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Cass County
Region 5
1 Mrs. Henry Woell, Casselton
2 Mr. Louis Thorstad, Fargo
3 Mr. Henry Martinson, Fargo
4 Mrs. Grace McKenzie, Fargo
5 Mrs. Anna Stevens, Fargo
6 Mr. E.V. Brown, West Fargo
7 Mrs. Agnes Geelan, Fargo
8 Mrs. Mary Bishop, Fargo
9 Mr. E.A. Bowers, Fargo
10 Mr. George Alberts, Fargo
11 Mrs. Sarah McMillan, Fargo
12 Mr. Earl Barnick, Fargo
13 Mrs. L.E. Correll, Casselton
14 Mr. Frank Pranke, Fargo
15 Mrs. Lucille McNair, Fargo
16 Mrs. W.W. Lorshbough, Fargo
17 Dr. O.A. Stevens, Fargo
18 Mr. J. Walter Wadeson, Fargo
19 Mr. Oscar Brakke, Fargo
20 Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Utke, Enderlin
21 Mr. and Mrs. Walter Martin, Chaffee
22 Mr. Louis Schultz, Chaffee
23 Mr. Ralph Powers, Durbin
24 Mr. Peder O. Ekre, Kindred
25 Mr. and Mrs. Jim McGuigan, Leonard
26 Mr. Lester Chaffee, Amenia
27 Mr. John S. “Jack” Larson, Gardner
28 Mrs. Anna Skue, Hunter
29 Mrs. Bruce Brewer, Erie
30 Mr. and Mrs. Warren Bayley, Sr., Page
31 Mrs. Elmer (Elizabeth) Davis, Page
32 Mr. Robert E. Monilaws, Absaraka
33 Mr. and Mrs. C.J. Nepp, Absaraka
34 Mr. Edwin Griffin, Tower City
35 Judge Ronald N. Davies, Fargo
36 Mr. and Mrs. W.A. Cooke, Fargo
37 Mr. Walter D. “Dewey” Forsberg, Fargo
38 Mr. and Mrs. J.A. Jameson, West Fargo
39 Basil Drake, Arthur
40 Sophus Trom, Casselton
41 Bobby Lee (Robert Veline), Fargo
42 Ole Gunvaldsen, Fargo
43 Carl Taubert, Casselton
44 Miss Signe Hanson, Fargo
45 Victor Leeby, Sr., Fargo
46 Mrs. Mary McFall, Fargo
47 Mrs. Anna Rose, Fargo
48 Mary Snyder, Fargo
Portions of the following interviews apply to Cass County:
Esther Rosenau #13 Burleigh
H.W. Lyons #12 Stutsman
Tape #1 Mrs. Henry Woell (Casselton)
000 – Introduction
020 – Her parents’ farm near Casselton and their immigration from Germany; family history
110 – General description of the area in the 1890’s; First crops her father planted
173 – changes in the pace of life since the 1890’s; Recreation for young people; family life; Use of the German language at home
254 – Bill Langer’s youth and education
308 – Frank Langer’s legal training and work as a banker
327 – Bill’s liking for farming; Large farms in the area
347 – Her marriage and her husband’s work as a carpenter; Taking over her parents’ farm and then moving back to Casselton; Her husband’s personality
435 – Bill’s entry into politics; His courtship of Lydia; Lydia’s first visit to North Dakota and her relations with the Langer family
526 – Her father’s involvement in politics; Bill’s reluctance to discuss politics with the family
597 – Bill’s association with Townley and the NPL; Her lack of knowledge of Bill’s political affairs
640 – Bill’s sympathy for the plight of North Dakota farmers; Lydia’s feelings about Bill’s political life and her involvement in politics
762 – Anecdotes about Bill when he stayed at her home and the frequent phone malls and visitors he would get
902 – The 1930’s; Paying off doctor bills; Bank failures
951 – SIDE TWO
003 – Raising children and farming during the 1930’s
040 – Bill’s raid on Minot vice while he was Attorney General; Bill and Lydia’s family life of lack of it
115 – Great sociality of people in the 1890’s and early 1900’s; The automobile’s effect of social life
142 – Nationalities of early area settlers and their churches
160 – Early Wheatland businesses; Casselton’s vitality; Early area doctors and the Flu Epidemic of 1918
260 – End of interview
Comment: Mrs. Woell provided family history and some background on Bill Langer’s youth
Tape #2 Mr. Louis Thorstad (Fargo) (Traill County)
000 – Introduction
020 – Family history; His parents’ immigration from Norway and their homestead; The harsh winter of 1896-1897; Buildings on the homestead
186 – Settlement of the Mayville area; First crops planted; Gathering buffalo bones
234 – Threshing rigs run by horsepower; Early farm machinery; Shocking bundles
325 – Working at the Fargo Foundry; Attending rural school near Hatton; Early Hatton businesses; His woodworking skill and education as a steam engineer; Operation of the foundry
611 – Working as conductor and motorman on a Fargo streetcar; Operation of the streetcar; Accidents with the streetcars
711 – SIDE TWO
902 – “Rough” streets and houses of prostitution in early Fargo
940 – Running a truck line in Fargo in the 1920’ and 1930’s
016 – Effect of the 1930’s on small businesses in Fargo; Comments on FDR
092 – Development of graded roads in the Mayville area; Firing steam engines with straw
206 – End of interview
Comment: Mr. Thorstad’s recollections of working at the Fargo Foundry and operating a streetcar are the most valuable portions of this tape.
Tape #3 Henry Martinson (Fargo) (Divide and Ward Counties)
Tape A
000 – Introduction
020 – Family history
034 – His reasons for coming to ND to homestead in Divide County; His homestead experience; Prevalence of homesteaders who left; The “spirit” of homesteaders; Social life; An inland store south of Crosby; Roads in the area
139 – Nationalities in Divide County; Lack of churches; Honesty of homesteaders
190 – Neighborliness of homesteaders; Lack of schools; Lack of trees; Price of a quarter of land; Interest rates
288 – Political affiliations of homesteaders; Socialists in the area; The Appeal to Reason; A Socialist paper; Discussion of articles he has written
339 – Factors contributing to the popularity of socialism in Divide County; The Appeal to Reason; Socialist businessmen in Crosby, Mohall, and Minot
488 – The Socialist Party in Minot and his work in Minot; Leading socialists in Minot; Socialist factions; Grant Yomens; Art LeSeur; Henry Tiegen; L. L. Griffith
626 – His editorship of the Iconoclast and efforts to separate the NPL from the Socialist Party; Factions of the Socialist Party in Minot; The “language” branch of the party; Ideological differences in the party
855 – The “spirit” of the young socialists in Minot; The membership of the Socialist Party; Movement of party headquarters from Fargo to Minot
937 – SIDE TWO
975 – Minot’s “rough” atmosphere in ’12; Illegal activities; Dedication of the Socialists in Minot; Election of Art LeSeur as Minot Mayor and Dewey Dorman as Commissioner of Streets
058 – Opposition to the Socialists in Minot; Ragnvald Nestos
096 – “Blind Pigs” and gambling joints in Minot; Corrupt city officials and dishonest elections
162 – Decline of the Socialist Party with the rise of the NPL; Henry’s editorship of the Iconoclast
193 – Henry’s work as an NPL organizer; His editorship of the Iconoclast; Relationship of the Socialist Party to the NPL
245 – Appeal of the NPL as opposed to that of the Socialist Party and the differences in their theory and programs
312 – A. C. Townley’s personality and career as a political organizer, oil well promoter, and anti-communist propagandist; Townley’s wife; His work as an organizer for Townley
444 – The relationship between Townley and Langer
459 – Reasons for the decline of the League’s popularity; The “too much too quickly” mistake of the League
528 – The Consumer Stores and Henry’s organization of the stores; Opposition to the Consumer Stores by local businessmen; Reasons for failure of the stores
606 – Bill Lemke’s personality and his influence in the inner sanctum of the NPL
682 – Lemke’s house in Fargo and his loan from the state
746 – Collecting notes for the Scandinavian American Bank and selling shares in the bank
805 – The recall election of ‘21
870 – End of Tape A
TAPE B
000 - The recall election of ’21; Reasons for defeat of the League officials
033 – Lynn J. Frazier; Langer’s split with the League and his blatant opportunism; His popularity with German people in ND
103 – A striker’s march on the ND capitol in ’37 or ’38; The revival of the League in the ‘30s
160 – Henry’s service as Deputy Commissioner of Labor (1937 – 1965); Problems of organized labor in ND; Criticism he got from the Chamber of Commerce
289 – The Socialist Park in Minot
328 – The IWW and Free Speech Fight in Minot in ’14; Arrest of Henry and other Socialists; Women as revolutionaries
517 – North Dakota radicalism
714 – SIDE TWO – begins a second interview
020 – Grant Yomens, the Socialist banker in Minot
057 – Henry’s activity during the 20’s and 30’s in labor organizations; The Union of All Workers – essentially a mutual aid organization during the 30’s in Fargo
116 – Comments on LaFollette’s progressive party in ‘24
122 – Alfred Knutson and the Red Peasant International; His communist paper in Bismarck
203 – A coal workers strike in Fargo in the 30’s; Police raid on the labor hall and arrest of members; Mickey Dunn (a radical labor organizer)
300 – Alfred Knutson’s paper and the Communist Party; Knutson’s work as a League organizer
402 – The Ku Klux Klan in Fargo during the 20’s
430 – Relations between Labor Unions and the Socialist Party in Minot
450 – Radical organizations in ND during the 20’s; The Farm Holiday Associations and Farmers Union; Henry’s efforts to organize co-ops
620 – Usher Burdick
660 – End of Tape B
TAPE C
000 – Introduction
020 – Usher Burdick’s personal life, character, and politics
073 – Gerald Nye
085 – Mrs. Chris Linnertz; Minnie J. Neilson; L.L. Griffith, The “brains” of the League and a former Socialist; Salaries of League organizers
209 – The role of the Wood family in the League
228 – League organizers; Organizing Consumer Stores; The post-dated check problem
300 – “Mother Bloor”; A Minot Communist; Radical movements at NDSU in the early 1900’s
379 – Walter Maddock; Organizing for the League
425 – Frank Vogel
486 – Socialist parties in the US today
509 – His wife (Melba Cook); League cartoonists; His wife’s musical ability; Henry’s musical talent
636 – End of interview
Tape #4 Mrs. Grace McKenzie (Fargo) (Grand Forks County)
000 - Introduction
020 – Family history; Her parents’ store in Northwood, ND
111 – Her schooling; Working for a hardware company in Fargo
210 – Children’s recreation; Social life; Her husband’s construction business in Fargo; Her children
298 – Childbirth at home; Early medical care and hospitals; Raising children
342 – Her husband’s carpentry work during the 1930’s and World War I
369 – The First Baptist Church in Fargo
456 – Her birthday – January 1, 1881
472 – End of interview
Tape # 5 Mrs. Anna Stevens (Fargo)
000 – Introduction
020 – Coming to North Dakota in 1910; Social life and entertainment in Fargo
070 – General description of North Dakota State University in 1910 and courses available; Her husband’s professorship in the Biology Department; Recollections of Edwin Ladd and other early professors
142 – First years of the Agricultural College; First classrooms in Fargo College prior to construction of classrooms on the campus
173 – Faculty members at the Agricultural College in 1910; Duties of faculty members in the early 1900’s
209 – Salaries for professors in 1910 and in the 1930’s; Regulation of students’ social life in the early 1900’s; Making a living on a professor’s salary during the 1930’s Dust storms; Her service on the County Welfare Board in the 1930’s
337 – Working for Women’s Suffrage in Fargo
375 – Attitudes of Fargoans to World War I and World War II
424 – Buying water and ice in early Fargo; Prevalence of coal furnaces in early Fargo; Grocery stores where she shopped and home delivery of groceries; Milk cows kept in Fargo
530 – Streetcar service in Fargo; Dry goods stores in Fargo where she shopped
574 – Medical care and doctors in early Fargo; The Flu Epidemic of 1918
714 – Fargo newspapers in 1910; Women’s clubs; First radio station in Fargo and its impact on family life
799 – Condition of Fargo streets in 1910; Improvement of streets; Circuses in early Fargo
935 – End of interview
Comment: Mrs. Stevens is an articulate and knowledgeable woman with and excellent memory. The interview is informative throughout.
