Fort Mandan State Historic Site is temporarily closed for maintenance until further notice.
Burleigh County
Region Seven
Governor's Mansion, Bismarck
1 Mr. and Mrs. William Jensen, Bismarck
2 Victor Koski, Bismarck
3 Helen Conrad, Bismarck
4 Frank and Lena Burbage, Bismarck
5 A. M. Paulson, Bismarck
6 E. J. Taylor, Bismarck
7 Dr. R. S. and Bertha Enge, Bismarck
8 Walter Sherman, Bismarck
9 Lucille V. Paulson, Bismarck
10 George Bird, Bismarck
11 O. Leonard Orvedal, Bismarck
12 Edith Szarkowski, Bismarck
13 Esther Rosenau, Bismarck
14 Reverend and Mrs. Harold Case, Bismarck
15 Dr. P. W. Freise, Bismarck
16 Mrs. Julia Bender, Bismarck
17 Mrs. Mary Trimble, Bismarck
18 Margaret Yegen, Bismarck
19 Conrad and Myrtle Hagen, Bismarck
20 C. P. Dahl, Bismarck
21 Joe and Antonia Robidou, Bismarck
22 Ella B. Erickson, Bismarck
23 Cora B. Argast, Bismarck
24 Clara Hedahl, Bismarck
25 Oscar T. Forde, Bismarck
26 Harvey Jenson, Bismarck
27 Judge James G. Morris, Bismarck
28 Walter Ryberg, Baldwin
29 A. R. “Art” Lenihan, Baldwin
30 Groes Broste, Wilton
31 Art Larson and Howard Luken, Wilton
32 John Oshanyk, Wilton
33 Mr. and Mrs. Louis Johnson, Regan
34 Otto “Dick” Uhde, Regan
35 F. C. “Fritz” Uhde, Regan
36 Elizabeth Knowles and Pearl Harman, Wing
37 Mr. and Mrs. Fred Heidt, Wing
38 Mr. and Mrs. Christ Wetzel, Arena
39 Haral Christianson, Driscoll
40 Mrs. Pete Bliss, McKenzie
41 Mr. John Welch, Menoken
42 Mr. and Mrs. John Vollan and Dale Vollan, Wilton
43 Norah Davenport, Wilton
44 Mrs. Idella Sperry, Bismarck
45 Mr. J. W. Hintgen, Bismarck
46 Mrs. Christine Finlayson, Bismarck
47 Mrs. Zachey Azar, Bismarck
48 Mr. Knownly Dorman, Bismarck
49 Mr. and Mrs. Paul Halloran, Bismarck
50 Dr. James Blunt, Bismarck
51 Mr. Lavern Larson, Bismarck
52 Robert P. McCarney, Bismarck
53 Leslie R. Burgum, Bismarck
Tape #1 Mr. and Mrs. William Jensen (Bismarck)
000 – Introduction
020 – Reason for coming to ND; Work for rancher near Bismarck; Children; (Her) travel from Denmark to US
110 – (His) jobs in Bismarck on dray lines in early 1900’s; Working as regional salesman for Gamble Robinson; Travelling to inland towns in early 1900’s
208 – Works for Wachter Transfer and for Fruit House; Loading freight on riverboats
266 – Streets and sidewalks and the streetcar in early Bismarck; (His) poor health as a young man
460 – (His) jobs in Bismarck; Fruit house in Bismarck; Preserving fruit; Travelling in western ND as a fruit salesman; Stores and towns where he sold fruit
703 – SIDE TWO
839 – Bismarck stores where they shopped
856 – Social life; Entertainment; Clubs they joined; Restaurants in early Bismarck
922 – Milk cows kept in Bismarck; Milking Governor Burke’s cow
956 – Condition of streets in early Bismarck; Recollections of Indian people in Bismarck and Mandan
038 – Changing modes of transportation; Driving a dray wagon; Prevalence of stray dogs in early Bismarck
103 – Freight boats on the Missouri; Train service; Anecdote about finding a place to stay for the night in Minneapolis
250 – (Their) marriage; The Influenza Epidemic of 1918
406 – End of Tape A
TAPE B
000 – The Influenza Epidemic of 1918; Doctors and medical care in early Bismarck; Childbirth in homes
051 – Water system and water quality in early Bismarck; Electrical service in early Bismarck
088 – Jobs he held in Bismarck and Mandan for grocery wholesale houses
184 – Working for Universal Motors in Bismarck; Other jobs he held
260 – Making a living during 30’s; Getting a loan
380 – End of tape
Comment: The interview is quite informative regarding grocery houses in Bismarck. Mr. Jensen discusses his various jobs in detail. Mr. and Mrs. Jensen tend to interrupt each other causing some abrupt shifts in the topics covered.
Tape #2 Victor Koski (Bismarck)
000 – Introduction
020 – Immigration from Finland; Description of hometown in Finland; Reasons for coming to US; Working for farmer near Bismarck; Passage on ship from Finland to New York
196 – Working in mines in Wyoming; Learning to speak English; Travels in US looking for work
380 – Working on a Northern Pacific track crew
483 – Reasons for coming to US; Working as a carpenter
595 – Working on a farm near Brocket, ND; Moving to a homestead near McKenzie, ND , in 1906
755 – Working on railroad in Minneapolis
828 – Running a steam threshing outfit
922 – Homestead near Arena, ND; Farming and raising cattle
933 – SIDE TWO
082 – Expanding his farm; Threshing for area farmers
179 – Raising flax; First crop on new breaking; Operating his steam engine and threshing machine; Avery Steam Engines; Threshing crew and cook car
319 – Plowing with steam rig; Discing and drilling with steam power; Double cylinder steam engines; Carbide lights on engines
580 – Rural schools; Nationalities in Arena area; Early settlers; Finnish settlement and their church
828 – Changes in people’s attitudes
869 – End of tape
Comment: The interview contains useful information on Finnish immigration and on early farming methods
Tape #3 Mrs. Helen Conrad (Bismarck)
000 – Introduction
020 – Marriage and move to ND in 1920; Children; (Husband) family history; Everett Conrad’s early newspaper career; The Mandan News; Sale of that paper to the NPL
134 – The McKenzie owned water system in Bismarck; Local political battle over the waterworks and her (husband’s) alliance with the Anti-McKenzie gang
253 – Conrad’s purchase of the Morning Pioneer
278 – Burning of the old Capitol Building
327 – Everett Conrad’s political persuasions, (His) campaign for LaFollette in 1924; Relations between E. J. Conrad and George Mann at the Tribune; Ed Patterson
403 – Prominent people in Bismarck and Mandan in the 20’s and 30’s
437 – Good restaurants in Bismarck
449 – Auto trip from Dickinson to Bismarck in 1908
542 – (Her) family history; Trip to Seattle in 1892
566 – Social life; Entertainment; Women’s styles in 20’s
603 – First impressions of Bismarck and wedding trip to Bismarck in 1920
734 – Floods
853 – Stores where she shopped in Bismarck and Mandan; Telephone system in 1920
888 – (Father’s) friendship with Jim Hill and his work for the NP Railroad
938 – End of tape
Comment: The interview contains valuable information on E. J. Conrad’ newspaper career and on area political figures
Tape #4 Frank and Lena Burbage (Bismarck) (Emmons County)
Tape A
000 – Introduction
020 – (His) family history; Parents’ home near Ft. Rice; Father’s work in Bismarck; Moving to Bismarck to start a dairy; Delivering milk
095 – Attending St. Mary’s school in 1906; Town milk cow herd
156 – Family history; Anecdote about a blacksmith who extracted a man’s tooth
263 – Working for Gussner’s Grocery Store; Dirt streets; Early businesses and hotels; Cubitz’s Stage Line out of Bismarck
392 – (Father’s) work as a stage driver for Cubitz; Story of Spicer murder at Williamsport and the hanging of the murderers by local residents
526 – (Her) family history; Parents’ immigration to Hebron from Russia
582 – Cubitz’s Stage Line; Early settlers in the Glencoe area; Story of man who lost his ranch in poker game
768 – Early autos; Anecdotes about George Gussner
945 – End of Tape A
TAPE B
000 – Gussner and other Bismarck businessmen he worked for; E.A. Dawson; H. L. Reed; Brown & Jones; John Yegen and others; Various jobs he held; Wachter’s icehouse and barns
093 – (Their) marriage and home in Bismarck; Places where he and she worked; Working in Will’s greenhouse; Flood on the Missouri in 1952; Working for Singer Sewing Machine Company
241 – Wachter family and the flood of 1952
303 – Will Greenhouse and gardens; Jim Fields, Negro who worked for Will; Ages of Cottonwood trees near their home
441 – Earning a living during 30’s; Working for Fleck Garage; Building the Catholic Cathedral; Ed Patterson and Ed Hughes
540 – The Influenza Epidemic of 1918
659 – Comments on urban renewal in Bismarck
725 – End of tape
Comment: This take is generally informative throughout
Tape #5 A. M. Paulson (Bismarck) (Steele, Barnes, and Griggs County)
Tape A
000 – Introduction
020 – Family history; (Father) homestead in Steele County; (Mother) background
077 – Midwives; Early settlers in the Portland, ND, area; Norman Brunsdale family
114 – (His) education; (Father) farming ability and political and civic activities
150 – Treadwell Twitchell and the NPL; “Go Home and Slop the Hogs” story; (Father) farm; Family history
222 – (His) education at Lutheran Academy at Portland, ND
338 – Leading businessmen in early Portland
410 – Political activities and jobs for state of ND; Impeachment of Oscar Erickson; Service as Acting Insurance Commissioner in 1945; Erickson’s trial in Senate and acquittal
539 – (Father) term in legislature; Recollections of NOPL and a high school debate on the League; Rift between farmers and townspeople; Gerald P. Nye
725 – End of Tape A
TAPE B
000 – Various jobs he held – School superintendent, Chamber of Commerce, County Welfare Director, Chautauqua and Adult Education
012 – Rift between farmers and townspeople in various parts of state; Attempt to locate P.O.W. camp at Valley City instead of Fr. Lincoln; Recollections of Langer
059 – Gerald Nye’s start in politics; Fred Aandahl; Milton Young
115 – Working as Chautauqua Superintendent in 1929
204 – Working for Valley City Chamber of Commerce and organizing the Winter Show; Marriage and first job as school superintendent at Columbus, Maddock, and Cooperstown
235 – Making a living during the 30’s in Cooperstown; National Youth Administration; How NYA funds were distributed in Cooperstown High School; Anecdote about Langer
350 – Working for Office of Price Administration during World War II
480 – Changes in students and education since the 20’s
525 – Changes in the pace of life
571 – Brunsdale family; Engler family near Portland; Value of education
642 – (Mother) influence on education of children
707 – End of tape
Comment: Mr. Paulson is a thoughtful and articulate man who has a wide background in North Dakota education, business, and government related jobs. The interview is informative throughout.
