyvig and has three children.. Gullick Ellingson died December 27, 1933 and Mrs. Maria Ellingsoii died October 2, 1942. When the Ellingson came to their present farm Andrew Wigngss lived on the place. Mrs. Wigness was a sister of Mrs'. P. I. Flem. , . J . 55 JAMiS DALGARNO

James Dalgarno was born in Canada in 1871. He came to Petersburg area in 1898 where he worked at various jobs. In 1909 he married Miss Sophie Hillebrand. This same year he purchased a farm and began farming. They lived on the farm until his death at the age of seventy. Mrs. Dalgarno died in 1943. They left two children, James of Auburn, Wash., and Lena of Grafton, N. Dak.

MARTIN M. EKROM Martin M. Ekrom was born on Ekrom gaard in Aalesund, Norway on the 8th day of March, 1869. His parents were Martin and Johanna Ekrom. He was both baptized and confirmed in the famous Borgund church, built in the 14th century. He migrated to Ameirca in 1888 and came directly to Petersburg where he remained until the fall of 1889 when he went to Tacoma, Wash. For several years he sailed between the West Coast, Australia, New Zealand, China and Japan. In the summer of 1893 he returned to Petersburg and went into partnership in the general mercantile business. During the winters of 1896-97 and 1897-98 he attended Aakers Business College in Grand Forks. He sold his interest in this business in 1904 and became manager of the Imperial Elevator Co., which position he held until 1915. In the spring of 1916 he moved with his family to his farm two miles south of town, where he resided until the time of his death. He was married to Lena Flem in 1899 to which union seven child­ ren were born, all of whom are still living. During the earlier years Mr. Ekrom was actively affiliated with the Modern Woodmen, Odd Fellows and Sons of Norway lodges. He was also a member of the Norrona Male Chorus and a member of the church choir. Until the time of his death he was president of the Petersburg Farm­ ers Elevator Company which he helped to organize. He was also township treasurer for more than 20 years. He was a member of the Petersburg Lutheran church from its early founding.

FRED FREDRICKSON Fred .Fredrickson was born in Denmark in 1877. He came to North Dakota in 1903 and was married in 1912. The first few years after com­ ing to the Petersburg area he farmed on rented land and in 1913 he purchased a farm once owned by Skuli Skulison, a son-in-law of M. N. Johnson, who later sold this farm to Andrew Smith from whom Mr. .Fredrickson purchased it. Mr. 'Fredrickson passed away in 1934 and Mrs. Fredrickson soon afterwards. Mrs. Doris Ray Pullin is now the owner of this farm and Lynn Ralston its operator. 56 MR. AND MRS. JENS FREDRICKSON Mr. and Mrs. Jens Fredrickson were both born in Denmark in 1869. They were married in 1890. Mr. Fredrickson came to Petersburg in 1892 and filed on a homestead six miles southeast of the village. His fam­ ily came to Petersburg from Denmark later this same year. Mr. and Mrs. Fredrickson worked for Erik Hanson the remainder of this year. Mr. Fredrickson, during time when he was not busy on Erik Hanson's farm, built a one-room tar-papered shack and made other necessary im­ provements, required by the homestead act, on his own farm. Mrs. Fredrickson told of an incident that happened when she and her daughter first came to the Hanson farm. Mr. Hanson was a bache­ lor at the time. He had a dog that had never seen women folks and when the dog saw Mrs. Fredrickson and heard laughter it was so frightened it left, never to return. While working for Mr. Hanson, Jens drove oxen and when he started farming for himself he drove one horse together with an ox as a team on a walking plow. In the course of time he bought more horses and machinery. Their first barn was a sod stable just large enough for his horse, ox, one cow and a few chickens. Their well, like all wells at that time, was dug by hand, cribbed with wood and had an oaken bucket on a rope for getting the water. Another incident as told by the Fred- ricksons, happened one winter morning after a long cold spell. Jens went for a pail of water and found the well frozen over. He dropped a rock into the well to break the ice and in doing so it left a large hole in the ice. About this time something else required his attention so he left the pail foy the well and attended to his other chores. Mrs. Fredrick­ son, wondering why Jens hadn't brought back the water, went to look for him and couldn't see him but did see the hole in the ice and the pail by the well. Thinking the worst, that he had fallen into the well, she became greatly alarmed. Prairie fires were always hazardous in the pioneer days and many dangerous ones were experienced. One especially bad one occurred in 1895. This fire covered quite a wide area in the community. In 1899 an epidemic of typhoid fever struck the community in which Mr. Fredrickson and three of their children were stricken, though all recovered. Mr. and Mrs. Fredrickson were the parents of eight children, six girls, Mrs. Anton Wixo (deceased); Helga (Mrs. Roy Harmon); Sena (Mrs. Nils Peterson); Lillie (Mrs. Hans Hanson); Anna and Eva and now reside in the Petersburg area except Eva who lives in Washington, D. C. All the children were born without the aid of doctors. Mrs. Fred­ rickson was attended by neighbor women as midwives. In 1938 Mr. and Mrs. Fredrickson retired from farming and moved to Petersburg where Mrs. Fredrickson passed away on her 49th wedding anniversary, Nov. 29, 1939 and Mr. Fredrickson a few years later. Sur­ vivors are children, many grandchildren and several great grand­ children. 87 ADOLPH FOSSUM Adolph Fossum and the girl Who later was to become his wife, were 'both born near Rushford, Minn., in 1871. They were married August 28, 1895. In 1906 'they moved to Petersburg. They were the par­ ents of six children. Christen died when he was two years old. Cora, now Mrs. Floyd Francis, lives on a farm near Sawyer, N. Dak. Martha, now Mrs. Fay Cook, lives on a farm near Minot, N. Dak. Norman lives at Edmonds, Wash. Bertha, now 'Mrs. Rose- be.rry, lives at Friendship, Wis. Harvey died in 1944 and Carrie in 1945. Adolph Fossum was the first appointed mail carrier in this area. He delivered mail north of Petersburg. He .also had charge of the first Sandard Oil bulk sta­ tion in this area, and used a teaim and a tank to deliver oil and gas.

THOMAS FORBES Thomas Forbes was born in Wisconsin about 1857. He came to Dakota in 1880 and homesteaded near Bachelors Grove. After proving up, he sold his homestead for $300 to pay for transportation for his father, two brothers and two sisters from Wisconsin to Nelson county. He came to Nash township in 1883 and filed on a tree claim. The follow­ ing year he brought his family here and had his father, Henry, brothers, Edward and John and sister, Mary, homestead near him. In 1887 Mary Forbes and Bob Munro and John Forbes and Louise Lukke were married in a double ceremony. To this latter marriage were born four girls, May (Mrs. William L. McMahon), Alice (Mrs. Tony Korlich), Gertrude (Mrs. Alvin Nash), Julia (Mrs. William Andrews) and one boy, Herbert, who died in an accidental drowning when he was 21 years old. Mr. and Mrs. Wiliam McMahon and their family now live on and operate the John Forbes land. The Mary Munro land is owned by by Mr. and Mrs. Tony Korlich while the Ed Forbes land is owned by Mr. and Mrs. Cari Espegard. Thomas Forbes was county commissioner from 1910 until his death in 1918. He never married. His sister, Julia, kept house for him. She died in 1933. Edward died in 1923 and John died about 1891. Louise Forbes (Mrs. Louise O'Leary) died in 1932. 58 THE FLEM BROTHERS

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Flem Mr. and Mrs. Carl Flem Sr. The Flem Brothers, Robert and Carl, and their families came to Dakota Territory in 1882 by rail to Larimore which was then the end of the railroad. Leaving their families there until shacks could be erected, they proceeded on foot westward to locate homesteads. Twenty-three miles out of Larimore, on the Fort Totten Trail, they found satisfactory land. There they "squatted" on land crossed by this road. The Fort Totten Trail was a wagon trail used by traffic between Larimore and Fort Totten, hence its name. Much of the building materia] for the buildings at the Fort was brought over this route. Signs of this trail still remain, its ruts were worn in places to depths of two feet. The St. Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba Railway's main line was originally surveyed and staked out along this trail, together with a com­ pleted telegraph line between Larimore and the Fort. This Railroad route and telegraph line was later moved further north to the Great Northern's present route and the village of Petersburg established. After the Flem brothers had built their shacks and provisioned them, they brought their families home. When the county was surveyed, their homestead proved to be in the extreme southwestern part of Petersburg township. Oxen were used for their farming operations. Oxen, though they 59 were working, were expected to get their feed by grazing. Oxen, by nature, like to lie down quite late in the morning. It therefore became a daily chore to rustle them up at daybreak to give them time to eat. Likewise, at noon, oxen were given at least two hours to eat. This, how­ ever, was not a period of rest for the men. They had rocks to remove and plow shares to sharpen, which were pounded out by hand. Only when pointing was necessary were lays taken to blacksmiths. Cold hand- sharpening lays took quite a knack. If not right the, walking plow became difficult to handle. The first years were hard ones with meager incomes. They learned to economize the hard way. However, game was plentiful with no game laws, so wild life was the main source of meat. Mr. Carl Flem told how one time he, with a rifle, shot into a flock of geese and bagged three geese and several ducks with one bullet. Robert Flem was born in Sondmor, Norway in 1850. In 1866 he mi­ grated to Minnesota where he labored as a "lumber jack." Two years later he returned to Norway where he married Miss Berte Langva. In 1882 he and his family returned to Dakota Territory. They came by way of Stillwater, Mlinn., where he was joined by his brother, Carl and family, also destined for the Dakotas. Mr. and Mrs. Flem were parents of nine children, five of whom were born in Norway—John, Ole (deceased in infancy), Lena, Pete and Knutc. The three children, born in Dakota were Kaya, who died from dipthcria in 1890, Anna and Kaya, a namesake of the deceased Kaya. John Flem married Miss Lena Hildremyr and to this union six children were born—Jack, Muriel, Theodore, James, Lloyd and Edna. Jack, now deceased, left his widow and three children. Muriel (Mrs A. T. Sample) has three children and lives in Portland, Ore. Theodore married Iola Halstenson and they have two boys and live in Portland, Ore. James married Pearl Debbing and they have five children. Lloyd married Ruth Harris and have two children. They live at Chehalis, Wash. Mrs. Edna Pugerude, a widow, has three children and lives in Kent, Wash. Mr. J. R. Flem (John) farmed for a time and then leased his land to move to Petersburg where he managed grain elevators for many years. Later, he again returned to farming for several years. For the past few years, Mr. and Mrs. Flem have spent their winters with their children and other relatives on the West Coast. Lena married Martin Ekrom and had seven children—Mattie (Mrs. Bakken, with three children and living in Fessenden; Ruth (Mrs. Ru­ dolph Otterson) lives at Fargo with three children; Lillie of Minneapo­ lis, Minn.; Adelaid of New York City; Jennings of Minneapolis and Phyllis of Minneapolis. Pete Flem married and lived in Canada. They had two children. The oldest died in a drowning accident and Ada is a student in a Seminary. Pete died in 1956. Knute was married and lived in Sherwood, North Dakota where he was in the implement business. They had five children. The oldest died

60 in infancy; Helen (Mrs. Carl Krueger); Alice (Mrs. Wilbur Johnson); Eunice (Mrs. Willie Kosel) and Lollie (Mrs. Leo Eatson). All the child­ ren are located in the Sherwood area except Lollie who lives in San Diego, Calif. Knute died in 1956. Anna married Oscar Rydell and lives on the Robert Flem home farm. They have two children'—Edith (Mrs. Orvin Halstenson) at North Hollywood, Calif, and Capt. Robert Rydell with the Air Force and sta­ tioned in Minneapolis, Minn. Kaya (Mrs. Howard Gargrave) lives in Michigan, N. D. They have one child, Berdella (Mrs. Maynard Flom) who also resides in Michigan. Carl Flem and Mrs. Eli Flem were born the same year in 1858 in Sondmor, Norway. In 1880 they immigrated to Stillwater, Minn. For a time Mr. Flem worked in a factory at a small wage, working a six-day week and a twelve-hour day. He worked beside convicts hired from the penitentiary at paltry wages. Convict labor was secured by contract with the penitentiary by making bids for their work which resulted in cheap labor for the factory and deplorable working conditions for the help. At first their farming was done by oxen and the first part of the farm was broken by the use of two oxen on a one-furrow walking plow. Later Mr. Flem got more oxen and obtained a two-furrow breaking plow. There were very few such plows in the community. To Mr. and Mrs. Carl Flem eight children were born, five of whom died in the diptheria epidemic of 1890. Many other community children died in this epidemic. Two other Flem children died after maturity— Eda of Grand Forks died in 1935 and Ole in a drowning accident at Stump Lake. Ole left a wife (nee Ella Orvick) and four children—Cam­ eron, who died a short time later; Orlynn; Lowell and Ole C, who was born after his father's death. At the present time Carl Flem is the only surviving member of the family and the owner of the old homestead. Carl married Miss Anna Kerler in 1920 and they are the parents of five children—Vivian of Wayzata, Minn., married Willis Kenmir, a captain with Northwest Orient Airlines. They have one son, Ronald. Carl lives in Fargo where he is a supervisor of accounts with Northwestern Bell Telephone Co. He married Gloria Hildremyr. Sidney is a lieutenant with the Air Force and is stationed in Germany. Ardis married Elroy Anderson, a radio operation with Northwest Orient Airlines at Billings, Mont. Lorraine is a senior at the University of North Dakota. All the children attended the University.

EVEN IVERSON 103 Even Iverson was one of the early settlers who same here about 1890. He was one of the early threshers of the township; his threshing operation covering the southern part of Nash Township. In 1908 he sold his holdings to Allen Ralston asd moved to Lake Plantagenet, near Bemidji, where he died in 1916. 61 MR. AND MRS. PETER I. FLEM Peter I. Flem as born in Sondmor, Norway and came to Petersburg in 1892. He was .married to Miss Gerti Wigdafol in 1898. She was a daugh­ ter oi Mr. and Mrs. Jens P. Wigdafol and received, her education at a school north of Petersburg. She came with her parents from Min­ nesota. After their marriage they spent some time in Alaska and returned to Petersburg in 1901. Since that time they have made their home at Peterbsurg. They were the parents of two children, both now deceased. Mrs. Flem passed away in 1956. Peter I. Fleim is the only suir- vivor of 'he onsn who started the ReJIen-Ekrom store in 1893. The store was later incorporated and it was called the Petersburg Mer­ cantile Co. In 1924 the store was taken over by Mr. and Mrs. Flem and was called the Flem Store. In 1941 they sold their store to Mr. and Mrs. Eber Bull and retired from business. Upon their retirement they spent their winter months at Hot Springs, Ark., but always returned to spend the summers at their home in Petersburg and at their cottage at Lake Plantaganet.

HANS GUNDERSON Hans Gunderson was born in Kongsvinger, Norway, March 29, 1866. He came to Petersburg in 1887 and worked as a section laborer. In 1895 he went to Amenia, North Dakota, as section foreman. Here he was maK ried to Augusta Geske in 1896, who passed away two years later being survived by her husband and a son, Paul, who now lives in Petersburg. In 1900 Hans married Annie Peterson, moving back to Petersburg two years later. In 1907 he moved to Bartlett and in 1913 to Garske where he died October 24, 1931. Mrs. Annie Gunderson, the second wife, was born in Hadland, Norway June 6, 1872 and came to America in 1893. After Mr. Gunderson's death she made her home with her daughters, Mrs. Carl Halfoerg of St. Ignace and Mrs. Harold Stimson of Santa Ana, Calif. Mrs. Gunderson passed away at Santa Ana in 1954.

LOUIS HELLAND Louis Helland (1857 1936) was one of the early threshers in the Dahlen area. He never married. 62 MR. AND MRS. MARTIN FLEM

Mr. and Mrs. Martin Flem were born in Sondmor, Norway and came to the Petersburg area in the eighties where they farmed until 1901. They sold their farm to Peter I. Reiten and moved to Tacoma, Wash., where they resided until their deaths. Survivors are several chidren.

KNUTE GEDSTAD

Knute Gedstad was bom in Norway in 1839 and came to the United States in 1861. He settled near Houston, Minn, and in 1865 married Bertha Rosing, a native of Wisconsin. They moved to Petersburg 'that same year and settled on a farm. Later they sold the fanm and built a house in town where foe lived until his death in 1926. His wife died in 1923. Eight children were born to them: Alex, Carl, Julius, Rudolph, Carrie (Mirs. Adolph Fossum), Annie (Mrs. Andrew Asleson), Clara (Mrs. Lawrence Oliver) and Hanna (Mrs. A. P. Thoen.. Mrs. Thoen, the only survivor, lives at Minot, N .Dak. THE KNUTE GARLI FAMILY

Mr. Knute Olsen Garli was born in 1862 in Nordre Aurdal, Valders, Norway of parents, Ole and Anna Olsen. He took up the shoe repair busi­ ness at an early age and continued with that until he left for the United States. While in Norway he served in the Norwegian Army where he was a sharp shooter. November 25, 1897 he married Petranille Oline Havenraas. She was born in 1873 of parents, Ole and Elizabeth Haven- raas in Kvindsherred Prestegjeld, Hardanger, Norway. She came to America in May, 1885. Mr. and Mrs. Gftrli were the parents of six children, four of whom have passed away. Mrs. Clarence Benson (Inga) and Miss Clara Garli are the only surviving members of the family. Mrs. Garli passed way in 1953.

GUDMUND GILBERTSON Gudmund Gilbertson married Miss Brit Severson, sister of Paul Severson in 1896. She came from Romsdalen, Norway, in 1891. Mr. Gilbertson came to this country from Romsdalem in 1892. He crossed the oceon on a freighter which took six weeks for the trip. His first job was on the Dunlap farm helping to thresh the 1891 crop which did not get threshed in the fall because of the early snow. Gilbertson homesteaded in 1893 in Adler township where they resided for the rest of their years. Mr. Gilbertson passed away in 1934 and Mrs. Gilbertson in 1943. They had five children—Bertha (Mrs. Ole Odegaard), Sever, Otto, Gilbert and Ralph. All but Ralph, who lives in Aneta, reside in Adler township. 64 MR. AND MRS. OLE B. GUNDERSON Ole B. Gunderson was born December 26, 1863 at Ostmairken, Konsvinger, Norway. In 1882 he came to America with his sister, Mrs. Martin Broton and located at Canton, Filmore county, Minn. Two years later, in the spring of 1886, he arrived in Petersburg. .Mrs. Gunderson, who maiden name was Caroline Johansen, was foorn at Lynner Annex, Hadeland, Norway. She came to Granger, Minn., in 1885 and in March, 1887 arrived at Niagara, N. Dak. They were married in 1889 and operated the Gunderson Hotel for a short time. The hotel was lo­ cated on the lot now occupied by the Bale Cafe. During this time they acquired their farm south of town. The hotel was turned over to Mr. and Mrs. J. P. Wigdafol in 1893 and Mr. and Mrs. Gunderson .moved to their farm. They were engaged in farming until 1918 when they moved into town. Four years later, in 1922, they returned to their farm where they lived until the time of their deaths. Their daugh­ ter, Susie (Mrs. Olaf Haugen') now lives on the farm. Thy have one grandson, Clarion Haugen. Ole Gunderson was one of those steady and faithful old pioneers, not only in things pertaining to his own house, but also as a citizen and a Christian. He served as a trustee of the Petersburg Lutheran Church for 30 to 40 years in succession. Mr. Gunderson died August 2, 1926 and Mrs. Gunderson on May 16, 1935. They were taken to their last resting place in the Petersburg Ceme­ tery and laid to rest under flhe shelter of the grove of trees planted by Mr. Gunderson in his youth, While working as a hired man in pioneer days.

