This file is the text of the book, "South Dakota's Ziebach County, History of the Prairie", published in 1982 by the Ziebach County Historical Society, Dupree, SD Permission to publish this book in electronic form was given by Jackie Birkeland, member of the Historical Committee. This book is copyright, 1982 by the Ziebach County Historical Society, Dupree, SD. Scanning and OCR by Terri Tosh , final editing by Joy Fisher, . EWING and LANGLOIS by Mable Ross (1960) Joseph Langlois, a Frenchman, well educated and an old timer on the reservation, who had been a scout with Custer in Kansas, married Zoeie Kensler, 1/4 Indian, 1/4 German and 1/2 French. His daughter, Louise, married Quill Ewing, one of the early cowhands and wagon boss for Narcisse Narcelle. Eb Jones married one of the Langlois daughters, JoAnna; Jim Herald married another and Babe LaPlante the fourth sister. Henry, Ed and Louis Langlois were sons of Joseph Langlois. Bill Ewing and Irene were children born to Louise and Quill Ewing. Bill is one of our youngest cowboys, having ridden for several of the outfits in the eastern section of the reservation. The Ewing Ranch was on Bear Creek about three miles east of Dupree. Bill Ewing own(ed) a fine ranch near White Horse. [photo - Quill Ewing home northeast of Dupree] HARRY FAIRBANKS FAMILY Harry Fairbanks was born near Geddes, South Dakota in 1907 and moved to the Maurine country in 1909. He grew up in that area and in 1934 was married to Dorothy Schetnan of Dupree. They herded sheep in the Maurine area for a while, then Harry worked in a garage there and Dorothy worked in the postoffice. In 1941 they moved to a ranch northwest of Dupree where they lived until 1953 when they moved into Dupree and Harry operated a garage until his retirement. Dorothy worked in Hickenbotham Store and later for the Dupree Insurance Agency. Harry passed away in 1979 and Dorothy retired that fall and moved to Sturgis, South Dakota. Harry Lewis Fairbanks married Lorraine Scott and they have three children, Jane, Lori and Sheila. They live in Sturgis and own the Northern Hills Printing Company in Spearfish which they operate. Donald married Sally Hemen and lives in Rapid City where they are both employed. They have two children, Walter and Dawn. Kenneth is married to Bonnie Seymour and lives in Sturgis. They have three children, Michael, Kelli and Terri. Joan married Jack Seymour who is employed at the Vo-tech School at Sturgis. They have two children, John and Kathy. Joyce married Dale (Bud) Stapert and lives near Midland. They have three children, Bryan, Darla and Jeffrey. LAURENCE FAIRBANKS FAMILY Laurence Fairbanks was born near Geddes, South Dakota in 1904 and moved to Dunnebeck near Maurine in 1909. He grew up in this area working on ranches and then carried mail from Faith to Newell when it took a day each way. In 1935 he married Lucille Kincaid who had grown up in Faith. Her parents had lived in the Faith area since about 1910, her father, Jim Kincaid, having worked for the Diamond A Cattle Company before his marriage. Lucille attended one year at Spearfish Normal after her graduation from Faith High in 1933. She taught the Bachman School in Ziebach County in 1935. In 1938 they moved to Sturgis where they lived until 1942, Laurence working on the state highway. In 1942 they moved back to Faith where they lived until 1952, moving then to the former Elmer Brammer farm northwest of Dupree with their three children. Here they lived for six years. Lucille taught the Lone Tree School for three years. Many Sundays it was not uncommon for twenty to thirty people to gather at their home with the Elliot Rickels, Robert Mackenzies, E. L. Schetnan and other relatives. In 1958 the family moved into Dupree where Lucille worked as deputy in the county auditor's office and Laurence did custom farm work. Later he managed the Dupree Liquor Store until his retirement in 1973. He passed away in 1975. Lucille worked for the county as clerk of courts for two years and later as county auditor. Their daughter Laurayne married Oscar Frankfurth and now lives in Aberdeen where he works as mechanic for the State Highway Department and Laurayne is bookkeeper for Cargill Elevator. They have six children and one grandchild. Larry is married and lives in Pierre where he works for the state highway crew. He has two children, John and Lynda. Iverne married James R. Holloway, who is a brand inspector at Faith. She operates a beauty shop out of her home. They have one daughter, Glenda. CLINTON and JEAN (MILLER) FARLEE by Jean Farlee My father, Lewis (Cully) Miller and my mother, Margaret Evelyn Miller, were married on September 20, 1933 at Dupree, South Dakota. My mother was born August 29, 1913 at Council Bluffs, Iowa. She was the daughter of Jesse Nelson Miller and Margaret Mae Maines, who came to Ziebach County in 1910. My folks lived in Ziebach County all of their married life except for about a year when they lived near Lead, South Dakota. They bought the Ben Henderson place in 1943. It was 9 miles south of Dupree on the Cherry Creek Road. Their 8 children were all born in Dupree. They were Inez Lavonne, born August 22, 1934 and died August 25, 1934; Lewis Tolvstad (Lewie), born July 17, 1935; Eliza Jane (Lit), born December 19, 1936; Margaret Mae (Maggie), born February 24, 1938; Robert Clark (Bob), born June 28, 1939; Gerald Lee (Jerry), born April 5, 1941; Donald Dean (Donnie), born January 24, 1944; and myself, Jean Ileen, born December 17, 1946. We all went to the White Swan School, which was about a quarter of a mile from our place. I went to school with Diermiers, Millers, Birkelands, Fields, and Herrens. My teachers were Bertha Schuh, Merle Beebe, Trula Fields, Betty Heckel, Esther Hemen and Faye Longbrake. We always had a dance every fall at school, and at Christmas time we had a Christmas program. We went to Dupree for the County Y.C.L. Conventions in the spring. The spelling contest and exhibit day was also held then. I was a delegate from Ziebach County to the State Y.C.L. Convention at Pierre in 1960. It was quite an experience for me. We stayed at the St. Charles Hotel and our meetings were held in the Senate Chambers at the State Capitol Building. Lewie, Maggie and Jerry were also delegates when they were 8th graders. We all attended high school in Dupree. Sometimes we stayed in town, and sometimes drove back and forth. My dad died July 17, 1961. Our house burned down in October of the same year. We moved to town for the winter. My mother bought a trailer house and we moved back out in the spring. We moved it over on the creek about a mile east of where we had lived. I married Clinton Farlee May 28, 1962. We had 5 children. Kent James was born August 8, 1963; Shelley Marie was born November 1, 1964; twins, Kristy Rae and Kathy Kay were born October 14, 1973. Kristy Rae died the same day; and Shane Clinton was born November 1, 1975. We lived in El Paso, Texas for over a year while Clint was in the army. We bought the home place from my mother. Clinton is one of five sons of Don and Tina (Stambach) Farlee; Rick who lost his life in World War II; Keith, rural Lantry; Donald, Dupree; Bob, Lantry. All attended Lantry grade school. Clint, Don, and Bob were Dupree High graduates. Keith graduated from Eagle Butte. Clint is serving his second term as Ziebach County Commissioner from District #3. FLORENCE FIELDER Florence Fielder was born in Bloomington, Illinois in about 1864. Miss Fielder came to Ziebach County with her parents, her brother, Napoleon Fielder, and either a sister or a cousin named Vinnie Fielder in about 1911. They homesteaded 10 miles southeast of Dupree. Her parents returned to Illinois after proving up on their claim. Evidently she had proved up on a claim of her own and must have taken over her parents claim also. She lived on the claim and did some farming for a number of years. In the early 1930's she moved one of the houses to Dupree on lot 3, block 36. She lived there a number of years, renting a couple of rooms to high school students. In February of 1944 she moved to Vancouver, Washington and died there in May of 1944. In looking through the old Progress papers, we find that in 1940 a cousin of Miss Fielder's, a Russell Fielder, had been here to visit. It has been told that Miss Fielder was a Christian Science healer and that she had played a part in the recovery of some neighborhood children who had been seriously ill. Miss Fielder's parents died some years before she did and her brother, Napoleon, who was a railroad carpenter, was killed in Wakpala about in 1915 or 1916. Her old claim became a part of the Fred Miller ranch and is still in the Miller family. The house she had left in the country became the first home of Delbert and Eva Miller and the one she moved to Dupree was torn down and the George Vanderview's home is on the site. W. H. FISCHER Mr. and Mrs. Fischer came to Ziebach County in the fall of 1910 and settled on their homestead seven miles south of Eagle Butte. They came by train to Isabel and then to Dupree by car. Mr. Fischer farmed and also taught school and worked in a lumber yard. He recalled one of the most unusual experiences was in 1915 when he was flooded out of Ziebach County. DAVID and IDA FLAIG Ida B. Hirsch married David B. Flaig on November 1, 1925 at Baker, Montana. They lived in Bismarck, North Dakota before moving to Aberdeen, South Dakota in 1926. They lived in Hazen, North Dakota from 1928 to 1929. They moved to Isabel, South Dakota in 1929, living there until they moved to Greeley, Colorado in 1931. They returned to Isabel in 1933 where they lived until 1952 at which time they moved to Rapid City, South Dakota. The couple had three sons: Harold of Rapid City, Milton of Henderson, Nevada, and David Jr. of Flint, Michigan; four daughters: Mrs. Elmer (Sylvia) Bertsch of Spearfish, Mrs. Elmer (Vivian) Bren of Rapid City, Mrs. Robert (Gall) Johnson of Aberdeen, Idaho and Mrs. John (Donna) Henschen of Baltimore, Maryland. Mrs. Flaig died in Rapid City in August, 1981. Mr. Flaig still resides in Rapid City. THE FLICKS by Verna (Miller) Flick Claus and Mary Flick, with their three sons, Lewis, Albert and Art moved to Ziebach County in 1921. Mr. Flick purchased 480 acres south of Dupree in 1920 and later in 1921 or 1922 - 160 acres. Bill Flick lived on the place one year then moved to Iowa. Emil Flick moved on the place in 1923 to 1927. The Flick family moved back to Scotland, South Dakota to their old home place in 1924 and back to Dupree in 1925. Lewis attended school in Dupree in 1922 to 1924. Then went to work for Krikac and Avie Geesey Lange General Store. Albert and Art attended school in Dupree also. Lewis went to Texas in December, 1928. Albert left soon after. Art married Verna Miller in 1932. Their four daughters were born there. Dawn, Mary, Virginia and Lorna. Claus Flicks left Dupree in 1934 and moved to Scotland. The Art Flicks left there in 1941. I understand while Claus Flicks lived at Dupree he planted trees and made a park known as Flick Park. MR. and MRS. FLOYD FRAME Floyd Frame was born in Woodstock, Illinois in 1890. In 1910 he came with his parents to their homestead, at what was to become Faith, South Dakota. Laura Bolander was born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1891. She lived in Nebraska and eastern South Dakota, in the Centerville area, until her father died when she was 12 years old. Her mother responded to the challenge of a new life west of the Missouri River and they moved to a homestead at Cottonwood, South Dakota. Their claim was where the trails from Chamberlain and Pierre came together. Her family earned their living by providing food and lodging for travelers and their horses on their way to the Black Hills. They later homesteaded at Opal, South Dakota. It was from there that in 1911, young Laura rode horseback 28 miles to Faith to find a job. Sederstrom’s Cafe needed a waitress and Laura was hired. In 1911 Floyd Frame was working at Ed Duell's livery barn at Faith and he ate some of his meals in Sederstrom's Cafe where Laura worked. The couple met there and were married in 1913 in the Geesey house in Dupree. Floyd Frame homesteaded south of Dupree in 1918 adjacent to where the Pete Longbrake's now live. The Staple M Ranch with headquarters 3% miles northwest of Frame's homestead went broke in the winter of 1919-1920 when they lost 1700 head of cattle in a series of vicious winter storms. The Frame's bought that place and lived there from 1924 until 1943 when they moved to a farm near Lansford, North Dakota. In 1972 they retired in the town of Lansford, North Dakota. Laura Frame passed away July 12, 1981. Floyd is still residing at their home in Lansford. The Floyd Frame's had five children. Thomas Edson was born May 2, 1916. Thomas attended grade school at White Swan School. He stayed with his grandmother, Myrtle Frame, and attended high school in Woodstock, Illinois. Thomas worked in the Civilian Conservation Corps in the Black Hills for three years 1936-1939. He then attended the South Dakota School of Mines in Rapid City. He graduated with a B.S. Degree in Electrical Engineering in 1943. He served 2 years in the U.S. Navy. In June 1946 he was employed as Senior Engineer, Westinghouse Electric Corp., Baltimore, Maryland. Most of the work was in the Electronics Division in communications. In 1974-75 he worked on the television cameras for the Apollo-Soyez Test Program, (Russian-American space project). Thomas is holder of two U.S. patents. Thomas married Vivian Thurn, July 26, 1944, in Ithaca, New York. Vivian was from the Black Hills area. They met while attending the School of Mines. Thomas and Vivian had four children. Elaine, born September 22, 1945, married Ed McLaughlin in December 1966. Jennifer McLaughlin was born to Elaine and Ed, August 11, 1972. Mark Frame was born September 26, 1947. He married Carla Briggs in May 1972. Lynn Frame was born March 8, 1954. Jan Frame was born June 22, 1955. She married Alan Seabaugh in June, 1979. Thomas Frame passed away in August, 1979 at his home in Virginia. Vivian is still living there. Wallace Frame was born June 14, 1917, attended White Swan rural school and high school in Faith, graduating in 1934. He joined the navy to see the world in 1937, and see the world he did. He made many trips to the Orient. He was stationed at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked December 7, 1941, but was out on maneuvers at the time. His family was deeply concerned for his welfare until they finally heard from him. He saw a lot of action in World War II. He became involved with the space program while he was still in the navy and has continued this work since he retired in 1950. He is at present a Project Engineer for Titan Programs which deals with the launching of space satellites, including the recent Jupiter and Saturn probe. Wallace and his wife, Myrtice, live in Sunnyvale, California. He has three children, Larry, Laura Sue and Brenda. Carol Frame, born December 25, 1918, attended White Swan rural school and high school in Faith. She attended college in Spearfish and obtained a teaching certificate in 1936 and began teaching. She married Kenneth Johnson, November 21, 1940. Carol and Kenneth have resided on a ranch 18 miles southeast of Faith since 1943. James Frame was born April 15, 1921. He attended White Swan rural school and graduated from Faith High School in 1940. He stayed with his grandmother in Woodstock, Illinois one year to attend high school. He was married to Thelma Johnson, October 19, 1941. Maurice Frame was born July 27, 1929. He attended the White Swan rural school through the sixth grade. Since the White Swan School was closed the following year, he attended the Dupree School and graduated from there in 1947. Maurice worked in the Dupree area for a time, then joined his parents on the farm near Lansford, North Dakota. He served two years with the Army in Korea during the Korean War, then returned to North Dakota to work on the farm. He married Jane Mosher from Willow Lake, North Dakota, in 1959. Maurice and Jane have six children, Morrey, Kyle, Neil, Bryce, Dawn, and Cheryl. They have continued to operate the farm since the Floyd Frames retired in 1972 and moved into the town of Lansford, North Dakota. [photo - Floyd and Laura Frame at their 60th Wedding Anniversary Celebration, 1973. Maurice, Wallace, Jim, Tom and Carol.] [photo - Grandma Bolander, Jim, Tom, Wallace and Carol Frame by Frame’s home in 1923] JIM and THELMA FRAME Jim Frame grew up on a ranch on Rattlesnake Creek 23 miles southwest of Dupree. Life on the prairie was harsh before the coming of electricity, telephones and good roads. Children worked hard, assuming a lot of responsibility at an early age. According to Jim's parents, he was able to fix every piece of machinery on the place before he was of high school age. Grandma Bolander, Laura Frame's mother, made her home at Frame's and the loving deeds of this kind, gentle person are among Jim's best childhood memories. Schoolhouse dances, with music furnished by neighborhood musicians, are fondly remembered by young people growing up through the 1930's. Jim would ride horseback many miles to attend. Young people along the way would join in so that by the time they reached the dance there would be quite a group of merrymakers. All of the children, except Maurice attended White Swan School through the 8th grade. Maurice finished school in Dupree when White Swan closed in 1941 for a few years. Other families whose children attended this school were: Giles and John Brownwolf, Dick and Ed Swan, Thunder Hoops, Charging Eagle, Red Horse, Tom Bolander, Jim Bowling, Thede Lafferty, the Sharpe children, Carl Christersen's, and in later years, the children of Fehrman Ohnemus and Delbert Longbrake. My parents, Kate and Chester Johnson, lived on a ranch on Mud Creek, 18 miles southeast of Faith. Daniel, Gertrude, Kenneth, Jim and Thelma Frame, Jerry, Jimmy, Gary. and I attended the Mud Butte School through the 8th grade. The younger children, Russell, Ethel and Beverly also attended this school but finished elsewhere. Other families whose children attended were: Jess Overacker, Hank Martens, Martha Miller, Albert Fish, B. Lee Crane, Raymond Rider, and Carl Johnson. "Drought" and "Depression" were hard facts of my childhood, yet we never felt deprived. Those conditions probably brought people closer together in a spirit of sharing. Neighbors gathered to play cards, dance, for ball games, picnic and to make music. Jim and I graduated from Faith High School in 1940. We were married October 19, 1941. Jim's parents, Floyd and Laura Frame, moved to Lansford, North Dakota in December of 1943. We went to live on their ranch on Rattlesnake Creek and stayed until the place was sold to the Chicago Cattle Company in 1945. Our first winter on the ranch is clearly etched in our memories. In the night of January 26, 1944, a howling blizzard struck and took three days to vent its fury. The ground, previously bare, was now covered with two feet of snow. Normal travel was impossible until the snow melted in the middle of April. Jim's uncle, Louis Bolander, came unexpectedly the night the storm struck. His help with the livestock was needed and really appreciated for the next several weeks. Aside from being lonely, we didn't really suffer as we had a good supply of wood and food. We did, however, run out of kerosene for the lamps. We improvised by burning tallow with a cloth for a wick until Jim fixed a windcharger. A windcharger was a device for using the wind to charge batteries. Jim's dad had bought an old one with a broken propeller at a sale. Jim took a generator and battery from a car, mounted the generator on the windcharger head. He carved a propeller Out of a 2 x 6 board and PRESTO! We had electric lights. We moved to Dupree the day after Christmas, 1945 and this has been our home since then. Jim went into Soil Conservation Construction in partnership with Art Engel in 1953. He bought Engel's share of the business in 1954 and is still doing business as "Frame Construction”. I taught school two and a half years and worked at the Post Office in Dupree 31 years prior to retirement on July 10, 1981. We have three sons: Gerald presently lives in Whitewood, South Dakota with his wife, Phyllis (Red Bird) and their three children, Phillip, Tracie, and Shelby. He owns and operates a transmission repair shop. After graduation from DHS in 1962 he attended the South Dakota School of Mines. He was in the military service, spending time in Korea and Virginia. He returned to Dupree after his discharge from the service and worked for Lantry Garage, owned the Phillip's 66 Station, and operated a transmission repair shop before moving to Whitewood in September, 1980. Gary, a 1962 DHS graduate, lives in Reseda, California with his wife, Marsha (Coleman, '64 DHS grad.) and daughters, Amy and Marina. After he was married in 1965, he attended school in Minneapolis for two years and then joined the Naval Air Reserve which took them to California. He attended night school for 5 years to get a degree in electronic engineering. He has been involved in many interesting research projects in this field. Jimmy and his wife, Barbara, live in St. Paul, Minnesota, where they both work for Northwestern Bell. After graduation from DHS in 1964, he attended school in Moscow, Idaho, Brookings, South Dakota and Aberdeen, South Dakota. His son, Trygve, lives in Seattle, Washington with his mother. Jim's military service was in New Jersey and Vietnam. He began working for "Ma Bell" right after his discharge from the Army. [photo - Jim and Thelma Frame, Jerry, Jimmy, Gary] JOHN H. FRANCIS John H. Francis came to Ziebach County in May 1910 and settled 6 miles southeast of Dupree. He worked in the Lantry elevator and served in World War I. In November, 1919, Mr. Francis was united in marriage to Clara Hoverson at Janesville, Minnesota. One of the experiences Mr. Francis remembers from the early days was a garden which he planted in May 1911 that came up after the rain in September. From 1935 to 1952, Mr. Francis served as Postmaster in Dupree. The Francis' were active members of the Congregational Church and American Legion and Auxiliary. They retired in Phoenix where John at 93 is still active. FREDERICKSEN—DOMINA Harvey Fredericksen and Shirley Domina were married at Ft. Pierre in 1939. They both were residents of the Glad Valley area in northern Ziebach County. For a time after their marriage he was employed by Ed and Agnes Presslar on their ranch near Thunder Butte Station. Later they ranched in the Glad Valley area until 1944. Harvey entered the army and served in World War II in Europe. After his return, he worked for the State Highway Department for many years at Glad Valley. Later he was transferred to Edgemont, Pierre and Rapid City. He retired in late 1980 after nearly thirty-three years with the State Highway Department. Harvey and Shirley live near Black Hawk, South Dakota. Their only son, Marvyn, lives in Pierre with his family. GLEN and NORA FRENCH FAMILY by Nora Lafferty French Glen French and I (Nora Lafferty) were married January 5, 1922 at the home of Gifford Lafferty in Dupree. The Barnes store had burned the night before, January 4. It was 30 degrees below zero and there was several feet of snow on the ground. Effie Margaret Pollard and George T. Hall were our attendants. I