| Summary: | In 1935 the Strasburg Parish and the St. Anthony church at Selz were united. In 1940 Mr. and Mrs. Lesmeister moved to the city of Harvey and joined St. Cecilia's Catholic Church. Mr. and Mrs. Ludwig Lesmeister are now deceased. MICHAEL LESMEISTER FAMILY Michael Lesmeister, the second of four children, was born on July 30, 1939, at the home of his parents, Mike and Marie Eva (Vetter) Lesmeister, in Alexanter Township. He attended schools in Strasburg School District, in Selz, in Harvey (where he graduated in 1956) and at Minot State College, where he earned a two-year teaching certificate. Mike then began a thirteen year teaching career, teaching at Strasburg School No. 4, Balta, Selz, Karlsruhe, Orrin, Fillmore and York. In 1962 he began a six year term with the North Dakota National Guard. The following year, 1963, he purchased a 280 acre farm from his uncle and aunt, Sig and Barbara Lithun, to begin his farming career. Three years later, on a blind date, Michael met his future bride, Maloye Cink. She was born August 10, 1945 to Fred and Hulda (Schaffer) Cink, Sr., of Valley City. Maloye had attended Valley City State College system from kindergarten through four years of college. She began teaching English and physical education in Leeds in 1966. On July 1, 1967 the couple was married. After her marriage, Mrs. Lesmeister taught two more years in Leeds. In 1969 the Lesmeisters bought 780 acres of soil bank land from Benno Krenzel and spent much of the summer readying the land for production. In the fall they moved to Maddock where Maloye again taught English and physical education. The extra-curricular school activities included advisor to GAA, cheerleaders, pom-pon squad, pep club, and various classes; also girls basketball coach. She retired from teaching in 1974 and the couple moved to the former Sig Lithun farm. In 1972, Michael bought part interest in C & S, Inc. of Maddock and became vice-president of the corporation, thus beginning an additional career in business. Specialties of the company include Arctic Cat snowmobiles and Yamaha motorcycles and Wil-rich farm machinery as well as farm equipment. Another career, that of parenthood, opened to Mike and Maloye on December 5,1974 with the birth of a daughter, Cindee Ann, at Rugby's Good Samaritan Hospital. Michael's farming occupation enlarged in 1975 when he and his brother Laurence invested in 600 acres in partnership from their father. They maintain a herd of 60 head of cattle on the home farm, along with their grain farming. A member of St. Anthony's Church at Selz and St. William's Church at Maddock, Michael has served as a parish council member and a CCD teacher. He is also a member of the Farmers Union and Alexanter Township supervisor. In 1975 the Harvey Jaycees named him '•Outstanding Young Farmer" and he competed for the state award. Another important event for the Lesmeisters this year is the building of a new home on the former Sig Lithun farm, the old Christian Fleck farmstead. MIKE LESMEISTER FAMILY Mike Lesmeister was born to John Lesmeister and Katherine Klein on November 30, 1912 on a farm near Rugby. He was the youngest of six children. He received most of his education in the Strausburg School District No. 2. Mike learned farming through his father when he helped homestead several farms, the last of which is still the family farm. He met his future wife, Marie Eva Vetter, when his family homesteaded for the last time in 1931. Marie Eva Vetter, daughter of Joseph Vetter and Christina Schweitzer, was born at home on the farm in Alexanter Township on June 20, 1913. She received most of her education in the Strausburg School District No. 4. Mike and Marie Eva were married on October 1, 1934 at St. Anthony's Church in Selz. They lived with Mike's parents for two years during the 30's, for it was more economical. In 1936 Mr. and Mrs. John Lesmeister, Mike's parents, retired to Rugby and Mike took over the family farm. The first child, a daughter, was born to Mike and Marie Eva in 1936. They christened the baby Edith. Next came a son, Michael, born in 1939. It was then that Mike found that he needed more income to support his growing family, so he did custom trucking of coal and grain for his neighbors. Soon two more children were added to Mike's family: Eleanor, born in 1944 and Lawrence, born in 1947. Marie Eva managed the farm, doing all the chores and caring for her four children during the time Mike was trucking. These are the children and their histories of the Mike Lesmeister family: Edith, the oldest, received her elementary and high school education in the Strausburg District and Harvey. She started her teaching career in the Strausburg School No. 2. She now teaches at Orrin, which is affiliated with the Rugby School District. Edith married Joe Ripplinger, Jr. in 1958. They now have three children: Jolane, 14, Clyde 13, and Lyle 4. Joe farms near Balta and the family is active in 4-H, school activities and horse competition. Michael, the second of the four children, received elementary and high school education in the Strausburg School District, Selz and Harvey. 225 Scanned with a Zeutschel Zeta book scanner at 300 dpi. Edited with Multi-Page TIFF Editor.
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