Fairfax Township "A special meeting held at Crookston, Polk County, Minne-

sota the 7th day of October 1879. The fo llowing members of the county Board was present: E. C. Davis a nd E. Tharaldson. The meeting declared open. On motion, Town 149 Range 46 were organized according to the petition fro m the people from that town and it to be known as Town of Fairfax. The first election to be held at the house of Jo hn Amundson in said town, and the Judges of said election to be John Sylvesterson and Hans Clauson and Nels Knud son and the clerks for sa me to be Erick Benson a nd John Amundson. Resolved to issue the amt of $1300.00 Dollars Co. orders as a part pay to the gentle-men, Mr. etzer who built the county Jai l and the sa me time they agreed with Mr. Netzer to give him $320.00 Dollars for laying one floor in the upper story of said Ja il also for two coats of plastering of same and for painting the Jail in and out-side.

First school District # 35, section 2 was o rga nized May 28, 1880. Second school district # 123, section 19 in Fairfax was organized July 5. 1887." (sic)

JOHN BAATZ Fred Baatz was born in Landschied. Luxemburg, 1854. At

the age of sixteen he came to Wabasha. Minnesota. [n a short time two brothers and two sisters came. Jo hn, Mat thew and Mary took home s teads in Ru ssia a nd Fairfax town ship s. Kathryn beca me a Benedictine nun at St. Scholastica's in Duluth. She remai ned there the rest of her life. Fred and Emma Schwirtz were married in Wabasha in 1880, and came immediately to start their adventurous life on the homestead which is now section four , Russia T ow nship in 1881. Those first years were hard . Winters were severe an d long. Water had to be hauled four miles from O. Simmons, an earlier homes-teader, and wood had to be brought fro m Maple Lake or from along the Red River. Fred served as clerk of school district 278 and Russia township. and as chairman fo r many years. [n the course of time five children were born to them : Rose, Mary, John , Anna and Frank. They walked over two miles to school district 35. Rose never married. Mary ma rried Mark Malarkey and had one son, Charles. John married Edna Kuhn . Anna never married , a nd Frank died in 1913 . The family attended the Catholic Church in Crookston , a distance of ten miles. In summer they went with horses and buggy. In winter they trav-eled with horses and sled. Sometimes members of the fa mily walked. John attended the Agricultural School in Crookston. He farmed with his fa ther until he ma rried in 1926. At that time he built a new home on the former homestead of his Uncle Matthew. He continued to live here until his death in 1968 . We were on a winter trip in Texas a t the time. Traveling to see God's beautiful country was one of his great enjoy-ments. He. the children and I managed to take a trip every year, including an unforgettable o ne to Alaska in 1955. We had six children. All attended county school district 278 where I had previously taught and later was school clerk for many years. Rosema ry graduated from Mount St. Benedict High School, Crookston, College of St. Scholastica receiving a B.A. in Music Theory. She received a master's degree in library sci-ence from Core Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. She now heads the Health Care Library for 3M in St. Pa ul. John graduated from Cathedral High SchooL Crookston and served in the National Guard a nd in Ko rea in 1952. He mar-ried Joyce Campbell. They have three so ns: Steve, David and James and live in Council Bluffs, Iowa. John is a n electrician. Dorothy graduated from Cathedral High School a nd Teachers Training Department in East Gra nd Forks. She ta ught school several years and is married to Ma rvin Michaelson who farms near Euclid . They have a daughter, Carol. a nd a son, John. Gerald graduated from Cathedral High School a nd was in the National Guard for seven years. He married Cecilia Schirrick, who received an R.N. degree from th e Sister of St. Joseph School of Nursing. Grand Forks, North Dakota. They now 248

Fred and Emma Baatz 1880. live with their four children: Scott. Perry. Brenda a nd Jill , in their new home in Russia Township, where they farm. Do na ld gradua ted fro m Cathedral High School and Bemidji Sta te Uni-versity. He served two years in the Army. He married Sandra Johnson, a gradua te of J a mestown College. Jamestown. North Dakota a nd is a social worker. They live in Fergus Fa ll s with their two sons. Andrew and Cha rles. There Donald owns an insura nce age ncy. Robe rt graduated from Cathed ral Hi gh School , St. John's University. Collegevi lle, Minnesota a nd the University of Washington. Seattle. with a master's degree in social work. He was a captain in the Army and served in Viet-nam . He now lives in Duluth where he is a social worker for St. Louis County working in child abuse.

My Kuhn ancestors came from Wurtemberg, Germany. In 1760. Peter Kuhn came to America in a sa iling craft. In 1768, he married and in 1771 homesteaded near Guencastle, in Franklin County. Pennsy lva nia. He erected a log cabin -their home. which stood there until 1952 when it was razed and a monument repl aced it.

My grandfa ther John W. Kuhn (third generatio n) was a school teacher a nd Franklin county surveyor. He lived near here . This is where Michael Kuhn . my father , was born . My mother was Emma Musselman. They farmed a sho rt distance from the old Pela Kuhn homestead. Here is where my sisters. Barbara. Ma ry and [ were born. [n 19 13, my parents decided to come to Minnesota . We came by train to Euclid, having bought a farm east of there . Barbara and [ attended school dis-trict 179. Katherine King was our teacher. She is now Mrs. Fred Abrecht. I will never forget the fight a school mate a nd [ had over the wo rd s " You-uns" (Pennsylvania Dutch), "Youse" (Her French). Later we moved to a fa rm near Dorothy a nd finally south of Crookston where John , Helen , Jea n a nd Doro-thy Mae were born . John and Dorothy Mae died as babies. We five girls are graduates of Central High SchooL Crookston. [ taught in Polk County school for severa l years. Barbara is an R.N. She married Edwin Culbert. a school principal. They li ve in Minneapolis. Mary married Carl Hanson. a rai lroad man who passed away in 1972. She lives in Crookston. Helen mar-ried Ra lph Weiland . They live near Euclid. Jean works a t Mar-quette Ban k, Minneapolis. Our mother di.:d in 1938. Our dad later married Wilma Thompson. They had a son , Lyle, who with his fami ly lives in Rush City. Minnesota. Our father. Michael Kuhn. died in 1966.

LEODORE JOSEPH CAPISTRAN The parents o f Leodore J . Capistran were born in Ca nada.

His father. Oneseme. was born in Sorel. Quebec. Ca nada. in 1837. and died here in 1913 . His mother. Philo men e Paul Cap-istra n. was bo rn in 1838 a nd died he re in 1908. Leodore J. Cap-istra n was bo rn in De Piersvill e. St. Thomas. Quebec. Ca nada. in 1876. He came to th e U nited States with hi s parents when he was a little boy. a nd they came to Crookston. Minn eso ta about the 1880's.

His pa rents bought a fa rm no rthwes t o f C rookston. where he a nd his six brothers a nd o ne sister grew up. His brothers were: Alcide. Zo tiqu e. Joseph. On ese me. Albany a nd Arthur: and his sister. Exilda. This fa rm was bought by C ha rles Kiewel and later known as the "Kiewel farm".

In 1903. my fa ther met a nd married my moth er. Mi ss M a ri e Anna Samuelson. who was bo rn in Norr Ko pin g. Sweden. in 1884. She came to the United States fro m Sweden with he r Uncle and Aunt. Mr. a nd Mrs. Erick Samuelson in the early 1900's. The Sa muelsons li ved on a farm a bout five miles wes t of Crookston. where Mr. a nd Mrs. Dua ne Lien li ve now.