came to Dupree the spring of 1916 and my dad homesteaded in the White Swan area. My first teacher in Dupree was Birdie Geesey. Others were Augusta Jeffries, Nellie Hopkins, Miss Mangan, Prof. Kraskin and others in the old white building. I rode horseback seven miles to school and missed very few days. Glen worked for the Jeff Carr Ranch on the Cheyenne River our first winter. We lived around Dupree the first year, then moved to the Chase Community, and Lucille was born on the old Babe LaPlante place. Evelyn and Glen, Jr. were born on the Pennington place at Chase. Both were home deliveries with Dr. Creamer in attendance. Then Virginia and Jack were born in the Dupree Hospital at Dupree, again with Dr. Creamer and also Pearl Jewett. Our good neighbors in the Chase community were Ben and Harvey Henderson families, Jennerson, Henry Meier, Ohnemus family and others. Hendersons played for country and schoolhouse dances and we usually all traveled together. Such wonderful times! From Chase we moved to Cherry Creek area in 1928, leasing the Four Hand place. There our closest neighbors were Jeffries, Serres, Bennetts, Fletch and Lee, and what good friends they all were. In March of 1929 Glen became very ill. There was mud in the whole area, hub deep, as we had a very hard, cold winter with lots of snow. I was pregnant but had to get help. The creeks were flooded so I saddled a horse and rode seven miles and called across the creek to the Hensley and Starr Ranch. They heard me and said they would be over as quickly as they could on horseback, as it was impossible any other way. Leo and Ralph got to the ranch about 2 p.m. Glen was unconscious and we thought he was dying. Leo said he would go to the Meier and Ohnemus ranch for more help and get a buckboard and more horses and we would try to get him to Pierre. That took a day and when they all got there, we decided we couldn't move him in the cold, that it was hopeless. The next day about 10 a.m. he came to and just relaxed and went back to sleep. He turned green and just slept. We finally got him to Dr. Creamer and he couldn't understand how he could still be alive as we were sure his appendix had ruptured. Anyway, it was over a year before he was completely well again. Again, later in the year, he was going to the Meier-Ohnemus ranch to get a butcher hog. It had been raining again so he was again going with team and wagon. He met Walt about a half mile from Cherry Creek and asked about the creek. Walt said he had just ridden across it, and was swimming the horse, but it was O.K. When Glen drove his team in, he soon learned the creek had risen. The team was drowned and just by a thread, he managed to crawl out by tree roots and make it to the house, where he passed out. Then in August of 1929, we had a terrible prairie fire that burned east of the Cherry Creek road, from just south of the reservation fence to the Cheyenne River, with us in the center. We lost all our hay, equipment, and most of our grass. Then in October the big crash! What a year! Then the CBC took over the reservation leases, so we had to find a new location, and we moved to the old Tony Rivers Ranch north of the Moreau River on Red Earth Creek. That was another year of severe drought but we made it by hauling a sled of cake every other day from Isabel with over 60 inches of snow on the flat. We fed eight pounds of cake per head per day and cotton brush and rotten straw, but we wintered well. Then we had dry year after dry year, plus grasshoppers. In 1934 we sold down to 200 head of cows. Again we wintered on cake and grass and it was scarce and short. In 1935 we had some moisture, then in 1936 it was very dry and we shipped our cattle to Brookings and Flandreau to be wintered, giving one calf out of every three. In the spring, we shipped back to Isabel and continued struggling. Prices were low and times were hard. We went into sheep in the 40's and managed to pay out, but lots of headaches and hard work. Also in the 40's we got into raising quarter horses by accident. One day a gentleman from Oklahoma drove in and tried to lease our ranch for oil. In visiting he asked where we had gotten that band of good quarter horse mares. We said we had raised them. He wanted to go look and when he had looked them over, he said we'd better get them registered. He said they would all have to be inspected for appendix registry, then tentative and after their foals had passed inspection, they would go permanent. So we bought our first registered stallion and we are still in the quarter horse business, with horses in many states and Canada, and satisfied customers, and have made so many wonderful friends. After several years, 33 in fact, at Isabel, we sold the ranch and moved to Newell in 1966. Then in 1979, Glen, age 80, and I, age 75, sold the little ranch at Newell and bought 1/2 acre at Evergreen Valley, eight miles west of Rapid City on Highway 44. Our lives have been tough, with many ups and downs -- but it's been worth every minute -- hard times from depression, drought, grasshoppers, we have seen them all. But there is such pride and love in my heart when I can ride to a hill top, breathe the clean air, see the blue sky, the beautiful hills and prairie, and remember the good times and the good friends, that I bow my head and thank the good Lord for our blessings. [photo - Sheep shearing on Glen French ONO Sheep Ranch] [photo - Glen French ONO Sheep Ranch] [photo - Glen and Nora French, 1979] WILLIAM FUHRER FAMILY William Fuhrer married Christine Sprenger on December 13, 1928 at Eureka, South Dakota. They lived at Eureka for a short time. Then they moved to Dupree and lived southeast of Dupree. Their daughter, Wilma, was born in June of 1931 at Dupree. Dr. Creamer was the Doctor and Pearl Jewett was the nurse. In 1934 they moved north of Dupree on the former Curtis place along Highway 65. They farmed and raised cattle. It was very dry. William worked on WPA to help keep the family going. Their second daughter, Elsie, was born in May of 1940. Dr. Creamer was also the Doctor at that time and Pearl Jewett the nurse. In the 40's and 50's the years were good and there was plenty of rain. In the summer of 1952 they built a new house in Dupree and moved into town in the fall of 1952. William did odd jobs, electric wiring, and worked for the county for a while. Christine worked at the Dupree Hotel for the Bill Ochsner's. William died in May of 1957. Christine remarried in 1961 to Albert Fuhrer of Isabel. They lived in Dupree and Christine worked as a cook at the Dupree School. In 1962 they moved to Isabel. Albert passed away in 1965 and Christine moved back to Dupree. She went back to work as a cook and baker at the school and worked there for fifteen years. She retired in 1977 and lives in Dupree. She still does baking for people in her home. [photo - Christine and Bill Fuhrer] CHARLES M. and VERA (WINCE) FULLER We were married in 1928 and after eight years of farming and milking cows on the Wilbur Vance homestead, a mile and a half west of the Frank Fuller homestead, we started searching western South Dakota for a ranch site with creek and timber for stock shelter and bottom land for hay. Using the homestead soil topographical map given my father when he homesteaded, we found a section of deeded land along Red Coat Creek near Red Scaffold. A part of the land had natural drainage from three sides, centered so livestock would drift into shelter in a storm. There was unlimited room to expand so we bought it in 1936 and named it Red Coat Ranch. It was sold to Ralph and Lucille Freeman in 1949, and now belongs to Jack and Ann Freeman. The Fuller Farms, sold to the Schauer Brothers in 1969 included 27,000 acres of the land of early homesteaders as well as the Jack Ford spread northwest of Redelm. I would add that the initial land purchased on Red Coat Ranch was bought from Knox Sublette who was a son, I believe, of the famous "Mountain Man" Sublette who roamed the area trapping in earlier times. While I was in high school, a student by the name of Philip Carson, grandson of Kit Carson, also attended. His father, John Carson, was then agent at Thunder Butte Station. After high school graduation at Dupree and four years of college, I taught for one year. Vera and I ranched and farmed in Ziebach County until 1970 when we moved to Vermillion where we are now retired on a small farm near town. We fenced and built up three places in Ziebach County, and two places in Clay County where we now live. FRANK FULLER FAMILY by Esther Fuller Wince My parents, Frank and Lena Fuller, came from Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin to the end of the railroad at Isabel in September, 1910. They had an emigrant car filled with equipment and dreams of a new home in a new land. We camped in a tent before continuing the trip by covered wagon to our claim twelve miles southwest of Dupree. It wasn't long before the necessary buildings were built and the all important well dug. There were five children, Irene (Hegre), Charles, Robert, Arthur and Esther (Wince). In a few years Della (Hegre) and Bill completed our family. Our education began in the Robertson School. The teachers of those one room schools were real pioneers too, coming into a strange land to teach boys who were larger than the teacher in some instances! One of my grade school teachers was Everett Reynolds, now of Corvallis, Oregon. When more horse power was needed, Dad bought a small herd of wild horses and many Sundays were spent with some neighbors helping and the rest watching the early day sport of rodeo as the horses were subdued to saddle and harness. Entertainment was scarce so this was greatly enjoyed by young and old. Sickness was a dreaded reality and I was the victim of a ruptured appendix when I was nine. The journey was made by wagon, riding on a cot, to Dupree. Dad and I bearded the train to Mobridge where I spent the next nine weeks. Somewhere on the Fuller homestead, now owned by the Schauer brothers is a Black Hills Gold signet ring. The young doctor gave it to me because I recovered from his first surgery. When he asked if I wanted a doll, I told him I had dolls at home, I wanted a ring. He gave me his ring that he said was too small for him. I wore it even though it was too large and lost it picking up potatoes. So there's gold in one of those fields, Jake. If you ever find it, you will know the story. In general, everyone was healthy eating home grown vegetables and fruit, some wild and some tame. Dad experimented with crab apples, cherries and plums and was successful when the weather cooperated. Three of us graduated from Dupree High School and Charlie completed four years at South Dakota State University in Brookings. He taught one year in Beach, North Dakota. Dad worked in North Dakota to supplement the farm income. He held different offices in the County Court House. Boxes of clothing were sent by well-wishing relatives in Wisconsin, who no doubt felt sorry for us out in the wilderness. Clothing was remodeled to fit and passed on to the younger ones. We were taught economy because we lived it and the lessons we learned still apply. There was work for everyone but there were fun times too. We would go bob-sledding to the neighbors on cold, wintry nights for visiting and games. We had Sunday School and picnics at the schoolhouse. There were community 4th of July picnics on Redelm Creek. There were Thimble Bee gatherings and just neighborhood get togethers. Charlie and Arthur took over the farm in the late '20's when the folks went to Wisconsin. They soon returned to live in Redelm, Dupree and then Spearfish. My parents retired to Spearfish, South Dakota, in the 1940's where Dad could fish. He was involved in Spanish American War Veteran offices and State Commander. Mother passed away in Hot Springs Hospital in 1950, and Dad at the Soldier's Home in 1953. Brother Robert married Marine Sunderland and they moved to Los Angeles where he died in 1966, and Marine in 1972. Arthur married Lenora Schuchhardt, they moved near Aberdeen in the dry thirties. He passed away in 1950 and Lenora lives in Faith. Irene married Severin Hegre, an implement dealer in Dupree. He passed away in 1956 and after living in Faith for some time, Irene passed away in 1979. Della, born soon after our arrival on the homestead, is married to Ole Hegre and they have lived in Rapid City since World War II. Last in the family is William E., born in Dupree in 1918. He is married to the former Doris Goodwin, Isabel; they live in Albany, Georgia. I was married to Ross Wince and we lived in Idaho for a year but returned to South Dakota and bought the Lovelady place where we lived for thirty years. Some of those years getting our four children, Sherman, Gordon, Nyla and Donald, through school were quite a struggle. In the early 1950's the snow was very deep and I decided to spend a week in town with Gordon, Nyla and Donald. I drove a team and bobsled to the Fuller farm where Antone Zacher was caretaker during their absence. I caught a ride to Dupree, returned days later with Fred and Neta Nelsen, walked a mile and a half to Fullers. Antone hitched up the team but I hadn't gone more than a half mile when a blizzard struck. I managed to get back to the barn and spent the next three days with Charlie's hired man. We had a makeshift phone so Ross knew I was safe. Antone held the old adage as true, "It's an ill wind that blows no good.'' I baked pies and biscuits, he was willing to let me cook. That is an inkling of our pioneering days in the rural area. Sherman is now a retired Lieutenant Colonel and lives in Marina, California. He and his wife, Goldie, have four children and four grandchildren. Gordon and Carol (Bartelt), who now own the home place, have five children. Nyla and her husband, Charles Schad, have six children and two grandchildren. Donald and Charleen (Zephier) have six children. Ross passed away December 3, 1980. I am grateful for our 53 years together and that we spent the last twelve winters in Arizona. The survivors of this pioneer family are Della Hegre, Rapid City; Bill, Albany, Georgia; Charles, Vermillion, and Esther Wince, Spearfish, South Dakota. ORSON GAGE Orson Gage was born June 4, 1881 at Prophetstown, Illinois. He married Rosa J. Goff on February 21, 1906 at Oakland, Iowa. They farmed in Iowa before moving to Dupree in 1916, where they lived on a farm until 1945 when they moved in to Dupree. Mrs. Gage died May 8, 1947. Later he moved to Faith where he lived for several years before entering the Faith Nursing Home. Later he transferred to the Dorsett Home in Spearfish where he died in April, 1973. The Gage children are: Bessie, Ruby McMurray, George, Rex, and Lee. REX GAGE Rex Gage was born October 31, 1914 at Tingley, Iowa. He moved to Dupree at the age of two with his parents, and attended school at Dupree. He farmed in the Dupree area and served in the United States Army during World War II. Rex married Agnes Brokaw and the couple farmed in this area. In 1952 he operated a service station in St. Onge. From 1957 to 1970 he worked for the Gamble and Western Auto in Spearfish, and he worked for four years as a custodian at the Black Hills State College. He retired in 1977. He married Phoebe Sleep Weaver on May 18, 1964 at Spearfish. He was a member of the VFW at Spearfish and American Legion Post #164 at Spearfish. Rex died in September 1978. GEORGE E.GAMMON George (Pete) Gammon came to Ziebach County in the fall of 1917 and filed on a homestead 12 miles northwest of Dupree. He came by train to Isabel and forded the Moreau River in a 1914 Model T to get to Dupree. He served from 1918 to 1919 in World War I, returning to his claim when he was discharged. He built his shack on his claim and then was married that same fall. In 1920 he and his wife moved 9 miles southwest of Dupree where they resided until the death of Mrs. Gammon in 1946. At this time Pete moved to Dupree where he was an insurance salesman. The Gammons had one son who passed away in infancy. Mr. Gammon passed away in November 1956. THE LEE GARRETT STORY Lee Garrett was born July 23, 1916 in Ziebach County to Jack and Laura Garrett. He had two brothers, Carlin and Bill, who are still living and he has one deceased sister, Cleo. His parents homesteaded in Stanley County and later moved to Ziebach County near the Circle P Springs. Lee's mother was the daughter of Doug Carlin, who ran the store and post office at Carlin, South Dakota: Carlin was also a South Dakota State Senator. Lee married Ruth Hinzman in October, 1938. Her parents, Mr. and Mrs. E. W. Hinzman, had homesteaded in 1910 at a point seven miles south of Eagle Butte, South Dakota, in Ziebach County. After their house burned, they bought land two miles north of Eagle Butte and built a home there. Ruth has five living sisters and two deceased brothers. From the time of their marriage, Lee and Ruth have lived just one half mile east of the Circle P Springs, which they own. They have always raised cattle and are now retired. Until the new waterline was put in, the Circle P Springs was the source of drinking water for people on both sides of the Cheyenne River. People would come for many miles with tanks on their trucks and pick-ups to haul water and no one ever had to pay for it. The Garrett's have seen Highway #63 changed and the Cherry Creek Road paved; a new bridge has also been built across the Cheyenne River. For many years, Lee's brother, Carlin, and family, owned and operated a ranch four miles west of Lee's place. There was a country school where the children got their education. In 1956 Carlin sold his ranch and moved to California. Lee and Ruth have one daughter, Joy. She is married to Andy Fischer, whose parents lived north of Eagle Butte. Joy and Andy have three sons and they live about two miles east of her parents. Andy and his three sons are now leasing Lee's land and are operating the ranch. HENRY (SHORTY) and ELIZABETH (PICKER) GAWENIT Henry or Andre Gawenit, or Shorty, as most people knew him, was raised by his uncle in England. Shorty married Elizabeth Picker Brooks, daughter of Wilhelm and Elisabeth Picker. She had one daughter, Ruth Brooks, by a former marriage. Other children were Freda, Albert, Andrew and Ida. They lived near Milesville, South Dakota before moving to Ziebach County about 1924 or 1925. Ruth Brooks worked for the Frank Bednar family and went to Dupree High School. Freda, Albert, Andrew and Ida went to the Lone Tree School and the family lived with Mrs. Picker and Albert and Herman. They drove a horse and buggy to school 41/2 miles. Later the children went to the Main School. The family moved to a farm two miles south of the Picker farm and they farmed there until 1928 when they built up a homestead about four miles north and west of there. Freda attended Dupree High School and graduated in 1932. Albert, Andrew and Ida attended High Point School. During the 30's the family left to find work on the west coast. Shorty passed away in 1950 and Elizabeth in 1958. Ruth Brooks married Otto Rosenau. She now lives at Raymond, South Dakota. Freda now lives in Culver City, California. Albert lives in Newark, California. Andrew lives at Moses Lake, Washington. Ida married Gerald Fine and lives at La Grande, Oregon. JOSEPH GEBHART by Joseph Gebhart I came to Ziebach County with my parents, Mr. and Mrs. Joe Gebhart, from Stratford, South Dakota, where I was born April 19, 1910. We came west in 1914 and settled in the northwest corner of Ziebach County. I lived there until 1959. I have five brothers and two sisters, all living. My dad was born in Germany and came to the U.S. when he was fourteen years old, all by himself. My mother was born in Wisconsin and she and her parents moved to Minnesota, where she lived until she married my father. She was the oldest of nine children, so it fell to her to help in the fields with the plowing and cultivating, which was done with machinery and horses and they had to walk behind. I attended the Butte View School for a couple of years and had four miles to go. Then they built a schoolhouse about a mile from our place where I, and my brothers and sisters, went to school. I finished the eighth grade, as did the rest of them. Our house was a two room house at first. Just a tar-paper shack with a box car roof. Then later on dad built two rooms on the north so we had two bedrooms. It was heated with a coal stove that was taken down in the spring and set up again in the fall. My dad was a plasterer and mason and went all over to do jobs. I remember one time he went way over to Lantry to plaster a schoolhouse. He was gone three weeks. In the early days they had to pay cash for groceries. There was no charging. I remember my dad sat and tried for three days to churn butter to take to town to buy a few groceries but the butter never came, so no groceries. We used to raise garden produce and potatoes. Some times there was not enough so potatoes and cabbage had to be bought. I remember when we used to go around the neighborhood shock threshing. It was hard work but we used to have fun. The women used to feed us good and when we worked hard we were hungry at meal time. When we traveled anywhere in the early days it was with horses and buggy or wagon. The grain had to be hauled to Isabel with four horses on a triple box wagon and the coal was hauled about 20 miles with four horses on a wagon. My dad finally bought a used Model T which he used to go to town in the summer but in winter it was jacked up on blocks and left in the shed. My dad died in 1932, just before the dirty thirties hit. We managed to hang on to the farm and after the war I bought more land and increased the farm from 480 to about 3500 acres. My mother died in 1950 and I got the farm from her. I married Wilma Hatle and we lived on the farm for nearly fifteen years after that. I lived there from 1914. We now live in Spearfish. ORIN S. GEESEY FAMILY JOHN A. GEESEY FAMILY by Forrest Geesey My grandparents were Mr. and Mrs. Orin S. Geesey and Mr. and Mrs. James Madison Pidcock. My parents were John Adam and Minnie Belle Pidcock Geesey. The Geeseys were born at Myrtle, Minnesota and the Pidcocks were born at Clyde, Missouri. They came to Ziebach County in 1910. The Geeseys came to LeBeau by train. Both the Pidcocks and my father, John Adam Geesey, came to LeBeau in an immigrant car on the railroad. The Geeseys arrived in Ziebach County by automobile (an air- cooled Franklin). The Pidcocks came from LeBeau by covered wagon, which was a three day trip. They were all homesteaders. The Geesey claims were 2 1/2 miles southeast of Dupree; the Pidcocks claim was 6 miles southwest of town. The Pidcocks farmed their original claim and later moved 12 miles northwest of Dupree. He worked part-time as a butcher in Dupree and later served as county commissioner for several years. The Grin S. Geeseys lived in Dupree. My father, John Adam Geesey, ran a livery stable and stage line to the railroad, in partnership with Hayes Milton, then ranched several years, 21 miles south of town. He later farmed 2 1/2 miles southeast of Dupree. The buildings are all gone except the O. S. Geesey home in Dupree and the farmhouse 2 1/2 miles southeast of town. The Geesey home in Dupree was built and lived in by a man named Schroeder. The original Pidcock home was a sod house. They were all built in 1910 or 1911. I remember all four of my