Tape #6 Mr. E. V. Brown (West Fargo) (Stark County)
Tape A
000 – Introduction
020 – Family history; Their ranch near Dickinson; Water wells on the ranch and their rock silos
132 – Operation of their dairy – The Brown Dairy; Cooling, bottling, and delivering milk; The dairy barns; Operation of a Treadmill milk separator
349 – Prevalence of small barns; Windmills and milk cows in the city of Dickinson; Pasture for the town herd
430 – Prices of dairy products in the early 1900’s
472 – The Cuskelly Dairy in Dickinson
508 – Family history
591 – Various jobs he has held; Family history
691 – Breaking horses and selling teams to homesteaders
758 – Early corn choppers; Threshing; Stacking bundles
937 – SIDE TWO
937 – Tame grass and grain raised on their dairy farm
989 – Early farm machinery
001 – Attending school in Dickinson; Missing school to work on the farm
141 – Nationalities in Dickinson and relationships between them; Parties held by different nationalities; Social life
254 – Stores where they shopped in Dickinson; Ice houses; A typical grocery store in the early 1900’s
415 – Organization of the Farmers Union in the Dickinson area; Early farm machinery; Wholesale stores and chain stores; Origin of Red Owl stores
681 – Various small towns that are now gone – Emerson; Halfway House between Manning and Dickinson; Fayette; Businesses in Emerson; Other towns – Snow (Northwest of New Hradec); Gorham businesses
875 – End of Tape A
TAPE B
000 – Towns in western North Dakota that are now gone; Gorham businesses; Alpha (south of Beach); German (northwest of Amidon); A town northwest of Rhame; Buffalo Springs; Rainy Butte; Desart; Midway; Havelock; Black Butte; Sheffield; Daglum; Zenith; A brick plant east of Dickinson; Lehigh; Emerald; Eagles Nest; Oakdale; Marion; Ferry across the Little Missouri on US 85; Elbowoods; Krem; Epworth; Lunds Valley; Stady; Lonetree; Skaar
386 – Discussion about his photographs; First basketball team in Dickinson; The New England Petroleum Company; Early oil wells in North Dakota
606 – End of interview
Comment: Mr. Brown has an excellent memory and is well informed about the early 1900’s in the Dickinson area. The portion dealing with the Brown Dairy is particularly informative.
Tape #7 Mrs. Agnes Geelan (Fargo) (Traill County)
000 – Introduction
018 – Family history; School; Debating topics; Hatton (town); Churches
086 – Social life; Carl Ben Eielson; NPL; World War I; Political occupations
172 – Women’s suffrage; Teaching locations; Salary and level; Gets fired
204 – William Lemke; NPL political activity; William Langer
300 – J. F. T. O’Connor; Socialist strength; NPL; William Langer and opponents; A. C. Townley; Courier News
400 – Langer’s campaign; Democrat strength; Political expediency; Party importance; NPL opponent campaigns
471 – Democratic strength; Langer and F.D.R.; Moratorium of farm debates; Embargo on wheat
530 – 30’s life; Neighborliness; Morale; Communists
650 – Bank failures; Rationing; Farm equipment supply problems; Women’s Division of War Bonds; Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen; Congressional endorsed
750 – Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen; Right to Work Law; State Constitutional Convention
859 – State newspaper affiliations; Insurgent Movement and F.D.R. effect on Democrats
948 – SIDE TWO
948 – Usher Burdick; William Langer; Democratic Party
019 – Runs for political office; Problems and programs as mayor; Congressional election and campaign
127 – Publication Labor; Usher Burdick; William Lemke; Outstanding political acquaintances; Minnie Craig
203 – Farmers Union and opposition; A. C. Townley; State political inclinations
304 – Women in politics; Farm Holiday Association; WPA; CCC
402 – Workmen’s Compensation Bureau; William Langer biography; ROC and NPL conflicts; Forthcoming political strength and attributes
521 – End of interview
Comment: Mrs. Geelan was politically influential throughout her lifetime. Her interview spans a variety of informative political comments.
Tape #8 Mrs. Mary Bishop
000 – Introduction
020 – Family history; Treadwell Twitchell’s (her father) farming operation in Cass County
076 – How Twitchell’s farms were managed and rented
113 – Her education and teaching experiences
157 – The Depression and social life during the 1930’s
181 – Memories of Treadwell and Lafe Twitchell’s political activities and philosophy
246 – Family life on the Twitchell farm
292 – Early automobiles; hauling grain; her father’s road construction outfit
394 – Her work as a manager of Twitchell farm after her father’s death and difficulties of getting the farm out of debt
501 – Her mother; family history
655 – Impact and influence of the radio
683 – Obtaining electricity; the luxury of a bathroom
723 – Women’s suffrage movement; her father’s political campaigns and his terms as Sheriff
791 – The Twitchell’s reactions to Roosevelt’s New Deal; her father’s political allies
853 – Her marriages and her social life
925 – End of interview
Tape #9 Mr. E. A. Bowers (Fargo)
Tape A
000 – Introduction
020 – Family background; Father comes to Valley with horses to break land
042 – Father goes to gold country
062 – Father carpenters for railroad
084 – Father works on Stern building; Mother’s background; Other relatives
127 – Uncle’s Fargo Cigar Factory; Fargo Fire; Fargo’s early business district; Father and grandfather’s contracting firm
198 – Leading men in early Fargo
236 – Loan practices among early businessmen
260 – 30 day divorces in Fargo; Headquarters Hotel; Paving streets with blocks; Circus tears up street
318 – Entertainment in Fargo; Buffalo Bill; Ringling Brothers; Area provides horses for circus
349 – Circus camel is shot and goes to Masonic Temple
369 – More circus recollections
402 – More on cigar factory; Fargo Fire
452 – Fargo rebuilds after fire; More entertainment; Medicine shows; Horse racing; Fair grounds
570 – Cars; Barney Oldfield; Airplanes
622 – Fargo law enforcement; IWW; Brothels; Transients; Vigilantes; Front Street
756 – Liquor in Fargo; Selling artesian drinking water
800 – Municipal water; Early Indian story; Fargo before statehood as he heard about it
876 – Electricity in Fargo; Childhood pranks with railroad fuses
TAPE B
000 – Mr. Bower’s employment
036 – Fargo’s first dump grounds
049 – Father’s breaking outfit and acquaintances with early bonanza operations; Twitchell recollections
074 – Territory Marshal Hagart and transportation of Chinese West; Working on Hagart’s farm
122 – More on early Fargo business district; Fargo mayoral story from earlier days
156 – Recollections about NPL leaders; Burdick in Mexico; Burdick’s Fargo house
233 – Ku Klux Klan in Fargo
302 – One experience working on a farm
336 – A. C. Townley; Bill Langer; Moses week of prayer for rain
383 – Hard times in the depression in Fargo business and bank failures; Langer’s moratorium reception in Fargo; Bill collecting
552 – Evaluation of New Deal programs
615 – Flu epidemic in Fargo
717 – SIDE TWO
717 – Doctors in early Fargo; Mother’s hospital
748 – Women’s Suffrage; WCTU; Fargo churches
787 – Nationalities in Fargo and Cass County
814 – Entertainment for kids in early Fargo; Football games and inter-city rivalries; Gang fights
903 – Brothels in Fargo; Blacks in Fargo; Al Jolson in Fargo; More entertainment; Shoot-outs between cops and bootleggers; Caruso story
074 – Early fairs in Fargo; Shrine circuses
165 – Masonic Lodge development; Shrine potentates; Shrine parades
267 – A prostitute’s grave and verse for the headstone
301 – Radio in Fargo; WDAY’s beginnings; Martin Hector
419 – End of interview
Tape #10 George Alberts (Fargo) (Traill County)
000 – Introduction
021 – Family history; Hoboes; Klapp Land Company; Hiring transients
132 – Nationalities; Rural school; Language problems; Schoolhouse; Threshing machine
193 – Neighbors; Baseball; Dances; Churches; Galesburg businesses