After they were married. Mr. and Mrs. Capistran first li ved on the Delmonte Lariviere fa rm . th en th ey moved to th e Tay-lor farm right west o f the U niversity of Minnesota Technical College. From there th ey moved to their fa rm three miles sou th of Crookston. the old Roberts fa rm which they bo ught in 19 14. Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Boucher bought ten acres a nd the house where they ma ke th ei r home now. but th e fa mily st ill own the la nd.

Mr. and Mrs. Capistran lived o n thi s fa rm . a nd fa rmed a nd raised tho roughbred Perch eron horses a nd a lso race horses. He was an avid horse ma n : he took grea t pride in showing these ho rses a t the fa irs a ro und thi s a rea. as well as th o ro ugh-bred ca ttle a nd pigs which he showed a t th e fa irs a nd at the Farm Crop Shows in the early days.

Leodore Capistran 1903. Mrs. Leodore Capistran 1903.

Their five children a ll grew up on thi s fa rm . a ttended th e country school o ne mile from their home called the "S ta r School 246." The Capistrans li ved here until they passed away. Mr. Capistran in 1956 and Mrs. Capis tra n in 1965. The ir chil-dren were Lee O. Capistrano bo rn in 1904; Fern R . M. Capis-tran Fries Fenno. 1909: Irene Capistran Case. 19 11 : M a urice. 1912: Arthur Capistran: Lawrence F. Capistrano 1922.

Lee Capistran ma rried Barba ra Hilde in 1932. the daughter of the la te Mr. a nd Mrs. Lou is Hilde of C rooks to n a nd Grand Forks. N orth Dakota. They have two sons: Donald a nd Gary. both graduated from the Centra l High School. Bo th are ma r-ried and live in Ca lifo rni a .

Fern Capistran married Joseph G . Fries in 1928. Irene Cap-istra n ma rried Haro ld Case in 1944. They li ved in Intern a-tional Fall s. She moved to C rookston in 1972. She is a wid ow. and has no children. Ma urice Ca pistra n died in 1932.

Lawrence Capistran gradua ted from Ca thedra l High School and served in the United Sta tes Air Fo rce during Wo rld W a r II. He ma rri ed Virginia Viow in 1942. Virginia is the daughter

of the la te Lo ui s Viow a nd Mrs. Arthur Frish of McIntosh. Minnesota. Virgini a grad uated from the St. Josep h Acad emy. Crookston. Minnesota. She is married a nd they li ve in M ont-gomery. Al aba ma. They have o ne son. Da ll as. bo rn Dece mber 31. 1949. Da ll as is studyi ng to be a chirop rac ti c doctor. Law-rence is a sa les ma n for the Williams Shoe Company.

COURNIA In the early 1900's J ohn B. and Ester (Bebeau 1861 -1 941)

Cournia migra ted to th e rura l Crookston a rea from Wi sconsin . John (1858-1931) was bo rn in T weed . Onta ri o. Seve ra l o f John 's brothers se ttled in the vicinity o f Detro it Lakes. J ohn and Ester's fa mil y consisted o f M a bel ( 1888 -19 57). Lo ui s (1890-1967). Pe te r ( 1892-1942). Pea rl ( 1894-1 93 0) . Ro la nd (1897-). Irene ( 1899-). Ma rj orie (190 1-) a nd G ertrude ( 1906-1969). As the fa mily grew up Ma bel became Mrs. George Revor a nd settled in Chippewa Falls. Wisconsin. They had five children . o ne of whom is a world renowned a rti st - Si ster Remy. S.S.N .D. o f Milwa ukee. Pe ter ma rri ed J essied Bisho p and lived in Milwa ukee. He had o ne da ughter. Pea rl beca me Mrs. Jo hn Mulva ney a nd for seve ra l yea rs they made the ir home at 236 Seco nd Aven ue North in Crookston with John's mo the r. Mrs. Anna Mulva ney. They moved to Sheboyga n. Wisconsin where Pea rl passed away a t a n early age sho rtly a fter givin g birth to their fifth child. Ro land ma rried J osie Green a nd a fter a few yea rs they left Crooksto n to ma ke their home in Sheboygan. a nd la ter Milwa ukee. They had three chil-dren . Irene married M a lt Ka uth of Ha mel. Minnesota and later moved to th e sta te o f W ashingto n. After the dea th o f her husba nd in 1943. she moved to California. They had no chil-dren .

Family of John B. and Esther Cournia: Back row, L. to R.: Peter, Mabel, Louis and Pearl. Front row, L. 10 R. : Irene, 10hn B. Marjorie, Gertrude, Esther and Roland.

Ma rjorie became Mrs. Earl McGuire a nd settl ed in Minne-apolis until their family o f e leven children were ra ised. They a nd Irene now live in Flint. Michi ga n. Gertrude entered the convent at an early age a nd a fter severa l yea rs as a teachin g Sister of Sa int Benedict was la icized a nd late r ma rried M erlin Hamilton a nd li ved in Hawa ii a nd Ca lifornia. Of a ll thi s fa m-ily LO U IS OLIVER was th e on ly o ne to ma ke C rookston his perma nent address. His parents moved to South Sai nt Pa ul to spend their retirement yea rs.

Louis Oliver. who was bo rn in Turtle La ke. Wisconsin. mar-ried Ann E. Mul va ney ( 1895-1946) in 191 5. a nd they fa rmed south of Crookston a ll their li ves while ra ising a la rge fa mily and with bo th of th em serving as ac tive leaders in the Fairfax-And over community. Lo ui s was a member o f the District 288 School Boa rd fo r many yea rs a nd a member o f the executive board of the Cathedra l of th e Immac ula te Conception, the church where he was ma rried a nd a ll o f hi s children were bap-tized a nd confirmed. When the Ca thedra l was rem odeled . Loui s do nated the bapti smal fount in appreciat io n, confident it would be used fo r many years to come fo r his grandchildren a nd great-gra ndchildren. M r. a nd Mrs. Cournia were in stru-mental in o rga nizin g the very well kn ow n Kittson 4-H Club a nd served as adu lt leaders during th e time all their chi ldren

249

were members. They also helped start the Kittson Community Club and were members of the Fa irfax-Andover Club.

Louis and Ann were the parents of eleven children. LeRoy (1916-1956) mamed Eleanore Fontaine and with the help of his father started farming in Fairfax township. One of their most appreciated wedding gifts was a pig about to farrow. LeRoy's widow still resides on their farm now as Mrs. Lee Wahouske. LeRoy and Eleanore had six children. Carolyn (Mrs. Wilson of San Diego) is the mother of two children ; Janet With her husband, Brad Dybevik , and two children live in Worthington where they manage a ' ladies ready to wear' shop; Ronald married Jeanne Hoeft of Crookston and with their two adopted children they live in Saint Louis Park where he is associated with Home Lite Company; Diane and her hus-band, Ray Riendeau,. and three daughters live in Portland, Indiana where they are engaged in the mobile home industry ; Michaelis mamed to Barbara Dyk and at present is living in Spokane, Washmgton ; John is in Minneapolis. LeRoy was an unusually active community leader and at the time of his death was serving as a state officer of the Knights of Columbus. He

instrumental in organizing K of C councils in Park Rap-Ids, Barnesville and Argyle. He also held high offices in the local Elks Club and Community Club.