HANS L. FLEM Hans L. Flem was born in Norway in 1874 and came to Petersburg in 1892, where he worked on the farm until entering the mercantile business around the turn of the century, and engaged in that business for about twenty-ifive years, and then started farming his own farm He was married in 1897 to Belle Fiester and there were nine childrei born to this union. Herbert of North Bend, Washington; Percy. Waldo, and Earl of Bakersfield, California; Beatrice, Mrs. Malcolm Unseth of Chicago; Gladys, Mrs. Jonas Hildremyr; Adelaide, Mrs. Malcolm Stewart; Anna and Hazel, of Bakersfield, California. He died in 1954. 65 OLUF HILDRE Oluf Hildre was born May 1, 1876 in Hildre, near Aalsund, Norway. He came to Petersburg at the age of 17 years in 1892. The land be homesteaded was the quarter sec­ tion west of the Bert Andrews farm. He moved to Petersburg and went into partnership in the Petersburg Mercantile Company with his brother, Ole Hildre and Hans and Peter Flem in 1903. He married Mabel Johnson in 1911. In 1912 he moved to Dahlen and built and operated the Dafolen Mercantile Company. Although his main, interest was the store and farming, he served two terms as state repre­ sentative. He sold his store to Christian Olson and Clarence Bjorsness and retired in July, 1938. Mr. and Mrs. Hildre have one daughter, Clarice, who lives in Seattle, Wash.

OLE GEDSTAD Ole Gedstad was born in Norway in 1853 and came to Minnesota in 1861. In 1895 he married Helen Olson. Their three children—Aimer, Olga and Hannah—were born in Minnesota. In; 1902 the family came to Nash township where they purchased the T. E. LeTourette homestead. Mrs. Gedstad passed away in 1926 and ten years later Mr. Gedstad died. Their son, Aimer, married Inez Magnus and they continued to farm the home place. Two children were born to them—Spencer, a dentist in Sacramento, Calif and a daughter, Vilera, a teacher at Concordia Col­ lege, Moorhead, Minn. One of the daughters of Ole Gedstad, Olga (Mrs. H. E. Thompson) lives in California. The other daughter, Hannah (Mrs. Arnold Erickson) of Petersburg has four children, Arnold O of Petersburg; LeRoy of Min­ neapolis, Minn.; Allen of Denver, Colo, and Jean at home.

MRS. MARTHA HAAVIK Mrs. Martha Haa.vik came to Petersburg in the spring of 1896. She was the mother of Mrs. Ole K. Reiten and Rasmus Haavik. As there were no doctors in those early days, she went around the neighborhood helping out as a midwife. She made her home with her daughter until her death in September 1918. OLE HILDRE Ole Hildre was born February 18, 1870 in Hildre, near Aalesund, Norway and came to Petersburg in 1888. He homesteaded the quarter at the site of the present Hildre Brother's farm. He .married Tena Reiten, daughter of Hans Reiten, in June 1896. She passed away in 1942. Mr. Hildre was a partner in the Petersburg Mercantile Co. with his brother Oluf and Hans and Peter Flem for many years. In 1918 he returned to the farm. Mr. Hildre was a member of the state legislature in 1925, a member of the school board for several years, a church trustee and 'Served with the county corn- imiiss'ioners for three terms. Mr. Hildre passed away Oct- 6, 1952. The Hildres had four sons. Peter and George of Petersburg; Hartvig of Cooperstown and Con- Tad of Herlong, Calif, and one daughter, Mrs. E. A. (Wilma) Code of Lisbon. There are 12 grandchildren, Mrs. Ed (Mary) Emerosn, Mrs. Mark (Connie) Novak and Mrs. Dale (Florence) Egbert of Herlong, Calif; John and Diane Hildre of Coope'rstown; Lt. George W. Hildre of Enid, Okla. and Janet Hildre of Minneapolis; Billy, Bobby, Karen, Kathy and Janice Code of Lisbon. There are also nine great grandchildren.

HENRY HALSTENSON Henry Halstenson was born at Grand Meadow, Minn, in 1869 and came to North Dakota about 3890. He purchased a farm in Nash Town­ ship in 1901. He taught school in Petersburg in 1901-1902. He moved out onto his farm in 1902. Mr. Henry Halstenson and Miss Aletta Ruste- bakke were married in 1901 and to this union four children were born. Alpha (Mrs. J. R. Hanson, Osakis. Minn.); Hilman, deceased in 1954; Iola (Mrs. Ted J. Flem) of Portland, Oregon; Odvin of Glindale, Calif. In 1917 Mr. Halstenson was elected County Treasurer. He returned to the farm in 1922. He retired from his farm in 1931 to Niagara where he lived until his death in 1942. Mrs. Halstenson passed away this same year. The farm formerly owned by the Halstenson family is now owned and operated by the Lynn Graham family, who came from Winnipeg, Canada. 67 RASMUS HAAVIK

Rasmus Haavik was born in 1863 at Haavika, Norway. He married Ingeborg Alvestad, who was born in 1867, on April 19, 1891. Two children were born to this union, Josephine (Mrs. Lawrence Buckland) of Tacoma, Wash., and Margaret (Mrs. Oscar Stomipro) of Petersburg. They made Aalesund, Norway their home until April 1903 when they came to Petersburg. He worked on the Great Northern section until he retired in 1931. His wife died October 29, 1937, and he on January 5, 1942.

SYLFEST AND THORA HAGEN Sylfest and Thora Hagen homesteaded in Adler Township in 1889. Mr. Hagen died in 1895. Mrs. Hagen, their son Gilbert, farmed until 1906 when Mrs. Hagen passed away. Gilbert and his family continued fanning the home farm. Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert Hagen had five children namely: Thora, Glendive, Mont.; Martha, Syver, and Gina (Mrs. Gust Johnson) live in Seattle, Wash.; and Nettie (Mrs. Swanson), Grand Forks, N. Dak. Mr. and Mrs Gilbert Hagen passed away several years ago.

MR. AND MRS. MARTIN HILDREMYR Mr. and Mrs. Martin Hildremyr were born in Sondmor, Norway. Martin arrived at Petersburg in 1902 and lived with his uncle, Jonas Hildremyr until the fall when he left for the state of Washington. He

68 returned to Petersburg in 1911 at which time he and Mr. Ole H. Reiten, as his partner, built the Petersburg Garage. Miss Lena Hildre, a sister of Olaf and Ole Hildre, came to Peters­ burg also, from Sondmor, Norway, in 1903 and made her home with her brother Ole until 1912 when she married Martin Hildremyr. They have five children all born and raised in Petersburg, namely: Obert, married Miss Agnes Bronkin and have three children, Marcia, and twins Jane and Jill. Obert is in business at Petersburg. Peter married Miss Bernice Bretke and live at Niagara, Wis.; Clarice (Mrs. Kenneth Bronson) have three children, Curtis, Clifford and Chris, and live in Seattle, Wash.; George is in business in Petersburg and lives at home; Mildred, now Mrs. John A. Hogg of Kalamazoo, Michigan, have three children, Karen, John and Thomas.

FRANK HERMAN Frank Herman was born in New York state in 1882. He came to Pet­ ersburg in 1898 where he worked as a farm laborer. In 1903 he married Hannah Potratz and in 1903, the young couple went to Tioga and home­ steaded on a nearby farm. In 1930- he returned to the Petersburg area where he worked as a carpenter. Later, he taught wood-craft at Lakota for four years. Five children had been born to them, two having died. Dorothy (Mrs. Chester England) is deceased. Alma (Mrs. Hjalmer Miller) lives in Fargo. Lydia (Mrs. Walter Heller) lives in Iowa. Ben is a machinist and lives in Wisconsin.

MR. AND MRS. JOHN GARGRAVE Mr. and Mrs. John Gargrave immigrated to Dakota Territory in 1881 from Illinois. They first settled at Arvilla and in 1882 they squatted in what is now Adler township. They were accompanied by their two sons, lAlmon (Al) and Thomas Lincoln (Link) who later, too, filed on land ir Adler township. Mrs. Gargrave suffered a paralytic stroke in about 1902, af'.er which they returned to Illinois where they stayed for about a year. They then returned to North Dakota and made their home with their son, Link. In 1904 they, together with their son and his family, moved to the state of Washington. They later moved to Idaho where Mrs. Gargrave passed away on the same day her son, Link, died, February, 1907. Mr. Gargrave passed away in 1915. Of the Almon (Al) Gargrave family four children survive—Myrtle and Bernice in Illinois and Thomas and John in Aneta, N. D. Of the Link Gargrave family four children survive—Howard of Michigan, N. D.; Harold of Larimore, N. D.; John of Aurora, III. and Edna (Mrs. George Wright) of Auburn, Wash. MR. AND MRS. LOUIS HARED

Louis Hared (1870-1937) was born at Bergen, Norway and came eto St. James, Minn., in 1891 at the age of 21. In 1899 he .married Miss Anna Halvorson at St. James, Minn. Miss Halvorson was born in Oslo, Norway, in 1874 and came to St. James in 1880 at the age of sax. Mr. and Mrs. Hared came to Michigan, N. Dak., in 1905 where they farmed until 1914 and then moved to Petersburg. For a time they operated the West Hotel which is now the P. I. Reiten residence. Later they purchased' the City Dray Line Which they operated for a number of years. To this marriage six children were born: Mabel (Mrs. W. Jackson) Duluth, Minn.; Anthony, San Diego, Calif., now deceased; Adolph, de­ ceased; Louise (Mrs. Arthur Magnus), Petersburg; Mary (Mrs. Ed Locker) Chicago, 111. and Laura (Mrs. J. C. Sylvester) Towner, N. D. There are also nine grandchildren and nine great grandchildren.

OLE S. HOVE Ole S. Hove was born in Vik, Sogn, Norway in 1872. He came to America in 1889 and spent five years at Inkster, North Dakota. In 1897 he settled in Petersburg. He was first employed at a lumber yard, but later worked at the First National Bank. At the time of his death, he was manager of the Farmers Lumber Co. of Petersburg. In 1900 he married Annie Tennison. They had one daughter, Blanche (Mrs. George Stevens) who passed away in 1952. Mr. Hove passed away in 1934 and Mrs. Hove in 1943.

70 WILLIAM HILLEBRAND

William Hillebrand Sr. Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Hillebrand Jr. William Hillebrand was born in Germany in 1847 and came to this country at the age of sixteen in 1863. In 1874 he was united in marriage to Miss Henrietta Kruse and to this union four children were born, namely: Sophia (Mrs. James Dalgarno); Emma (Mrs. Fritz Schaley); Mary (Mrs. Charley Appel); and Wm. J. Hillebrand. Mrs. Hillebrand passed away in 1885. Mr. Hillebrand remarried again in 1890 to Louiset Reimers and to this union five children were born, namely: Edwin, Elmer, and Osoar Hillebrand; Freda (Mrs. Louis Kie- fat); and Viola (Mrs. August Bohm). Mr. Hillebrand and family came from Illinois to Petersburg and to Adler Township in 1904 where he was engaged in fanning until his death in 1928. Survivors of the family are Edwin, Elmer, Oscar, and Mrs. Fritz Schaley.

H. C. HANSEN Mr. H. C. Hansen was born in Denmark and came here as a young man in 1892. He worked on various farms. After his marriage to Alice Swendseid, he farmed the Carl Swendseid land. For some years, he was township clerk. He then became grain buyer in Dahlen and later in Adams. He is now retired and lives with the Edwin Johnson's. 71 GILBERT HANSON

The Gilbert Hanson Sr. family photographed in 1904 Gilbert Hanson and Anna Branden were united in marriage in Norway in 1883 .They then emigrated to Wisconsin where they stayed until 1888 when they moved to Melvin Twp. where they homesteaded. Twelve children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Hanson, namely: Hans, Emma, and Ole are deceased; Evelyn (Mrs. Melvin Borgen) lives at Klotcn and has two children; Gilbert married Miss Annie Fosse and they have five children; Annie is unmarried and lives at Kloten; Mary (Mrs. Adolph Fredrickson) they had three children and is now a widow; Helma (Mrs. Martin Fredrickson) they have two children; Lena (Mrs. George Keifat ) they have seven children.; Tina (Mrs. William Keifat) they have nine children; Edwin married Miss Ida Fosse; and Theodore is single and lives at Auburn, Wash.; Mary and Helm.a live at Petersburg; Lena and Tina live at Aneta; Edwin lives in Grand Forks. N. Dak

72 OLA A. HEIER

Ola A. Heier was born in 1854 in Gran Hadeland, Norway He caime to America in 1877. Mrs. Heier was born in 1856 and came to Beloit, Wis. in 1878. Here she met her future husband. They moved (to Redwood Falls, Minn., where they were married in 1880 and where they resided until moving to North Dakota in 1905. They pur­ chased a farm in Petersburg town­ ship where they resided until 1934. Mr. Heier passed away in 1941 and. Mrs. Heier in 1936. Mr. and Mrs. Heier were the parents of eiiglbt children: Mils. Bellet Larson of Tacoma, Wash.; Mrs. jGdna Rainwater, Tacoma, Wash.; Mrs. Ethel Etzel, Michigan, now deceased'; Ole Heier, Peters­ burg; Theodore Heier, Webster, Wis.; Henry Heier, Michigan; Mrs. Mary Swenseid* Petersburg Bind Iver Heater, Aufoun, Wash. Their descendants, beside their child­ ren are 30 grandchildren and 23 great grandchildren. .

SEVALD HANSON Sevald Hanson was born dm Gudforandalen, Norway in 1873. He camie to Minnesota in 1891 where he worked on farms until 1900 when he came to Petersburg'. In Petersburg he was employed as a harness maker and shoe repair man working for Elling Mork. He started farming in 1904 and' in 1912 bought the farm he now owns. He married Miss Emma An­ derson in 1908. They had one daughter, now Mrs. Oscar Magnus, Who ha® three children, Neil, El­ ton and Mrs. Allen (Sherlie) Young. Neil and Elton are also married'.

73 ERICK HANSON Erickson Hanson was born in Denmark in 1852. In 1879 he came to southern Minnesota and worked wherever he could find employment. He came to Grand Forks in 1880. Much of the time he did railroad construction work until 1882 When he filed on land near Bmerado. In 1883 foe homesteaded south of Petersburg. He .married Sophie Nielsomi in 1892. The farm now owned toy Anna and Viggo Hansen is one of the few in the township occupied by members of the same family for 74 years. Modern day telephone com­ munication and electricity would have meant much in the winter of 1896-97 when Mr. Hansen was taken seriously ill. The hired man had to make a trip to town with horses and sleigh to send a tele­ gram to Michigan to have Dr. Healy come to the farm home. Major surgery was required and as "the patient could' not foe moved to a Grand Forks hospital arrange­ ments were made toy telegraph to Dr. Wheeler fa Grand Forks to come out to the farm wiFn Dr. Healy. Surgery was performed on the table in the three-room house by the 'Might of a kerosene lamp with the assistance of Mrs. Hansen and two men a neighbor and the hired man, (Chris Johnson, a brother of Mrs. Ole Kilen. Mrs. Hansen passed away in 1920 but Mr. Hansen lived to be 83 years old. Two children survive—Esther of Washington, D. C. and Ernest of Spokane, Wash.

MR. AND MRS ELEF HEGG Mr. and Mrs. Elef Hegg homesteaded in Adler Township in 1887. Mr. Hegg was a leader and a man of action in the community. Hie was a good mechanic and owned and operated a threshing rig to help his neighbors. He helped organize the Lorn Congregation and also took an active part in moving a building, to be used as a church, to Adler. His was eight of the twelve horses used in moving the building. In 1900 the Hegg family moved to Edmore, N. Dak. Where Henry and Merriam still reside. One daughter, Pahna, lives in Devils Lake, and Nettie (Mrs. Alfred Aaser) lives in Lakota, N. Dak.

74 JOHN HOOVER Mr. John Hoover was born January 7, 1858 in Hagfoe, Oland, Sweden. He spent his early years as a sailor and came to this country in 1881. He worked in var­ ious places until 1885 when he came to North Dakota and foome- stead'ed in Melrose township, now known as Melvin township. In 1887 he married Miss Olina Martha Hildre who was the same age as he and Who had come to this country from Hildre, Norway in 1886. They had eght children, five of whom are still living. They 'made their home on the original hoimiestead until 1920 when Mr. Hoover passed away. The next year Mrs. Hoover moved to Peters­ burg where she lived until her death in 1940.

SOREN JOHNSON Soren Johnson and his sister Hannah came from Denmark and were among the first to homestead near Petersburg. Hannah attended the University and later taught school. She returned to Denmark. Soren was one of the largest land owners of his day. He later sold his home place to George Fitzhenery and moved to Canada. A niece of Mrs. Johnsons, Anna Nelson who also came from Denmark, taught in Petersburg schools and later graduated from the University of Michigan School of Nursing.

OLE W. SOROM Ole W. Sorom and family came to Adler Township in 1904 and farmed until 1930 when they moved to McVille where they stayed until their deaths. They were parents of four children. Hanna (Mrs. William McLean) Portland, Ore., have three children. Fred married Miss Ramberg and they live at McVille, N. D., they have no children. William married Miss Tracy Conway and they have two children. Owen was killed in action in World War Two; Echo (Mrs. Ray Franks) and have four children. Mabel (Mrs. Vance Johnson) Petersburg, N. Dak. Mr. Johnson is in business in Petersburg. 75 JONAS HILDREMYR Jonas Hildremyr and .Mrs. Hildremyr were born the same year, 1859 in Sondmor, near Aalesund, Norway. Mrs. Hildremyr was born Martha Berte Hildre and1 was .married to Jonas in 1879. To this union 10 children were foorn. Four were foorn in Norway—Lena, Bertha, Anna and Ole. Jeinna, Mathea, Ella, Nora, Viola and Jonas were born in North Dakota. Lena is now Mrs. J. R. Flem of Petersburg. Bertha (Mrs. Fred Buchanan) lives in Knox, Ind. and has one child, MtiL-etta (Mrs. David Ohamness). Anna (Mrs. Fred Han­ son) is deceased. She had three children, Roger who was killed in action in World War II, Clarence of Mino.; and Mildred (Mrs. Bruce Blaekweld'er) of Jacksonville, Fla. Ole farms near Petersburg and •has fire children: Jonas on he heme fainm; Ella (Mrs. George LU'eck) of Portland, Ore.; May- oiard of Moorhead, Minn.; Wood- row who farms near Petersburg and Gloria (Mrs. C. E. Flem.) of Fargo. Jenna resides in Petersburg. Mathea (Mrs. R. H. Andrews) ts de­ ceased and 'had no children. Ella (Mrs. Ole Skaar) of Tacoma, Wash., has six children; Edna (Mrs. Clarence Holm) of Prairie Village, Kan.; Jane (Mrs. Ed Dahl) of Williston, N. Da.k.; Otis of Barncsviille, Minn.; Clifford of Watford City, N. Dak. and Norma and Don of Tacoma, Wash. Nora (Mrs. W. E. Page) of Ellensburg, Wash., has four children: William and Bonnie (Mrs. Marvin Indenmulb'.e) of Ellensburg; Viola (Mrs. James McKinstry) of Pendleton, Ore. and Polly (Mrs. Jack Hornfoeck of Carcv non Beach, Oreg. Viola (Mrs. Martin Mithun) lives in Hoople and has one son, Marshall of Grafton. Jonas is deceased and had one daughter, Joanne (Mrs. Cye Vaughan) of Bakersfield, Calif. Mr. Jonas Hildremyr and. family came to Melvin township in 1886 where they homesteaded. They stayed at the Robert Flem home ura'.il their house WB.S ready for .occupancy. Jon-ns1 farmed until his dea'lh in 1910. Shortly thereafter, his widow moved to Petersburg where she re­ sided un'.il her death in 1948.

