Full Text of "75 Years of Sully County History, 1883 - 1958", pages 371-391. This file contains the full text of a part of "75 Years of Sully County History", edited by Mrs. E. L. Thompson. Scanning and OCR by Joy Fisher, http://www.rootsweb.com/~archreg/vols/00001.html#0000031 This file is part of the SDGENWEB Archives. If you arrived here inside a frame or from a link from somewhere else, our front door is at http://www.usgwarchives.net/sd/sdfiles.htm This book was produced by the Onida Watchman and is not copyrighted. Reproduction of all editorial and pictorial matter is explicitly permitted. * * * SUMMIT TOWNSHIP Clark Howard, his brother, James, and Robert McClure all filed in Summit Township in 1882 and returned with their families from Illinois the following year. There were five children in the Clark Howard family, Bert, Lincoln, Morton, Cora, who became Mrs. O. E. McArthur, and Isabella, who became Mrs. John Miles. John Miles also came in 1883. Bert and Lincoln Howard spent the remainder of their lives in Summit. Bert remained a bachelor and Lincoln married Mrs. Maude Sedgwick. After his death in 1931, she managed the farm until ill health prevented. A daughter, Mrs. Jessie Yeager, Lnd children John, Rose, Mary, now Mrs. Rueben Schmidt, and Howard made their home with her and lived there after her death in 1945, until about 1950. Morton moved to the DeGrey neighborhood and narried a McClure girl. Mrs. Frank Baade, of that area, is his daughter. Mr. and Mrs. John Miles spent their entire married life in Summit Township. She made her home with a daughter in Oregon the last few years before she passed away in 1956, at the age of 92. Mrs. Miles assisted neighbors many times in case of illness or death, in addition to raising her own ten children. The Reed family lived in the township until 1935, when they moved to Lead, South Dakota. Mr. Reed still has his home there. She died in 1951 or 52. They raised nine children, Alberta, Lloyd, Elmo, Eugenia, Bernyl, Arvella, Leonard, Dorothy and Audrey. The late Leon and Gus Howard of Blunt were sons of James Howard. A daughter, Bertha, married C. L. Howard, an early Summit Township schoolteacher. They lost an infant son and before the second son was born, Mr. Howard passed away. She returned to her parent's home for several years and later moved to Onida where she was postmistress for a number of years. Clifford Howard married Lissa Haverly. Minnie, also a daughter of James Howard, married John Walker and they lived in Summit Township for several years before moving to Texas. One son married Bessie Bloom, daughter of Ed Bloom. James Howard died in a cistern on the Walker farm in 1905. He was cleaning it out and it was believed that he was gassed. [photos - Mr. and Mrs. H. W. Hunt Early Pioneers of Summit Township.] Mr. and Mrs. H. W. Hunt homesteaded on Section Four in 1883, coming from Beloit, Wisconsin. A daughter, Hattie, married Benton Doner, of Garner Township. Mrs. John Evans, of Agar, is their daughter. Maud married Judge Dan Anderson and later moved to Albia, Iowa. The Hunt home burned on Christmas Eve in 1886. Mr. and Mrs. Hunt returned to Wisconsin after Ed Pierce bought their farm. Oscar Fox came in the early 1900's and remained until his death in 1937. Charles J. Johnson came to Sully Count~y in 1883. He later returned to his home in Havana, Illinois, and in 1885, he brought his family to Summit Township and resided on the old Youngberg place. He then filed a claim and homesteaded in Blaine Township, later moving on what was known as the Ney place. The family then purchased the Matusch farm, now owned by the Gross Brothers. [photos - Mr. and Mrs. Charles J. Johnson Pioneers of Summit Township.] Charles and his wife, Christina, had two sons and a daughter, Frank W., Louie D. and Hattie. In 1905, the family moved to Onida where Charles operated the Onida Hotel for several years. After he retired, he purchased the J. N. Garner home, now owned by Harold Martin. Charles passed away May 16, 1916. Christina, affectionately known as Ma Johnson, made her home with her daughter and family, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Hoover, a couple of years before she passed away on September 26, 1943. Frank W., the eldest of three children, spent his childhood on his parent's farm. When a young man, he filed a homestead on a quarter of land east of his father's farm and later acquired the other three quarters in the same section. Farming and stockraising was his occupation. In 1905, he was elected to the County office of Register of Deeds, which office he held for four years. In 1907, he was married to Victoria Brooking, the daughter of a pioneer family of Hartford Township. In 1910, he opened the first hardware store in Onida and about two years later, in partnership with Minor J. Haverly, built the brick building on the east side of Main street and moved their hardware business there, known as The Johnson & Haverly Hardware. Some years later they also built the garage that stands on Main street south of the present Hotel. In later years he disposed of his interests in the stores and for a while engaged in farming. In 1922, he was appointed to the position of Highway Superintendent of Sully County and held this job until he and his wife moved to Cincinnati in 1950. He served the City of Onida as mayor from 1938 to 1948. Their two sons, Howard and Edwin, are in business together in Cincinnati, Ohio, and an adopted neice, Marjorie Vincent, lives in Columbus, Ohio. [photo - Hattie Johnson, 17. daughter of Mr. Mrs. Charles J. Johnson.] [photo - Mr. and Mrs. Lou Johnson and their entire family of children, in-laws and grandchildren, at their Golden Wedding Anniversary held at Upland, California, on April 27, 1955.] Louie, the second son, married Emelia Nelson, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Nelson, Sr., on April 27, 1904, in Onida. He was engaged in farming and later in a general merchandise store in Onida. He then entered into a partnership with William Spears in real estate and livestock business. The family moved to California in 1941. Mrs. Johnson passed away in 1956, and Lou makes his home with his daughter, Mrs. Helen O'Brian, in Upland, California. The other children, who have settled in southern California are Harriet (Mrs. Basil Harris), Robert, Thomas, Richard and Ben. Neal and Margaret (Mrs. Dan Mateer) preceded their mother in death. Mr. and Mrs. Charles A. Miller, of Nebraska, had purchased land during a land boom in 1907. Arriving in the spring of 1909, accompanied by Roy Earhart, a brother of Mrs. Miller, they drove mules and a covered wagon made expressly for this purpose, perhaps a fore-runner of the modern trailer house. It was fixed so that they were able to live in it while they put in their crops and planted trees, as they had brought seeds, supplies and necessities with them. Mrs. Miller was handicapped by a broken leg, sustained before coming on the trip. Their sons C. E. (Earl) and Arthur remained in Nebraska with relatives that spring. The elder Millers moved to Blunt in their later years. After Mrs. Miller passed away in 1950, Mr. Miller made his home with his son, Earl and family, until he passed away in 1954. In 1918, Earl married a young lady from Iowa who came here to teach school. They have four children, Mrs. Lee Lindell, Mrs. Larry Williamson and Charles of Onida and Mrs. Myrle Auch, of Miller, South Dakota. The Earl Millers live on the home place. Arthur Miller married Della Edge, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Tom Edge. They resided in Summit Township for a few years and now live in Plattville, Wisconsin. A daughter, Evelyn, married Raymond Moore, a Sully County boy, and their home is near Blunt. Mr. and Mrs. Armanus Kitchen and family of six children came in 1910, from Iowa, and moved onto what was known as the Pete Youngberg place. Mr. and Mrs. Kitchen moved to Hughes County sometime in the twenties, the family having established homes of their own by this time. Oscar lives in Kansas, Clarence in Hughes County, Stella married Howard Miles and lives in Blunt, Charlotte, who became Mrs. Pirl Edge, lived in Summit Township. Kermith lives in Goodwater Township, and Florence Zebroski, the youngest, is presently living in Onida. After Charlotte's husband passed away, she later married Claude Blaisdell of Onida. Township. Mr. and Mrs. James Kozel and only child, Royal, came to Summit Township about 1907, and lived there until about 1920, when they moved to Blunt and operated The Midway Garage, which Royal still manages. Mr. and Mrs. John Williams and sons, Ray and Robert, came