Random Thoughts, 9-28-23

 RANDOM THOUGHTS this 28th day of September, 2023. … I miss the smell of silage … It’s been some time since I’ve eaten lime jello with fruit mixed in … Christmas trees all alight are standing tall in Costco … It won’t be long from now when the wash will again freeze stiff on the clothesline … There’s nothing better than fried chicken … Sometimes I feel a heavy sadness when I look at old family pictures and realize they will never pose again … We took our flu and SRV shots yesterday and will take Covid19 shots when available … I need to see the Sheyenne River Valley again with its fall colors …Is it “graduated college” or “graduated from college?” “Graduated from” is the accepted one. “Graduated college” really gripes me.

You Can't Herd Swedes

 You Can’t Herd Swedes

 The blood of Norwegians, Swedes, and Germans runs through my veins, top heavy on the 
Scandinavian side. I’ve listened and laughed at jokes about them through the years, i.e. you can always tell a Swede but you can’t tell him much, or in Norway you don’t have to knock on someone’s door, but I would recommend it or you may be standing for a long time. But it was irksome to read “give me a barnyard of Swedes and I’ll drive them like sheep.”

Alexander McKenzie, a man I’ve read and written about for some years, spoke them in the context of the Alaskan gold rush that took place at the end of the 19th century. Throughout his career, he had become the “Boss” of North Dakota. Remember when he finagled the moving of the territorial capital from Yankton to Bismarck? Anyway, he set his eyes on the gold rush without the intention of ever getting his hands dirty.

Through his cronies we can connect to him stories swirling around the little gold rush that occurred in Ransom County in 1884. Much of what we know filtered through the office of the register of deeds, the position held by A. H. Laughlin at the time. But there is much more associated with that event that might be of interest to lovers of the local history.

Many people wanted a piece of the action in the Lisbon gold fields and consequently filed claims with Laughlin’s office. Three claimants will figure into our narrative - George B. Winship, editor of the Grand Forks Herald, A. H. Noyes, a federal judge, and H.C. Hansbrough, U. S. Senator. Additionally, the name of U. S. President William McKinley will enter the picture. Laughlin even filed a claim for himself at a place he called Foster Spring for which he said “Mr. Foster never forgave me.”

Back now to Alexander McKenzie who began setting his hungry eyes on riches to be made in the Alaska gold rush. He found the gold strike near Nome in September, 1898 very enticing, especially when he learned who had found it - two Norwegians and a Swede by the names of Brynteson, Lindeberg, and Lindblom. His active mind recognized them for what they were, aliens, foreigners, non-citizens, so what right did they have to come over here and do such a thing?

These “Lucky Swedes” thought they’d met the requirements of ownership and could legally dig for the treasured gold. But jealousy ran high among other prospectors who’d become conveniently patriotic and were the “true-blue American citizens.” With no intention of lying down and forgetting about it, someone remembered U.S. mining law stated they could own a mine only if they swore intent to become a citizen before a bona-fide commissioner. Fortunately, nobody like that was available, and a loosely organized group decided to take the law into their own hands and evict the Swedes. Cooler heads prevailed and the Swedes kept on mining.

Time passed, other rich strikes occurred, claim-jumpers thumbed their noses at legal owners, the number of saloons in Nome grew to 100, and lawlessness grew in this atmosphere of non-existent law-enforcement. Here the big, bold, and brassy Alexander McKenzie stepped in. One senator sympathetic to the Swedes plight introduced legislation that gave these aliens rights

to ownership. In McKenzie’s mind that didn’t fit with his scheming ways and needed to be stopped. He exercised his influence over one of our Lisbon gold mine investors U.S. Senator H.C. Hansbrough of North Dakota and talked him into introducing a Senate bill prohibiting alien ownership. It didn’t pass but further amendments phased out any mention of alien rights which gave McKenzie all the room he needed to maneuver.

McKenzie was just getting started. Through his connections in Washington, DC he persuaded President McKinley to appoint another of the Lisbon investors Alfred Noyes to a federal judgeship in Alaska. Noyes was a pliable fellow that followed McKenzie’s wishes and did his bidding. To simplify the shenanigans, he got Noyes to put any contested gold claims in receivership under McKenzie’s control who then hired a gang of men, took over, and started collecting all the gold. This is when he supposedly said “Give me a barnyard of Swedes and I’ll drive them like sheep.”