Tape #6 E. J. Taylor (Bismarck) (Nelson County)
Tape A
000 – Introduction
020 – Family history; (Grandparents) move from Kentucky to ND; Reasons for coming to ND; David Herndon – Adventurer, hunter, and southern gentleman in ND
104 – Construction of Great Northern Railroad; Family history; The Earl of Caithness (Mr. Sinclair); A farmer near Lakota
189 – (Father) family history; Education; Service as Grand Forks County Superintendent of Schools at age 21; Organization of N.D.E.A.
237 – (His) Schooling in Bismarck; High school activities
329 – (Father) Service as Superintendent of Public Instruction in early 1900’s; Problems he had getting German-Russian communities to hire English-speaking teachers
372 – (Their) homes in Bismarck; Extent of city in approximately 1910; The streetcar in Bismarck
440 – Alex McKenzie; Newspapers and their political affiliations in early Bismarck; The Jim Jam Jems paper and Sam Clark
652 – Men who opposed McKenzie and Patterson
705 – End of tape
TAPE B
000 – Mr. Jackson – a real estate agent and opponent of McKenzie; George Will; Ed Patterson; Dr. E.P. Quain; More on George Will
132 – Judge Morgan and other prominent judicial people and politicians; First autos in Bismarck
184 – Condition of streets in early Bismarck; Sleigh rides; An early auto trip to Medora; Paving streets in Bismarck
294 – Influenza Epidemic of 1918; Medical care in early Bismarck
372 – Social life; Lodges; Clubs and the Presbyterian Church; Lectures
450 – Attempt to combine Baptist and Presbyterian services
490 – Restaurants in early Bismarck; Social life; Dances; The Bismarck Country Club
645 – (His) service in Navy; Burning of old Capitol Building in 1930
722 – SIDE TWO
760 – The streetcar; Mickey O’Connor; Generating plant for Capitol Building
802 – Staff of Superintendent of Public Instruction in early 1900’s; Role of County Superintendent of Schools
887 – Turtle River Farm near Arvilla; Family history; Farm life in general in early 1900’s
956 – Early electrical service in Bismarck; Ed Hughes and Hughes family
018 – McKenzie’s waterworks in Bismarck
074 – Bismarck High School – curriculum and instructors in 1915-20 period; (His) education at US Naval Academy
214 – Thoughts on living in Bismarck; Some comments on his History of Bismarck
251 – End of tape
Comments: Mr. Taylor is an articulate man who is very informed about the history of Bismarck. This is a valuable interview
Tape #7 Dr. and Mrs. R. S. Enge (Bismarck) (Mercer County)
000 - Introduction
020 – (His) education at UND and work as lawyer and as States Attorney in Mercer County
042 – (Their) family background; Courtship and marriage in South Dakota; Living in Stanton, ND
114 – Deciding to become a chiropractor and attending National College of Chiropractic in Chicago; Practicing as a chiropractor in Mott and moving to Bismarck to open practice
157 – Attending law school at UND from 1901-05; Recollections of Langer; Comments on chiropractic work
236 – Cases he prosecuted as Mercer County States Attorney; Prosecuting operators of “blind pigs”
304 – Family history; Train wreck near Stanton; Riverboat that sunk near Expansion; (Their) sons and the death of one in a plane crash
377 – Description of Stanton in early 1900’s; River traffic; Businesses in Stanton and “blind pigs”; Story of a probably murder
488 – Nationalities in Mayville and flour mill; Mayville Fire Department
511 – Early autos; Crossing Missouri River ice
647 – Beginning practice as a chiropractor; (His) acceptance by medical doctors in Bismarck; Giving credit to patients
772 – Hard times during the 30’s
820 – Early chiropractors in ND
940 – End of tape
Comment: This is a generally informative interview
Tape #8 Walter Sherman (Bismarck)(Ward County)
000 – Introduction
020 – Family history; Early Donnybrook, ND; Banks in Donnybrook; Railroad service
111 – Social and religious life in Donnybrook; Swimming; Baseball games
200 – Attending school in Donnybrook; Businessmen; (Father) General Store; Giving credit to farmers
275 – Bootleggers in Donnybrook; Hunting and trapping; The “benefits” of hard times
321 – The 30’s; Teaching in the 20’s and 30’s; (His) parents
386 – Nationalities in Donnybrook area; Animosity toward German people in area during World War I
444 – Split between NPL and IVA supporters in Donnybrook; Political leaders in area
544 – Returning to ND in 1938; Changes he noticed in ND between 1923-38; Roads
610 – (Father) work as a travelling hardware salesman; (Uncle) General Store in Donnybrook; Telephone system; Early coal furnaces and stories
710 – Changes in people over the years; Developments in religious faith; Religious faith and work in prison ministry
805 – Thoughts on affluent society and on mothers working
860 – Religious faith among young people
931 – End of tape
Comment: Mr. Sherman is a thoughtful and articulate man. His recollections of growing up in Donnybrook are valuable
Tape #9 Ms. Lucille V. Paulson (Bismarck) (Eddy County)
000 – Introduction
020 – Family history; (Parents) farm near New Rockford
068 – Attending a rural school; A near escape from a prairie fire
092 – Brantford, ND; self-sufficiency on farm; Planting trees
157 – Nationalities; Social life; Entertainment; Church services in school
218 – Attending high school in New Rockford; Story about their horse; Condition of roads
268 – Rural telephone line; Description of early New Rockford and its businesses
323 – Medical doctors in early New Rockford; Medical care; The Influenza Epidemic of 1918
391 – Graduation from high school and her decision to become a nurse in 1917; Training at a hospital
443 – Account of nurses in ND who trained under Florence Nightingale; Bertha Erdman and the school of nursing at UND from 1909-16; Nursing school reopened in 1947
532 – Education of nurses in early 1900’s in small hospitals around the state
601 – Organization of North Dakota Nurses Association in 1912; Passage of law requiring licensing of nurses in 1915; Schools of Nursing in ND from 1910 to present
772 – ND nurses who served in World War I
796 – Training as a nurse; Hospitals where she worked and schools where she taught; Deaconess Hospital in Grand Forks
932 – SIDE TWO
940 – Hard times for nurses and hospitals during 30’s
028 – Work as executive director of the State Board of Nursing
047 – Thoughts on expanded roles for nurses and on education of nurses today
123 – School nurses in rural schools; Grand Forks County as a pioneer in this program
Comment: Miss Paulson is well informed about the nursing profession in North Dakota in the early 1900’s. This is an informative interview throughout.
Tape #10 George Bird (Bismarck)
000 – Introduction
020 – Family history
055 – (Father) stories told about steamboats and Ft. Lincoln; Bootleggers in Bismarck
111 – George Will’s seed company; His study of America Indian languages
140 – Reasons he came to Bismarck
169 – Langer’s trial and background of the hung jury; Lydia Langer’s study club
202 – Waterworks in Bismarck and Alex McKenzie; Vehicle bridge on Missouri between Bismarck and Mandan; Examples of bureaucratic pettiness
291 – Alex McKenzie and his machine in Bismarck; Patterson Hotel; Changes in immigration; General trends; Divisions between city and farm
362 – Nationalities in Mandan and ND churches; Grain elevators in Bismarck
408 – Story about a Commissioner of Agriculture; Story about a copious beer drinker
449 – Relationship between the NP Railroad and the Presbyterian Church; Stories about prohibition in ND; Outlawing of cigarettes in ND
548 – Comments on politics in ND; Leading citizens in early Bismarck
685 – Streets in early Bismarck; The town herd
753 – Trip to Medora in 1909 to get Juniper trees for Will’s nursery; Selling trees to farmers for tree claims; Oscar Will
900 – Restaurants in early Bismarck
936 – SIDE TWO
940 – Social life; Entertainment; Clubs; Comments on Bicentennial
985 – Mrs. Patterson
998 – Bismarck baseball teams; Black people in Bismarck; Satchel Page
070 – Influenza Epidemic of 1918; Early medical care in Bismarck and doctors; Dr. Quain
Comment: Mr. Bird is a perceptive and articulate man. He was away from Bismarck for a large part of his youth, however, and some of his accounts contain secondhand information.
Tape #12 Mrs. Edith Szarkowski (Bismarck) (Stutsman County)
000 – Introduction
020 – Family history; (Parents) homestead north of Jamestown in Polish community; Description of Fried, ND
063 – Attending a rural school; Social life; Entertainment; Church at Fried; Food they ate; Cost of dry goods
117 – (Their) house on homestead; Sources of income on farm; International Workers of the World; Threshing time; Cooking and preserving food
178 – Travelling salesmen; Husband; (Their) courtship and marriage; Children
212 – Influenza Epidemic of 1918; Birth of her children at home
251 – Persistence of Polish language among early settlers; Relations with other nationalities in the area; Religious faith; Catholic Church at Fried and early priests
284 – Travelling on prairie trails; Fuel they burned in cook stove; Finding good water
319 – Self-sufficiency on farm; Salting pork; Preserving vegetables; Making sauerkraut
384 – Early settlers in Fried area; Ordering from catalogs; Sewing clothes
429 – Health and life in rest home
506 – Home remedies; Making polish sausage; Comments on present value of farmland and farm commodities
569 – Autos frightening horses
598 – Her parents
678 – Lighting in their home prior to electricity
693 – Fried, ND – grocery store
723 – End of tape
Comment: The interview applies almost totally to Stutsman County. Mrs. Szarkowski’s comments about the Fried area are brief and not very detailed, but the interview contains some general information.
Tape #13 Mrs. Esther Rosenau (Bismarck) (Cass, Renville, and Morton Counties)
Tape A
000 – Introduction
020 – Family history; (Father) immigration to Cass County from Switzerland; Work as a grain elevator operator in towns and Cass County
119 – Descriptions of Durbin; Attending a rural school at Lynchburg and learning to speak English
183 – Lynchburg businesses; Ordering meat from a butcher shop in Alice
216 – Her grandfather; A progressive farmer; (Father) education and work as a carpenter; Boating on Maple River
252 – Lynchberg elevators; Banks and elevators in towns in the area – Alice, Durbin, Embden, and Buffalo; Embden businessmen; Attending school in Montana
320 – Buffalo businesses
344 – Schoolteachers she had at Lynchberg; School activities and game – Baseball, Drowning out gophers, Basket Socials
440 – Feather Stripping Parties
470 – Attending high school in Buffalo; Girls basketball and social activities; (Mother) opposition to card playing and dancing
551 – Churches they attended; Early roads in Cass County
600 – Attending Jamestown College and working her way through college; College social activities; Literary societies; Prohibition of dancing at college
726 – End of Tape A
TAPE B
000 – Introduction
005 – Jamestown College instructors
015 – Attending nursing school at University of Minnesota; Teaching school at Mohall and Williston; Training nurses in Grafton School For the Mentally Retarded in 60’s
093 – Comments on students today compared to those in 20’s; Extent to which rural children attended high school in 20’s
140 – (Father) politics and elevator business; Good crops and prices during World War I; (Husband) politics and offices in county government
185 – (Husband) jobs at Bank of North Dakota and treasurer’s office at Mohall; ;Making a living during the 30’s in Glen Ullin; Prices of food and clothes in 30’s; Bank failures in Mohall in the 20’s
286 – WPA Projects in Glen Ullin area
314 – Early autos; Recollections of Charlie Fritz; Father of Chester Fritz; First airplane she saw
385 – Ordering from catalogs
406 – Family history; (Grandfather) farm
545 – (Grandfather) work on railroad
565 – Church she attended as a child; A “typical” Sunday
610 – End of tape
Comment: Mrs. Rosenau has an excellent memory. The interview is informative throughout.