300 – Telephone; Her parents; Central Office; More Galesburg businesses; Elevators; Siblings
378 – Leaves farm; Marriage; Works at Fargo; Nichols and Shepard Company; Case tractor
463 – Allis Chalmers tractors; Buick auto; Gas tractors; Service territory
577 – Travelling service territory; Servicing tractors; Gas tractors; Steam engines
709 – Steam breaking outfits; Grandmother
814 – Carpentry; 30’s Depression; Loan companies
916 – Carpenter wages and hours
Comment: This interview has extensive coverage about 20’s and 30’s tractors
Tape #11 Mrs. Sarah McMillan (Fargo)
000 – Introduction
021 – Family history; auto companies; Children; Hospital; Doctors; Dakota Clinic
141 – Nicholet Avenue; Central High Fire; 1918 Influenza Epidemic
261 – Trains; The Herbsts; DeLendrecies
379 – Grocery store; Meat market; Dairy products
447 – Electric refrigeration; Movies; Organs; Fargo theater
520 – Orchen Theater; Road shows; Fair; The Gardner; Daytons
617 – Circuses; Streets; Schools
761 – WCTU; American National Cattlemen’s Association
897 – 30’s Depression; Welfare; Red Cross; “Open Kettle”
Tape #12 Earl Branick (Fargo) (Stark County)
000 – Introduction
021 – Family history; Sod house; Dickinson Motor Company
131 – Autos; Family history; Autos
220 – Cigar maker; Dickinson to Fargo drive; Roads; Garage and Tire shop
310 – Social life; “Blind pigs”; Law enforcement; Killing dogs; Doctors; Dances; Baseball; Winter sports; Dances
400 – Nationalities; Dickinson; Education; Nationality and education problems
484 – Tire business; Doctors; Diphtheria; Driving doctors to rural areas
604 – Tires; Vulcanizing; Flat tires; Buick and auto mechanics; Anesthetist
698 – Auto mechanics; Steam auto; Administering chloroform
787 – Retreaded tires; Tire improvements
884 – Tire handling patents
930 – SIDE TWO
930 – Other patents; 1918 Influenza Epidemic; Fargo medical force
052 – Military service; Airplane flights; Alaska
178 – Learns flying; Alaska; Manufacturing business
225 – World War I morale; Tire business; World War II manufacturing and tire business; Unemployment
304 – Sand storms; Drought years; Morale Banks
353 – 20’s social organizations; Dickinson Elks
458 – Alaska flight
552 – Alaska flight
637 – Medicine shows; Ku Klux Klan
728 – William Langer; Drought; World War II manpower
856 – End of interview
Comment: This interview contains a variety of informative topics concerning tire manufacturing
Tape #13 Mrs. L. E. Correll (Casselton) (Cass County)
000 – Introduction
020 – Family history; Dalrymple Farm; Cheeney Farm; Elton Farm; Cass Farm
090 – Superintendent of Dalrymple Farms; Elevators Farm management system
150 – Family members; John Dalrymple I; Oliver Dalrymple
204 – Mrs. Oliver Dalrymple; Daily life; Social life
321 – Hotel; Ladies
410 – Shopping; General stores; Hired men housing; Cooks; Hired men
502 – Threshing rigs; Maid; Other farmers
604 – Eastern settlers; A threshing day
710 – SIDE TWO
710 – Picture description; Education; Elementary School
775 – William Langer; Politics; Dalrymples
874 – House; Dalrymples
918 – Sell farm; Women’s Suffrage; Kerosene lamps
011 – Nieharts; Indoor bathroom; 30’s Depression
090 – Train and bus service; Circuses; Dalrymple Station
201 – Roads; Streets; Husband
265 – End of interview
Tape #14 Frank Pranke (Fargo)(Wells County)
000 – Introduction
020 – Family history; Education; Jobs; Marriage; Moves to Minnesota; Takes over father’s farm
093 – Family history; Jamestown Brewery; Sod house
184 – Fuel; Flax burners; Sowing seed; Dragging; Horsepower rig; Flail
283 – Land; Horsepower rig; Steam threshing rig
324 – Hired men; Winter foods; Nationalities
353 – Education; School nationality problems; School day
440 – Otto Krueger; School terms; Children
549 – Sykeston; Railroad; Ford auto; Roads
620 – Education; Board and rooms; Fessenden; General Store
730 – Grocery store; Fessenden social life
818 – Religion; Bryce Streibel; Move from farm to Fessenden; Children
954 – SIDE TWO
954 – Leaves home; Goes to Montana; Interstate College
064 – Meal prices; Tuition; Matson Restaurant
105 – Movies; Dances; Musicians; Travelling shows; Silent movies; Crystal Ball Gazers
192 – Hotels
252 – Disreputable sections; Streets; Railroad hotel; Donaldson Hotel
313 – Politics; NPL; Streibel; Farmers Union versus other businesses
367 – Farmers Union Oil Company
433 – 30’s Depression; 1918 – 1936 grain prices
500 – First tractor; Land in 20’s and 30’s; Better crop years; Grain prices
602 – Fertilizer; Summer fallowing; Wheat varieties; Durum variety
674 – Electricity; WPA; Roads; Neighborliness
871 – End of interview
Comment: Frank’s topic concerning local organization of Farmers Union is of informative value to the listener
Tape #15 Mrs. Lucille McNair (Fargo)
000 – Introduction
020 – Family history; Children; Theater; Dancing clubs
121 – Musicians; Dancing Clubs; Theaters; Plays
210 – Hacks; First impressions of Fargo; Stores; Restaurants
328 – Restaurant prices; Grocery store; Dairy products
392 – Refrigeration; Mushrooms
443 – 1918 Influenza Epidemic; Women’s Suffrage
516 – WCTU; Cigarettes
607 – 30’s Depression; Train service; Episcopal Church
705 – End of interview
Tape #16 Mrs. W. W. Lorshbough (Fargo)
000 – Introduction
020 – (His) Family history; Elliot Hotel
130 – (Her) Family history; Headquarters Hotel; Move to Ohio
230 – Headquarters Hotel; Custer Massacre widows; Family history
268 – 1893 Fire
386 – Fire Department; Residential district; First National Bank
466 – Prairie; W.H. White home; Fifth Avenue (Monroe); Washington Street
521 – Fire celebrations; Clothing stores; Grocery store; Dairy products; Refrigeration
599 – Water; Bathtub; Pumps
635 – City cows; Farms; Fruit and Vegetable Market
TAPE B
009 – Education; Dr. Kent Darrell; Students
088 – School term; Students; Sells farm
145 – Dalrymples; Missouri River Traffic; Canoe parties; Picnics; Motorboats
169 – H.F. Chaffee; John C. Miller
290 – Jim Hill; Churches; W.H. White
382 – Episcopalian railroad car; Churches
435 – Church activities; Sundays
527 – Social life; Dances; “Teddy Roosevelt”
661 – Waldorf Operetta
707 – SIDE TWO
707 – Sidewalks; Opera houses; C.P. Walker; Curtain Time; Opera houses
810 – Medicine shows; Triplets; Circuses; Slough
873 – Circuses; Fair; Alexander McKenzie
926 – Thomas McKenzie; Police force; Hospitals
012 – The Haggerots; The Roberts; “First White child born”
124 – Leading families; Women’s clubs; Hotel menus
301 – Nationalities; Early settlers; N.K. Hubbard & Company
Comment: This interview entails a variety of informative topics about early 1900’s in Fargo including the fire of 1893.
Tape #17 Dr. O. A. Stevens (Fargo)
000 – Introduction
017 – Family history; Education; Retires from teaching; Stevens Hall; Faculty; Departments
098 – Teaching position; Faculty; Pure Seed Law
166 – Botanist duties; Quack grass seed; Percentage toleration; Quack grass severity
231 – Quack grass eradication; Farm support; Pure Seed Law
341 – Publications; Grain varieties; Publications
411 – Publications; Newspaper column; Biology Department
494 – College’s impact on farms; Dr. C. B. Waldren
590 – Professors; Dr. Edwin Ladd; Weeds
697 – Professor Bolley’s book; Mushrooms; Student assistants
793 – Students; Assistant
863 – Biology Master Degrees; Students
923 – SIDE TWO
923 – Students; A plant; Protein in wheat
963 – Salary; Enrollment; Biology Department expansion; Faculty
026 – Difficult times; Depression’s affect; Summer fallowing
116 – Faculty; Student equality; State impressions
208 – Colleague change; Scholarships; Harris’ Sparrow; Bird species
300 – President Shepperd; Harris’ Sparrow; Bees
405 – Sells bee collection; Weed study; Meadowlarks
543 – Discussion of birds in general
696 – Species of sparrows
849 – End of interview
Comment: Dr. Stevens comments on a variety of botanist and grain topics as well as education, bee and bird studies at NDSU.