Word of the theft spread to San Francisco and aroused indignation in an honest judge who ordered two federal marshals to travel north and arrest McKenzie. Brought back to San Francisco, he was tried, found guilty, and sentenced to a year in jail. President McKinley heard of the proceedings and was told McKenzie was a sick man who shouldn’t be in a jail. He pardoned him after serving a brief time and “sick” as he was reported to be was seen running to the first train going east to North Dakota.

Law and order did arrive in Alaska, much of it due to a new judge, James Wickersham, who applied the law honestly and even-handedly. I can claim a weak connection. In 1967 I rode south to the lower 48 on a vessel named for him, the MV Wickersham.

One of the other gold claim investors at the Lisbon strike never fell for the McKenzie tactics in North Dakota. George B. Winship, publisher of the Grand Forks Herald, waged a thirty-year war against him and his cronies. He especially disliked the influence railroads and out-of-state corporations on our state government that McKenzie had promoted. But that’s another story.

This Alaskan gold story became nationally prominent and fed many writers’ imaginations. Several movies told the story. One of my favorites was the John Wayne/Randolph Scott 1942 version called “The Spoilers” with them fighting over Marlene Dietrich in the best movie brawl of all time. Scott is the McKenzie character. Another movie of this ilk was “North to Alaska” which borrows many elements of the story. James Michener rehashed the story and characters in his book simply titled “Alaska.”

Rex Beach headed north to look for gold but failing at that turned into an author to write my favorite story of the affair titled “The Spoilers.” It became the best seller in 1906 and through some creative searching I found and purchased a copy for my library. The leatherette books that Time-Life Books published includes one called “The Alaskans” that contains a historian’s quote that best describes Beach. “What he took home in his mind turned out to be far more valuable than what he had failed to bring back in his poke.”

Recollections of a Pioneer

 Recollections of a Pioneer

Some years ago I stopped at the North Dakota Heritage Center to visit the archives library and browse through their collection of pioneer interviews. The name of Rex Lindemann jumped out of the catalog of names and prompted me to retrieve and listen to his take on the area’s early history. I remember him with that white shock of hair and the off-sale business he ran beside his son’s soda fountain, magazine stand, and television sales.

While listening to his interview it soon became obvious his memory was strong and true and reached back to the earliest days of settlement around Enderlin and Sheldon. His parents came in 1881 where “everything was prairie.” Rex was born in 1885. He stopped to comment on a bird in the background that kept saying “Hello, George,” something his son Donald had taught it to say.

On what land the family first settled wasn’t mentioned, but he said in those days walking was the main means of making contact with others. The literature of the West tells us that when you wanted to go somewhere you’d simply saddle a horse and ride. The story of the pioneers doesn’t say that. They might have owned only one team of work horses or oxen that needed to rest when not working.

Sheldon was their main destination for groceries at the time, and he remembered a long list of businessmen - Hanna, Hoff, Fowler, Pierce, Kratt, Howell, etc. The doctor at the time favored one of the two drugstores and sent his prescriptions to it. Mr. Hoff wanted a share of that business and went in search of a doctor in Canada where he persuaded one to come down. Still, the first doctor kept getting the sick and injured at his practice. That called for Hoff and the new doctor to undertake some creative business planning.

The new doctor, Rex thought it was Dr. Ahlens, attended regular church services where the plan called for Hoff to enter and whisper in the doctor’s ear. They’d get in the horse drawn buggy and drive around the country to deceive the people into believing his medical skills were in demand. But the scheme didn’t work well until a real emergency developed. The first doctor was treating a woman north of town whose condition was not improving. In desperation the family called Ahlens to come and examine her. He made the proper diagnosis and with his treatment the lady got better. “That turned the tide, and the old doc left.”