Tape #14 Reverend and Mrs. Harold Case (Bismarck) (Ft. Berthold)
Tape A
000 – Introduction
020 – Circumstances leading to their coming to North Dakota; Recollections of Reverend Charles and Robert Hall on the Fort Berthold Reservation
120 – Comments on the construction of Garrison Dam and its effect on Fort Berthold
155 – The Congregational Church at Elbowoods; Importance of the Missouri River to the Indian people; Mission schools at Elbowoods; Intermarriage of people from the three tribes – Mandan, Arikara, and Hidatsa
245 – Their first impressions of North Dakota travel from New York to Fort Berthold; Their developing relationships with Indian people; Reverend Hall’s attitude and their attitude toward education of Indian children; Their admiration for Indian culture
330 – Description of Elbowoods in 1920; Travelling to Minot and Bismarck for supplies and medical care
380 – Recollections of Robert Fox; Their admiration for Indian religious beliefs; Christmas celebrations
425 – The 1930’s on the reservation; Problems with the land allotment system on the reservation
478 – Recollections of Charles Hall and his approach to Indian people and education
502 – His circuit of six churches on horseback and by boat
585 – Recollections of good friends – Edward Goodbird
606 – Crossing the Missouri on ice; Break up of the ice; Story of signaling across the river
721 – End of Tape A
TAPE B
003 – The flour mill at Elbowoods; General comments on means of livelihood on Fort Berthold reservation and the Indian way of life
052 – Recollections of Indian agents and their programs at Fort Berthold
105 – Comments on opposition of Indians to white administrators and their efforts to intermingle Indians and whites in social activities and sports
142 – His efforts to get a bridge across the Missouri at Elbowoods during the 1930’s; The hospital and medical care in Elbowoods
228 – Indian pastors in the Congregational Church on Fort Berthold church schools; Comments on preserving Indian culture while adjusting to coping with white culture
320 – Catholic missions at Fort Berthold; Building Congregational Churches
372 – Indian bitterness over building of Garrison Dam and their forced relocation; Government rations to Indians
448 – The 1930’s on the Fort Berthold Reservation; Extensive gardens on the reservation prior to Garrison Dam
552 – Indian culture and their emphasis on sharing; The Holstein herd at Fort Berthold; Growing emphasis on college education among Indians
590 – Relationships among the three tribes at Fort Berthold
625 – Their opposition to Garrison Dam and its effect on life at Fort Berthold
711 – Relocating the three tribes during construction of Garrison Dam; Descriptions this caused
830 – Indian support for the Congregational Church; His admiration for the Indian’s way of life
868 – End of Tape B
Comment: This interview is very informative on the subject of Congregational missionary work on the Fort Berthold Reservation. Reverend and Mrs. Case are articulate and observant people and are very frank and often critical about the administration of the reservation.
Tape #15 Dr. P. W. Freise (Bismarck) (Morton County)
Tape A
000 – Introduction
020 – Family history; (Parents) farm near New Salem or Sadalia; (Father) immigration from Germany; (Sister) work as a nurse
166 – Settlement of Sadalia area; German Evangelical Church Settlement
225 – Vocational backgrounds of German Settlers and problems in adjusting to farming on the prairies
285 – Closeness of German Settlement and use of German language; Attending rural school
353 – Early farm machinery; Threshing with horse power; Farm chores for which children were responsible
418 – Self-sufficiency on farm
476 – Attending rural school; Family history; Reasons he got an education and became a Doctor of Medicine
540 – Nationalities and different German dialects; Germans from Russia; Relations between Catholic and Protestant Settlers and differences in their emphasis on education
674 – Oddity of a farm boy attending high school in early 1900’s; Teachers he had
780 – Church they attended in New Salem; A “typical” Sunday
882 – End of Tape A
TAPE B
000 – Ranchers in area who sold horses
048 – Isolation of early settlers; (Father) various jobs he held to supplement farm income
090 – Sources of fuel for stove; Digging their own coal; Names of early settlers
141 – New Salem businessmen; Section house at Sadalia; Railroad traffic on the NP track in early 1900’s; Hobos
222 – Social life; Entertainment; Sports; Fourth of July celebrations in Judson
252 – Judson businesses; Hauling grain to Judson; Loading grain into a boxcar at Sadalia
340 – Judson’s baseball team; Social activities and businesses
398 – Graded roads in area; Fortitude of early settlers
445 – First auto he saw
478 – Education and medical school
510 – Pro-German sympathy during World War I; Student Army Training Corps
570 – Educations – high school; Pre-med at UND and medical school of Northwestern University; Student life at UND and at Northwestern
723 – SIDE TWO
758 – Beginning his medical practice in Bismarck with Quain and Ramstad in 1926; Other M.D.’s on the staff at that time
842 – Recollections of Dr. Quain and Dr. Ramstad
907 – Inability of patients to pay their medical bills during 20’s and 30’s; Making house calls; Story about a trip to a patient in Moffit by bobsled
009 – Medical practice during 30’s; Increasing specialization of M.D.’s today; Outstanding obstetricians; Delivering babies; Use of sedatives and natural childbirth; Comparison of knowledge of pregnant women today and in 20’s
152 – Making a living during 30’s as an M.D. in Bismarck
186 – General changes he has seen in medical practice and cost of care; Shortage of M.D.’s today; Exodus of M.D.’s from small towns
258 – Working all hours of day or night; Never having vacations or days off without interruptions
290 – Family history; Reading material in his (Parents) home near Sadalia
321 – End of tape
Comment: Dr. Freise has an exceptional memory and is an articulate man. The interview is informative throughout.
Tape #16 Mrs. Julia Bender (Bismarck) (Emmons County)
000 – Introduction
020 – (Parents) homestead; Family history; Relations with Sioux on Standing Rock Reservation; Reasons her father left South Russia; Church services in home near Eureka, South Dakota
138 – (Husband) homestead near Winona; (Their) marriage and farm; Bad blizzards; A fire in their homestead shack
238 – Evangelical Church they attended; Pastor and how he escaped death in snowstorm in 1904
326 – Moving to a different farm near Linton; Death of one of her children with scarlet fever; Milking cows
383 – Selling farm and moving to Bismarck in 1914; Family history; South Russia; (Father) Baptist faith; (Her) schooling; Baptist and Catholic German Settlements in South Russia
600 – (Her) children and grandchildren
636 – Prairie fires; Hail storms; Getting firewood
807 – Midwives; Work in Bismarck Hospital
900 – Memories of Winona; Stage from Bismarck
928 – SIDE TWO
977 – Social life and church services near Linton
029 – Her husband; family history; Story of illness in family
181 – Teaching in rural school near Winona
221 – Threshing grain by hand and by horse power
312 – Nationalities and churches in Linton area
367 – Home remedies; An illness she had
417 – Preserving vegetables and meat
451 – Influenza Epidemic of 1918
479 – General description of Bismarck in 1914; the town herd
555 – (Husband) work; Renting a farm near Bismarck and making a living on it during the 30’s; Feeding thistles to cattle; Church services in homes
688 – Membership in WCTU
Comment: Mrs. Bender tends to ramble at times, but her memory is excellent
Tape #17 Mrs. Mary Trimble (Bismarck)
000 – Introduction
020 – Family history; (Father) ranch north of Bismarck; (Their) home in Bismarck
097 – (Her) education in Bismarck; High school activities; Social life and entertainment; The Opera House
185 – Early streets and sidewalks
235 – Prominent people in early Bismarck; Nationalities
290 – Social life; Governor’s Ball
326 – Old Fort Lincoln; Stores where she shopped in Bismarck; The Webb brothers; Cubitz Grocery Store; George Gussner
410 – Crossing the Missouri by ferry to Mandan
452 – Public utilities in early Bismarck; The town herd; The Western House Hotel
507 – Her marriage; Work prior to marriage at the Secretary of State’s office; Losing this job when Frazier took office
596 – Life in Bismarck in 30’s; Burning of old Capitol Building in 1930
648 – First auto she saw; Bismarck’s streetcar
727 – End of tape
Comment: The interview contains some general information on early Bismarck and includes a few anecdotes
Tape #18 Miss Margaret Yegen (Bismarck)
000 – Introduction
020 – Family history; (Father) John Yegen; Various businesses he was involved in; clubs and organizations
187 – History of her grocery store; Anecdote about the fire of 1877 in Bismarck
225 – Family history; John Yegen’s businesses and coal mine and farms
297 – John Yegen’s involvement in Commercial Club and ability as a pool player; His friends and associates in Bismarck; Hunting stories
405 – John Yegen’s service as Deputy United States Marshall; Member of the legislature and friend of Alex McKenzie; Comments about Ed Patterson
471 – (Her) Start in grocery business; Financial reverses in John Yegen’s businesses; Hoboes; “Hobo Jungle” in Bismarck; Running grocery store during 30’s
567 – (Father) efforts to get the Territorial Capitol moved to Bismarck
649 – Selling eggs for 7 cents per dozen during 30’s; 1921 depression
753 – Grocery stores in early Bismarck
785 – Dust storms during 30’s; Grasshoppers
880 – Family history; (Their) home in Bismarck
915 – WPA Projects in Bismarck
932 – End of tape
Comment: The most valuable portions of the interview concern her father, John Yegen.
Tape #19 Conrad and Myrtle Hagen (Bismarck) (Pierce County)
000 – Introduction
020 – (Her) Family history; Description of Barton, ND, and its early businesses
098 – Social life; Entertainment; (Father) Work as postmaster in Barton
220 – Settlers near his farm east of Rugby; His schooling at a rural school
350 – Nationalities in Pleasant Lake and Barton areas; Churches in Barton – Bible School; A “typical” Sunday; Switching from Norwegian to English Service in church; Services in rural school near Pleasant Lake
624 – Early roads in Rugby area; Early autos and medical doctors in the area
729 – SIDE TWO
772 – Farmers telephone line; (His Father’s) farm; Threshing
858 – Attending Rugby High School as a farm boy – unusual
904 – (Father) politics – NPL; Alfred Dale; State Treasurer and Conrad’s work in treasurer’s office in 30’s
051 – (Their) home in Bismarck in 30’s; Cost of living during the 30’s
150 – Moving treasurer’s office from the old to new Capitol Building; (His) responsibilities in office
266 – Thoughts on life in Bismarck
279 – End of tape
Comment: The Hagens are well informed and observant people. The interview is informative throughout, but the most detailed account deals with churches and religious services in the Barton and Pleasant Lake areas.