from Missouri, in 1907. They built up the place where the Vern Allisons live. John passed away in 1929, and that fall Mrs. Williams went to California to live with her son, Robert, and family. Ray had died previously as the result of an auto accident. Mr. and Mrs. Ed Pierce and three children, moved on the Hunt farm in the fall of 1903. Mrs. Pierce, born Isabella [photo - Isabella Mallock (Mrs. Ed Pierce). When she was two years old.] [photo - Artesian Well on Ed Pierce Farm, 1904. Dave Hall behind horse.] Mallock, first came to Sully county in 1883, when she was five years old. Ed Pierce came two years later. The family lived in a basement home which was on the place until 1909, when the large, house, presently occupied by Elmer Pierce, was built. Nine children grew to maturity there. Stanley, who taught 17 terms in rural schools, lives on the Oscar Fox place, Elmer is on the home place, Eleanor (Mrs. Clifford Thompson) still resides in the township, Marjorie Jones lives in Nebraska, Arthur is in Iowa, Ralph is in Wisconsin, Charles in Michigan, and Marion in Onida. Lloyd passed away, in 1931, as the result of an accident at the age of 24. Mr. Pierce died in 1919, and Mrs. Pierce, in 1954. The Ernest Blaisdell family came from southern Colorado in 1912. There were six children in the family. The oldest is dead. Mrs. Fern McKee and Glen live in Garner, Claude in Onida Township, Maona (Mrs. Oscar Kitchen) in Kansas, and Floyd in Washington. Mr. and Mrs. Ben Schierholz and three children, Belva, Howard and Alice, came in 1921. Another son, Hadley, was born several years later. Belva married Joe Roddewig and lives in California, and Alice is married and lives in Oregon. The Schierholzs moved to Junction City, Oregon, in 1936. Mr. and Mrs. Marion Pierce lived on the Schierholz place from 1936 until 1943. Jack Williamson and family moved into the township about 1923. His wife was the former Edith Bloom, daughter of Ed Bloom. They moved to Oregon in 1942. There were six daughters, Helen, Viola, Maribel, Juanita, Betty Lou and Bonnie, and a son, Jackie. Jack's brother, L. L. Williamson, and family moved on the place vacated by the Jacks family and remained there until 1955, when they moved to Pierre. Mr. and Mrs. Williamson are presently in Belle Fourche, South Dakota, Larry and Carol (Mrs. Orville Davis), are in Onida, Pat (Mrs. Russell Buchholz) in Norfolk Township, Clifford is in the Navy, and Marilyn (Mrs. Jack Bower) of Fairpoint, South Dakota. The John Kleinsasser family came in 1919, and built the house now occupied by the Clifford Thompson family. There were six daughters and a son, Elias, who married Ruby Warne of Iowa Township. A daughter, Dorothy, is a missionary to Africa. Mr. and Mrs. August F. Koester and daughter, Kathryn, came in 1921, from Illinois, and bought the old Albert Reed farm. After Mr. Koester passed away in 1946, Mrs. Koester moved to Onida, where she makes her home at the present time. Kathryn and her husband, Robert Burgeson, and son, Milton, live on the home place. George Van de Loo and Tony Etzkorn came in 1920, and lived where Bydalek now lives. In 1927, they dissolved partnership and Tony moved to the Canning area. In 1934, George married a nurse from Wisconsin. Mrs. Van de Loo did private nursing and assisted at the Pierre Hospital. They purchased the farm vacated by the Pearsons in 1939 and moved on that fall. Pat Wood, of Kansas, bought the place in 1954. The Van de Loos built on the Northwest of the same section where they now live. Henry Becker came to Sully County in 1920, living in Onida Township until 1930. Mrs. Becker, whose maiden name was Katie Zeuge, came from Germany in 1924. She lived with an uncle and grandparents in Onida Township, and attended school in Summit. There are seven children in the family, Evelyn, Joyce, Fred, Jim, Vivian, Irene and George, who attends the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. Mr. and Mrs. Walter Halsey and two sons lived on the old Walker place for several years, later on the Kleinsasser place where they had a sale and moved to Illinois, in 1936. Mr. and Mrs. Fred Harris and a son, Francis and family, came in about 1946, and moved on the Alva Byrum place. The parents did not stay long. Their house was then moved to its present location near the highway and remodeled. The Francis Harris family left in 1955, and located at Yankton, South Dakota. Hugo Kinkler, of Littlefield, Texas, is the present owner of this place. Emel Johnson was born and raised in Lincoln Township. He married a young lady from Wisconsin and they lived on the old Johnson place for seven years. They built a new home in Summit Township in 1928, moving to Onida several years ago. Their youngest son, Melvin and his wife and two small children, live on the farm. Orville, the oldest son, is -City Manager of N. St. Paul, Minnesota, and Charles is a medical doctor at Des Moines, Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. F. R. Burgeson and sons Robert and Donald, came from Nebrasia in 1939. A son, Clarence, and a daughter remained in Nebraska. Another son, Wallace, assisted at the farm part of the time the first summer. In 1944, at the age of 27, he met a tragic death. He was on vacation from his job at a Government Lookout Tower for planes, in Oregon, when a boat capsized in the Sandy River and he and a companion were drowned. Mr. and Mrs. Burgeson moved to Onida in 1957, when Donald married a girl from Germany and, they took over management of the farm. Mr. Burgeson passed away in 1958. She continues to make her home here. Mr. and Mrs. Alva Byrum and four children came in 1929, and remained until about 1947. One son, Alvan, passed away during this time. Pierre lives in Jackson, Michigan, Howard at Lead, South Dakota, and Virginia Hilton, who operates the Vanity Beauty parlor in Onida. Mr. and Mrs. Byrum now live at White Lake, South Dakota. Verne Allison came to Sully County with his parents in 1910, from Vilas, South Dakota. They lived at Eakin, where his father was Station Agent for the railroad for many years. Verne and his family moved into Summit Township in 1930. Their children are Virginia, who lives in California, Vernon in Sturgis, Lorraine (Mrs. Richard Martin) and Darlene (Mrs. Kenneth Smith), both of Agar, Doris, in Pierre, and Margaret (Mrs. Ralph Hanson) in Kansas City. A grandson, Melvin, makes his home with the Verne Allisons. Mr. and Mrs. Ronelly Todd and three children moved into Summit Township in 1948. They have four children, Gary, Rona, Annis and Judy. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Stephens came from Goodlet, Texas, in 1949, and moved onto the place where the Ralph Dunkelbergers had lived for about six years. There were four children in the family. Charles attends Northern State Teachers College, Aberdeen, Weldon, Judy and Dennis attend Onida schools and Cheryl and Dena are at home. Alfonso Bydalek has been a resident since 1940. Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Letellier came in 1952. They have four daughters, Janet (Mrs. Jerry Armantrout), lives at Bakersfield, California, and has a daughter, Jennifer Lee, Beverly (Mrs. Dale Brown) is a student at South Dakota State University, and Hazel and Carol are at home. Mr. and Mrs. Clifford Thompson moved onto the Kleinsasser place when they were married in 1936. They have three daughters, Jeannine, attending Northern State Teachers College, and Kathleen and Lynn are at home. There were 15 or more places occupied in the twenties than there are at the present time and it was necessary to operate three schools in the township during some of the time. Summit has seven pupils, two are attending the Onida Grade School and six are in High School. A mail route comes through the South part of the township from Blunt that has existed since before 1917. There are now only 16 permanent families, including three bachelors. A few others come during the farming season. All the families have electricity, over half of the homes are completely modern, several have been remodeled and all have added improvements during the more prosperous years. Many trees have been planted, and the yards improved. Entertainment through the passing years has changed as much or perhaps more than anything else. Literary Societies, Spelling Bees, parties and visiting were the early pastimes. In the 1920 house parties, where the entire family could spend the evening, were a common occurrence. Children played games, the older folks played cards, while the middle-aged group danced. All contributed to the lunch and all enjoyed themselves at a minimum of expense. Sometimes a