The interviewer kept drawing out the trove of Rex’s memories. The Soo Line reached Enderlin in 1891, but Rex stated the town did not grow fast at first. In 1898 when he was in the 7th grade he remembered the town’s population was just 400. Apparently he farmed for awhile but the business world beckoned, and he started selling Overland cars in 1909 while adding the Olds brand in 1915. To make a deal he’d trade for horses, cattle, pigs, anything he could resell. He reminisced that in any car sold from 1909-1920 you could encounter the same troubles - rear axles, spindles, and springs that would break easily.

He would go to auto shows in such places as Chicago and Minneapolis where one time he bought two Pullman brand cars at $400 each. He said he could sell all the cars he could get but had his best results taking the cars to the prospective buyers. Moline and Allis Chalmers brand farm machinery added to his sales inventory. In 1921 he put up a building where he sold Atwater-Kent products, Majestic pianos, and band instruments. In addition, he played the trombone in a dance band above the Kraemer Motors.

The discussion circled around to something I’d wondered about ever since I was a small boy, the Silver Zephyr saloon that was located a couple miles east of Enderlin on Highway 46. A man named Bert Tripp moved two Pullman railroad cars to that spot, placed them side by side, and built a roof over them. He took a partner named Leon Harris, but their venture failed since the business closed in 1943.

I wished more could have been said about the Zephyr since it was a landmark we’d pass on every trip to Enderlin. He said they sold lunches, beer, and had a dance hall, but some rough elements sometimes got in there. One time they stole the establishment’s outside door that was later found by the Bohnsack ranch in the sandhills. That reminded him of the time that he went out to her place to sell a rake and couldn’t find Freida at first. It turned out she and her dad were loading hay where she was on top of the hayrack and her dad was pitching hay up to her.

The interview ended all too soon. I could have listened all afternoon to more but there were time constraints and the interview ended. Many will remember the interviewer Larry Sprunk. He had grant money to gather memories of the settlers and pioneers in this area and record them for interested folks like you or me.

This article resulted from the notes taken at the archives of the Historical Society, but it will lead to another because one of his earliest comments proved something to me. He stated, “Lots of Germans settled here.” Til next time...

Crossing the Sheyenne

 Crossing the Sheyenne

The seasonal harvest has begun and big combines have entered the fields to begin harvesting. To watch them is to see the best way of separating grain from chaff and straw developed to date. Before the time that any of us can remember, animals tramped on ripe straw to knock the kernels loose from their heads. Or in another method a worker struck the heads with a flail to separate the kernels and then scoop the grain up and toss it in the air for the wind to winnow the chaff from the mix.

Cyrus McCormick came along with his mechanical reaper that cut the straw to fall behind it on the ground. A worker walked behind to gather it by hand and bundle it into sheaves. It enabled farmers to raise more grain and harvest it in less time.

I possess a picture of a historical nature for which I hope to find a permanent home. I first noticed it in the Sheldon Community History - 1981 where it carried this inscription: The Wall Bros. Threshing Crew crossing the “Froemke” Sheyenne River Crossing south of Anselm, ND. It was given to me by Tom Spiekermeier of Sheldon who in his personal dark room enlarged it to its present size of 11” by 14”and preserved a great deal of detail.

Curious to when this scene occurred, I searched and found the following reference in the Sheldon Progress of July 19, 1901: “Fred Wall and brother Alfred have bought a fine new threshing outfit and will make the straw fly this fall.” In another reference dated August 30, 1901 the Progress reported that the separator was a 40-60 Nichols and Shepard Red River Special that was powered by a Pitts 22 horsepower engine. Fourteen crew members can be counted in this scene which is a far cry from today’s one combine operator and one person to haul the grain away.

Further developments in harvesting techniques can only be guessed at, but one thing for sure, there will be some. One other story we can relate deals with placing the seeds in the ground for the machines to eventually harvest. The cheers for this development occurred in the early 1700s when Jethro Tull, an Englishman, invented a horse drawn seed drill. In the mid 1800s, George Van Brunt developed a model which covered the seeds before birds got to them. Because of the Van Brunt seeder we first get acquainted with one of the early movers and shakers of Ransom County.