grandparents and two of my great- grandfathers. My parents, John Adam Geesey and Minnie Belle Pidcock, were married in Dupree on July 3, 1911, and their marriage license is number five in Ziebach County. They moved from the farm to Pierre in 1927 and then moved to Texas in 1928. We lived in Dallas, Texas until 1929 when we moved to Greenville, Texas. I, Forrest Eugene Geesey, was born August 14, 1912; Luada Belle Geesey Burnett was born October 31, 1915; and Carol Avelyn Geesey Jaco was born December 23, 1918. We were all born in Dupree and delivered by Dr. Creamer. We now all live in Greenville, Texas. Both of my sisters are widows and are retired. Our mother is still living and is in excellent health. I have two daughters and five grandchildren; Luada has a daughter and a son and eight grandchildren; Carol has one son and three daughters and thirteen grandchildren. I continue to run the business, Burial Vault Company, that my father established here in 1928. He passed away in 1976 at the age of 87. He was active in the business until his death. I attended the Dupree School from the first to the eighth grade. I attended Pierre High School for one year, one sErnester at Woodrow Wilson High School in Dallas, Texas and graduated from Greenville, Texas High School in 1932. My transportation to all of these schools was walking. About my studies -- I didn't do any more than was required. I played baseball and football in Texas. I played on a football team here in Greenville that was not defeated until the semi-finals in the state race. Some of my teachers were very efficient, but some of them were duds. In all of the schools I attended, my classmates as a whole, were the world's nicest people. I don't know how our homes in Ziebach County were built but they were heated by lignite coal. I married Katie Mae Smithers, a native of Greenville Texas, in 1936 and am still happily married to her. I have relatives scattered all over the western part of the United States, most of whom have lived in Ziebach County, and whose addresses I do not know. John Geesey had the privilege of voting in the first general election to organize Ziebach County. He served as deputy sheriff and was a charter member of the Masonic Lodge 171, organized in Dupree in 1911. THE GLADSTONES by Lyn Gladstone In 1910 Frank Gladstone and Mable H. Scott of Cooperstown, North Dakota, went by train to Timber Lake, South Dakota where they filed on homesteads southeast of Dupree, in Ziebach County. He was born September 15, 1878 at Andes, New York, to George Kyle and Jane Liddle Gladstone and attended high school there. He served with the 1st New York Volunteer Infantry during the Spanish-American War, then entered law school in the Union University, Albany, New York where he graduated and was admitted to the New York bar in 1902. He then entered the real estate and law business at Cooperstown, where he served as states attorney of Griggs County. Mable was born March 18, 1886 at Medelia, Minnesota to Carl and Vidia Rygh Scott. She attended school there and at Cooperstown, and was a graduate of the McPhail School of Music in Minnesota. The couple was married December 26, 1910, moving to their homestead southeast of Dupree the following year. About 14 months later they moved into Dupree. He was elected as the first states attorney of Ziebach County in 1912 and served alternately in that office and as county judge until 1934 when he was elected Circuit Judge of the 12th Judicial Circuit, a position he held until retirement in September, 1955. Mr. and Mrs. Gladstone were active in both the social and commercial life in Dupree, were members of the Order of Eastern Star and the Congregational Church. She gave private piano lessons to many young people of the community, was church organist and played for many programs and other activities. At the eastern edge of town, the judge helped their six sons lay out and construct the first tennis court in the community--one with inlaid concrete lines--and later a golf course which extended into five tracts of pastureland. Their home was a popular center for the youth of the community. The "judge" also performed many marriage ceremonies in their home when he was not at the office but he had many difficult decisions to make as well. Some involved cattle rustling, divorces in which he initially tried for reconciliations, and still others for robbery, disturbing the peace or property disputes. According to some residents, one of his most difficult decisions was to order a popular neighbor and businessman out of town to avoid a trial that would involve unfavorable publicity for the juveniles the man had induced to drink and go nude-bathing with him in Lantry dam. Although the family moved to Lemmon in 1945, the judge received his 50-year Masonic medal in 1954 at Dupree, where he was a charter member of the Lodge. Mrs. Gladstone died at Lemmon on January 9, 1955, and he died at a Belle Fourche hospital on January 3, 1964. Their sons are still living--Kyle at Lemmon, retired after more than 30 years of court reporting; Lyn at Rapid City where he is West River editor and a staff writer for the Rapid City Journal after having published papers at Kadoka, Onida, Sisseton, and Newell; Clay, Long Beach, California, where he is an appraiser; Scotty, Las Vegas, Nevada, where he is a practicing attorney; Dale, Farmington, New Mexico, where he is a postal employee and part-time parts manager for a garage, and Wayne, another successful attorney in Richland, Washington. All of the sons, excepting Clay, who was then working as a geologist in South America, are veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces World War II service and are married. Kyle has one daughter and four grandchildren; Lyn, two daughters and two grandchildren; Scotty, two sons, four daughters, and five grandchildren; Dale, a son, two daughters and one grandchild; and Wayne has two sons, two daughters, and five grandchildren. [photo - Judge and Mrs. Frank Gladstone, surrounded by their six sons, (l to r) Wayne, Dale, Lyn, Clay, Scotty and Kyle. 42nd Wedding Anniversary, 1952] MRS. HATTIE GOEN Mrs. Hattie Goen was one of the pioneers south of Dupree, having settled there on a quarter section in 1911. In the "hey day'' of the West River country, Mrs. Goen owned as much as two sections of land southeast of Dupree and had a number of cattle. She had one of the first big alfalfa fields which gave a heavy yield for a number of years until drought later killed it. Hattie Anna Cox was born on November 18, 1861 in Jessup, Iowa. Little is known of her, but she married in Buchanan, Iowa in either 1896 or 1897. A daughter, Ethel Retz of Harrison, Arkansas was their only child. She spent several years with a sister, Mrs. George Cotton in Waterloo, Iowa, but returned to Dupree where she lived in her home located on Lot 5, Block 42. For a number of years she rented part of her home to students. In 1939 she was taken to the hospital at Eureka, South Dakota where she died February 14, 1940. (From West River Progress) [photo Hattie Goen] JOHN and JUSTINA BEIERLE GOLTZ John and Justina Beierle Goltz and son, John Jr., came to the United States from Romania in 1900 and settled at Leola, South Dakota, and lived there until 1916 or 1917. They came by train to Isabel and homesteaded three miles north of Glad Valley. There were fourteen children born to this family. Ten were born at Leola and three on the homestead near Glad Valley. The youngest died at birth and was buried on the farm about 100 feet from the house. Mother Justina passed away December 2, 1925. Mary, the oldest daughter, had to be mother to six younger sisters. Father John passed away February 26, 1930. An uncle from Wyoming took the family and was their guardian. They all worked in sugar beet fields for a living. From there most of the girls moved to Deer Lodge, Montana with the uncle. The names of the family members are: John Goltz, Jr. (deceased), Mobridge, South Dakota; Caroline Goltz Sonnefeld, Littleton, Colorado; Gottlieb Goltz (deceased), Anaconda, Montana; Emma Goltz Hormel (deceased), Loveland, Colorado; Mary Goltz Roth, Loveland, Colorado; Minnie Goltz Ford (deceased), Tillamook, Oregon; Alvina Goltz Hiltz (deceased), Cody, Wyoming; Elizabeth Goltz Forgey, Deer Lodge, Montana; Helen Goltz Graff, Sunnyside, Washington; Dorothy Goltz Sirich, Helena, Montana; Anna Goltz Axley, Modesto, California. Most of the family went to the Glad Valley School before they moved to Wyoming. They walked most of the time when weather permitted. In winter they were taken by team and wagon. The house on the homestead was built by the father, John Goltz, and is now on the Vic Matter place. It was heated by a coal stove. When John Goltz, Sr. passed away February 26, 1930 the snow was so deep they took two sleighs to take the body and casket and seven men to Isabel. The family went to the Lutheran Church at Athboy, South Dakota but it was too cold and stormy to go to Isabel. This information was taken from a letter from Mrs. Henry (Mary Goltz) Roth. Mary married Henry Roth of Greeley, Colorado in 1936. They have three sons, Glen, Henry W., and Jack. They have eight grandchildren. They all live around Loveland, Colorado. [photo - Goltz family, 1922] DAYID and MARIETTA GOODWIN Mrs. David (Marietta) Goodwin, daughter of Ruth Chambers Sherman, step-father, Noble Sherman. She had one sister, Iverna Chambers, a half- sister and brother, Bina and Stanley Sherman. They moved to Ziebach County in 1915. Iverna Chambers and Noble Sherman filed on land near Isabel. A few months later, Marietta and her husband, David Goodwin, also filed on land adjoining the Shermans. Isabel was their nearest town with post office, stores, church, doctor and pharmacy. Mobridge was their nearest hospital. Two daughters were born at their home in Ziebach County with an Isabel doctor in attendance. Ruth was born in June 1917 and Doris in October 1919. Iverna, after proving up on her land and working in the Isabel post office, moved into Isabel to be closer to her work. She died during the influenza epidemic during World War I. In the winter of 1919, the Goodwins moved into Isabel. The mother, Ruth Sherman, passed away and Mr. Sherman returned to Michigan to be near his relatives. Bina Sherman married Clifford Kiech of Dupree. They moved to Seattle where Bina died. Clifford still lives there. Stanley Sherman married Clara Rodke of North Dakota. They moved to Minnesota. He died in 1980. Clara still lives there. In May, 1929, Marietta and David had a son born in Isabel. In 1941 they moved to Timber Lake where David was associated with Timber Lake Livestock Commission until he retired. David died in 1964. Their daughter, Doris, married Bill Fuller of Dupree. They live in Albany, Georgia. Bill is associated with an auto parts company. Doris is a retired kindergarten teacher. Their son, David, is assistant editor of their daily newspaper. At the close of World War II, Ruth married Willard Kotterman of Mobridge. They moved to Pittsburg, California. Willard is a retired postal service supervisor. Ruth is a retired L.P.N. David married Joyce Dodd. They had two children, a boy and a girl. When the children were quite small, Joyce died. When Lana and Gary were in high school, David, who is a mechanic, married Patricia MacKenzie. They have one daughter, Ruth Anne. June 18, 1981, the family and friends held open house for Marietta's 90th birthday. She lives in a mobile home in Ukiah, California. ORVILLE and HELEN (KNIPFER) GRASLIE by Helen K. Graslie Orville Thomas Graslie is the last of the Norwegian community of south Redelm. He takes great pride in the fact that he has lived in the same area all of his life. There was but a brief time when he did not live there and that was when he served in the Army in World War II. Apart from that, ranching, farming and community service has been his life and he has expanded and improved the original homestead. Orville served in the Pacific Theatre of Operations during World War II, having spent time in Hawaii, Marshall Islands, Mariannas, Okinawa, Philippine Islands, and the Occupation of Japan after the war ended. He saw front-line duty on Okinawa, and was on the front line during the battles for Hills #79 and #85 on the southern tip of Okinawa. The battles for these two hills were the last organized resistance by the Japanese in World War II. Orville and I were married in October, 1949, and six children make up our family. Thomas, Buffalo; Naomi Hamburg, Los Angeles, California; Nina Vilhauer, Aberdeen; Ellen Fletcher, Rapid City; Debra Graslie, Rapid City; and Kristi of Dupree. [photo - Orville and Louis Graslie] [photo - Mrs. Ludwig Graslie; daughter, Lavonne; Ludwig Graslie; son, Louis; daughters, Carol and Serene. Son, Orville, is not pictured] THE GRASLIE FAMILY by Helen Knipfer Graslie and Lavonne Graslie Butler It was in October, 1912 that Ludwig M. Graslie homesteaded five miles south of Redelm. He'd left his home in Norway, near Tondheim, when he was seventeen. He lived for four years in Montevideo, Minnesota before taking up a homestead here. In 1913, 1914 and 1915, Ludwig worked in the Homestake Mine at Lead. He'd been a cross-country skier in Norway and the strength and stamina he had acquired enabled him to bicycle from south of Redelm to Newell -- 90 miles -- then on to Lead the next day. He would make the journey back and forth over the prairie in this manner until he was called into the armed services in 1916. After his service years, he worked one more year in the mine before deciding to live on the homestead permanently. Ludwig married Lilly R. Ness in June of 1924 and she was also of Norwegian extraction. Her father, Tron Ness, homesteaded north of Faith in 1911. He and his wife, Bertha Johnson Ness, were from near Bergen, Norway. Lilly Graslie was a large woman and she had great energy. She moved quickly, her body propelled by slender legs, like a China clipper ahead of a quickening gale. She had an instant rapport with the "underdog", especially with the very young. In a confrontation of unequalled strength, she bore down like a fugate with guns bustling. The aggressor usually retreated with all speed; if he couldn't or didn't, he was the recipient of a talking to, the likes of which few youngsters hear today. If Lilly were ever to be enshrined, it would be with a coffee pot in one hand and a plate of warm, fresh, homemade rolls in the other. She liked nothing better than having someone drop in for "coffee". Her idea of "coffee" was a six-course meal which she served with a flourish and a lot of love. Lilly and Ludwig raised five children on their ranch: Lavonne, Orville, Louis, Carol, and Serene. There is a feeling like no other when you come home again to your birthplace. In the year 1947, Ludwig Graslie asked the bus driver to let him out at the foot of the hill near the farm in Norway. He didn't know that his kin waited for him at the bus station. He preferred to carry his suitcase and walk the remaining mile alone with his thoughts. Trudging up the rocky road to his old home, he saw a dark head bobbing at the window, peering out. His mother was not among the relations waiting at the bus station. She wanted to wait for him at home and she had done so for 38 years! In 1949 Lilly and Ludwig moved to Sturgis, South Dakota where they lived until their deaths in 1966 and 1965 respectively. Both are buried in the National Cemetery near Sturgis. The following is a short essay written by our oldest daughter, Naomi Graslie, for her school paper in 1969: TO GRANDPA: "I am a forgotten person. I am an unsung hero. My life belongs to a past, doesn't merit anything because I didn't live in a modern society. I am a proud American citizen. I came to America from Norway when I was seventeen years old. I learned to read and write a foreign language and later earned my citizenship. I served in the United States Army. I came to South Dakota at the age of twenty and homesteaded on a ranch southeast of Faith. I married, reared a family, and worked hard to make my ranch prosperous. I earned the respect of my fellow neighbors and helped them when times were hard. I started again and again when Nature defeated me. I sent several of my children to college to have the best education possible. I sold my ranch to my son and helped him begin his life as a rancher. I gave my children every chance for life as free Americans. I am Mr. Ludwig Graslie. No one ever thanked me for challenging life or accepting its challenge. I struggled and fought for what I thought was right and now I'm gone. No one ever thanked me." Ludwig Graslie could count among his grandchildren today several teachers, a nurse, an attorney, two dentists, a designer, artist, social worker, railroad worker, space worker, and a rancher. He'd have smiled at this, wrinkled his nose, hunched his shoulders, nodded his head a couple of times, and said, "That's doin' something". I would say, "It's sort of thanking someone.” The area south of Redelm was once a large Norwegian colony and in 1921 or '22 Ludwig and his neighbors, Karl Hegre, Hjalmas Ringsby, Sigurd Ronning, Ole Tandberg, Lars Tysver, Even Stensaas, Ole Sundsrud, Adolph Abraham, Harvey Sommervold, Pederson and others organized and built a Norwegian Lutheran Church. The hill where it stood still bears the name "Church Hill" to the family. Those who don't know its history think its called "Church Hill" because you pray all the way down and up the other side! Lavonne (Mrs. Elmer Butler) ranches near Rattlesnake Butte and lives in Faith. Lavonne was elected to be Faith's mayor in 1981. Her children are Richard and James Butler. Orville and his wife, Helen, bought the farm south of Redelm. Their children are Tom, Naomi, Nina, Ellen, Debra and Kris Graslie. Louis, a successful high school basketball coach, was named Basketball Coach of the Year in 1957. He lives in Belle Fourche and his children are Doug, Scott, and Rim Graslie. He is Superintendent of Schools in Belle Fourche. Carol (Mrs. S. L. "Buzz" Donnenwirth) is a bookkeeper in Rapid City and her husband sells insurance. Their children are Cathy, Coreen, Bill and Wanda Donnenwirth. Serene (Mrs. Jim Vance) is a real estate agent and broker in Great Falls, Montana and her husband has an automotive parts store. Shelly, Sherry, and Sharla Sims are the children of Serene. GEORGE and DELLA (MOWERY) GRAY by Margaret (Loeffen) Becket George Cyrus and Della Belle Gray with their son, James arrived in Dupree in the month of March, 1916. George was a farmer and their home was in the central part of the quarter section of land east of the present Carl Schauer residence. George was born in 1878 to James and Laura Gray, Litchfield, Nebraska. He and Della Belle Mowery were married about 1904. She was the daughter of Jacob and Jane (Smith) Mowery. Their daughter, Jennie, passed away at eight years of age in Nebraska. Della gave birth to Laura Jean in January, 1920 and passed away ten days later at the home of her sister, Saloma Callen. The baby succumbed to whooping cough in June 1920. Understandably devastated, but with true pioneer fortitude George and James continued to live in their home in the country for several years before moving into Dupree. In addition to farming, George worked on roads for the county. He was a member of the Odd Fellows Lodge and the Rebekah Lodge. He was active in community affairs and was a square dance caller. His death occurred in 1952. JAMES and RUBY (OLSON) GRAY James went to school and grew to manhood in Dupree. On February 18, 1933 he and Ruby Olson, daughter of Ole F. and Myrtle Olson of Lantry, were united in marriage. To them were born five children: Pauline, Harvey, Lilah, Dorothy and Jimmy who was killed in 1969. Grandpa George lived with them until his death. James was a willing worker in community services including baseball, dance band and transporting students to sports events by car. He was a member of the Odd Fellows Lodge and he and Ruby joined the Rebekah Lodge. They farmed a mile west of Dupree, the present day Donnie Farlee Ranch, until their home was destroyed by fire in 1941. The next year they purchased a farm two and one-half miles southwest of Dupree and farmed for ten years. In 1952 they purchased a pool hall in Dupree and moved to town. Later they purchased a grocery store in Newell, South Dakota. Within two years that was destroyed by fire and they moved to Sturgis. In 1958 James went to work for Davis Gas and Appliance in Eagle Butte where they lived until his death in 1970. Ruby lives in Rapid City. Pauline Gray married Harold Davis December 25, 1952 at Dupree. Their children are Arlie George and Roxie Leu. Arlie married Janie Miller, their sons are Zachary James and Joshua Ryan. Roxie married Bret Stambach, their son is Austin Joe. Harvey Gray married Yvonne Webb July 20, 1956. He spent twenty-four years in the United States Air Force, they have retired in Colorado Springs, Colorado after so many years in various countries and states. He is presently manager of a country club and golf course. Their four children are: Jeff, Lisa, Marla and George. Jeff and his wife, Debbie and their son, live in Japan where Jeff serves in the Air Force. Lisa married Fred Jackson, their home is Denver, Colorado. Marla's husband is Curt Campbell, their son is Chris and their daughter is Shanna. Their home is in Colorado Springs, Colorado. George is at home and in high school. Lilah Gray married William Bosley in December 1967. Their son Michael William. Lilah has four children by a previous marriage to Frank Bachand. They are Curt, Trudy, Toni and Scott. Curt Bachand is married to Connie (Menzel), their children are Tracy and Jason. Trudy is Mrs. Leo Bakeberg II, they live in Rapid City. Toni's husband is Mark Pierce, their home is Kansas City, Missouri where Scott also lives. Lilah and Bill live at Eagle Butte where they manage the Eagle Butte Municipal Package Liquor Store. Dorothy Gray is married to Norman Mutchler and lives in Billings, Montana. Their son is Robin, their daughter is Ronda. Robin and his wife Leslie, and son live in Billings also. Ronda is Mrs. Dennis Fulkerson, they have a son and reside in Tacoma, Washington. Dennis is in the Air Force. Jimmy Gray was married to Donna Brewer. They had two children, Cheryl and Harold. [photo - James Gray family, 1948. Back row: Harvey and Pauline. Middle row: Ruby and James. Front row: Dorothy, Jimmy, Lilah] GEORGE H. GREGORY George Harland Gregory came to Ziebach County in 1910 by horse and wagon and settled on a homestead on Sand Creek, 6 miles north of Dupree. On June 26, 1912, at Dupree, South Dakota he was united in marriage to Louise Marple. Mr. Gregory served as a Deputy Sheriff in 1910. Also he was a charter member of the Masonic Lodge. The Gregory children are as follows: George Harland Gregory, Eithel Gregory Sever, Roberta Gregory Kadoun, James Merton Gregory, Bessie Gregory Simpson. THE ALVIN GRIFFITH STORY by Rose Griffith Alvin Griffith was born on the Griffith homestead southeast of Dupree, to Carl and Maude Griffith (the sixth child of ten) on March 30th, 1914. He with his parents and family lived here for a couple years then moved to the Kinnik homestead a couple miles southeast. Alvin went to elementary school at Fairview all eight years, then went to one year of high school in Dupree. After that he stayed home and worked on the ranch with his Dad. In 1933 