Farm Bureau meeting preceded the entertainment. A box social at the local schoolhouse was considered an event. A ladies club has been in existence in Summit Township since 1925. It started as an Extension Club, and is called Summit Friendly Neighbors. In 1909, Ed Pierce and Ed Lehman who lived in Onida Township, had a private telephone line built to their homes. This was the only telephone in Summit Township until the Bell Telephone Company installed one on the Emel Johnson farm in the forties. This telephone functioned until the R.E.A. line was built in 1950, when it ceased to work properly and had to be abandoned. For many years, when transportation to and town wasn't what it is today, people came, for miles around to use this telephone, especially in cases of sickness, deaths or telegrams. The Pierce family also delivered news of this nature to their neighbors upon many occasions. * * * TROY TOWNSHIP [photo - South Troy School, 1940. Matte Muldoon, teacher. Back row, left to right - Velva Brehe, Madge Bramblette, Lois Byrtini and Mabel Byrum. Front row - Alice Byrum,, Mike Mikkelsen, Jake Weischedel, Wayne Teets and Mildred Byrum. Rhythm and at Music Festival.] Troy Township is located in the northwest part of Sully County bounded on the west by the Missouri River. Well known land marks are the Laurel Hills and Anderson Hill. Indians used to cross it in days past going between Pierre and Cheyenne. They traded blankets for milk, eggs and chickens, along the way. At one time there were two schoolhouses in the township but only one, South Troy, is running now. The building is 62 years old, has been remodeled several times, and moved four times to accommodate the families. John Sutton, Ed Wagner and Julius Brehe were schoolboard members for many years. Oliver Byrum replaced Julius and served for a number of years, and now James Wagner, Virgil Biley and William Becker carry on. Of the early settlers coming into Troy and having descendants still living in the township are the Suttons and Wagners. The Sutton Family One of the oldest continuous operations in Sully County is the Sutton Ranch. The home ranch was acquired in 1896, by Ed Sutton and wife, Jessie. They made the purchase of the original 1484 acres from the department store firm of Carson, Perrie, Scott Company, of Chicago. This beginning has since grown to include some 30,000 acres. In 1886, James Pearman sold his place to Stucky and McLane which gave these two men control of about eight quarters, and made one of the best stock ranches on the Missouri River Valley. Later Stucky and McLane sold their holding to the Chicago firm, and it was from this company that Ed Sutton obtained the original homesite. [photo - Original Buildings on Sutton Ranch, 1896.] [photo - Mr. and Mrs. Ed Sutton, 1916. Troy Township Pioneers.] Edwin DeLos Sutton was born at Waubeka, Wisconsin, April 7, 1865. His parents moved to Iowa and in 1883, the family came to Dakota Territory, homesteading in southwestern Potter County. Shipping their belongings to the end of the railroad, then at Redfield, they drove an oxen team from there to their new homesite. In 1894, Ed Sutton married Jessie Nopier, and established their first home on a ranch five miles north of the present Missouri bridge on Cheyenne Creek. They moved to their permanent home in Sully County in 1898. Jessie's family had homesteaded at Old Forest City, South Dakota, where she grew to young womanhood, and taught school before her marriage. Three of the Sutton children were born in Potter County - Jeannie, Elsie and John. Edith, Florence, James and Raymond were born in Troy Township, and all attended rural school, except Florence and Raymond, who attended grade school in Huron. [photo - Buildings on Sutton Ranch, about 1900.] Jeannie married Owen Kearns. They had five children, four of them still living, one dying while a young child. Jeannie passed away several years ago. Elsie married Swen Nystrom, of Fairbank Township. They have three children, and live on a ranch near Pierre. Edith married Geoff Garrett and they have built up a ranch in western Sully. Their son, Glen, lives there now and the parents have a home in Pierre. Florence is Mrs. Teigen and lives in Aberdeen. They have one boy. The three boys John, James and Raymond, carried on with the ranch operations following the death of their parents. [photo - Sutton Ranch Home, 1910. Sutton family in Maxwell car. Front seat-Mr. and Mrs. Ed Sutton, James and Raymond. Back seat -Jeanie, John and Elsie holding Edith.] Ed Sutton passed away July 7, 1938, and Mrs. Sutton, on March 27, 1940. John lived on the home ranch. He married Mildred Hansen of Lead, South Dakota, who taught in the Sully County schools previous to her marriage. They have four children. John Jr. "Matt", Lois, Thelma and Kenneth. Mildred and John now live in Onida. Matt lives at the ranch and is now having a new home built on the flat, as the present ranch buildings will be flooded by water of the Oahe Dam. Matt attended the Troy School. He attended Onida High School and is a graduate of Brookings State College. Lois, Mrs. Elliott Byrum, lives in Onida. She has three children and is also a graduate of Onida High School and the University of Colorado. She is a registered nurse. Thelma is Mrs. Alvin Allison and she also lives in Onida. She has three children and is a graduate of Onida High School and attended Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri. Kenneth is at present attending Brookings State College and is a graduate of Onida High School. James Sutton lived on what was known as the Thrope Place. He married Flossie Nystrom, of Fairbank Township. The home has been remodeled and modernized. The sale barn, where the annual bull sales are held, is located at this ranch. There are outstanding shelter-belts about the place. Mr. and, Mrs. Sutton have a home in Onida And their two sons, Jim and Lyle, live on the ranch. Both boys attended the rural school in Troy and both are Onida High School graduates. Jim also graduated from Brookings State College. He married Julie Nelson, of Onida, and has two children. Lyle married Deanna Thomas, of east Onida, and they have one son. Deloris is married to Derwin Worth and lives on a ranch in Potter County. She has three children. Raymond Sutton, the youngest of the three boys, lives north of the home ranch. This place was at one time owned by Bill Ripley. Raymond married Buelah Cass, of Garner Township. They have three children. Alice and Buena Rae, both attending Huron College, and Ray, who is now in high school in Onida. They have a home in Onida, but spend the summer on the ranch. Because of the Oahe Dam flooding, they will also build a new home. They have shelter-belts started on the new location. [photo - Lois and Thelma Sutton, 1953. Means of crossing Artichoke Creek after the flood washed out the bridge.] [photo - Sutton Family, 1936. Front row, left to right - Francis Kearns, Lorraine Sutton, Norman, Robert and Marvin Nystrom, Edith Kearns, Lois and John Jr., Sutton and Ina Garrett. Second row - Edith Garrett holding her baby Glen, Jeanie Kearns holding Dorothy Kearns, Delores Sutton, Mrs. Ed Sutton and Ed, Mildred Sutton, John Sutton holding daughter Thelma and Florence Teigen. Back row - Geoff Garrett, Flossie Sutton, Baby James Sutton Jr. held by Elsie Nystrom, Swen Nystrom, Owen Kearns and James Sutton.] [photo - Registered Herefords at Sutton Ranch, 1957.] Sutton Brothers have built up their herd of Registered Herefords, started in 1910 to one of the best in the country. To date they have had their 17th annual registered Hereford Bull sale. The Sutton Ranch was also the home of several types of well-bred horses and at one time the herd numbered more than 1,000 head. A train-load of horses was shipped to the Chicago Market in August, 1933. This shipment, being one of the largest of its kind, made the headlines in the Chicago papers. Wellbred horses have continued to be of interest on the ranch, and at the present time a fine herd of Registered Quarter horses is well established. They also have rodeo horses of national interest. In 1916, Ed Sutton purchased four fine Percheron Stallions in Iowa. These horses were the start of the registered horses on the Sutton Ranch. With the lack of demand for the heavy work horse, the change was made to the saddle and rodeo type, for which there is a better market. [photo - Sutton Brothers Horses, 1953. A portion of the herd shipped to Chicago.] [photo - John, Raymond and James Sutton with their Quarter Horse, Major's Traveler.] [photo - "Snubbing" a wild horse at Sutton Ranch. The first step in breaking