PETER JORGENSON Peter Jorgenson homesteaded on land which is part of the T. R. Swendseid farm. In later years he did farm work and drove a school bus, living in town the last years of his life 76 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES OF AN OLD SETTLER IN PETERSBURG

Note This is the entry contributed by the late Mrs. L. C. Johnson of Fargo to the file of "Pioneer Mothers" and deposited with the State Historical Society in Bismarck, N. Dak. The project was sponsored by the North Dakota Federation of Women's Club and their Division of State History. My husband, Lewis C. Johnson, came to Dakota Territory several months before his family to get a house built for us. My daughter Hope, two years old. and I came from Decorah, Iowa, in the spring of 1883. My husband, his brother M. N. Johnson, and L. H. Peterson, for whom the town of Petersburg was named, filed on claims on the land where the town of Petersburg is now. A settler had to live on a homestead eighteen months before he could prove up on it. There were only two houses or shacks and a store at Petersburg when I came to Nelson County Our house had two rooms separated by a large rag carpet. The outside was sodded up all around the frame walls to the roof with slabs of sod, taken from the prairie, sixteen inches long by ten or twelve inches wide, and three or four inches thick piled on top of each other. It was a warm house in winter and a cool one in summer. The woodshed was made of sods only, piled on top of each other to make the walls, with a lumber roof on top of of the sod. One winter we had a severe snow storm, and so much snow i'el.1 that a train was stuck in the drift opposite our house. It remained there from Saturday until Monday noon, before the snow plow could dig it out. There were thirty passengers and crewmen on the stalled train. Saturday, after supper-time, two men came to our door and asked if it were possible to get something to eat. We fed them and ten other men that night. The passengers were divided between the two Johnson families. We have them two meals on Sunday and their breakfast on Monday. The train went out at noon to Larimore, twenty miles away, and was snow-bound there for a week. My husband's youngest sister. Salinda Johnson, was with us at the time and helped us prepare and serve these meals. We surely were glad to see these passengers when they came, for we saw few people, but were still more glad to see them go, for the pork barrel that was kept at the store was about empty. The prairie chickens at that time were so numerous and tame that my husband could shoot them from the window. He shot two wild geese a short time before Thanksgiving Day, and we invited seven of the bachelor boys who had claims in the neighborhood to eat Thanksgiving dinner with us. They came at one o'clock on Thanksgiving and stayed till one o'clock A. M. I played the organ, we sang songs and hymns, played games and visited. The boys seemed to enjoy

77 themselves and appeared to be in no hurry to leave for their lonely shacks. We boarded the surveyors when the townsite of Petersburg was laid out into town lots. One amusement they had while waiting for meals was feeding a large toad that Ihopped into the room from the entry. There were some big horse-flies the men would catch, pinch the flies, and toss them at the toad, who would catch them every time till he was nearly full. Then the boys threw small balls of bread, soap, anl finally a gun cap. He swallowed them all I thought surely that would be the death of the toad, but he wiggled and twisted and finally hopped away out through the entry. He came back the next day as bright and hungry as ever. The first three days of March 1884 we had the worst snow storm of the year. It snowed and stormed three days and two nights. The windows of the house were drifted full of snow to the roof. The snow was packed so hard against the telegraph poles and so near to the top of the poles, (there were no telephones), that my husband who was a tall man, could step right over the top of the pole and walk down the drift without sinking in. The stable was so badly drifted over, he had to make steps for the horses to get out and in. We moved to Fargo the last day of the old year 1884. It was 40 degrees below zero. In Fargo it was so cold in the boarding-house where we stayed for a week, that my husband had to buy a small wood heating stove and put in our room for us to keep comfortable.

MR. AND MRS. HANS HILDRE Mr. and Mrs. Hans Hildre were born in Sondmor, Norway where they spent their youth. Mr. Hildre served three years in Norway's army where he won several prizes lor marksmanship including the coveted sharpshooters medal, which is still in the family's possession. After his army service Mr. Hildre became the owner and operator of a fishing craft having a crew of six. They would go out to sea spending days and sometimes weeks before coming back to shore. In 1906 Mr. Hans Hildre and Miss Petrene Hildre were married in the Vegra Church near Aalesund, Norway. They had an old-fashioned Norwegian wedding celebration lasting for three days and nights. They decided to dispose of their fishing ship and emigrate to America which they did and arrived in Petersburg in 1909. Until the fall of 1910, they worked on farms, first for Ole Hildre and later for Ole Sonderland where their second child Inga, now Mrs. Edgar Ruste- bakke, was born. Their first child, now Mrs. Ingward Reiten. was born in Norway. In 1910 they homesteaded in McKenzie County on land two miles from the nearest neighbor ynd sixty miles from the nearest railroad out of Williston. Their claim was located twelve miles from an inland postoflfice and

78 a grocery store where some provisions could be obtained. They lived in a 12 x 14' one-room shack which was banked up to the windows with sod. Their stable was, also, made of sod. Their fuel was dug out of a side hill along a creek where the lignite reached to the surface. A small cook stove was used for both heating and cooking, but it would not properly warm the poorly built shack. Their son, Lars, was born in this claim shanty. In the summers Hans would leave for work in the harvest fields in the Petersburg area, leaving his family alone on the claim from July to November. In 1912 they returned to the Petersburg area and worked the next two years for Carl Waag. In 1914 they leased the Olaf Hildre Farm (Tom Linnell now operates this farm) where they resided until they purchased the O. K. Reiten farm in 1942. In 1943 their youngest son, Henry, was fatally injured in a car accident. In 1949 a cabin was secured at a Minnesota lake where most of their summers were spent thereafter. They retired from farming in 1954 and moved to Petersburg having bought the Irven Reiten residence where Mr. Hildre passed away in 1955 and Mrs. Hildre resides with fa blind son. A son-in-law and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Edgar Rustebakke, reside on and operate their home farm.

JOHN P. JOHNSON John P. Johnson and family came to Adler Township about 1897 from Larimore. Mrs. Johnson passed away in 1919 and Mr. Johnson in 1936. They were parents of five children. Charley now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Charley Johnson were parents of five children: John, Charlette, Morris, William, and Effie deceased. Mabel (Mrs. Hans Aamot) deceased, was parent of four children: Gordon married Miss June Rykken; Marion (Mrs. Elmer Schmidt); Harold is unmarried; Evelen (Mrs. Thomas Reiten). Vance married Miss Mafoel Sorom and have two children: Vernon married Marion Lyfoeck and have three children; Marjorie (Mrs. Duaine Broton) and have two children. Cora ('Mrs. Selmer Hillestad) McCanna, have three children: Raymond, John and Louise, the two boys are married. Clara (Mrs. Olaus Moe) Tacoma, Wash., have one child.

RUDOLPH KRUEGER Rudolph Krueger, who was born in Germany, and his wife, who came from Nebraska, were married in Larimore in 1883 and began married life on the homestead in Adler Township in a two-room shanty. They used melted snow the first winter for water. Their daugfoter, Mary, who was the first white child born in Adler, was born October 10. 1884. The Krueger family left Adler in 1902 and moved to the state of Washington. William Hillebrand, Jr., Charles Appel, and Fritz Schaley all came shortly after the turn of the century. 79 MR. AND MRS. OLE B. JOHNSON Ole B. Johnson was born November 5, 1860 in Odemarken, Smaal- enens Amt, Norway. He came to North Dakota in 1883 and homesteaded on a farm nine miles south of Petersburg. .Mr. Johnson realized the hardships encountered in pioneer life. To obtain groceries foe would sometimes walk across country to Portland, N. Dak. He would carry the groceries home in packs on his hack. On one of these trips home he had a pound of butter in his pack. Either from the long haul home or a long stay in the store, the butter was not too fresh when he arrived home. That same butter was still on the table in the spring of the year. To court their girl friends, on Sunday mornings Ole Johnson, ac­ companied by John Hoover would walk to Lakota Where the girls were employed. When evening came they would start their long walk back t© their farms fa Melvin .township. These long walks to Lakota ended When on December 7 1887 Mr. Johnson married Anna Hildre. She was born April 21, 1861 in Hildre, Aalesumd', Norway. They resided on their homestead until the time of their deaths. Mr. Johnson passed away October 14, 1934 and Mrs. Johnson on No­ vember 7, 1942. They had eight children. Jennie passed away in 1924, Olga ini 1933 and Nettie in 1935. Bert, Mark, Harry, Hilda (Mrs. Harvey Bales) and' Ada are living in and near Petersburg.

JOHN G. KERLER John G. Kerler was born in Germany in 1858 and immigrated to this country in 1881, going first to the state of Indiana where he worked at various jobs for a number of years. In 1890, he left Indiana going first to Orr, N. Dak. A few months later in the same year, he came to Melrose (now Melvin) township to make a permanent home. In 1897, he married Mrs. Christine Heider and to them one child, Anna Marie (Mrs. Carl Flem) was born. In 1920, Mr. and Mrs. Kerler left the farm and moved to Spokane, Wash. Where Mrs. Kerler passed away in April 1942. Mr. Kerler then returned to the Petersburg vicinity where he died in September of the same year.

80 MARTIN N. JOHNSON

In the summer of 1882 Martin N. Johnson and L. H. Peterson made a trip by team and wagon westward from Larimore, then the railway terminal. They followed the survey the railroad had already made for its extension to be constructed the next year. Some twenty- one miles west of Larimore the survey showed the prospect of a town. Not far off they came to the shacks of two brothers, Dade and John Terrett. The Terrett's were so friendly that the land-seekers decided to make their filings in the same neighborhood. The two settlers hauled material for their shacks from Larimore. They built their shacks and made other improvements required by the Homestead Act. Before winter set in some cordwood was hauled from Bachelors' Grove, and other supplies stocked in preparation for Dade Terrett and L. H. Peterson to spend the winter-months, there, together. Dade Terrett and L. H. Peterson must have had a trying time that winter on the claim. Caught unprepared in a blizzard, Mr. Peterson had both his hands badly frozen. His bands were bandaged and he had no use of them all the rest of the winter. He lost some so his fingers, and those left were twisted and misshapen. Dade Terrett had a stroke, or perhaps it was polio. Anyway, he became paralyzed in his legs. The two took care of each other the best they could and managed to survive the winter. Dade Terrett spent the rest of his life in a wheel chair. In the fall of 1882 Mr. Johnson left for Decorah to close up the practice he had with his brother Lewis, and prepare to move to Dakota Territory. In the spring of 1883 Mr. Johnson, along with his 81 brother Lewis, returned to Dakota with a freight car loaded with a team of horses, a cow, some farm maclunery, and his household goods. In the summer of 1885 Mrs. Johnson's grandfather, Thomas Jepson, came to visit from his Massachusetts home. He Mked the west so much that he filed on a pre-emption and a tree-claim. The next year he again returned and then filed on a homestead. Grandfather Jepson died in 1886 a few days short of his 80th birthday. His was the first burial in the Petersburg cemetery. Martin N. Johnson was born in 1850 in Wisconsin and went with his family that same year by covered wagon to a new home on a farm near Decorah, Iowa. Both his parents were Norwegian-born immigrants. His father, Nelson Johnson, was an ordained minister of the Methodist Church. Martin was brought up as a farm boy. went to preparatory school at Fayette, Iowa, and attended the State University of Iowa to earn three degrees, Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts, and his Law degree. In Iowa he served terms in both the House and Senate. Mr. Johnson was elected Nelscn County State's attorney in 1886, re-elected in 1888 and the family lived in Lakota for the next three years. In the summer of 1889 he was a member of the Constitutional Convention held in Bismarck. He took an active part in the debates and deliberations that shaped up that fundamental document for North Dakota statehood. In the spring of 1890 he resigned his states attorney job and entered his name as a candidate for representative in Congress for the new state. He won the nomination for Congress and in this strongly Republican State, this was equivalent to election. Mr. Johnson served four terms, as the sole representative to which North Dakota was entitled at that time. For a few years Mr. Johnson was out of politics, devoting his time to his farm and grain-Jbuying. When the state primary election law went into operation he ran for the United States Senate and achieved the ambition of his life, a seat in that notable body. Mir. Johnson was received with unanimous enthusiasm by his home-town folks when he returned after his successful election in 1908. However, he was destined to serve only a few months. Mr. Johnson passed away that same year. Mrs. Johnson survived her husband some sixteen years, most of which time, due to poor health, was spent in California with her youngest daughter Florence, and visiting at the homes of her three other children. Mrs. Edith J. Skulason (1881-1939) lived at Lakota, then at Thompson Falls and Missoula, Montana; Mrs. Nellie J. Hydle (1883- ) has been at Williston, N. Dak. since 1908; Ralph K. Johnson (1884-1952) farmed at Schuler, Alberta and then went to Bakersfield. California; Mrs. Florence J. Karpe (1896-1948) spent her married life at Bakersfield, California. The Johnson grandchildren and great-grandchildren are now living at widely scattered places in Montana, Nebraska, Washington and California as well as North Dakota, 82 JOHN KEMP John Kemp was born in Canada and came to Nash Township in 1889 where he purchased a half section of land in the north-eastern part of the township. His sister, Marguerite, kept house for him for many years. He married about 1910 and two daughters were born to this union, Minerva and Edessa, both of whom are still living. Mr. Kemp retained ownership of the farm until 1933 when it was sold to Anton Anderson. The farm is now owned and operated by Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Wangen.

OLE KILEN Ole Kilen foomesteaded on the land now owned by Carl Waag fa 1885. He made many improve­ ments, building a large house and barns to house all the horses used' for field work on the large farm and also for many cattle. He married in 1902. Mrs. Kilen was a seamstress from Den­ mark. Before her marriage she went from house to house to sew, as was customary in those days, taking wklh her a portable, hand operated sewing machine. Later, as time would permit, she took in sewing. After Mr. Kilen's death, Mrs. Kilen, now 87 years old, moved to Minneapolis, Minn., where she lives with niece, Agnes Johnson Bristol.

TOM KVAMME Tom Kvamme (1872-1940) was born in Gudforandsdalen, Norway. He migrated to Wisconsin fa 1882 where he worked on farms until 1894, when he came to Adler where he homesteaded. He was married to Mary SlaaJein (1866-1945) in 1897. She came to Butterfield, Minn, from Norway in 1893. Seven Children were born to this marriage, three of whom passed away in infancy and one. Thora, died in 1940. Survivors are three sons: Ralph of Bismarck, N. D., and Harold end Gilbert of Portland, Oregon. Mr. and Mrs. Kvamme were baptized and confirmed Lutherans and were of the early pioneers fa establishing the Lorn Church. They farmed in Adler Township until Mr. Kvamme's death. A son, Harold, and his mother operated the farm until 1942. Mrs. Kvamme moved to Portland, Oregon where she resided until her death.

83 CORNELIUS LARSON Cornelius Larson was born in Norway. After coming to the United States he married Sophie Olson at Harmony, Minn., fa 1870. They came to Dakota in 1880 and foe worked on the railroad two years before Ihomieisteadiing in Nash township fa 1882. Four children were born to them. Laura, the oldest, became the wife of A. K. Reiten of Peters­ burg. Olaf 'married Sana Solfoerg and they lived on the old tree claim. Olaf died in 1931. His widow and son, Robert still live on the tree claim. Henry married Helmia Finnoe and they lived on the original homestead until 1934 When he diedi. After his death, his widow and' children left almost immediately for 'the state of Washington where they still live. . The original homestead am Which Henry and his family lived has been owned or operated, by several since Henry's death in 1934. It is now owned and operated by the Lynn Ralston family.

ANDREW KILEN Andrew Kilen, now 87, came to this country from Norway in 1890. Three years later, foe bought the homestead rights from Ole Hoven. He proved up this land and later bought the Ole Pierson farm. After the death of ihis wife, he retired and moved' to town. OLE KINNEBERG Ole Kinneberg was born in Norway in 1843. He left fois family in Norway and caime to relatives living in the Manivol, N. Dak. area. He sent for his wife and five children the following year after deciding to settle in this area, on What is now the Kinneberg farm. Two of O'.s and Abjcrg's children contacted the 'measles while on board ship coming from Norway and passed away Shortly after arriving in Manvsl. The first summer, while Mr. Kinneberg made the necessary' improvements on fois homestead, the family stayed in Fargo. The three children stayed with rela­ tives and' worked for their keep and Ambjerg found work else­ where. For her summers work she received her pay in 'the fall. Her payment consisted of a cow and two chickens. This proved to be their main food supply their first •hard North Dakota winter. They papered the walls of their shack with newspapers which made it very cozy. Their beds were made of two wagon boxes arranged in bunk bed style. The country was all prairie with very few tree. Their firewood was hauled from Bachelors Grove with a team of oxen, that Ole had purchased. He bought oxen and a few pieces of used machinery, spend­ ing most of the $400 that he had brought with him to North Dakota. The nearest town was Larimore to which Ole would walk taking his butter to trade for groceries. Later a store was started at Petersburg. The Kinneberg's next neighbors were two bachelors of Irish descent— Fred and John Terrett. They couJd not understand the Norwegian lang­ uage and the Kinnebergs could not speak the American language. On one of Ole's trips to Larimore the family, as usual, was left •home. Their one and only cow was about to have a calf, so Aimlbjerg brought the cow into their sod house to foe sure to save the newbonn calf. The sod shanty had a small cellar underneath and when she brought the cow in, the flooT gave way and the cow dropped through. This happened during a snowstorm but Ambjerg made her way to Ter- retts to summon help. Being unable to speak English she had' to make her wants known, through the sign language by making motions. How­ ever, she made them understad and tihey got the cow out. Five children wore bom to Mr. and Mrs. Kinneberg Turi, Marge-

66 ret and Haakon were born in Norway and faiga and Emma were born while living in the sod' house. The land was rich and produced good crops, but with oxen only about five acres could ibe added to the cropland each year. The oxen were stubborn creatures and when they got tired they would slop work and go for a slough of water where they would stand until they were cooled off and ready to come out. After about seven years the oxen were replaced with horses which made it possible to break up more land each year with the faster power. They lived in their sod house for seven years. To get material to build their first frame foouse and barn lumber was hauled from a Grand Forks saw mill. This foouse is still standing but the barn was destroyed soon after it was built. A second barn was built in 1899 and is still being used on the Kinneberg farm. Ole Kinefoerg died in 1911 at the age of 68. Mrs. Kinneberg lived to the ripe old ,age of 105 years, 8 months. She died at the Nortfowood Old Peoples Home.