Tape #20 C.P. Dahl (Bismarck) (Ward and Griggs Counties)
000 – Introduction
020 – Background of his coming to ND in 1912; Businesses in Carpio in 1912 and leading citizens
076 – Carbide lighting systems; Nationalities in Carpio area; Cost of harnesses
128 – Moving to Jesse to farm in 1913; Good and bad crop years 1914-1920; Farming 800 acres with horses; Early farm machinery; Threshing; Wages paid to threshing crews; Cooking for threshing crews
338 – Operating a store and post office in Jesse and buying land; Description of Jesse in 1925; Items carried in general store; Buying cream; Other businesses in Jesse and grain elevators
521 – Train service in Jesse in 1920’s
567 – Running store in Jesse in 1930’s; Giving credit; Crops during 30’s; WPA projects in area
749 – Jesse’s telephone system; Electrical service in Jesse beginning in 1928
808 – Improving roads in Jesse area
910 – Initial involvement in NPL in 1916; Organizing for NPL in Nebraska in 1920
937 – SIDE TWO
948 – Assessment of A. C. Townley; Reasons the League started; Opinion of League accomplishments
001 – Work in elevator business from 1934-1946; Pegging prices for underweight wheat
021 – Organizing for NPL in Griggs County; Opposition to League; Opinion of William Lemke and Lynn Frazier
114 – Recall election of 1921
131 – Honesty of League officials; Story of A. C. Townley organizing in Nebraska
187 – Walter Maddock; Lieutenant Governors who have run for Governor in ND
280 – A. A. Liederbach; Langer as Governor and trial in 1934 and acquittal by hung jury
336 – Reasons why John Moses was elected governor in 1938; Republican support for Moses; Senate race in 1944
431 – Start of Republican Organizing Committee; Recollections of Langer
532 – Years as Lieutenant Governor; Race against Guy for Governor in 1960
575 – Opinion of North Dakota’s politicians; Langer as best politician; Lemke as best statesman
631 – Changes in political attitudes
651 – End of interview
Comment: Mr. Dahl was involved in North Dakota politics from 1916 until 1960. His recollections are mainly of a general nature, although some specifics from the viewpoint of a political insider are included.
Tape #21
Mr. and Mrs. Joe Robidou (Rural Bismarck) (Morton County)
000 – Introduction
020 – (His) family history
092 – (Her) family history
106 – Log cabin where (He) was born south of Bismarck; Growing up near Stewartsdale and Huff; Family history
161 – Early settlers in Stewartsdale area; French settlers; Description of Stewartsdale and Huff
215 – The ferry across Missouri at Bismarck; River traffic and warehouse at Bismarck; Snag boats
374 – Missouri floods
423 – (His) father’s work for Hughes Power Company; Extent of Bismarck in 1915
501 – Attending school in Stewartsdale and in Bismarck; Classrooms in the Northwest Hotel
551 – Nationalities and residents in Stewartsdale area
580 – Charles Wachter; John Yegen
617 – Early businesses in Bismarck when (His) folks traded; Streets in early Bismarck
687 – Keeping livestock and chickens in backyards in Bismarck
710 – Prairie fires
745 – Bismarck’s water system; Oscar Will Nursery
806 – Social life; Entertainment
860 – Making a living during the 30’s; Working for 20 cents per hour at Bismarck Hide and Fur Company; Cost of living in 30’s
935 – SIDE TWO
970 – WPA work and scarcity of jobs
994 – Attending St. Mary’s school in Bismarck
044 – (Her) family history; Parents’ farm near St. Anthony; Early settlers in area
135 – Large ranches; Parkin ranch
148 – Nationalities in area of St. Anthony; Hanson’s grocery store
171 – Loss of population and enlargement of farms; Sources of fuel – hauling coal from Center
195 – (Her) schooling at rural school
230 – Shopping in Solen – Businesses there
270 – Thoughts on living in Bismarck
287 – Wildlife near Missouri in early 1900’s
315 – End of interview
Comments: This is a generally informative, but it contains little specific material
Tape # 22
Mrs. Ella Erickson (Bismarck) (Kidder County)
000 – Introduction
020 – Family history; (Parents) farm near Tappen; Troy bonanza farm
095 – Businesses in Tappen; Troy interests
112 – Indians travelling through Tappen
164 – Early settlers in Tappen area; Family history; (Father) loss of homestead and their move to a ranch south of Tappen
235 – Neighborliness and tolerance of early settlers; Settlement of Germans from Russia
285 – Prairie fires started by a locomotive; Getting payment from NP Railroad for crop losses due to fire
356 – (Mother) homesickness for Indiana; Development of town of Tappen and decline of Troy farm; Account of an Englishman who settled in Tappen
505 – Attending rural school; Harsh winters
608 – Alex McKenzie and move of territorial capitol to Bismarck
633 – Teaching in rural schools; Bout with typhoid fever
798 – Social life and entertainment in Tappen; Churches and pastors
876 – Raising gardens; Harsh winter of 1896 and deep snow
943 – SIDE TWO
998 – (Parents) ranch south of Tappen; Self-sufficiency on ranch; Preserving food
050 – Teaching rural school
092 – Religious life in Tappen
101 – Family history
127 – Her marriage; homestead and schools where she taught; Sources of fuel for cook stove
255 – Her marriage and their farm
269 – NPL
340 – Opinion of effect of women’s votes on defeat of Governor Frazier in recall election of 1921
360 – (Husband) service in legislature and as Insurance Commissioner; Organization of the Nonpartisan League Women’s Club
426 – “Dad” Walker and his wife; Activities of NPL Women’s Club
522 – Antagonism between NPL and IVA supporters; A. C. Townley and NPL organizers; Rita Linnertz; Minnie Craig
662 – Recollections of Langer; Anecdote about Langer being caught in blizzard
892 – End of interview
Comment: Mrs. Erickson has a remarkable memory. This is a very informative interview throughout.
Tape #23 Mrs. Cora B. Argast (Bismarck) (Emmons County)
000 – Introduction
020 – Family history; (Their) ranch near Braddock; Early settlers in the area
086 – Attending a rural school; Church services in home
124 – (Their) homestead house; Sod shanties
145 – Nationalities
166 – Self-sufficiency on homestead; Preserving food
203 – Threshing with horsepower; Early farm machinery; Stacking hay; Cooking for threshing crews
296 – Braddock doctors and early medical care; Businesses in early Braddock
370 – (Her) husband’s background
401 – Relations between ranchers and homesteaders; Raising sheep and problems with coyotes
503 – (Her) marriage and (Their) farm near Moffit; Early settlers in that area
588 – Social life and entertainment – dances
611 – Businesses in early Moffit
702 – Moffit’s baseball team and boxing club
726 – SIDE TWO
745 – Midwives and early medical care; Influenza Epidemic of 1918
789 – Height of Moffit in 20’s and subsequent decline; Railroad service
813 – (Husband) activity in NPL and friendship with A. C. Townley; NPL Women’s Club in Moffit
876 – Making a living on farm in 30’s; Temvik flour mill; Grasshoppers; Army worms
002 – Early autos
024 – General changes in people’s attitudes
043 – Telephone and electrical service; Lamps
Comment: Mrs. Argast has a good memory and gives vivid descriptions of her experiences
Tape #24 Mrs. Clara Hedahl (Bismarck) (McLean County)
000 – Introduction
020 – Reasons for her coming to ND in 1915; Her marriage
071 – Her first impressions of ND; Teaching in rural schools and learning to speak German
189 – Description of early Mercer and settlement of the area; Prices for grain in the early 1900’s
265 – Sources of coal; Mines in the area; Getting hired men for the farm
302 – Threshing; Early medical care in Mercer; Midwives; The flu epidemic of 1918
380 – Family history; Nationalities in the Mercer area; Attitude of German settlers toward WWI and WWII
456 – Social life and entertainment; Churches in Mercer; The Danish community north of Mercer
562 – Leading businessmen in Mercer; Her husband’s hardware and auto business; A typical general store
602 – Popularity of the NPL in the Mercer area
635 – The first telephone system in Mercer; Family history
706 – Problem finding good water in Mercer
724 – SIDE TWO
724 – The first electrical system in Mercer; Fishing in area lakes
758 – Moving to Bismarck and opening a Durant car dealership in 1928; Development of Hedahl’s Auto Store
802 – Selling pastry and renting rooms to make money during the 1930’s; Moral during the depression
828 – Getting women’s suffrage; Their first radio, built by her son in 1920
864 – The first car she rode in
878 – Changes in people’s attitudes and neighborliness
896 – End of interview
Tape #25 Mrs. Oscar T. Forde (Bismarck) (Nelson County)
000 – Introduction
020 – Family history; The 1862 Sioux uprising in Minnesota
150 – His father’s homestead near Aneta; Construction of the railroad to McVille; His father’s friendship with Jim Hall
230 – His father’s homestead claim and his sod house and log cabin
285 – Midwives and early medical care; The expansion of his father’s farm
310 – His education; His insurance business in Dickinson and work in the Merchant’s National Bank
365 – Early theater in Dickinson; Directing plays; Margaret and Dorothy Stickne; Raising funds for Dickinson State College
471 – Attending rural school near Aneta; Church services in Norwegian; A dictatorial pastor; His father being put out of the church for carrying life insurance
590 – Businesses in early Aneta; Homemade clothing
670 – His father’s work for Jim Hill on the Great Northern
716 – Prominent people in early Aneta; The newspaper
760 – Playing on the Aneta baseball team
789-818 – Inaudible
818 – Baseball games in early Aneta; Social life and recreation
924 – SIDE TWO
926 – Nationalities in the Aneta area; primarily Norwegian; A Black boxer in Aneta who gave boxing lessons
959 – His service in the Army in WWI
001 – Strict observance of Sunday in their home near Aneta
034 – Social life in Aneta
051 – Attending Dakota Business College in Fargo
087 – Home life as a child; Reading material in the home; Burlesque shows in Minneapolis; Changes in women’s clothing styles
111 – Horse racing in early Aneta
145 – Support for the NPL in the Dickinson area; A. C. Townley’s oil well scheme; His opinion of Townley; The state enterprises; The Women’s Compensation Bureau
338 – Working as an auditor for Nash-Finch grocery supply in the 1930’s; Losing money investing in banks during the 1930’s
414 – Getting a job as a state auditor in the 1930’s; Working with Minnie Craig
475 – His work as Assistant Director of the transient program in the 1930’s
716 – His opinion of life in ND
765 – End of interview
Comment: Mr. Forde has an excellent memory and is an observant and perceptive man. The interview is informative throughout, but the portion on the transient program in ND is particularly outstanding
Tape #26 Mr. Harvey Jenson (Bismarck)
000 – Introduction
020 – Reasons for coming to ND in 1927; Homesteading and teaching school in Colorado; Being selected most popular teacher in the county and winning a trip to the World’s Fair in 1907
086 – His homestead in Colorado; Continuing his education and teaching in various schools in South Dakota; Taking the job as Superintendent of Schools in Tioga, ND in 1927
111 – Coaching girls basketball at Bismarck Junior College and at Tioga
211 – The cut in his teaching salary during the 1930’s; Working for the FERA during the Depression; The transient program in ND
278 – Experiences he had teaching rural school in South Dakota
490 – His grandfather’s travels in the US in the early 1800’s; family history
603 – Various jobs he held in South Dakota
614 – Working for the FERA in 1934 as a caseworker for transients; Description of the transient program in Bismarck
829 – Supervising adult education courses under a New Deal program in Bismarck
880 – Promoting the Capitol Commercial College and placing graduates in jobs during the 1930’s
929 – SIDE TWO
933 – Coaching girls basketball in the 1920’s; State tournaments
974 – Recollections of William Jennings Bryan, a friend of his
048 – Teaching school
069 – Farmers Union activities in the Tioga area
157 – The “Better Speech Program” he broadcasted on KGCU in Mandan; Acting he has done
224 – Sings a song, “The Beauty of the West”, about North Dakota
277 – Advice on staying healthy; His support for liquor prohibition; Family history
337 – Changes in education and in students’ attitudes; Experiences he had teaching in a rural school in Colorado; Building an adobe house
480 – His health
511 – End of interview
Comment: Mr. Jenson has a very good memory and an entertaining style of recounting his experiences. His recollections of working on the Transient Program and of teaching are valuable
Tape #27 Judge James G. Morris (Bismarck) (Foster County)
000 – Introduction
020 – Family history; His parents’ homestead near Carrington; His father’s death; Their return to Ohio
059 – His education at rural school; Going to Cincinnati in 1908 for high school and college
095 – Getting his law degree in 1916 and returning to ND; Opening his law practice in Bordulac
156 – His service in WWI
192 – Discharge from the Army and return to law practice in Carrington with Edward Kelly
230 – Winning election as ND Attorney General in 1928; His defeat in 1932 and opening practice in Jamestown
275 – His involvement in politics prior to 1928; Members of the “Old Guard” Republicans in the 1920’s; Financial condition of the Bank of North Dakota in 1928
448 – His opinion of Bill Langer
486 – His years as Attorney General during the Depression
541 – The burning of the old Capitol; Loss of the Attorney General’s records in the fire; Putting the office back into operation; Opening the office in his home for a short time prior to establishing an office in the Liberty Memorial Building
673 – Circumstances surrounding the last hanging in ND by a mob in Watford City in the early 1930’s; His attempt to find the mob leaders
909 – His years on the North Dakota Supreme Court
933 – SIDE TWO
966 – His experiences as a judge at the Nuremberg trials; The I. G. Farbin case
097 – The atmosphere at the Nuremberg trial; Quality of the prosecuting attorneys compared to the German defense attorneys
131 – His opinion of the justification of the trial and its basis in law; Behavior of the German defendants
181 – The prosecuting attorney team and their operation; The interpreting system
234 – Changes he has witnessed in the legal system and in law schools; Outstanding trial lawyers in early ND
329 – End of interview
Comment: Judge Morris is an exceptionally knowledgeable and articulate man. The interview is informative throughout.
