Bio of Hellick J. GLAIM (b.1878) Yellow Medicine Co., MN USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material, AND permission is obtained from the contributor of the file. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for non-commercial purposes, MUST obtain the written consent of the contributor, OR the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. Made available to The USGenWeb Archives by: LaNaye Hennen Source: "A History of Yellow Medicine County" by Arthur P. Rose Published 1914 HELLICK J. GLAIM Hellick J. Glaim owns and farms a 200-acre farm on section 8, Swede Prairie township. He has spent his entire life in Yellow Medicine county and descends from one of the oldest Yellow Medicine county families. His grandfather, Hellek Glaim, came with his family in 1866 and settled on the Yellow Medicine river in Sandnes township. Among the children of the pioneer settler was Knudt H. Glaim, the father of our subject, who still lives in Sandnes. The mother of our subject was Betsy (Norgord) Glaim, who died in 1901. The children in this family are Hellick J., of Swede Prairie; Hilda (Mrs. Jesse Strang) of Roundup, Montana; Clara (Mrs. S.O. Stenerson), of Nordland township, Lyon county; Annie (Mrs. George Kieferle), of Minneapolis; and Mamie, who resides at home. The oldest of these children, Hellick J. Glaim, was born in Sandnes township February 6, 1878. A few months after his birth his parents moved to Swede Prairie township, among the first to settle in the western part of that precinct. Neighbors were few and far between, and nearly everybody in the vicinity lived in dugouts. All was open prairie and there were no groves. The only roads were trails that cut across the prairie without regard to section lines or the points of the compass. There were no bridges, no school houses, no churches. The first home of the Glaims in Swede Prairie was a combined cave and log cab, about 12 x 16 feet, the logs having been cut and hauled from the Yellow Medicine river. The prize that tempted them to this far away region was a homestead of 160 acres and a tree claim of forty acres on section 8. When Hellick was a child a prairie fire swept over the country and burned all the property on the place except the house, including building, machinery and stock. During the winter of 1880-81 Knudt Glaim mad a trip to Granite Falls on snow shoes and brought back with him a supply of four on a hand sled. In this frontier region Hellick Glaim spent his boyhood days. Until he was eighteen years of age he attended district school. Part of the time the school was held at private houses, and on occasions Hellick was obliged to walk four miles to the place where he secured his primary education. Not content with a district school education, Hellick attended the Minneota school parts of two winters and the Granite Falls school a few months. After teaching a country school one winter, he completed his education with a teachers' course at Willmar Seminary, being graduated from that institution in 1902. After graduation Mr. Glaim made school teaching his profession and was so engaged for the next nine years. In 1904 Mr. Glaim purchased from his father the 200-acres farm in Swede Prairie, and since 1905 he has been engaged in farming as well as teaching school. Mr. Glaim served as clerk of Swede Prairie township in 1911, and for the past five or six years he has been clerk of school district No. 67. He is a member of the Norwegian Lutheran Church of Swede Prairie. Mr. Glaim was married in Swede Prairie township October 29, 1905, to Marie Emblem, who was born at Sondmor, Aalesund, Norway, October 8, 1887, and came to the United States in 1904. Her father, Severin Emblem, lives in Norway; her mother Karen (Emblem) Emblem, died October 30, 1897. The four children of Mr. and Mrs. Glaim are named as follows: Conrad Bernhardt, born December 15, 1906; Evangeline Viola, born June 16, 1908; Selmer Arthur, born July 9, 1910; and Helmer Melvin, born May 13, 1913. To the above biography Mr. Glaim has added the following: "As this may be the only sketch of myself that may ever appear in history, I feel that word from me to my beloved children and others who may read this history after I have passed away may not here be out of place. In the School of Life we all learn lessons. Longfellow learned that "Life is real and life is earnest." God wants our lives to be happy because He loves us with divine love. There are in this world elements at work which experience has shown will destroy human happiness. I shall mention on one, namely: intoxicating liquors. At the age of fourteen I began to think to what goal strong drink might lead me. After careful consideration I decided never to use strong drink not visit saloons. And I can frankly say, after twenty-two years of "actual trial" that I have never had occasion to regret having made that decision. When I see the many promising youths who hopes have been blasted, whose lives have been wrecked, and the many homes that have been ruined through liquor during that time, I cannot but feel it my duty to say to every young man starting out in life will all emphasis at my command: Stay away from the saloon; you will never regret it." *Personal note - Hellick Glaim and his wife Marie are buried in Israel Church cemetery in Swede Prairie township - Yellow Medicine County, MN. Source: "A History of Yellow Medicine County" by Arthur P. Rose Published 1914