wild horses.] In 1914, Ed Sutton acquired his first buffalo, which became the nucleus of the present herd and one of few large privately owned herds in the United States. In March of 1917, Mr. Sutton purchased three buffalo cows and two crossbred calves at the Naughton and Tegland sale at Agar, South Dakota. Later a bull was purchased from the South Dakota state park herd. In January, 1925, at the Scotty Philips sale, 12 more head of buffalo cows were added to the herd. The herd increased quite rapidly and about 1930, they numbered around 125 head. Feeding and ranging became a problem so about half of the herd was sold. At present the herd numbers about 80 head and 25 spring calves. Each year the surplus is sold to keep the amount to conform with the size of the strongly fenced pasture, which will provide adequate feed for just so many buffalo. The Sutton land will soon be flooded by the waters of the Oahe Dam. May its future use be as valuable and pleasant to the generations to come as it has been to those who have made their home on these river bottoms for many generations. There is much evidence that the Indians, too, enjoyed these areas long before white man came. There will be approximately 100 feet of water at the old home site. The government has given the families on the upper part of the dam area until 1961, in which to move. * * * The Wagner Family [photo - Mathias J. Wagner. Pioneer of Troy Township.] Mathias J. Wagner and his wife, Elizabeth, migrated to this country from Odessa, Russia, and settled in Sully Cqunty in June, 1884. They came by covered wagon and oxen and lived in a dugout sodded up about two feet. Later they built a house one mile south of the present Albert Brehe farm. Elizabeth would walk to Laurel, about five miles west, and work all day for the meager wage of $1.00, and then walk back home at night. Mr. Wagner sold the oxen at Cheyenne Agency in the early nineties for three or four cents a pound. The yoke is still owned by their son, Ed, and can be seen at the State Museum in Pierre. Elizabeth Wagner passed away in 1910, and her husband, in 1947, at the age of 94. [photo - Mrs. Mathias J. Wagner (Elizabeth). Pioneer of Troy Township.] Their son Ed D. married May Gerlack, of Milford Township, on November 30, 1910. At first they lived on a homestead in Troy Township where Matt Sutton now lives and then moved to the present Ed Wagner farm where they lived for 49 years, moving to Pierre on August 11, 1954, where they now reside. Mr. and Mrs. Ed Wagner had five children, Lester, Vera, Edna, Orville and Velma. Lester, the oldest, married Florence Shoup in May, 1936, and has a farm in Potter County. They have two boys, Duane and Lavern. Vera and her brother, Orville, own and operate the "Trading Post" at Pierre. Edna and Velma are employed at the State House in Pierre. Vera, Edna, Velma and Orville attended Northern State Teachers College, Aberdeen. Vera taught in the Onida Grade School for four years, and Edna and Orville both taught in Sully County. Velma took a business course while at Northern. [photo - E. D. Wagner Family, 1944. Mr. and Mrs. Ed Wagner and five children, left to right, Lester, Velma, Orville, Edna and Vera.] John Wagner married Myrle McMillan, of Onida. They lived on the old Jerry Conint homestead who had a sod house and had planted flowers in the wide window ledges of the house which bloomed profusely. The Wagners planted many trees around their home and beautified it in many ways. They lived there until 1956, when they built a new home in Onida where they now live. Their son, James, now lives on the farm. He married Alvina Westphal and both graduated from Agar High School. James and Alvina have one son who attends the Troy School where his father also received his grade school education. William Wagner married Mary Wilcox, of Agar, and lived on her father's homestead. Mary passed away in May, 1944. They had five children, Raymond, Maynard, Delores, Leonard and Darlene. Raymond married Jeanette Tobin, and he and his brother, Maynard, are engaged in construction work in Sioux Falls. The two girls live in North Dakota, and Leonard attends high school in Gettysburg. [photo - Four Generations of Wagners, 1945. Mathias Wagner, son Ed, grandson Lester, and great grandson Duane.] Mathias, Jr. married Louise Bale and they live in North Dakota. Elizabeth and her husband, George Comeau, and four children live in Gettysburg. Kathryn is married to Clifford Rygmyr and lives in Forest City, Iowa. Lillian and her husband, Rudolph Schreiber, and daughter, Alta, live in Sanborn, North Dakota. Jacob married Fern Lyons, of Agar. They had two sons, Richard and Donald J. Jacob passed away in 1926. Susie is married to Fred Dykman and lives at Springfield, South Dakota. They have eight children. Minnie and her husband, James Fryda, and six children live in Springfield. Ralph married Phyllis Speirs, of Agar. They had six children, Charles, Clarence, Dorothy, Marlin, Lyle and Arlo. * ** * The Gerlach family came to Troy Township in 1886. The old home still remains, but has been remodeled. One of the sons, George, lives in Agar and Bill lives in Miller. There were nine children in the family. * * * In 1886, Mr. and Mrs. John Sandran homesteaded in Pearl Township. They then bought land in Troy Township, now farmed by Merle VonWald. Mr. Sandran was a Civil War veteran. * * * The land now farmed by Oliver Evans was homesteaded by a man by the name of Swab, an old bachelor, who came in 1883. * * * Down along the river about four miles south of the Sutton Ranch, a family by the name of John Lier settled. * * * Two families of later days living in West Troy and leaving in the thirties were Clarence Currier and Ralph Dunkelberger. Mrs. Currier was Minnie Weischedel of Pearl Township. They raised four chfldren, now all in Oregon. Mrs. Dunkelberger was Annie Swenson of Pearl Township. She taught school in Sully County for several years. There were four girls, one being Mrs. Allan Hale, now of Onida. There are no buildings remaining on these places now. * * * Another family living in Troy Township, but now all gone, was the Charley Johnson or "Swede" Johnson, as he was known. Their home was north and west of the Merle VonWald farm. They raised seven children and one, Alice, now Mrs. Russell Rilling, lives in Pierre. Mrs. Johnson is still living and makes her home in Detroit, Michigan. * * * William Becker and Maude Becker who came in 1933, live on what is known as the old Charlie Johnson place. It is also where the old Laurel Post Office was located. They have planted a fine shelterbelt and modernized their home. They have one daughter, Helen, who with her husband, Virgil Biley and two children, live in their own home and farm with the Beckers. Helen attended rural schools in Troy Township, high school in both Agar and Onida, graduating from Onida High School. One of the children now attends Troy School. * * * Julius Brehe homesteaded the present Brehe home in 1902, married and permanently moved there in 1919, building up the present home. They lived there until, 1956, when they retired to Pierre. They planted trees and shrubs about their home and managed to raise gardens even in dry years. They have two girls, Irene, now Mrs. Romo, who lives in California, and Velva, Mrs. Kenneth Redin, living in Pierre. There are three grandchildren. Both girls attended school in Troy and Agar High School. Mr. and Mrs. Hio Heien came to Troy Township from Iowa, living there for 31 years before moving to Pierre. The last nine years they lived on the old Gerlach homestead. For 22 years they lived nearby on the place known as the Hansen farm. They recently sold their place to John Sutton. Gordon Peacock lives there. Merle VonWald has built on the old Hansen place near the Heien Dam. Mr. and Mrs. Heien raised seven children, all attending the Troy rural schools and graduating from Pierre High School. Alma, Mrs. Albert Steffens, and Alvin, who married Evie McCamly, farm in Sully County; Loretta lives at Vivian; Lenice in Arizona; the twins, Helen and Ella, in Michigan, and Ethel May in Texas. * * * Oliver Byrums moved to Troy Township in 1929, living about six miles west of their present home which they moved to in 1937. Oliver was born in Garner Township, attended rural schools there and graduated from Onida High School in 1920. [photo - Oliver Byrum, 1922. Resident of Troy Township.] In early days this place was owned by August Felt, later by a Mr. Baxter and then by Ronald Rilling who started a good shelterbelt. Walter Basil then bought it aud lived there several years, leaving it in the thirties. The Byrums planted more trees in 1948 and again in 1952. The home has been modernized and farming and cattle raising are carried on. There are six children and all attended the South Troy School. Eugene graduated from Agar High School and from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology at Rapid City, and at present is in the Armed Forces. Lois graduated from, Onida High School just 25 years after her father. She is a graduate of the University of Vermillion and is now a Lieutenant in the Navy. Mabel, Mrs. Neil Hansen, lives in Idaho. She has three children. Both she and Neil graduated from Onida High School. Mildred attends the University of Minnesota and is interning in Children's Clinical Psychology. Alice, Mrs. Cole NeaJ, a graduate of Onida High School, attended Brookings State College, and now teaches in Pierre. She has three children. Laurence married Karen Rivenes, of Onida, and has two children. He lives on the Julius Brehe place and works in cooperation with the home place. Time Clock 1883 Professor David Staples was superintendent of schools . . . The Clifton Sun (newspaper) went under a cloud-never to rise again . . . . Election of school officers in 27 districts was held on September 15. 