Tape #18 J. Walter Wadeson (Fargo)
000 – Introduction
019 – Family history; Threshing rigs; Fuel; Settlers; School
101 – Family history; Lay sharpening; Wheatland; Nationalities
165 – Nationalities in school; First crops; Crop yields
203 – Barn dances; Medicine show; Travelling salesmen; Family in politics
297 – 30’s Depression; Farm Holiday Association; Population mood
321 – End of interview
Tape #19 Oscar Brakke (Fargo)
000 – Introduction
020 – Family history; Oxen; Farming with horses; Homestead; Log house
120 – Fuel; Seeding; Parents; Neighbors; Kindred; Railroad
198 – Threshing; School; Teachers
252 – Church; Minister; Siblings
316 – Lutheran Church; School lessons; Attends Moorhead school; Language and nationalities in school
400 – School terms; Staying home from school; Parents learning English; Midwives
443 – Neighborliness; House material; Preserving food; Cattle drive
518 – Horses; Cattle; Icehouse; Sell butter
609 – Peddlers; Sewing; Grocery supplies; Kindred stores; Father aids people coming to US
TAPE B
001 – Photo description; Cattle; Pigs
041 – Dances; Picnics; Gypsies; Threshing machine
095 – Threshing crew; Sacking and hauling grain; Horses for grain wagons; Threshing together; Buying threshing machine together
140 – Main crops; Attends Moorhead College; Students; Moorhead
220 – Student discipline; Works on farm; Farmland acreage; Hired help; Brother
272 – Hardware business; Stores in Davenport; Implement machinery line
354 – John Deere Buggies; Dodges; Model T’s; Buys inventory
426 – Customer credit; Customers; Friends; Hotel; Lumberyard and school at Davenport
493 – Windmills and other merchandise
581 – IH Binder; William Guy; World War I parts and machinery availability
641 – World War I opposition; Depression’s affect; Davenport crops in 30’s; Loan business
700 – End of interview
Comment: This interview differs from many others in that it contains topics on a Hardware & Implement business
Tape #20
Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Utke (Enderlin) (Ransom County)
000 – Introduction
017 – Sugar prices; Sheldon; Railroad; (His) family history; Photo description; Buys land
124 – Railroad buys land; Other buyers; Father’s land; Works for Dalrymple; Siblings; Buys land
222 – Father’s general description; Photo description; Shopping at Sheldon
305 – Tailor; Harnessing mule; Childhood; Siblings; Neighbors
399 – School; Working of farm; Attends school in Kansas City
460 – Father’s machines; IWW; Going into town
540 – Works for Soo Line and Nash Motor; Marriage
577 – (She) Comes to North Dakota; School; Lives with uncle
646 – Meets husband; Works in Chaffee; Father’s farm
697 – Threshing; Bunkhouse; Threshing crews
764 – Hoboes; Hobo train accident
810 – Digging sewer; Negroes; IWW workers
908 – Man dies of Cholera
935 – SIDE TWO
935 – Moves into house; Water; 30’s Depression
000 – Enderlin; Photo description; Hotel; Roundhouse; Baseball
162 – Nationalities; Anti-German feeling; Wars
220 – Doctors; Midwives; Veterinarians
293 – Neighborliness; Home remedies; Watkins and Wards Liniment
331 – Fish peddlers; Gypsies; Horse traders; John Phei; Area towns
397 – Baseball; John Deere Implement; Area towns
484 – Electricity; William Langer; NPL; A. C. Townley; Farmers Union; Farm Bureau
543 – Grain; Cattle and pig prices; 30’s discouragement; Foreclosures
595 – NPL; Democratic and Republican Parties; WPA; Gravel pit
638 – Telephone; REA; Delco Plant
706 – Social life; VFW; School District Treasurer
762 – Telephone companies; Electrical Plant; Otter Tail Power Company
804 – George Pagel; Silver Zephyr
844 – End of interview
Tape #21 Mr. and Mrs. Walter Martin (Chaffee)
000 – Introduction
020 – Claim shanty; (His) Family history; Maple River
126 – Water wells; Alkali water; Move house; Stucco school
170 – Father is elected County Commissioner; Moves to Chaffee; Education; Father elected County Treasurer; Moves to Fargo; Education; Returns to Chaffee; Siblings
185 – Chaffee; Businesses and businessmen; “Blind pig”; Photo description
224 – Doctor; Hardware Store; Drugstore; George Pagel; Farmers Elevator; Grain grades; Farmers Security Bank
277 – Blacksmith; Doctor; Pool hall; Milking cows
311 – H.F. Chaffee; Amenia-Sharon Land Company; Father in politics; Driving horses during snowstorm
432 – People freezing during snowstorms; Siblings
505 – (Her) Family history; Nationalities; Tree Claim Act
561 – Area towns; Nationalities; Lynchburg; Chaffee declination
615 – Railroad; Chaffee’s customer perimeter; Area towns
670 – Prohibition; “Bootlegging”; Social life; Sociality
716 – Mission Festival; Nationality churches; Denominations; Presbyterian changes to E.U.B.; Catholics
809 – Protestant and Catholic conflicts; Republican Party; Farmers Union and co-op movements; Embden; Farmers Holiday Association
896 – Farmers Union and co-op deterioration
915 – End of interview
Comment: This interview notes the formation of Chaffee. Mr. and Mrs. Martin also offer more church and denominational information than many others in this collection.
Tape #22 Louie Schultz (Chaffee) (Sargent County)
Tape A
000 – Introduction
024 – Family history; Breaking land with walking plow and oxen; Tying bundles with straw; Homestead; Wind storm; Tree Claim
098 – Farming with oxen; Marriage; Siblings; Railroad; Hauling with oxen; Fuel; Homestead location
148 – Neighborliness; Shooting wildlife; Fishing; Shopping; Trapping; Coyotes; Timber wolves
209 – Settlers using oxen; Artesian well; Surface well; Maple River trees
291 – Hail; ’33 Drought’ 30’s cattle and grain prices; Rust; Cutting wheat for straw
376 – Sand storm; Ruby Red Wheat; World War I crops; Armenia-Sharon Land Company; Buys land
507 – Nationalities; Moravian Church; Sermons; Durbin School; Works at home; Plays in Orchestra
594 – Marriage; Steam rigs; Dalrymple Farms
656 – Binders; Threshing rig; Casselton Elevator; The Dalrymples; Hired men; Durbin crops
706 – Stacking grain; Red River oxen carts; Railroad; Threshing rig
775 – Seeding; Walking plow; Farm livestock
849 – Making hay; Horse mower
TAPE B
000 – Introduction
009 – “Buckers”; Acre wheat yieldage; Farm; Winters; in 1880’s and 1890’s
098 – Chaffee businesses and businessmen; Hotel Elevators
185 – Power plant; High line wires; Telephone
248 – Doctors; Dentist; McCormick International; “Blind pigs”; Dance drinking; Lodges and fraternal organizations
350 – Church events; Roller skating; Theater; Livery barn; Pool hall
401 – Neighborliness; Family cooperation; “Babysitters”; Barn dances
516 – WPA projects and workers
589 – Franklin D. Roosevelt; NPL; Farmers Union
648 – Churches
701 – End of interview
Comment: This interview covers a variety of early 1900 topics
Tape #23 Ralph Powers (Durbin)
Tape A
000 – Introduction
020 – Comes to ND; Works on farms; Goes to Washington; Meets wife
057 – Nationalities; Moravian Church; Marriage
160 – Farmers Holiday Association; Removing and placing people on farms; Farm Holiday Board
262 – Farm Holiday members; Gaining members; Usher L. Burdick
310 – William Langer; William Lemke; 1912-1930 crops; 30’s crops; Rust
409 – War year crop prices; Better crop years; Grasshoppers; Aerial spraying; Dust storms
458 – Durbin; Flour mill; Hammer mill; Feed mill; Area marketing towns; Hotel; Saloons
501 – Businessmen; Area towns
582 – Threshing rig; Separator; Large farm operators
675 – Average farm size
TAPE B
000 – Introduction
010 – Barn dances; Card parties; Moravian Church; Area churches; Social life; Baseball
078 – Prohibition; Farmers Union; County Agent; Compares Farmers Union and Farm Bureau; Soil Conservation
159 – Production Credit Association; Substations; Loans
214 – Soil Conservation Service; District area; Helpfulness; Farmer attitude toward change
249 – Red River Valley ditching and drainage; Soil Conservation drainage decisions; Electricity; REA
306 – Telephone; Doctors; 1918 Influenza Epidemic
330 – End of interview
Comment: Mr. Powers discusses Production Credit Association more than many others in this collection.
Tape #24 Peder O. Ekre (Kindred)
000 – Introduction
020 – Family history; House; Comes to ND
118 – Walcott Township schools; Education; First area impression; Trees; Prairie grass
147 – Nationalities; Education; Siblings; Farming with horses and oxen; Father’s land
206 – Threshing machine; Father’s crops; Walcott; Silver Prairie
272 – Goes West; Comes back to ND; Works with father; Rents land; Gets married
331 – Buys and farms land; Wife and family; Barn built in 1888
404 – Good and bad crop years; Dust storms; Land description
479 – Social life; Medicine shows; Sociality; Lutheran Church; Walcott churches
540 – Barn dances; Musicians; Children; Richland County Drainage Board
610 – Joins Walcott church; Committeeman for Walcott AAA; AAA requirements; Compares Farmers Union and National Producers Alliance
707 – End of interview
Comment: Especially notable in this interview are Mr. Ekre’s comments on AAA and National Producers Alliance.