his parents, and rest of the family moved to a ranch north of Arrowhead or west of Redelm. I, Rose (Tracy) Griffith was born in North Dakota on March 3, 1915. When but a baby I moved with my parents and one sister to a homestead near Coal Springs, South Dakota. Here another sister and brother joined the family. In the winter of 1918 we lost our parents during the flu epidemic and were taken to live with our maternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. George Yusko, who lived south of Lantry, South Dakota. I went to Soliday school the first three years of grade school, then finished at Rosene school two and one-half miles south west of the home place. I went to high school in Lemmon for three years then returned home and graduated from Dupree in 1934. Alvin and I were married on August 14, 1935. We lived on the Welfl place near his folks the first year, then moved down on the Kinnik place where we wintered the folks' cattle and Alvin worked on WPA. In 1941 we bought the Gladstone homestead from Judge Gladstone. We lived there about twenty-six years during which time we moved to town for a few years to educate the family. Then in 1969 we purchased the Edwin Springer place. We still live here. Seven of our ten children were born while we lived on the Gladstone place, the three oldest ones were born while we lived northwest of Redelm. They are all married now so we are alone again. We live for the times they come home to visit. We also have twenty-nine grandchildren and one great grandchild. Mercedes our oldest daughter married Carl Pritzkau, a boy from Lantry. They live on his folk's place. They have five children; Randy, Tracy, Mary, Ronny and Cara. Alva married Joe Till a rural Dupree boy, they live near Mill Iron, Montana and have three children; Cheryl (Mrs. Baine Maupin), Ray and Justin. Lorretta married Melvin Shuck a neighbor boy. They live in Philomath, Oregon. They have four children; Nancy, Harley, Lyle and Judy. Janet married Bill Vermilyea from Saint Paul which is where they now live. She had one daughter, Ronet Bachman, from her former marriage. Carl married Mary Lu Pritzkau of Eagle Butte. They live on our old home place. They have three girls; Carlene, Ardith, and Cathy Jo. Maudie married John Flahaven from North Dakota. They now live at Montpillier, North Dakota. They have two children; Shelley and Cody. Tom married Deloris Charles of Lead, South Dakota. They live in Belle Fourche, South Dakota. They have one boy from his first marriage, Richard; two children from her first marriage, Jamie and Sam; and one little girl of their own, Gwendolyn. Dorothy married Bernie Tibbs of Ridgeview, South Dakota. They live near Ridgeview. They have two boys; Patrick and Delbert. Gay married Gary Ruzicka from Miller, South Dakota. They live in Belle Fourche, South Dakota. They have three children; Martina, Lynnette and Douglas. Rollis married Connie Weist from Mobridge, South Dakota. They have two boys; Jesse and Cole. They live in Dupree. Cheryl Till married Baine Maupin a boy from Montana. They gave us our first and only great grandchild; Desarae Kay. She is something very special being the first grandchild of Joe's and Alva's and our first great grandchild. [photo - This was taken the Christmas Tom came home on furlough during the Viet Nam conflict. Standing; Gay, Dorothy, Maudie, Janet, Lorretta, Alva and Mercedes. Seated are Carl, Alvin, Rose, Rollis and Tom. Taken in 1967] [photo The bad winter of 1977 and 1978. Our cattle drifted over the snow covered fences and ended up on the creek north of Dupree. When it moderated a little they brought them back through town. Down mainstreet] [photo - This picture shows the cattle coming back through the yard] THE CARL GRIFFITH FAMILY by Helen Maynard My father, Carl A. Griffith was born in Kirkville, Iowa. August 25, 1881. He was the eldest of four children, born to Frank Griffith and wife Mary (Peden) Griffith. My mother was Maude A. Yates of Ottumwa, Iowa born November 21, 1886. Daughter of William Yates and Minerva (Hartley) Yates. My mother was the eldest of six children. She attended public schools in Ottumwa and was later employed by the telephone service as an operator. My father attended the rural schools and helped on his parent's farm. My father and mother were married in Ottumwa on April 5, 1905. They helped out on his parent's farm until 1910 when he decided to homestead in South Dakota. In the spring of 1910 my dad and uncle Joe Peden came by train as far as LeBeau, South Dakota and ferried across the Missouri River. The first day they got as far as the north bank of the Moreau River where they set up camp for the night. They hobbled their horses and bedded down under their wagon. My dad didn't sleep much that night on account of the coyotes howling, animals he had never seen or heard before. The next day they forded the river and got as far as the town of Dupree, where they stayed that night in a hotel. It was too late to go out to the homestead. Uncle Joe helped my dad build a sod house and dig a well, then my dad put up some hay and started on a sod barn. In the spring of 1911 my dad went back to Iowa to get his wife and three children, Ethel, Bernice and Mary. They brought their household goods and livestock in an emigrant car as by that time the railroad went through Dupree. My mother was a typical pioneer woman and enjoyed her new neighbors, who were all young women like herself. They helped each other through all the trials and tribulations that all homesteaders were destined to know, births, deaths, storms, prairie fires, droughts and destructive insects. Also the joys of getting together for parties and celebrations, picnics and Christmas programs. The Griffith union was blessed with the following children. Ethel Florence (1906-1979) married Clarence Redouty in 1924. They moved to Florida. They had two boys and three girls, Earl, Marcella, Mary, Philip and Shirley. Bernice Frances (1908-1945) had a twin, Ernest (who died in infancy). She married Delbert Day of Lemmon, South Dakota. Their children were Doris, Delbert, Loyd (deceased), Kenneth, Helen Cleo, Mary, Bernice and Sam. Mary Elizabeth (1910) married Bennie DiNicola of Kansas City, Missouri. Helen Lucile (1912) was the first to be born on the homestead. She married Clair Maynard of rural Dupree. They have four children, Estella, Dorothy, Clair Junior and Billy Alan. Alvin Alan the second to be born on the homestead in (1914) married Rose Tracy of Lantry, South Dakota. They had ten children. Mercedes, Alva, Lorretta, Janet, Carl, Maudie, Thomas, Dorothy, Gay and Rollis. My folks moved to the Kinnick homestead a couple miles southeast of us. Loyd Gerald was the first to be born there in 1917. He married Violet Olson from Plainview, South Dakota. They had two children Sharen and Gerald. Dorothy Mae was born in 1919. She married Charles Bruno from Kansas City, Missouri. They adopted Bernice and Sam Day after their mother died. Estella born in 1921 died in 1923. Joseph born in 1923 died in infancy. Neva Irene born in 1924, married Charles Samuelson of Faith, South Dakota. They had eight children. Charles, Ginger, Lois, Treva, John, David, Mary and Lori. Treva Jean born in 1926 married Antone Fisher of Faith, deceased. They had eight children. Antone (deceased), Janice, Gary, Teresa, Greg, Tonette, Guy and Rubianne. Darrel Duane born in 1930 married Marlene Dore of Faith, South Dakota. They had five children, Debbie, James, Terri, Doug and Rick. In 1933 the family moved on a ranch north of Arrowhead, South Dakota. They lived here until my father died in 1960. My mother died in 1969. My brother Darrel bought the ranch and still lives there. [photo - Mr. & Mrs. Carl A. Griffith Married April 5, 1905 in Ottumwa, Iowa] [photo- In front of the old homestead barn. Carl behind horse, Alvin, Helen, Ethel, Mary, Bernice] [photo - The old homestead. Ethel, Bernice, Mary and Carl Griffith] DARRELL and MARLENE GRIFFITH Darrell and Marlene Griffith live on the ranch where Darrell grew up, eight miles east and two miles north of Faith. In addition to raising cattle, they train horses. After suffering a broken leg training horses outside, in 1966, Darrell decided it was time to build a training barn. They, along with their son Jim, run a very successful horse training operation. The Griffiths, married in 1950, have always been involved with rodeo, so it is not surprising that four of their five children followed in their footsteps. Jim, Terri, Doug and Rick all participated in 4-H and High School rodeo and all earned the honor of going to National competition in cattle cutting. Terri won the National Cattle Cutting Championship at Tomah, Wisconsin, her freshman year in high school. The children were also very active in high school sports, receiving many conference and state awards. Jim was Golden Gloves boxing champion in 1979, when the event was held at the Civic Center in Rapid City. Darrell participated in rodeo and did some rodeo announcing for Eddie Bachman for a few years. He showed horses for his customers for three years and then decided to take two of his own on the circuit in 1969. He won the South Dakota Champion Novice Cutting, the Champion Open Cutting and the Affiliate Trophy, given to the horse that wins the most money in and out of the state. That same year he won the state champion calf roping and reining. The biggest thrill for the family came in 1975 when Darrell and Terri were invited by the Smithsonian Institute to go to Washington, D.C. and participate in the Folklife Festival on the mall between Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. The purpose of the festival was to educate people about the ways of other cultures, which are also a part of the land in which they live. In addition to horse trainers, there were cattlemen, sheepmen, sheep shearers, auctioneers, cooks, musicians, harness makers, wood carvers and craftsmen of many kinds represented from this region. Marlene came to Faith in the 1940's with her mother and stepfather, Dr. McLean. In addition to raising a family and helping with the ranch work, she was secretary for the South Dakota Cutting Horse Association for two years. Debbie, the Griffith's oldest daughter, has a singing career in California. Jim and his wife, the former Cathy McKaben of Belle Fourche, have three sons, Beau, Austin and Willie. They live and work on the ranch near Darrell and Marlene. Terri is married to Bill Beesley, who is a coach at Pierre High School. They have one son, Jessie Cole. Doug and Rick both attend college at Spearfish. [photo - Terri Griffith and her horse, Miss Boog, on the Mall in Washington, D. C. at the Folklife Festival in 1975] [photo - Darrell Griffith being interviewed by NBC-TV newsman in Washington, D. C. at the Folklife Festival in 1975] WILLIAM M. GRIFFITHS Mr. Griffiths first came to Tennessee from Wales, England, where he was born in 1867. He came to the Thomas L. Riggs Mission School north of Pierre as a missionary teacher. There he married Martha Garbold in 1895. They moved to Plum Creek, across the Cheyenne River from Cherry Creek, and established the Plum Creek Mission School where they taught for ten years. He established a store at Cherry Creek, and maintained his ranch across the Cheyenne southeast of Cherry Creek Station. He was a county commissioner for Stanley County, served as a state representative for Stanley and Haakon counties for six terms. He was initiated into the Masonic Lodge in 1911. Doctor Thomas F. Riggs took part in graveside rites for him at Midland, South Dakota where he was buried beside his wife in January, 1951. They were the parents of four sons. The only survivor is Evan Griffiths of Custer, South Dakota. MR. and MRS. CHRIS GRONDAHL written by Mrs. Homer (Irene) Jones Chris Grondahl and family from Buffalo, North Dakota homesteaded thirteen miles southwest of Isabel, in Ziebach County in the spring of 1917. Chris came in an emigrant car with household furniture, two horses, three cows, a dog and farm machinery. Chris, with help, built their shack at once. Mrs. Grondahl and three daughters, Irene, Clara and Alice arrived in May at their new home on the prairie. Lillian was born February 12, 1918. Two years later Clifford was born on February 12, 1920. The Grondahl schoolhouse was built on the corner of their land. Here their children got their grade school education. This schoolhouse was used as a meeting place for all community activities for several years. Church and Sunday school were held there, also. They had many trying years, severe hail, wind storms and blizzards. I remember one severe hail storm. Clifford brought the milk cows home to be milked. Just as they got in the corral the storm hit. The cattle broke loose and ran off towards the creek. Here several drowned. Hail piled up several feet high in places. Folks that stayed during these hard times helped build up the community. The good years came and people prospered. Mr. and Mrs. Grondahl moved to town in 1957. They celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary July 25, 1957. Mrs. Grondahl passed away April 22, 1966. Their children are: Mrs. Homer (Irene) Jones, Mrs. Russell (Clara) Hanson, Morristown, Mrs. Don (Alice) Hurst of Milwaukee, Oregon, Mrs. Milton (Lillian) Hansen, Oregon City, Oregon, and Clifford Grondahl of Aberdeen. [photo - Chris Grondahl Homestead, 1917] [photo - GRONDAHL SCHOOL, 1932 Clifford Grondahl, Irene Grondahl (teacher), Phillip Lindskov, Lilly Te Poel, Oswald Rekstad, Sivert Rekstad] [photo - The Chris Grondahl’s 50th Wedding Anniversary] JOHN and ROSE GROSS by Esther Gross Mittleider John and Rose Gross, originally from Germany, came to Ziebach County from Ashley, North Dakota in 1929. The Grosses bought a farm six miles southeast of Dupree where they lived until they moved into Dupree in the early 1940's. Mr. Gross worked for various area farmers until his retirement. The Grosses raised eleven children: Ervin, Gasper, Wyoming; Edwin (deceased); Esther (Mrs. Jake Mittleider), Faith; Harold, Seattle, Washington; Irene (Mrs. Ralph Marple), deceased; Herbert, Salt Lake City, Utah; Edward, (deceased); Clarence, Denver, Colorado; Violet, (Mrs. Raymond Titus), Rapid City, South Dakota; Edna Wilson, Salt Lake City, Utah; Janice (Mrs. David Bowman), Deadwood, South Dakota. John Gross died in 1960 and Rose in 1980. FRANK A. HAAGEN Frank Alexander Haagen, son of John and Fayetta Haagen, was born June 4, 1883 ah Beech Creek, Pennsylvania. He was next to the youngest of ten children. Frank was raised on a farm and attended school in Beech Creek. He was interested in music and loved to play the violin. When Frank was twenty-five years old, he went by train to Farmington, Illinois. He lived with his sister and brother-in-law, Margaret and Oscar Brungard. Oscar owned a blacksmith shop and it was here he worked and learned the blacksmith trade. While in Farmington he studied the violin. He soon decided that he wasn't meant to be a violinist. After a time, Frank went back to his home in Pennsylvania. He continued to work on the family farm until the time he went to Philadelphia. His brother, Tennyson Haagen, resided in Philadelphia and owned the Aldine Riding Academy and Livery Stable. Besides giving riding lessons, Frank was gaining business knowledge. The desire to go into business for himself and the opportunities the western country had to offer, played a large role in his decision to go west and pioneer in South Dakota. In 1908 Frank A. Haagen arrived by train in LeBeau, South Dakota. He opened his first store. A postcard postmarked LeBeau, September 6, 1909 to his sister in Pennsylvania says: 'We are going to have a big time here in October -- many thousands of people to come here to register so come and try your luck on 160 acres of land.' It was about this time the people of LeBeau learned the railroad would not be running through their town. This was a big disappointment to most of the people, and especially Frank. He decided to move on west to Dupree. In August 1910 he went to Aberdeen and purchased four lots in Dupree to put his store on. He wanted to be among the first business men to locate in Dupree. Since it was not finally decided just where the town would be located, they set their buildings about two miles out of town. Later they were moved to the present site. A postcard addressed to his sister and with a picture on the card of his building, he wrote 'The first hardware store in Dupree.' Another picture on a postcard is of a store building being moved by horses which says below the picture 'My Redelm store room on wheels for Dupree' and in a newspaper item it stated that his present building was being brought in by horses from Redelm. He sold John Deere farm machinery, DeLaval cream separators, saddlery and other items needed by the farmers. Frank Haagen filed as a homesteader and was given his claim rights to 160 acres of land on which he constructed a house, drilled a well, put in a crop and lived for the necessary amount of time to prove up. In September 1912 he went back to Pennsylvania and married Mary E. Mantle, daughter of Alfred and Eudora Mantle of Beech Creek, Pennsylvania. Returning to Dupree with his bride, their first home was on the claim. Their first child, Esther Faye, was born there. Mr. Haagen purchased a lot in town, built a nice comfortable home, drilled a well. He constructed a windmill so they would have plenty of water and they had one of the few homes with inside running water and bathroom, which was unusual for that area and time. In 1922 Esther Mantle, sister of Mary Haagen, from Beech Creek, Pennsylvania, came to live with them and while there taught the third and fourth grades. The classes were held in the Community Church because part of the school was being remodeled to make more classrooms. Frank and Mary Haagen had three children. Esther Faye was born July 20, 1913, Marian Eudora was born March 17, 1917, and Merrill Dean was born July 7, 1920. Frank Haagen was a life member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. They attended the Community Church, and Mary was active in the Sunday School and was clerk of the church. She also sang in the choir. Frank had promised his wife that she would not have to live on the prairie all of her life, as she liked trees like they had in Pennsylvania. So in September 1925 they decided to go farther west. They sold their store, their home, and packed all their worldly possessions and set out for the west coast. They lived in Eugene, Oregon until 1931. In 1931 a John Deere agency was for sale in Ellensburg, Washington and Frank felt this was what he really wanted to do. Once again they sold their properties and packed their belongings and moved to Ellensburg. He was in business there until his death in 1957. Mary, his wife, is 89 years old and lives with her daughter Esther and husband, Harold, in Olympia, Washington. [photo - Our claim - out of Dupree. Frank and Mary Haagen - daughter Esther] [photo - Pioneering Days at Redelm] [photocopy - postcard to Mrs. John Haagen] [photo - First hardware in Dupree, 1910] [photo - Haagen’s store being moved from Redelm to Dupree. Later became Ogard’s Store, which burned in 1932] ALBERT HAGAN Albert Sidney Hagan, the seventh child in a family of eight children, was born to Cyprian and Keturah Wright Hagan, July 25, 1869 at Monroe, Missouri. He attended grade school and grew to manhood there. He became a railroad engineer and worked there for several years. He married Bertha Hagist in 1891. Five children were born to them: Albert Sidney Hagan, Mary Adella Raben Briely, Frederic Leslie, Edwin, Olive Blanche Batterberry. He came to South Dakota in 1896 and lived near Rondell, South Dakota. He worked at the blacksmith trade and became interested in farming the following year. He continued that occupation there until 1910 when this part of South Dakota in Ziebach County was allotted to settlement and came here. In May 1910 he located on Section 1-13-21, being one of the early pioneer farmers, and was one of the first commissioners. Bertha, his wife, died in 1907. Three years later he married Cora Spencer Baker, a daughter of the late Cal Spencer of Faith. A daughter, Aliene, was born to them, joining a half-brother, Harry A. Baker, deceased, son of Homer A. Baker, a veteran of the Spanish American insurrection. HALF RED FAMILY Came to Chase(d. 1884) was the husband of Cetansinawin/Hawk Blanket (1840-1915). They had five surviving children. Unkpapa Woman/Comes a Hunkpapa Sioux/Edna Chase was born in 1859; Follows Him/Mary in 1867; Cloud Grows (1869-1887); Oscar Half Red (1878- 1940); and Stays in the Lodge/Stands in the House/Julia Half Red (1882- 1901). In Canada, between 1876 and 1880, Edna Chase was married to Sunkmanitugi/Phillip Brown Wolf. In 1880, he also married Mary. After the Lakota returned from Canada, this family lived 17 miles south of Dupree. Oscar Half Red married Martha/Maggie Worn Out Horn. Their children were: Isaac Halfred who married Josephine; Mary who married George Knife; Jennie who married Big Horn; John who died single; Frank Halfred who married Helen Roach Circle Eagle; Martha and Rebecca Halfred. THE CHAS HALL FAMILY written by Clara Hall Mr. and Mrs. Chas Hall came to Ziebach County, 6 miles west of Glad Valley, South Dakota in 1912. Six children were born to this couple. Harold lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Vivian Campman lives in Aurora, Colorado; Marjorie Green and Raymond live Cheyenne, Wyoming and Lois Hunt lives in Fountain, Colorado. Forrest Hall of Ukiah, California passed away in April of 1981. He and his parents are buried in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Chas and Grace were engaged in farming and ranching until 1929 when they moved to Sturgis, South Dakota. In 1936 they moved to Rawlins, Wyoming, then to Rangely, Colorado until 1947. In 1965 they moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado where they resided until their deaths. Grace passed away in 1969 and Chas passed away in 1972. HAROLD and CLARA HALL written by Clara Hall Harold and Clara (Wenzel) Hall were married in Isabel, South Dakota in 1933. We operated the Dew Drop Inn until 1936, moving to Rawlins, Wyoming, where we were employed at the Seminoe Dam. We lived there until 1937, moved to Seattle, Washington, and returned to Rawlins in 1939. We moved back to Isabel in 1944 and purchased the William Wenzel farm, living there until 1960. We then moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado where we now reside. We have three children, Marilyn and Larry were born in Isabel and Forrest was born in Seattle, Washington. Marilyn now lives in Los Alamitos, California; Larry lives in Cheraw, Colorado and Forrest in Colorado Springs, Colorado. We have seven grandchildren. We operated a Mobile Home Park in Colorado Springs for 20 years but are now retired. VAL and RUTH HAMPEL Val and Ruth Hampel moved to Dupree, South Dakota in 1943. He was employed by the Milwaukee Railroad as station agent and had previously worked in Isabel, Firesteel, Lantry and Faith, where he got his start as a railroad agent. He retired in 1956, after 36 years with the Milwaukee Railroad, and they moved to Phoenix, Arizona where they lived until his death in 1966. Ruth continued to live there until 1974 when she moved to Irvine, California to live with her daughter, Doris Wilson. She also spends several