| Summary: | were born. Their father and mother having both died, the father from wounds in the Civil War and the mother from child birth, the family had to shift for themselves at an early age. They heard of homesteads and claims'in N.D., and decided to try their luck. After coming to Jamestown they worked on the Branch of the Northern Pacific in the winter and on farms as hired help in the summer. Two years later they filed on homesteads in Saratoga Township. Working with plow and oxen, land was broken up, a sod shanty erected, and thus began a few years of labor and hardships. In order to lay claim to their land and filing on land just opposite each other, the brothers put their sod shanty on the section line, each having his bed on his respective side on which was his land. A team of mares was later shipped from their old home, being their only inheritance of the father's estate. Beans, bacon, and sour dough biscuits were their main food. Occasionally Fred shot a deer, antelope, goose or prairie chicken. They got all the food from Jamestown by horse cart or on foot. Mail, the little there was, was received at a stage coach stop called Saratoga several miles north of Dickey. A few years later there were enough settlers to start a little town, which was called Dickey. Then groceries and fuel were not so far away. 23,000 trees were planted by these brothers, each owning a tree claim, which are still there. In 1887 Fred Maisel and Louisa Foerster of Kensal, N. Dak., were united in marriage. In 1894 George Maisel and Anna Gatz of Winona, Minn., were united in marriage and then two houses were built. Many were the hardships these brothers suffered. But they also had fun. Dances were held in the granaries and a fiddler was hired by a collection that was taken. Wheat was the main crop then and later on, when the steam rig came to the country, other crops were raised. They were cut with a header, stacked and threshed sorrletimes in winter. In 1898 came Andrew, a young brother of the Maisels. He was a horse shoer by trade and did blacksmith work at the Maisel farm. Later on a horse shoeing shop was built by the brothers and that was the first building put up in Marion. He later married Dina Maisel, who had been married to William Maisel, a butcher in Chicago, but who had died at an early age. They never had any children but adopted a boy, who died at an early age. They both passed away in 1932. Mr. and Mrs. Fred Maisel had a family of eight children. Mr. Maisel died in 1945, and Mrs. Maisel died in 1946. Mr. and Mrs. George Maisel had a family of four children. Mr. Maisel passed away in 1917. MARTIN, LAWRENCE AND BETH Lawrence and Beth came to the Marion community October 25, 1946 from Berlin, N.D., where he had been an agent for the N.P. Railroad for a year. Pfior to this, Lawrence was a member of the Army Air Force and had been stationed in Italy. His wife, the former Beth Strand of Cleveland, N.D., continued teaching in Adrian, N.D., while he served. They had been married in Moorhead, Minn., May 1, 1943 and on May 1, 1944 he landed in Italy and spent fourteen months in the European Theater of war. Lawrence considered himself lucky to return home alive. He was transferred from one troop ship to another as they embarked from the U.S. When passing through the Strait of Gibralteor, the convoy was attacked and the ship he had been transferred from was bombed and sank in forty seconds . the bomb going down the smoke stack and all the men were lost. He had been an agent at Streeter, N.D., and when discharged, he resumed the agency at Berlin, N.D. before coming to Marion. They became the parents of four daughters, Cheryl, Lora, Denise and Marsha. While here, Lawrence was clerk of the school board for five years, Secretary-Treasurer of the Fire Dept. 17 years; served on the village board 3 years; was Post Commander of the LaMoure County V.F.W. No. 3364 for 3 years and Village Marshall for 13 years. He played baseball with the Dickey-Adrian team in LaMoure County for 13 years. He was promoted to assistant freight agent at Billings, Mont., in 1968. After one year there, Lawrence was promoted to Assistant Supervisor for Station Services at the General Office in St. Paul, Minn., and at the time of the merger was promoted to Assistant Manager of Station Services for the Burlington Northern Railroad. At the present time they are residing in New Brighton, Minn. Beth resumed her teaching in 1955 and taught at Greenland until 1958 when the Marion School District reorganized and Greenland came into Marion. She taught in the Marion School until 1962. In 1963 she was employed as a clerk in the Post Office, and in 1964 she began working in the State Bank of Marion as teller and bookkeeper. She was also active in school, church and community affairs. Cheryl, Mrs. Daniel Trapp, resides on a farm near Marion and taught piano for six years before retiring to raise her family of two sons, Tracy and Matthew; Lora, Mrs. Lance Wolf, lives at Wahpeton, where her husband is Biology Instructor and Assistant Coach. Lora is a Special Educator and also does part time modeling for Stevensons and Daytons; Denise resides at Cypress, Calif., and is employed at U.S.C., Los Angeles, in the Medical Building as a secretary. She is also doing graduate work in Public Health at the State University of Long Beach; Marsha, Minneapolis, traveled in Europe the summer of 1974 and was in Greece at the time the Turks invaded Cypress. She is a student at Moorhead State College. The family often reminisces of their home in Marion where the girls grew up and of the big storm in 1966. "There will always be fond memories of the Martins first home in Marion, N.D." MATT, JOHN AND ENA John Matt, son of Mr. and Mrs. Anton Matt of Litchville, N. Dak., was born July 1898. In May 1925 he married Ena Miller, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Lou Miller of Litchville. They farmed near Litchville and Hastings quite a few years and raised a family of 4 girls and 1 boy. The things they bought were cheap and so were products they sold. They milked cows, fed chickens, and raised most of their food. They were content, enjoyed their neighbors, and spent many evenings playing games and cards together. They can remember Jack Gamen buying and selling apples at $3 a barrel. Dill pickles came in barrels, and onions and horseradish were exchanged for other products. They bought their home in Greenland Township in 1947. They farmed there for some time and then rented the land to Eugene Smith. John took up carpentry and also enjoys trapping with grandsons. Son Larry married Mary Wiexle, is employed in Jamestown and has 2 children. Mary is married to James Trzpuc, son of John Trzpuc and has 5 children, Duane, Jane, Mary Lou, Bernie and Cynthia. Dorothy was married to Bug (Louis) Sarbaum. They 98 Scanned with a Zeutschel Zeta book scanner at 300 dpi. Edited with Multi-Page TIFF Editor.
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