Tape #25 Mr. and Mrs. Jim McGuigan (Leonard) (Golden Valley County)
000 – Introduction
020 – (His) Family history; Canadians leave area; John and Ross Andrew; Irish families
120 – Norwegian and German intermarriage; Larry Sprunk’s home; Father’s work with scythe; Sharpening scythes; Photo description
162 – Family history; Siblings; Dalrymple sells land; Works as agricultural censor
227 – One of the Dalrymple Farms; Tree Claim Act; Price of land
281 – Bank closing; Everest businesses; Father’s homestead
334 – Education; Churches; ’36 Winter; Education
421 – Threshing rigs; Stacking shocks for better grain; Threshing system
579 – Threshing crews; (She) works in cook car; IWW
680 – IWW; Foreigners; IWW worker strike problems
722 – Buying and working threshing rig together; Feeding threshing crews
799 – Custom combiners; Unskilled and alcohol drinking threshing crews
899 – Threshing crews; Area towns
938 – SIDE TWO
938 – Woods; Fargo Southwestern Train; Paying for grain; Monarch Elevator Company
997 – The coming back of smaller towns; Elevators; Leonard stores
012 – Davenport; Tendency toward larger farms; Machines versus manual labor
070 – Political parties; Planting trees programs; Rural Electrification; Otter Tail Power Company; REA; Northwestern Bell Telephone Company
145 – Electrification and telephone years; Repeating call box NPL; A. C. Townley
204 – Grain Trust manipulation; REA; NPL strength; Political emotionality; The Shriners
250 – NPL; The poor man and the middlemen; IVA; NPL joins Democratic Party; NPL; Democrat and IVA popularity percentage
300 – Dorgan-Andrews and Young-Guy political prediction
325 – (Her) Family history; Description of shack father builds; Experiences on train to Beach
416 – Photo description of houses and granary father built; Family’s sleeping quarters; Father helps neighbors thresh; Food; Cow dies
480 – Family history; Midwives; Doctors
573 – Home remedies; Watkins Liniment; Alcohol availability; Jag Wagon
666 – Rattlesnakes; Education; Reasons for homesteading at Beach
802 – 1918 Influenza Epidemic
Comment: This interview contains discussion of the IWW topic more than many others in this collection. It also discusses electrification and telephone power lines to some greater extent than others.
Tape #26 Lester Chaffee (Amenia)
000 - Introduction
018 – Family history; Amenia-Sharon Land Company; Description of self-supporting farms; Land is tested by East and land company is organized
111 – Company gives bonds to railroad; Railroad issues land’ Grandfather’s homestead; Railroad owned township land; Easterners invest in area land development
156 – Grandfather states raising wheat; Railroad comes through; Elevator; Average size farm; Steam tractors; Stationary separators; Kinds of horses
185 – Father’s first car; Chaffee nationality; Family history; Constitutional Convention
248 – William L. Guy; Siblings; Frank Lynch; Chaffee and Lynchburg established; Jim Hill; Gather builds Red River Valley and Western
302 – Amenia-Sharon Land Company; Company diversifies; New office is built
327 – Father’s character; Anecdote of father; Homesteader and buying land; Amenia Elevator Company
418 – John Miller Land Company; Graduates from college; Farming operation
534 – Acreage; The Dalrymples; Labor crews; Family farming versus hired men farming
576 – Relationships with Dalrymples; Family loses land through foreclosures; Works with architecture
622 – Amenia-Sharon Land Company tenant elevators; Dalrymple Elevators; Early experience at driving; Amenia-Sharon Land Company labor forces; Buildings and crews
709 – Company finances farmers; Steam engine threshing; Threshing crews; Combines
778 – Mowing thistles; Weed sprays; Grain and varieties awareness
817 – Developing a variety of corn; Biennial Sweet Clover
937 – SIDE TWO
937 – Pedigree bees; Seed plant; Plowing under green manure
000 – Kindred Barley; Corn; His parents
091 – Father’s reasons for being aboard Titanic; Relates events to father’s drowning
148 – Holding Company; Father’s Will of Estate; Brother’s Will of Estate
234 – Amenia-Sharon Land Company tenants buy land; Dalrymples sell land; Northwestern Mutual Insurance Company
275 – 30’s Depression; Farmers National Grain Association; ’36 grain prices
328 – Works in San Francisco area; Works for Bowing Aircraft Company; Comes back to ND
430 – First marriage; Lives on West Coast; San Francisco area
492 – Amenia’s history; Elevators; houses and buildings; Leading businessmen
569 – Nationalities; Swede Church; NPL
625 – ’12 Election; Political strength; Former Governor William Guy
694 – Garrison Dam; Future opinion of ND farm size; Comments on irrigation
807 – End of interview
Comments: Mr. Chaffee’s interview discusses the Amenia-Sharon Land Company to great extent. Mr. Chaffee discusses a variety of 1900 topics that mold his interview into a collector’s item.
Tape #27 John S. “Jack” Larson (Gardner)
000 – Introduction
020 – Family background; Father comes in territory days; Squatting on Sheyenne after Civil War; Father was a Limeburner; Father’s experiences with Indians; Buffalo bones in Red River Valley
101 – Father buys relinquishment from Civil War veterans; Red River ox carts; Father works for Northern Pacific Railroad; Brings mother and younger brother to relinquishment
164 – Father begins farming; Gets homestead and tree claim; Marries his cook; More on his first wife; Jack’s brothers and sister; Settlement in river valleys
287 – Pollution in rivers then and now; Typhoid a problem in early years; Nationalities in area; Nearest point for father’s supplies; One recollection of his father
381 – Recollection of the migration of people to western part of state; Boats on the Red River; Rainfall then and now; Drainage; Earl days of Gardner; businesses and schooling in Gardner; Roadwork machinery in early days
539 – Jack drafted into World War I; Flu Epidemic in Army base; Early crop yields and moisture; Swamp fever in horses; Different horse breeds in valley; Early farm machinery
709 – SIDE TWO
709 – Soil preparation for planting; Harvesting techniques; Nurse crops and rotation
768 – Grain prices through the years; Bonanza recollections; Opinion about current large farms; Opinion about current socio-economic-political conditions; Attitude about life; Age to marry then and now
931 – The family’s diversified farm; Sharing machinery then and now; NPL in valley; Voting tendencies in ND; Bill Langer
007 – Cass County Farm Holiday Association; Political division of townspeople and farmers by NPL and IVA; Opinion of Langer, Lemke, Frazier, and Townley; Surrounding towns; Marketing and shopping practices of early years
151 – Neighborliness and sociability then and now; Working together; Social life and recreation; Religious life and churches
233 – Steam plowing in area; Threshing rigs in area; The change in farming methods
420 – End of interview
Tape #28 Mrs. Anna Skue (Hunter)
000 – Introduction
020 – Family history; Father comes in 1876; Factors surrounding Father’s homestead; Oxen for transportation; Lumber up Red River by steamboat for homestead shack
109 – Nationalities around Hunter; Manpower needed for large farms; Train comes through area; Father’s oxen, mules and horses; Location of Anna’s school and father’s homestead
226 – Early Hunter; Neighbor’s wife wore pants; Appreciation for hard coal heater; Gale and Duffaney store; Early fuel for heating; More on early businesses
333 – Getting rid of Norwegian language in church; Experiences in Ladies Aid; Area midwife; WCTU and bootleggers; ;More on family and husband; Family’s name
415 – Background on husband; Reasons Anna quit school; Husband works around before they marry; Husband runs livery and the becomes mail carrier for 40 years; his routes and how he managed his routes
590 – Husband’s routine on mail route; Reliance on train; First car; Hunter’s doctor; ;Making ends meet while raising a family
690 – Influenza Epidemic of 1918
SIDE TWO
735 – More on Influenza Epidemic; Social life in early days; Whist parties; Churches organize women’s groups; Communities share ministers; Clifford as town
804 – Depression recollections; Electricity in Hunter; Story of a lady washing a union suit when the power went off; Story of another time the lights went off; Telephone in Hunter; Fires in Hunter; Relative size of Hunter through the years
906 – Banks in Hunter; Potato money lost in bank; Bootlegging; Women’s Suffrage
986 – First family radio; Favorite programs; Phonograph; Hunter’s newspaper; Catalog buying
006 – End of tape
Tape #29 Mrs. Bruce (Sarah) Brewer (Erie)
000 – Introduction
023 – Family history; Siblings; Family history
124 – Homesteading; Preemption; Religion
183 – Education; Erie originates; Railroads; Country schools
220 – Railroad comes in; School is built; Nationalities; Churches; Minister
275 – Paternal rules; Making one’s own things; Family relationships
300 – Visiting; Religious importance; Rush River; Water well
349 – Casselton; Farming with horses; Breeding horse
317 – Father’s farming land; Education
475 – Teaches school; Meets husband; Graduates from Mayville College; Teaches school
541 – Operate hotel; Husband breaks leg
619 – School teaching salary; Builds tennis court; Teaching English methods
730 – Comments of effects of old age; Banquets; Students Classic memorization
841 – Their land ownership; Operate hotel; Keeping their land in 30’s; Land mortgages; Seed and feed loans
919 – Operating hotel
926 – SIDE TWO
929 – Hotel operation; Hotel guests; Employees; Rooms; Baling old straw stacks; Hotel guest fees
966 – Comments of faith in human nature; Hotel Laundry; Crocheting; Family political affiliations
011 – Doctors; Businesses and businessmen; 1918 Influenza Epidemic; Take over hotel; Butcher shop; Hotel location
096 – Teachers high school; Class plays; Basketball
160 – Area town sizes; Political affiliation; John Conrad
203 – Area political parties; Legislature candidate; Women’s Suffrage
263 – Women’s Liberation Movement; Electricity; Neighborliness
310 – Smallpox; School disciplinary problems; Baseball; Horseracing; Father’s first car; Eight cylinder Chevrolet; Their honeymoon; Picnics; Tree prevalence
375 – Franklin D. Roosevelt; WPA; Dust storms
418 – 30’s discouragement; Neighbors lose land; Sells land to Game and Fish Department; Fish stocking; Fishing
492 – Flour mill; Hauling wheat to Valley City for flour; Goose River Road; The railroad
538 – Catalog ordering; Opinion of state; Her health
608 – Closing of high school and gymnasium; Comments of desire to relive her life
674 – End of interview
Comment: The most outstanding topic in this interview is this family’s operation of their hotel.