1884 The first issue of the Okobojo Times was published on May 16, by E. Frankhauser and S. A. Travis . . . . Clifton discovered a well 94 feet deep, with pure fresh sparkling water. 1885 Onida and Fairbank organized as civil townships in September . . The Onida Journal established a circulating library in October, with 65 volumes. One cent a day secured a book . . . . Onida became the county seat . . . .As of May, there were fifteen organized Sunday schools in Sully County. 1886 Twenty-eight pupils enrolled in the Onida school for the winter term . . . . The First Baptist Church was organized in Summii township in July, with the Rev. Barden attending . . . .George Glessner joined the Fort Sully Military Band in April and became a member of that musical organization during the next five years. 1887 Farmers in vicinity of Onida organized a Farmer's Alliance, May 28. Prime objective was to avail themselves of the low rates of insurance . . . . The mercury registered 36 degrees below zero in Onida on January 9 . . . . Philip Murphy and J. W. Glessner of Okobojo made final proof on their homesteads. 1888 Over 17,000 bushels of corn were raised in Summit Township . . . One dollar bought twelve pounds of sugar in Onida . . . . Onida had daily mail service as of July 1. 1889 South Dakota was admitted by proclamation to the Union of States on November 2, as, was North Dakota at the same moment . . . . Benjamin Harrison took his oath of office on March 4, as president of the United States . . . . South Dakota started out with about $80,000 in her treasury . . . . Cheyenne was the name chosen for the new town platted below Fairbank on the Missouri River . . . . Pierre was chosen as the capital for South Dakota by a majority of 10,000 votes in the election. 1890 Sully County was divided into five census districts first term of county court, under the state law, was held July 1st . . . . Sitting Bull was killed 40 miles southwest of Standing Rock Agency on December 22 . . . In January, the United States Grant Women's Relief Corps of Onida started with a membership of twenty-one . . . . Henry Smith opened a blacksmith shop on April 19. 1891 The assessed valuation of Sully County was $1,327,495 in July. . . . Rainmaker Milbourne contracted citizens of several counties, for furnishing a series of showers that extended 150 miles. He asked no pay, until rain had fallen. 1892 The mercury registered 34 degrees below zero at various times in Onida during the week of January 16 to January 23 . . . . One-third of the 1891 taxes were paid into the county treasurer as of March 12th, over $8,000 . . . . The largest judgment ever docketed in Sully County was filed with the Clerk of Courts on June 18th, in the amount of $45,564.25 . . . . It was estimated that the South Dakota wheat crop would aggregate 55,000,000 bushels. 1893 $8.00 per hundred for pork at Onida-$25.00 for a fat pig! . . . Reservations may be made to attend the World's Fair in Chicago. Excursion will leave on Saturday, May 20 . . . . . The Ladies Equal Suffrage group realized a neat sum at their meeting in October which they sent to Colorado to assist the ladies in that state . . . . On December 8, there were 50 pupils enrolled in the Onida Village School under the direction of Professor Porter and Miss Johnson . . . . The organized Jack Rabbit Hunt captained by A. A. Faust and Claude Garner. bagged only 13 rabbits and 5 chickens - 28 hunters turned out. 1894 Five patents were received in Pierre land office in April for Sully County settlers . . . . Beginning of football in South Dakota . . . . The Sully County Watchman passed its twelfth milestone in life . . . . . There were 49 children of school age in Onida as of June 15; and 514 in Sully county as of July 16 . . . . Pierre goose hunters killed and took home over 100 wild geese in Sully County. 1895 Cattle sold at high prices in April -cows and steers brought from $25 to $30 per head . . . . Bicycles gradually replaced horses on the ranches. Cattle and sheep were tended to on a "bike" . . . . Thirty-five pounds of oatmeal for $1.00 at Faust's in Onida. 1896 There were nearly $15,000 in taxes collected on taxable property in Sully County in February . . . . There was a partial eclipse of the moon on August 22, visible in Sully County . . . . There was more snow on the ground in Onida in November of 1896 than since the year 1881 . . . . Fresh pork sold at four cents a pound in Onida, during November. 1897 The thermometer registered 30 below on January 24 . . . .Hay sold at $4.00 a ton, delivered, during March . . . . First class potatoes were sold at 20 cents a bushel . . . . An estimated 3,000,000 acres of wheat were sown in South Dakota this spring. 1898 County Treasurer Persson collected over $13,000 in taxes during the month of February . . . . According to population, Sully County sent more men to the front than any other in the state . . . . Peace and order was restored in Cuba and Porto Rico this fall in time for the government to establish the American system of education. 1899 Ice in the Missouri River was 42 inches thick at Forest City in March . . . . A turkey Shoot was held in Onida on Saturday 25 . . . . Huron College students from this vicinity, Frances Barber, Arthur Porter, Charles Schreiber, and Luther Nelson, spent their holiday vacation at home. 1900 Hew Blair of Fairbank township dug out and brought to Onida on June 25, nine young grey wolves . . . . July 30 was the hottest day of the year. The mercury registered 110 in the shade and 140 in the sun . . . . About 100 Indians pitched their teepees three-fourths of a mile west of town on October 8. 1901 Graphophones were becoming popular in the early 1900's . .President McKinley was shot on September 9, while attending a public reception in his honor at Buffalo, New York . . . . Miss Bessie Bagby of Grandview closed her winter term of school in the Green district, Okobojo. 1902 It was said by men at the Chicago stock yards that if it wasn't for South Dakota, the world would have to bury itself alive to keep from starving to death . . . . Sixty-five quarter sections of land sold for $650.00 each to a Chicago syndicate during the month of February . . . . The grass was so tall during the summer months that calves were completely hidden and heads of cows lying down were all that could be seen . . . . The price of land in Sully County doubled during the last six months . . . . There were 17,268 head of cattle assessed in Sully County at a valuation of $229,061. 1903 Shooting rabbits by moonlight was a sport being indulged in by the nimrods . . . . It was reported that P. F. McClure of Pierre purchased the Doctor Mann ranch near Okobojo, and other lands adjoining, in June, paying $10,000 . . . . Horses sold at $100.00 a head during the summer months . . . . C. R. Garner killed 38 rattle snakes on August 9th . . . . The South Dakota wheat crop was estimated to be from 5 to 6 million bushels. 1904 The Aberdeen American, a new up-to-date weekly paper, started at Aberdeen in January . . . . There were 453 pupils of school age in the county as of June . . . . Approximately 21,000 head of cattle were dipped in Sully County during June and July . . . . Work, commenced on the new government capital building in Pierre during September. Cost not to exceed one million dollars. 