A. H. Laughlin tells the story himself in an address he gave to the Sheldon Old Settlers Picnic on July 27, 1907. “On the 26th day of January, 1882, I first saw North Dakota, arriving in Kindred that morning via Wahpeton, with H. A. Palmer, who still lives near Lisbon. We unloaded a carload of Van Brunt seeders and started the next morning on foot for Lisbon forty miles away, as there were no teams going through.”

He goes on, “It was a bright, beautiful morning. They told us to take the old government road, and that there were three hotels, or places where travelers were kept. About 10 o’clock a dark

cloud appeared in the northwest and we were soon in the middle of a blizzard. At French’s they could not keep us, so we tramped on to Porter’s, facing the blizzard nine miles. Mrs. Porter could not give us even a cup of tea, as they were entirely out of provisions. I asked her if she could spare a little heat from her stove.”

Bear in mind this was 1882 and very little development had occurred. Laughlin’s story continues, “We rested a while, when fortunately a four horse sleigh drove up loaded with merchandise for Joseph Goodman’s store at Sheldon. It was driven by Charlie Smart and Richard Jackson; we got permission to hang on to their sleigh. There was only room on one small box of goods for one to sit on, and as Mr. Palmer had been sick I gave him that privilege. A bundle of brooms stood upright in one rear corner, and by clinging to a broomstick I could keep my head in the shelter of the brooms and stand on the rear end of the runner.”

The blinding snow caused them to lose their way. “Once we were lost on the prairie and headed for the sandhills southeast, but Charlie took to the snow ahead of the lead horses and found the trail by intuition. He wore a wolf skin coat and cap, which may have helped him. Arriving in Sheldon about five o’clock the boys stopped in front of the hotel kept by Robert Grieve. It was new and had two blocks of square timber for steps. I got one foot up one step and could not induce the other one to follow, and fell down, unconscious with cold and exhaustion.”

They carried him in and warmed him to get his circulation going. He goes on, “We slept upstairs and the next morning the snow was an inch deep all over the bed. Our hands were so badly frozen that the landlord had to assist us in dressing. It was forty-four degrees below zero.”

He completed the trip. “We arrived in Lisbon that day by the stage driven by Thomas Eastman via Bonnersville and Shenford. We ate our first dinner at the Robinson house and after paying for our meals had sixteen cents left.”

Laughlin set out establishing himself in the county. He purchased 800 acres of farmland and started raising cattle. Those Van Brunt seeders he helped unload must have been his because he stated when his money arrived he paid $244 freight on that car load. He used the machines to establish with partners an implement business. That same year he arrived, 1882, he was elected Register of Deeds where he was in the middle of the county’s mini- gold rush. He opened a real estate and loan office and built the Lisbon Cheese Factory in 1889 in addition to a brick kiln business.

Many of those combines working in the fields that we mentioned previously are green. Pictures indicate those Van Brunt seeders were red, but John Deere bought them in 1911.

Family History Workshop

 We attended the 47th Family History Workshop in Fargo on Saturday. Interest in ancestry is alive and well. Besides offering several sessions from which attendees had a choice, there were also booths promoting such things as libraries, preserving memories, genealogical societies, and archives. A fascinating society was “The Mayflower Society” open to people who can document their lineal descent from a Mayflower passenger. I asked the lady if she could and how many generations back it was. Yes and eleven was the answer.

The Daughters of the American Revolution were there. Requirement for membership with them: Any woman 18 years of older may join the DAR by documenting her lineage to an ancestor, either male or female, who aided the cause of American independence through military, civil, or patriotic service.

I most enjoyed the session about the life of a Swedish woman who came to America to improve herself. She left a diary that our presenter translated and used as a basis to publish a book on her life. Other topics included foods, newspapers, documents and DNA, passenger lists, writing your history, Alsace region, and research basics. Coupled with the serving of a warm meal, we spent a good Saturday.