GILBERT LARSON Gilbert Larson homesteaded in Adler township. In 1903 he mar­ ried Miss Carrie Anderson. They lived on their homestead until their deaths — Mr. Larson in 1919 and Mrs. Larson in 1924. Their son, Albert and his family operate the old homestead. Louis and Clara (Mrs. Sever Gilbertson) also live in Adler township. Marie (Mrs. Olaf Olson) lives at Oriska, N. Dak.

JOHN KUBASH The John Kubash family moved into Nash Township about 1916 and resided here until about 1928. The family consisted of five boys and two girls who went to school in Nash. They later moved to Michigan Township. John died shortly after.

86 ANTON LEITE Antotni Leite was born fa 1859 Valders, Norway. In 1899 he came to Ameica and homesteaded in Nash township. He married Miss Janetta Haugen at Fergus Falls, Minnesota in 1900. To Mr. and Mrs. Leite seven children were foorn, two of Whom proceeded (hem in death. The children were Arnold and Chris­ tian, deceased; Oline (Mrs. Ander­ son) Ray, N. Dak.; Olive (Mrs. Carl Bang.) Ray, N. Dak.; Geneva (Mrs. Robert Graham), York, N. Dak. and Conrad Leite, Minot. Airaton Leite died in 1909. Mrs. Leite and her family continued' to farm until 1916 in the Petersburg area. Then they moved to Ray, N. Dak. Where Mrs. Leite resided unlil her death in 1954.

IVER LARSON Iver Larson was born in Hildre, Norway in 1870. In 1893. he, together with Ole Iverson and Peter Reiten, came to Petersburg. After working on farms for a few years, Iver left for Seattle where he soon got a job on a boat. This was the kind of life he loved, the life of a sailor. Some time later, he got a job on one of the boats on the Great Lakes, finally rising to the rank of Captain. After spending 40 years on the Great Lakes, he retired, coming back to Petersburg to make his home with Hans Hildre. He was fatally injured in 1944 when crossing the railroad tracks near the depot. Many of the young men from the Petersburg area worked for Captain Iiarson.

MR. AND MRS HANS LEITE Mr. and Mrs. Hans Leite came from Valders., Norway to America in 1883 and to Petersburg in 1886. Mr. Leite was born in 1854 and died in 1943 at the age of 89. Mrs. Leite passed away in 1900. Surviving them are Mattie of Hillsboro, N. D., and Annie (Mrs. Jack Nelson) of Hibbing, Minn. Mr. Leite lived in the community for sixty years and owned the farm which at one time was Hans Ingebritsons. The farm is now leased by Charles Byrne and family.

87 MARTIN O. LOKEN

Martin O. I^oken was born in Valdres, Norway in 1879. He came to America at the age of 19 and spent some time in Minneapolis where he took up watchmaking. Later he came to Petersburg and has resided here since. For some time he had a jewelry and watch repair business. In 1913 he married Miss Christine Reiten, a daughter of Hans O. Reiten, and to them one son. Lyndon, was born. Lyndon is in the implement business and resides with his family at McVille, N. Dak. Martin Loken was part owner and manager of the Petersburg Light Co., which furnished electricity to the Village until the Otter Tail Power Co. purchased the Company. Mr. Loken had a Master Electrician's license. Mrs. Martin Loken has been the Postmaster of Petersburg since 1934 and Mr. Loken has been clerk in the office for tfoe last fourteen years. They both retired in 1956.

JOHN LEIN John Lein was born in Norway in 1860 and came to North Dakota in 1883. He was married to Miss Eliza Johnson in 1884. To this marriage three daughters were born; Mathilda, now living in Fordville, N. Dak.; Josephine (Mrs. Christ Asleson) now a widow, residing in Williston, N. Dak.; Clara (Mrs. Sigrud Asleson) of Fordville, N. Dak. Mr. Lein tiled on a tree claim in 1891 and settled on the place in 1895 remaining until 1913 when the family moved to Montana. In Montana they stayed for a period of five years and during this absence the farm was operated by the Ole Moe family. After returning to the Petersburg area the farm was operated by his own family for a time, and later was operated by Lynn Ralston until Mr. Paul Gunderson became the owner and operator. John Lien died in 1921 and Mrs. Lien in 1940, OLE LYBECK FAMILY

Ole Lybeck arrived in Petersburg in the spring of 1893. He settled on a farm in Nash Township, 5% miles north of the town, where he lived until his death in 1942. The farm is now operated by his son and grandson Lloyd. Born fa Hallingdal, Norway, in 1869, Mr. Lybeck was married to Kari Rotem in 1890, and the following year the couple and his mother migrated to the United States, going first to Kindred, N. D., where an older brother had previously settled. The son Oscar was born there, and the next year the family moved to Petersburg. After the family had settled on the farm, Mr. Lybeck drove with horse and buggy to Kindred, stopping overnight near Mayville enroute, to bring back his mother, who lived with him until her death in 1909. The daughter Clara, who now lives in Grand Forks, and a daughter who died in infancy, were born to the family, and in 1898 Mrs. Lybeck died. Mr. Lybeck later married Margit Jeglum, who had also come from Hallingdal, Norway. She passed away in 1928. She was a charter member of the Nash Lutheran Ladies Aid, the organization meeting being held at her home in about 1915, for the purpose of providing vacation Bible school for the children of the community. Members of the family still residing at Petersburg are Oscar, Nils, and Odvin. A son, Ole B. lives in Burbank, California, and another son. Thores, in Williston, N. D. Three daughters, Clara, Caroline, and Mrs. Hilda Flynn live fa Grand Forks; Thea teaches in Helena, Mont.; Mrs. Ingval Melfoy (Julia) lives in Seattle, Wash.; Mrs. Lloyd Ude (Margaret) fa Detroit, Michigan; and Mrs. Nils Olson (Lillian) in Everett, Wash.

J. B. McPALL J. B. McFall gave the plot of land on which the Adler Congrega­ tional Church was built in 1903. This church served a large territory fa the earlier years but the congregation dwindled away and as a result the building was torn down in 1948.

ANDREW J. MILLER Andrew J. Miller was born in Sweden December 28, 1867 and came .to the United States in 1889 and settled in Litchfield, Minn., where he remained until 1901. That year he arrived in Petersburg and settled on a farm in Nash town­ ship where he farmed until his retirement in 1951 when he moved to Petersburg. He married Miss Erickson and to this couple one son was born, HjaLmer. Mrs. Miller died in 1903. In 1907 Mr. Miller married Sidsil Heggedaihl who was born in Nor­ way and came to the United States in 1905. There were 11 children born to this union. Oliver of McVille; Bertina of Grand Forks; Adele (Mrs. Walter Kuta) of Grand Forks; Annie (Mrs. Eugene Gen- dereau) of Illinois; Lloyd and Melvin of Petersburg; Selma of Grand Forks; Lillie (Mrs. Wilbur Nusviken) of McCanna. John was killed during World War H; Alfred', deceased; and Esther, Yakima, Wash.

ERNEST KIRK Ernest Kirk family came to this vicinity in 1883. A son, Ernest, farmed what is now known as the Kirk Farm, now owned by Lars Tennison.

J. B. McFALL J. B. McFall gave the plot of land on which the Adler Congregation­ al Church was (built in 1903. This church served a large territory in the earlier years but the congregation dwindled away and as a result the building was torn down in 1948. 90 MR. AND MRS. ERIK MUNDHJELD

Mr. and Mrs. Erik Mundhjeld (nee Lena Borgen) started farming in Adler township in the early 1900s. Mr. Mundhjeld passed away in 1938. Mrs. Mundhtjeld still resides on the 'home farm which her daugh­ ter, Stella and son-in-law, Norbert Meyers, operate. Another daughter, Selma (Mrs. Tralsiman) is associate manager of the Business Institute of Milwaukee, Wis.

MR. AND MRS THEODORE MATTICE Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Mattice settled in Adler Township in 1900 and farmed until Mr. Mattices' death in 1913. Mrs. Mattice died in 1919. Two of their three children passed away in 1938 and 1947, namely; Vera (Mrs. Cleveland) and Clara (Mrs. Langeness. Ada resides in Fargo, N. Dak.

MRS. NELLIE MAGNUS Mrs. Nellie Magnus was born in 1866 in Iowa and came to Milnor. N. D. in 1908 and moved to Petersburg in 1911 with her four children, Oscar, Lydia, Inez and Arthur. Oscar married Catherine M. Hanson and has three children, Neil, Elton and Shirley. Arthur married Louise Hared and at present operates the meat market and locker plant in Petersburg. Lydia married Milt Stein and has one daughter, Alice Jean. Inez is now Mrs. Aimer Gedstad. They have two children, Spencer Who is a dentist living in California, and Vilera, now teaching in Concordia College in Moorhead. 91 MR. AND MRS. ANDREW MELLUM Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Mellum were married in 1883 by Reverend Harsetad in a ceremony performed in their homestead shack. To this union eight children were born. Elmer is now deceased; Caroline (Mrs. Nelson) now lives in Minot; Ingwald is in Eugene, Ore.; Julia (Mrs. Bettinger) lives in Illinois; Theodore is deceased; Eva (Mrs. George Hamilton) is in San Diego, Calif.; Berdella (Mrs. Ray Robertson) in Albusucrquc, New Mexico; and Belvin lives in Canada.

MR. AND MRS. SEVER MUNDHJELD Mr. and Mrs, Steven Mund>- hjcld (nee Annie Borgen) leased the Gilbertson farm in 1903 and in 1904 they purchased it. They operated the farm until Mr. Mund- hjeld's death in 1940 and Mrs. Mundhjeld ;foen operated it until her death in 1951. Their daughter, Sadies and her husband then took over the farm where they now live.

OLE MORK Ole Mork was born in Hallingdahl, Norway, and came to Nash Township, where he homesteaded in 1887. Mr. Mork left soon afterwards tor Winger, Minn. Ole was known as a shrewd horse trader. Once, so the story goes, he went to a picnic with an old nag. When at the picnic he made three horse trades and finally took home his original horse phis considerable cash to boot.

MR. AND MRS. TORSTEN MOEN Mr. and Mrs. Torsten Moen came to Adder township from Minnesota in 1895, having originally come over from Norway. Their son, Lars, who married Miss Anna Severson, a daughter of Paul Severson, also fanned in Adler township for many years. A grandson, Leonard Borgen, now owns Che Torsten Moen farm. 92 JOHN NELSON John Nelson was born in Iowa in 1859. He came to Petersburg in 1893 and worked in town for two years before buying land aaxl building his home in Nash town­ ship. In 1896 he married Mattie Wangen. To this marriage, four children, were foorn. Joseph, the oldest, married Frances Appel in 1947 and still operates a portion of the original farm. Oscar mar­ ried Lena Barsness. They lived on a farm in Nash until Mrs. Nelson died in 1945. Joseph and bis daughter, Maurine, moved t o Grand Forks. Mildred married Oben Gunderson of Bachelors Grove and still lives on the farm there. Ma hi on, the youngest, lives in Petersburg and farms part of the home farm. He is unmarried. Mr. Nelson died in 1942 and Mrs. Nelson in 1943.

ELLING N. MORK Elling N. Mork was born in Norway, August 13, 1860. He came to Petersburg in 1883 and homesteaded in Nash Township where he farmed until 1902. He moved to Petersburg having bought the building where he later started bis harness shop. After making a trip to Norway, he started his harness business in 1902. On March 23, 1907, he married Inga Olsen who had been born in Norway on May 14, 1876. They were married by Rev. Ringstad, one of the pioneer ministers of this area. Elling was one of the early members of the Lutheran Church and also of the Sons of Norway lodge. He retired from business in 1932. He became an invalid, first losing the use of his leg and later of his arm. He passed away in December, 1939. Mrs. Mork still lives in the old home in Petersburg. After Elling moved off his homestead, several different owners or operators 'have lived there. In 1929. the farm was purchased by Joe O'Hara and his wife, Nettie. Joe died in 1954. Mrs. O'Hara still owns the farm.

CHRIST OLSON Christ Olson was born in Vaage, Gulforandsdal, Norway November 13, 1878. He came to the United States in June 1901. He restated in Min­ nesota for two years and in 1903 he came to Petersburg where be has made his home since that time. 93 CHRIST MORKRID Christ Morkrid emmigrated from Skjolden, Sogn, Norway, in 1881 and went to Viroqua, Wis., where he worked for a year before coming to Dakota. The following year be started farming at Blanchard', N. Dakota, where he farmed for a number of years. He left there and took up a homestead 14 miles northwest of Aneta in June 1888. His wife Anna Flohaug Morkrid, also emmigrated from Skjolden, Sogn, Norway and joined him on his farm and were married. To this couple six children were born. They lived there until 1903 when they sold out and moved t'o Aneta where Mr. Mork­ rid was engaged in the implement business. A number of years later they sold out and bought land awl settled 10 miles southeast of Petersburg. Mr. Morkrid held a number of administrative positions in his home district and served in the state legislature in 1913 as representative and as senator in 1917 and 1919. They celebrated their golden wedding anniversary fa July. 1938. Christ Morkrid passed away December 23, 1942 at his farm home southeast of Petersburg at the age of 83. Mrs. Morkrid passed away April 23, 1954 near Chester, Mont., at the age of 94. She had spent her remaining years with a daughter there. A son and. daughter proceeded them in death.

OLE NASH Ole Nash was born in Norway in 1859 and arrived in America in 1880. He married Katherine Lybeck, who was born in Norway in 1861. They homesteaded in Nash fa 1895 where seven children were born. Carl, the oldest, died in western North Dakota in 1953. Clarence, Anna and Peder all now live in Whitefish, Mont. Edith lives in Columbia Falls, Mont., and May died in Whitefish in 1957. Alvin still lives in Nash Twp. Ole Nash died in October 1912 and his wife in June 1946.

MR. AND MRS. RUEBEN NASH Mr. and Mrs. Rueben Nash come to Nash Township in 1932 from Ncwfolden, Minnesota. They farmed what was then known as the Ole Gunderson farm until 1940 when they purchased and moved to their present farm. Two children were born to this family, Delores (Mrs. Kenneth Skjervem), of West Fargo, N. Dak., and Ronald, at home. 94 JOHN NASH AND WILLIE NASH Mr. John Nash was born in England on Oct. 25, 1838, and came to this country in 1858, going first to the state of Michigan. It wap here that he married Rhoda French of Michigan. Five children were born to them while they lived in Michigan. In 1881, John Nash come to the Petersburg area and took squatter's right on land about eight miles northeast of Petersburg. Within a few months, the land was surveyed and John found that he was not on the land he wanted. In 1882, he moved to a different quarter of land and took this land as his homestead. As he was the first settler in that township, the township was named after him. That some year (1882) he brought his wife and five children to his homestead where four more children were born. Only five of the nine children grew to maturity, these being, Jennie, Lamina. George, Willie, and Frank. Of these five children, only Mrs. Lomina Thorpe of Spokane, Wash., survives. Mrs. Thorpe was one of the first .teachers in Nash Twp. She taught her first term in the original home and then several terms in Nash School Number One. John Nosh, Sr. died Jan. 30, 1907 and his wife on Feb. 23, 1915. Willie homesteaded on land near his father's homestead and after his father's death, Willie farmed both his father's homestead and his own. On Dec. 31, 1906, Willie married Maria Anderson and to this union six children were born; Ethel (Mrs. Henry Mork), John, Emma. Earl, Rose, and Minnie. John, the grandson of the homesteader, John Nash, now farms both the original homesteads. Earl, also still lives in Nash Twp. Willie Nash died in 1924, and Mrs. Willie Nash on March 7, 1950.

HALVOR MORK Mr. Halvor Mork, born in Hallingdahl, Norway on February 26, 1866, came to Petersburg fa 1887. He worked for M. N. Johnson for approximately four years and homesteaded fa 1893. He married Mary Knutson of Sarnia Township on July 25, 1895. Four boys and three girls were born to this marriage. Nellie, the oldest child, was badly burned and died from her burns in 1901. Emma died in the flu epidemic fa 1918. Oscar married Alice Moe in 1930. He farmed the home place until his death in 1944. Two children were born to this marriage. Odean is at home being employed by the local telephone company, and Marlene is a student at the University of North Dakota. Nellie, a namesake of the oldest child who died, married George Adamson who still resides at Gardner, N. D. Henry lives in Nash Township. He married Ethel Nash and they have eight children: Vivian (Mrs. Harold Brueckner), Hazel (Mrs. Elverne Fredrickson), Mildred (Mrs. Dennis Dahl), William. James, Robert, Evelyn and

95 Richard. All except James, who is now in the Army, live fa Petersburg or other North Dakota communities. Benhard died in 1952. Sam Mork married Ella Haugen of Minnesota and three children blessed this marriage, Gary, Sharon, and Jo Ann. They live in Nash Township. Halvor died in 1935 and Mrs. Mork in 1951. At the present time, the Verne Ralston family own and operate the old Halvor Mork farm.

TORGER J. NESS Torger J. Ness emmigrated from Sogn, Norway, in 1892 to Nelson county where he .homesteaded on a claim south of Dahlen. He 'home­ steaded on the farm now belong­ ing to his daughters, Mrs. Lars Tennison and Mrs. Erwin Olson. He donated two acres to the Zion Church. In 1901 he married Sigrid Hoyum who came from Sogn, Nor­ way in 1900. There were two children born to this union, Sena (Mrs. Erwin Olson) of Northfield, Minn, and Ellen (Mrs. Lars Tennison of Petersburg. There are also two grandchildren and one great grandchild, Pamelo Olson and Jo­ anne (Mrs. Albert Johnson) with one daughter, Barbara of North- field, Minn. Torger Ness passed away in 1908. Mrs. Ness continued to op­ erate the farm until 1914 when they moved to Petersburg. Ini 1917 she married Iver Quam who came from Sogndial, Norway in 1883 and also homesteaded near Dahlen. Mr. Quam passed away in 1940 and Mrs. Quam in 1951.

ANDREW OHNSTAD Andrew Ohnstad was born in 1898. He came to North Dakota in 1898 and worked in Dahlen Township until 1905 when he went west and homesteaded near Crosby. N. D. He proved up on this land in 1907 and returned to Dahlen in 1911. He married Synneva Berdahl. To this union, six children were born, June, Erie, Mable (Mrs. Carl Espegard), Walter, and twin girls, Selma and Agnes. Mr. and Mrs. Espegard now own and operate the Ed Forbes homestead. Waiter and family are operating the Joe Berdahl farm in Dahlen Township. 96 MR. AND MRS SIVERT OSTNESS

Sivert Ostness family: Seated, Ostness, Adolph and Mrs. Ostness; Standing, Louis, John and Olaf Mr. and Mrs. Sivert Ostness were born in Sondmor, Norway and came to the Petersburg area about 1885. They homesteaded and farmed for a time in Melvin Township until they retired and moved to Tacoma, Wash. They were the parents of five children, John, Olaf, Louis, Adolph and Stillman. John and Stillman are deceased. John lived in Montana for a time and later moved to Tacoma, Wash., where foe passed away. He is survived by two children, a son and a daughter. Slilfcnan died in his early teens. Adolph 'married Miss Enga Flem and lives at Tacoma, Wash. Louis lives in California and Olaf foas two daughters and lives in Ta- corna, Wash.