1905 About 30 land buyers and home seekers looked over Sully County during the first week in July . . . . The assessed valuation of personal property was about $260 for every man, woman and child residing in the county . . . . Total rainfall for May, June and July was 16.41 inches . . . . 125,000 sheep were shipped from Pierre in October, requiring 1120 freight cars . . . . One hundred thousand tons of steel went to Pierre for the construction the railway bridge across the Missouri River at that point. 1906 The real estate transfers in Sully County amounted to about $15,000 for the week ending January 30 . . . . There were about 400 shade trees planted in Onida this year . . . . William Parks from Hampton, Iowa, invested $10,000 in the rich Sully County soil . . . . About 80,000 acres of Sully County land changed hands during the year. 1907 A thirty-two story sky-scraper was erected in New York at a cost of $10,000,000 . . . . Sully County was on a sound financial basis with a surplus of $40,000 in the treasury and no, debt . . . . Thirty skilled mechanics and workmen were daily employed in "building up" Onida, during August. About $9,000 worth of buildings were under construction . . . . The new state of Oklahoma was admitted to the Union on November 16. 1908 Evarts, a typical frontier town and great cattle market, was wiped off the earth . . . . During the first week in July, two new banks were incorporated in Onida, making three banks in town . . . . The cornerstone for the new capitol building in Pierre was laid on June 25. Among the articles deposited in the "cornerstone" of the new capitol building were coins of 1907, building contract, Holy Bible, History of South Dakota, Ordinance of 1787 and the Inaugeral Address by Gov. Col. L Crawford. 1909 The sale of 640 acres of SullyCounty land was transferred to Iowa buyers the week of February 4 . . . . Onida had a population of 195 as of August 1 . . . . The Northern Normal at Aberdeen began its eighth year on September 6 . . . . The old capitol building was sold to the city of Pierre for $1,000 - one fifteenth the cost of erection. 1910 The first Parent-Teacher organization was formed at Sidney, Ia., in January . . . . Auto speeding at 60 miles per hour was too tame-Barney Oldfield made a mile in 27.33 seconds in the month of March . . . . There were fifty-nine school houses in Sully County whose estimated value was $24,600. 1911 An election was called for June 20 to vote on erecting a $7,500 school house in Onida . . . . The July apportionment which the county superintendent of schools sent to the district treasurer was $2,546.25 the largest ever made in this county . . . . Mammoth irrigation projects originated by Doane Robinson talked about to benefit all of Sully . . . . The bank statements of the three Onida banks as of December 5, showed a total deposit of $157,280.81 and the deposits of the two Agar banks totaled about $54,000. 1912 In February the county treasurer collected $45,916.38 in taxes . . . . The statements of the three banks showed a total of over $150,000 on deposit as of June 27 . . . . Cost of the new court house was $75,153.45 There was frost in July and and a driving snow storm on September 24. 1913 There were eight pupils enrolled in high school the first of the year . . . . Pat Kane killed a black eagle near his place. It measured seven feet, four inches from tip to tip and stood three feet high. Pat had the bird mounted . . . . About 250 gallons of cream were shipped from Agar on June 23 and 24. 1914 The Sully County Cattle Company planted 380 acres of alfalfa along the Missouri River bottom near Fort Sully . . . . State College increased its enrollment from. 61 students in 1884 to 1,000 students in 1914 . . . . Sioux Falls celebrated South Dakota's 25th anniversary of statehood in June . . . . The assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir apparent to the Austrian throne, and wife, at Serajevo, Bosnia, July 23 young Servian was the direct cause of the war crisis that confronts all Europe. . . 1915 South Dakota raised $l06,500,000 worth of crops in 1914 . . . .The exhibit of fancy work from Sully. County was awarded the first prize of $100 at the State Fair . . . . South Dakota was second of all states in the Union this year in the percentage above average of its general crop conditions . . . . The year 1915 closed with prosperity and a spirit of cheerfulness greater than ever before. 1916 The total rainfall in Onida from January 1, 1915 to January 1, 1916, was 30.4 inches . . . .. There were nearly $15,000 in taxes collected on the taxable property of Sully County during February . . . . Miss Anna Temmey was the first student to graduate from the twelfth grade of the Onida High School . . . . For the first time in history the Onida school became accredited. 1917 The blizzard with high winds and thermometer registering 45 to 63 degrees below zero was reported by many old settlers to be the worst experienced in South Dakota . . . . The assessed valuation of Onida was $274,328, an increase of $23,304 over the previous year . . The Secretary of Interior designated as homestead land 111,300 acres of land in South Dakota, distributed in 11 counties . . . . South Dakota's prosperity led other states. Production was nearly $1,000 per capita . . . . The total number of individual subscribers to the Second Liberty Loan was 9,400,000 . . . . It cost $1,615,750.64 to maintain the government of South Dakota. 1918 Sully County's allotment of War Savings Stamps was $49,000 . . . .A total of 5.63 inches of rain fell in Onida during the growing months of April and May . . . . As of the first of September there were about 83,000 automobiles registered in South Dakota . . . . The influenza epidemic kept Dr. Hart of Onida working 24 hour shifts for many days . . . . WAR OVER - November 11th! 1919 There were 30 students in high school as of January 1, and 61 in the grades . . . . Improvements in Onida were so great as to sound like a fairy tale . . . . Population of South Dakota was about 650,000. 1920 South Dakota was the wealthiest state per capita . . . . On March 1, the total deposits of the two banks in Onida passed the million mark . . . . There were ninety-four land transfers in the county from March 1 to March 14 . . . . On August 12 and 13, there were 30,000 pounds of wool shipped out of Onida and Agar. 1921 Oil development became a topic of discussion and some speculation in Sully County . . . . Professor Jeffers organized a Boy Scout band, believed to be the only one in South Dakota . . . . There were 143 accredited high schools in South Dakota . . . . The total valuation, in Sully County was over 16 million. 1922 There were 480 cans of cream shipped from Onida in May . .An answer to a radiogram sent from Hartford, Conn., to the Hawaiin Islands, a distance of 5,200 miles, was received in four minutes. 1923 One by one the old land marks disappear - someone leaned against the old cottonwood stump in front of Garner's office, toppling it over . . . . The first county fair was a notable success . . . . Contracts were entered into for marketing and selling 100,000 bushels of corn. 1924 O. S. Close sold his drug store to W. G. Abbott . . . . J. H. Gropengieser ordered five tickets from Germany to Onida, so that relatives of Sully County residents living in Germany could come here . . . . Onida became a member of the Central South Dakota Baseball League . . . . The Onida council sold $10,000 Water Bonds. 1925 Mrs. V. M. McFall, Sully County's first teacher, celebrated her 80th birthday in April . . . . South Dakota's population totalled 662,304 - a gain of 25,000 in the past five years . . . . Sully County's population totaled 3,611, an increase of 780 in five years. 1926 The United States is the only country with a known birthday . . . . The large cottonwood tree in front of the C. R Garner office, planted in 1900, was cut down . . . . Miss Frances Green was chosen Pow Wow Princess at Huron College . . . . John Adams was elected president of the state implement dealers in December. 1927 President and Mrs. Coolidge vacationed at the Game Lodge in the Black Hills . . . Gutzom Borglum, famous sculptor, was contracted to carve the images of America's national heroes on the face of the huge Rushmore mountain . . . . Col. Lindberg stopped at Pierre on September 1, on his cross-country trip . . . . The Sully County Co-Operative Association paid out $282,000 to farmers so far this year. 1928 Sully County was considered throughout the state as being one of the very best governed counties-of the Sunshine State . . . . Over 7,000 pheasants were purchased and liberated in South Dakota in the past six years, by the Fish and Game Department and interested sportsmen . . . . Beginning August 1, Onida switched from direct to alternating current. The city then had 180 h.p. units . . . . Frank Everts, Onida's first editor, passed away on October 21. 