Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883

History of New Rockford: Feb. 14, 2022

Gleanings from the back issues of the “Transcript” on the life of Nellie Davidson Streeter, 1883-1904, whose death I wrote about last week:

Nellie Davidson was doing public recitations when she was four years old (June 1888). In December 1895 and up to Jan. 10, 1896; in October and December 1898; in February and September 1899; and in February and March 1900, she was neither absent nor tardy at the New Rockford School. On May 7, 1898, she won first prize in the second annual WCTU Silver Medal Contest and on May 24 participated in the Gold Medal Contest of the WCTU at Oberon. On May 26 she was in the Demorest Medal speaking contest in Leeds. On July 20 she made a recitation at the Eddy County Early Settlers’ picnic and again on Christmas Eve in Saad’s Hall. She recited a piece in the closing school exercises and won the gold medal on May 26, 1899, and gave recitations at the July Fourth celebration and again at a Royal Neighbors’ meeting on Sept. 26 and the Catholic Fair on Oct. 13. In August she began work as an assistant at the New Rockford post office.

On June 8, 1900, she made a recitation at the closing school exercises and was given a diploma from the three-year NRHS. She did a recitation on the evening of July 25. On Sept. 10 she joined the Royal Neighbors and on Dec. 3 was elected their organist. On Dec. 21 she visited in Carrington. On Jan. 8, 1901, Miss Nellie Davidson was named the Organist for the Royal Neighbors. On Feb. 26 she, Mrs. H.J. Mitchell, and John Oard drove to Carrington to attend dancing class. On March 16 she played Clarice in the play “Captain Rackett” to benefit the NRFD. On April 14 she and Mesdames Severtson and Baird visited in Carrington. On April 19 she went to Jamestown for her brother’s wedding; E.R. Davidson was married on April 24; Miss Nellie was the bridesmaid. On June 2 she, Mr. and Mrs. P.J. Hester, and Miss Nell Hester visited Carrington. In August she resigned as the delivery clerk at the New Rockford post office. On Aug. 18 she and Mr. and Mrs. P.J. Hester and family drove to Carrington to visit. Around Sept. 1 Miss Nellie Davidson left to take a business course in Minneapolis. She had been the general delivery clerk at the New Rockford post office “for a long time.” [She may not have gone.] On the evening of Sept. 12, a large number of her friends surprised Miss Nellie Davidson at her residence on Lamborn Avenue West; later in the evening the party went to Ohrner’s Hall for dancing and music. On Sept. 14 Miss Davidson and her sister Beth left for Minneapolis to attend college. On April 9, 1902, Miss Nell Davidson returned from Minneapolis, where she had attended the Minnesota School of Business the past six months. On April 14 and 15, Miss Nell Hester and Miss Nell Davidson visited in Carrington. By April 25 she had resumed her position as the post office delivery clerk. In early July she was at the Chautauqua near Devils Lake. Before July 18 she had resigned as the general delivery clerk at the New Rockford post office due to poor health. On Aug. 12 she was in the choir of the cantata “David, the Shepherd Boy” in Carrington; it also played in New Rockford on Aug. 15 and 16. On Aug. 15 she started as the bookkeeper at the G.W. Brownell lumber office. On Nov. 20 she was initiated into the Eastern Star Lodge.

On Jan. 3, 1903, Miss Nell Davidson left to take a shorthand course at a commercial college in the Twin Cities; she returned on May 13 when she was the bridesmaid at the wedding of her sister Cora Ethel Davidson and J.T. Medlicott. On May 30 she was at a dance in Carrington. On July 1 she went to the Chautauqua. On Sept. 25 Miss Nellie Hester and Miss Kathryn Sheehy came up from Carrington to visit Miss Nell Davidson. John Von Almen and G.W. Streeter were in Carrington; Miss Nell Davidson and Miss Jennie Van Horn visited there. On Dec. 8 she was elected Marshal in the Eastern Star Lodge. On Jan. 5, 1904, Miss Jennie VanHorn and Miss Nell Davidson went to the Twin Cities. She and George W. Streeter were married in Hamline, Minn., on Jan. 26. On May 12 Mrs. G.W. Streeter won a first prize at a progressive whist party at the New Rockford Opera House. On the night of Sunday, Oct. 16, 1904, Nell Davidson Streeter died at her home, following child birth.

On Oct. 17 Mr. and Mrs. Elias Saad arrived from New York City with the idea of moving back to New Rockford and once again running a general store. [Saad was in business from around 1895 to July 4, 1900, first where the Vorland Land Company is located and later a couple lots further north; fire destroyed his building that Independence Day.] Halver Halverson of the Sheyenne Valley and Col. Seth Bailey were in town. August Weber came in on business from northwest of town. Louis Oefstedahl was down from Sheyenne for a meeting of Republican candidates. William Thorn came in on business and to visit; his wheat had run 16 bushels per acre. Miss Martha Haas went to Courtenay to visit relatives and friends. Arthur Swain, who had been helping with the harvest for six weeks, left for a visit with his sister in Sunnyside, Wash. At 8 p.m. Rev. E.W. Burleson held Episcopal services in the Methodist Church; the next morning at 10 o’clock Holy Communion was celebrated on St. Luke’s Day.

On Oct. 18 a son was born to Mr. and Mrs. Martin Anderson. Sylvanus Marriage was in town. Lowell and Ed Randolph came in from eastern Eddy County on business; they still had 500 acres of grain that was not threshed. Miss Harriet Davidson arrived to attend the funeral of her sister Nellie Streeter. Also Will Bennett and Miss Marguerite Sheehy drove up from Carrington to attend. Jeff Stearns came over from McHenry for a few days’ visit with his sister Miss Maude Stearns of the telephone exchange. That evening J.C. Wingo, a storyteller and humorist, appeared in the Opera House doing his humorous lecture “Clocks” to “a large and appreciate [sic] audience.” Admission was adults, 50 cents; children, 25 cents. His was the first in a series of five entertainments brought to New Rockford by the Congregational Ladies’ Social Union through the Midland Lyceum Bureau of Des Moines, Iowa. The entire series (two lectures, three musical) could be attended for $2.

On Oct. 19 C.T. Nolan arrived from Great Falls, Mont., to look over his land northeast of town; he had moved away seventeen years prior. Captain C.H. Culver arrived to look over his farmland in the Tiffany area; he returned to Sioux Falls on Nov. 28. J.A. McCrum of Tiffany, A.H. Johnson of Sheyenne, and Jerry VanHeizen were in on business. Pat Byron came up from Barlow.