MR. AND MRS. ANDREW PEDERSON

Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Peder- son were married in 1898 and then came to Adler Township. They had come from Norway some years previous to their marriage. Mr. Pe- derson passed away in 1931. Mrs. Pederson and her sons, Melvin, Os- sar and Palmer reside on and op­ erate the home farm.

OSCAR OLSON Oscar Olson was born in Sweden. He homesteaded on the land now owned by Viggo Hansen in 1883 and he lived there alone until 1935 07 MR. AND MRS ELIAS OLSON

Mr. and Ms. Ellas Olson foomestead'ed in Adler township in 1895 where Mr. Olson lived until fois death in 1954 at the age of 93. Mrs. Olson .passed' away in 1917. Their two sons, Ole and Elmer, still operate the home farm.

MR. AND MRS. P. I. PETERSON Mr. and 'Mrs. P. I. Peterson arc the parents of 10 children: Olaf; Maynard; Genevieve; Orvin, who was killed in action in World War H; Dorothy; Donald; Lorraine George, deceased; Robert and Jerry All the children reside in Juneau, Alaska except Genevieve who lives in Seattle, Wash. Mr. and Mrs. Peterson reside in Petersburg.

OLE IVERSON REITEN Ole Iverson Reiten was born in Hildre, Aalesund, Norway in 1867. He came to Petersburg in 1886. Over here he was better known as Ole Iverson because there were four other Ole Reitens living foere. He was a painter and foe followed the trade until ill heal'.fo forced 'him to retire. Many of the houses in the Petersburg area still .have the same woodwork that was stained and grained by Ole Reiten. Ole was also a musician, playing the cornet and violin for foouse parties and dances. 98 HANS PAULSON Hans Paulson was born in Oslo, Norway in 1879 He came to Will- mar, Minnesota in 1901 and: to Pet­ ersburg the same year. In 1902 he married Miss Sena Johnson and they have been farming in this vi­ cinity since. He was manager of the Petersburg Farmers Union Shipping Association for many years. Mr. and Mrs. Paulson are .parents of nine children: Arthur, now living at Matador; Selma, (Mrs. John Lucke), lives at Pine Grove, Calif.; Louise, (Mrs. John­ son) of San Francisco; Thorvato of Niagara; Harold, Grand Forks;' Myrtle (Mrs. Leen) of Niagara; Almond of Lidgerwood, N. D.; and Henry and Ralph at home with Hans on the farm. Mrs Paulson passed away in 1955.

LEVI H. PETERSON

Levi H. Peterson (1834-1911) came to Dakota Territory in 1882 and selected a claim at the present site of Petersburg. Mr. Peterson was born in Norway and emi­ grated to America with his .par­ ents in 1843. The town of Peters­ burg was named in Mr. Levi Peterson's honor. He established a general store and for a time the Post Office was located there. He was a member of the Lutheran church and politically was a Re­ publican. He was one of the most prominent of the early-day organ­ izers of the party.

99 OLE PETERSON Ole Peterson was born in Jutland, Vejle, Denmark in 1853. He mar­ ried Miss Katherine Jorgenson, also of Vejle, Denmark in 1875. In 1880 Mr. Peterson came with his wife and two children, Hans and Peter, to Wisconsin. Mr. Peterson worked as a farm laborer during summers and in' the woods during the winters. In 1884 they came to Wheat­ land, North Dakota and this same year Mr. Peterson came to Mel­ vin township and filed on a home­ stead and made necessary imrove- ments required by the homestead act, while his family remained in Wheatland. In 1886 the family joined him on the homestead where Mr. and Mrs. Peterson re­ sided until their deaths. •Mrs. Peterson passed away in 1926 and Mr. Peterson in 1936. Mr. and Mrs. Peterson were the parents of 11 children, five of whom are still living, Katherine (Mrs. Oscar Hillebrand) now lives at Aneta, N. Dak.; Mary (Mrs. Bert Johnson) farms in Melvin township; Oscar is retired from farming and lives in Grand Forks; Carl (Charley) lives on his farm n Adler towm- yhip and Peter lives in Northwood.

L. W. PICKARD L. W. Pickard- with his family, began farming in this township in 1886. A son, Waller, Who was married in 1900, lived on the home farm aifter his parents moved to Niagara. Walter was a member of the school board for many years. Another son, Warren, and a daughter, Mrs. Cliff Kelly, farmed in the township for many years. A grandson, Roscoe Kelly, now farms extensively here.

PETER OIEN FAMILY The Peter Oien family came to Dahlen Township in 1929 where they farmed for a number of years on the Ringstad farm. In 194H they moved to the Skjervem farm. Albert and his father farmed together until Mr. Oien's death in 1945. Albert still operates the fann. His mother lives with him. ..„. 100 OLE K. REITEN

Mr. and Mrs. Ole K. Reiten. Olaf, Agnes, Carl and Mary Ole K. Reiten was born at Harfoam in Sondmore, near Aalesund, Norway .in 1859. He came to North Dakota about 1885 and worked on . farms at Bachelors Grove before homesteading south of Petersburg in 1887. He married Josephine Haavik in 1890. She too, was frcim Sondmo'-o. Ten children were born to tihis union, four of Whom died in infancy and one boy at the age of 12. The remaining five are Carl at Fosston, Minn.; Mrs. A. R. Hared at San Diego, Calif.; Ralph at Ashland, Ore.; Odvfa at Carson City, Nev., and Mrs. P. I. Peterson at Petersburg. Mr. Reiten died in January, 1923 and Mrs. Reiten in June, 1944.

BERNARD NAUGHTER Bernard Naughter was born in Ireland. He homesteaded in Nash where he lived for many years. He died in Petersburg in September 1945.

THEODORE PETERSON Theodore Peterson (1868-1954) was bom in Minnesota and came to the Petersburg area about 1888. He farmed until 1916 when he retire;! and moved to Petersburg where he resided until his death. 101 HALVOR H. PETERSON

Halvor H. Peterson (a brother of Levi H. Peterson) and his wife, Isabelle, and dhi'ldren came to Pet­ ersburg from Minnesota in 1888. Their children were Theodore; Sander,; Edward Tillie (Mrs. Knute Erickson); and Emma (Mrs. Ben B. Benson) all now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Sander Peterson' had two children, Sander Jr. and Myrtle (Mrs. Schmidt). They now live in Denver, Colorado.with their mother. Mrs. Erickson's children are listed under Knute Erickson's write-up.

MR. AND MRS. NELS K. REITEN Nets K. Reiten was born in Hildre, Aalesund, Norway in 1872. He came to Peters/burg in 1893 and purchased his farm two miles east of Petersburg. He also entered into the partnership with his brothers in the Petersburg Mercantile Co. On New Years Eve in 1900 Mr. Reiten married Sina Olson at Mayville. Mrs. Reiten was born in 1873 at Soholt, Aalesund, Nor­ way and emigrated to Mayville. In 1907 Mr. and Mrs. Reitem moved to Ryder, N. Dak., where they 'homesteaded. They stayed a t Ryder until 1910 when they re­ turned to their fanm at Peters­ burg. From 1919 until 1927 tfoey lived in Grand Forks where they had purchased a home. Mr. Reiten re­ turned during the summer to care for his farm. In 1937 they re­ turned to live on the farm. PASTOR J. J. RINGSTAD Pastor Johannes J. Ringstad was born June 16, 1858 at Sondre Gran, Gudbransdalen, Norway, and was the youngest in a family of six .child­ ren. He came to America in 1873 with his mother, the father having left for this country earlier. The family settled on a farm near Rothsay, Minnesota. Ringstad was educated at LUther College, Deco­ rah, Iowa; at Concordia Seminary, Springfield, Blnois, and at the Lutheran Seminary at Madison, Wisconsin, graduating in 1885. His field of service was a part of Grand Forks, Walsh and Nelson counties, a field of about fifty miles in extent. In later years, he served the Elk Valley, Zion, and Petersburg congregations until 1920. In 1890, he married Sena Thor­ son, Who had' come, with her fa­ ther, at the age of seven, from Stavanger, Norway, where he had been a teacher. He continued' to Pastor and Mrs. Ringstad teach in- the congregations of Pas- and Agness tor U. Koren in the vicinity of De­ corah, Iowa. The father, Mr. Thorson. remarried and in 1885 the Thorson family came to a farm east of Dahlen. In 1904, Pastor and Mrs. Ringstad moved from their farm near Dahl­ en to Petersburg where .they had built their own home. A daughter, Agness, resides here. Mrs. Ringstad died in 1928 and Pastor Ringstad dies in 1924.

ED RYALL Ed Ryall came to Adler township in 1888 where 'he ho me steaded'. He filed on land at the age of 12. His father was deceased so he took advantage of the "orphan clause" of the homestead act. In 1890 Ed had the job of transporting the county commissioners, by horse and buggy, all over Nelson county to appraise the land. Ed Ryall married Miss Lizzie Harrison. Their sons, Neil married Miss Theodore Erickson and they now live in St. Louis Park, Minn., and Oliver lives in Highland Park, Chicago, 111. Ed Ryall moved to Michigan after his marriage where he was engaged in the grain busi­ ness for a time, but most of the time was a blacksmith and owned and operated his own shop until his retirement. Mrs. Ryall passed away several years ago. 103 ALLEN RALSTON Alton Rolston came to the Fargo area in 1880 where he worked ait various jobs, at one time being foreman' on the Daniels farm with twenty-eight men working under him. In 1890 he came to Nelson County and bought land in the Dahlen area which he later sold to Torger Ness. He' also tree-claimed a quarter of the now Andrew Ur- ness farm. In 1900 he moved! to Inkster where he managed a grain elevator untl 1908 whe he retired from the .grain business and1 re­ turned to Nash Township. He pur­ chased the Even Iverson farm which is th epresent Ralston farm and operated by his grandson, Don aid Ralston. In 1893 he married Miss Eliza Fair of Ontario, Canada, a sister of Mrs. L. B. Ray. To this marriage three children were born, Doris (Mrs. Orlie Allen); Jack of Grand Fforkis and Clyde who took over the operation of the home farm in 1914 at the age of 20. Clyde Ralston was married in 1914 to Miss Ruth Bergfae of Crooks- ton, Minn., and started farming the home farm that year. To this marri­ age were born eight children, Leslie, Lynn, Verna. Donald, Robert, Faye, Howard and Jack. Leslie is deceased', ILynn married Miss Florence Cas- may of Crookston and Verne married' Miss Jill Onyett of England. Both are farming in Nash township. Donald is married to Joyce Appeman of Bartlett and farms the home place. Robert is married to Marge Billings of Lakota. He teaches in Duluth Minn. Faye is married to William Sturlaugson, auditor of Pembina Coui.iCy. Howard1 is married to Allita Michael of Spokane and will get his Bachelor of Arts degree this year. Jack, unmarried', teaches at Lockfoart, Minn. Mr. and .Mrs. Ralston still reside on the home farm.

ANDREW RICHARDSON Andrew Richardson was born, in 1881 and came to Nash township in i905 where he .purchased the two quarter sections of land home­ steaded by James MioHaffie and Arne Asleson Sr. Mr. Richardson fouiiH all the buildings on this farm which he sold to Henry Barsness in 1945. Mr. Richardson now resides fa Grand Forks. 104 IVER REITEN

Iver Reiten was born at Reiten, Aalesund, Norway February 21, 1878. May 2, 1896 Iver and Ellas, an older brother, arrived at Peters­ burg where they worked until 1901 when they started farming with their brother, Peber I. Reiten. In 1909 Iver left .the farm and entered into a .partnership with his cousin, A. K. Reiten, in the Petersburg Ma­ chine Co. This partnership lasted until the fall of 1920 when A. K. Reiten passed away. Iver continued to operate the Petersburg Machine Co. and in 1944 two of his sons, Irwin and Victor, entered into the business. At this time the name was changed to Reiten Implement Co. Iver is still active in the affairs of this business.. Civic affairs also interested Iver Reiten. In 1912 he was appointed village clerk This term of office saw the building of the first fire hall and the purchase of the fire equipment. The fire engine is now in the State Museum at Bismarck. This fire equipment was initiated three days later When a fire broke out in the furniture d'epartment of the Petersburg Machine Co. After a four year term, as clerk, Iver resigned to take care of a business in Dahlen. In 1918 he was again elected to the village board and served until 1952. He was chairman of the village board from 1922 to 1950 consecutively. Even with his business and civic affairs Iver still found time to be Petersburg's mortician. The Petersburg Machine Co., was the site oi the mortuary in the years 1910 to 1935. In 1910 a horse-drawn hearse was purchased and a team of white horses owned by Charles Bull was used to .take many of our citizens to their final resting place. This hearse is also in the State Museum at Bismarck. In October 1910 Iver married Anna Marie Loken at Hope, N. Dak. Anna was born in Baign, Valdres. Norway and at the age of 17 she emi­ grated to America where she took up residence in Petersburg. Nine children were born to Anna and Iver: Irwin, Harold, Airland and Hjordis 105 (Mrs. LawrncepEllertson) live in Petersburg; Victor is at McVille; Einar (Pat) lives at Portland, Ore.; Eleanor (.Mrs. William Clink) is residing in Everett, Wash.; Dagny (Mrs. Vernon Newgard) is at Colorado Springs, Colo, and Lorayne ,is teaching at Little Falls, Minn. To .date 26 grandchildren complete the family history of the Iver Reiten family.

HANS O. REITEN AND FAMILY

Hans O. Reiten family. Back row. Ole, Christina, Nils, Tina, Emma) front, Hans Jr., Hans O., Bella, Mrs. Reiten and Martin •Mr. and Mrs. Hans 0. Reiten came from, Sondmor, Norway in 1887 to the Petersburg vicinity and Jhomesteaded on a farm in' Melvin town­ ship where they fanmed for a number .of years. Later foe purchased the farm which is now the Harvey Bales farm and made his home. When they retired from farming they .moved to Petersburg where Mr. Reiten built a residence in the southwest part of the village. Mr. and Mrs. Rei­ ten made several trips to the State of Washington and back o Norway for visits. Mr. and Mrs. Reiten are the parents of eight children': four daugh­ ters, Tena (Mrs. Ole Hildre) now deceased; Christine (Mrs. Martin O. Loken); Emma, deceased and Bella (Mrs. Bella Gedstad) reside in 'Petersburg. Four sons are Ole and Martin Who Jive in Minnesota; Hans in Montana; Nils at Petersburg and Martin, deceased. There are also several 'grandchildren.

OLE PIERSON Ole Pierson came to Petersburg township fa 1882, homesteading on the quarter in the center of Petersburg township. Years later he sold Ihe farm to Andrew Kilen and moved away. 106 OLE K. RODNINGEN Ole K. Rodningen was born in Hallingdal, Norway in 1860. He came . to Nash township where he picked his homestead. He married Anna C. Knutson of Sarnia township. To this union was born one child, Clarence. Mr. Rodnlfagen served on the early township and school boards. He died in 1914 and Mrs. Rodningen died in 1918. Clarence married Miss Anna Barnsess and started farming fa 1912. To this union four children were born, Agness (Mrs. Jens Wixo), deceased; Blanche (Mrs. Harvey Wixo), Nash township and who farm part of the old home place; Clinton who married Miss Leone Flem and are now in fouisess in Grand Forks and Clarence who together with his wife moved to Grand Forks in 1943. They both died in 1944. The old 'homestead is now owned and operated by Phillip Voiker of Niagara, N. Dak.

LYNN B. RAY Lynn B. Ray was born in Cherryfield, Maine in 1856. He graduated from Oherryfield Academy and later attended, a .business college fa Boston, Mass. He came to Minneapolis at the age of 19 where foe worked in the city and in various lumber camps. In 1882 foe homesteaded near Hope, 'N. Dak. and in 1883, settled on a farm in Dahlen township. Mir. Ray was elected in 1896 to represent his district in the North Dakota Legislature. In 1900 he organized the Bank of Petersburg which became the First National Bank of Petersburg in ,1918. Mr. Ray was its cashier until 1915 and president until 1930. The present Citizens State Bank is located in this building. , Mr. Ray and Miss Magaret Fair of Bervie, Out., were married in 1903 and to this union two children were born.; Doris (Mrs. Doris Ray Pullen) now of Puerto Rico, West Indies, has two children. Lynn B. Ray Jr. is unmarried and lives at home in Petersburg with his aged mother Who was 87 years old on her birthday May 27, 1956. Their farms are now and have been for some time operated by ten­ ants. Margaret Fair came to Dahlen Township in the late '90s Where she made her home for some time with her sister, Mrs. Allen Ralston. She later clerked in a store at Inkster, N. Dak., for several years. Lynn B. Ray died at the age of 75 on his farm in 1831. 107 ANDREW K. REITEN Andrew K. Reiten was educated in the public schools in Haarham, Aalesund, Norway and farmed on his father's land until he reached his 2'1'S't birthday, to 1887 he left Nor­ way for Petersburg, N. Dak. He farmed for four years and '.hen established a mercantile business with Martin Ekrom. From that •time on foe was actively engaged with mercantile interests, dealing in farm machinery and building up a large trade. On March 3, 1893 Mr. Reiten married' Miss Laura Larson of Petersburg. She was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Larson. Mr. and Mrs. Reiten were parents ol eight children: Arnold, now de­ ceased; Koinatz (Cutty) of Peters­ burg; Conrad (Jack) of Peters- burs: Lawrence of Foley, Minn.; Robert, now deceased? Andrew of Petersburg; Tfoeima of St. Paul, Minn, and' Amelia (Mrs. Willis Bjorge) of Petersburg. Mr. Reiten. was active in community affairs. He was both councilman and mayor of Petersburg and for six years he was a member of the board of county commissioners. He was also state representative. • Mr. Reiten died in 1920 and Mrs. Reiten in 1949.

OSCAR ROLAND Oscar Roland was born at Rotfosay, Minn. He came with his parents to Petersburg in 1903. He worked around' the Pe'ersfoung community for a few years before he began farming for foiim-self. He married Mary Flahaven, a Niagara girl, in 1918. They have two boys, Alfred is farming with his father on the home place, Leo James is the Great Northern Railroad Co. station agent at Petersburg. In 1928 Roland bought the farm they now own from Billy Warren, who was an uncle of Walter Pickard.