Tape #28
Walter Ryberg (Baldwin)
000 – Introduction
020 – Family history; His parents’ immigration to ND from Sweden; Their homestead and tree claim
186 – Nationalities in the Baldwin and Menoken area
215 – Anecdotes about an early settler and buffalo hunter; Steamboats on the Missouri; His father’s work building railroad grades
261 – Early farming methods; Farming with oxen; A group of German homesteaders who settled in the Menoken area in 1904 and 1905 and later left
329 – Steam threshing and plowing rigs; His father’s farming operation; Breaking horses
450 – Small towns and post offices in the area that have now disappeared; Businesses in Arnold
561 – Sources of fuel; A local coal mine; Hauling wood from the Missouri
706 – SIDE TWO
713 – Description of early Baldwin; Businessmen
761 – Farm work he has done; The rural school he attended
805 – Drilling water wells, and digging them by hand
847 – Good and poor crop years in the early 1900’s
880 – His marriage and his wife’s family history; Crops in the 1920’s
957 – Farming during the 1930’s; Poisoning grasshoppers
096 – Getting electricity from R.E.A. in 1949; The Baldwin rural telephone line, built in 1918
147 – Support for the NPL and IVA
245 – Organization of the Farmers Union; His father’s involvement in farm co-ops
360 – Decline of the small towns in the area
413 – End of interview
Comment: Mr. Ryberg has an excellent memory and offers some valuable historical information on the Baldwin-Menoken area.
Tape #29 A. R. Lenihan (Baldwin)
000 – Introduction
020 – Family history; His grandfather’s service at Fort Lincoln with Custer
115 – His parents’ homestead and tree claim; Family history
149 – Nationalities in the Baldwin area
176 – Raising and selling horses and letting them run on the open prairie; Popularity of Percheron horses for farm work
236 – His father’s work hauling coal from mines near Wilton and selling it in Bismarck; The “market ground” or farmers’ market in early Bismarck; The operation of the small underground coal mines
361 – Sources of farm income in the early 1900’s; End of open range in the area; The Ward Ranch and the Wachter Ranch
547 – Attending a rural school; The Baldwin school
582 – Small towns in the area that are now gone; Arnold and Still
660 – Social life in the early 1900’s; Home life
706 – SIDE TWO
706 – Streets and sidewalks in early Bismarck; Livery barns; Unloading steamboats in Bismarck; Anecdote about an old Civil War veteran in Bismarck; Negroes in early Bismarck; Chinese restaurant
828 – Early businessmen in Bismarck; The G.P. Hotel and Patterson Hotel
871 – Conflicts between Bismarck and Burleigh County over their share of county taxes
901 – Mickey O’Connor and the Bismarck streetcar
933 – Support for the NPL in the area; IVA strength in Bismarck
976 – His marriage and children; Farming during the 1920’s; Drought in 1926; Farming during the 1930’s; Selling cream in Bismarck; Morale and neighborliness during the 1930’s; WPA projects and roadwork
159 – Increasing size of farms; Bank failures in the 1930’s; Changes in land use; Poor farmers
342 – Finding feed for livestock in the 1930’s
397 – His opinion of farm programs
413 – End of interview
Comment: This is a generally informative interview throughout.
Tape #30 Mr. Groes Broste (Wilton)
000 – Introduction
020 – His immigration to ND from Denmark in 1920; His first impressions of ND; Working for a farmer and getting his own farm
150 – Cost of farm buildings in the 1920’s; Good and poor crop years in the 1920’s
280 – His first combine
328 – Crops during the 1930’s; Finding feed for livestock and prices for livestock in the 1930’s
403 – His marriage; WPA projects in the 1930’s; Grinding their own flour
499 – His opinion of farm programs and county agents; Improved grain varieties
590 – His years as County Commissioner
782 – General description of Regan in the 1920’s; Nationalities in the area; “Blind Pigs” in the Regan
890 – Decline of area small towns from the 1920’s to present
927 – End of interview
Comment: Mr. Broste’s accounts of immigrating to North Dakota and farming during the 1930’s may be the most valuable portions of this interview
Tape #31 Art Larson and Howard Luken (Wilton)
Tape A
000 – Introduction
020 – Luken’s family history; His father’s work in Wilton
143 – The heyday of Wilton – businesses; Railroad service in early Wilton
216 – The Wilton coal mines; Truax-Trayer’s strip mine; Nationalities of the miners and their social life; The strike in 1924; The Ku Klux Klan organization in Wilton and their activities
339 – His work in the mine and its operation
365 – Larson’s family history
460 – Small coal mines farmers operated in the area
500 – Difficulty finding good water
576 – “Scab” laborers who came to work in the mines in 1924; Company housing for the miners
626 – Railroad service in Wilton; The Bismarck, Washburn, and Great Falls (later Soo Line) Railroad
685 – Wilton’s rapid growth when the mine started; Early businesses; Nationalities in the area
752 – Area small towns that are now gone; Arnold and Still
824 – Travelling to Bismarck and driving cattle there in the early 1900’s; The stockyards in Wilton
914 – Early river traffic on the Missouri
937 – End of Tape A
TAPE B
000 – Introduction
020 – Dairy farm near Wilton; Letting horses and cattle run on open range
051 – Operation of the Wilton mines in 1924-25
095 – Getting electricity on the farm
124 – Larson’s work at the mine and on the railroad; Pay for miners; Anecdote about mules in the mine and how they could sense a cave-in; The underground barn for the mules; Working conditions in the mine
359 – The Coal Company’s economic effect on Wilton; The company’s farming operation; W.P. Macomber, mine superintendent
428 – The U.M.W. Union at the mine, broken in 1924
437 – The flu epidemic of 1918 and the M.D.’s in Wilton; The hospital; A murder in Wilton; “Cliques” in Wilton – Miners, Farmers, and Businessmen; Jo Lee and his Chinese restaurant in Wilton
550 – Passenger service on trains; Improvement of area roads
595 – Social life; Larson’s schooling at rural school; His family history
666 – Making a living in Wilton during the 1930’s; Closing of the underground mines and Wilton’s loss of population
703 – End of interview
Comment: This is a generally informative interview. The portion on the coal mines at Wilton is particularly valuable for background of the operation during the 1920’s.
651 – End of interview
Comment: Mr. Dahl was involved in North Dakota politics from 1916 until 1960. His recollections are mainly of a general nature, although some specifics from the viewpoint of a political insider are included.
Tape #32 Mr. John Oshanyk (Wilton) (Mercer County)
Tape A
000 – Introduction
020 – Wilton’s heyday; His family history; Immigration to ND from Austria; His parents’ homestead near Mannhaven and their sod house; Moving to a farm north of Wilton
167 – Her family history; Her parents’ farm north of Wilton; His comments on land prices and modern society
219 – Nationalities in the area; Neighborliness of people; Threshing with horsepower
245 – Social life and entertainment; Dances; Story of a homesteader who played a harp; Decline in the number of farms; His opinion of large-scale farming
325 – Running a machine shop in Wilton; Comments on his life-style and on saving money; Butchering cattle; Terms for borrowing money in the early 1900’s
405 – Family life and children’s chores on the farm; First crops on the homestead; Making a living on the homestead
545 – Sources of fuel; Small coal mines; Anecdote about catching a bull
612 – Children’s entertainment and sport in the early 1900’s
638 – Preserving vegetables; Food they ate on the homestead
707 – End of Tape A
TAPE B
000 – Introduction
020 – Comments on nationalities and anti-German sentiment
041 – The Ku Klux Klan organization in Wilton and their activities
059 – Their marriage; His work at the Wilton mines; Accidents in the mines and operation of the mine; Pay for a miner
161 – Rowdiness of miners in Wilton; Moonshiners; Various jobs he has held; Butchering; Working in a machine shop
323 – Peddlers; Ordering from catalogs; Jobs he has held
426 – W.P.A. projects; Conditions in Wilton during the 1930’s
442 – General comments about making money; Getting electricity
490 – Comments on politics
507 – Grasshopper problems in the 1930’s; Army worms; Feeding thistles to cattle in the 1930’s
568 – The flu epidemic of 1918; M.D.’s in Wilton; Businesses in early Wilton
630 – The Miners Union in Wilton; The decline of Wilton
665 – Railroad service in early Wilton; Welding and repairing heavy machinery at the mine; Welding in general; Poor quality of metal in the early 1900’s
929 – End of interview
Comment: Mr. Oshanyk has a good memory and has a background in many different vocations. He does tend to ramble occasionally, but the interview is generally informative.
