Title: Kurt Quanbeck
Dates: 1978-1979
Collection Number: MSS 11257
Quantity: .25 ft. (and 7 digital files)
Abstract: Consists of seven oral history interviews conducted by Kurt Quanbeck with Nelson County residents Roy Hogan, July 22, 1978; Mr. and Mrs. James Thomas Pearson, June 14, 1978; Gurine (Mrs. Chris) Clausen, March 10, 1979; Herb Tuck, June 26, 1979; Simon Helgeland, August 5, 1979; Gertrude Arneson, October 16, 1977; and Clara and Bessie Lilloein, April 5, 1977. The interviews were originally recorded on cassette tapes. The tapes were described by Loran Berg and digitized by Sarah Walker.
Provenance: The Kurt Quanbeck oral histories were donated to the State Historical Society of North Dakota by Quanbeck on January 11, 2016.
Property rights: The State Historical Society of North Dakota owns the property rights to the collection.
Copyrights: Copyrights to materials in this collection remain with the donor, publisher, author, or author's heirs. Researchers should consult the 1976 Copyright Act, Public Law 94-553, Title 17, U.S. Code and an archivist at this repository if clarification of copyright requirements is needed. Permission to use any radio or television broadcast portions of the collection must be sought from the creator.
Access: This collection is open under the rules and regulations of the State Historical Society of North Dakota.
Citation: Researchers are requested to cite the collection title, collection number, and the State Historical Society of North Dakota in all footnote and bibliographic references.
INVENTORY
Item number/name/date/length/description
11257-00001 James Thomas Pearson, June 14, 1978 (58:30)
James Thomas Pearson was born at Lakota (N.D.) on March 28, 1891 to Henry and Emma Pearson. He married Emma Elizabeth Hansen on November 24, 1915 at Sargent (N.D.). Emma Hansen (Mrs. James Pearson) was born south of Michigan (N.D.) in Melrose Township May 12, 1889 to Hans and Hanna Hansen. Together they farmed in Michigan (N.D.) and had one child. In this interview Mr. and Mrs. Pearson discuss the town of Old McVille before the town was moved in 1906 to its current location. Mentioned are people, businesses, and the entertainments of Old McVille. The Pearsons also recollect why and how the town was physically moved, and what businesses rebuilt at the new town site. At approximately minute 32:00 the sound quality degrades leaving the second half of the recording mostly unintelligible. From what can be understood, within this half the Pearsons discuss their education and relatives in the area.
11257-00002 Roy Hogan, July 22, 1978 (15:43)
In this excerpt from a longer interview, Roy Hogan discusses the Theodore Larson murders that occurred on Feb. 1, 1924. Hogan also discusses events in the lives of friends and family, and the people and structures of his neighborhood.
11257-00003 Herb Nichols Tuck, June 26, 1979 (33:05)
Herb Nichols Tuck was born on December 13, 1894 to John (born 1862) and Mary Tuck (born 1870) in Norway (Nelson County, N.D.). In this interview Herb Tuck discusses his public education experiences and also the regional baseball teams. The bulk of the interview is Tuck talking about who the local people were and where they lived in Nesheim (Nelson County, N.D.). Herb N. Tuck passed away on January 23, 1991.
11257-00004 Simon Arthur Helgeland, August 5, 1979 (15:10)
Simon Arthur Helgeland was born on October 19, 1895 to Lan and Hannah Helgeland. He was confirmed at Norway Lutheran church in Aneta (N.D.). Helgeland lived in McVille (Nelson County, N.D.). and died in November 1979. In this excerpt from a longer interview, Simon Helgeland covers topics such as local businesses, people, and events. Helgeland also talks about a local wagon accident and dugout home construction.
11257-00005 Gurine (Mrs. Christ) Clauson, March 10, 1979 (1:18:30)
This interview is with the interviewer’s (Kurt Quanbeck) grandmother, Gurine (Mrs. Christ) Clauson. The interviewer’s mother (Clauson’s daughter) is also present at the interview. Clauson was born in 1882 in Hillsboro (Nelson County, N.D.) where her parents had homesteaded. The family then moved across the road into Griggs County (N.D.) in the early 1890s. In this interview she discusses her parents and grandparents, who they were and where they lived, which includes memories of construction, chores, and life in a sod house. Other memories include the use of tokens when shopping in town, the local flour mill operation and festivals that occurred near the mill, traveling gypsies, and working for threshing crews. The bulk of the interview is spent on topics such as farm and domestic life in general and also discussing local people and where they lived. The audio quality drops between 31:30 and 1:03:00.
11257-00006 Gertrude Arneson, October 16, 1977 (1:01:30)
In this interview conducted by Kurt Quanbeck,, Mrs. Gertrude Arneson discusses her family history and what life was like living in the early days of McVille (N.D.). Gertrude Arneson was born September 24, 1881. She married Arne O. Arneson. In addition to living in McVille (Nelson County, N.D.), Anderson lived in Grand Forks (N.D.). She died in December 1979.
Mrs. Arneson was born in Minnesota on September 24, 1881 in the same town that her mother was from. Her father’s family was originally from New York. Mrs. Arneson’s husband, Dr. Arne O. Arneson, was born in Minnesota to Norwegian immigrants, and he later went to school in Minnesota, finishing his medical degree in 1911 at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. After they married, the Arnesons moved to Northwood, ND where Dr. Arneson practiced with Dr. Peterson. They then later moved to Aneta, ND where Dr. Arneson established his own medical practice and Mrs. Arneson taught. When McVille moved to its present day location in 1906, the Arnesons moved there and set up a new medical office in the drug store. This interview covers what life was like in those very early days of the recently moved McVille. Mrs. Arneson discusses early businesses and businessmen of the town, residents and where they lived, schools and teachers, the limited social life, and the churches. She also describes her husband’s medical practice and what life was like being a country doctor. Mrs. Arneson passed away in December, 1979.
The recording of this interview is quiet and has a large amount of tape hiss making it difficult to understand at times.
11257-00007 Clara and Bessie Lilloein, April 5, 1977 (59:05)
This interview of Clara and Bessie Lilloein was conducted by Kurt Quanbeck on April 5, 1977. During this interview the participants reviewed photographs discussing and explaining what they contained. Much of what is covered is a reflection of life on the farm, what their farmhouse and yard was like, such as how it was decorated and maintained. They also cover the arrival of new technologies, life in the Great Depression, and rationing during World War I. The Lilloeins also talk about McVille businesses and who operated them, and also mention the fire that destroyed the McVille School and how it started. At the beginning of the interview one of the Lilloeins reads aloud from a document describing life on the prairie. The recording of this interview is quiet, but mostly understandable at a loud volume.
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