| Summary: | available hand was needed. Then, the young man moved toward the west, arriving in Chicago he got a job as an oiler on boats on the Great Lakes. After two years, he had worked himself up and received a certificate to become a full-fledged steam-engine fireman. In 1897 he took up a homestead in Rich Valley and spent the remainder of his life there. His homestead was located seven miles west of the present city of Maddock. One lone tree stood for many years to mark his first home in Rich Valley. He sold his homestead and moved about three miles further west where he had purchased some land. Mary C. Kehrer, who was born in Olivet, S. Dak., came to North Dakota as a young girl, living in- Jamestown for a few years, before she came to Rich Valley township with the Maddock family and homesteaded in Rich Valley, where she met and married the most eligible bachelor in the area, William A. Preuss. They first lived in what was known as Goa, where they operated the post office. Mr. Preuss, one of the first pioneers in the area, drove to Maddock with horses every day to get the mail. They later moved to the farm home now occupied by William R. Preuss, where they raised their entire family. Nine children were born to Mary and William Preuss, seven of whom are still living. John at Rapid City, S.D.; Agnes, Mrs. Otto Anderson, at Becker, Minn.; Lavina, Mrs. Walter Jyrkas, at Keewatin, Minn.; William on the home farm; Dorothy in Atlantic Beach, Fla.; Robert in St. Cloud, Minn.; and Charles in Walnut Creek, Calif. Rose and Walter died in infancy and are buried in the family plot in the Rose Hill Cemetery. Because Bill Preuss could speak German and English, he often acted as interpretor for the business transactions of many a newcomer. William August Preuss died September 11,1937 at his home in Rich Valley after a prolonged illness of over two years. He was buried from the Trinity Lutheran Church with Rev. H.M. Aanestad officiating. Mary spent one year on the farm with her son, William and wife, Katherine, after Bill died in 1937. In 1938 she left Rich Valley to live with her daughter, Dorothy, who had just accepted a teaching position at Buffalo, N. Dak. From there they went to Broadus, Mont, and then Shelby, Mont., spending some time each summer on the farm. During World War II when Dorothy served with the U.S. Coast Guard, Mrs. Preuss spent time visiting her other children and sisters, including a good deal of time at the home farm. In 1946 Dorothy and her mother went to Orange, Tex., then on to Spokane, Wash., to Portland, Ore. and Cleveland, Ohio where Dorothy was employed as Executive Director of Camp Fire Girls Councils. In 1956 her health had declined to where it was necessary to move to a nursing home, where her sunny disposition and positive attitude was a constant insporation to patients and staff alike. She passed away January 15, 1965 at 82 years of age. She was laid to rest beside her husband and two children in the family plot at Esmond. William A. Preuss and his wife Mary C. Preuss are survived by three daughters and four sons. Agnes Anderson of Becker, Minn.; John Preuss, Rapid City, S. Dak.; William R. Preuss, Esmond; Dorothy Preuss, Atlantic City, Fla.; Charles Preuss, Walnut Grove, Calif.; Lovina Jyrkas, Keewatin, Minn, and Robert Preuss, Cold Spring, Minn. WILLIAM R. PREUSS FAMILY William R. Preuss was born to William A. and Mary Preuss in the very house that he still lives in. His parents had lived for a number of years in a two room house, when they decided to build the stone house. In the fall of 1909, they moved in to the new house and Oct. 29th young William arrived. One brother and two sisters were her before him. Billy received his schooling in the Rich Valley School, driving the school bus much of the time. It has been said that Billy was a reader. He would read his text books through as soon as he got them, in his 'spare' time he would have a story book behind his Geography book and he would be reading even during recitation period (in those days the 552 Scanned with a Zeutschel Zeta book scanner at 300 dpi. Edited with Multi-Page TIFF Editor.
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