ANDREW SMITH Andrew Smith was one of the earlier settlers of the community. He lived in Nash and Petersburg townships and moved his house (from Christ Hardland*place) from east of Petersburg into town: 108 PETER I. REITEN During the last quarter of the 19th century a favorite topic of.con­ versation among the young .men of Hildre-s'irand, Norway was America (imeaning the United States) and a way to get there. Peter I. Reiten, who had been born in 1872 was one of these young men. Even his dread of seasickness did not deter him to his determina­ tion to get to America. Thus it was that in the early winter of 1893 he, together with Ole Iverson Reiten, Iver Larson and several others from nearby ccummunities had managed to earn or borrow enough money to book passage across the Atlantic to New York City. Before he could land they had to prove to the inspector that each had five dollars. As none had the five dollars they hit upon the ruse of borrowing the five dollars from a fellow passenger and then as each .passed the inspector he slipped the five dollars to the one behind him. In that way they got safely over the first hurdle. The three had 25 cents between them with which to get to their destination., Petersburg. When they boarded the train in Minneapolis they were surprised to see the passenger train all decked out with flags and bunting. Some prankster told (hem it was because the three had come to America, but they soon found ou the real reason. This was the first passenger train to run from Minneapolis to Seattle on the Great Northern. • Peter's first job was to help in seme road building and his job was to drive a rather frisky team of horses on a slusher. Inasmuch as he had never driven a team or used a slusfoer, we can easily picture the difficult- ties of this new immigrant. No doubt he wondered Why he had ever left his native land for 'this new country with its strange language and its different method's of work. Peter still likes to talk about those early days but the memories of the mosquitoes and more especially of the dreaded diphtheria are not pleasant ones. That first summer Peter had many jobs. He planted the trees on the farm now known as the H. E. Engesather farm, west of Petersburg/ He also worked on the big Dunlap farm south-west of Petersburg. Here he had the novel experience of having someone come ou! with a lumber wagon to get the men in the fields, being taken to dinner and (f.ien re­ turned in the same way. Of course it took quite a number of men and) a great number of horses to do the work on the large farms of those days. And it might be added here that the very large barn on the Dun- lap farm was Pete Nash's first job in this country when he • came from Norway. Pete Nash still lives in Petersburg. In those early days the power was often furnished by horses. Most of the grain was first stacked and then later, after it had gone through the "sweat" as it was called, was threshed. During the threshing, there were two bandcutters, one on either side of the man Who "fed" the bundles into the separator. On the large farms, the straw was pushed away by contrivances somewhat similar to the later sweep rakes. On the smaller farms, the straw was carefully stacked by at least two'.-TO three men on the straw pile. • >•••-•' •• "'•' • '•• 109 In those early days there were few buildings of any kind. The large crew had to find shelter as best they could, often sleeping under the separator or near stacks, or under shocks'—anywhere to find shelter from the chilly nights or from the early snows. For threshing in those days was a long process, often extending to Thanksgiving time or later. And a great deal of the labor was furnished by the lumber jacks who helped' both in the shocking and threshing of those early pioneer days It was rumored in those days that the baths of the lumber jacks were numbered by the times they had fallen into the river. One of those first winters Peter worked for Andrew Swendseid, another of those early pioneers. It was here that he ground feed for the pigs with one of those hand' grinders. Peter often wondered whether the .mill or the pigs squealed the loudest. Anyway, Peter had a job. And then came the panic of 1893 when there were no jobs. Those disastrous days are still very vivid in the memory of Peter. He had to live by trapping gophers for there was a bounty of two cents for each gopher. By the year 1895 conditions became a little better. He got a job on the M. N. Johnson farm and it was there that he ploughed with four oxen on a two bottom plow with no seat. In 1896 and 1897 Peter worked for Rev. Ringstad. That was the win­ ter of the deep snow and the consequent almost unbelievable hardships. But somehow the hardy pioneers survived. One incident tells the story of that winter. Rev. Ringstad had ordered a car load of wood from Min­ nesota. The car was left on the track near the present Farmers Union elevator. The snow was so deep that the people drove their teams over the top of the coal shed, then dug a hole down through the snow, went down and then threw chunks of wood up to a shelf of snow and then from there to the top of the snowbank. •Finally in 1900 Peter bought a quarter of land and hired Martin Flem to break up 25 acres and seed it to flax. Only one light fjhower fe'M all that summer. And of course there was very little crop and very little hay. It began to rain just at threshing time. That little croo of flax had been hauled and then restacked on the Ole Hildre farm. It was finally threshed on Christmas eve. From that 25 acres of flax, Peter got about 250 bushels which he sold for $1.00 a bushel. He sold the flax s'raw for $10.00 The taxes on that quarter were $7.00. Now they are $140.00. That is the story of Peter I. Reiten through those early pioneer days. It was a story of hardships, but also one of courageous determination and perseverance. Such men cannot fadQ. Peter made a trip back to Norway in the winter of 1906-1907. In 1907 Johanna Knudson and Peter were married in Petersburg. To them four sons were born: Ingward and fa.mily own and operate a farm south of Petersburg; Carl and son are on the home farm; Edwin is owner of the Reiten Mfg. Co. of Coopers'own and Palmer is a profes­ sor of engineering at the University of North Dakota. Mrs. Reiten passed away in March, 1957. Peter is one of the very few living who has farmed with oxen, horses 110 and then to tractors, from hand-tied reapers and handVfed separators to self-propelled combines; from candles and oil lamps to electricity; from wood and coal to oil and electricity for cooking and heating, from the old oaken bucket to pressure water systems', from hand power to mechanical power from self-imade entertainment to radio and TV. Peter has seen 85 years of life and wonders whether any future 85 years can ever again see such changes as he has seen.

REV T. M. RYKKEN Rev. T. M. Rykken was born' in 1895. He was ordained into the ministry at the Lutheran Theo­ logical Seminary in 1920. He then served for 10 years as pastor at the Betfoemy Indian Mission at Wittenberg, Wis. In 1930 he ac­ cepted a call to Petersburg where he served faithfully until hi» death in 1945. He was married to Miss Alma Syverson in 1918 and to this union three children' were born. Beatrice, died at the age of six; June ('Mrs. Gordon Aamot) lives at Tacoma, Wash, and Ans- gar is serving in the ministry as pastor at Cando, N. Dak. Mrs. Ryk­ ken passed away in 1948. The Ryk­ ken family will be gratefuUoy re­ membered by the whole commun­ ity.

FRANK SHOTSWELL The Frank Shotswell family caane from Wisconsin and homesteaded in Petersburg township, near the B. W. Andrews farm, in 1885 The first school house was very near these farms. A few years later, the old small school house from town was moved out on the northwest corner of the Oscar Olson land. Mr. Shotswell, father of Mrs. M. McLean of near Dahlen, built the meat market in 1903. He later moved to Buford where he lived his re­ maining years. .

MR. AND MRS. OLE T. RODNINGEN Ole T. Rodingen was born in Aal, Hallingdal, Norway, April 3, 1864 of parents, Torkel and Mary Rodningen. In 1891 he married Turi Rotnem and emigrated to this country the same year, settling shortly afterwards on a homestead north of Petersburg, in Nash township where he lived until 1919 when he moved to Petersburg. His first wife died to 1905. m In 1915 he married again, .this time to Bovine Aasund. He died Jan­ uary, 1928 leaving his wife and four children: Oiai (deceased), Oscar, Clyde .and Mrs. IGina Erickson. The homestead is now owned and operated by Mr. and Mrs. Oren Hilliebrand.

MR. AND MRS. KNUT SLETTEBAK

Knut Anton Slettebak was born July 10, 1866 at "Slettebak" gaard near Aalesund, Norway. He emigrated to America in 1892, working in this coimimunity. In 1896 he homesteaded on the farm on which he spent the rest of his life. On February 12. 1901 he married Hansine Rogne. Rev. L. A. Haatvedt performed the ceremony. Hansine Rogne was born March 12, 1869 in Flemsoi, Aalesund, Nor­ way. She came to this community in 1898. To this union six children were born: Andrew and Elmer of Petersburg, Anne (Mrs. Jaimer Ris- mon) of Havre, Mont.; Jennie (Mrs. Werner Wurgler of Knox, N. Dak. and Andreas and Hans Who died' in infancy. The living room of the present farm home was built by Mr. Slette­ bak and Ole Sonderland at the time he homesteaded. Knut Slettebak passed away at his home March 15, 1939. Hansine Slettebak passed away January 16, 1947.

CARL SWENDSEID Carl Swendseid (1875-1954) came to Dakota Territory in 1888. He was married to Miss Isabelle Wangen and to this marriage two children were born, Malhlon who died in infancy and Marion, now living in Cali­ fornia. Mrs. Swendseid passed away in 1949. 112 THE FIRST SWENDSEIDS TO* SETTLE IN PETERSBURG AREA

The E. T. Swendseid family. Front row, left to right, Annie, Rollie, Dora and Annie; back row, left to right, Ole, Andrew, Carl, Tov and Peter Andrew R. Swendseid was one of the very first settlers to homestead in the Petersburg community. With his parents he had emigrated to southeastern Minnesota in 1867 from Lunde in Telemarken, Norway. Andrew attended Luther College in 1874, 1875 and 1876 and later taught school near Rushford, Minnesota and Milwaukee. In 1879 he moved to Dakota and settled in Grand Forks before the railroad reached that town. In fact he came by way of river steamer down the Red Lake river from Fisher's landing. He worked in a drug store on south Third street until the land in Nelson county had been surveyed. Prior to the opening of land for settlement in Nelson county he made an inspection trip into the region west of Larimore to select a claim. He rode on a construction train from Grand Forks to Larimore, then the end of the track. He then set out on foot to explore the un­ known region beyond the escarpment. He followed thee old Fort Totten trail westward and noticed that surveyors had staked out a route near this train and it was evident that the railroad would follow these stakes, so he walked about 20 miles across the prairies from Larimore and' fig­ ured that three townsites west of Larimore would foe approximately in the area of a lake. He dug up the government surveyor's marker in the northwest corner of that section and found this location to foe the North­ west quarter of section 17, township 152, range 57. This was the tract he would select. He walked back to Larimore and returned to Grand Forks. On April 14 the land office in Grand Forks was besieged by land seekers. Mr. Swendseid was one of the first to file. He made immediate steps to move to his claim. The first implement he purchased was a sec­ ond-hand covered wagon with Which he transported all his worldly pos- 113 sessions to his new home. The next purchase was a yoke of oxen and what great beasts of burden Buck and Bright tanned out to be. With this means of transportation he found his homestead. His first concern as he moved with his belongings onto the land was the building of the claim shanty. Like all pioneers he had to make his frontier abode out of such material as he had at hand. In that treeless prairie the material was sod, the top layer of prairie earth that held to­ gether by interlaced roots of tough prairie grass. When the primitive •sod shanty was completed he returned to Larimore to meet his wife and children and transport them to the homestead. He experienced that the life of a pioneer settler was a hard assign­ ment, a® it was no light task to unake a home and develop a farm from the grass-roots of the virgin prairie, remote from neghfoors and the .many comforts and advantages enjoyed foy those living in the more com­ pact and established settlements. Having settled in the sod shanty he then proceeded to break the sod and prepare the land for cropping. The sod-breaking was difficult to properly till the first season and was us­ ually left idle the first summer to permit the roots to decay. Because of the misuse of farm credit n the early 1880s in Dakota monay was very tight and hard to secure. Mr. Swendseid could not borrow and money and his new breaking was not ready for cropping. Since money was scarce on the frontiers of Dakota a system of barter was developed Whereby buffalo bones were accepted in exchange for merchandise, the rate of barter was $6.00 to $8.00 per ton. Thus he, like most of the homesteaders, helped sustain themselves and their families by picking bones on the prairies. The buffalo bones were shipped east to be ground into fertilizer and some were burned and pulverized into carbon black and used in the sugar refineries. The upland game wintered in Dakota and since there were no game laws, wild game was the principal source of fresh meat the year around. The lakes and sloughs were full of waterfowl from spring to freeze^ time. This then was the prairie frontier in the early throes of homestead- ing in the Petersburg community. Fertile prairies—true the soil was very fertile and strong, but it took time to get enough land broke and ready for cropping.Tfoe farm units were too small, the power inadequate, the implements too rude to provide the many things that father needed to produce to capacity. He and his family were financially unable to even move out of the country. So they had to eke out a living the best they could. Laura and Ralph were small children when Mr. Swendseid settled on his claim. Anthony was born in the sod shanty, the first white child to be born in the community. The social life in the Petersburg community in those early days was very imucfo like that in any frontier country. There were many fam­ ily gatherings, basket-socials, quilting 'bees and other simple social events that brought the neighbors together fa the informal manner so characteristic of pioneer life. Those who were forced to stay in the Petersburg community and wished to conserve as much as possible of 114 the culture of older settlements and rebuild it on the bleak prairies found their leaders in an able and aggressive group of fellow settlers. There was Stener Svennungson, a Lutheran pastor who settled on a claim just south of the present cemetery. Ther was Martin N. Johnson, a native of Iowa who settled just north of the townsite. And there was Levi H. Peterson who owned the quarter Where the railroad decided to establish a station. Levi H, Peterson platted the townsite and called the station in his honor as well as1 for the old .manorial estate of Peters­ burg in Telemarken, Norway. The Petersburg community therefore had cultural advantages unus­ ual in most of the frontier settlements of those early days. Mr. Swend­ seid and Stener Svennungson had attended Luther College. Martin N. Johnson had graduated from Upper Iowa University and practiced law in the .settlement. It was pioneer settlers of this type who did most to pro­ mote tfo-e establishment of the church, the organization of school facili­ ties, the procurement of postal services and other progressive projects incidental to early .pioneer community building. In spite of the hazards of pioneering on the Dakota plains, the set­ tlers continued to come, mostly from Norway. These immigrants could not speak English so Mr. Swendseid established a night school for the newcomers. Later Mr. Swendseid and Andrew A. Mellum started the first Sunday school in the community and since they had no church edi­ fice they used the school house. It was in 1886 that Rolleiv Swendseid and wife, together with Annie. Dorthea and Carl moved to the Petersburg community from Fill­ more county. They made their home with Mr. Swendseid. The two fami­ lies lived in the same house during that long, cold winter of 1886-1887. Later Andrew Swendseid was able to secure 240 acres for his father in that same section. In 1891 the two harvested a bumper wheat crop. For once, at least, they had better than average yields and a good price in the same season. Andrew sold 3,500 bushels of wheat that fall at one dollar a bushel and that placed him in a very favorable financial posi­ tion. He then purchased the Nels N. Venberg store in Petersburg from his brother-in-law and thus became .(foe merchant in the town. He rented his farm to his father and later, in 1895. harvested another bummer crop. He had lost his first wife, the mother of Laura- Ralph, Anthony and Theodore. His second wife, Marit Vangen, came to work for him and care for the children. They were married in Grand Forks in 1895. She had come to LaCrosse, Wis., from Otta in Gudbrandsdalcn. Norway and came later to Petersburg since her sister. Mrs. Ole J. Son- steng had homesteaded northeast of Petersburg.

They came and cleared the land they took. They built the first settlement here, Wild prairies became fields in every nook. As they built the homes they loved so dear. 115 We, the sons of the men, who staked the first claims, We should preserve their traditions with care, Cherish their dreams, their hopes and their aims We should be proud of the names we bear.

Record the story for the grandsons of your son, That this village of the prairies was not built in one day, That a settlement cannot complete its sun Until countless generations have passed away.

THE OLE H. SKJERVEM FAMILY The Skjervem family emigrated from Sundre Aal in Hallingdal, Norway in 1877 and first settled in Olmstead county, Minnesota, near the village of Rockwell. The whole Hal grim family came to America, with exception of Sissel, who was then married to Lars Espegaard, Skjer- em. They followed later. In 1884 Ole H. Skjervem and Halgrem Skjervem moved to Nelson County and homesteaded What is now known as the Peter Johnson land. Ole H. Skjervem selected the quarter just south of the Walsh county line. In 1888 Ole H. Skjervem and Aagot Skrindo were married by Pas­ tor J. J. Ringstad and to this union eight children were born: Ragnhild (Mrs. Clarence Swendseid). Henry 0. of Dahlen, Oscar C. of St. Paul, Minn., Edwin H. of Fordville, Carl G., deceased, Sophie (Mrs. Andy An­ derson), Clara 0. of Fargo, and Alma, deceased. In 1892 the family moved to Sullivan township, about nine miles northeast of East Grand Forks, Minn., in Polk county. They farmed there for 13 years and because of the repeated flood conditions they re­ turned to the uplands of Nelson county and first farmed northwest' of Petersburg. Later they moved to the Erick Engesather farm in Dahlen township and in 1912 Ole H. Skjervem purchased the Andrew Kaltvedt farm where they resided the rest of their lives. The family still owns the original farm in Nash township. •

OLE JOHNSON SONSTENG Ole Johnson Sonsteng was born in Norway in 1849. He came to (he United States in 1880. He worked in Benson, Minn., until 1882 when he cr^me to Dakota Territoy and settled in what is now Nash township and proved up a homestead. He was married in about 1882 to Miss 'Wangen, a sister of Ole Wangen Sr. and Mrs. A. R. Swendseid. They lived on their homestead until about 1910 When, they .sold their farm to George McMa­ hon and moved to Petersburg. Mrs. Sonsteng died in 1936 and Mr. Son­ steng passed away three years later. 116 PAUL SEVERSON

Paul Severson family: Seated, Anna, Alfred, Mrs. Severson holding Arthur and Olga; Standing front center, Otto; Standing, Minnie (Mrs. Herert Flem), Clara (Mrs. Frank Lukins), Sever. Mr. Severson and Einar Paul Severson was born in Norway in 1854. He came to America fa 1882, landing in Wisconsin Where he worked in a lumber mill for two years before coming to North Dakota to homestead in Adler township. In 1885 foe married Mary Olson who had just come from Norway. They lived with Charles Adler and two other families, the L. T. Borgcns and Elf Higgs While they erected sod houses on their homesteads. Sevcr- sons lived in their sod houses until 1891 when they purchased the Home- deckers Hotel from Charles Adler and rebuilt it into a dwelling house on his homestead. He farmed until he passed away in 1932. Thy had a family of eleven children, seven of them still living. Einar Severson married Klari Rusten Who passed away in the fall of '1954. They had seven children. Anna Marie married Gerald Morkrid of Petersburg. Paul married Delores Holland and lives southwest of Petersburg. Leon­ ard married Shirley Tessen and lives at Midland, Mich. Clara married Lloyd Fredrickson who is employed by the Petersburg Garage and lives at Petersburg. June married Ellsworth Sundre and also lives in' Peters­ burg. Ellsworth is employed by the Petersburg Supply Co. Vernon Se­ verson is at present preparing for the ministry'- The last year he has been serving as a minister fa a parish in Canada. Norman Severson. is living at home. Sever Severson is a patient in the Veterans Hospital in Portland, Ore. Mrs. Clara Lukins. a daughter of Paul Severson, has two children and is living in South Beach, Ore. Olga (Mrs. G. D. Miller) has five children and lives in Vulcan, Al­ berta, Can. Otto Severson Ives in East Grand Forks, Minn., and has five child­ ren. Arthur Severson of Alexandria, Vermont has three children. 117 'Altogether the Paul Seversons have 23 grandchildren and 27 great grandchildren.