Tape #33 Mr. and Mrs. Louis Johnson (Wilton) (Grant County)
000 – Introduction
020 – His family history; Story of his father changing his last name
081 – His parents’ homestead; Churches in the area; His mother’s family
146 – Account of his father’s farm and a windmill that was used to grind feed and pump water
213 – Her family history and her parents’ farm near New Leipzig; Her father, Fred Kurle, and his service as County Commissioner; Comments on Grant County politics
336 – Popularity of NPL and IVA in the Wilton area; Apathy over women’s suffrage in the area
398 – His education at a rural school
434 – Area small towns that are now gone – Still; Decline of area small towns; Loss of farm population in the 1920’s and 1930’s
480 – Farming during the 1930; s and working in a coal mine to make some money; Operation of small coal mines in northern Burleigh County
582 – Her experiences teaching school in the 1930’s between Grant and Burleigh Counties; Neighborliness of people
731 – Social life and entertainment; Baseball games; Thompson’s store in Still; Wilton’s blacksmith; Area creameries; Sources of farm income
825 – Finding feed for cattle in the 1930’s; Hard times in general
913 – Retirement homes in Wilton
945 – End of interview
Comment: This brief interview contains some general historical information but little detail.
Tape #34-35 Mr. Otto “Dick” Uhde and Mr. Fritz Uhde (Regan)
000 – Introduction
020 – Family history; Moving to ND from Iowa in 1901; Their homestead north of Regan
120 – Stone buildings in the area; Building materials used by early settlers
180 – Family history; Farmers who used oxen; Hauling coal from small local mines
225 – Prairie fires
250 – Ranches in the area prior to the homestead boom; Homestead requirements and filing regulations
287 – Digging water wells by hand
312 – Ranches and open range; Railroad land; Sources of income on early farms; Travelling to Wilton
371 – His schooling; Organizing school districts; Size of families in the early 1900’s
444 – Social life; Dances; Baseball games; Family life
596 – Cooperation of farmers; Threshing with horsepower and steam engine
640 – Regan’s beginnings and the arrival of the first train; Regan’s decline; Its early businesses; Bank failures
722 – His service in WWI; Anti-German sentiment
870 – His father’s avid support for the NPL and its popularity in the area; A. C. Townley’s oil well scheme; League organizers and what they told farmers when organizing
916 – Side Two
926 – Discussion of his historical materials and documents
975 – A. C. Townley and League meetings and picnics at their farm; The Farm Holiday Association; The Farmers Union; Lynn Frazier; Bill Langer; Political meetings and raising campaign funds for Langer
104 – Organization of Farm Holiday Association in Burleigh County
156 – WPA projects in the area; CCC camps; Veterans CCC camps
228 – Loss of population in the area in the 1930’s and 1940’s; His opinion of large-scale farming
264 – His opinion of coal development and of farm organizations; Farm co-ops in Regan around 1915
362 – Getting electricity on the farm; Regan’s newspaper and telephone system; Building a rural telephone line
436 – Regan’s orchestra; De. P.G. Reedy; Businesses in early Regan; Ordering from catalogs; Peddlers; Ordering frozen fish; Railroad service
534 – End of interview with Dick Uhde
FRITZ UHDE (Regan)
535 – Introduction
550 – Working with A. C. Townley in the oil well business; Townley’s well near Robinson; Organization of the League
680 – His father’s support for Populist ideas in the 1890’s; Organization of the League and Townley’s efforts to find political candidates for the league; Langer’s split from the League
860 – End of first tape with Fritz Uhde
TAPE B
000 – Introduction
020 – League organizers; His gather’s political activity and personality; His opposition to WWI; Socialist support for the League; Kate Richard O’Hare and her imprisonment
120 – Speaking ability of the League politicians; Relations between Langer and Lemke; Frazier’s ability
180 – Political battles between Langer and Lemke
209 – Usher Burdick’s career; Organization of the Farmers Union
260 – The IVA and Milton Young; Gerald Nye and Dr. Edwin Ladd; Langer’s opposition to the AAA and the moratorium on land foreclosures and wheat shipments
383 – The Farm Holiday Association in Burleigh County
418 – IVA strength in the towns and cities
455 – Opinion of current politics; IWW members on threshing crews
520 – NPL programs and agencies
556 – His opinion of coal development
592 – Langer’s memory for names and responsiveness to people’s problems; Why he was popular; Ambition of League politicians: Lemke and Langer and Frazier
702 – End of interview
Comment: Each of the interviews with the Uhde brothers are very valuable for historical information and impressions on all subjects covered.
Tape #36 Elizabeth Knowles and Pearl Harmon (Wing)
000 – Introduction
020 – Knowles’ family history; Moving from South Dakota in 1911; Her father’s work in Bismarck; The Finnish settlement near Wing and other area nationalities
100 – Her work in Bismarck as a store clerk
121 – Businessmen in early Wing; Railroad service
171 – Her first impressions of the Wing area and their home; Knowles’ husband’s family and their marriage
240 – General description of early Wing and its businesses; Railroad service; The phone system
309 – Finding good water; Hauling coal from Wilton
361 – Wing’s decline and its trading area; Small area towns that are now gone: Stark, Arena, Mitchell’s post office
445 – Early electrical system in Wing
476 – Hard times during the 1930’s; Morale; Feeding thistles and molasses-laced straw to cattle; Slaughtering cattle; Surplus commodities; WPA work; Social life during the 1930’s;
706 – End of interview
Comment: The interview contains little detailed historical information
Tape #37 Mr. and Mrs. Fred Heidt (Wing)
000 – Introduction
020 – His family history; Emigration from South Russia; His parents’ homestead near Wing; General description of life on the homestead
162 – Nationalities in the area; Family history
213 – Her family history and her parents’ homestead near Tuttle; Account of farming in South Russia
260 – His folks’ combination sod house and barn; Moving to Wing overland from Goodrich
363 – Small area town and rural stores that are now gone: Lien
423 – Expansion of his father’s farm
463 – Good and poor crop years; The Hackney ranch near Arena; Speigel’s horse ranch north of Steele; Relations between ranchers and homesteaders
644 – Crops during the 1920’s and 1930’s; Loss of his farm and repurchase of it in the 1930’s
783 – His support for the NPL; Farm Holiday Association and “bidding in” at auction sales
829 – Making manure bricks to burn; Burning flax straw
937 – SIDE TWO
960 – Preserving the walls in the sod house by plastering it with clay and flax straw; A smoke house made of clay; Preserving meat and vegetables; Making pickles in a barrel; Making blood sausage and scraping casings for the sausage
167 – How to make head cheese; Pickling pig’s feet
206 – Joining the NPL in the 1930’s; Amount of support for the various political groups in the 1930’s; His support of Langer
346 – His opinion of coal development
361 – Problems finding good water on area farms; Burning dried manure in the cook stove
470 – End of interview
Comment: The most detailed and valuable portion of this tape covers preserving food and making sausage, head cheese, and other German foods.
Tape #38 Mr. and Mrs. Christ Wetzel (Arena) (Kidder County)
000 – Introduction
020 – His family history and his parents’ homestead near Tuttle
099 – Harsh winters; Burning manure for fuel
143 – Smoking meat; A Dutch Oven they built; Tanning hides and making leather goods
217 – Getting smallpox vaccination from a midwife
235 – Description of the homemade Dutch Oven; Keeping people and horses warm during sleigh winter trips
283 – His father’s work as a veterinarian; Common horse ailments
307 – Seeding grain by hand broadcast
333 – Nationalities in the Tuttle area; Ranches near early Tuttle; Poor crop year in 1910; Getting the railroad into Wing
399 – Hauling grain to Steele prior to getting railroad service in Wing; Value of horses; Relations between homesteaders and ranchers
461 – Children’s responsibilities on the homestead
519 – Getting liquor during prohibition; Social life
586 – Construction of area churches; Relations between different nationalities and people of different religions
634 – Account of businesses in Arena and the growth of towns when the railroad built west in 1911
763 – Why Arena died out while Tuttle and Wing survived
842 – Finding good water on the homestead
863 – Prairie fire
935 – SIDE TWO
935 – Home remedies for illnesses; ringworm
992 – The flu epidemic of 1918; Broken arms resulting from cranking Model-T’s; Area M.D.’s and the fees they charged
070 – Comments on the “good old days”; Neighborliness of people
109 – Popularity of the NPL in the area; Political activists in the area during the period 1916-1930’s
191 – Various jobs he has held: farming, heading Burleigh County AAA, working for ASCS, managing an elevator
223 – The Farm Holiday Association; Townley’s oil well at Robinson
273 – Comments on Jewish businessmen in Tuttle; Lighting used before electricity
327 – The power plant in Tuttle
344 – Peddlers and gypsies
428 – Bootlegging and home brew during prohibition; How to make liquor from potatoes
613 – Railroad service in Tuttle and Wing; Box car shortages during WWII
674 – End of interview
Comment: This is an enjoyable and generally informative interview
Tape #39 Mr. Haral Christianson (Driscoll)
000 – Introduction
020 – Family history; Immigration to ND from Norway via Iowa, 1902 – 1907; Nationalities in the area; A travelling minister who served a local Lutheran congregation
144 – Building roads in the area; Railroad service in early Driscoll; Dray lines and early businesses in Driscoll
240 – Area small towns that are now gone
254 – Attending school in the country and in Driscoll; Driscoll’s trade area
294 – The mild winter of 1908; Banks in early Driscoll and bank failures
343 – Family history; Poor crop years in 1910 and 1911; His father’s work on the railroad
454 – Working on a threshing crew; Farming with horses and the price for a good horse
532 – Good and poor crop years since 1912; Wheat and durum varieties; Getting his own farm and losing his land in the 1930’s; Buying 160 acres of land for $3.50 plus back taxes; Slaughtering cattle under the New Deal
725 – Working on WPA
787 – His membership in the NPL and the Farm Holiday Association; Marching on the legislature in Bismarck in 1933
933 – SIDE TWO
984 – Recollections of Bill Langer; Townley’s oil well at Robinson, and his investment in the scheme; Why the NPL lost popularity
085 – Farm co-ops – Elevators; Packing plant in West Fargo; creameries; and the Consumer Stores; The Equity Association
122 – Charles Talbott and the Farmers Union; Organization of the Farm Bureau
160 – The first organization of the Farmers Union, about 1920; The second successful attempt in 1927
186 – Social life; Literary societies; Dances and musicians; Baseball games
351 – Construction of ND Highway 10 through Driscoll; Bootleggers during prohibition; Blind pigs in Driscoll
431 – Family life; Getting electricity on the farm; Return of farm prosperity in the 1940’s
530 – A farmers’ telephone line built in the 1920’s; Reasons why farm population has declined; Extent of diversified farming in the early 1900’s
567 – End of interview
Comment: This is a generally informative interview throughout. The portion dealing with politics and the Farm Holiday Association is valuable.