Esther (1917-) married Bernard Palubicki in 1941 and they operated a supermarket in Perham, Minnesota until recently when their older son, Richard, and his wife Karen (Mislevic) took It over. Another son, James, and his wife, Nina (Barner) are owner-managers of a supermarket in Fosston. Their only daughter, Ann Marie and her husband, William Hughes, are in the. ready-to-wear business in Perham. Esther taught school in Fairfax township before going to Perham as Otter Tail Com-pany Club Agent. She kept in touch with the Crookston vicin-ity in her. position as a state officer of the Catholic Daughters of America. She helped organize courts in Crookston, Red Lake Falls, Thief River Falls and Argyle-Warren.

Delmont (1919-) is married to Lorraine Chappius and is a .farmer in Fairfax township. His only son, Robert,

and Wife Lmda (Morrissey) and two children reside in Crook-ston and also farm south of the city. Daughter, Barbara, lives at home and is employed at the University of Minnesota Tech-nical College.

Lauretta (1920-) married H. T. "Doc" Welter in 1941 and they have been permanent residents of Crookston. After many years in plumbing and heating, "Doc" became Crookston's fire chief and has spearheaded the modernization of the local fire department to one of the most efficient in the state. Lau-retta was the first regent of the local Catholic Daughters Court and is now serving as district deputy for the courts in this area. She is best known for her compassionate care of the old and Sick. Doc and Lauretta have three children ; Mona with her husband, Ronald Heglin, and two children make their home in Yankton, South Dakota where Ronald is assistant manager of Dale Electronics; Jerome and his wife LaVonne (Thein) and three children live in Red Lake Falls where he is a lineman with Otter Tail Power; Joyce and her husband, Peter Habben and daughter live in East Grand Forks where Pete is associ-ated with the United Hospital as a boiler engineer and Joyce is with the Christi telephone company.

Madonna (1922-) and her husband, A. C. Moran and four children, Carroll, Gary, LaVonne and Joe, now in Santa Ana, California after a long career in the United States Marines.

Margaret .( 1923-) a former teacher in Fairfax township moved to Milwaukee and married Melvin Podevils in 1946. They still reside there near their five children, Monty, Marga-ret, Mark, Mary Lou and Michael. . Elizabeth "Betty" (1925-) and husband , Arthur Pretory, and

SIX children, Lmda, Kenneth, Michael, Greg, James and John live in Glendora, California where Betty is known as the fast-est and most efficient grocery 'checker' in Los Angeles county while her husband has his own catering route.

Rose Marie married Mar.vin Torgerson, formerly of BeltramI. Th.ey With their five children, Corrinne, Annette, Morley, DaVid and Maureen, live in Racine, Wisconsin . Mar-vin "Torgy" is with Young Radiator Company.

Anna Mae (1930-) is married to John Sullivan, formerly of

250

The Louis Oliver Cournia Family: Top row, L to R. : LeRoy, Loretta, Esther, Delmont. 2nd roK': Margaret, Madonna, Betty, and Rosemarie. Bottom row: Louis Jr., Louis Sr., Vonnie, Ann and Anna Mae.

Fisher, and with their family, Kathleen, John , Jeffery, James and Patricia, they reside in Ankeny, Iowa, where both are employed by implement companies.

Louis Junior (1932-) and his wife, Nancy (Hovland), are farming the original family farm. Until his father's death, they farmed on shares and then he purchased the farm six miles south of Crookston and has since built a new home and made many other improvements. All but two of their nine children live in the Crookston vicinity. Son, Louis III is in the military service as IS their daughter Jeanne's husband, Richard Rock. Debra, Mrs. Lynn Hanson, lives in Crookston and the rest : Daniel, Mary Jo, Thomas, Susan, Nancy Kay and Patrick headquarter at home. Louis Jr. has been an active "J.e." is community leader and is involved in other business enterprises besides farming.

LaVonne (1937-) is married to Allen Hoeft of Crookston and they with their four children , Pearl , Bill, Roger and Teresa, live in Moorhead where they are both employed at a trucking firm.

All eleven of the Cournia children are graduates of either Cathedral or Mount Saint Benedict high schools, and most of them at a .time when they had to provide their own transporta-tion. LOUIS SenIor clocked up many miles to assure his family getting a high school education.

Ann E. Cournia passed away in 1946 at the age of 51, and three years later Louis Senior married Jennie Conneran Sulli-van . Their farm home was the hospitable gathering spot for many memorable family reunions of the Sullivan and Cournia children until the death of Jennie in 1956. Louis Senior passed away after a series of heart attacks in June 1967 leaving 52

At present seventeen of his grandchildren live m Polk and surrounding counties.

WILLIAM HOERNER . William Hoe:ner's grandparents were from Germany. Wil-

ham was born m Dunn County, North Dakota. William has two brothers and one sister. His father died when he was six years old. Then the family moved to Glen Ullen North Dakota. William went to work at an early age on different farms. When he came to Crookston, he went to work on the John Perry farm. Later he went to work on the Vereal Gibbons farm. William enlisted in the United States Navy in 1942, serv-ing in the Pacific Theater, on a destroyer for forty-two months. Dunng the war, on May 20, 1944, at Va\lago, California, he mamed Norma F. Morgan of Crookston, Minnesota .

Norma was born in Crookston, Minnesota to Walter and Irene Morgan. Walter farmed most of his life in Andover Township. Irene was the former Irene Slyter. Her parents came from Iowa to settle on the farm now being farmed by Vernon Welter. In Walter and Irene's family there were three girls and one boy. Walter Morgan's parents were Welsh and Swede and Irene's parents were Irish, Hollander and Indian.

Norma attended the North West School of Agriculture from which she graduated in 1938. She then went to work for a defense plant. After William's discharge they moved to a farm

where they farmed with Norma's father. In 1953 they bought the Woods farm in Fairfax township. They are still living on the farm at the present. They raise wheat, barley and sugar beets. William and Norma have five children, Marilyn gradu-ated from Crookston Central. She married Gary Sauve of Crookston. They now live in Fargo, North Dakota. They have two boys, Shawn and Joel Sauve. Robert graduated from the North West School of Agriculture. He also served in the United States Navy for four years. He married the former Nancy Miller, whose parents reside in Crookston. Robert farms with his father. He lives on the former Weber farm in Russia township. Robert and Nancy have two children, Tara and Brett Hoerner. Connie graduated from Crookston Cen-tral. She also graduated from Garden City Community Junior College in Kansas. She is employed and resides in Crookston. Jacalyn graduated from Crookston Central and is now attend-ing Bemidji State University. Gary is attending Crookston Central and is living at home. William and Norma are mem-bers of the Presbyterian Church, where Bill served as elder. Bill was township assessor and director of Vineland Insurance Board. All of the Hoerner children have been in 4-Corners 4-H Club.

LYLEKIEL Five miles south of Crookston, along Burnham Creek is our

home. We combined our names and call it Lyleen (Lyle and Eileen) Acres. We have lived here since our marriage in 1941.

We have five daughters and one son and two grandsons. Carla (Mrs. Larry Hurlbut) is married to an architect and lives in Eden Prairie. Barbara (Mrs. Gary Monson) is married to a high school social studies teacher and coach. They are the par-ents of two children, Michael, age eight and Christopher, age four. Nancy (Mrs. Stuart Subke) resides in Burlington, Ver-mont, where Stuart is employed by the Immigration Depart-ment and Nancy teaches English classes. Julie resides in St. Cloud where she works and attends St. Cloud State. Melodie is in the junior class at Crookston Central High School. Our son, Lonn, is associated with us in farming and takes classes during the winter at University of Minnesota, Crookston.

