| Summary: | Aneta City Government With the arrival of the railroad in 1896, there was a sudden influx of people — some to start businesses, some to find work from farmers or in building up the town, some to settle on unclaimed land, and some came for less noble reasons. They wanted to make money off illegal liquor, gambling, etc. Before the area was incorporated as a city, the responsibility for maintaining law and order was with the township, the county sheriff and states attorney, who were up in far-away Lakota. After incorporation in 1903, George F. Thayer was elected mayor, and of the four aldermen elected, one was the banker, J.G. Gunderson. The other three were all key businessmen: A.T. Retzlaff, O.K. Kjorvestad and T.N. Quamme. They went right to work getting ordinances passed and hired a policeman, Andrew Torfin, to help enforce them. As the years rolled by, good men and women were always ready to give of their time and talents to serve their community of Aneta. In 1920, the city council proposed construction of a water and sewer system; however, property owners stopped the project by protest. On Sept. 5, 1927, a dedication program was held for the newly constructed Aneta City Auditorium. Governor A.G. Sorlie gave the dedication address. In 1955, construction was completed on a water system. A sewer system was started in 1960. In 1965, all the streets were hard surfaced with asphalt. The water, sewer and street projects were financed primarily with special assessments which by now have all been paid off. Persons who have served as mayor are listed with the date of their taking office: 1903 - George F. Thayer, 1905 -A.T. Retzlaff, 1906 - J.G. Gunderson, 1910 - T.H. Wade, 1912 - A.P. Knudtson, 1914 - O.M. Greenland, 1916 - W.E. Smith, 1918 - T.A. Keyes, 1920 - Dr. C.E. Bennett, 1926 - H. Haraldson, 1930 - I.H. Johnson, 1932 - R.C. Engelstad, 1934 -Dr. E.L. Grinnell, 1936 - R.C. Engelstad, 1940 - H. Haraldson, 1946 - R.C. Engelstad, 1948 - G. Mueller, 1952 -George Solberg, 1956 - Gordon Lee, 1960 - Even Haugo, 1964 - Jack Lind, 1968 - Ted Palmer, 1972 - Charles Youells, 1976 - John Hillesland, 1983 - Paul Retzlaff. Some of the people who have served as auditor are: 1903 - Fred Lang, 1910 - T.W. Peterson, 1914 - C.E. Fodness, 1916 - Niles Nilson, 1922 - E.H. Lowen, 1926 - R.C. Engelstad, 1932-1976 - O.L. Walhood and 1976 to present - Mrs. Clarice Lee. Aneta’s first chief of police was Andrew Torfin who served from 1903-1914. He was followed by John P. Clark -1914, Henry Holte - 1924, and Olaf Wangen - 1926. Serving later were Ernest Lovejoy, Bernard Kueber, Cliff Abrahamson, Dale Quam and Bernard Lippert. Ronald Wendlick is the present police chief. Aneta City Auditorium, built in 1927. Upstairs was used by the school as a gym until 1966. Presently the auditor’s office and council room is located in basement. The basement is also used for many community meetings and activities. Aneta City Council Members — February 1984: (1-r): Ingvald Lian; Ray Pecka; Paul Retzlaff, mayor; Clarice Lee, auditor. Absent when the picture was taken was John Smallbeck Jr. O.L. Walhood, City of Aneta auditor from 1932 to 1976. Population FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL CENSUS 1980 1970 1960 1950 1940 1930 1920 1910 1905 Feb. 2 July 26 1903 1897 Aneta 341 376 451 469 509 568 662 654 Nelson County 5,233 5,776 7,034 8,090 9,129 10,203 10,362 10,140 North Dakota 652,695 617,761 632,446 619,636 641,935 680,845 646,872 572,146 643 512 217 The population of both Aneta and Nelson County decreased by 48 percent from 1910 to 1980 while the population of the state increased 14 percent. In 1910 there were eight residents over 65 years of age and only 37 residents over 50 years of age (6 percent), as contrasted to 1980 when such a large portion of our population is over the age of 65. These dramatic changes over a short span of 70 years should help us understand why most small towns in North Dakota, such as Aneta, have empty lots and deserted buildings on their main streets. 1122 Scanned with a Czur book scanner at 300 dpi. Edited in Adobe Acrobat Pro
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