Tape #40 Mrs. Pete Bliss (McKenzie)
000 – Introduction
020 – Family history; Her parents’ homesickness for Iowa and their homestead north of McKenzie; The Hackney-Boynton Land Company; Women homesteaders in the area
110 – Sources of fuel; Hauling wood from the Missouri River bottoms; Building material used to construct homestead dwellings – Logs, sod, lumber
145 – Her schooling at a rural school and in Bismarck; The Staley family and ranch; Death of cattle in a bad blizzard and Indian travels through their farm
257 – Gypsy encampments near McKenzie; The Watson ranch south of McKenzie; Open range; plowing firebreaks around haystacks
365 – Wildlife in the early 1900’s; Coyotes
440 – Threshing with horsepower; Feeding threshing crews; Preserving fruit and vegetables; Gardening
574 – Nationalities in the area; Businesses in early McKenzie – the electrical generating plant there; The first M.D. in McKenzie
737 – Her husband’s work in C. B. Little’s bank in McKenzie
775 – Social life and recreation – plays, debates, the “Item Club”
910 – Religion services in the school and the first church in McKenzie, used by all denominations
936 – SIDE TWO
948 – Social events on Sundays; Baseball games; Social organizations and lodges in McKenzie
005 – Women’s suffrage; Her mother’s work in the WCTU; Blind pigs in McKenzie
061 – Account of Fred Korn, a local self-made man and character
109 – Her husband’s support for the IVA; Bitterness between NPL and IVA supporters; Local leaders of the IVE
149 – NPL strength in the country; IVA power in McKenzie; Her husband’s opposition to Langer; Langer’s farm north of McKenzie and anecdotes about her meetings with him
255 – Making a living on the farm in the 1930’s; Loss of farm population and the decline of McKenzie; Feeding thistles to cattle and sheep; Dust storms; Grasshoppers
351 – WPA projects in the area; Improving area roads; Return of better crops and prices in 1939-1940
402 – The first car she saw
421 – Hackney-Boynton Land Company and hotel in McKenzie; Number of farms in the area in the early 1900’s
485 – Area small towns now gone – Brittin
515 – McKenzie’s telephone system and rural line
554 – Changes in peoples’ attitudes and neighborliness
599 – Her fondness for ND
605 – End of interview
Comment: Mrs. Bliss has an excellent memory and is articulate. This is an informative interview throughout.
Tape #41 Mr. John Welch (Menoken)
000 – Introduction
020 – Family history; Family members in the area; Breaking sod and freighting with oxen
110 – Farming with a Hart-Parr kerosene engine in 1910; Steam engines; Rumely Oil Pull Tractors
229 – Family history; Reasons the family came to ND from Wisconsin; His parents’ homestead house made of logs
296 – Early settlers in the area; A saddle horse he had; Early farm machinery; Headers and binders; Threshing; His threshing rig and crew
411 – Prevalence of weeds in the early 1900’s; Threshing machines compared to combines for getting clean grain; Wages for men on a threshing crew
478 – Hauling grain to the Welch spur and loading it in boxcars; Herding cattle south of Menoken on open range; Shopping cattle out of Braddock
550 – Attending rural school
630 – Nationalities and early settlers in the area
690 – Family history
712 – Social life; Dances; Description of Stewartsdale and Glencoe; The stage line through the towns from Bismarck south to Livona; Mail carriers on that route
939 – SIDE TWO
953 – Indian travels and encampments in the area; Raising cattle and horses; Watson’s ranch
042 – Raising and selling work horses; Breaking horses; Sawmills along the Missouri River
190 – Steamboats on the River
251 – The brewery in Bismarck near Memorial Bridge
264 – Prohibition; His uncle’s terms as Burleigh County Sheriff; The Spicer murders and Olson murder; A Negro homesteader who got shot
344 – Good crop year of 1927; poor years
364 – Prairie fires; Testifying to get damage payments from the NPRR for a prairie fire started by sparks from a locomotive
460 – Charges for threshing various grains
480 – Making a living on the farm during the 1930’s; Selling turkeys in Mandan
554 – County politics (His father’s refusal to run for sheriff); Their first automobile – Model-T
603 – Wildlife in the early 1900’s; Coyotes and bobcats
618 – Area small towns now gone – Brittin; Businesses in early Menoken; Ordering from catalogs – getting groceries from the Savage company
771 – Getting flour ground at the Temvik mill
819 – Changes in peoples’ attitudes and neighborliness; ND as a good place to live
856 – End of interview
Comment: Mr. Welch has a good memory and is good at relating his recollections. His accounts of early farming methods, tractors, threshing rigs, and raising horses are excellent.
Tape #42 Mr. and Mrs. John Vollan (Wilton)
000 – Introduction
020 – Her family history; Her parents’ immigration to ND from Sweden via Hastings, Minnesota; Their homestead southeast of Wilton; Death of her brothers from diphtheria
071 – Travelling to Bismarck for supplies; Nationalities and early settlers in the area; Her grandmother
121 – Sunne Lutheran Church near Wilton; Travelling to Bismarck; Attending a rural school; Prevalence of settlers who spoke Swedish; A rural post office in a farm granary; The Eklund post office; Account of “Preacher Larson,” an early settler; Slaughter’s Post Office
221 – Early pastors in the Sunne Lutheran Church and how they were paid; Early schoolteachers at the rural school; Length of the school term; Attending Business College in Bismarck
313 – Her impressions of Bismarck in 1916; Livery barns; The Wachter family; Businesses in Bismarck
379 - $100 tuition at the Business College; Her parents’ death and her subsequent work on the farm with her sisters
403 – Her husband’s family; Immigration patters of the Scandinavians
438 – Swedish church services continuing until 1923; Spittoons in the church; The Mission Church; Other religious services in the homes
528 – Hauling firewood from the Missouri to the homestead; Finding good water on the homestead
624 – Sod houses; Farmers who used oxen; Horse traders
671 – Booming towns when the branch line was built in 1911-1912; Still; Wilton’s heyday during the mining operation; Small coal mines in the area and how they were operated; The Washburn mine at Wilton
938 – SIDE TWO
972 – Neighborliness of people, formerly and presently; Early carpenters Johnson and Backman
002 – Her marriage; Her husband’s farming operation in the 1920’s
072 – Raising eight children and making a living on the farm in the 1930’s; Feeding thistles to cattle; Army worms and clouds of grasshoppers
135 – Changes in the size of farms since the early 1900’s; Her husband’s progressive farming practices
194 – When automobiles became common in the area, about 1920; Getting electricity on the farm; Wind chargers and 32 volt systems; Carbide lights; A farmer’s telephone line; The first radio she heard and favorite radio programs
319 – Social life; Mid-Summer picnic at Sunne Church; Political speeches
350 – The Farmers Union store in Still, organized in 1914
389 – Social life; Dances; Moving an abandoned house to use as a dance hall; Musicians; Moonshine liquor made locally; The Little Casino Mine, run by a woman west of Wilton in the 1890’s
528 – End of interview
Comment: Mrs. Vollan (Louise) has an excellent memory and a pleasant manner. Her recollection of names and dates is remarkable. This is a valuable interview for local historical information.
Tape #43 Norah Davenport (Wilton)
000 – Introduction
020 – Family history; Travelling from Iowa to Wilton in 1901; Her mother’s homesickness for Iowa; Her first impressions of ND
079 – Attending a rural school and the contrast with the school in Iowa; Their homestead shack; Wisner’s Post Office; Family history; Building a new house in 1902
163 – Nationalities in the area northwest of Regan; Her love of the prairie; her mother’s dislike of ND; Difficulty of finding good water; Burning coal
234 – Inaccuracy of homestead life depicted in “Little House on the Prairie”; Attending the rural school; Boarding the teacher; Children’s recreation – sledding and games
317 – Neighborliness of people, formerly and presently; The relaxed pace of life; Family life
335 – Size of farms in the early 1900’s; Building the branch line through Regan in 1912; Buying trips to Bismarck before Regan existed; Self-sufficiency on the homestead
390 – Her marriage in 1910; Her first husband’s background; His death from flu in 1918; Her second marriage; Work she did to provide for her children after her first husband died
535 – Making a living during the 1930’s; Her daughters; Feeding cattle; Getting hay from the government; Morale; Selling garden produce; Preserving vegetables in root cellars; Sewing quilts
758 – Ordering from catalogs – groceries from Savage, dry goods from Sears
795 – Businesses in early Regan; Bank failures in Regan
856 – Her resistance to getting a radio; Its influence on family life; Reading material in the home
931 – End of interview
Comment: This is a brief interview that may be valuable for sociological information.
Tape #44 Mrs. Idella Sperry (Bismarck)
000 – Introduction
020 – Family history and her parents’ homestead; Indian travels through their homestead near McKenzie
080 – Attending school in abandoned homestead shacks; Snaring gophers and selling the tails for bounty
150 – Nationalities in the McKenzie area; Early settlers; Anecdote about coyotes; Wildlife in the late 1890’s; Driving cattle to open range north of McKenzie for summer range
284 – Scovill’s store in McKenzie; The flag stop for trains through McKenzie and the town’s growth when the Linton branch was built
391 – Social life and recreation; Dances in homes; Religious services in homes and schoolhouses
470 – Her courtship and marriage; Her husband’s family; Their ranch near Bismarck; Doctors making house calls to deliver children; The flu epidemic of 1918
684 – Raising cattle and doing farm work with horses
704 – SIDE TWO
715 – Her children and their schooling; Her teaching experiences
784 – Self-sufficiency on their farm; Gardening and preserving food; Drying meat and salting pork; Sewing clothes; Shopping in Bismarck; Circuses in Bismarck
913 – Peddlers and the goods they sold
943 – Floods on the Missouri; Prairie fires
045 – Apathy over women’s suffrage; Her husband’s opposition to NPL and service as Burleigh County Treasurer in the years around 1905
102 – Making a living in the 1930’s on the farm
134 – Early automobiles
167 – Settlement of the area north of McKenzie
201 – Changes in neighborliness of people
222 – Crossing the Missouri on the ferry; Freight boats on the river; Doing field work and operating early tractors
326 – Thoughts about life in ND
333 – End of interview
Comment: Mrs. Sperry has a very good memory and chooses her words well. The tape is informative throughout.
Tape #45 Mr. J.W. Hintgen (Bismarck)
000 – Introduction
020 – Reasons he came to Bismarck in 1903; The weather bureau in Bismarck; Discussion of his historical photographs
204 – Working at Lucas’s store; First impressions of Bismarck; General description of Bismarck in 1903
432 – Bismarck’s baseball team; Satchel Page
565 – Ed Hughes and his businesses and property
666 – Crossing the Missouri by ferry; Flood on the Missouri and drownings; I. P. Baker’s boats and bank
723 – SIDE TWO
818 – C.B. Little’s bank
841 – Social life and entertainment; The Forty Club; Circuses; Travelling between Bismarck and Mandan by train
936 – John Yegen’s billiard skill; Pool hall
991 – Train passenger service in the early 1900’s
030 – Bismarck during the 1930’s; Construction of the capitol
069 – End of interview
Comment: The interview contains little specific historical information.