My parents, August and Lydia (Beiswenger) Ross, of Ger-man heritage, were born and farmed in the Fisher area their entire life. One of my sisters, Enid, lives in Fisher and another, Victoria, Mrs. Ferd Wilkins, farms with her husband east of Fisher. My remaining four sisters are Mrs. Lorraine Graves of Pasco, Washington ; Mrs. Roy Tulee of Oxnard, California; Mrs. Ralph Greinke of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Carol Ross of East Grand Forks. My brother, Harold H. Ross, resides in Crookston and farms in the area. Another brother, Emil, died when he was a teenager.

Lyle's parents, Albert and Esther (Holkesvig) Kiel were born at Calmer, Iowa. They are of Norwegian heritage. They moved to the Red River Valley in 1913 and the first years of

The Lyle Kiel Family: Top row: Carla, Julie, Lonn and Melodie. Seated: Barbara, Eileen, Lyle and Nancy.

their marriage they farmed with Esther's parents, Albert and Sophie (Dahlen) Holkesvig.

A touch of romance is found in the pages of Sophie Dahlen Holkesvig's ancestors as we learned that her grandmother. Gudrun Fjelde was lady-in-waiting to the Queen of Norway and this is where she met her future husband, Hans Dahlen, who was the King's tailor.

Albert Kiel 's father, Ole Marcus Kjel, came to this country in 1862. when he was four years old, on the ship his dad had built. The name became changed from Kjel to Kiel through a mistake in the immigration papers.

Lyle has three sisters, Leila, Mrs. Arnold Jorgenson, of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin ; Connie, Mrs. Chester Swanson, of Cincin-nati. Ohio; and Naomi, Mrs. Robert Eisler, of Hopkins, Min-nesota.

We are active in the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod as were my parents. Lyle's parents are still active in the church at Bellair Beach. Florida, where they reside. We also belong to and are active in various organizations and community pro-jects.

ART AND HELEN LINDBERG Art Lindberg was born at Windom, Minnesota, in Jackson

County, August 21 , 1896 to August and Bertha Lindberg. August Lmdberg came from Norway in the 1800's. His mother Bertha Emerson, also came from Norway and could not speak EnglIsh .. August and Bertha were married in 1890, they had eight children, five boys and three gi rls.

Katherine Jepsen was born April 6, 1907 at Wasco, IllInOIs, to Louis and Anna Marie (Elneff) Jepsen , both from Denmark. There were four brothers and three sisters in her family. They moved to East Grand Forks, Minnesota in 1915.

Art and Helen were married December 9, 1926. We farmed at Gilby, North Dakota for nine years. During that time, three were born: Frances Jean, December 28, 1927; Doris Mae, March 24, 1929 and Helen June, June 27, 1933. We farmed in North Dakota 20 years, worked in the Swan Island Shipyards

World War II, went through the sugar, meat and gas ratIOnIng, and operated a grocery store in Oregon to Fairfax township, having purchased two acres of land from E. J. Anderson. We are now enjoying our retirement in this rich Red River Valley.

A line of cars belonging to the Lindberg family. (Model T's, Overland, Chevrolets, all of the 1919-1920's.

DAVID E. AND DORIS MUIR George S. Muir, born in West Caldor, Scotland in 1878,

going to On tario, Canada at the age of eleven. In 1900 he moved to Gilby, North Dakota , married Mary Elizabeth Douglas in 1904. They lived at Gilby all their lives. They had eight children: Beth, Douglas, Carol, Alice, Clyde, Scott, Jim and David. Carol died at the age of six in 1916; the rest all sur-vive.

David, the youngest, married Doris M. Lindberg (daughter of Art and Helen Lindberg) ; they were married April 22, 1951 at Gilby, North Dakota. At the time, David was serving in the armed services. He was discharged in October, 1952, attended Dunwoody Institute in Minneapolis , returning to Grand Forks, North Dakota, in April of 1954, where they lived until 1963. While living in Grand Forks, David worked as a body repairman for the Chevrolet dealers.

They have two children, Michael David, born September 18, 1953. in Minneapolis ; and Catherine Elizabeth, born May 15, 1955 m Grand Forks, North Dakota. Michael married JDee Black of Moorhead , Minnesota, in 1974. They have a son, David Michael. born January 16. 1975. Michael is serving in

251

Mr. and Mrs. David Muir.

the navy and stationed in Florida. Cathy was active in an organization called the "Amigos" during her last year in high school and first year at Concordia College. going to Guate-mala and Colombia. administering shots to babies and small children and assisting in health care programs.

David and Doris Muir moved to Polk County in September of 1963. and although they are certainly not pioneers. they feel much a part of the community. They purchased three acres of land from E. J. Anderson. in Section 7 of Fairfax township.

The first few months were spent tearing down the house that stood there. Stories were told to them about how Jesse James had stopped and eaten meals in that house in years gone by.

Since they didn't have the necessary cash to rebuild. and didn't care to go into debt. with the old pioneer spirit. they decided to do everything themselves on a pay-as-you-go plan. With the help of their good neighbors. Ed and Everett Ander-son and their ·cat'. they dug the hole for the basement. then finished it for temporary living quarters. "Temporary" turned out to be nine years of spending their weekends and two-week vacations building their home. But in the fall of 1973. with a sigh of relief they moved into the finished home. They are sure even our pioneers didn't work that long on a house. They did manage to put up a three-stall garage in that time also.

Members of the Presbyterian Church. Dave presently IS active on the Board of Deacons. and Doris is employed as sec-retary. Both are active in the Crookston Square Dance club.

Dave worked for the Chevrolet dealers until June of 1972. when he began working for the Vocational Center of Central High. helping to organize the new au to body class offered to junior and senior high students. one of the first of its kind in Minnesota. Not having a teaching degree. Dave spent the next three years. evenings and summers. attending classes at ThIef River Falls. Red Lake Falls. Crookston. and Bemidji State College. graduating in 1975. Magna Cum Laude, with a Bache-lor of Science degree.

SMITH - MUSSELMAN Among immigrants coming from England in the early 1700's

were the ancestors of Robert E. Smith. He was born in Massa-chusetts. At age twenty. he went to work for a cousin in Ohio and a couple of years later he boarded a train in Chicago for Crookston. Friends. Fiske by name. lived on section 14 in Andover township. and he worked there that summer. In the fall he went to work for E. D. Childs in Carmen.

A house-maid at the Childs' home was Lizzie Roese, who had recently come from Wisconsin with the Dave McCleary family. She was of German descent. her father was a Baptist colporteur. He was born in Wohra and had fought in the Cri-mean War.

Robert Smith and Lizzie Roese were married in 1883. Rob-ert bought a quarter of land in section 19 in Fairfax township and they built a house. Their three children were Louise, Roy and G. Raymond. Roy was accidentally killed when he was two. The Great Northern Railway tracks passed through the farm. not far from the home. Many hoboes stopped by for hand-outs. Louise and Roy saw one coming as they played in a buggy. Louise ran to warn her mother. but Roy's foot slipped and his neck was broken as he fell between the spokes. For over twenty years. the grief-stricken hobo stopped by at the Smith home as he tramped the track s. 252

Willie Lemen. a twelve year old orphan boy came to live with the Smiths in 1893. where he grew to manhood. He became a railroad conductor. -

The children wen t to school in District 123. which was organized in 1887. Robert Smith hauled lumber from Maple Bay to build it. He served on the school board many years. as well as the town board. Raymond became a manual training teacher: he served in the armed forces in World War I in France. He was principal of Glen Lake Farm School for Boys in Hopkins. Minnesota for 27 years . After retirement he lived in Seattle. Washington until his death in 1960. and there he is buried. Louise married Charles F. Musselman.