1929 Miss Mildred Glessner won the ladies' athletic tournament single handed at Yankton College . . . . During the fiscal year ending June 30, the state Game & Fish Department planted nearly 15,000,000 fish of various varieties in the waters of South Dakota . . . . Miss Olive Akers broadjumped 18 feet, 10 inches at the ladies' track meet at the State University, which broke the ladies' record for the state, nation and also believed to be the world's record. 1930 Jack Reedy and Miss Betty Kirsch were married on February 18 at Gettysburg, with the Rev. Father Patrick Ryan officiating . . . . .. "Talkies" were introduced to Onidans in March . . . . The total acreage in farms in Sully County was 280,400, operated by 585 farmers. 1931 John A. Quade graduated, at the age of eighteen, from the junior college department of the Wentworth Military Academy, Lexington, Mo . . . . . Joe Mendel accepted an instructor and coaching position at the Faulkton high school . . . . Another track star, Wayne Nelson, likewise signed a contract as instructor and coach at the Wessington high school . . . . This was the driest year in the past fifty-six year record-such years occur once in a generation. 1932 South Dakota received $1,765,764 for road work from federal government as share of federal aid . . . . A car of grain containing 1,700 bushels oats and 500 bushels corn arrived in March for the disposal of Sully County Red Cross officials . . . . Grasshoppers threatening Sully County . . . . More than half of the sun was eclipsed on August 31. This will not occur again for thirty years. 1933 Sully County's Golden Jubilee Year . . . . Mrs. V. M. McFall, first Sully County teacher and former superintendent of schools, passed away on March 19 . . . . Onida's drum corps, the world's smallest, entertained at the American Legion convention at the World's Fair in Chicago . . . . Onida received $115.50 from gross income tax, and Sully County received $589.50. 1934 First white child born in Sully County, John Stanage, died at the age of 77 years . . . . Snow covered the ground in parts of Sully County on September 25 . . . . Mr. and Mrs. D. Q. Jordan, pioneer residents of Sully County observed their sixtieth wedding anniversary on October 20. 1935 Little Bend was designated as a game preserve . . . . Strato balloon reached 74,000 feet and then landed safely . . . . Oysters sold for thirty cent.a pint. 1936 Mr. and Mrs. E. J. Garrett observe golden wedding anniversary . . . . Dorothy Lister enjoys thrills of European trip . . . . Nattress Store burns to ground . . . . Agar State Bank merges with Potter County National Bank. 1937 J. H. Gropengieser laid to rest . . . .Grace and Mary Warner present joint recital at Huron College . . Lester Eller loses 300 tons of feed in fire at farm. 1938 Bill Durrstein, Orville Von Wald, Maynard Knox and Preston Starbuck shot four buffaloes at the Sutton ranch on January 11 . . . . Bauman's observed 20th anniversary in business Mrs. Anna Kubichek celebrated her 100th birthday . . . . Onida School Dairy Judging team wins first in South Dakota State Contest . . . . Plan extensive war on 'hoppers in Sully county. Five hundred tons of bait being mixed to get 'hoppers while they are young. 1939 "History of Sully County" published . . . . Dr. Oscar rescued on the ill- fated Titanic 27 years ago . . . . Sully County to present pageant for 50th anniversary of statehood . . . . Grasshopper control covers 83,926 acres in Sully County . . . . Cleo Eller, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Lester Eller, will be listed in the 1939-40 issue of "Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges." 1940 Temperature ranges from 42 degrees below at Bison to l15 degrees above at Wood . . . . Mr. and Mrs. Dudley Palmer observe Golden Wedding Anniversary . . . . Many of our pioneers laid to rest: G. A. Fairbank, Mrs. Ed Sutton, James Pitlick, Sr., Frank Ripley, Johnson Wilcox and S. R. Jeffers. 1941 Bernice Hardwick goes to National Declamatory Contest at Lexington, Kentucky . . . . Charlotte Abbott reigns as Queen of Second Annual Track Meet at Yankton College . . . . Mr. and Mrs. H. P. Knox celebrate 50th Wedding Anniversary . . . . H. P. Knox, met death by drowning in Missouri River. . . . . Pat Abbott sells drug store to Hershel Ellis . . . . Dial telephones put into service . . . . Mrs. Bessie Lumley retires as telephone operator after 23 years. 1942 Mr. and Mrs. A. H. Bane observe 50th Wedding Anniversary . . . . Many Sully County pioneers passed away this year: Van Ludwig, B. M. Lister, Carmon L. Bates, 0. D. Warne, Otto Nelson and Mrs. Carl Brandt . . . . Lt. James A. Hilton to receive medal for heroic action from U. S. Army Air Force . . . . John Bauman, Jr., elected to "Who's Who at University of South Dakota" . . . . . John Sutton, Jr., wins Liberty Ship Launching at Portland, Oregon. 1943 The grasshopper menace grows more serious in Sully County . . Francis L. Huffman, son of Mr. and Mrs. Harvey L. Huffman, will be listed in The 1942-43 issue of "Who's Who Among Students 79 in American Universities and Colleges" . . . . . James Yackley completed medical work . . . . Many Sully pioneers are laid to rest this year: William Wilcox, Mrs. Joseph Pitlick, Lucy Ann Blair, Frederick E. Fagner, Burton Eugene Gunsalus, Earl Newell Cass, Bertha May Howard, Mary Elizabeth Blair, Mrs. C. J. Johnson, Charles L. Glessner, and Mike Rivenes. 1944 Mr. and Mrs. Frank Yackley celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary . . . . Charles Coleman, who was born at Fort Sully on July 1, 1871 and lived all but eight years of his life in a log house in Little Bend, passed away at Spearfish on May 7 . . . . Ernest E. Brooking passed away on October 28. 1945 Roxy Theatre modernized . . . . Ralph Ludwig buys Corner Store from Mr. and Mrs. John Bauman . . . .Fred Brehe passed away at the age of 69. Came to Sully County in 1898 where he and his brother, Alex, homesteaded . . . . Jacob Weischedel, pioneer resident, dies at the age of 84. Lived in Sully County since 1863 . . . . W. J. Asmussen named Champion Farmer at Midwest Farmer Day . . . . Other Sully pioneers leave us: Herbert Brooking, Jessie L. Livingstone, and Mrs. Jobn A. Buck . . . . Mr. and Mrs. Lamb buy Coffee Shop . . . . Mr. and Mrs. Will Spencer sell cafe to Mrs. Emelia Rivenes. 1946 Marvon Severson went into partnership with Cecil Hortman at the H & H Store . . . . Death takes J. I. Rein, 82, pioneer of Sully County . ... . Work has been started on the municipal airport . . . . Arnold Schreiber accepted draft board honors in Washington, D. C. . . . . 13,450 acres of state land were leased in 45 minutes in Sully County . . . . Mrs. Belle Cole, 88, pioneer resident, called by death . . . . Mrs. Belle Clark, 91, Sully County's oldest resident, honored . . . . Sully, County pays off all indebtedness . . . . Polio calls halt to Sully County Fair . . . . Twenty-fifth Sully County Fair to have free gate . . . . Ray Bartels and George Hackworth purchased blacksmith shop . . . . Mr. and Mrs. Mike Mikkelsen celebrate 50 years of marriage. 1947 Billy Buol chosen as House messenger . . . . Mr. and Mrs. Fred Wakefield observe 50th Wedding Anniversary . . . . Mrs. Fred Fagner, 80, early pioneer, passes . . . . James Bown, pioneer, passes away . . . . Mr. and and Mrs. Les Swanson purchase Gamble Store after managing it since 1934 . . . . Mrs. Carl Falkenhagen, pioneer lady, passes away . . . . 350,000 perch planted in Cottonwood Lake . . . . Farmers organize for weed control . . . . Joyce Walter wins trip to National 4-H Club Congress, Chicago . . . . Latest in dry cleaning machinery installed at Fosness Cleaners . . . . T. D. Sutton, former Sully County sheriff, dies at Pierre . . . . Mrs. Grace Byrum, 82, pioneer settler of Sully County died at Paonia, Colorado, home of her daughter, Mrs. E. V. Hadley . . . . Steve Travis, former editor of Okobojo Times, passes away . . . . Mr. and Mrs. Mike Lange celebrate Golden Wedding Anniversary. 1949 H & H Motors hold open house in new garage building . . . . Gerald J. Cavanaugh cited on Dean's honor list at Bucknell University for scholastic excellence . . . . Francis Kane wins first in state poetry contest . . . . Albert Youngberg presented medal for 50 years in Masonic Order . . . . Lyle Sutton wins first prize in state Poppy Contest . . . . More Sully County pioneers pass away: William H. Eckert, Miss Winnie Blair, William Schriever, H. C. Glessner, Mrs. Julia Gropengieser . . . . Oahe dedication ceremony held for start of actual construction . . . . Clarence Chase opens Bakery and Coffee Bar . . . . Sully county schools received $8,800.39 from office of State Superintendent of Schools. 