months each year with her other daughter, Helen McDonald, in Merriam, Kansas. She has 5 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren, Val moved to Faith from Rushville, Illinois with his parents, Valentine and Anna, where they lived in a sod house on the land they were homesteading near Faith. Val hauled lumber from the Black Hills to Faith on a horse drawn wagon and when the family moved into Faith, his father became the tailer, a trade he learned while a young man in Germany. Later, Val taught in a country school near Faith until he became a helper to the station agent in Faith. Val and Ruth were married and moved to Lantry when he took over the job of station agent in Lantry in 1920. Ruth and her parents, Gustov and Carrie Anderson, along with her brothers, Gust and Harry, and her sisters, Minnie and Mable, also were homesteading on land near Glad Valley having moved there from Princeton, Minnesota. Another sister, Annie, remained in Princeton. The old homestead is still in the family, now owned by Harry's son Clifford Anderson. Ruth's parents were immigrants from Sweden. Her father, Gustov, preceded her mother to the United States settling first near Minneapolis where all the children were born except the oldest son, Oust, who was born in Sweden. They moved to a small farm near Princeton, Minnesota before moving to South Dakota in 1912. Ruth's memories of her years in Ziebach and Dewey counties are many... from the dust bowl era to the deep winter snows and blizzards, of riding horses to go to dances at a schoolhouse and riding back home at day break, of the ladies aid lunches at the Congregational Church in Dupree and, always, of the many friends and relatives who made a pleasant life for her and Val while living in Ziebach County. AUGUST HANNEMAN August Hanneman was born in 1887 in Edgar, Wisconsin. In the spring of 1915, Mr. Hanneman came by train to Ziebach County. The train was delayed at Mobridge for three days. He was engaged in farming and ranching on his homestead near Redelm. Mr. Hanneman recalled the three day blizzard in the spring of 1919 as one of his early day experiences on the homestead. Mr. Hanneman never married and had no close relatives. HARMON FAMILY by Ruby Harmon Vance My father and mother, Harmon, were both born and raised in Indiana. We children were also. We had a lovely home and a large woods full of all kinds of nut trees. We enjoyed them so much. Then when the government said that if we went to South Dakota we could take up all the land we could use, father thought that would give him more land than the 160 acres he had in Indiana. Father had a sale and sold everything, had the family go to Lebanon, Indiana, rented a house for a month, and then came out to the prairie. He had a nice two- story house ready to move into. It was all planned out in Indiana and the lumber was cut the way he had wanted it. He had a young man that was the son of a friend of father's that came with him, so they had the house ready when we came out on a train. When we got there, it looked so different, we would not go far from the house. Father put in a large crop the first year, but no rain and no crop. The next year the crop was better but grasshoppers ruined it. One year a prairie fire ruined crops, but father and other men beat the fire out. After several years, the folks went to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They were getting old and were in need of a rest. I took nurses training in Mobridge and was half way through, but mother insisted I must teach school. I taught two years, then Earl Vance and I were married, and raised our large family. Now I am alone in my large house in Spearfish. Earl died about ten years ago, and our many children are scattered. HARRELL - LANGLOIS Brothers-in-law of the same age, Ed Langlois (brother of Louise Halvorson) and J. W. (Jim) Harrell (married to a Langlois girl) were the same age, 64, and died on the same day. Mr. Langlois was a single man living at Helly, Idaho. He was well known in Dupree, having pioneered here in the early days of the west river country. Mr. Harrell was also a Ziebach County pioneer, having operated a fine ranch about 4 miles southwest of Lantry. He also bought and traded cattle on an extensive scale. Jim was born in Texas and drifted north with the large cattle outfits. He was well educated and a livewire around here during the 'hey days' when big crops were raised and money was plentiful. He moved to Deadwood in the early thirties. He raised his children in Dupree and they went to the Dupree school. They were Loretta and Joe Bill. His wife had died some years earlier. REIER HARVEY Mr. Reier Harvey came by railroad emigrant car to Ziebach County in April 1912. He settled on a homestead 3 miles south of Redelm, where he lived on his homestead until 1919. Mr. Harvey recalled a time when he was lost on the prairie at night while looking for a lost cow. Mr. Harvey was married in 1913 to Emma Schroder of Humboldt, Iowa. Their children were: Gretchen (Mrs. Gerald Peterson); Jean (Mrs. Leo Schroeder); Mae (Mrs. Robert Gross); John R. Harvey. FRED and GRACE HASKINS Grace Main Haskins was born on July 18, 1887 to Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Main, at Strawberry Point, Iowa. She was a sister of Claude Main and Alice Main Linn. The Main family moved to Custer County, Nebraska where she lived until 1910. On April2, 1910 she and John Frederick Haskins were united in a double wedding ceremony in Columbus, Nebraska. Her sister, Lela Main and James Reed were the other newlyweds. Fred and Grace homesteaded land at Thoeny, Montana from 1915 to 1920. In August 1920 the Haskins family moved to Pretty Creek north of Dupree which was known as the Judson land. It is located a mile east of the Wallace Brams residence and is now a part of the Brams ranch. At this time their family consisted of Venita, Merle, Harold, and Frank. The older children attended Pretty Creek school. Two of their teachers were Edna Reich Anderson and Esther Burke McDaniel. Fred and Grace raised cattle and farmed while in Ziebach County. Their two younger children were born while here: Mildred Grace in 1921 and Norma Fern in 1922. In June 1927 the eight members of the Haskins family drove to Oregon in a Model T. Ford. They located near the Williamette Valley, near Salem, Oregon. Grace passed away in January, 1929. Fred passed away in August 1952, at Scotts Mills, Oregon. The six Haskins children live in the western states of Washington, Oregon and California. In June 1975 all six returned to South Dakota and Ziebach County in the original Model T Ford that they had traveled to Oregon in 1927, to commemorate their parent's trip west. Their oldest son, Merle, passed away in 1976. [photo Alice Main Linn, Grace Main Haskins, Fred Haskins, Aaron Main with their children standing in front] [photo - Merle Haskins on his return to South Dakota with the Model T Ford in 1975 that had taken his family of eight to a new home in Oregon in 1927] RALPH HEBERER (taken from the Faith Country Book) Ralph Heberer filed on a claim in Ziebach County in the spring of 1911, and came by train with an immigrant car in March of 1912 to live on the claim. During the summer of 1912 his sister, Maude Heberer, filed on a quarter section and later he bought it from her. He still owns this land. Mrs. Heberer taught a school nearby for six months. Mr. Heberer was the Ziebach County Assessor for two years, and was a member of the Equity Trading Company, and also helped to build a creamery in Faith. Two of our children were born in Ziebach County -- Richard and Ray. Glenn and Norma were born after we left there in 1919. We celebrated our Golden Wedding Anniversary in April 1959. ALBERT HEBNER FAMILY by Pansy Hebner Albert and I were married at Eagle Butte, South Dakota, February 12, 1931. Because Albert was from Avon, South Dakota, we went there to live right away. We farmed and had a few head of cattle. Pastures were small because all or most of the land was farmed. This was through the depression and dry years. Our daughters, Irene and Ronda were born there and Irene went to a country school after she was old enough. In 1941 we decided to go back to Eagle Butte, South Dakota to live. Here we farmed, raised cattle and milked cows. It rained more now and crops were pretty good most of the time unless hail came and ruined them. Irene graduated from Eagle Butte High School in 1949, and that fall went to work at Dupree as secretary at the Public Welfare Office for Mable Ross. It was here she met Floyd Linn and was married in December, 1950. They live at Lantry and have the grocery store and post office there. They have three daughters: Laurie, Dixie and Annette. In 1952, we quit farming at Eagle Butte and moved to Dupree. Albert bought some lots here and built a house. Here, Albert did carpenter work and later worked at the Dupree Lumber Yard until he retired because of poor health. Ronda graduated from high school here in 1958. After a year or so she went to work at McIntosh, South Dakota, as secretary for Mr. Hatch at the Public Welfare Office. It was here she met Robert Burke and was married in 1962 at the United Church of Christ in Dupree. They live at Chamberlain, South Dakota and have two sons; Jeff and Brian who are going to school there. They have a filling and bulk station, so keep busy. Albert passed away July 8, 1981 and I still live here, have for twenty-nine years in March. [photo - Golden Wedding Anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. Albert Hebner, 1981] KARL HEGRE FAMILY by Della Fuller Hegre Karl Hegre came to South Dakota from Montevideo, Minnesota in the summer of 1911 and built a house for his family. He then went back to Minnesota and got his family. They came by train into Redelm with six children, Sophia, Oscar, Alfred, Ida, Chester, and Ole. Severin and Andrew remained in Minnesota to work. The oldest girl, Hannah, went to California. They came by immigrant car with 4 horses, 3 cows, household furniture and a carload of hay. Both Karl and Carrie were born in Norway and came to Minnesota as young adults. Karl was a tailor in Norway and made all his boys suits of clothes. He was in logging and lumbering business in Minnesota until he was married, then he farmed near Montevideo, where the children were born. In South Dakota he built the Trinity Lutheran Church south of Redelm and helped build the Robertson School. They raised all their meat and vegetables to feed their large family but always had time for their church and helping the neighbors. Hannah married Fred Softron, had one daughter, Helen. She lived in Beverly Hills, California. Sophia married Wilbur Prejean and lives in New Orleans, Louisiana. Ida married J. P. Jensen and they had three children, Marie, Volmer and Eldon. They lived at Faith, South Dakota. Andy lives at Atwater, Minnesota. He married Dora Nelson. Alfred married Amanda Bangsund, had one daughter, Marlene, and they live at Montevideo, Minnesota. Chester married Mildred Kelly in Arkansas. They had two daughters, Connie and Kathy. Oscar died in 1928. Ole married Della Fuller and they have one son, Douglas and live in Rapid City, South Dakota. Severin married Irene Fuller. They lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where Daryl and Gladys were born. They came back to South Dakota in 1930 and lived in Dupree, where Roger and Carol were born. Daryl and Gladys live in Washington state. Carol lives in Long Beach, California and Roger in Timber Lake, South Dakota. Gladys married Freddie Brown, Carol married Don Stumpf and Roger married Ella Oberg. OLE and DELLA HEGRE FAMILY by Della Hegre Ole Hegre came to South Dakota in 1911 with his parents and five brothers and sisters. Della Fuller Hegre was born in South Dakota at the homestead three miles southeast of Redelm in July 1911. Dr. Creamer came from Dupree, 10 miles northeast of the Fuller homestead. Mrs. Della Moore was the nurse. Earl Moore lived a mile north. We lived one mile south of the Karl Hegre homestead. Ole and Della both went to the Robertson School through the 8th grade and then attended the Dupree High School for one year. Dad and Mother and brother Bill went to Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin where Dad worked through the winter. Della attended her second year of high school there. The folks came back to South Dakota to farm during the summer. Ole helped his dad with the farming on the family farm. Della worked at the Knipfer Store in Redelm several years. Then went to Faith to work at Kelly's Grocery for several years. Ole worked with CCC, building roads in the Black Hills and in lumber and forestry work. We were married at the Frank Fuller home in Dupree in February, 1937. We farmed the Hegre farm one year. The crops dried out so we moved to St. Onge where Ole had previously worked. Ole built his own filling station and we lived there until 1941, when we packed our possessions in the car and moved to California. Ole went to work for Lockheed Aircraft and we lived in Hollywood, California for three years. We moved to Los Angeles when Ole and two other men started doing piece work for aircraft companies. When the war ended we moved to Rapid City, South Dakota. Frank Fullers lived in Spearfish and Karl Hegres lived in Dupree so we felt we were back home again. Ole worked in machine shops. He worked at Johnson Machine until he retired in 1973. I worked at Mills Drug for ten years. We adopted a 4 1/2 month old baby boy in 1947. At the present time our son, Douglas K. Hegre, wife Karen Reed Hegre, and their son Richard D. Hegre, live next door to us. Douglas is employed at Ellsworth Air Force Base. He graduated from Rapid City High School in 1966, attended mechanic school in Aberdeen, and was called into the Army in 1968, and spent two years in Vietnam in mechanics. After he came home from Vietnam he attended Southern State College at Springfield and also Rapid City Business College. He was married in Arkansas and lived in Ohio for a short time. They then came back to Rapid City to make their home. We live in the Canyon Lake area in the same home we moved into when we returned from California. South Dakota is home to the Ole Hegre and Douglas Hegre families. Ole has his own machine shop in his home garage and his retirement is a continuation of work he enjoys. DORIS (BENNETT) HEIDLEBAUGH I'm presently married to Rex W. Heidlebaugh. I now live at Watford City, North Dakota. I minister for Jesus. My husband is a GS11 Forest Service man and has one year until he can retire. We hope to continue a ministry together in years we have left. My oldest son, Don Pesicka is a company man for Boyles Bros. He is presently in Santiago, Chili. I'm very proud of his self achievements in life. He has two sons. Walt Pesicka lives in Troy, Montana. He was hurt in a skidder accident when it rolled over on him. He has been to many specialists and doctors. He can't lift over 30 pounds, is struggling to support himself, wife and three little girls. David Pesicka lives on a ranch north of Dupree, is a water well driller, is married, father of five children. Wayne Heidlebaugh is a college graduate in business managing, so is a sporting goods store manager in Billings, Montana, is married, his wife runs a miniature doll house business. Wesley Heidlebaugh served four years in the U.S. Navy, went to college before that, and presently lives near us in Watford City. He is married and works for Tierra Drilling Company, in the oil fields. GEORGE and JENNIE HEIDEMAN George Martin Heideman, born in Iowa, and his wife, Jennie Frantz Heideman, born in Pennsylvania, moved from Pennsylvania to Hinzdale, Montana, where their two sons, George Loren and Franklin A., were born. They moved to Ziebach County in 1919 or 1920 and built their home three miles southwest of Dupree (Leon Starr home today). They ranched and farmed. Loren and Franklin attended school in Dupree. In 1933 George Heideman moved to California. He passed away in 1960 and is buried in Calexio, California. Jennie lived in Dupree and moved to Pennsylvania to be closer to her family. She passed away in 1978 at the age of 91, and is buried in Pennsylvania. Loren worked for George Hall in the garage and in the Dupree Power Plant. In 1936 he married Mable Maynard and in 1937 they moved to Buffalo, South Dakota and operated the light plant there. They had four children: Richard Loren, George Henry, Janet Mae and Mable Lorene. Loren was killed September 1943 in a car accident near Reva, South Dakota. He is buried in the Dupree cemetery. Mable and the children moved back to Dupree. Frank married Bertha Hanson of Faith, South Dakota. They moved to Long Beach, California. They had two boys, Gary and Michael (deceased). Bertha is also deceased. Frank resides in Palmdale, California with his second wife, Winnie. [photo Jennie Heideman] [photo - Frank and Bertha Heideman] [photo - Loren Heideman] [photo - Janet, Michael, Richard, George, Gary and Lorene (Babs). Children of Loren and Frank Heideman] J. M. HEIMER I was raised on a Stock and Dairy Farm in Minnesota near the small village of Johnsburg. During the early 1900's, I had read the old slogan, "Go West, Young Man," also "Feather Your Nest in the Beautiful West." In March, 1911, I rode in an immigrant car to Reeder, North Dakota, which had stock in it to go to Harding County. After trailing the stock overland, I did not find any open land, so went back to Reeder. There I met up with John Heus, William Volkman, Cy Schumanski, and others that were bound for Ziebach County. We arrived in Dupree in April. After a few days of checking on homesteads available, I located on the NW 1/4, Section 35-11-20. one-half mile west of the original Chase Post Office, established later. At the time, there were six lumber yards in the process of being built in Dupree, and I worked at unloading lumber and other building material, setting fences and building sheds. It was very dry in this part of the state and many of us Honyokers, as we were called, were short of funds and had to seek employment in order to make a living. We found work near Hoven, South Dakota, and worked until the fall of 1911. One rainy night, after retiring, I was awakened by a terrible windstorm, and found the snow drifted in over my bed, and all over the one room shack. I started ripping up paper and old clothes into strips to fill the cracks in the boards to keep out the storm. Also, in order to keep warm, I had to run out and bring in a few pieces of firewood and saw it up by hand in order to keep the stove going. A carpenter-saw was all that I had to use. The storm continued for two days, and I was busy carrying in snow to melt for water. What worried me most was that I had few supplies on hand -- a few pounds of flour, a few beans, some baking powder and coffee. I had to mash the coffee with a stick as it was not ground. One had to keep busy to keep from freezing. When the sun finally came out, it was 30 degrees below zero. This ordeal was quite a scare for me, and I immediately caught a ride to Dupree, where I again found employment. Jack Askin and I had built our shacks on the dividing line and were together a great deal. Others in the neighborhood were Frank Farrell, John Collins, Chas. Buettner, Jennersons, Crowleys, Campbells, the Chase family, Swansons, Fowler and O'Hern Brothers. We spent our time visiting, playing cards, etc. and many times had to spend the night wherever we happened to be, as there were no landmarks to guide us to our homes. Good parties and dances, that lasted until daylight were not uncommon. After spring opened up in 1912, many of us hired out to the C.M. & St. Paul Railroad on a special gang. We were located between Trail City and Mobridge. The melting snow and rain had caused some landslides on the gumbo hills and the railroad was covered in many places with slush and gumbo. It was necessary to raise the entire track and put either gravel or cinders under the ties to keep the trains running. There were also some washouts to be repaired. Our wages were $1.75 per day and we had to board ourselves and sleep in boxcars. We pulled up grass and buckbrush by hand along the creek to cover the floor of the boxcar. We used horse blankets for covers as well as under us. We worked for the railroad for several months, then I hired out to Arnold (Doc) Raben, who had a lease on the Ewing Ranch, two miles east of Dupree, (now the Lawrence Woodward place). While here, the Indian Fair was being staged northwest of Dupree, Joe Narcelle was killed. I proved up on my claim in October, 1912, and, since there were very few, or no jobs, I headed back east again. I was away for several years, attended the University of Minneapolis one winter and was married to Barbara Simon of Adams, Minnesota in 1916. I made several trips back to Ziebach County and therefore kept in contact with the development of the county. In 1924, we moved to the Dr. Creamer place north of Dupree, where we lived for over twenty years. I was treasurer of the Pretty Creek School District, and represented the Equity Union Creameries of Aberdeen, South Dakota, as a director for ten years. From 1933 to 1954, I worked with the various Government Farm Programs such as the Wheat, Corn and Hog Programs. During the Government Cattle Buying Program of 1934 and 1936, when 70% of our livestock was shipped out of Ziebach County, because of the drought and shortage of feed, I helped , and have worked with the Soil Conservation Program since 1937 when the Tri-County District No. 7 was organized, and have served as County and District Chairman of the various programs for over 15 years. My wife passed away in 1942. My oldest son, Herbert, lost his life in April 1943, while serving as Radio Operator in the Navy, during World War II. Shortly, thereafter, the Dr. Creamer Ranch was sold. My son, Ambrose, and I had formed a partnership in farming and stock raising by this time, so we purchased some land west and south of Dupree. In 1945, Joe married Lorna Vance, and they continued to make their home in Dupree until their deaths in 1971. [photo - Joe Heimer] LEE and ESTHER HEMEN by Esther Hemen Lee Hemen was born in Columbia, South Dakota, son of Jim and Luella Hemen. He grew up around Columbia, South Dakota. Esther Birkeland Hemen was born in Wilmar, Minnesota, daughter of Ole and Olina Greenfield Birkeland. At age of ten years I moved with my parents who homesteaded two and one half miles south of Dupree. I went to Fairview School and graduated from the eighth grade and then attended Dupree High School for three years. I attended Aberdeen Normal summer term in 1917 and wrote for Teachers Certificate and passed, so started to teach in fall of 1917, teaching rural schools five years. In 1924 I married Lee Hemen of Columbia, South Dakota and moved there and lived on a farm where our sons Duane and Jim were born. In 1941 we sold our farm and moved to North Dakota. In fall of 1943, we moved to Vancouver, Washington, where we worked in the Shipyards. Later we moved to Aberdeen, South Dakota and our daughter, Sally, was born there. We moved to Brampton, North Dakota and lived a few years before moving to Igloo, South Dakota and working in the Ammunition Depot. In 1953 we moved to Dupree and I went to Spearfish College to renew my Teachers Certificate and taught Whittler and White Swan schools. In 1958, I ran for Register of Deeds