MR. AND MRS. FRITZ SCHALEY In 1904 Mr. and Mrs. Fritz Schaley, her father, William Hillebrand Sr. and family and brother, Wil­ liam Hillebrand Jr. and family md- .grated to North Dakota from Illi­ nois, landing at Niagara March 17 in a raging blizzard. They located on a farm in Adler township which remained their home for 42 years until they moved to Larimore. Mr. Schaley was active in community affairs, holding many township offices. Mrs. Schaley is a charter member of the P.A.N. Hcimemakers Club. For more than 30 years the Scbaleys were mem­ bers of the Niagara - Shawnee Farmer's Club until it was discon­ tinued during World War H To tihis. couple four children were born, Myrtle (Mrs. Olaf Laugeness); Hallie (Mrs. Art Andrews) of Larimore and Ervin and Chester residing on the home place near Niagara. Mr. Schaley passed away July 14, 1954 at the age of 78. Mrs. Schaley resides in Larimore.

TOVE R. SWENDSEID Tove R. Swendseid (1858-1931) was born in Norway. He was mar­ ried to Miss Effie Minerva Bidwell (1866-1928) and to this union 11 children were born: Alice, Nora, Ruth, Ralph, Amy, Marie, Ada and Leonard. The survivors of the family are Amy at Bismarck; Evelyn at Adams; Annie at Fargo; Marie at Michigan; Leonard at Mandersen, Wyo. and Ervin at Petersburg. !Mr. Swendseid came to North Dakota in 1898 and operated a gen­ eral Store and Implement Shop in Petersburg with fois brother, Carl, for four years. He .moved to his farm in 1902 where he farmed until 1925 when he moved to Petersburg. In 1910 he was elected county com­ missioner for Nelson county. As commissioner he served continuously for 24 years.

OLE SONDERLAND Ole Sonderland was born in Sondmor, Norway. He came to Nelson 118 county in 1892 with a group of young men about bis age. He worked for a number of years at various jobs until he started farming together with Mr. Knut Slettebak in 1899. In 1902 he bought the farm owned by Adam Beamer where he resided until his death in 1935. Miss Bertha Nygaard came from Norway in 1899, first to Sioux Falls, S. Dak. and later to Petersburg. In 1901 she married Ole Sonderland and to this marriage seven children were born, Peter, Jennie, Palma and Obert (twins), Olaf, Carl and Melvin, who died at the age of five. Peter married. Julia Yoney and to this union five children were born. Two died in infancy. The others are Mary (Mrs. Gregory Hopman) of East Grand Forks, Minn.; Nellie and Betty. Peter bought a farm near Petersburg where he resided until his death. Obert married Margaret Webber in 1935. They have four children, Bud, Gary. Donald and Judy. Obert and family live on the home farm. Palma (Mrs. Earl Erickson) of Badger, Minn., has three children, Earle of Minneapolis, Minn.; Keith of Badger and. Sharline (Mrs. Gene Anderson) of Grand Forks, N. Dak. Jennie (Mrs. Carl FrUh) of Richland, Wash., has two children, Carl Fruh Jr. and Mrs. A. Robinson. Carl, Richland, Wash., has three children, John, Jean and David. Olaf of North Hollywood, Calif has two children1, Wayne with the U., S. Air Force and Carol at home. Mrs. Bertha Sonderland resided on the home farm with Obert until 1946 when she moved to Badger, Minn,, where she lived with her daugh­ ter, Palma until her death in 1950.

THORSTON AND INGRID SQNSTENESS Thorston and Ingrid Sonsteness and family came to Adler in 1891. They were both born in 'Gulbransdalen, Norway and came to the United States some time prior to 1891. They were the parents of six childen. Five of them were born in Norway; 'Gunhild (Mrs. Ole Opang) of Can­ ada; Anne; John; Elise and Marie (Mrs. Henry A. Ringdahl) of rural McVille, who died in 1916. Thome was born in Adler. Of the six child­ ren, only Gunhild and Marie married.

PETER SWENDSEID Peter Swendseid (1866-1939) was born in Norway. He was married to Miss Annie Halvorson in 1907 and she passed away in 1908. They had one daughter, Esther, who now lives in California.

WILLIAM TAYLOR SR. William Taylor Sr, a veteran of the Union Army, lived on land later known as the Fredrickson Farm. A daughter, Edith taught in rural schools. A son, William Jr., was married and lived on the King land now- owned foy Tom Crawford. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor Sr. moved to Niagara where they spent their remaining years. 119 MR. AND MRS. ROBERT WAAG With the territory of Dakota as his destination Robert Waag made his way direct to Petersburg from Norway in 1887 at the age of 22 be­ coming one of the first settlers of this place and for about five years thereafter engaged to farming in ; the employ of others. His sister, Mrs. EM Flem, had settled in Mel­ rose township and with her he made his home. Sometime later he started a school to teach the Eng­ lish language to the immigrants of the vicinity. Classes were held in the Melrose school. During that time he also im­ proved fois opportunities to fur­ ther his education and from 1893 until 1897 he attended the Aaberg Academy at Devils Lake and the Minnesota Normal and Buisness College at Minneapolis. When his textbooks were .put aside he en­ tered upon the field of education as a teacher. Returning to Nelson county he taught school for five years. He then took up farming on his own south of Petersburg and devoted his undivided attention to general agricutural pursuits for five years. •In the fall of 1907 he became interested in the Farmers State Bank and was .chosen to the presidency of that institution and. was active in directing its upbuilding and development until the time of his death in December 1926. In 1910 Mr. Waag married Kristine Reiten who came from Norway in 1903. Three of her brothers, Andrew K., Ole K. and Nels K. Reiten had already established their homes here. Mrs. Waag was one of the early member of the Lutheran Ladies Aid, in which she took an active part for over 40 years; a charter member of the Civic Club and a char­ ter member of the Daughters1 of Norway. Mr. and Mrs. Waag had two children: Agnes of Petersburg and Nor­ man who is vice president and controller of the Investors Diversified Services Inc., of Minneapolis, Minn.; three grandchildren1, Norman Torrey 10, Kristin 7 and Robert Scott 5 of Minneapolis. Mr. Waag was a charter member of the Sons of Norway, a member of the Independent Order of Odd Felows and active in the Commercial Club. He served as president of the Petersburg school board from 1916 to 1926. 120 JOHN J. VELLEU John J. Velleu was born in Hardanger, Norway in 1859. He emi­ grated jto^Wisconsin' where he was employed in lu'mber camps. Later he came to Grand Forks. In 1890 he was united in marriage to Miss Carrie Gildager, who was also born in Norway. They settled on a farm near Aneta where they resided until 1906 when they moved to Petersburg. Here they owned and operated a restaurnant and Mr. Velleu also engaged in carpentry work. Five sons and two daughters were born to Mr. and Mrs. Velleu: Oscar and Annie are living in Chi­ cago, 111.; Olaf lives in Petersburg; Ingwald lives in Rochester, Minn.; Carl lives at Harvey, N. Dak.; John lives at Grand Forks. One daughter, Ida, preceded them in death. Mrs. Velleupassed away fa 1937 and Mr. Velleu in 1941.

ANDREW R. WIGNESS Andrew R. Wigness was born at Adams, Minn., in 1863. His wife, the former Rannie Wigdafol, was born at Sogn, Lojster, Norway in 1880. She. with her parents, came to Petersburg in 1886. They were married at Petersburg in 1897. In 1906, they moved from Petersburg to Divide county, where they homesteaded near Fortuna. Six sons and two daughters are still living. They are Roy, of Am­ brose, N.D.; Raymond, Cecil, Porter. Orville and Cyrus, all of Fortuna; Grace (Mrs. Dr. De Jardine) lives at Parkland, Wash.; and Georgia (Mrs. Hautor Grytness) lives at Seattle, Wash. "• Three sons and one daughter are deceased. They are Arthur, who was cashier at a bank at Custer, S.D.; and two younger boys whose names were not found. The deceased daughter, Mrs. Agnes Sand, lived at Ta­ coma, Wash. Andrew Wigness died in .1923 and his wife in 1944 both at Fortuna. John Wigness was born at Adams. Minn., in 1866. He came to Pet­ ersburg in 1899 where he operated a livery barn in partnership with his brother, Andrew. The brothers also operated the farm west of Petersburg now known as the Gulick Ellingson farm. In 1904 he left Petersburg and filed on a homestead at Sherwood, N. D. That same year he was married to Clara Sanderson of Portal. To them, four children were born — WiUard, Nils, Warren and Gert- 121 rude (now Mrs. Coates), all of Sherwood. John Wigness died in 1946.

CARL WAAG Carl Waag was born in Sondmor, Norway. He came to Petersburg fa 1907 and began farming on his own in 1910, the dry year. He married Josie Melhus. He was one of the first in the community to own a combine, buying his first in 1927. He was also one of the first in the area to change to tractor farming. He bought his present farm in 1933. Mr. and Mrs. Waag have one daughter, Jean (Mrs. Richard B. Sey­ mour), of Omaha. Nebraska.

L. A. TENNISON

L. A. Tennison was born fa Norway in 1845. He came with his par­ ents to Chicago in 1848 at the age of three and to Minnesota in 1854. After serving in the Civil War he built and operated a hardware store. This building is still standing in the town of Houston, Minn. In 1893 he and his wife and eight children, moved to Petersburg, where he started farming. Mr. Tennison passed away in 1903 and Mrs. Tennison in 1914. Three of the eight children are still living, namely: Mrs. Martha Swendseid, of Grand Forks; Henry, Minneapolis; and Lars who owns and operates the home farm together with other extensive farm interests. 122 OLE R. SWENDSEID

Ole R. Swendseid (1868-1946) was born in Norway. He was married to Miss Sarah Gedstad (1855-1912) and to this union eight children were born, namely: Rudolph, Alice, John, Olga, Melvin, Bernard and Gib. The survivors of the family are Alice, in New Jersey; John and Melvin. in Montana; Bernard in California; and Gib at Dahlen, N.D.

OLE TOMPTON Ole Tompton, or "Ole Gopher Tail" as he was nicknamed, was a fa­ miliar figure throughout this' community. He made a living shooting gophers for which the county paid a bounty of two cents a tail. He lived with the homesteaders wherever he worked. Viggo Hansen now owns his rifle.

LOUIS WAAG Louis Waag was born in Norway and came to Petersburg in 1902. He worked at various jobs and also farmed for himself on rented land for several years until 1915 when he became manager of the Imperial Elevat­ or at Petersburg. He was manager there until foe became the manager of the newly organized Petersburg Cooperative Elevator in 1925 which he managed until his retirement from the grain business in 1952. Mr. Waag helped organize and directed the Norrona Male Chorus fa 1905. This organization was later affiliated with the Norwegian Singers Association of America. The Norrona Chorus was very active for many years. It ranged in size from 10 to 17 voices. They furnished music for many entertainments in this part of the state. Louis took an active part in the organization of the Sons of Norway lodge. He was the director of the Lutheran Chureh Choir for many years. After his retirement, Mr. Waag moved to Grand Forks where he now resides. i j 123 THE WATKINS WAGON About the turn of the century, there was a two-horse rig which the children always loved to see stop at the house. This was the Watkins man arriving to diplay his wares. The children would rush out to his wagon to watch him open the (back door and pull out the different draw­ ers packed with multi-colored jars of extracts, patent medicines, oint­ ments and linaments labeled "for man or beast." And invariably, there would be gum for each child. One immigrant boy asked what the words ".man or beast" meant. He was told that it was "man or woman." A man by the name of Filskow was the first Watkins man in the neighborhood. He sold his outfit to Erick Sletten in 1912. Mr. Sletten was born in Norway in 1872. He came to Petersburg in 1904 and worked as a carpenter until he purchased the Watkins Wagon. His wagon was pulled by horses until 1916 when he got a Model "T" and mounted the 'body from the wagon on the rear. Mr. Sletten continued with his route until 1920 when he went back to part time carpentry work. While selling on the Watkins route, Erick also sold subscriptions to the Norwegian newspaper, "Normanden." He won a free trip to the San Francisco Worlds Fair for selling subscriptions. Mr. Sletten passed away in February, 1957.

CHRIST SAND Christ Sand was born in Stavanger, Norway, in 1848. In 1881 foe mar­ ried Ingebarg Hermanson. Their first child died in infancy. Four other children — Henry, Christ, Billy and Selma — were born in Norway. In 1888, the family came to North Dakota and settled in Nash twon- hsip Where Edward, Inger, Ellllen and Herbert were born. It is foelieved that Edward was the first child born in Nash township; also that their original house was the first frame structure in the township. In 1890, a school .building was put up near them. Later, this building was moved to its present site which is just north of the old Ole Jegluni farm. The land was first broken with oxen. Later they purchased a horse which was then used with one of the oxen for the general farm work. Mr. Sand died in 1935 and Mrs. Sand in 1948. They saw and helped the raw prairies develop into a well builUrp and modern farming area.

MR. AND MRS. J. P. WIGDAHL Mr. and Mrs. J. P. Wigdahl were both born in Norway and came to America in 1886. They first resided in Niagara and later moved to Pet­ ersburg where they lived for all but a few years which they spent in the northwestern part of the state. They were in the hotel and restaurant business in the early days. They built the hotel and the livery barn in 1895 which they operated until 1902 when it was purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Charles Bull. Mr. Wigdahl died in 1926. 124 JOHN H. TERRETT

John Terrett Family One of the early pioneer families who came to Petersburg was Mr. John H. Terrett and his wife Maggie R. Terrett. To them, three children were born — Dode R. Terrett, now living in Los Angles, Calif.; a daugh­ ter, Fannie, now Mrs. C. F. McErlane and living in Grand Forks; a young­ er daughter, Mildred, now Mrs. Dr. C. 0. Fay of Minneapolis. The son, Dade, and daughter Mldred, were born in Petersburg. Fannie was born in Missouri. Mr. Terrett died in 1938 and Mrs. Terrett in 1948. Mr. Terrett was one of the first station agents in Petersburg.

OLE TVEITO Ole Tveito was born in Norway in 1876 and came to Petersburg in 1902. He worked on various farms near Dahlen for five years and then returned to Norway where he married Margit Sorteberg in 1907. • Returning to the Petersburg area, they were on varoius farms until 1920 When they puchased their present farm. Four children were born to this union. The two sons, Thor and Olaf. live with their parents and operate the home farm. One of the daughters, Selma, married Everett Nash of Lawton who is the grandson of John Nash, after whom Nash township had been named. The other daughter, Myrtle, now Mrs. Lloyd Anderson, lives in Far­ go. Ole Tveito passed away in May, 1957. 125 JOE VOGEL Joe Vogel was born at Frohna, Missouri in 1878. He came to North Dakota in 1903 and worked for William Kruger for a few years. It was here that he met Clara Wolfgram whom he married in 1906. After farm­ ing for a short time in Grand Forks county, they purchased their home farm in Nash township from John Donnelly and moved to the farm in 1909. Four children were born to them: Hilda (deceased), Edna (Mrs. Philip Voelker of Nagara), Otto (who married Freida Schmidt of Peters­ burg), and Freida (now Mrs. Henry Barsness). Otto, who lives on the home farm, has two daughters, Mertrice, now Mrs. Donald Fontaine, and Joann, now Mrs. Gordon Kulseth; also a son, Odell, who is at home with his parents. The Barsness's now own and reside on the former Andrew Richard­ son farm in Nash Township. The Voelkers live in Grand Forks county. They have six children — Arnold, Vernon of California, Robert- Marcus, Bernice (Mrs. Martin Brueckner), and Lois. In 1934, Mr. and Mrs. Vogel moved to Petersburg where Mr. Vogel died in 1953. Mrs. Vogel still lives in Petersburg.

OLE T. SORTEBERG Ole T. Sorteberg appears on the records as a man who homesteaded in Nash Township. He proved up on this land in 1899. The land has been operated by several in the years that followed. In 1943 it was pur­ chased by Mr. and Mrs. Sam Mork and is operated by them at the pres­ ent time.

OLE WANGEN Ole Wangen was born in Norway in 1842 and came to Nash Town­ ship in 1896. He married Miss Rignild Solgohcm and to this union six children were born, namely: Belle (Mrs. Carl Swendseid); Susie; Mat- tie (Mrs. John Nelson); Hans; Ole; and Lizzie. Survivors of the family- are Lizzie (Mrs. Ed Snyder) of California and Hans of Petersburg. Hans E. Wangen was born in Minnesota in 1881 and settled on his present farm in 1898. Mr. Wangen and Miss Mary Donnelly were mar­ ried in 1906. Seven children were born to this union, two of whom have passed away: Lucille (Mrs. Adolph Hassel) died in 1953 and Lugena (Mrs. Addie McMillan) in 1943. Joseph married Miss Marion Gord and they now live in Grand Forks. Osborne married Miss Eva Leech and farms in Nash Township. Lawrence married Miss Kathern Evensizer, and they own and operate the John Kemp farm. Alice (Mrs. Brooks McMil­ lan) lives in the Niagara vicinity; and Hans Jr. farms and resides at home with his parents. 126 ANDREW WANGEN Andrew Wangen was born at Sogn, Norway in 1887. He arrived in Nash Township in 1909 and worked for John Kemp for several years. In 1923 he purchased the farm he now owns and lived there until the fad of 1956, when he moved into Dahlen where he still resides.

WRIGHT BROTHERS Will, Fred and King Wright were early settlers in the southwestern part of Petersburg Township and in Michigan Township. Ella Ingralham, who later became Mrs. Fred Wright, tonight the Andrews School in 1895 or 1896.

AREA RESIDENTS FOR A SHORT TIME There were several early pioneers in Nash Township who arrived to the early days and moved on in a short time. The Campbell family ar­ rived in about 1890 and left a few years later. The Andrew Kaltvedt fam­ ily came before 1900 and moved in 1912 when they sold their holdings to Ole Skjervem. There were four children in the family: John, Sena. An­ nie and Gina. The Leon Hogan family moved into Nash in 1909 and moved to Grand Forks about 1912. The Edward McHaffie family proved up a home­ stead about 1908 and lived there until 1918 when he sold to Knute Rod­ ningen and moved to Grand Forks. The Herman Halle family resided in Nash from 1906 to 1929 when they sold to Ole Tveito and moved to Dev­ ils Lake. Another family who lived in Nash and then moved was the Thomas Mathisons who lived there from 1912 to 1924. They had one girl, Flor­ ence, who went to school and grew up in Nash.