Random Thoughts, 9-22-23

 RANDOM THOUGHTS on Sept. 22, 2023, the first day of fall … I’m remembering that shower of sparks the blacksmith made at his grinding wheel … One of my granddads said Teddy Roosevelt was the only president he ever liked … snowbirds, the human kind, will start southward soon … Fargo keeps growing as witnessed by the abundance of freshly dug piles of dirt … I want to buy this new biography that’s just been published with high reviews - LARRY McMURTRY: A Life, by Tracy Daugherty … Bright golden yellows in the shelterbelts … 

What I've Seen Lately

 WHAT I’VE SEEN LATELY: In Sheldon the skyline has changed drastically with the concrete grain silos that reach into the sky. With the new rail spur they will let those long 110 car grain trains load for shipment… We stopped in to see an old friend at his rural place where he and his wife are preparing for an auction sale to disperse of excess items for their move into Fargo… A trip to the museum in Enderlin during the Sunfest celebration uncovered the wealth of items they have in their inventory, and they only access locally specific donations. I’m going back to dig deeper… Lots of people like old things as seen by the large number of  classic cars displayed during Sunfest…  I discovered a writer must have made it to the big times when he can publish a book of unfinished stories. That is what John McPhee has just done with his “Tabula Rasa.” He is considered the dean of narrative nonfiction writing… Leaves are turning colors. Didn’t they just bud out?… My book collection seems so precious that I can’t get rid of anything. There are many I don’t read, so why do I keep them? And, I keep buying more such as “Ike’s Bluff” by Evan Thomas. He contends since Ike was a master bridge and poker player he honed the art of the bluff which he used as president… Bye.

New on the Skyline

 Something new on the Sheldon skyline. Pouring the concrete went on 24/7 for ...? To service these a new railroad spur will be constructed to handle the long trains of cars.

Old Time Sheldon

 I have this picture of Sheldon from about the turn of the century. The names of several businesses can be read - Fowler & Banks livery stable, South Western grain elevator, White Lumber Co. No autos can be seen. Several passenger cars wait at the depot.

The Years Sail By

Here is our youngest granddaughter Ari's picture day as a third grader and as a baby. She's growing up fast.

 

Read, read, read

 It is disturbing that we've entered a period of book burning and censorship. These words from the Western artist C.M. Russell say much.

Sixty-Five Years...

 SIXTY-FIVE YEARS or 23,725 days have passed since September 8, 1958. Why am I marking that day, that length of time? If it weren’t for an event I experienced that day, there were so many things I might’ve done with my life and there are so many things I ended up doing because of it. I remember very clearly upon waking that first morning in the hospital and lifting the blanket to look beneath it. Traumatic? Yes. Every day of those 23,725 days I am reminded of the result. PTSD? Maybe. I’ve never bothered others by talking about it, but on this anniversary will make this exception.

FaceTime with a Swedish Cousin

 WE HAVE COUSINS IN SWEDEN and had a Facetime meeting yesterday with one who is a senior in high school. His social studies assignment was to conduct an interview with someone about the U.S. 9-11 tragedy. His mother suggested he talk to someone in this country. We’ve established a friendly association with our Swedish relatives who remain and thrive there, and we were happy to be asked to visit with him.

     My memories of the event have already dimmed a bit. Wanting to refresh that time I opened and read from the irreverent biography of George W. Bush written by Jean Edward Smith. It was helpful, especially reminding me that I didn’t know who was in charge at the time, was it Bush or Cheney? Remember how they cleared the sky of all airplane traffic? Remember how the war drums started beating to find and eliminate Osama bin Laden? So much came back.

     I told my cousin how I’d thought our invasion of Afghanistan was probably doomed to failure.  I remembered reading James Michener’s novel CARAVAN where he said that through the centuries no nation had ever succeeded in that country. Russia had gotten kicked out just previously. I reflected that we forget about such things after a few years have passed. I quickly found and read W. H. Auden’s poem “Musee des Beaux Arts” to him about how no one cared when Icarus flew to near the sun with his waxed wings and fell into the lake.The last verse fits appropriately - 

In Breughel’s Icarus, for instance: how everything turns away

Quite leisurely from the disaster; the ploughman may

Have heard the splash, the forsaken cry,

But for him it was not an important failure; the sun shone

As it had to on the white legs disappearing into the green

Water, and the expensive delicate ship that must have seen

Something amazing, a boy falling out of the sky.

It was fun to visit with a high school student who was working hard for a grade on his assignment. I found myself speaking carefully and trying to leave my natural feeling slang expressions out of the conversation. They learn and speak proper English. I hope my remarks were of use to him.