in Ziebach County, was elected and took office on January 1, 1959. I held this office for twenty years and retired December 31, 1978. Upon retiring I planned on visiting places and friends that I hadn't seen for quite some time, but in the month following my retirement, January 29, 1979. I slipped on my kitchen floor and broke my leg. I had a cast on for six months and then had to use crutches for a while, so that ended my plans for that year. My husband, Lee, suffered from emphysema for many years which contributed to his death, February 22, 1977. My older son, Duane, lives in Butte, Montana. He has three daughters and one son and two grandsons and two granddaughters. Duane always liked to work with big machines and has worked on road construction for many years. My younger son, Jim, lives in Ponchatoula, Louisiana. He and his three sons work for the same oil company in New Orleans. His oldest son has a daughter two years old. Jim's only daughter lives in Denver, Colorado. Her husband is regional administrator for C-E Natco, Combustion Engineering, Inc. They have two daughters. Sally married Donald Fairbanks, a schoolmate. They live in Rapid City, South Dakota where Donald works as a mechanic and Sally works for Sears Roebuck & CO. They have two children. Walter will be a senior in high school next year and Dawn will be in the ninth grade. [photo - Esther and Lee Hemen] BEN and ELSIE HENDERSON by Eva C. Miller The Henderson family came to this country from England and lived in what is now New York City. They were Loyalists at the time of the Revolution and fled to Canada, where John William married Eliza UptoGrove or Bratt. From Canada they moved to Wisconsin, where Emerson, my grandfather, was born. Emerson Wesley Henderson and his wife, Ada Savinna Griffin, had Mary Luella and Albert, both deceased before age 21. Their other children included George, Chester, Florence, Benjamin, Harvey and Clarice Henderson. My father, Ben Henderson, the sixth of eight children, was born on June 24, 1888 near Heart Prairie, Wisconsin. At the age of 14, his family moved to Brown County, South Dakota. On November 1, 1911, Ben was married to Elsie Kranhold, the daughter of Frederick Kranhold and Anna Kraus Kranhold. She was born on November 1, 1890 in South Dakota. To this union two children were born, Eugene Harvey, on June 19, 1913 and Eva Clarice, on October 25, 1915. My parents lived and farmed near Groton in Brown County until the fall of 1918, when they moved to Ziebach County south of Dupree. They continued to farm and ranch until 1948, when they mowed to Sturgis, South Dakota. Our family did not homestead but my father and his oldest brother, George, bought the SE 1/4 and NE 1/4 of Sec. 1, R. 11, T. 20. We arrived in Dupree by train with George, his wife, Eliza and their two sons, Donald and Dyle. George's family didn't stay long, moving back to Brown County within a couple of years. Our two families lived in a large tent while the men mowed, raked, and gathered their winter supply of hay. Next they built houses, a bank barn, and dug a well by hand. My dad, always a peaceful man, did on one occasion, have to take up his revolver to prevent, so he thought, our hay from being stolen. Strapping on his gun he bravely strode out to the nearest rack. The "hay rustler'' happened to be an Italian, J. P. Werner, who spoke very little English. He waved his hands and pointed to the next man. Turns out it was Anson Callen and anyone who knew Anson can imagine how tickled he got when dad accosted him. Instead of stealing the hay, they had come to haul and stack it for the "new neighbors". They were served lunch and got to meet the wives and children when they were finished. Before they left we had been invited to Thanksgiving dinner at the Olivers, who lived south of us, where Erling and Linda Wilkins Olson are now living. Our house, a two-room shack, had a boxcar roof and was lined only with building paper. In the winter it was heated by the cookstove and the frost never thawed from the corners till spring. I remember one time we had gone to bed and there came a knock at the door. The caller was one of the Longbrake girls. She'd heard there was a barn dance at Talbott's (probably 8 or 10 miles east of us) and thinking we might be going, wanted to ride along. She must have lived 10 or 12 miles north and west of us. The folks got up, got us all ready, hitched up the team and we all went to the dance! Dad played the violin and was often called upon to play for these neighborhood dances. The women took cake or sandwiches and we kids usually lasted at least until after lunch was served before falling to sleep on a pile of coats. Sometimes the women fixed box lunches, trying to outdo each other in decorating their boxes, and they were auctioned off to the highest bidder. This was usually done to raise money for the schools. Or, they would take pies to be sold. If a young "courting" couple happened to be in the crowd, the men would try to find out which was her pie or box lunch and they would run the price of it way up. Eugene and I attended the Whittler school, the Pretty Creek School, and when the winter snows came, we went to the Hanneman School were we would live with the teacher during the week. What a long winter! In order to have spending money for the Fourth of July and Labor Day celebrations, we would trap gophers, remove their tails and keep them in a tobacco tin. When it was full, we'd take it to the courthouse and were paid 10 cents a piece. We also rode the creeks and killed crows for 10 cents each. We'd also try to enter all the street sports we could at the celebrations. There were three-legged races, sack races, 50 yard or 100 yard dashes and pie-eating contests. We were lucky some of the time and won our share of the money. In the fall of 1927, while we were back visiting in Brown County for Thanksgiving, our house burned down. Nothing was saved and in those days, we didn't carry fire insurance either. Once again we came to know of the generosity of friends and neighbors. Jess Miller and Lester Jennerson contacted everyone for miles around, and each one donated what he could to buy lumber for a new house. By January, the neighbors pitched in and helped us to build a new home. Jess and his son-in-law, Clarence Phillips, drove a team over 4 miles every day to help. I was in the 8th grade at the time and took turns staying at the Miller's or with the teacher, Mrs. Leach. Mom, Dad, and Eugene stayed over at Owen Shedd's while work was going on in the house. At that time, all the farmers milked cows and sold cream, either at the local Cream Station or shipped it in 5, 8, or 10 gallon cans to some produce company like Tilden's or the Equity in Aberdeen. Dad and Mother discovered they had a talent for making good butter and they could make more money by churning their cream and delivering the butter to regular customers. So we churned our cream every week and on Friday or Saturday delivered it to our customers. We must have had 25-30 customers taking an average of from two to four pounds of butter weekly. They paid 50 cents a pound which was usually a little higher than creamery butter price. In 1934, Dad was elected County Commissioner in the District south and west of Dupree. He served in that office until 1948. At that time he moved to Dupree, which was out of the district. He had also served as community committeeman, and county committeeman on the then AAA program (Agricultural). In the early forties he traded places with Cully (Lewis) Miller, who lived on Cherry Creek in a settlement that became known as Little Ireland. The year before he traded and moved, Mother had suffered severe burns on her face, arms and legs, from an explosion in our cellar --one we thought must have been due to a natural gas leakage, as there was water in the cellar at the time. There seemed to be no other explanation. The house did not burn--it was just a flash explosion. After they moved to Dupree, they ran a lunch counter a year in an old building next to the old laundromat. They moved to Sturgis in 1949 where Dad had secured employment as a Nurses Aide at Ft. Meade. Dad worked at Ft. Meade until about 1959, when he retired because of ill- health. He died at Sturgis in June, 1961. Mother continued to live in Sturgis until December of that year, 1961. She came back to Dupree and lived in a trailer in our yard until her death in December 1964. While they lived in Sturgis, they were active in the Presbyterian Church, then mother joined the United Church of Christ in Dupree. During those early years, some of our neighbors were: Norman and Nora Jennerson, and Lester; the Carl Johnson family, Anson Callen family, Les Leake, Vern Oliver's, Pevoy's, the Solomonson's, John and Henry Nagel (they were bachelors and each had a claim), the Tupy family, Zacek's, the Klinchuch family, Diermier's, the Jesse Miller family. Further south and southwest were the Serres' family, Wall's, Herren's, Holmes, Mitchell's, Hensley and Starr, Wuennecke's, Ike Lee's, Floyd Frames, Bolander's and Bowlings, Ritter's, Bridwell's, Longbrake's, Thede Lafferty's, Ed Lafferty, Glen French's, Ohnemus' family, and the Campbell Bros. Owen Shedd's came later, and the Walter C. Miller, Sr. family moved on to the Jake Maca place, also the Pete Christiansen family. I think the one memory that stands out above any of them was Henry Nagel, the bachelor. He used to come to our school picnics and dances, etc. and when he opened the door to come in, he flipped over on his hands and walked around the room that way. He walked everywhere and he said it rested him to walk a ways on his hands. Eugene married Jane Miller in 1933 and Eva married Delbert W. Miller in 1947. [photo - Eugene H. Henderson holding Eugene C. (Gene) Henderson, Emerson Henderson, Ben Henderson - about 1935] [photo - Eugene H. Henderson, Gene Henderson holding Bill Henderson, Ben Henderson] [photo - Ben and Elsie Henderson and Eliza and Walter C. Miller, Sr. Two old Commissioners] EUGENE H. HENDERSON by Eva C. Miller Eugene H. Henderson, son of Ben and Elsie Henderson was born at Groton, South Dakota on June 19, 1913. He came with his parents to Ziebach County in the fall of 1918 where he grew up. On June 24, 1933 he married Jane Miller, daughter of Jesse and Maggie Miller. They lived on the old Oliver place, where they farmed, milked cows and Eugene and his dad built dams under the Range program. Eugene C. (Gene) was born in Dupree on August 14, 1934. They moved to Idaho and lived there a year or two. Harley, their second son was born in Idaho on October 30, 1937. While Harley was a baby, they returned to Dupree and lived on the old Thede Lafferty place. Their house burned in 1940, when Harley was three, and Harley was badly burned on his legs. As before, when the Ben Henderson residence burned, members of the Henderson family knew the wonderful generosity and love of the people in this community. Money, furniture, clothing and food were donated. In February, 1941, after their home burned, Eugene, Vin Jeffries, Ben Olmstead and Cully (Lewis) Miller bought a ranch down on Cherry Creek. The location came to be known as "Little Ireland". A year or so later, Cully and Ben Henderson traded places and Ben and Elsie moved down on Little Ireland, while Cully and his family moved up on Section 1-11-20 where Ben had lived. The same fall Eugene and Jane moved to Little Ireland, on November 19, 1941 their third son, Benjamin Jesse, was born. They lived on Little Ireland until the spring of 1947, at which time they sold the Cherry Creek ranch to Voyle Samuelson and moved to the old Andrew Lee place, southwest of Dupree. Then they moved to Dupree for a year, while he worked for the State Highway Commission. They bought a small acreage from Bill Wartenweiler and built up the place north of Dupree where they still reside. Gene, Harley and Ben all went to Dupree High School. Gene married Elsie Fuhrer, daughter of William and Christine Fuhrer, and they have two sons, Bill and Dale. Both sons graduated from Dupree High School and are living at Dupree--both unmarried. Harley served a term in the Army, stationed in the Philippines, then he went on to school at Aberdeen where he met and married Terri Hayashi from North Dakota. They are now living at Rosholt, South Dakota and he is vice- president of a bank in that area. They have five children--Jimmy (attending SDSU at Brookings), Tracy (a high school senior), Shawn, Audra and Michael. Ben went to college at Brookings and Aberdeen, then served a hitch in the army. He was stationed in Germany. When he came back, he married Audrey Rohrer from Faith. He then finished school in Spearfish and Vermillion and went on to become a doctor. He rejoined the army and served his internship at Fort Sam Houston, then to Ohio and is now at the clinic in Mobridge. Ben and Audrey have two sons, Travis and Josh, still in elementary school. [photo - Jane and Eugene Henderson] [photo - Eugene Henderson Family Ben, Jane, Harley, Eugene, and Gene] HARVEY HENDERSON by Eva C. Miller My uncle, Harvey Henderson, (Dad's youngest brother) his wife, Pauline and two of their four children, Ivan and Alveretta, moved to Ziebach County from Brown County in 1919. Their other two children, Mildred and Milton LeRoy (Bud) were born in Dupree. They lived on the old Philips place west of Dupree and north of the old rodeo grounds. Later, they moved south of Dupree on the Les Leake place. Ivan and Alveretta attended the Whittler school for one year. Harvey played the guitar and mouth organ, Dad played the violin, and together they often played for dances in the area. Harvey's family moved back to Brown County in the mid-1920's. HENSLEY AND STARR RANCH Fletcher Hensley and Leo Starr were well known cowmen in Ziebach County. They came to this area from Oklahoma in 1919. In June 1919 both went to work for the G 6t S Cattle Company located south of Dupree on Cottonwood Creek. In 1920 there was a bad spring storm and Grant Smith had a big cattle loss and decided to sell out. Fletch and Leo bought 160 acres of land which had been previously owned by Louis Fisherman and the rest of G & S cattle, and went into the ranching business on their own. They started their operation with six saddle horses, which they bought for $50.00 ahead, and 13 cows apiece, for $30.00 a head. Since it took money to run the business, Leo worked out for wages and Fletch took care of the ranch. They branded (Diamond Cross). Fletch and Leo operated this ranch for twenty-seven years before moving in to Dupree in 1948. On the ranch, they built a nice two bedroom house with large living room, kitchen and bathroom. There was a big sun porch on the front and the back of the house. They had a good root cellar and garage. Their home was very well kept and they entertained friends frequently and were well known for their hospitality and Sunday dinners. Fellows who worked for them said no matter what kind of work was lined up, there was always a delicious dinner on the table when the work was done. When they went to town they were always generous spenders and enjoyed having a good time with their many acquaintances. Ralph Hensley later came to live with the bachelor cattlemen and he worked for the CBS horse outfit for a long time. Ralph was a brother of Fletch. Fletch and Leo were lifelong Masons. They eventually bought 13 quarters of land adjoining their original ranch. They sold out to William Ullman in 1953. In 1972 Gene and Effie Hunt bought the spread from Ullmann and have since that time built an elaborate ranch home with large horse training facilities, where they raise and sell quarter horses. [photo - Back: O. B. Wheeler and Fletch Hensley. Front: Leo Starr] FLETCHER HENSLEY Fletcher Hensley was born September 6, 1885 in Taney County, Missouri and moved from Missouri to Oklahoma in 1904. He was a part of a large family of 7 brothers and 2 sisters. Fletch lived in Mooreland, Oklahoma until 1914 and resided for five years in New Mexico and Texas. On June 18, 1919 he moved to Dupree where he spent his life ranching with his friend, Leo Starr. In 1948 he retired from ranch work. His last four years were spent at Belle Fourche. He passed away in February 1966 and was buried at Mooreland, Oklahoma. ALFRED (HAPPY) and LILLIAN HERREN Alfred (Happy) Herren was born December 10, 1924, one of six children, to Oscar L. and Gena A. Knudson Herren, in Dupree. He attended the Sunnybrook School and following his graduation from Dupree High School, served in the U.S. Army until April 13, 1947. Lillian Vrooman was born April 4, 1928 at the home of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Roy Vrooman; Muzzle Johnson was the attending mid-wife. Lillian attended the Johnson and the Busy Bee rural schools in Ziebach County. She attended the Eagle Butte High School. Lillian and Happy were married on June 24, 1948 by Reverend Haun and they lived on the home place of Happy's parents, which is still the family farm today. Lillian and Happy were the parents of four children: Mike, born March 9, 1949; he is married to Patricia Brehmer and they have two children, Dustin and Shawna. Mike and Tricia live at Lantry, South Dakota and Mike works for the Tri-County Water Association. Merle, born December ii, 1951, is a graduate of Dupree High School and attended Black Hills State College; he is married to Vivian Carson of Des Moines, Iowa and they have three children, Kimberly, Chris, and Geana. Merle and his family live on and manage the family farm and ranch south of Dupree. Sonja, born September 19, 1953, also graduated from Dupree High School and attended BHSC for two years. She is married to Tom Zebroski and they have two children, Shannon and Derek. Tom is employed in the oil fields and they live in Gillette, Wyoming. Jim, born June 2, 1955, attended Sunnybrook School and graduated from DHS. He is married to the former Peggy Northcutt of Kansas City, Missouri. They have two children, Sabrina and Alfred. Jim works in the Homestake Gold Mine in Lead, South Dakota and they live near Spearfish, South Dakota. Happy passed away on May 8, 1980 on his ranch south of Dupree and Lillian is currently residing there, when she is not travelling about visiting her grandchildren. [photo - Lillian and Happy Herren’s children: Merle, Sonja, Mike and Jim] [photo - 25th Anniversary, Lillian and Happy Herren] GEORGE HERREN FAMILY George Herren was born June 6, 1922 at Dupree, the son of Oscar and Gena Herren. He lived on the family farm all of his life and attended school in Dupree, graduating in 1939. He was married to Violet Anderson on June 18, 1946 at Sturgis, South Dakota. They farmed 10 miles southwest of Dupree until 1959 when they moved their family 15 miles south of Dupree, where he was semi-retired. He died in December 1975. His wife, Violet, now lives in Dupree. Their children are: Robert, living in Rapid City; John, living on the family farm south of Dupree; Vicky, at home with her mother; Mrs. Mark (Twyla) Jochim, living at Lantry; and Rhonda and Patty, living in Dupree with their mother. OSCAR HERREN FAMILY by Dorothy Herren Serr My parents, Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Herren were among the hardy pioneers. The stories they told of the early days were very similar to those told by the other pioneers. Life wasn't easy but it was rewarding. Dad was born at Elk Point, South Dakota and while still a young boy, the family moved to Wheeler, South Dakota. Their first homes were made of sod. In the spring of 1917 he homesteaded twenty-two miles southeast of Dupree. His home was a one room tarpaper covered shack. At the age of 30 he felt it was his patriotic duty to help fight for his country during World War I, so he enlisted in the United States Army on October 3, 1917. He was discharged June 9, 1919 at Camp Dodge, Iowa. During this time he spent eleven months overseas, the last six months being spent in the Army of Occupation. Mother was born and lived at Geddes, South Dakota. She completed the eighth grade in a rural school. Following her graduation she took teacher's courses in Springfield and Academy, South Dakota, and taught school for a number of years. My parents were married in early 1920. Dad then worked at the Meat Packing plant in Sioux City, Iowa for several months. They then returned to their homestead in South Dakota, in the spring of 1921. Our family was blessed with six children. We lost a brother at the age of five years and a sister at the age of five days while we lived on the homestead. In the early 1930's Dad bought land seven miles northwest of the homestead as school was a problem and he felt the need for more land for farming and ranching. He built our home beside what we call the Cherry Creek road. Here we spent many years enjoying the good and tolerating the bad, such as the dirty 30's. Bud, Happy, Doris and I graduated from DHS. Doris and I also attended college, thanks to our parents. Many sacrifices had to be made to keep kids in school. Sorrow has struck many times during my sixty years. In addition to the loss of a brother and sister in the 20's, my father passed away in 1957 and my mother in 1976; also my brother George (Bud) in 1975, and Alfred (Happy) in 1980. [photo - Oscar and Gena Herren family. Dorothy, Alfred, Doris and George] [photo - Gena and Oscar Herren] THE GARY HERSEY'S by Fay Hersey I (Fay Hersey) am the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ira T. Williams of Ekalaka, Montana. I attended country grade school then bearded in Ekalaka for high school. I attended National College of Business, then was working for Manor House Inc. in Rapid City, South Dakota when I decided to visit a girl friend in Isabel. When I got to Isabel it was decided that I should have a blind date that night. That is how Gary and I met. Gary is the son of Charles and Ruth Hersey. He has spent most of his life near Dupree. He went to college in Spearfish and worked construction a few years. Gary and I were married October 9, 1971. When we got back from our honeymoon I learned I was a farmer's wife for sure. Gary had hired a crew to haul bales but very few bales had been hauled, so we went to work. Gary claims most people get married and leave home but when he got married his folks left home. They moved into a trailer home near us. December 11, 1972 our son Charles Ira was born. That was some Christmas present! Then August 7, 1974 (the year of the sod web worms) our daughter Rita Fay was born and made our family complete. 