History of New Rockford: Nov. 16, 2020

At 11 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 23, 1903, Rev. Dr. Swenson, president of Bethany College, preached in Swedish at the Greenfield Church, rural Sheyenne, followed by a dinner at the schoolhouse; at 3 p.m. Swenson made the same address in English, and on the evening of Aug. 24, he spoke in English in Sheyenne. That afternoon Leon Galehouse, Carrington druggist, and Miss Lucia Nelson came up to visit.

On Aug. 24, a son was born to Mr. and Mrs. Matt Endres. Mrs. George R. Williams received word that her mother had died at her home in North Clymer, N.Y.; Mrs. Lewis Wells was an early pioneer, living in Eddy County from 1886 to 1898, when the family returned to New York State. Her funeral was on Aug. 27. Frank Bailey came in on business. Louis Martinson [Lewis Mortensen?] and Charles Hatch were up from Barlow to buy harvest supplies. W.G. Carter and his daughter were in town. That evening Mr. and Mrs. W.O. Baird hosted a six-table progressive whist party in honor of their niece Miss Minnie Knox before she returned to her home in Illinois.

On Aug. 25, Stephen Walsh of Morris, J.L. Pisel, and George R. Williams were in on business. John Haley of Tiffany, Rudolph Indergaard, and Matt Endres came into town. Eugene Corey returned from his timber claim near Williston to thresh grain in Eddy County before returning to his claim and starting a cattle ranch Miss Josephine O’Connell returned to Minneapolis. Miss Minnie Knox returned to Springfield, Ill., after visiting relatives. That evening the Eastern Star Lodge met, after which there was a “fox-and-goose” chase for refreshments. The peach sherbet and cake had been hidden in the anteroom of the Lodge, and after the members went in search of the food, it was placed on the tables, where it was discovered when they returned. A game of questions was also played. Each member had a red bag of beans and one bean was removed after a correct answer. At the end of the questions, Viola Woodward, Mrs. J.M. Mulvey, and Mrs. R.R. Woodward all had empty bags, so a drawing was held and Viola Woodward’s name was drawn. She won a long string of speckled beans. Mrs. W.E. Biggs won a consolation prize. The Committee on Entertainment and Refreshments was made up of Mrs. G.W. Brownell, Mrs. R.R. Woodward, Mrs. J.E. Hyde, and Mrs. W.E. Biggs.

On Aug. 25 to 26, L.L. Chapman of Park, Grant & Morris of Fargo came up on business and to visit his cousin Alice (Mrs. J.W.) Rager and family. From Aug. 25 to Aug. 29, Mrs. E.S. Severtson and daughter Miss June visited in Carrington.

On Aug. 26, Dr. A.W. Hubbard of Buffalo, N.Y., arrived to spend some time on his Plainview farm. Joseph Christ came in from the Superior district. John Nystrom was in for harvest supplies. Eddie Wilson came in from Brooklyn, N.Y., to visit his mother Mrs. Frances Wilson and other relatives. Earl Starks returned from Oshkosh, Wisc., and points in Minnesota. J.T. Wiltsie returned from Fargo and from his farm in Ransom County. A.C. “Bert” Jones went to Denbigh, where he would buy grain in the elevator recently built by F.G. Haver. J.W. Perry returned to Esmond to close up the affairs of Carl Hicks, a farm implement dealer. Perry would assist attorney R.P. Allison, who would handle the legal side of the matter.

On Aug. 27, Prof. and Mrs. Robert Muir arrived from Reynolds; he would be the new school principal at New Rockford. Miss Johanna McCarty came up from Melville to teach in the Superior district. Mr. and Mrs. C.E. Haynes came in from Illinois to visit Mr. and Mrs. W.O. Baird and family; Mr. Baird and Mrs. Haynes were cousins. Orrin Foster, H.B. Johnson of Plainview, S.O. Lee, and C.H. Ruland were in on business. Herb Losee of Tiffany and Peter Crane were in town. Mr. and Mrs. Herman Doaser arrived from Spain to live in Eddy County; they would be staying on the Mr. and Mrs. Fred Laasch farm southwest of town; Mrs. Laasch and Mrs. Doaser were sisters. Mrs. Charles Mann arrived from Philadelphia to visit her sister, Mrs. Frederick Skidmore and family, at Tiffany. Cashier E.S. Severtson went to the State Banker’s Convention in Grand Forks; he returned on Aug. 29. F.C. Davies went to McHenry and then on to Cooperstown the next day.

The Aug. 28, 1903, “Transcript” had a brief story to the effect that John Arbogast was thinking of starting the “McHenry Free Press,” which, if he did, would make two newspapers for that village.

The “Transcript” was of the opinion that with the increasing hours of darkness and the increasing number of transient harvest hands, it would be a good idea to hire a night watchman for the city. P.H. West had been one the previous year.

“Blacksmith wanted—Inquire of Nathan Stanton.” Miss Jennie VanHorn had taken a position with H. Peoples & Co. in the dry goods department.

That issue contained a Letter to the Editor from George M. Manning of Virginia, who had recently seen a copy of the “Transcript.” He had been in Dakota Territory for around 18 months in Wahpeton, Mayville, Fargo, and New Rockford in the early 1880s when Eddy County was still a part of Foster County. He worked for Joseph H. Hays, the first editor of the “Transcript” [September 1883-June 1886]. Hays turned out the “Transcript” on a hand press.

He wrote of borrowing Hugh Peoples’ little Indian pony and riding with Miss May Morris, who had a tall white horse. Sometimes “horseless” boys would ride behind girls on the same horses. When Peoples rode his pony, his feet almost touched the ground.

He remembered once when “the little patch girl” was racing her pony through a field, hit a badger hole, and both she and the horse did a somersault, after which she got right back in the saddle and kept going.

He and Will Urquhart [either an attorney who was in New Rockford, circa 1884, or his son] camped with the government surveyors who were laying out homesteads 20 miles northwest of New Rockford [in either Benson or Wells County]. They drove a pony cart over the prairies and on the second night after camp was set up in the Sheyenne River Valley, they chased pronghorns over the hills. Returning, they saw the “tented village” down in the valley and slept on buffalo grass cut down so as to form a hay mattress; it felt like a featherbed. The next day they returned to New Rockford via Minnewaukan and came upon another herd of pronghorns, as well as ducks, prairie chickens, and hawks, all of which they shot at with their rifles.

Manning also described Newport News, Virginia, population 20,000, especially the shipbuilding there, both civilian and military, including battleships.