Tape #30 Warren Bayley, Sr. (Page)
000 – Introduction
021 – Family history; Grandfather’s homestead; Wisconsin settlers; Nationalities; Settler houses
130 – Early nearest town; Farming with horses and oxen; Bonanza farms; Amenia-Sharon Land Company; Prairie fires
187 – IWW workers; Water wells; Father’s education; Diversified farming; Threshing rig; His ancestors
259 – Flour mill; Buffalo lumber yard; Heating and cooking fuels
300 – First planted crops; Father buys land; Grandfather’s and father’s homestead locations; Siblings
380 – Father’s farming success; Working on farm; Alfalfa prevalence
430 – Father’s deafness; More about alfalfa; Cream separator; Mixing skim milk and barley
505 – Preparing land for planting; Harrows; Weeds; Prairie needles
558 – Soil preparation (1910 – 1912); Comments on fear of future; Soil nutrient knowledge
667 – 30’s Depression farming methods; 1910 – 1915 size farm; Present size farm
810 – Gets married; Fails at farming; Works for father; Good and bad crop years; Grasshopper poison
923 – SIDE TWO
928 – Comments on 30’s Page crop failure in comparison to other areas; Dust storms; 30’s population attitude
990 – People leave in 30’s; Buys tractor; WPA projects; Choice of farm markets: Lumber for Page buildings; Building Surrey Cut Off; Building Highway 38
058 – Telephones; Storing grain; Use of oats; Grain tanks
092 – Bail scoops; Area towns; Horse racing; Baseball
148 – Social activities; “Babysitter”; Community closeness
197 – Musicians; Family unity; Division between farm and townspeople
275 – Farming stigma; Political interest; A. C. Townley; Farm and townspeople socializing; First store in Ayr
360 – Cooperatives; Creameries; Employment agencies
440 – IWW; Hoboes; Threshing workers; Hobo Jungles
546 – Prohibition; “Blind Pigs”; Sewing; Feather stripping
647 – Three successful homesteader essentials; His wife’s education and teaching; Teachers’ community status
749 – Baseball; Blue Ribbon League
844 – End of interview
Comment: Mr. Bayley’s remarks on soil preparation, soil nutrient knowledge and methods of hauling grain are some of the more outstanding topics in this interview.
Tape #31 Mrs. Elmer Davis (Page) (Wells County)
000 – Introduction
021 – Family history; Meets husband; Nationality; Children; Gets married
075 – Midwife; 1898 in Page; The Davis farm; Canning; Pork meat preservation; Sykeston; Prairie; Coyotes; Wolves
131 – Church; Nationalities; Neighborliness; Education; Teaches with a standard; Comes to Page; Teaches school
183 – Doctors; Children; Financial problems; Children’s education; Their living locations; Hardware Store
247 – Dust storms; 30’s population discouragement
264 – End of interview
Tape #32 Robert E. Monilaws (Absaraka)
Tape A
000 – Introduction
021 – Family history; Portland Line Railroad
114 – Nationality; Family history; Reason for coming to ND; Blacksmith in Wheatland
209 – Settler nationalities; Portland Railroad as cause for settling in area
275 – Prairie fires; Wheatland doctor; Water and artesian wells
356 – Amenia-Sharon Land Company; Political affiliations; Alexander McKenzie machine
402 – Absaraka size; First settlers; Colonel Thompson; Portland Railroad; Ripon; Ripon store and elevator; William Staples
517 – First postmaster in Absaraka; Great Northern Railroad; Ripon’s location; Blacksmith shop
571 – Boys wear dresses; Stealing nails; Blacksmith duties; “Wheel Wrights”
660 – Community cooperation; Religions; Church; Minister; Relations with his father
706 – Plow lays and shears improvements; Breaking plow lays; Soft center lays; Shoes for horses
849 – Farming with oxen and mules; A blacksmith’s day and prices; Father’s stature; The Blacksmith shop
TAPE B
000 – Introduction
010 – Present size farm; Comments on tendency toward large farms
068 – Education; Begins farming; Siblings; 1905 – 1930 crops; Fertilizer and machinery as attributes to better farming
202 – Broadcast feeders; Boss Harrow; Portable steam engines; Hand-fed separators; Kinds of engines and separators
300 – Description of threshing personality; Threshing crew and some of the duties; Crew personalities
370 – IWW; Hobo Jungle; Relates incident of man interfering with hiring men
508 – Reasons for calling the early 1900’s “the good old days”; Hiring men during “the Depression Days”
588 – Dairy farm product prices; Milk prices; Neighborliness; Church and school as being the center of social functions; Autos contribute to lack of close neighborliness
675 – Objective in life – honesty
705 – End of interview
Tape #33 Mr. and Mrs. C. J. Nepp (Absaraka)
000 – Introduction
027 – Reason for coming to ND; Works for Great Western Railroad Company; (Her) Family history; Father’s businesses (He) works as station agent
154 – Station agent duties; Post office; Absaraka trains; Dray lines; 1915-1920 stores and towns supplied by railroad; Hunter businesses
215 – Water for trains; Pump house engine and operation; Boxcar shortages and size; Hauling gravel; Railroad’s use of gravel
301 – General Store; Catalog buying freight; Dried groceries; Other kinds of groceries; Implement dealership
362 – Absaraka personality and businesses; School buildings; Students
455 – Absaraka’s friendliness; High School teachers; Superintendent; WCTU; Other ladies’ organizations; Prohibition
501 – “Blind Pigs”; Taverns in Absaraka; Visiting; Box and Ice Cream Socials; Travelling men on railroad
572 – Livery barn; Respect for the railroad; (His) working hours; Their land; Retires
689 – Immigrant cars
700 – End of Interview
Tape #34 Edwin Griffin (Tower City)
000 – Introduction
022 – Family history; Father works for Dalrymples; Nationality; Father’s homestead; Railroad
098 – Oliver Dalrymple; Telephone office; First Bank building; Telephone company begins; Railroad comes through
144 – Flour mills; Nationalities; Dalrymple farm
204 – Farming with mules, oxen and horses; Father’s homestead; Dalrymples lumbering; Father’s seeding manner; Threshing machines
255 – Fuel; Water wells
306 – Prairie fires; Tower City fires; Description of Tower City’s early 1900’s prosperity; Funeral caretaker; Coffins
456 – Churches; Dances; “Blind Pigs”; Liquor stills
545 – WCTU; Preston Anderson; Box and Pie Socials; Townspeople and farm people communicating; Musicians
612 – Dances; Gets married; Siblings; Evening recreation
712 – SIDE TWO
712 – Custom threshing; Mother dies and father gets married again; 1890 – 1894 crops; “Dust Bowl”; Father’s farming operation; Curing ham
765 – 1918 Influenza Epidemic; Military service; Works in Hardware store; His wife; Works in Oriska
838 – Oriska employer; Works at Erie; Works on home farm; Works in Fargo
916 – Works as tax collector; Fargo’s DeLandrecies in 30’s; Comes back to Tower City
989 – His work at Tower City; Postmaster appointment; His political interests
053 – NPL; William Langer; L.B. Hanna
130 – Oriska postmaster political confusion; His opinion of who were ND outstanding politicians
196 – IWW; Compares early 1900 with present sociality of people
238 – WPA refuses him work; WPA projects; Children
325 – Providing for his family in the 30’s; Opinion of economic problems at the time of this interview and this time compared to 20’s and 30’s; Opinion of big farming
412 – End of interview
Comment: This interviewee’s comments on funeral caretakers and coffins is one of the least frequent subjects discussed in our collection of interviews; therefore, the reply – although short – is valuable.
Tape #35 Judge Ronald N. Davies
000 – Introduction
020 – Family history; His father’s work for Nonpartisan League newspapers
050 – Recollections of A. C. Townley, Lynn Frazier, William Lemke, and NPL activities
224 – Usher Burdick and the Farm Holiday Association; Quentin Burdick
294 – Recollections of Bill Langer
442 – The Independent Voters’ Association and other opponents of the Nonpartisan League; Anecdote on his arrangement of a bridge party between Langer and Grand Forks businessmen who opposed Langer
582 – Employment with Senator Lynn Frazier
615 – His reasons for choosing to practice law in North Dakota
707 – His struggles as a young lawyer; Memories of John Moses
768 – Practicing law during the Depression
862 – Social life during the Depression
910 – Changing quality and standards in the legal profession; the North Dakota Bar Association; His experiences as a lawyer and as a Federal District Judge
022 – Experiences as a student at the University of North Dakota; Ku Klux Klan activities during the 1920’s
070 – Recollections of criticism of college professors for political beliefs; Financial problems of North Dakota schools
149 – Recollections of A. C. Townley
167 – End of interview
Tape #36 Mr. and Mrs. W. A. Cooke (Fargo) (Divide County)
000 – Introduction
021 – (His) Reason for coming to ND; Works as a page in Senate; Wilfred Canan; John Baer; NPL Symbol
167 – Courier News staff; Courier News building
258 – A. C. Townley; Wilfred Canan (Billican) leaves ND; Begins with Courier News; ’21 Capitol Session; Old Capitol Building
411 – ’21 Capitol fist fight; Lafe Twitchell
521 – NPL legislature men; Comments on Capitol business conducted in cloakrooms
605 – Senator Mason; Comments on joint sessions of State Bank, Mill and Elevator
679 – William Langer and William Lemke (Brains behind NPL)
711 – SIDE TWO
711 – ’21 Courier News finances; Scandinavian Courier Bank; Salary; Adolph Bowman; Courier insurrection; Wilfred Canan loses job
799 – Begins work with Forum; Machines and type used on Courier and Forum
836 – 30’s Depression causes loss of wages; Linotypes at Forum; Controversial financing over William Lemke’s house; Location of Lemke’s house
901 – Mother’s musical talents; Wife’s father as first sheriff of Divide County
987 – (Her) Family history; Father’s political terms as sheriff; Shoot-out with Bigelow Boys; Ambrose and Crosby County Seat disputes
108 – Father and NPL compete; Mother; House in Munich; Hotel; Early 1900 Munich businesses
260 – Reasons for parents coming to ND; Homestead house; Reasons for leaving Crosby
360 – “Blind Pigs”; Preparing homemade whiskey
416 – End of Interview
Comment: This interviewee’s comments on the Courier News, William Canan, cartoonist, and kinds of machines used at Fargo Forum are the outstanding topics on this cassette. Mrs. Cooke’s comments on her father’s term as Divide County Sheriff are also invaluable.