1949 Milton Ripley, early resident, dies . . . . Mrs. George Becker elected president of State Federation of Extension Clubs . . . . Mrs. David Rilling, early-day pioneer, passed quietly while she slept . . . . Robert and Paul Ramler buy Connie's Electric . . . . Red Owl Agency opens in Onida . . . . Business section blacktopped and new water mains installed in Onida . . . . George Henry Dunkle, early Sully pioneer, celebrates 90th birthday . . . . Miss Joyce Walter named on the Bob Jones University Dean's list . . . . Mrs. Josephine Sutton, Clark County, and aunt of the Sutton Brothers of Sully, celebrated her 96th birthday anniversary on February 3rd. 1950 A record-breaking 10,400 trees planted on John W. Bush farm . . . . .. "Farming in the 50's" program and Mid-winter Crop Show, sponsored by Sully County Crop & Livestock Improvement Association . . . . Approximately 150 pelicans spent the night near the Dick Bramblette farm . . . . Annual costs of operating a 12-year school system in South Dakota average $3,576 per teacher or $225.00 per pupil . . . . About 50 farmers, attend Crops Field Day at Henry Hertel farm. 1951 Sully County had 134 claims for World War 11 bonus payments, for a total, of $60,729.50 . . . . Larry Venner represents Sully County 4-H Clubs for annual grain marketing trip to Minneapolis . . . . More of our old-timers pass away this year: Mrs. Belle Clark, Albert Youngberg, Mrs. Mary Scott and George Everett . . . . Frank Walsh buys Frozen Foods from Carl Berry . . . . John Byrum ranks second in State High School Scholastic examination; also receives annual Homestake Mining Company scholarship . . . . David Ridinger sails for Chile for a three-year stay as mining engineer . . . .Hospital Benefit Sale netted $7,200 . . . . Alice Wipf goes as missionary to West Indies . . . . C. & N. W. Railway paid $4,395.75 taxes in Sully . . . . Fire damages Wargo home . . . . Ray Bartels buys George Hackworth's share of Blacksmith shop . . . . Roger Garrett wins Denver trip by topping all contestants at Central South Dakota Calf Judging Show . . . . Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Doyle observe 50th Wedding Anniversary. 1952 Thity-four agricultural and newspaper representatives visit Sutton Brothers ranch . . . . Mr. and Mrs. A. S. Clouse observe, 50th Wedding Anniversary . . . . Mike Lange reaches 80th milestone . . . . Seventh Annual Crop Show held March 1 . . . . Worst flood in years hits Pierre-Fort Pierre; loss set at $25 million . . . . William L. Kennedy, 93, honored at a birthday party . . . . Mrs. John C. Quade is a first cousin, twice removed, of General David Dwight Eisenhower . . . . Air Shuttle feeds starving cattle. 1953 Mr. and Mrs. Russell Hyde parents of twins, girl and boy, born 48 hours apart . . . . Mr. and Mrs. John McDeid observe Golden Anniversary . . . . Charles Byrum feted on 85th birthday . . . . Mr. and Mrs. Charles Hughart honored on 60th Wedding Anniversary . . . . Teacher shortage presents problem . . . . County Auditor Edward Klix buys first driver's permit. 1954 Many pioneers passed away: Mrs. Myrtle Glessner, Mrs. Louis Spaid, Henry Wilkins, Mrs. Ruby Haines, Mrs. Isabella Pierce, Buford Bramblett, Charles E. Johnson, and Paul Butzman . . . . Bob Koenig buys interest in C. R. Garner Real Estate and Insurance Agency . . . . Fire causes $15,000 damage to Erp Service Station . . . . Mr. and Mrs. Lou Johnson celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary in California . . .Mr. and Mrs. Harry Hilton celebrate 50 th Wedding Anniversary . . . . Mrs. Corydon Ludwig cited as Sully County "Fine Lady." . . . Mrs. Jim Sutton rated among top five at South Dakota Miss Universe Beauty Contest . . . . Mr. and. Mrs. John Quide observe 50th Wedding Anniversary . . . Mikkelsen Implement builds new structure at junction of Highway 83, west of Onida City limits . . . . Wilber Day wins Division B at Grand American Trap Shoot . . . Stewart & Sons build new "home" just west of city limits. 1955 More pioneers laid to rest: Sigfred Severson, Frank Weischedel, John Quade, Mrs. Addie Mundt, Alex Brehe, Mrs. H. P. Knox, Roy H. Harris and Albert Nelson . . . . Maynard Knox wins three titles at State Trap Shoot - state singles, state handicaps and state champion, of zone champion trophies . . . Oliver Evans of Agar catches 19-pound catfish in Rudolph Mundt dam . . . . Eugene Crabtree and Harold Davis lease Mikkelsen Implement. New business will be called Hiway Garage . . . . Ray Doyle named Director of Assessments . . . . W B. Spears named to the Board of South Dakota Association of Realtors . . . . New County Board of Education is organized. 1956 E. L. "Stub" Thompson, local publisher, was appointed local chairman of the Crusade for Freedom . . . . Mr. and Mrs. Mike Mikkelsen celebrate 60th Wedding Anniversary . . . . Bessie B. Lumley, pioneer Sully lady, honored on 77th birthday . . . . Former Onida high school 50 points a game star, Kent Hyde, featured in South Dakota Collegian, student newspaper at State College . . . . George H. Dunkle, 95, early-day Sully resident dies at his home in Verona, Pennsylvania . . . . L. C. Ridinger sells grocery store to Joe Kub of Ipswich . . . . Frank Walsh sells Onida Frozen Foods to Pete Unruh . . . . Beverly Letellier rates Art Scholarship at University of South Dakota . . . . Jim Sutton named most valuable player on South Dakota State College's 1955-56 basketball squad . . . . Robert Demery buys Roxy Theatre from Glenn Woods . . . . Many of our pioneer people passed away this year: Mrs. John Miles, 92; Mrs. L. D. Johnson, former Sully County lady; Pat J. Kane, 77; Carl Louis Falkenhagen; Mrs. Nora Hertel; Hugh Palmer; Mike Mikkelsen; Joseph Hensley; Mrs. Francis Durrstein and Mrs. Tom Doyle . . . . Mrs. Vern Palmer named Fine Lady of Sully County . . . . Benny Gross named on State Agriculture Committee . . . . M. H. Quimby honored for 50 years of law practice . . . . Mr. and Mrs. Frank Serbousek honored on 50th Wedding Anniversary. 1957 H & H Motors sold to John E. Sutton and Elliott Byrum . . . . Walter Schreiber wins Sweepstakes award at Annual Crop Show . . . . Parker Knox is named to the Honorary Dean's list at Huron College . . . . Oahe Grain Corporation purchased Becker's bulk oil business . . . . Joe Lamb buys Birdsall Chevrolet Garage . . . . Kenneth Sutton is selected for Sears, Roebuck Scholarship at South Dakota State college . . . . Larry Cass receives a Pierre Production scholarship at South Dakota State College . . . . The people of Sully County lost more of their pioneer friends: John McDeid, Mrs. "Bud" Hess, J. C. Groseclose, Mrs. Fred Lehmkuhl, Harvey Seward, Mrs. Harry Hilton, Francis Pierce, and Everett Stewart . . . . New TV station at Reliance for this area . . . . Benny Gross and C. H. Yackley tour Europe for seven weeks . . . . Donna Palmer rates in Junior Division at State "Wool" contest . . . . Ranch home of Mrs. Fern Barber burns . . . . Larry Cass admitted to Rooter Bums (men's pep club) at State College. 1958 Mrs. Fern Barber, president of Huron College Alumni Association, spoke at the college's convocation . . . . Sully County received $34,334.09 when South Dakota paid its taxes on school land . . . . Jack Donahue, principal and instructor at Onida High School, rated scholarship for Science course at University of South Dakota . . . . Mrs. Art Wittler selected as Fine Lady of Sully County . . . . W. J. Asmussen tops state in Soil Bank payments . . . . Buena Sutton chosen all-around cowgirl at regional high school rodeo at Blunt . . . . Lee Warne, Sully County rancher, elected president of University of South Dakota Alumni Association . . . . Col. Henry Smith elected chairman of state Citizen Traffic Safety Support Committee . . . . Sheldon K. Bright named State Legionnaire of Year . . . . Penny Cruthoff, junior at Huron College, was one of speakers at a speech tournament in Sioux Falls . . . . JoAnn Wittler chosen Betty Crocker Homemaker of tomorrow . . . . Peggy LaFave, Onida high school senior, is Betty Crocker Homemaker of Tomorrow. Sully County Time Clock chimes its final note by naming those pioneers that passed to the, great beyond this past year: Hattie Ripley, 84; Mary Winkler, 88; Mrs. Lizzie Fritz, 86; Carl E. Allison; Frank R. Burgeson, 79; and Martin McGuire, 69.