Lizzie Smith died in 1934. Robert in 1948: both are buried in Oakdale Cemetery in Crookston.

The ancestors of Charles Musselman came to Pennsylvania in the early 1700's. They were Mennonites and settled in Lan-caster County with five hundred other families. Some served in the Colonial Wars. though they were mostly pacifists. giving aid in other ways. John and Anna moved to Iowa. where Charles and Frank were born. In 1903 the family came to Crookston and farmed on section 26 in Andover. Charles mar-ried Louise Smith in 1907. and later the elder Musselmans moved to Wyoming.

Charles and Louise lived in Crookston . where he worked in the Slocum Grocery Store. Mariam was born at Crookston. About 1910 they moved to the Smith farm and he became partner with Robert E. Smith. Louise's father. Other children were: J. Robert. Donald and Eugene.

They raised swine. dairy cattle and sheep. Small grains. corn and alfalfa were the principal crops. A large chicken house was built in 1916. An Allwork Tractor was the first evidence of mechanized farming. They owned a Model T Ford. They did their own blacksmithing and fence-making. Their house was one of the first with indoor plumbing.

The families attended the Baptist Church until it burned and the congregation disbanded. They later joined the Presbyte-rian Church. Both women were charter members of the Fair-fax-Andover Social Club and were active members all their lives. Charles was a member of the school board of District 123 until it was consolidated into the Crookston district in 1953. He served on the town board and was township assessor. For about twelve years they lived on Mr. Smith's farm in section 30: then they moved back with the Smiths. until retirement.

Robert Musselman married Alice Byrne and in 1941 they and their two sons moved to Los Angeles. California where he found work in a defense plant. Later. he became a plumber and in 1947 Eugene and his wife. Evelyn (Ellinger). joined him. Mariam became a teacher and taught the Burnham Creek school west of Crookston where she met and married Ralph Finkenbinder.

Charles and Louise Musselman passed away in 1960 and 1961 respectively. They are buried in Oakdale Cemetery with their son. Donald. who died in 1923.

NEWHOUSE (NYHUS) BROTHERS Elling T. (Nyhus) Newhouse from Houston County, Spring

Grove. Minnesota bought land from his father near New-house. Minnesota. a village named in honor of his grandfather. Tollef O. Nyhus. where he was a successful farmer.

He believed that his sons could make a better living at farm-ing. so decided to look for more land . After his sons. had attended Breckenridge College of Decorah. Iowa: he JOur-neyed to Crookston in search of farm land. He was satisfied with the Crookston area . so he purchased a section of land in Fairfax Township for three of his sons . He shipped machinery. horses. cattle. feed, etc., by freight directly to Polk County from Newhouse. Minnesota. This section of land was farmed by the three brothers. Theodore. Willie. and Edwin for about ten years: after that they divided the land equally. Each one later built his own home. married and raised a family.

Theodore Martinus Newhouse (Nyhus) was born September 16. 1879 at Spring Grove. Minnesota. He married Helen Jelle March 20. 1905. Helen was born July 7. 1882 at Faribault. Minnesota. She wa s a dressmaker in Crookston. After a few

years of farming they traded their farm for a store in Mabel in Southern Minnesota in Huston County between Caledonia and Spring Grove. Later they so ld th e store. and moved up north. Four Towns. near Grygl a. Minnesota. around 191 7. where Theodore had homesteaded in the early 1900's.

They had four children: Evelyn Geneva: born in Crookston. Minnesota. Myrtle Henrietta. Elmer J a me s. and Leon a rd George. a ll born in Wilmin gton. Minnesota . Evelyn married Gullick Byklum. They have five children: Hazel. Irene. Ray-mond. lone. and Wallace. Myrtle ma rried John By klum. They have four children: Ronald . Lois. Twins Rodney and Dua ne and step-daughters. Darlene and Lavone.

When Theodore died December 1930. Elm er was only nine-teen and Leonard seventeen. but with a lo t of hard work a nd help from neighbors. th ey took over the wo rk on the farm . and still have it tod ay . They never ma rried. Evelyn and Myrtle attended schoo l in southern Minneso ta. All four finished with schooling in the north. Helen died October 2. 1963.

Willie Cornelious Newhouse (Nyhus) was born August 24. 1880 a t Spring Grove. Minnesota. He ma rried Ethel Grace Avery. December 8. 19 15 in Crookston. Minnesota. She was born February I. 1894 at Stockton. Illin o is. Besides being a homemaker. Ethel (Grace she was known as) had always been interested in art a nd draw in g. She had a na tural talent for it. and had many hobbies. WilDe was interested in farming and livestock. especially with raising OIC a nd Chester White pi gs. They farmed with ho rses for many yea rs. One of the mos t diffi-cult times was July 3. 1935 . the day of the tornado. which com-pletely demolished the barn a long with inflicting o ther losses. A new barn was built immediately. They farmed in Fairfax township for about forty-six yea rs . then moved into Crookston in 1960. Irvin purchased the homeplace in 1957 . Willie and Grace were th e parent s of seven children . al l of whom attended school a t di strict 288. and were members of the Kitt-son 4-H Club. which at one time had forty- three members.

Earl Avery was born February 13. 1917. He was a graduate of Northwest School. 1936. served in the a rmy 1942-45. a nd has been with Sta ndard Oil Co. since 1938. He retired in 1976. He married on December 7. 1940 to Louise J. Hanson. They have five children: Janet Mae. bo rn 1942. Gerald Wayne. bo rn 1944. Darlene Kay. born 1946. Peggy Jea n. born 1953. and Barbara Ann. born 1954. Four grandchi ldren: Sheri . Terry. Joey. and Danny. December 26. 1967 Earl ma rried Agnes Hanson Noah. She had seven children: Betty Moran. James Thomas. Do uglas Gilbert. Vincent Leroy. Carol Louise. Mar-garet Ann. and Jo n Fra ncis.

Kenneth Wilson was born November 16. 191 9. He a ttended Northwest Schoo l in 1937. He served in the army 1942-45. He is employed with Bemidji Co-op Creamery and is president o f the Central Labor Union of Bemidji . He married o n December 24. 1943 Marion J. Reinsc midt. They had two daughters: A li ce Lynn born in 1945 and Cynthia Gaye. bo rn in 1948: a lso one son Kenneth James. Kenneth died December 28. 1948 .

Ivah Gladys was bo rn August 20. 1921. She a ttended North-west School. She was married September 24. 1941 to Alex Drumheller (employed with G. N. and Burlingto n since 1939). They live at Fisher. Minnesota. They had the Fisher "Confec-tionary Store" 1956-61. They have two children: Judy Marie born in 1943. a nd Dennis Allan born in 1947. They have three grandsons: Daniel. David. a nd Steven.

Luella May was bo rn November 12. 1923. She married Armond Gamme. June 15. 1945 . She is employed at "Supreme Dairy" Crookston. Armond died June 5. 1946. August 16. 1947 Luella married James Whitney. He se rved in the navy four a nd one-half years. He is employed with Strander Abstract I nsur-ance Company as vice-president and treasurer a nd la ter as president of the Minnesota Land Title Assoc ia tion. She too was employed with Strander Abstract. Ja mes died June 5. 1971. Luella died November 1973. They had two children: Paul Leslie born 1954. and Joyce Lyn n born 1956.