Tape #46 Miss Christine Finlayson (Bismarck) (Bottineau County)
000 – Introduction
020 – Family history; Her parents’ homestead near Bottineau
086 – Nationalities in the Bottineau area; Hauling grain to Devils Lake
154 – Jim Hill’s influence in settling northern ND
166 – Her schooling in Bottineau and at rural school
298 – Early community leaders and businessmen in Bottineau
440 – Resort activities at Lake Metigoshe in the early 1900’s; Fishing in the lake
506 – Bottineau County small towns that are now gone or have declined
558 – Social life and entertainment in the Bottineau area; Skating; The Opera House
647 – Attending the University of North Dakota from 1908-1912; Teaching Home Economics in high schools
720 – Comments on Ormsley McHarg, a Jamestown attorney who managed T. Roosevelt’s campaign for president in 1912
757 – Student life at UND; Instructors she had; Dean Kennedy, Dr. Squires, Dr. Gillette, Dr. Libby
844 – Teaching Home Economics at Jamestown High School and her social life at a boarding house
965 – Becoming State Supervisor of Home Economics programs in 1922; Recollections of Minnie J. Nielson and the Teachers’ Retirement Fund; Serving as State Supervisor from 1922-1962
070 – Her duties as supervisor; Difficulties with the National Youth Administration and Langer during the 1930’s; Setting up an off-campus teacher training center in Casselton in 1929
250 – Efforts to get women enfranchised in 1920; Langer’s attempts to interfere in the operation of the State Agricultural College; Langer’s unpopularity at the A.C.; His firing of eight faculty members
453 – End of interview
Comment: Miss Finlayson has a good memory and is very articulate. Her accounts of setting up high school home economics programs are valuable.
Tape #47 Mrs. Zachey Azar (Bismarck) (Pierce and Williams Counties)
000 – Introduction
020 – Circumstances of coming to Rugby, North Dakota, from Lebanon
063 – Attending school in Rugby; Family history; Sewing clothes and selling baby clothes; Her mother’s work selling linen in Bismarck and area towns
123 – Early settlers in the Rugby area; Her marriage and move to a Williams County homestead with her husband
180 – Her husband’s pool hall in Bismarck in 1922; Their farm near Williston
209 – The flu epidemic of 1918; Medical care and midwives near Williston; Social life and entertainment; A travelling Lebanese Orthodox priest
280 – Her husband’s scrap metal business and market; Discussion of her photographs and family history
400 – Her grandmother’s work as a midwife; Children’s responsibilities
440 – Selling linen in small towns during the 1930’s
482 – General comments on Usher Burdick and Bill Langer; Travelling on railroads; Staying in small town hotels and rooming houses
627 – Bad winters; Working during the 1930’s in selling dry goods and rugs; Early automobiles
702 – Neighborliness of people
718 – SIDE TWO
718 – Social life
750 – Gardening; Traditional Lebanese foods
806 – Sewing clothes; Canning fruit
829 – End of interview
Comment: This is one of the few interviews that recounts the experiences of a Lebanese family in North Dakota
Tape #48 Mr. Knownly Dorman (Bismarck)
000 – Introduction
020 – Family history; His grandfather’s immigration to North Dakota from Denmark; Their homestead near Glencoe
203 – Early medical care and a Menoken area midwife
227 – Attending a rural school south of Menoken; Nationalities in the area; His marriage
270 – Social life; Attending church in Stewartsdale; The stage from Bismarck to Stewartsdale; Mail carriers on the line from Bismarck to Livona
383 – Early ranchers in the Menoken area
421 – Self-sufficiency on early farms; Buying supplies each fall; Preserving meat and vegetables
479 – Businesses in early Menoken; Account of a barn built with wooden pegs in place of nails; The Welch siding; Account of Brittin, ND
662 – Threshing and shocking grain
723 – SIDE TWO
737 – Changes in neighborliness of people; His marriage and farm near Baldwin; Loss of his farm in 1938 and moving to Bismarck
827 – Morale during the 1930’s; Making a living in the depression; The loan situation he was in during the 1930’s; Cattle prices; Grasshoppers; Dust storms
929 – Prairie fires
973 – The first car he saw; The rural telephone line south of Menoken in 1918
013 – General remarks on politics; C.D. King
037 – The Patterson Land Company; Regrets about the loss of his farm; Comments on the present value of land and on life in North Dakota
129 – End of interview
Comment: This is a generally informative interview. Mr. Dorman’s account of the 1930’s may be the most valuable.
Tape #49 Mr. and Mrs. Paul Halloran (Bismarck)
000 – Introduction
020 – His family history; Circumstances leading to his father and mother coming to Bismarck in the 1870’s
075 – Her family history and their farm near Bismarck; His father’s work as a stone mason
116 – Comments on his historical material and documents – The Custer House Hotel; Early Bismarck businesses
161 – Their home in Bismarck; Attending St. Mary’s school; Financing construction of the school
212 – His father’s friendship with Alex McKenzie; City politics in the 1890’s and early 1900’s; Ed Patterson’s dependence on McKenzie
337 – Ed Hughes, his business, and his opposition to McKenzie; Doc McGillis and the Prince Hotel; Ed Patterson’s scheme to avoid paying taxes on his hotel; Patterson’s first wife – her intelligence and influence and years as postmistress
435 – Her father, William Breene, his business, farm, and political activities; Family history; Her father’s first car and his telephone line
524 – Ed Hughes’ threshing rig; Her father’s progressive farming practices
572 – Mrs. Ed Hughes and her theater in Bismarck; Social life and entertainment; Early moving pictures; Toad shows; Roof garden on the Patterson Hotel; Circuses
790 – His work on the Missouri River snag boat, The Mandan, in 1917; Operation of the boat
935 – SIDE TWO
971 – The city cow herd; Governor Burke’s milk cow at the Governor’s Mansion; Flashing news headlines on the Montgomery Ward building downtown
032 – The Mandan snag boat operation
078 – Early Bismarck businesses; Illegal liquor sources; Livery stables; Governor Burke’s milk cow
185 – The Bismarck streetcar; Mickey O’Connor’s orchestra
223 – Law enforcement in Bismarck; Prohibition and blind pigs
261 – Logan’s store and his race horses; The Mandan fair; The ferry on the Missouri between Bismarck and Mandan; Army guards on the NP Railroad bridge during WWI
332 – Stores where she shopped in early Bismarck
377 – The waterworks in Bismarck and the City’s acquisition of it from private owners
409 – Livery barns in early Bismarck and the condition of the streets; Coal companies in town
499 – A Negro Civil War veteran in Bismarck; Other Blacks in early Bismarck; River traffic and his work on the Mandan
643 – Charlie Wachter and his German Singing Club; Chinese restaurants and laundry in early Bismarck – “Charlie’s Truck”; Other early restaurants
798 – Burning of the Capitol in 1930 and the relocation of state offices
878 – End of interview
Comment: Mr. and Mrs. Halloran are Bismarck natives, have excellent memories, and are very articulate. This is an informative interview throughout. Mr. Halloran was one of the last people to work on a Missouri River snag boat.
Tape #50 Dr. James Blunt (Bismarck)
Tape A
000 – Introduction
020 – Family history; His mother’s family in Bismarck in 1872
061 – His grandfather, Charles Blunt, and his riverboat line on the Mississippi and Missouri; His father’s steamboat on the Missouri; Wood yard operators; The government snag boat, Mandan
242 – Description of a typical large steamboat; How and where they were built
298 – His father (Charles W. Blunt) and the Benton Packet Company; Company elevators on the river north of Bismarck
357 – His grandfather Nichols’ farm and threshing rigs; Nichols’ family history; His grandmother’s resourcefulness
427 – The Packet Company steamboat runs from Ft. Benton, Montana to Ft. Yates; The gasoline engine on the Bismarck boat; Other steamboat companies that operated on the Missouri; Captain Maretta and the Coleson Company; Names of the boats
578 – His X-ray work at Bismarck Hospital in 1913
603 – Names and owners of boats on the Missouri; Captains of the boats; Grant Marsh’s personality; Captain Massey
670 – “Pawnee” Bill’s and Buffalo Bill’s travelling show; Enmity between Captain Massey and Grant Marsh; Marsh’s famous run with the Little Big Horn wounded in 1876
770 – Names and descriptions of Missouri steamboats; Baker’s warehouse in Bismarck; Winter storage of the boats; Story of a boat caught in the ice near Washburn
928 – The ferry across the Missouri at Bismarck; More on steam boating
943 – SIDE TWO
020 – The Pacific Hotel in Bismarck and the G. P. Hotel
042 – Attending high school in Bismarck; Bismarck’s first high school; High school athletics, 1909-13; Childhood entertainment
079 – Missouri River floods in Bismarck; Early radios that he built
152 – Social life and entertainment; Road shows; Baker Hall and the Athenaeum
170 – His first motion picture camera in 1927; Fred Holmboe and his movies of North Dakota
200 – Entertainment in early Bismarck; The Athenaeum; Dancing clubs; Movies; Carnivals and circuses; Patent medicine shows; The Governor’s Inaugural Balls
419 – Recollections of Alex McKenzie; R. N. Stevens; McKenzie’s political allies in Bismarck – Ed Allen, Stevens, Patterson
556 – City improvements – paved streets, servers, electricity, telephone; Ed Hughes
637 – Deliveries of kerosene, ice, and drinking water; The town herd
685 – His Grandmother Nichols’ horse ranch
728 – Conditions of early streets and sidewalks; Delivery of groceries; Livery stables
796 – Early grocers in Bismarck; The fire of 1898 that destroyed 4 blocks downtown
871 – The Roanoke Hotel
896 – End of Tape A
TAPE B
000 – Kubitz’s stage line; Joe Diedrich’s stage line; Kubitz’s store and travel agency; M. P. Slattery and Logans store; The Banner House Hotel; The Dewey House operated by “Long Jim” McDonald; “Blind Pigs” in Bismarck
059 – The G.P. and Patterson Hotels; the VanHorn (Prince) Hotel
099 – Comments on the NPL and Tom Hall; His opposition to the League
146 – Working as a page in the North Dakota Senate in 1909
175 – The streetcar in Bismarck; Mickey O’Connor; The extent of the city in 1910; Hack and sleigh service in early Bismarck
224 – The flu epidemic of 1918; Dr. Quain’s service in the Army Medical Corps at that time; His training as an oral surgeon; Early dentists in Bismarck
282 – Opening practice with Dr. Cole in Bismarck in 1920; Changes in dentistry since 1920; Early X-ray methods
364 – His marriage to Lucille Hall in 1926; The effect of the depression on his practice; Granting credit
405 – Increased awareness of health care among people
436 – Changes in the pace of living and in family life
492 – Thoughts on the quality of life in ND
533 – End of interview
Comment: Dr. Blunt is a third generation Bismarck resident. His memory and knowledge of local history is remarkable. This is an excellent interview throughout.
Tape #51 Mr. Lavern Larson (Bismarck)
The entire interview is concerned solely with Mr. Larson’s military service at Fort Lincoln during the late 1930’s and early 1940’s.
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