History of New Rockford: March 22, 2021

On Dec. 14, 1903, E.M. Morris was in to visit his family. Peter Hallquist, from northwest of town, was in on business. George Norman came over from Denhoff for business and a visit. F.C. Davies was in Portal, N.D., on business.

On Dec. 14 and 15, Newman’s “Le Fascinatione Mentale,” hypnotism direct from Paris, performed at the Opera House; tickets were 25 and 35 cents. There was a large audience for the first night.

On the evening of Dec. 14, there was a joint installation of the officers of the Eastern Star (Viola Woodward, Worthy Matron; W.E. Biggs, Worthy Patron; Lizzie Schwoebel, Associate Matron; Maggie Morris, Secretary; Jennie Brownell, Treasurer; Lizzie Biggs, Conductress; Johanna H. Maddux, Associate Conductress; Phoebe Woodward, Ada; Alice Rager, Ruth; Amanda Radtke, Esther; Laura Pike, Martha; Mary Baird, Electra; Anna Prader, Warder; W.C. Hayes, Sentry; Anna Beebe, Chaplain; Nell Davidson, Marshal; Laura Mitchell, Organist) and the Masons (J.E. Bennett, Worshipful Master; W.C. Dresser, Senior Warden; W.E. Radtke, Junior Warden; A.G. Gardner, Treasurer; W.C. Hayes, Secretary; Nathan Stanton, Senior Steward; A.H. Wilson, Junior Steward; W.O. Baird, Tyler). A banquet with sixty places was served by James Hamilton.

From Dec. 14 to 17, William Brueske was in Wimbledon.

On Dec. 15, H.P. Halverson was in New Rockford. Mr. and Mrs. Henry Johnson and family were in Christmas shopping. Emelia Carlson returned home from Minneapolis; she had been gone a year and a half, taking a course in a business college, and then working as a stenographer in a law office for six months. Marguerite Casper departed to visit in Bismarck and Washburn. Mrs. J.C. Fay left for Jackson, Mich., where her mother had just passed away. Harriet Waters left for a winter with relatives in Streeter, Ill. Walter Treffry went to Marshalltown, Iowa, for a visit. Former resident Mrs. Henry Smith returned to Fargo after a visit of several days.

On Dec. 16, F.B. Ewald [Ewals?], Jr., and Barney Engberg were up from their farms near Barlow on business. Horace Courtemanche was in town. S.P. Pisel was in town, just recovering from the “grip” [flu]. Peter Larson left for the holidays to be with his daughter in Sargent County. W.C. Dresser left on a business trip to Iowa and Missouri; he returned the last week of December. Marguerite Casper went to Washburn to visit her sisters, Mrs. William Evenson and Mrs. Sutton, for the winter. The ladies of the Baptist Church held their annual dinner, supper, and sale of homemade articles and Christmas gifts. That evening, the Degree of Honor Lodge elected Mrs. A.W. Greely, Past Chief of Honor; Nellie Buck, Chief of Honor; Alice M. Rager, Lady of Honor; Pearl Gardner, Usher; Coral B. Murphy, Financier; Lizzie Schwoebel, Recorder; Mary Baird, Receiver; A.M. Greely, Outside Watch; Louisa Campbell, Inside Watch; Mary Henry, Trustee, three years; Anna Greely, Delegate to Grand Lodge; Alice M. Rager, Alternate Delegate.

On Dec. 17, Mrs. O.H. Foster was in shopping. That evening, Laura M. Tillotson appeared before a large audience in the Masonic Hall for her presentation on elocution and Delsarte [a system to improve dramatic and musical expression through bodily expressions and attitudes]; the event was hosted by the Eastern Star Lodge. That evening in Carrington, G.W. Brownell received some degrees in the Royal Arch Masons; Messrs. C.H. Babcock, George W. Pike, W.C. Hayes, and J.E. Bennett accompanied him; all the men returned to New Rockford the next day. On that evening, the eight-year old son of Mr. and Mrs. John Heinsen, from near McHenry, died from blood poisoning which began in a bruised knee; the funeral took place the next day.

The Dec. 18, 1903, “Transcript” mentioned the “Flasher Hustler” and the “Brinsmade Blade.”

That issue commented on the “nice sleighing weather.”

A note said “James Hamilton, proprietor of the New Provision Store, is working up an enviable reputation as a caterer to suppers and banquets of all kinds.”

A letter from Mrs. J.M. Mulvey, of St. Louis, said her hearing had not been helped by the specialist, but her health overall was better. Hazel, the seven-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James G. Dailey, was improving, following a severe bout of typhoid.

An article written by A.W. Greely asked why New Rockford didn’t have a Farmers’ Institute scheduled that winter, as many other area towns did. He thought the Eddy County Early Settlers’ Association should make arrangements for one.

An item said that recently, when Sheriff J.E. Bennett tried to get his blooded chickens and turkeys into their coop, the birds took offense, and the Sheriff found his good pants “ripped from knee to yonder.”

For sale—the Belle E. Bond Estate (northeast quarter, section 27, T149, R 64—Tiffany Township) to highest bidder, cash, on or before Jan. 1. Walter R. Bond, Executor, Inkster, N.D.

The previous week, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Pake and family moved into their new home on Stimson Avenue West. William Dodds came over from Fessenden and was visiting and doing business.

On Dec. 18, Herman Olson, from northwest of town, and Andrew J. Kanten of Freeborn, were in New Rockford. Fred F. Allmaras and C.A. Berge were in on business. George F. Putnam “came in from the south” to visit his folks until Dec. 20. Mrs. Ed Starks returned from Wisc. I.F. Studebaker was in town to visit and for business; he had been in Ohio, where his father lived, and also Alberta, Canada. At noon, a daughter was born to Mr. and Mrs. J.L. Kinnaird. That evening a “Blue Jay” social was held in the home of Mr. and Mrs. P.H. West on New Haven Street, complete with a program of music, speaking, and singing, plus refreshments. The “well-attended” social was sponsored by the Epworth League; admission was ten cents. That evening Mr. and Mrs. B.W. Rantz joined the Yeomen Lodge.