Glenn Raymond was born November 19. 1925 . He served with the navy 1944-46. He engaged in farming grain and suga r beets. He married Ly la Larson on May 24. 1947. They ha ve four children: Patricia Ann. born 1947. Ronald Glenn bo rn 1949. Gregory Allen born 1951. and Timothy Sco tt born 1959. They have fo ur grandchildren: Joey. Chad. Ronda . a nd Kelly.

Irvin Ellsworth was born September 3. 1928. He took over the fa rm in 1957 a nd lives on the ho me place. He engaged in farming grain and sugar beets. He married Arlene Lenoir (Hoverson) on March 29. 1969. They have two children: Bruce Allan born 1957. Leo na Mae born 1958.

Haro ld Jerome was born December 12. 1930. He served in the navy 1952-55. He was a graduate of Central High School. attended San Diego Sta te College for three yea rs. Having moved to California. he was employed by "Sears Roebuck" Co. He ma rried Verna Torgeso n December 15. 1956. They have three so ns: Keven Scott born in 1957. Ran dy Wilson born in 1959. and Gary Lee was born in 1962. They reside in EI Cajon. California.

Willie died July 6. 1962: and Ethel (Grace) died June 18. 1973 .

Edwin Margido Newhouse (Nyhus) was bo rn August 25. 1882. a t Spring Grove. Minneso ta. He married Bertha Gret-chen Jebe. Ja nuary 22. 1908. in Crookston. Minnesota. She was born April 23. 1888 in Busdo rf. Germany. She came to the United States as a n infant. They farmed in Fa irfax Township until 1958. They had two sons. Bo th attended schoo l a t Di strict 288.

Ernest Newhouse was born November 24. 1908. He was a graduate of Northwest School. Crookston and attended Carle-ton College. Northfield. Minneso ta. He was married on Sep-tember 3. 1934 to Edna H. Erdman. He was a staff announcer at Radio Sta tion KGFK. Moo rhead . Minnesota. From 1933-34 he was sales manager for Premier Electric Appliance Com-pany. Minneap o lis fr o m 1934 to 1942. He served in the USAAF from 1942-46. He was founder a nd owner of: New-house Automotive I ndustries. Los Angeles. 1946-61: Pacific Lubrica nts Company. Los Angeles. 1947-61: Engine Accesso-ries Ma nufacturing Company. Los Angeles. 1948-61 when the three businesses were sold. He was president o f Walbef In vest-ment Corporation. Whittier. California fro m 1955 to the pres-ent. Ernest and Edna presently reside a t 15239 EI Soneto Drive. Whittier. California. 90605. Ernest was honored fo r a number of yea rs by being in . "Who's Who in the West." a nd in World Who's Wh o (commerce a nd Industry).

Family of Willie and Ethel Newhouse : Front row, L. to R.: Willie, Irvin, Harold and Grace. Back row, L. to R.: Earl , Luella, Kenneth. Ivah and Glenn.

Lawrence was bo rn April 23. 1910. He graduated from the Northwest School in Crookston a nd Intersta te College. Fargo. North Dakota. He was ma rried June 9. 1938 to June F. Berger at Marble. Minneso ta. They have one daughter. two sons. Bev-erly Joy - 1943. Keith Lawrence - 1942. Neil Francis -1950. all born in Minnea polis. Minnesota. Law rence is a real estate broker. They reside at 411 North Shady Court. Brea . California 9262 1. Edwin and Berth a celebrated their 50th anniversary in 1958. in California. Following Edwin's dea th in 1959. Bertha resided in Buffalo. Minnesota : then in 1965 she moved to Clairmont. California. Bertha died May 25, 1974. Edwin died May 30. 1959.

The " ewhouse Brothers" were pro minent fa rmers, ac tive in Church a nd community affairs. members o f Fa irfax Farm Bureau and Community Club. secre ta ry-treasurer o f Fairfax Township Boa rd . members of School Boa rd Dist rict 288 for

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many years, and joint owners of the original Fairfax Tele-phone Company.

CHARLES AND ETHA PESTER My maternal grandfather, Charles Tinnermeier, was born in

Hohenhausen,. Germany in 1833 and my maternal grand-mother, Mmnte Goeke, was born at Rock City, Wisconsin in 1848. They were married in 1868 and moved to Newton, Iowa where they farmed till 1905, when they moved to Baxter, Iowa. Grandfather passed away in 1911 and Grandmother in 1938. They raised eleven children. My mother, Elizabeth, was the youngest.

My paternal grandparents, Edward Pester and Nellie Buck, were both born in the United States and lived in Davenport, Iowa when they were married. Grandfather Pester worked at the railroad foundry in Rock Island, Illinois till he lost the sight of one eye from a piece of flying steel. In about 1900 they moved from Davenport to a small farm at Rhodes, Iowa, they were there till 1929 when they moved and lived with Grand-mother's brother, Herbert Buck. Grandfather passed away in 1932 and grandmother in 1938. They raised five children; my father. Henry, was the third.

My father was born in 1885 at Davenport and my mother in 1889 at Newton. They were married in December 1906. I was born in December. 1907. We lived on four small farms near Rhodes and Melbourne till 1915 when we moved to Collins, Iowa, where my father operated a drug store. In 1916 the drug store was traded for a 300-acre (arm near Manvel , North Dakota. We farmed there till 1919 when we moved to Grand Forks, North Dakota. Father worked in a produce house while we were there. In 1921 we moved back to the farm; in 1924 we moved again to a farm near Johnstown, North Dakota . In 1929 we moved to Crookston, Minnesota on the farm where my wife Etha and I now live. In 1938 my father and mother moved into Crookston. In 1942 they moved to a farm near Euclid. Minnesota. In 1943 they moved back to Crookston, where father passed away in 1971, and Mother is now living at the St. Francis Residence in Crookston.

My sister Margaret was born in December 1909, sister Mar-ion in 1912 (died in 1935), sister Dorothy March 1915, sister Wanda November 1920, and brother Harlan October 1918.

I attended grade school in Rhodes and Collins, Iowa coun-try school near Manvel and in Grand Forks, I attended high school one yea r at Manvel. My sister Margaret and I drove the seven miles that we lived from Manvel at that time every day. When the roads were dry we drove the old Model T but when it was muddy we drove a team on the buggy, in the winter the team on a covered sleigh. We called it the jumper!

LEtha Agnes (Bollinger), was born January 30, 1910 the youngest of II children born to Henry and Agnes (Schu ltz) Bollinger at Fulton, Iowa. My maternal grandparents, Sarah Kaufman and Frank Schultz, were born in Pennsylvania later homesteadmg m South Dakota and still later moving to east-ern Iowa. My paternal grandparents, Jacob Anna Miller Bol-

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Charles and Etha Pester.

linger , were both born in Switzerland. Jacob entered the United States through New York in 1852, worked awhi le in OhtO, moved on to Indiana and farmed . Anna (Miller) Bol-lInger entered the United States through the port of New Orle-ans on the saIlmg vessel "The Harvest"; they were 53 days crossmg the AtlantIC. The family came up the Mississippi to LOUISVIlle, Kentucky. Later they bought land in Indiana across the nver.