OTHER EARLY PIONEERS Little is known of some of the early homesteadres of the area. But their names will be mentioned here. Ed G. Houston, a bachelor, served as Township Clerk from 1885. W. W. Warner, a veteran of the Confederate Army, was the mason who stoned up — with prairie stone — a well on the M. N. Johnson farm. Townsend's name is mentioned in the first Township record book. Other early pioneers were: Ole Rolles, L. P. Brown, Sam Bye, Frank Beamer, Prate Martin, McCoy, Murphy who lived on the farm later known as the Hans Flem farm, Anson Wiltse, W. W. Glascow, Fred Bil­ lings, and Moran. Some more of the early settlers in the township, for whom no in­ formation can be obtained, were Alex McCrae, Adam McFall, H. L. Pitts, George Crozier and1 Herman Heffron. 127 History of Dahlen

The Elling N. Dahlen Family Dahlen Village and Dahlen Township are both named after their founder, Elling N. Dahlen. who came here in a covered wagon in May, 1881, from Goodhue County, Minnesota. Elling Dahlen and his wife, Marit, were born in Valders, Norway, in 1835. They were married by Bishop Skaar in 1857. Eight years later they sailed for America and were at sea 14 weeks. After 16 years of farming in southern Minnesota, they were attracted to North Dakota by the large areas of virgin land. After a 14 day journey, they arrived at a beautiful wooded area now known as the Dahlen Grove. Ole, then 12 years old, walked the 300 mile journey driving sheep. Filing, his wife, and sons Knute, Martin, Andrew, Carl Ode, Engebret and Nels, worked to prepare for winter. Their home was made in a dugout in the hillsides while a log cabin was built. Before its completion, Mrs. Dahlen gave birth to her 10th son, Theodore, now of Petersburg. They were frequently visited by Indians who would ask for some particular treat and then be on their way. Both Elling and Marit encouraged the spiritual and economic life of the community in countless ways and will ever be remembered by their descendents and friends as the cornerstone of Dahlen. They learned of another Norwegian settlement and met to discuss 128 the organizing of a church, with the result that the Forest River Norwe­ gian Lutheran Congregation was formed. A visiting pastor held services in the homes until Reverend Holseth, from Iowa, was called in 1883. This marked the beginning of the growth of the church in the new settle­ ment. In 1884. a temporary church building was erected. In 1897, the Middle Forest Church was built on land donated by Engebret Ellingson Dahlen. In 1885, Rev. Holseth resigned and Rev. J. J. Ringstad was cal­ led. He served this vast area (extending over a territory of more than 30 miles across) in the most efficient and faithful way for 12 years. He later bought a farm seven mile farther west and made his home there. In 1897. he was called to serve at Petersburg and associated con­ gregations. In 1904, he built his own home in Petersburg where he re­ sided until his death in 1924. Rev. Olsen, the last of the pioneer pastors, came in 1898. His inter­ est in the Dahlen school did much toward its growth and improvement. Due to the distance some had to go to attend church, a group organ­ ized the Zion Congregation and built their church in 1897 on land do­ nated by Henry Alme. The Zion Church was served by Rev. Ringstad. The first close neighbor of Elling Dahlen was Uldrick Moen who came in 1882 and homesteaded on the present Midtmoen farm. In the early '90's, Ole A. Moen's two daughters and son-in-law Ole O. Midtmoen came to make their home with him. In 1884, Dahlen Township was organized. The first township board was as follows: Chairman of Supervisors, T. J. Morris; Supervisors, Nels Dahlen and T. T. Morken; Clerk, James Cromer; Treasurer, Elling N. Dahlen; Assessor, Charles Ingram; Justices. Ole Rustebakke and Charles Mathison; Constables, T. J. Ness and Engebret Dahlen; School Director, Erick O. Engesather; School Clerk, T. T. Morken; and School Treasurer, Henry E. Alme. A Post Office, with Neil Bell as Postmaster, was established in 1882 in his home near Belleville Post Office. This was located in Elkmount Township. Later it was moved west to Dahlen Township to the Elling N. Dahlen farm and still later, back to Elkmount Township to the C. T. Hagness farm. Mr. Hagness acted as Postmaster until it was discontinued a few years later when the Rural Mail route was established out of Ford­ ville. Another Post Office, Baconville, was originally established on the farm now owned by Lars Berdahl and was named for its first Postmaster. It was later moved to the John Helland farm and finally to the Martin Hanson farm where it served until the R.F.D. service began. During the years when these post offices existed, the mail was brought out from Petersburg by buggy in summer and often by a hand drawn sled in winter by A. C. Fossum and Tom Overland of Petersburg. Fossum was the first mail carrier on the free delivery route. And nobody can ever forget Buckland who later hauled mail through blizzards and summer heat. In winter foe used, a sled drawn by one horse and in summer, a two-wheeled cart. The storms were never too severe 129 for Buckland and "Old Joe," his horse — and all for the princely salary of $70 per month. He would do favors for all his patrons, hauling out everything from plow shares to the customary "Jule brenevin" at the holiday season. In 1883, Mr. and Mrs. Archie McLean and their children, John, Al­ len, Mary Ann (Mrs. William Anton); Malcolm and Dan, came from Har- riston, Canada. They squatted on the home quarter which is now owned and operated by a grandson. Allen McLean. Anders Moe came to Medford Township in 1882 and later settled west of what is now the Henry Dahlen farm. Anders Moe died in 1889 or 1890, leaving his widow, Marit, and four children. They moved to where Martin Moe now lives. Thor Loken and Iver Quam both arrived approximately in 1881. Thor lived on his homestead, first in a dugout and then later in an addition to it. This addition was just recently torn down. Iver Quam, after a particularly bad year on his homestead, wanted to quit and lease, but Thor persuaded him to come and spend the winter with him, which he did. The next year the crop was very good and they both were very successful at farming. John Northagen came in 1882 or 1883 and dug his cave on the quar­ ter where the Adamson brothers now live. Later he filed on the North­ agen farm which his son George farmed for many years. John North­ agen once carried a sack of flour from Belleville to his dugout a dis­ tance of five or six miles. Henry E. Alme arrived in 1882. He filed on his land here and re­ turned to Minnesota where he married in 1833. He worked in a logging camp for a year before returning to his home. He bought two oxen in Niagara and two more at Whiskey Creek. He broke them walking home. He farmed his homestead with these oxen and they, with a stone boat, were his means of travel for two years until he got his first horses and wagon. Henry was prominent in church and community affairs, serving as school clerk and secretary. He donated the site for the Zion Luther­ an Church and cemetery. Lasse Berdahl (father of Joseph, Ole, Emil, Carrie, Julie, Anna and Bertha) came with the Fredricksons from Norway and homesteaded on the present Henry Moen farm. He later sold this and moved south to his tree claim southwest of Dahlen. Erick Dahlin and family arrived in Larimore from Sweden in 1883 with Ed Enerson's parents. He filed on the present Theodore Jallo farm. In his early days in the country, he carried groceries on his back from Larimore. He died in 1887 leaving his widow and three children who car­ ried on alone. Knute Jallo and his family came from Goodhue County, Minn., to Conway in 1881, moving to Cleveland Township in 1887. His son, Albert, remembers well that they moved here October 4 of that year, for it started snowing that day and continued for several days. This marked the beginning of the winter which continued without abating. 130 Andrew Nelson Foss and his wife. Caroline Ackerland, another cov­ ered wagon pioneer couple, settled as squatters in Cleveland Township in December, 1881. He was born in Sogn, Norway, in 1861, emigrating to' America in 1867. Although he never had any formal education beyond the eighth grade, he was truly a self taught man, holding many impor1'' tant positions in public life. He became a member of the first State Leg: islature in the year 1889. He also served in the second and again in a spe­ cial session in 1892 when arrangements were made for the World's Fair • in Chicago in 1893. which he attended. Knute Sorteberg came to Cleveland Township in 1882. There is an interesting story about how he acquired his land. Two Crowley brothers- had homesteaded on bordering quarters of land. They became so un­ friendly through some disagreement that one feared the other would ' take his life. At this time, Sorteberg, Knute Loken and Thor Loken ar­ rived, Jim, one of the brothers, told these fellows that he was anxious to sell his land because he feared his brother's animosity. Knute Sorteberg, who had $40 in his pocket, offered him $30 and the deal was made. Knute got the land- a claim shanty, a wagon and a plow. Jim Crcwly put the $30 in his pocket, threw his coat over his shoulder and walked away. Knute Loken came to Cleveland Township from Dodge County, Min­ nesota, in the fall of 1881. He established himself and then returned for his wife and family in the spring of 1882. He tells an interesting incident to illustrate early American life. Thor and Ole Johnson walked to Grand Forks on business and returned carrying their groceries with them. Knute carried 50 pounds of flour, some coffee and some matches. On their way, they were caught in a blizzard. By sheer luck, thy found an old abandoned shack which con­ tained an old stove with a supply of wood and a barrel with some salt pork in it. They stayed here for three days while the storm raged, living on pancakes and fried pork. The fourth morning, the storm had cleared and they left for home wading in snow three feet deep. They walked and walked until at last Ole Johnson said they must be going in the wrong direction. Finally Johnson became so exhausted that he wanted to give up. But friends came to help him and carried both him and the groceries. They figured their location at about three miles east of Elling N. Dahlen's home. They arrived at Knute Loken's home late that evening. Iver Johnson came to Cleveland Township in 1883. Iver owned three oxen, mortgaging two ol them to buy a team of horses. When the time came to pay, he did not have the money so he lost both the horses and his mortgaged oxen. Then he had one ox and a cow that he owned with which to till the land. Yet, he managed until better times came. His son, John I. Johnson, lives on the original homestead. There are also two daughters, Mrs. Thorbin Moen and Mrs. John Valleu. Mr. and Mrs. Ackerland came to Cleveland Township in 1881. They were the parents of Mrs. Ole Hall who then was five years old. Mrs. Hall remembered many incidents from her pioneer days. She tells that one 131 day her father journeyed to Michigan with a team of oxen. On the way, he saw a strange looking animal coming toward him. The animal reared on its hind legs and Mr. Ackerland then saw that it was a buffalo. Mrs. Hall said her father was a fearless man but this time he took no chances He turned around and drove home as fast as he could. The next day Mr. Ackerland drove to Michigan- this time without encounterig any buffalo. Erick Docken arrived some time in the 1880's on the farm now own­ ed by Henry Dahlen. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. Bernt Docken, and brothers, Knute, Thor and Tideman came a short time later. This family took a leading part in church and community work, Erick being Klok- ker (sexton) in Zion Congregation for many years. Tragedy overtook this family for Mrs. Erick Docken and her three sons all died from Tu­ berculosis between 1915 and 1918. Erick remarried and moved to Seat­ tle, Wash., Where he spent the remainder of foiis life. John Engesather came to Larimore in 1883 and filed on land near his brothers farms, Simon, Hans and Erick, in Dahlen Township. John had more than average schooling in Norway and had been in business. Simon and Hans never married so when they died, their holdings went to John and Erick and are still in the possession of the family. They both went into banking later on — John in Petersburg and Erick at Brocket. John was one of the founders of the Zion Congrega­ tion and served as Sexton and in other capacities in both Zion and Pet­ ersburg. He died on his 87th birthday. The Citizens State Bank of Peters­ burg is owned 'by his son, Henry, at the present time. Dr. J. A. D. Engesather, son of Erick Engesather, still practices medicine in Lakota. His father's farm south of Dahlen is presently own­ ed by him. Ole Rustebakke came in the 1880's. The house he built still stands on the John Exe farm. The lumber was shipped here from Wisconsin and Minnesota. Ole was a watchmaker by trade and did a lot of this work in his spare time. The first Dahlen Telephone Exchange was at his house on the farm. The site for the village of Dahlen was purchased from Ole Rus­ tebakke. Jens J. Quam came to America in the year 1886 and worked various places before purchasing his farm in 1890. The story told of Jens and his "copper kettle" is an amusing one. He brought a large copper kettle from Norway, dragging it with him wherever he went on the boat and on the trains. He had it stained with soot so it would appear old and used, thinking that he might be charged the duty of a new article. He often told of how the ladies used to pull their skirts aside when he dragged the sooty kettle down the aisles of the trains and out on the streets. A conductor tried to take it away from him and have it put in the baggage car but Jens hung on and pulled it into the coach with him. The ket tie was three feet in diameter and two feet high so it was quite bulky. And Jens had his belongings packed fa it so it must have been heavy as well. The kettle is still on the farm, 132 Jens married a girl named Tina Bakke. He raised two boys, Jacob, now on the home place, and Thomas, of Washington; three girls, Julia (Mrs. Stevens now of Washington), Evylin (Mrs. Alvin Langsetth of Washington) and Carrie (Mrs. Larry Bondy of Dahlen); and three child­ ren who are deceased. The Quams were prominent church members and very active in civic affairs. Jens passed away in the fall of 1949 and his wife in 1950. R. E. Hamilton came with his parents and the rest of the family in 1882 from Ontario, Canada. They arrived at Fisher's Landing (near Grand Forks), Minn.- and stayed with friends for a while. There, they contracted typhoid fever with the tragic result that his mother, one brother and sister died there. Left motherless at the age of 5, Mr. Ham­ ilton was raised by foster parents. After recovering from the effect of the typhoid fever, the Hamilton's homesteaded on what is now known as the Albert Hamilton farm. He moved here and bought his place in Dahlen Township in the 1880's. He was active in public affairs, being assessor in Dahlen for 20 years, representative to Bismarck in 1925 and Chief Clerk of the Senate for one year. He lived on his farm until the 1940's when they moved to Niagara. They lived there for several years while still continuing to operate the farm. They moved to Grand Forks where they lived until he passed away in ,1953, survived by his wife, a son, Dallas, of California; Phosa of Grand Forks; Darlyne (Mrs. Harriman of Grand Forks); and Daphne (Mrs. Go- heen of California). William Anton left Scotland in 1887. He bought land located just north of that owned by the Archie McLean family from Bob Alexander in Dahlen Township. In 1890, he married Mary Ann McLean, a daughter of Archie McLean. They raised a family of five: Mrs. Henry Broton. Mrs. Gib Swendseid of Dahlen, Mrs. Melvin Swendseid of Sidney. Mon!., Mrs. Edward Shear of Ventura, Calif., and WeSley of Sacramento, Calif. They moved to Petersburg in 1902 where he ran the elevator for St. Anthony for 10 years. He then moved back to the farm where he farmed and operated the Farmers Elevator in Dahlen, driving back and forth, for two years until he built a home in Dahlen. He continued to operate the elevator until his death in 1935. Mrs. Anton lived until 1949. Reier Hedalen came to this territory in the early 1880's from Nor­ way and filed on the land which is now the Oscar Fjestad farm. When Mr. Hedalen passed away in 1927, his estate was sold to Arndt Fjestad. Knute Skrinde came to this territory in the early 1880's and filed on land just west of Dahlen-. His first living quarters were a dugout. It has been told that at times during the cold winter blizzards Knutc's dug­ out would drift over with snow so that only the chimney would be vis­ ible. After one of these storms, Knute's neighbors. Reier Hedalen, ar­ rived at the dugout and found only the chimney showing. He walked over to it and called down in Norwegian, "Lever du, Knute?" (Meaning. Are you alive, Knute?) And a few moments later, Knute's muffled an- 133 swer came from below, "Ja-daa" (Yes, yes). So Hedalen knew that his friend was all right. Knute Skrinde moved to Seattle in 1918. L. B. Ray came in 1893 and homesteaded on what is still the Ray farm. He married Margaret Fair in 1902 when she came from Ontario. Canada. She was a sister to Mrs. Allan Ralston. He was a hard worker and was one of the first large scale threshers in the country. He would thresh all the way down in the valley in the early days. In 1900, he started a banking career at Petersburg-and made his home here until his death in 1931. Henry Telander came to Cleveland Township in 1891. He home­ steaded in 1892 on what is now the Rudolph Dahlen farm in Dahlen Township. When he came from Sweden, he stopped in Chicago where he married Mary Swenson. Henry had served in the Swedish Army for eight years. The erect stature learned from the military followed him to his last years. Telander farmed for nine years- continuing until he became County Auditor. He served in this capacity for 23 years. In 1925, they returned to Dahlen, living there until Henry's death in 1939 at the age of 79. His wife died in 1943. Mrs. Marit Iverson, mother to Mrs. Henry Telander, was known as one of the oldest woimen of Nelson County. She came to the Dakotas in 1887 and made her home with the Telanders for 30 years. She died in 1926 at the age of 99 years and two months. John Holland came to Illinois in 1871. He homesteaded in Dahlen Township in 1884 on the farm that is still operated by the chilrden, Os­ car, Otto. Bert, Bennie and Josephine. They had the post office prior to Martin Hanson. The Hellands were active in Church and Community af­ fairs. John died in 1934 and Mrs. Holland in 1935. Hans Dahl came in the 1880's and homesteaded on the same land that he lived on until his death. He married Miss Urness and raised three children: Ingeborg (Mrs. Martin Loken), Bertha (Mrs. Henry Moen), and Andrew. David Ness came in 1891. He stayed with Hans Dahl for several years before marrying Kari Offerdahl in 1902. They continued to stay with Hans Dahl until the next year when he bought the land which is now being operated by his sons, Jacob and Julius Ness. He had two more children Bendrick, of Sidney, Mont., and Annie, now Mrs. Irwin Hanson. The Ness family were active in the Zion Lutheran Church. David passed away in 1946 and his wife in 1965. Charlie Emerson came in 1882 and homesteaded on the land where Dahlen is now located. This was also owned by Ole Rustebakke at one time. Tom Morken. a brother of Mrs. Elling Dahlen, came in 1882 and homesteaded on the quarter of land east of Dahlen. He stayed here a few years and then moved to Crookston, Minn., where served as probate

134 judge for many years, and also for a time as County Commissioner. Bob Munroe came to this country in 1883, homesteading south of Dahlen. When he died, the land was bought by Dennis Collins who lived there for approximately 15 years before moving to Petersburg. He rent­ ed out the land for a few years until if was sold to Ole E. Iverson. Jim Hovland came in 1882 to Elkmount Township and moved to Dah­ len Township in 1883. He married a Miss Nelson and raised a family of three boys. One of them lost his life in a buggy team runaway. When Jim died, his farm was operated by one of the boys until it was sold to Arnold Urness of Dahlen. Dominic Fontaine arrived in this territory in the early 1880's. He married to 1888 at Michigan^ N.D., and lived in Dahlen Township until 1919 when he moved to East Grand Forks. Mr. and Mrs. Fontaine raised a large family: Adolph. Dominic, Wilford, Albert and Isadore of Grand Forks; Mrs. Emil Berdahl, and Mrs. Ole Berdahl of Mihcigan, N.D.; Mrs. George Nordgaard of Grand Forks; and Mrs. William Bunker of Super­ ior, Wis. Mr. Fonaine passed away in 1920 and his wife in May, 1947. George Robertson homesteaded in Dahlen Township in 1887 on what is now the Ole E. Iverson farm. He married Caroline Maud Connally in Ardoch in September,1890. To this family,five children were born:Alpha Jean (Mrs. James A. Maxon), Pierre Douglas, Marguerita Eva (Mrs. John Hjelm), Winifred Maude (Mrs. Chris Beck), and Robert Burns, who died in May, 1955. They moved from the homestead to Inkster in August, 1900, where he was a grain buyer for several years. They then moved to Aneta where George was an elevator manager. In 1914, they moved again, this time to Kellher, Minn., where Mrs. Robertson died in 1920. George also ran ele­ vators at Claremont, S.D.; Buffalo, N.D.; and at Dazey. N.D. From this last location, Mr. Robertson retired and moved to California where he lived until his death in 1943. P. H. Fontaine came to this country as a young lad. He farmed in the Dahlen community until a few years ago when he retired and moved to Inkster. He married a Miss Harriet and raised a family of three boys and a daughter: E. Fontaine of Orr; Earl of Dahlen; Elwin of Inkster; and Mrs Howard Bogart of Inkster. Mr. Fontaine passed away March 15, 1957.

ias Memories

138 0 Mt , STATE LIBRARY COMMISSION • BISMARCK.IL DAK.

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Early day plowing scene on the Elias Olson farm

Elevator row in Petersburg