| Summary: | piece brass band, on Nov. 21, 1905, and its first village election on April 16,1906. The first child born in Maxbass was Cecil Loucks, born on February 26, 1906, to Mr. and Mrs. Ed Loucks. The first interment in Maxbass Graceland Cemetery was Sarah Bodal, eighteen-year-old daughter of Anton Bodal, in April, 1915. The first church services in Maxbass were held in the Renville store building. E.E. Cram was the first Congregational minister and CD. Locklin was the first Methodist minister. The Grace Methodist Church in Maxbass was erected in 1909 and was dedicated on November 21,1909. The first trustees of the Methodist Church were Vern Kemp, W.M. Martin, Abe McCaslin, D.L. Lewis, and George Arnold. The Maxbass Congregational Church, also erected in 1909, was dedicated on December 12,1909. Years later a decreased membership made it necessary for the Congregational Church to close, and Church building eventually became the church home of the English Lutheran Congregation. The first trustees to serve the Lutheran Church were H.B. Gunderson, John Haakenson, and Ole Brendsel. In 1964 a new English Lutheran Church was built in Maxbass. St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Maxbass was built and dedicated in 1916. The first trustees were Tom Galvin and Fred Weber Sr. Father Andrieux of Bottineau served as priest until 1948. Before Maxbass was three months old, a meeting was held in the Security Bank building to plan a school for the thirty or more children living in or near Maxbass. Miss Jennie Stokes was the first teacher and held school for a short time in the Renville Store. School opened Jan. 4,1906. In 1907 a two-story brick school house was erected which was used until 1962 when it was razed. A new one-story school was built in 1961. The bell for the new school in 1907 was given by Mr. Max Bass. In 1913 Minnick Fossum, then president of the school board, presented diplomas to the first graduates of Maxbass High School. The first graduates were Anna Anderson, Clifford Cram, Estella Kirn, and Lottie Kirn. In 1955 Maxbass celebrated its 50th anniversary by holding a golden jubilee on July 22-23. Also in 1955 Mrs. Minnick (Gussty) Fossum was North Dakota's Mother of the Year. Maxbass had a population of 240 in 1910 which showed little change to 1950 when 259 people lived in the village. Maxbass had the distinction of a suburb, "West Maxbass," being platted. Ladies Home Union, about 1925. HOFFMAN TOWNSHIP Contributed by Albert Kappadahl and Rowena Trent Hoffman Township is located in west central Bottineau County, bordering on Renville County. It was organized in 1902 and took its name from Charles Hoffman, an early homesteader. Other early settlers were: William Witteman, James Hennessy, Jacob Wettlaufer, John Rehn, James Brennan, M. Manning, C.S. Dunbar, Otto Becker, B. Felton, J. Henning, Fred Robillard, Amond Skaaden, Olaf Holmquist, George Buer, Jim Maegher, August Peiper, Roland Wade, Clyde Kelly, Robert Thurlow, Charley Berg, Milton Whitlo, George Brackelsburg, S.G. Smith, Billy Lesmann, Jim Swearingen, George Ryerson and Watson Patalas. School was held in the Witteman kitchen until a schoolhouse was built on section 23. A consolidated school, replacing the old one-room schools was built and named for Tom Perry, a bachelor homesteader. Sarah Britton is believed to have been the first teacher. The consolidated school had three class rooms, a large gymnasium and a teacherage. Three teachers taught classes from first grade through the second year of high school. This school burned down and a brick school building was built on the site. There was a very active Ladies Home Union Club, which became the Hoffman Homemaker's Club. After harvest and during the winter, the Ladies Home Union met at the homes, all the family attended, had dinner, then the men went upstairs to play cards and the ladies held their meeting. Most of the "old-timers'' have passed on, and their families are living elsewhere, but Hoffman Township goes on — making history for future generations. HOMEN TOWNSHIP Contributed by Glen Rude The first white settlers to Homen Township who came during the period of 1886-1890 included Pete Olson Engelsrud, John Rude, the Rost family, Knut (Homen) Torgerson, Martin Berg, Gilbert Lindberg, John Bjornseth, Kristian Syvertson, Lars Sivertson, Lars Larson, Aanund Noraberg and their families. Many more families followed during the period from 1890 to 1903. Nearly everyone of these families had immigrated from Norway and had settled first in Minnesota but were driven out by the drought. The Turtle Mountains probably seemed quit* inviting with all its lakes, greenness, abundant fish, wild game, etc. during those difficult times. Life was not easy here either without roads, land having to be cleared of trees before any crops could be planted; but they did have logs for building and firewood, and grass and water for their livestock. They squatted on the land which was not surveyed until in the 1890s and were able to prove up land for homesteading when it was opened in 1898. Homen Township itself was not organized until 1914 with the first annual meeting being held at the Wenstad School on December 10, 1914, with Tom Lee Presiding as moderator. The first township officers were Sivert Berg, Erick Bjornseth, and Selmer Sivertson as supervisor; John Fredrickson, clerk; August Wenstad, treasurer; Peder Wenstad, justice of the peace; Gjermund Johnson, constable; and Hans Odegaard, assessor. The township was named after Knut Torgerson who also went by the name Knut Homen, whom came from Homen, Ranland, Telemark, Norway. The first church in the township, in fact in the Turtle Mts., was the vinje Lutheran Church. The first service was held at the home of Knut Torgerson in about 1889. It was he who also gave the church its name from Vinje Andarea near his home in Norway. The first pastor was Rev. O.P. Svingen who would come from Overly to conduct services from time to time. Rev. Fjeld served the congregation from 1892 to 1896. The Vinje Church and the Nordland Church were both built in 1897. The Vinje Ladies Aid was organized in the spring of 1891 with its first meeting at the Torger Torgerson home. The very earliest "schooling" was held at some of the homes. Probably the earliest school was at Frank Seidel's home during the winter months when he had more time to teach. His pupils were Selmer and Carolina Sivertson, Erick Bjornseth, Peder Wenstad, Charlie and Hans Berg, and Fred Bittner. They went to school on skiis. The Loon lake School District was organized on June 19, 1900, with George Michie (60) Scanned with a Zeutschel Zeta book scanner at 300 dpi. Edited with Multi-Page TIFF Editor.
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