Tape #37 Walter D. “Dewey” Forsberg (Fargo) (Sargent County)
000 – Introduction
021 – Family history; Reasons for coming to ND; Reasons for leaving Norway; Homestead from Oakes; Account of his mother as a woman homesteader
153 – Homemade flowers; Mother brings girls from Europe to US
204 – Mother lives in sod home; Builds frame home; First church in Oakes; His father; Father’s family; Reasons for coming to US
275 – Reasons for coming to ND; Regrets of leaving Sweden; Farm near Oakes
332 – Build hotel; His birthplace; Broadway property; More about hotel
382 – Education
444 – Works in Chicago; Home social life; Girls from Europe
516 – Theater; Opera; Opera House
564 – Prominent families; Description of Fargo; Restaurants; “Divorce Capitol”
674 – Leading hotel; Street construction; Streetcars
739 – Livery Stable; Train service; Mother’s farm
848 – Mother’s income; Hotel interests; Political interests
927 – SIDE TWO
927 – WCTU; Women’s Suffrage; 1918 Influenza Epidemic
976 – House and its furnishings; Paintings; Large piano
063 – Steuben Crystal; Astro lamps; Photographs; Certificates
110 – End of interview
Comment: This interview is short; however, “Dewey” Forsberg’s comments about his mother’s life as a woman homesteader are outstanding and colorful. Other informative topics are “The Hotel” and “Girls from Europe.”
Tape #38 Mr. and Mrs. J. A. Jameson (West Fargo)
000 – Introduction
020 – Reason for coming to ND; Works for Armour Meat Packing; Comes to West Fargo; Haggart Farms; Mayor; Incorporated houses; Frogs; Armour wages
093 – Armour equipment; location; plants and employees; Armour houses; Parks; Riverside
191 – Plant cattle slaughtering; Processing procedure; His responsibilities; New plants
232 – Change in meat processing; Methods of butchering; Emulsified leather
276 – Rabbi slits cattle throats; Slaughtering equipment; Office employees
347 – Pavement in ’29; Travels around state on job; Fertilizer products; Stockyards
453 – Bank of Horace, Doctor, Druggist, William Langer in trouble over State Mill and Elevator
545 – Local William Langer supporters; Doctor; Amour work week; Unions; 30’s Armour strike
653 – 30’s Armour wages
709 – SIDE TWO
709 – Armour strike organizers; Union attitude toward farmers coming in to work; Sioux City, Iowa; Armour strike; His actions during strike; IWW
762 – Armour Plant closes; 30’s effect Armour operation; 30’s Armour butchering quota
814 – Picture description of road leading to plant; Electricity; Cooking with gasoline; Bottle gas
846 – Hotel; Former Post Office location; Elevator; Businesses within hotel; Taverns; Druggist
880 – Elected mayor of West Fargo; House rent; Police Force
002 – Sewage system; Electricity; Armour Power Plant; Armour houses
083 – Social life; Elks club; Paving begins; Skating rink; Parks
213 – NP Railroad; Fare from Fargo to West Fargo; Depot
272 – West Fargo’s growth; Friendliness
383 – End of interview
Comment: Mr. Jameson’s comments on the Armour Processing Plant are a foremost topic contained in this interview.
Tape #39 Mr. Basil Drake (This interview applies mainly to Ramsey and Towner Counties)
000 – Introduction
020 – Reasons for coming to North Dakota and family history
045 – Work as a surveyor
082 – Family history
103 – Work as a cowboy in Texas
126 – Return to ND from Texas
145 – The “Minnie H,” a boat on Devils Lake
182 – Working for farmers near Devils Lake
202 – Account of Charlie Copeland and his loan of money to Drake
220 – His farm; Open range; Buffalo herds
272 – Towns in the area northwest of Devils Lake
315 – Early settlers in the area
355 – Threshing by flail
384 – His first house on the farm; Fuel used for heat
433 – Raising cattle; Crossing buffalo and cattle
515 – Prairie fires
539 – Crossing cattle and buffalo
564 – Effect of severe snow storms on railroads and cattle
645 – Open range
672 – Charlie Copeland’s loan to Drake
724 – Social life and entertainment
757 – Song “Father is a Drunkard and Mother is Dead”
845 – Family history
853 – Religion; Churches
872 – Family history
927 – SIDE TWO – Early medical care
940 – Stage coach lines
960 – Pause
033 – Catching wild geese; Wildlife in the area
091 – Farming during the 1930’s; Getting credit from stores
118 – Good crop years – 1914
133 – Breaking sod with oxen intermingled with story of George Timms
175 – Farming with steam engines
232 – The Copeland family
273 – Politics; no involvement in same
287 – Recitation of poem “Wreck of the Hesperus”
358 – Story of his daughter’s acting talent
402 – Schools in the area
414 – The McGee family
453 – Cattle rustlers and horse thieves
478 – Untitled doggerel verse
488 – Account of hanging near Colorado
537 – Threshing
561 – Thoughts on people, formerly and presently
590 – Self-sufficiency on his farm
634 – Recollections of good horses
701 – Farming with horses and mules
750 – End of interview
Comment: This interview applies almost entirely to Ramsey and Towner Counties. Mr. Drake’s recollections of early settlers in the area are perhaps the best portions of the tape. Anecdotes abound in this interview, held shortly before Mr. Drake’s 100th birthday.
Tape #40 Sophus Trom (Casselton)
000 – Introduction
021 – Family history; Kindred Blacksmith Shop and Hotel; Reasons for leaving Norway; Wheel work at Kindred Blacksmith Shop
173 – Horseshoeing business; Anvils; Prices
302 – Fargo Blacksmith Shop; Shodding a horse
388 – Area blacksmiths; Father blacksmiths at Amenia; Location of blacksmith shops in Casselton; Blacksmith Shop becomes Metal Work Shop
456 – Another blacksmith in Casselton; Father buys shop; Works in father’s shop; Works at Kindred garage; Enters gas welding business with father
506 – Effect of gas and tire rationing on their business; Their business; Remodel cultivators; Build “buckers” for tractors
615 – Remodel binders to windrowers; Builds a loader for beet cultivation
714 – SIDE TWO
714 – Comments on a beet loader permit; Beet loader power; Loader owners in area; Hay bucker lifting; Rules of learning a trade
780 – Family history; Parents’ burial
839 – Blacksmithing success in ’31; Food and clothing prices; Business profits in 30’s; Begins travelling with direct current welder and Packard Hearse; Lindsey Road Construction Company
904 – Acetylene tanks; Electric welder and advantages; Forge Twitcher Shop
962 – Forge blower; Coal for blower; Power hammer operation; Plow lays
066 – Area town blacksmiths; Blacksmithing declines in 30’s; He stops blacksmithing
116 – Blacksmith work on steam engines; Making parts for engines
224 – Working on cisterns; Making homemade nails; A horseshoe nail
299 – Successful blacksmithing years; Blacksmithing begins declination
354 – Sharpening plow lays
415 – End of interview
Comment: Informative topics especially appreciated in this interview were blacksmithing and rebuilt machinery.
Tape #41 Bobby Vee “Robert Veline” (Fargo)
000 – Introduction
021 – Comments on colonialism in ND; Progress of strip mining in ND, Wyoming, and Montana
047 – Family history; Parents move from Lisbon to Fargo; Reasons for his interest in music; Musical atmosphere when his interest began; Inspirational singers influencing his interest; First musical engagement
140 – Other local groups; First record; The name “Shadows” originates
208 – Contract with Liberty Records; Public and magazine images of Bobby Vee; Length of time group stayed together
278 – Group success complex problems; Replaces bass player; Other records; Record “Devil or Angel: begins his solo success; Gold Records; Tours with “Shadows”
331 – Brother leaves group; Group Dissolves; Produces another group; English Rock enters the musical chart; Tours in England; Doing shows in New York
417 – 50’s and 60’s mode of music and singers; His voice compared to Buddy Holly
516 – Tribute to Buddy Holly; Reactions to his music
579 – His reaction to Bob Zimmerman; The Beatles; The Beatle influence on the music chart
681 – Comments on music of the 70’s; Comments on music of the 50’s; Factors influence music and music influences environment; Country Western inspiration to his music
782 – Comments on John Prine and Kris Kristofferson; Musicians’ success satisfaction
850 – Buddy Holly and Jim Croce success; Comments on Bob Dylan; Comments on music of 50’s
926 – SIDE TWO
926 – Dancing; Comments on environmental influence effecting human characteristics; Musical influence on his personality; ND born effect of his career; Comments on ND population and their attitude toward their state
995 – Compares Midwest and other teenage character differences
032 – Musical contracts; Record business in general; His legal advice upon entering his career; Disc jockeys influence record business; ND radio stations
105 – Choosing a good record; Radio record promotion; A 50’s payola; 60’s album success; Album profit; Record prices; Sir Douglas Quintet
198 – People he worked with; His marriage; Children; Travelling with a group; His national exposure; Marriage effects publicity
300 – Movie theater; Acting instruction; Psychedelic music; “Acid Rock”
411 – Music categorization; Song writers; Carole King; 1959-1972 singles on chart; Ridicule of former year music
525 – A music come back; Family life; Life on tour
612 – Impressions of present political time; Politics; Futility among young people
717 – Plans for future; Recording Sound System; Stereo sound
822 – Reasons for agreeing to being interviewed
850 – End of interview
Comment: This interview is quite complete with topics from the musical industry of Bobby Vee’s time.