Anna Miller and Jacob were married September II, 1875 in Clark County, Indiana . I moved to a farm northwest of Crook-ston, Minnesota with my parents, three brothers, John, Max and Charles, and two sisters Dorothy Lien and Margaret Slyt. The fIve older sIsters remained in Iowa. I attended grade school in District # 213 for seven years. We had to make our own fun : we used to hitch up the young calves to a two-wheel cart and had a great time driving them around; several families would take turns having house parties at least once a week. My dad played the violin and Mrs. Paul Hansen played the pump organ or the. pl a no, whIchever the family had . I fell asleep many tImes In school the days after the parties. We went in sIelghs buned m straw and blankets to keep warm. The high-lIght of the year was the Christmas programs at the school and the Chnstmas parties at the neighbors' homes. Each family would furnIsh len pounds of sugar for candy. Charles Quick, one of the neIghbors who was a professional candy maker made all the candy, enough for all!

In 1924 the family moved five and one-half miles east of Crookston where Leslie Dans now lives . I finished grade school at the brick school east of Crookston and graduated from Crookston Central High in 1928. I attended one year of normal trammg a t the Franklin School. House parties were our fun through the high school years. After normal school I taught four years in rural schools around Crookston.

On June 6, 1935, Charles and I were married at the Pester home in Ii double wedding with his sister Margaret and Bennie Stnckler. We bought and lived on a farm west of Crookston till 1938. The house was a former school house built with oak logs. TImes were rather tough and money was scarce, we looked a t a quarter a long time before we went for a show. During the win-ter the neIghbors took turns having card parties. We usually went m a bob sleIgh, wrapped m blankets. One night it was 52° below zero.

In 1938 we traded farms with Charles' folks and moved here where we now live. We have had some good years and some not so good, but we have enjoyed our years on the farm and have not found a spot where we would rather live than here.

We have raised six fine children: Shirley, Ralph, James, CaroL Robert and Pamela. They are all married and have fam-ilies of their own.

J. HOWARD SARGENT J . Howard Sargent first came to Minnesota from Rushville,

illInOiS as a farm laborer. working as a binder driver on the Grandm, orth Dakota grain farm. He homesteaded near Four Town, Minnesota for a couple of years before marrying Ethel Della Rose of Rushville, Illinois on April 28, 1914. They settled on a 480-acre farm seven miles Southeast of Crookston They raised small grains, potatoes, sheep, registered cattle and Poland China swine. On this farm they eventually built a whole new set of buildings. Their five chi ldren, Edward, deceased ; LOIS, Mrs. Ray Smith, Baudette, Minnesota' Clar-ence, Osakis, Minnesota; Marion, Mrs. Wm. E. Kis-stmmee, Flonda; Marlys (Mrs. Orvis Englestad) Florence, Alabama, all graduated from the Northwest School of Agricul-ture.

"Howard" as he is known by his many friends, is a member of the MethodIst church, served on the church board Red River Valley Winter Shows, township board, school board and the local telephone company. He was the first president of the Crookston Production Credit Association and he and his wife were honored as "Farmer and Homemaker" of West Polk County: He is best remembered for his outstanding herd of H olsteIn cattle, Poland China swine, and his community minded spirit.

Threshing in 1935 at the J. Howard Sargent farm.

ANDREW P. SEATON Laura Belle Reser and Andrew Pennell Seaton were married

February 22, 1905, at the home of her mother, Emma L. Reser, in Floyd County, Iowa. Laura was born July 2, 1885 near Bel-vedere, Il1inois. Andrew was born February 14, 1884 at Floyd, Iowa. They lived on his father's farm in Floyd County for ten years until they moved to Polk County , Minnesota , and bought a farm in Fairfax Township on March I, 1915. Andrew had been here the year before to buy the farm from Joe Mon-tagne. This 160 acres was purchased for $9,000 and rented out the first year before the family moved to Polk County.

Three children were born before Laura and Andrew moved to Minnesota : Emma Lucile. born December 22, 1906; George Ferguson born March 1. 1908; Edna Fern born January 15, 1912. The family had been here less than one year when Edna died of spinal meningitis shortly before her fourth birthday. The family took her back to Iowa to be buried. While they were in Iowa, a fourth child, Oren Andrew, was born January 10.1916.

Three weeks later the family came back to Minnesota to start again. They raised livestock, a few pigs, chickens. turkeys and small grain. Most of the grain was used for feed.

Two more daughters were born - Leah Joyce born July 28, 1919. and Maude Ethel born March 26, 1924.

A few buildings were added to the original farm yard. A threshing machine was purchased and with a neighbor, Albert Behren. custom threshing was done around the neighborhood.

On May II. 1928 Andrew passed away. This left Laura to run the farm and also to care for five children. The family managed to finish paying for the farm and also purchased another 160 acres adjoining their farm .

George and Lucile attended the Quarberg school while Oren, Leah and Maude attended the Brick School , which was a distance of three and one-half miles from home.

Laura moved to Crookston in the winter of 1942. Her chil-dren were through school and Oren and his family continued to live on the farm . She lived in a rooming house with daugh-ters Leah and Maude until Leah went to Fresno, California to be with her husband. Maude married Charles Lane in August of 1943 and moved to Albany. Georgia. When Maude left, Leah returned to live with her mother until her husband returned from overseas.

Seaton Home 1918.

In 1946 Laura moved back to Iowa to be with Andrew's old-est sister, Maude Kennard, during her husband's illness and death. Later she lived with other relatives, until on March II, 1952 she married Roy W. Quinby in Floyd, Iowa. They lived in Floyd until Mr. Quinby passed away in January of 1975. Laura now resides in Crookston with her daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Allen Brolsma and Scott. She is very active and spends many hours doing embroidery work.

Laura's grandson, Arlynn Seaton and family, now live on the family farm and "going out to the place a young couple selected for home 60 years ago" can have many memories for a 90-year-old lady.

CARL STARK I, Meta Stark, came from Hannover, Germany in 1911 with

my parents. We settled in Hull. Iowa, on a farm. Then we moved to Rock Rapids, Iowa. There I met my husband, Carl Stark. He was born in Berleburg, Germany, in 1900. Carl came to America in 1923. He went to South Dakota, where his sister and family lived. Then he went to Rock Rapids, Iowa. Carl and I were married in Rock Rapids on December 31, 1928. On January 12, 1929. we moved to Fisher, Minnesota, on a farm northeast of Fisher where we farmed for eighteen years. Our four girls were all born there. Their names are Hildegard. Ursula, Emilie and Henrietta. Then in 1947, we ' moved to Crookston, Minnesota and lived on a farm east of Crookston. In 1971. Carl passed away of a heart attack. We have nine grandchildren.

Carl and Meta Stark.

PHILIP J. WEILER The Philip J . Weiler family arrived in Polk County on July I,

1971. Residing originally at 711 North Broadway, Crookston, they moved June 1. 1972 to a newly constructed home located on a two and one-half acre tract on the northwest quarter of Section 20 of Fairfax township. This tract had been the site of a farmstead. but the farm house had burned down many years earlier. and the barn had been moved to the homesite of Ed Anderson. the owner from whom Weilers purchased the prop-erty.

The Weiler family consisted of Mr. Weiler, his wife, Bar-bara, and five children - Cindy, born April 28, 1958; Pam, born September 6, 1960; Rose, born September 27, 1961; Judy, born January 20, 1963 ; and Doug, born July 20, 1964. Mr. Weiler was an ordained minister, who came to Crookston to serve as pastor of the United Presbyterian Church. Previous to their residence in Polk County, they had lived at Two Har-bors, Minnesota (1965-71). Caldwell, Ohio (1961 -65), Louis-ville, Kentucky (1960-61), and Pasadena, California (1957-60). Mr. and Mrs. Weiler were married June 22, 1957. at St. Paul, Minnesota.