1975 was a wet spring and the snow deep. Gary and I worked 24 hours a day, it seemed like, during calving that year. The winter of 1977-78 was hard. When the snow started melting that spring, the creeks were still choked with snow, so water went where it could. The cows stood around on islands for several days. Winter of 1978-79 was hard again, but we got a lot of hay that summer. In 1979-80, winter forgot to come and the summer was a hot one. We had a fair grain crop in 1980 until we got hailed out. One good thing about a dry year. Nothing to keep us home, so we took the kids to Yellowstone Park on our first vacation since we were married. We are a typical farm family of western South Dakota. We have our heels dug in and are waiting for next year. That good crop, high grain price, a lot of hay and good cattle prices. [photo - Gary Hersey Family] FAMILY HISTORY OF CHARLES G. and RUTH V. HERSEY by Fay Hersey Charles G. Hersey was born in Owatonna, Minnesota in 1903, and moved with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. James Hersey, to a homestead in Ziebach County in 1910. Charles was one of the students in the first school started in Ziebach County. He spent his youth breaking horses to ride and also broke teams. Ruth Viola Stevens, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Stevens, was born in Scranton, Iowa in 1905. She lived in Charles Mix County, South Dakota until her parents and sisters moved to Dupree in 1919. Following graduation from the first four-year accredited high school in Dupree, she got her teaching certificate. Ruth taught at Star Prairie, Whittler, and Cloverleaf schools and a portion of a term at the Main School. Charlie and Ruth were married on September 2, 1927 and following their marriage, Charlie worked on the dray. He later went to work for the Standard Oil Company. Hersey's bought a house in Dupree and started their family: Charles "Dick"--1929; Lova--1931; Ruth--1934; Charleen-- 1935; and Gary--1940. Dr. Frank H. Creamer delivered all five children. Charlie quit working for Standard Oil and a succession of moves northwest of Dupree followed. The older children attended the Main School. Times were hard in the 1930's and like several others, Charlie went to work on WPA. One favorite family story is when the girls got snow boots for Christmas and they proclaimed, "Now we know there is a Santa Claus because the folks couldn't have afforded these". World War II came along and Charlie had to register for the draft. When he came home he told Ruth he did not have to go because he was 4F-- four kids and a farmer! They settled down on their farm near Dupree in 1944. Milking cows and raising a big garden kept them busy, in addition to their regular farm duties. One time Ruth had to help Charlie bind corn. She was driving the tractor while Charlie rode the grain binder. The clutch on the tractor stuck and Ruth threw Charlie backwards, head over heels off the binder. Though he probably had a lot of bad thoughts in his head, he didn't dare say a word or he'd have lost his driver! Both Charlie and Ruth have remained active in church and community affairs. He was member of the school board, the County FHA Board, ASCS Precinct Committee, Weed Board, Crop Improvement Association and is treasurer of St. Phillip's Episcopal Church. Ruth, has at one time or another, belonged to the St. Phillip's Guild, Rebekah's, the Lone Tree Extension Club, No Na Me Bridge Club and the Beta Sigma Phi Sorority. She also served as guardian of funds for welfare recipients for many years. The 1960's brought retirement to the Hersey household. Charlie still likes to work in the blacksmith shop and helps to maintain the Episcopal Church. Ruth does a lot of hand work. Dick, their eldest son, has worked in construction, in the oil fields, and in various mines as a mechanics foreman. He and his wife, Hazel, are living in Grants, New Mexico. Lova Kienzle's five children are Jean, June, Julie, Kevin, and Janette. She lived in the Black Hills area and died in 1972. Ruth married Herb Schutz. She worked as a hairdresser, then returned to college. Her work for the Women in Violence was recognized statewide 10-23-82. Charleen Peterson's five children are Scott, Robin, Alien, Brian and Colleen. Charleen had MS and died in 1976. Gary broke his arm when he was five and it was while resetting it that Dr. Creamer said he wasn't going to take the cast off until the day Gary got married. At age 31 Gary married Fay Williams; their two children are Charles and Rita. Gary and his family are living on and operating his parents farm just out of Dupree. [photo - The Hersey’s in 1948. Back row: Ruth, Lova, Richard, Charlene. Front row: Ruth, Gary and Charles] JAMES and WILHELMINA HERSEY by Medora Hersey Baumgart My father, James W. Hersey, was born in Owatonna, Minnesota in 1874, where his parents ran a roadhouse on the river. My mother, Wilhelmina Luhmann, was born in Germany in 1870. She came to Minnesota with her parents at the age of 3. They were married on September 3, 1900. Two children were born in Owatonna-Ann, who lives in Richland, Washington and Charles G., who lives in Spearfish, South Dakota. In 1981 they celebrated their 54th wedding anniversary and moved to Spearfish the same year. In 1904, they moved to Langford, South Dakota. While there four more children were added to the family--Hattie Clark of Pollock, South Dakota; Henry F. of Springdale, Arkansas; Louis J. of Bozeman, Montana; and Medora Baumgart of Owatonna, Minnesota. In 1910 Ziebach County opened for homesteading. Dad applied for and was given the opportunity to acquire land near Isabel. He took his team of mules with him to Isabel and plowed the sod to make his sod house and other buildings. He built the "soddy" into the side of a hill so it was also a "dugout''. A hole was dug and the frame house was built in the hole; sod was laid up at the ends and front of the house. Ground level at the front was just under the window sills and a walk was dug at floor level to the door of the house. The back of the house was just above ground level; the cellar was a little further into the hill. Talk about warm houses! We heated the entire house with the kitchen range. I was only eleven weeks old when we moved into the "soddy" December 23, 1910. In 1911 the famous drought hit and all the homesteaders found life pretty tough going. To support his family, Jim Hersey took whatever jobs came his way. In the beginning he "located" homesteaders. With his team of mules and buggy he would meet the trains at Isabel and take the travelers out to wherever their homesteads were, according to the land descriptions they showed him. He would find their surveyors' corner markings, and helped them in planning where to put their houses. I don't remember what he charged for this service but it helped to keep groceries on the table for his wife and six children. There was hardly anything in the line of jobs "Jim" would not or could not do. He worked for the sheep ranchers; he went with a crew that built grain elevators in town such as Selby, Glenham and other towns along the Milwaukee Railroad; he farmed, painted houses, and hauled coal from the lignite mines and sold it in town. Dad was appointed the first chairman of the School Board in 1911 and helped to construct the first school house. The first teacher at one of the schools in the area was a Miss Eck and the Little School where the Hersey's went was taught by Mr. Calloway, who also had a homestead in the area. Calloway would take some of his meals with our family quite often. While living in the Isabel area, two more babies were born to the family--Alathea Holzman, The Dalles, Oregon and Wilhelmina (or Billie as she was always called)--now living in Reno, Nevada. We moved again in 1916--a bit further west into a log house. There were three springs on that place with the best tasting water I have ever sampled. Our school there was 31/2 miles away by horseback or team and buggy. It was to be named the Beehive School because it was built on the Beebe land. We later moved onto a farm 5 miles west of Dupree. We kids attended Lone Tree School and then on to Dupree High School. Mother and Dad bought a house in the northeast section of Dupree that was known as the Brende house. Dad served the community for many years as Justice of the Peace; he always had a great vegetable garden and took care of the cemetery. My parents had been married for 56 years when Mother passed away in November, 1956. Dad lived another seven years. He had been honored as Pioneer King at the Golden Jubilee in Dupree in 1960 as the oldest resident. Most families had to provide their own entertainment. Dad's favorite way to spend the winter evenings was to read aloud to the family while Mother and the girls sewed, knitted, crocheted, or pieced quilts and the boys played or worked on their own special projects such as fixing bridles, harnesses, and weaving cinches (it is called macrame now). This practice made lovers of good reading of all of us. Charles G. is the only Hersey who remained in the area. [photo - Hersey Soddy] [photo - 1911 Pioneer school, also known as Little School] A. F. HIGGINS The Higgins home became the "Gretna Green" for many early day marriages, as it was located just over the line in Ziebach County, and it was far easier to get a license in Dupree, the distance being less than one-fourth that of the trip to Sturgis. It was not uncommon to have a wedding party, complete with minister, arrive unannounced, and the ceremony usually proceeded with the Higgins family as interested witnesses. A. F. Higgins waited for the railroad, arriving in April 1911 with his wife, Susan, and their six children, to occupy their homestead east of Faith. Later a daughter, Ethel, and her husband (Charles Williams) resided there. A son, George, and his wife (the former Florence Bakewell) lived on an adjoining ranch; the other daughter, Belle, lives in Faith; one son is in California; and two sons are in Oklahoma. Belle Higgins Isaacs (widow of Bill Isaacs), and their daughter, Carol, both followed the teaching profession. Among Belle's most vivid recollections are: "The school taught by a neighbor, Ethel Huston, in her claim shack; my Dad taking the family to a 4th of July celebration at Timber Lake, in a high-wheeled, hard-rubber tired, Reo auto which he had brought with him from Oklahoma. That Reo was quite a novelty as there were few cars then; the trip to Mott, North Dakota in the fall of 1911 so that the older children could attend high school--they drove through, taking furniture and livestock. The "train" consisted of two wagons, a single buggy, several horses and cows. When night came, they camped and slept on the ground, feeling, as one man put it, "Anywhere I hang my hat is Home Sweet Home to me." Mr. Higgins passed away in July, 1936 at the age of 76 and his wife passed away in October, 1951 at the age of 86. The following family members are still living as of April 1982: Mr. Raymond Higgins, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (age 90); Mr. George Higgins, Sturgis, South Dakota (age 84); Mrs. Belle (Higgins) Isaacs, Faith, South Dakota (age 81). HIGH HAWK High Hawk married Bear Woman/Edith (1847-1917), the daughter of Fire Cloud and Brings Her the Earth. Edith was the mother of John/Joseph Makes It Long (1870-1960). High Hawk was also married to Her Iron House, the mother of Alexander Makes It Long/High Hawk (1878-1942); James E. High Hawk/Shot At (1884-1966); and Jonah Makes It Long(1889-1955). In December of 1890, this family went toward Pine Ridge with the Big Foot Band. High Hawk and his wife, Her Iron House, were killed in the Massacre at Wounded Knee. The four sons survived. Some of the Wounded Knee survivors stayed at Pine Ridge, such as the Holy Rocks and the Stands, relatives of the High Hawks. Other survivors returned to the Cheyenne River and Cherry Creek. The High Hawk and Makes It Long brothers returned to a valley on the Cheyenne River, later known as Bridger, and called Takini meaning 'survivors'. The High Hawk allotment, made later, was one mile east of the school, on the flat. Grandmother Buffalo Pretty Head had almost one section. John Long married Leg Eagle/Mary in 1902. He was a minister. John adopted his nephew, Isaac Long, when he was one year old. Alex High Hawk and Mary or Molly Red Horse High Hawk (daughter of Nellie Blue Haired Horse and George Red Horse) had three children: Esther (Mrs. Charles Dog With Horns); Percy High Hawk who married Delphine Brings White; and Isaac Long. James E. High Hawk married Rosa Red Horse in 1915. One of their children survived: Hannah (1915-1964; Mrs. Lawrence Curley). Hannah attended Santee Normal School, then under Riggs. James High Hawk married Virginia Conroy (1901-1979) of Pine Ridge in 1934. Virginia was the cook for Bridger School for 35 years, doing all of the baking by herself. J. E. High Hawk rode for Ledger LaBrecque, a French-Canadian, who bull whacked with Louis LaPlante and sons. Ledger's ranch was across from Bridger, below the Four Corner Bridge. He is listed as one of the Cowboys of 1902. He served as a Councilman and was the only big operator in horses and cattle in Bridger and people looked to him for money and help. Jonah/Jonas Makes It Long, in 1922, married Nellie Alice Sits Down Talking. Their children are: Bernice, Theresa, Emerson and Wilford Long. [photo - John Makes It Long (SDSHS)] [photo - Makes It Long, circa 1895, as an Indian Scout (SDSHS)] ALEX and JOHANNA HINZMAN by Louise Hinzman Bringman and Paul Hinzman Our parents, Alex and Johanna (Radack) Hinzman came to Ziebach County in 1912 to establish their homestead south of Eagle Butte, on the SW 1/4 Of Section 3 Range 24 Township 11. Fourteen families and bachelors came from Avon, South Dakota on an immigrant train, which carried their livestock, farm supplies and household goods. The families who came were the Emil Hinzman's, Alex Hinzman's, Emanuel Hinzman's, Emanuel Buchholz, Jake Pritzkau's, Emanuel Pritzkau's, and Rudolph Berndt's. The single men were Henry Giedd, Ed Giedd, Emanuel Hebner, Jack Burbick, Emanuel Brokofsky, Ephraim Berndt and Ted Hinzman. All of these people settled on Township 11, Range 24. They began building their homestead shacks on their individual quarters of land. Family claim shacks were as big as 20' by 24', but many bachelor shacks were no more than 10' by 12'. Most families either had a dug out cellar or a cave, a refuge from storms and useful cool storage. Mother and children came in May 1912, because their two year old son, Harold, was recovering from burns. Louise was 6 months old. Water was dipped from natural ponds until one family dug a well for use by all of the homesteaders. Breaking sod and plowing fire guards was done by helping each other. As they were plowing fire guards around their own quarters, they decided to plow for a widow neighbor lady, who wasn't at home at the time. When she discovered it, their charity wasn't appreciated. She demanded that they turn all of the sod back with a hand shovel. There were no line fences then. When the cows would get out, they would go back to the Eagle Butte stockyards where they had been unloaded. They must have been homesick too. Soon a school was built by the men of the community. The one room frame building was on the quarter owned by Henry Giedd and later was our permanent home site. The Giedd school continued to serve the children of that area for over 40 years. Pioneer life was hard for the wives and mothers. With a neighbor on the next quarter the ladies often walked for a visit. Social get togethers were frequent. We wonder how they accommodated the crowds in their small frame homes. A traveling Baptist minister would come for a time and hold services either at the schoolhouse or in homes. He always stayed with the families. Mother told of having to arrange sleeping space for the minister, a visiting family of four and our own family in our small two room house. Louise slept in a dresser drawer and Harold on top of a trunk. Cots were set up and everyone had a comfortable night's sleep. A close bond developed in their small community because of the struggles and sorrows they shared. Mother told of attending to the burial preparations for a baby nephew, Gordon, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Emil Hinzman. The mother handed her the baby and she bathed and dressed him while the men got the little wooden casket. Mother and Dad put the baby in his coffin in the cave to keep cool before the funeral. His grave is on the quarter of land now owned by Mary Hinzman. Fourteen months were required as "proving up" time on the homesteads. Because of the drought and hardships, most of the families returned to Avon after fulfilling their obligations. Our parents moved back to Avon in 1913 and lived there until 1924. Then we moved back to make our permanent home on the Henry Giedd place. More than a quarter of land was needed to make a living. Our original homestead house is still standing there. Irvin and Paul were both born while we lived at Avon. Irvin died in January 1926 when he was 10 years old, and our father died three years later, in January 1929. Harold married Mary Deirmeier of Avon in 1936, and they had two children. Louise married Earl Bringman in 1951 and they had one daughter. Paul married Shirley Mader in 1948 and they have eight children. Harold, Paul and Louise all lived on ranches in the same area until they respectively moved to Eagle Butte to live, but keeping their ranches. Louise's daughter and son-in-law, Pauline and Gene Webb own hers now. Mother passed away in 1968 and Harold in 1971. EMANUAL HINZMAN FAMILY by Pansy Hinzman Hebner My Dad, E. W. Hinzman of Avon, South Dakota, went to Eagle Butte to homestead in 1910. His homestead was about eight miles southeast of Eagle Butte, in Ziebach County. The description of the homestead was S. W. 1/2 of Section 11, Township 11 and Range 24. After he built a homestead shack he came after Mother and us three children, Clarence, Sylvia and me, Pansy. Our stay at the homestead wasn't too long, but I was too young to remember how long it was. Because of the failing health of Mother, we moved back to Avon, South Dakota. Mother passed away soon afterwards and was buried at Danzig Cemetery at Avon, South Dakota. In 1916 Dad married Emilia Aldenger of Turtle Lake, North Dakota and in 1917 we moved back to the homestead at Eagle Butte, South Dakota. Dad bought more land and raised cattle. Didn't do much farming as it wasn't a farming country. Here two of my half sisters were born. They were Ruth and Mabel. Clarence, Sylvia and I attended country school there. It was hard to get teachers and if they got one, sometimes they didn't finish out the term. In 1920 Dad bought land about two miles north of Eagle Butte in Dewey County. After a house and some other buildings were built, we lived there. My other two half sisters were born here; Iona and Viola. It was here we lived and went to Eagle Butte town school, graduated, and later married and left home. I married Albert Hebner of Avon, South Dakota; Sylvia, Clifford Ralston; Clarence, Marie Angel (first marriage), Mabel Heideman (second marriage); Ruth, Lee Garrett; Mable, Clarence Sporer; Iona, Melvin Bringman; all of Eagle Butte area. Viola went to California and was later married there to Robert McDowell. Dad and Mother lived there until 1945 when they retired and moved to Eagle Butte. Dad passed away in 1958 and Mother in 1962. Both are buried in Eagle Butte cemetery. MABLE MAYNARD HEIDEMAN HINZMAN Mable Maynard, daughter of Claude and Gertrude Preston Maynard, was born in Faulk County, May 24, 1917. She moved with her parents and family in 1919 to Ziebach County, 9 1/2 miles northwest of Dupree. She attended Lone Tree School and graduated from Dupree High School. After finishing high school, she worked as a waitress at the Larson Cafe in Dupree before her marriage to Loren Heideman of Dupree on September 12, 1936. Loren and Mable lived in the little house beside the old Legion Hall. On September 22, 1942, Loren was killed in a car accident near Reva, South Dakota. On February 24, 1945, Mable married Clarence J. Hinzman of Eagle Butte and moved to Eagle Butte. Clarence worked for the State Highway Department. They became a family of seven as Clarence had a daughter, Lila. Jerry Hinzman was born to the couple on April 2, 1947 to complete the family of eight. Clarence became ill with emphysema and spent ten years in hospitals or at home on oxygen. He died on December 6, 1965. The family grew up and married and all have children growing up. Richard and Geneva live in Indianapolis, Indiana. Their two sons are -- John, in the Navy, and Richard, in the Marines. Lila and Bud (John) Sever live in Phoenix, Arizona. Their son Dennis lives in Oklahoma and has three children... Chuckie (Clarence John) passed away in 1966 of rabies. Sheri graduates from high school this year and Debra is now a teenager at 13. George was killed in an airplane accident September 3, 1977. His wife, Paulette, and children -- Todd, Jeff, Carmen and Mike -- live in Eagle Butte. Janet and husband, Otis Fullmer, live at Virginia Beach, Virginia. They have two daughters, Sandy, 18 and Susan, 17. Mable Lorene and husband, Duane Mahen, live in North Dakota with their children Julene, 17, and Brian, 14. Jerry Hinzman and his wife, Barbara, live in Mitchell, South Dakota. Jerry works for Old Home Bread and Barb at the hospital. Their son, Richard, is 10 years old. Mable lives in Eagle Butte, where she has been the City Water and Sewer bookkeeper and is presently the City Finance Officer. [photo - Mable and Clarence Hinzman] [photo - Mable Maynard Heideman Hinzman. 