Tape #42 Ole Gunvaldsen (Fargo) (Burke County)
000 – Introduction
020 – Immigration from Norway to White Earth, ND, in 1910; Working for homesteaders; The Truax-Traynor Coal Mine; Selling books to homesteaders; Attending Business College at Fargo
110 – Political Activity in early 1900’s in Burke County; Working on farms and plowing with steam engines; Buying a threshing rig
160 – Support for the Socialist Party in Burke County; Story about Gerald P. Nye; Kate O’Harra; Mother Bloor; L.L. Griffith; Eugene V. Debs
251 – Story about Norman Thomas; L.L. Griffith’s Socialist thought; Opposition to World War I and an anti-war meeting in Battleview
326 – Mother Bloor; Kate O’Hara; Organizing for the NPL; Farmers Co-op in Battleview
412 – County politics and League purchase of the Bowbells Tribune; Organizing in Nebraska for the NPL with Bill Thatcher
449 – Hoover’s farm program; Bill Thatcher and the development of the Farmers Union Grain Terminal Association; Comments on dockworker’s labor unions
654 – Charles Lindberg; Berton K. Wheeler and the America First Committee
747 – A. C. Townley and Bill Lemke; Townley’s political activities in his later life; Quentin Burdick and radical Farmers Union meetings
875 – Efforts to remove Langer from office in 1934; Ole Olson’s fear of taking office after Langer’s removal
932 – SIDE TWO
965 – Langer’s efforts to remove NDSU instructors to get control of AAA funds in the 30’s; ;Dr. Dunwoodie; Gunvaldsen’s failing of the Langer’s plans
080 – The United Progressive Republicans; The Northwest Development Corporation; Getting petitions signed to get the Board of Higher Education removed from politics and prevent Langer from appointing and removing university presidents
173 – Langer’s term as Attorney General and his switch from the NPL to the IVA; Ray Frazier; The Sorlie Campaign for Governor; Frank Vogel
236 – Service as US Marshall; Involvement in banking in Bowbells; Story about shaking hands with Coolidge
320 – The McKenzie machine in ND; Difficulty the NPL had in selling ND bonds
376 – Reasons for decline of League; Langer’s use of state institutions for political purposes
480 – A. C. Townley’s character and honesty; Lemke’s influence in the League and on Lynn Frazier; Their relationship with the Republican Organizing Committee
634 – Serving Langer his conviction notice in 1934 and leading him out of the governor’s office; Langer’s moratorium on grain sales; Langer’s indictment
834 – Lemke’s plans for a farm program during FDR’s administration
877 – End of tape
Comment: Mr. Gunvaldsen participated in much of the state’s political history and his first-hand account is valuable. A listener unfamiliar with the NPL and Langer’s terms as governor, however, will probably have difficulty following Gunvaldsen’s narrative.
Tape #43 Carl Taubert (Casselton) (Ward County)
000 – Introduction
020 – Family history; Moravian Churches; Lewis A. Taubert; Area Railroads; Hotels; Sells Saturday Evening Post; Drugstore; Rexall Drugstore line; Drugstore supplier
120 – Prescriptions; Father; Shriners Convention; Father’s drugstore; ’10 in Casselton; Train service
213 – R.C. Kittle; Strauss Clothing Store; Matt Runk; Frank Langer; Cass County Mutual Fire Insurance Company; Bartlett and Calahan; Frank Lynch (Implement Business); Wealthy townships; Area soil conditions; Headquarters for Dalrymple operation
314 – Roundhouse; Railroad men; Businesses; Livery Stable; Trees
358 – Movie theater; Social life; Card parties; Girl and boy relationships; Dances; Opera House
409 – Chautauqua; Education; Chautauqua; Division lines between nationalities and professions
496 – Barn dances; “Blind Pigs”; Taverns; College educations
535 – NPL; William Langer (Attorney General); “Blue Sunday Laws”; Taverns; IWW; “Floaters”; “Hobo Jungle”
629 – Kindling wood; Problems with hobos; Works as policeman; Casselton streets in ’10; Boardwalks; Crosswalks; Gravelling; Paving
710 – Circuses; Electricity; Power plant; Otter Tail Power Company; Cows in town; City planning in ’32; Leaves ND from ’22 to ’32; Works for Bartholomew & Company
792 – Russell Reed’s state positions; Works as representative of the State Park Service
849 – CCC Regional Office Representative; CCC camp funds; CCC supervisory positions; CCC founders; Soil Conservation Service is created
932 – SIDE TWO
932 – Resettlement Program; Forestry Service and Park Service buy land; Marquis de Mores (Russell Reed); Buying land for Park Service; Donnybrook Wildlife Refuge
903 – Ding Darling (Cartoonist); Ding Darling works for Biological Service; Works for City Commission
011 – State’s bad and good areas in 30’s; “Dust Bowl”; CCC age requirements and type of workers; CCC working hours; Government regulation of CCC wages
101 – Description of various CCC camps; His transfers; Transferring CCC equipment
178 – Base salary; Out of state CCC boys; Reason for charging State Park Tourist Fees
225 – Historical Society employee structure; 30’s Depression effect on businessmen; Banks fail
273 – 30’s morale and grain prices; Depression on East Coast; Opinion of people and change
362 – End of interview
Comment: This interview contains outstanding topics about the CCC and State Park Service
Tape #44 Miss Signe Hanson (Fargo)
000 – Introduction
005 – Family history; Children’s chores in the home; Cleaning carpets; Celebrating Norwegian Independence Day
135 – Her father’s politics
149 – Her education; Teaching in Powers Lake and Fargo; Teaching by the “platoon school” method, which she pioneered in ND
238 – Operation of the platoon school at Jefferson School in Fargo
573 – Childhood entertainment – boxing, baseball, wrestling, family life in general
680 – Her education
789 – Selling World Book Encyclopedias; Getting teacher’s pension; Her love of teaching
948 – SIDE TWO
970 – Salary she has gotten for teaching; Comments on disciplining students
097 – Changing teaching methods
177 – Miss Hanson reads an original poem
222 – Her help in founding the North Dakota Retired Teachers Association; Scholarship awards
438 – Effect of the 30’s upon Fargo schools; Prayer in school
574 – Her love of teaching; Rewards of her life; Reasons for her good health
671 – She reads several original poems
756 – Thoughts about ND
828 – General comments about politics
900 – End of interview
Comment: The interview contains an excellent description of the platoon system of education.
Tape #45 Mr. Victor Leeby, Sr. (Fargo)
000 – Introduction
005 – Family history; His father’s construction business in Fargo; Their home in Fargo; Digging sewer trenches by shovel
142 – Lathing houses; Building the grandstand at fairgrounds in Fargo in 1906
206 – The first baseball park in Fargo; Members of the Fargo team; Anecdotes about the games
299 – Circuses in early Fargo; His lemonade and peanut stand
413 – Employment as secretary of the Builders and Traders Exchange in 1909
442 – Beginnings of the Leeby Company; Supplying construction materials to contractors; His children; Repairing school buildings
900 – Improvement of Fargo streets
SIDE TWO
986 – Reasons for the success of his business; Dealing with area businessmen
110 – Staying in business during the 30’s
191 – Effect of World War II on his business; His wife; General comments on the building industry; Improvements of Fargo’s water system
324 – His schooling
500 – Changes in Fargo’s main street; Businesses, hotels, livery stables
698 – His business philosophy
735 – End of interview
Tape #46 Mrs. Mary McFall (Fargo)
000 – Introduction
005 – Family history; Her parents’ homestead near Casselton; Picking buffalo bones; Childhood entertainment on the farm
092 – Attending rural school at Ripon, ND
142 – Description of her parents’ farm; Children’s games; Spelling bees at school; A teacher who roomed at their farm home; Her teaching experiences at the rural school
230 – Marriage and moving to a farm in Canada; Returning to Fargo and then moving to Bemidji, Minnesota; Moving to Grand Forks; Her husband’s death; Teaching school in Idaho; Retiring in Fargo
364 – Her parents and why they moved from Minnesota to Wheatland
494 – Businesses in early Wheatland; Account of saloons and a murder in Wheatland
614 – Her education; Teaching in rural schools near Wheatland, Tower City, and Canada; Giving up the farm in Canada
795 – National radio in Canada; Early phonographs
846 – Her artistic ability and paintings
SIDE TWO
962 – Reasons for her good health
969 –Her husband’s background; The Alberta Wheat Pool; Changes in farming methods; Early automobiles and radios; The effect of radio upon their family life
051 – Her philosophy of life; Her birth date; Thoughts about ND
116 – Anecdotes about her father and his travels around the world as a sailor; Her mother’s seamstress work
218 – Harsh winter and heavy snow in 1891; Buggies and wagons; Changes in burials
328 – Train service in the early 1900’s
367 – End of interview
Comment: Family history, the account of her childhood on the homestead near Wheatland and of rural schools are the better portions of this interview.
Tape #47 Anna Rose (Fargo)
005 – Introduction
010 – Family history; Their first home in Fargo
035 – Her schooling in Fargo; The fire of 1893 and the destruction of their home
087 – Working in Herbst store in 1900; Her marriage to a baseball player and their travels in the US; Running a store in Fargo
155 – Her father’s work with Bower’s Construction Company; Her brothers and sisters
212 – Social life and entertainment; The Royal Neighbors; Working at Herbst in the ribbon department in 1900
300 – Bower’s Construction Company
371 – Being elected Fargo Beauty Queen in 1905; Selling carnival tickets
460 – Family history – her parents; Changing the family name from Torp to Thorpe
576 – Winning the beauty contest
640 – Marriage; living in Chicago; returning to Fargo; Selling clothes at Mary Elizabeth’s store; Changes in methods of marketing clothes
847 – Her husband’s athletic background and playing baseball in the Northern League
945 – SIDE TWO
945 – Travelling with her husband during the baseball season; The Fargo baseball team
368 – Comments about Fargo; The 30’s in Fargo – working at Mary Elizabeth’s store; Reasons for her good health
515 – End of interview
Comment: The interview contains some general information about Northern League baseball and about the clothing business.
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