Mr. Weiler's family consisted of two different strains: his father's family were urban business people, descended from German, French. and Scotch immigrants who had settled in east central Minnesota in the late nineteenth century. His mother came from a rural family of German and English set-tlers, who came to southwestern Wisconsin in the early nine-teenth century. From the area around Arena, Wisconsin, they

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moved to Osage County. Iowa. a nd then to Parkers Pra irie. Minnesota. owning and operating farms at each place. Mr. Weiler's parents met while both were attending Northwes tern Bible School at Minneapolis . Following their marriage. they spent an active life as a Baptist pastor's famil y . serving churches in Cook. Minnesota. Hollandale. Minnesota. Supe-rior. Wisconsin. and St. Paul. Minnesota.

Mrs. Weiler's father's family descended from German immi-gran ts. Her father grew up on a farm in Nye. Wisconsin. but later sett led in Osceola. Wisconsin. He late r became an active business man with the F. W. Woolworth Company until he suffered a major heart a ttack in 1956. Mrs. Weiler's mother's fami ly origi nated in England. Two brothers immigrated to America in 1660. H er mother grew up in SI. Paul. Mrs . Weiler's parents were married in 1927. moved severa l times to various towns in th e Midwest. and finally settled in St. Paul where Mrs. Weiler grew up in the Lake Como district.

OSCAR AND AMANDA WERMAGER Amanda Josephine Buxengaard. da ughter of Knute and

Guri Hefte Buxengaard. and Oscar Martin Wermager. son of Ole H. and Maria Ostern Wermager. were married in Wil-mington towns hip . H ous ton co'Unty at the Wilmington Lutheran Church on April 20. 19 10. In April of 19 14 they trav-eled to Crookston and sett led in Fairfax township. Crookston. Minnesota. Herein a re Mrs. Wermager's recollections of those times.

"Traveling by boxcar with all of yo ur worldly possessions to a new home in a new community was not the easiest thing in my life. We arrived at Kittson Station . loca ted by · the Louie

Cournia farm . at 2:00 a.m .. April 3. 1914. after a three-day train trip with horses. potatoes. home canned goods. furniture. plow. drag. planter. seed grain and a new Ford car. Mr. and Mrs. Eddie Newhouse had us stay with them for the night. and we then moved into our two-room house on a 120-acre farm in Fairfax township. Section 32. This is now owned by Howard Reitmeier a nd was formerly called the Barren farm. Oscar's brother Carl a nd his wife. Lena. who was also my sister, were supposed to move to Crookston after Grandpa Wermager had traded the Wilmington Grocery Store for the 120-acres of land in Crookston. Our dad was ill at the time and Lena was taking care of him at that time and did not wa nt to make the move, so it was Oscar a nd I that came. At that time we had two chil-dren. Gilma. who had been born January 7. 1912 a nd is now Mrs. Gale Leonard of Boulder City. Nevada; and Odella. born October 3. 1913. now Mrs. Wallace Olson of Braham. Minne-sota. That first spring and summer were busy times. what with the taking of trees from the riverbank and replan tin g them. plus a ll of the other work connected with farming. We were fortunate to have a good well. so water could be carried to these trees which were planted for a windbreak. Crops were also good and we built a new house in 19 18. Another daughter. Alma. now Mrs. Martin Melhouse of Crookston. was born November 18. 1916.

"Grandpa Ole H . Wermager and hi s second wife. Laura Larson. moved to Crookston in 19 15 to a farm sou th of us in Russia l township. li ving in a smaller house wh ile their new home was being bui lt on the farm that now belongs to Tilman Wermager. Gr;ndpa lived on ly a yea r after moving here and was buried in Wilmington. Grandma and her son Louis Lar-son and Osca r's brother. Tilman moved into the new house."

Fanny Township History Fanny Township was organized in 1880 and named for a

lady named Fanny whose surname is not known. According to two entries in the office of Register of Deeds. the first election was held at the home of W. elson. Judges were George Day. Luke Colborn and W. Nelson . Clerks were Ben Holter and George O' ea l. No mention was made of officers elec ted. The first township meeting was held at the home of Mr. Bracket. March 3. 1882. Walter Latta. S. A. Freeman. a nd W. L. Nelson were judges . Clerks were John Lerry and Alexander McDonald. Again no mention of officers elected. The first town hall was the school in District 77. in Section 20 on land now owned by Wil liam Volker. But for many years it has been in the Tin School in the northern part of the township. Some of th e earliest se ttlers in the township were the Rutherfords. Loves. O'Breihts. Benoits. Vonderbecks. Senskes. Radis. and Volkers who were here before 1900. The Jens Rasmussens came in 1904 and Altepeters in 1905.

Fanny Township pioneers. as all pioneers. had to be self suf-ficient. Farming was mainly subsistence farming. When wheat. the main money crop. was harvested . farmers hauled it by team to the nearest elevator. They always came home with a year's supply of flour and perhaps most of the main staples such as coffee. salt. sugar. beans. etc. All farms had large gar-dens. and the farm women canned all their vegetables. and made pickles and jelly. Every farm had cattle. pigs. and chick-ens, so farm families were well supp li ed with meat. butter, milk and eggs. Anything left over was sold . so farmers had a little money to buy a few things. Many homes were heated entirely with wood. .

At first there were no mail routes, a nd the men took turns going once a week for the mail and delivering it to their neigh-bors. Finally a star route was organized out of Davidson. Sometimes the mailman used a bicycle to deliver mail. In order to have telephone service the people of Fanny Township and neighboring townships organized their own telephone com-pany about 19 12 and called it the Valley Telephone Company. They connected with Bell Telephone Company near the Agri-cu lt ural College . These people built a nd maintained their own 256

telephone line. Alfred Rasmussen was one of the people who climbed telephone po les to make repairs. For many yea rs there was a pair of pole climbers in a box on his porch. About 1955 Bell Telephone Company bought the local company. a nd ever-yone got modern telephones. Edward. Mike and Clarence Reitmeier. Erwin Bauer and AI Rasmussen ihstalled the tele-phones.

There were no rural churches in the area. and so the people had to be directors of their own religion . M r. Buffington organized a Sunday School during the 1880's which met in the school District 77. The American Sunday School Union was o rganized in 1912 and Sunday School was held in the Tin School. The Amul Torklesons were very active in this organi-za tion. In 1925 a Missionary Society was organized. Their aim. as stated in the charter. was to help the needy in the commu-nity. About that time the Fanny Home Study Club came into being and is sti ll meeting. Farm Bureau. Farmer's Un ion and 4H Clubs also were active .

Fanny Township is a very stable community. with land passed on from father to son. Conrad Danielson owns and operates the land aw ned by his father. John Terry, Clarence Reitmeier, Ivan Radi, Alfred Rasmussen. Glen Torkelson. J oh n Damhoff. Edward R ei tm eier. Duane Wimpfheimer. Loves. Volkers and Rutherfords do likewise. In some cases the third genera tion owns the land. In 1979 the Robe rt Rutherford land will have been Rutherford land for a century.

The people of Fanny Township are proud of their homes and community. Prosperity and mobility have made it a much less closely knit community than it once was. I hope that each and everyone of us appreciate the toi l and hardships of our ancestors that has made possible our lives as they are today.

BONANZA FARMING My earliest memories of the Buffington farm are a mass of

ugly tumbling down buildings in the northeast corner of