History of New Rockford: Dec. 6, 2021

The Aug. 12, 1904, “Transcript” completed the article on Phillips Academy I had last week by saying that new faculty appointments would be made as the demand for them increased. Private lessons in painting and drawing and special lectures in ethics, etiquette, hygiene, etc., would be available. The goal of the Academy was not to be a rival of any North Dakota high school, but to serve as a method by which students would be prepared for college entrance and the practical world of business and the professions.

A card of thanks from Mr. and Mrs. John Aldred [Alldred] thanked their friends and neighbors who helped during the illness and death of their beloved daughter. A.E. Greely had recovered enough from his recent illness to be outside again. Prairie chickens were reported to be plentiful.

On Aug. 12, wheat was $1.02. G.A. Erickson returned from Devils Lake, where he had enrolled for a chance at some reservation land. At 6 p.m., the WCTU sponsored a progressive dinner; a “neat sum” was collected to help pay expenses for the upcoming WCTU Convention.

From Aug. 12 to 14, A.O. Lester of Windsor, N.D., visited M.B. Fritz of the Powers Lumber Co. and his wife. From Aug. 12 to 16, Gus Johnson of Esmond visited in town.

On Aug. 13, Mrs. W.J. Morris of Plainview came in to shop. Nora O’Connell came up from Minneapolis to visit her brothers. That afternoon, night watchman Robert O’Neill found a purse and left it at the “Transcript” office; it contained a merchandise check on Rodenberg and Schwoebel, a repair check, a dime, a piece of string, and some Beeman’s Pepsin Chewing Gum. The owner could pick up the purse at the office if they would allow the staff “to chew the gum until recess time.”

On Aug. 13 and 14, Mr. and Mrs. O.E. Couch drove into Nelson County to visit her cousin.

From Aug. 13 to 15, druggist, Charles Babcock and Mrs. Babcock visited in Knox. Rev. H.H. Frost of Sheyenne announced a Mission Festival to be held at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 14, at the A. Samuelson Grove two miles southwest of Sheyenne, with services in both English and Norwegian.

On the morning of Sunday, Aug. 14, fourteen New Rockford young people drove out to Peoples’ Grove on the Sheyenne River and enjoyed a picnic. At 2 p.m., the churches of Tiffany and Morris held a union service at the pavilion in Peoples’ Grove; Rev. Coates of Devils Lake preached and Rev. Wilson of Tiffany was also there. The New Rockford young people attended the service, as did H. Arveskaug, Mr. and Mrs. Harry Campbell and son, and Mrs. P.H. West.

On Aug. 14 and 15, John Von Almen, Valentine Fertig, A.A. Pettit, and W.E. Radtke were in Devils Lake, registering for a chance at getting some reservation land. On the morning of Aug. 15, the four-month old baby of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Culp died of brain fever. The funeral was held the next day with burial in the cemetery north of town. There is a small granite stone in the Culp plot in Prairie Home Cemetery which reads “Ralph 1904.”

On Aug. 15, a daughter was born to Mr. and Mrs. John Dodds from southeast of New Rockford. Howard Huff, a brother of T.M. Huff of Barlow, began work at Rodenberg and Schwoebel. Hartman Hall, the 15-year old son of Mr. and Mrs. G.B. Hall, was working in a field when he got his right foot caught in the cogs of a hay rake; he was brought into town, where the second toe was amputated. Gust Larson from the Twist area and A.C. Buck from Barlow came in on business and to visit. Hans Anderson was in on business. Will Young and his mother, and Mr. and Mrs. George Fields came in from Tiffany to shop; the Fields returned to Tiffany that afternoon, with Mr. Fields not feeling well. O.B. Stedman was down from Sheyenne on business and to visit. Ole H. Olson returned with his father from his old home in Wisconsin, where he had gone the previous fall due to the ill health of his mother, who died in March. Miss Lyle Yegen, who had resigned as the delivery clerk at the post office, left with her aunt Mrs. C.A. Edmunds on a tour of the western states of Washington, Oregon, and California. George Norton left for St. Louis, where he would remain for a while; he returned on Sept. 1 after visiting in Iowa and Illinois also. That evening, Dr. G.D. Murphy received the Third Degree at a Masonic meeting.

Early in the week, Streeter and Cooling escorted a group of Iowa residents who were looking over land to buy.

On Aug. 15, 16, and 17, the 10th Annual Convention of the Mary Allen West District #2 of the WCTU was held in the New Rockford Baptist Church; the first such meeting had taken place on Aug. 15, 1894. Mrs. M.A. Garry of Knox presided in the absence of president Mrs. Frederick Skidmore of Tiffany. Eddy County people playing important roles were Mrs. May M. Keime, Address of Welcome; Mrs. W.E. Biggs, “The Fargo WCTU Home”; Rev. C.F. Sewrey, Rev. J.R. Beebe, and L.L. Miller, “Our Prohibition Law”; songs, drills, and recitations by Elsie Keime’s kindergarten class; a medal contest with Fena Carlson, Mabel House, Mildred Keime, Celestia Kellington, Edna Stanton, and Magdeline Hjertnaas of Knox; Mabel House was the winner, with Rev. Beebe awarding the medal. Elected as officers were Mrs. M.A. Garry, president; Mrs. Walter Priest, vice president; Mrs. May M. Keime, recording secretary; Anna Stein of Knox, corresponding secretary; Mrs. Addie Hall of Carrington, treasurer.

On Aug. 16, Dr. E.L. Goss came up from Carrington to visit his brother John F. Goss and family. Mrs. H. Neukamp, Mrs. H.F. Spencer, and Edith Quarve of Fessenden spent the day visiting Mrs. J.N. Kunkel; that evening Gertrude Kunkel accompanied Miss Quarve back to Fessenden and would stay a week visiting friends and relatives. Pearl Henry was down from her home near Sheyenne to visit a few days. Mr. and Mrs. A.J. Ford were in shopping. Theodore Larson came in from the Sheyenne Valley, northwest of New Rockford, on business. Herbert Treffry came from Iowa to stay until he finished helping with the harvest. That evening, a daughter was born to Mr. and Mrs. G.W. Brownell. That evening, H. Peoples, F.W. House, C.J. Maddux, and Donald Niven were given the Knight Templar degrees at a Masonic Lodge meeting, which was followed by a banquet at the Hotel Brown. A.H. Johnson, S.G. Severtson, and Dr. William Bartley came down from Sheyenne to assist in the conferring of the degrees. That evening, J.C. Shannon came over from McHenry on business and to visit.

From Aug. 16 to 18, Mr. and Mrs. J. McK. St. John of Hastings, Neb., visited Col. and Mrs. D.F. Ellsworth; the women were sisters.