Stories and histories of Divide County

• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: North Dakota State Library
• Subjects: Canada; Carroll; Fairview; Haugen; Hjelle; Homestead; Huseby; McLeod; Minot; Sheila
• Online Access: http://cdm16921.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/ndsl-books/id/40385

he first drove with one old horse that knew the road quite well and wouldn't think of running away. In fact, we were happy if we succeeded in getting the horse to run down hill all the way. We wore out two buggies, one sleigh and quite a few horses during the twenty years spent going to Lincoln Valley school. In 1936 Hans Dahl passed on from pneumonia, leaving his wife and seven children, six of whom were under twenty-one. Our father meant much to us and we learned early in life to obey, respect and admire him. He always had a ready smile and jokes to make us laugh and a good voice for singing. Mother stayed on the farm and Bernhard did the farm work with Otto, Stephen and Andrew helping with the chores. We are grateful to Mother for keeping us together and for all she taught us. May God bless her! Bernhard served in World War II and Stephen served in the Navy. Stephen married Marion Hjelle and has a new home at Tigard, Oregon and a family of one boy and two girls. Bernhard and Otte are on the homestead and own and rent other land. Helga finished nurse's training in Minot, N. Dak., and married Arnie Haugen of Sidney, Montana. He is the owner of "Haugen Auto Service". They bought a new home and have a family of two boys and two girls. Anna married Art Christianson of Glenburn, N. Dak. They live on a farm and have a family of three boys and one girl. Myrtle finished nurse's training in Minot, N. Dak., and Missionary training in Three Hills, Alberta. She married Raymond Finsaas of Fairview, Mont. They both served as missionaries in Western Montana before going to So. Rhodesia in Africa to serve four years. They came home for two years furlough and last fall went back to Africa for another four years. They have a family of three girls. Andrew married Louise Wagner and have a family of two boys and 1 girl. They bought a home in San Rafael, California, where Andrew works in a brick factory. This fall 1964, will be fifty years since Mrs. Hans Dahl came to the farm as a homesteader's wife. CLARENCE GRAHAM Clarence James Graham metRosina Warren while stationed in England during World War I. They were married in Montreal, Canada Jan. 23, 1921, coming from there to Nebraska. In 1927 they came to Divide County where their 3 children were raised. Clarice married Irwin Holm in 1946 and they now have 2 girls Cheryl and Sheila and a boy, Keith. Gordon married Gloria Vafed of McLeod, No. Dak. in 1951. They have a girl Rozanne and a boy Gary. Both Clarice and Gordon and their families live at Hartington, Nebr. Evis married David Olson in 1942. Their children are Jerry, Jean, David Allen, Ricky, Karol, Lynae, and Debbie. They live on the home farm by the Lincoln Valley School. Clarence and a partner for many years ran the Crosby Transportation Co. and also had a large chicken ranch. After serving in World War II, a year in England and at Great Lakes, 111., he and his wife went again to Nebr., then to Carroll, Iowa where Mrs. Graham still resides, running her trailer park and apartment house. Mr. Graham passed away in 1959, ANDREW HANSON First impression. I, Ella Huseby married a homesteader, Andrew Hanson from Dakota at a small country church, 12 miles east of Barnesville, Minnesota, on February 26, 1914. After a brief honeymoon we left for the Divide County homestead. We left Fargo on the Great Northern, coming as far as Minot the first day where we had to stay overnight to take the Soo next day to Flaxton, where with another overnight stay before taking the branch train to Ambrose on our third day. Nels Urness, who had stayed at the homestead, met the train with a buggy and a matched team of bays, Jim and Dick. We had dinner at one of the cafes and Andrew and I took the two and a half hour buggy outfit to the homestead March 20, 1914. As we drove into the yard I saw Andrew's homestead shack for the first time. It was a tar papered shack 8x10 feet and 8 feet high, and four huge oxen standing in the yard. Ire- member thinking that the oxen were almost as large as the shack. Their names were Pete, Ole, Jack and Prince. Within the shack was a three quarter width iron bed and a big trunk at the foot filling the north half of the shack. In front of the bed stood a small homestead stove with a small oven, underneath which was full of ashes. In the southwest corner was a grocery box about thirty inches square with one shelf, serving as a cupboard; homemade 2x3 table with 2x4 legs which were crossed, and two chairs along the south wall. A water pail, wash basin, and a few utensils took care of the furnishings. Over the trunk was the only window, real small. The door was in the southeast corner. Here I spent my first week in Divide County. While Andrew was in Minnesota getting married a group of neighbors, Andrew Ramsfield, Peter and Louis Tansem, Fred Dahl and Lars Thompson, had moved a larger shack 14x16 over to the farmstead. Andrew brought a new Monarch Range out from Ambrose on the lumber wagon. This was my pride and joy for many years. So after a week we moved into the larger shack with intentions to build a new house later in the summer. One Sunday we were invited over to Peter Tansem for dinner, and in the course of the afternoon we bought their farm so we moved to the Tansem store and post office. There was a fair crop that year and Louis Tansem had an oil pull Rumley tractor and thresher outfit, also a cook car for the thresh crew. Scanned with a Zeutschel Zeta book scanner at 300 dpi. Edited with Multi-Page TIFF Editor.