History of New Rockford: December 26, 2022

 On August 22, 1905, Estelle Conklin left to visit friends and relatives at Oakes. Mrs. C.D.W. Lewis of Carrington sold 160 acres of land to F.S. Dunham west of New Rockford, land that adjoined that of Dunham.

 At 5 p.m. August 22, Mrs. W.T. Buck, hosted a dinner for ten of her friends. The rooms of her house were decorated with garden flowers and the table centerpiece was a large bowl of nasturtiums. Cards with descriptive verses were found at each of the ten places set at the table and each lady had to guess which verse applied to her. That evening, a large audience watched the WCTU Gold Medal Oratorical Contest. The participants were Pearl Aldrich, Irene Brownell, Minga [Menga] Haas, Wanda Keime, Edna Stanton, and Alice Treffry, with Miss Brownell, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. G.A. Brownell, winning the medal.

 On August 23, George Deere arrived from Michigan to visit his mother Mrs. William Blow. David Henderson came up from Fargo to visit his sister Mrs. P.H. West before continuing on to Oberon, where he would be a grain buyer. Martin Walsh of eastern Eddy County came in on business. At 3 p.m. the Congregational Ladies’ Social Union held a reception in the downtown park for all those who contributed to their “calendar fund.” The park was freshly mowed, there was music from the bandstand, “royal” refreshments, and the weather made it a lovely afternoon; the one flaw was because of the “pressure of business” only a few gentlemen were in attendance.

 On August 24, Nick Lies was in on business from western Eddy County. Stephen Walsh was in to visit and to do some business. Miss Rachel Olson returned from the Teachers’ Training School at Valley City, as did Miss Caroline Trainor the next day. Postmaster M.F. Kepner returned from the Twin Cities. Mr. and Mrs. Byron Moxley left for their home in Boone, Iowa, after a lengthy visit with Mr. and Mrs. J.E. Bennett [maybe just Mrs. Bennett because J.E. Bennett returned from the Lewis & Clark Exposition in Portland on August 30]. That evening, Miss Celestia Kellington entertained twenty young friends at her home with music, games, and “elegant refreshments.” That night, Wallace Galehouse, a Carrington merchant and postmaster, died of consumption [tuberculosis].

 On August 24 and 25, Walter Schmid was down from Sheyenne to visit.

 The August 25, 1905, “Transcript” mentioned the “LaMoure Chronicle,” “Mayville Tribune,” and “Kensal Journal.”

 A new ad: The Gull River Lumber Co., R.W. Erwin, Local Manager. Another ad: “Buy cement brick at Culp & Perry’s cement block factory.” Lost the previous week: a crate of table leaves between New Rockford and Sheyenne; finder would receive a reward for turning the leaves over to P.H. West or Eddie Wilson.

 Merchant John F. Goss had a well on his farm ten miles west of town that he drilled 200 feet down and ended up with 150 feet of “soft pure water.” To the west of Goss, Mr. Edinger had drilled down 1200 feet and had “a flowing well.”

 The Farmers’ Elevator was being moved to just north of the Dakota Elevator; it was a slow process and not done until mid-September; it received its first load of grain around September 25.

 William and Eddie Wilson had opened a short-order restaurant in Sheyenne.

 Miss Eleanor VanDuser [VanDuzer], formerly the assistant principal in the New Rockford Schools, 1902-1903, was in town for a week’s visit with Miss Hilda Johnson; she was the assistant principal at Rolla, N.D.; she left for Rolla on September 1.

 During the week, J.W. Perry was in a Fargo hospital with “badly afflicted eyes.” He had been overseeing work at the new cement block factory when some of the cement dust got into his eyes and damaged them to such an extent that he was in danger of losing the sight of one eye.

 In the previous week, Walter McDonell of the New Rockford Roller Mills left to visit in Valley City and Saginaw, Michigan; he returned on September 1.

 On August 25, cashier James E. Hyde went to Fargo to check on his flooded farm land in the Red River Valley; he returned on August 28.

 On August 25, two reports showed the following: The Bank of New Rockford, Ernest S. Severtson, cashier, had resources (assets) of $188,798.39, down $1034.27 from the $189,832.66 of May 29. Checking accounts amounted to $80,485.94, down $4087.80 from the $84,573.74 of May 29.

 The First National Bank of New Rockford, James E. Hyde, cashier, showed resources (assets) of $87,203.73, up $1050.41 from the $85,853.32 of May 29. Checking accounts were $16,144.56, down $2981.74 from the $19,126.30 of May 29.

 On August 26, Albert Fairbanks, who had been the manager and the assistant manager of the New Rockford telephone office since April 2, 1904, left for a visit to the western states and the Lewis & Clark Exposition in Portland; he was planning on living somewhere in the west.

 On August 27 and 28, O.G. Cooling was in Jamestown. From August 27 to September 1, G.W. Streeter was on a business trip in Iowa.

 On August 28, Dennis O’Keefe and John T. West were in on business. Mrs. Nellie Buck returned from a visit to Kenmare. A.H. Johnson was down from Sheyenne. Miss Ruth Reutenik went to Esmond to visit. Miss Mabel Frazer went to Minnewaukan to take a position as day operator at the telephone office. Liveryman William Rice left for a visit at Aberdeen, S.D.; he returned on September 5.

 On August 28 and 29, F.C. Davies was in Jamestown on business.

 On August 29, Inez (Mrs. Guss) Gullicks returned from a millinery buying trip in the Twin Cities; her mother Mrs. Sampson, who had been visiting relatives in Edmunds, accompanied her. Section foreman John Carlson returned from a visit with relatives in the Twin Cities. Miss Fena and Miss Emelia Carlson returned from a lengthy visit to the Twin Cities. Seven friends presented Mrs. W.O. Baird with a hand-painted plate on the occasion of her birthday; Mrs. G.D. Murphy made the presentation speech. Tailor Arne Pederson left on a visit to Wisconsin and Michigan. That afternoon, Mrs. G.D. Murphy and Mrs. J.A. McAuley hosted a yellow and white luncheon at the home of Mrs. McAuley. The rooms were decorated with goldenrod, white poppies, and golden glow; yellow and white ribbons were stretched across the doorways from the parlor and library to the dining room. The table was laid with places for sixteen and the centerpiece was a hollowed-out cake of ice on a silver server and containing orange frappé. That evening, a number of her friends sprang a surprise birthday party on Miss Caroline Waters. Miss Mame Sheehy presented her with a cut glass water set on behalf of all those present. At the end of the evening, everyone went to the ice cream parlors of H.G. Hudson to sample his wares.