1935 D. H. S. graduate] FRANK A. HOFFMAN Frank A. Hoffman came to Dupree in November 1914 and lived at the Dupree Hotel. He was Assistant Cashier at Dupree State Bank. He married Clara Powell in Dupree on August 22, 1917. He has one son, Walter H. Hoffman. JOHN LEVI HOLLOWAY written by Regina "Murphy" Holloway John Levi Holloway was born to Charles and Ida Holloway on August 26, 1910. He was born just east of Eagle Butte, South Dakota, about two miles. He was the first white child born on the reservation. He was also born in a tent. John went to school in Eagle Butte. He left school in his senior year as his Dad was sick so he and his brother Glen, took over the farm work. He worked for Lee Robley on the Moreau River for a few years. He went to work for the Diamond A Cattle Company in 1933 and worked for them until 1939 or 1940. He then started for himself. He and his brother Glen, did a lot of haying and building dams with horses for other people. John and Glen were in partnership for a good many years. They divided when they lost their big lease. He married Regina ''Murphy'' Tibbs on December 1, 1941. They made their home just south of Parade, South Dakota for a good many years. We had one son, John C. born April 8, 1944. John was a rancher, cattle buyer and Rodeo Contractor. He passed away May 31, 1977 at Eagle Butte, South Dakota on the ranch just 1/2 mile from where he was born. We have five grandchildren. HOLLOW HORN and WHITE WOLF According to the records of the family, the first known generation began around 1800 with Hollow Horn. He married Shell Woman and from their marriage came 2 girls: Big Girl and Medicine Comes Out, and 2 boys: Lone Dog and Black Wolf. Black Wolf married Chief Woman whose parents were Liverwood and Sings. From Black Wolf's marriage he had only one son, Sunkmanituska or his English name, James White Wolf. He was born in 1848 and died in 1926. James White Wolf married Susie Causes the Wind around 1869. Susie's parents were Bark Face and Wind Blows on Her Face. James and Susie White Wolf had five sons: John Hollow Horn (1871- 1950); Four or Swanny (1874-1896); Porcupine or David Johnson White Wolf 11879-1965); and Wounded Horse or Thomas White Wolf born in 1886. One of their sons died an infant while they were in Canada after the Custer Battle. JOHN HOLLOW HORN John was the father of Jacob or Jake Hollow Horn; Susie; Lucy; and Charles Hollow Horn. Susie married Joseph Widow (1900-1933). They had three children. After Joseph died, Susie married Phillip Knife and had three more children. Lucy married Charles Inamongst. They were the parents of Marvin and Edward Inamongst and Elizabeth (Mrs. Samson One Skunk). Charles Hollow Horn married Helen Widow. Their children are: Emmett Hollow Horn; Alice (Bowker); Lydia (Mrs. Tony Roach); and Sadie or Annie (Gardner). [photo - Orpha White Wolf and children] DAVID JOHNSON WHITE WOLF Johnson White Wolf married in 1901 to Emma Blue Shield. Seven boys and two girls were born from that marriage: Henry (1901-19); Eddie (1905-7); John (1907); William (1908-20); James (1912-22); Steven (1919- 21); Moses, born in 1922; Mary (1915-19); and Julie who died as an infant. Moses White Wolf married Orpha Red Horse in 1942. They were the parents of seven children: Jaycelle; Sullivan; Sadie; Burtis; Elvira; Jackie; and Lanley who died as an infant. Relatives that were killed during the Wounded Knee Massacre were Black Hawk, Cheyenne Woman and White Calf Woman. CALVIN and RUTH HOLMES by Margaret Holmes Cox Lizzie (Eliza) Elliott, a dressmaker, left her native Michigan in 1885 or 1886 with her two brothers to come "out west" to take claims in the northeast part of Charles Mix County. It was about that same time that an ambitious young man, born and reared in the Badger State at Mineral Point, Wisconsin, had finished his apprenticeship as a blacksmith and he, too, was attracted to the new country by the opportunity to obtain cheap land. Harry Holmes arrived in Aurora County in 1883. Lizzie and Harry Holmes were married May 25, 1887 at White Lake, Dakota Territory. Calvin Hawley Holmes was born May 10, 1892 at Oacoma, South Dakota. He was their fourth child and second son. Oacoma was then Lower Brule Indian Agency and Harry Holmes was employed as a blacksmith for the government and after that he ran a shop for himself in Oacoma for about 25 years, prior to moving to Chamberlain, South Dakota about 1919. Calvin H. (Cad) Holmes-grew up in Oacoma and attended public school there until about seventh grade. Dad apparently worked for ranchers after leaving formal schooling. He had accumulated livestock and had homesteaded 15 to 18 miles south- southeast of Dupree in 1917, just prior to being drafted into the Army, April 26, 1918. He was shipped overseas June 4, 1918 with the 355 Inf. Supply Co., 89 Division and served as a teamster, driving supply wagons to the front lines in Germany. He was discharged from the army May 31, 1919. Ruth Ellen Clark was the oldest child of seven born to Rose Mary (Bustorf) Stone and Herbert Clark. Rose had been left an orphan and adopted, but later was close to her blood-relatives. Rose and Herbert Clark were both born in Iowa near Anthon and Lucky Valley. They were married at Correctionville, Iowa in March of 1900. They lived there until about 1909 when they moved to near Reliance, South Dakota where Ruth grew up and attended Cooper School. (We were able to take her to see it in 1980.) When Ruth Clark turned 18, she left home to seek her fortune. She went back to visit at Correctionville, Iowa and worked in that area for a time, then at Watertown, South Dakota. Still later she worked at a hotel-cafe in Oacoma, where she met Cad Holmes. They were married the fall of 1921, at the Harry Holmes residence, Chamberlain. The end of April, 1922, Cad, Ruth and Margaret Holmes and Mabel Clark traveled from Oacoma to Dupree, South Dakota to the claim. Aunt Mabel recently wrote, "You were probably 2 1/2 months old; we all sat in the only seat the Ford truck had. I don't believe it even had a top. We lived in a one-room shack for a few weeks. By winter your Dad had put another larger house onto the one we had lived in and made improvements and gotten a phonograph." (The different accounts of the Chase Post Office building were of interest to me because Dad and Mother always told us that the main part of the house we grew up in was that same building.) I stayed with Laura and Lorraine Eddy at Zimmerman's, then later with "Grandma Davis" to attend school in Dupree in 1927-1928. It was in 1928 when decisions were made about a school for our area. Tipperary school was moved south to about one mile west of Wall's to accommodate Walls, Herrens, Baileys, Serres, Bennetts, and Zimmermans. Wayne and I attended Sunnybrook School, as it was called after it was moved. There were lean times during the drought and depression but dad and mother worked hard and we never went without necessities. We were proud of our new outfits that mother sewed of flour sacks! She did a lot of preserving, canning meat, and made many a large brick of cheese. I can remember when there were as many as four hired hands in summer. There were winters when hired hands were willing to stay for their room and board and smoking tobacco. I remember well the summer of 1929 and the "terrific prairie fire”. My memory is that that fire came to within a mile of our buildings, burning into "Geesey Draw" when the wind switched and quickly took it to the Glen French ranch. Dad had pulled water to near the house on the stoneboat to be used on the fire if necessary! I remember the grasshoppers and how they followed the shade around buildings and fence posts, etc. I remember a potato field of Ted Lee's on the Davis place, how nice it was when we went through on our way to a school meeting at the Rosene School. When we returned, the plants were completely stripped as a swarm of grasshoppers had moved in that afternoon. I entered Asbury Hospital School of Nursing in Minneapolis and graduated in 1943. Bill (R. W.) Cox and I were married in June of 1944. We have six children and 13 grandchildren. We have lived in rural Reeker, Minnesota since November, 1947. We have been most fortunate to pursue our hobby of travelling; our most recent trip was to the Holy Land in 1979. Wayne lives on the ranch where he is still maintaining a herd of sheep and cattle. He married Audrey, the daughter of Otis ‘Beanie' and Alice Olson Shannon. They have four children: Jon, Donna, David, and Carla. Jon is married to Toni Farlee and lives on the old Eddy place; Donna is married to Jim Dunbar and they own the Phillip's 66 Service Station in Dupree; David graduated from high school in 1981 and helps his dad run the ranch; Carla attends Dupree High School. Dad died in November, 1956 after a brief retirement of only four years. Mother is currently residing at the Rivercrest Manor in Pierre, South Dakota. BASEBALL and BANKING 1919-1936 by Kathleen Hommedal Smith THE PITCHER AND THE SCHOOL MARM April, 1917 Slope County Abstract Company c/o Amidon State Bank Amidon, North Dakota "---therefore, Mr. Hommedal, we confirm your employment at $25 per month and the baseball team will pay you $150 monthly June through September. We anticipate your arrival shortly after graduation from the Red Wing, Minnesota high school. Enclosed please find our $9.00 draft to cover your trainfare.'' May, 1917 Rocky Mountain Employment Service Denver, Colorado Dear Miss Corbett: "--and we regret to inform you there are no current openings for teachers on our Montana school list, but there is a position available in September at the Amidon, North Dakota high school. You are well qualified for it. The remuneration is $20.00 per month September through May and a room at the hotel is part of the contract. We estimate train travel to Amidon from your Winamac, Indiana home to be two days and two nights. We await your early reply." In this manner the lives and careers of Herman R. Hommedal(l9 years old) and Gladys Corbett (21 years old) intertwined in Amidon, North Dakota, where baseball took priority over the fledgling abstract-banking career of my father, but not priority over his glances at the new Indiana school marm! In fact, he and other single players lived at the hotel, too, but allegedly on a somewhat restricted separate floor from that of my mother and several girl friends. Two years later, after a short stint in the army, Dad's pitching reputation reached Dupree where baseball likewise dominated the summers. In early June of 1919 he arrived to join the Dupree team. As a now "experienced banker” he was employed by Mr. Karley at the Dupree State Bank. That December wedding bells rang in Minneapolis (the Minnesota relatives wouldn't dare travel to Dupree in winter for those kid's wedding) and the first of seventeen eventful years in the prairie town was begun. They moved into the second floor of the Wenger house. Mother taught sixth grade and later worked at the Register of Deeds office. In the mid 20's she campaigned and was elected Register of Deeds and served the then allowed two terms. This period was interspersed by the advent of myself and my brother, Herman, Jr. She also was very active as guardian-leader of the Campfire Girls, which included exciting camping in the Black Hills. From this she was nicknamed "Guardie". For some years Dad had soloed at early Mass in the Catholic Church, then came over to our Lutheran Church for another anthem or solo. Later we joined the Congregational Church located conveniently across the street from our house, the former Keller Pool Hall removed from it's original location downtown. I was distinguished by having grown up in a pool hall! In 1936 Father sold his controlling shares of the Farmers State Bank to R. W. Douglass and bought the Union National Bank in Rochester, Minnesota, so ending those eventful Dupree years (14 for me) which I well recall, and about which mother and dad remembered with fondness and some tall tales. After selling the Union National Bank in 1949, my parents, brother and sister, Maralyn (also born in Dupree) moved to Rush City, Minnesota. There my father presided over the banks in Rush City and nearby Pine City. He received Minnesota recognition for 50 years in banking before retiring to Florida in 1967. He died in 1975 and mother in 1980. RAY and EDITH HORTON written by Inez Eliason In the early part of 1917 my parents, Ray and Edith Horton, were informed that they had lost their lease on the farm they were operating in Custer County, Nebraska. They got information that there was land released for filing on homesteads in South Dakota so Dad made a trip to South Dakota and filed on a section of land. On February 13, 1918 they had an auction sale. Then in March of 1918 my father loaded an emigrant car with furniture, 3 horses and a cow and a few laying hens. Newton Brummett also used part of the emigrant car on the same train as he had the George Davis homestead rented. A. A. Karley owned it at that time. Newton and Dad hauled their belongings to that place. On the 4th day of May, Mother, my uncle Lewis Horton, my two sisters Bertha, Marcella, and I started for our new home in South Dakota. We had a Model T Ford and a Ford truck made over from a Roadster. The truck was loaded with a few last minute supplies. After looking into the business of the homestead the folks were informed that the land would not be designated for six months or a year. So they looked around and found a quarter one half mile from school then cleaned the homestead shack and moved in. This place was one half mile from George Davis homestead. Then work began on our house that was the home the folks lived in for fifty years. When the house was finished they built a chicken house and a barn. The barn didn't weather time as the roof was badly damaged in the March blizzard of 1920. In 1918 Bertha and I started to Soliday School. Martha Miller was teacher. I graduated from the 8th grade in 1923. The Soliday School was moved that summer to its present location. After that, Bertha and Marcella rode horseback to school until they graduated. I attended high school in Eagle Butte, graduating in 1927. I went to summer school and got a teachers certificate and taught three terms of school at Pretty Creek, Star Prairie and Tidball schools. I married Gothard Eliason in June of 1930. His parents had homesteaded in Ziebach County about 12 miles west of Isabel. We made our home on the George Davis homestead. By that time it was owned by Rural Credit. We have five sons who grew up here. They all graduated from Eagle Butte High School. Gothard passed away in December of 1952 and in February of 1956 I moved to Eagle Butte where I still live. I have seen many changes in farming from horses to big tractors. My sisters were the late Mrs. Maynard (Bertha) Schmidt and Marcella Shuck, the widow of the late Earl Shuck. My sons are Myron Eliason, living on the home place, Eldon living in Salix, Iowa. The twins, Floyd lives in Mitchell, South Dakota and Lloyd lives in Eagle Butte. The youngest, Harvey, lives in Salix, Iowa. [photo - Ray and Edith Horton. Married on June 17, 1908] [photo - The Gilman Homestead Shack. Built in 1910. A. R. Horton bought it in 1918. They lived in it until they finished their new house] [photo - The new house A. R. Hortons built on the Gilman homestead in 1918] HENRY HUDSON written by Miles Hudson Henry Buckley Hudson was born to William and Lucina Hudson on June 1, 1871 at Sand Hill, in the northeastern corner of Missouri. He was the youngest of the family. The summer of 1883, when he was 12 years old, he came, with his father, a brother and a sister from Missouri to the Black Hills by ox team. His mother, who was not feeling very well, came sometime later. The two boys drove the cattle and other stock on horseback. Henry rode a horse with only a blanket for a saddle. When they crossed the Platte River in Nebraska many of the cattle became sick with a disease called the Texas Fever, and many died from it. They settled on French Creek near Fairburn, South Dakota. During the first winter, the sleeping quarters of Henry and his brother, Charles, was an upturned wagon box. For several years he worked in logging camps in the Hills, and as he did not have overshoes, wrapped his feet in paper and gunny sacks for the warmth. His mother passed away in 1887 when Henry was 16 years old. When Henry was 19 years old, in 1890, he, with Johnny Underwood, the man for whom the town of New Underwood was named, were working as scouts and carrying mail to the Army which was stationed near the Pine Ridge Reservation. At the time of the Wounded Knee Massacre, Henry, although not involved in the fighting, was near enough to hear the shooting and he helped bury the Indian dead. In 1892 he worked for Fred Holcomb on the Belle Fourche River where the Mooney ranch now is, and in the winter of 1892 and '93 he and another man were camped where Opal now is, living in a dugout. They were so Isolated from civilization during this time that the only other human being which they saw all winter long was an Indian man. Later in 1893, they moved the stock they were caring for to Plum Creek, about eighty miles northwest of Fort Pierre, and started a ranch which later Hudson filed on. He worked for several different cattle out fits including George Mathieson, Scotty Phillip and George and Louis LaPlante. In the summer of 1896, George LaPlante sent him with an outfit to Grin Junction in Wyoming for 3000 head of southern steers. It was September when they got back to where Dupree now is and turned them loose. The winter of 1896 and '97 was a very hard one and my father showed me a place on Bear Creek north of Lantry where they dragged away from camp 500 head of cattle that had died, and in the spring roundup they gathered 365 head, all that was left of the 3000 which had originally been brought here. On February 14, 1901, in Ft. Pierre, South Dakota, he was married to Mae Litteer, a young lady who had come from Conway, Iowa to visit two aunts and an uncle who lived about eighty miles north and west of Ft. Pierre. To this union five children, Gaylord, Miles, Philip, Marine and Pauline were born. In 1901 he worked for Scotty Philip who had the '73 outfit. In 1902 he was appointed as overall foreman of what is since known as the "1902 Round-Up" with 15 round-up wagons under him. He was to work south of Ft. Pierre to the Nebraska line. Anton Fisher, of the Fisher Brothers Store of Ft. Pierre, said that next to the largest order the Fisher Brothers sold during those years was to Henry Hudson, to feed the men on the Round-up. Some days there were from 50 to 100 men to feed. After the 1902 Round-up, he worked for the Sword and Dagger Outfit. When he quit, the outfit was turned over to Ernst Eidson. Hudson now stayed at his own ranch. He sold out in the spring of 1930, and came back to Meade County, where he worked for Cole Burton on the same place on the Belle Fourche River where he had worked for Fred Holcomb as a young man. He and his wife and daughter Pauline moved to Viewfield, South Dakota in 1932. In March of 1941, Henry bought the Zip Young place near Viewfield where he passed away on February 16, 1945 and was buried in the New Underwood Cemetery. His wife, Mae, passed away on March 12, 1973 in New Underwood and was buried beside her husband in the New Underwood Cemetery. MILES HUDSON FAMILY written by Miles Hudson I was born in Fort Pierre on December 18, 1904, the second son of Henry and Mae Hudson. My father's parents came from New York State to Missouri. When he was 12 years old they left Missouri and came to the Black Hills in 1883 by covered wagon. My mother's ancestors have lived in America for many generations. One of them was Wm. Williams who was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. I grew up in old Stanley County. The part of Stanley County where our home was is now Haakon. I went to school in an old log schoolhouse which was six miles from our home. As this was too far to go to school, my mother lived with us children in Midland, Philip and Fort Pierre, while we attended school. Dad remained at the ranch on Plum Creek. I remember the year 1911 when we took our cattle to Grand River to summer them and that fall we took them to DeGrey about 40 miles east of Pierre to winter just off the Crow Creek Reservation. I began my first year of school that year at DeGrey. After I was out of school I worked for different ranchers. I worked for Ed Spurling, who had the first store at Cherry Creek in the year 1904. The summer of 1926 was quite a dry year and I went to work for the Diamond A Cattle Company on the Cheyenne River Reservation where I worked until 1928. That year my folks sold the old place and on March 1, 1930 we moved to the Cole Burton ranch in Meade County. While working for Cole Burton, I met the girl who later became my wife. She was Ruth Reichert, a Meade County school teacher, who had lived in Meade County since she was two years old. Her parents were Mr. and Mrs. Gee. Reichert who homesteaded near old Clough in 1909. The summer of 1931 was very dry and the depression was hitting, so again 1 went back to work for the Diamond A Cattle Company. In Meade County the wages were $25.00 to $30.00 per month. But the Diamond A was paying $45.00 a month to men who had worked there before. I worked for the Diamond A until they closed out in 1934, which was really a dry year. The Diamond A ran a round-up wagon every summer and I stayed in different camps and rode after the stock and pulled a lot of them out of mud holes. The fall of 1934 I came back to Meade County after the work finished on the Diamond A. The next spring Ruth and I were married on June 1, 1935. That was really a pretty good year, but the next year, 1936, was awful dry. I worked on WPA in 1936 on a project building the Hereford Dam, the year our first son was born. He lives in Powell, Wyoming and is married to Barbara Komes. They have one daughter and two sons. Marilyn is married to Gene Secrest and they live in Sturgis and have two girls and two boys. Our third child, Drusilla, is married to Larry Kellogg and they have three boys. They live near Spearfish. Our son, Hugh (Tucker) is married to Beverly Burditt and they live near Plainview in eastern Meade County on a ranch. Our youngest daughter, Romona, lives in Rapid City and is married to Carl Williams. They have one girl and one boy. We lived on the Hereford flat from 1935 to the spring of 1977 when we had a sale and sold out and moved to Sturgis. Ruth passed away on February 6, 1981 from a bad heart attack. I live alone on our place and work at Sturgis Sale Barn four nights a week. [photo - Bill Skuly and the wagon. Kirk Myers and Miles Hudson on the bedrolls] PHILIP HENRY (PODDY) HUDSON written by Henry Hudson I was born September 6, 1906 at the Bill Hopkins home at Hayes, South Dakota. This was one-half mile south of the present location of Hayes. Mrs. Hopkins was the nurse. My folks were Henry B. Hudson and Mae Litteer Hudson. I had two brothers, Gaylord and Miles. Gaylord died in 1969. My two sisters are Pauline Shoun and Marine Spinsby. I was raised on the old Hudson ranch between the two forks of Plum Creek in Haakon County. My father built up this ranch in 1896 or 1897. The first time I worked out was for Cap Ferguson in the winter of 1925-26. On September 20, 1926 I started work for the Diamond A Cattle Company at the old Diamond A ranch on the Missouri River. Next spring I went to work at the wagon. Roy McLane was boss with Miles Hudson, Albert Lopez, Bob Stapert, Frank Esterbrook and myself as the crew. I was with the wagon until the fall of 1933. Hans Mortenson was wagon boss. In 1934 I stayed on the Cheyenne River at Bob Rose's and Brings Arrow Camp. We rode bog and kept cattle north of the river and worked for the company until they closed in 1934. About April 1, 1935, I went to work for Ernst Eidson, CBC or Chappel Bros. of Rockford, Illinois, along with Tom Maupin, John Johnson, Raymond Mills, Baptiste LeBeau, Ray Jones and Ralph Hensley. We castrated 1100 studs that summer. They closed out and I quit working in October. I stayed at Gaylord Hudson's that winter and trapped coyotes. On April 11, 1936 I married Marian Thereson. We lived at New Underwood three years, Mission Ridge three years, Standing Butte Horse Ranch 3-4 years, then moved to Fort Pierre. Worked for State Highway Department, had a saddle repair shop and helped Miles Johnson, veterinarian at same time, then worked for Livermore & Jennings. Have lived at Mission Ridge since 1973. We have four children, Lorraine Martin, Edith Hoffman, Gale Hudson and Judy Hannum. We have 13 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren. Two of our grandchildren are married. [photo - Branding for the Diamond A. Russell Keckler and Miles Hudson holding calf. Poddy Hudson and Hickory working on calf] HUMP Born in Montana in 1848 or 1850, Hump became a leader of the Cherry Creek band of Minneconjou Sioux. In 1876 he fought in the Battle of the Rose bud against General George Crook and in the Battle of the Little Big Horn. He later joined Sitting Bull's band and other exiles in Canada. Being considered American Indians, the exiles received no rations from the Canadian government. By 1881 the buffalo and other game were disappearing and the exiles returned to Fort Buford where they surrendered. They were taken to Fort Yates by steamboat. Later the Minneconjou under Hump and Fool Heart and the Sans Arc, led by Spotted Eagle and Circle Bear, were taken down the Missouri River to the Cheyenne River Agency, near their traditional camping grounds along the Cherry Creek and Cheyenne River. They arrived at the Cheyenne River by May of 1882 and many of the Minneconjou settled near Cherry Creek, 50 miles west of the agency. Hump and Big Foot became the most influential men on the Cheyenne River. The Cherry Creek/Hump Band greatly opposed the land agreements of 1888 and 1889. In 1890, the Ghost Dance found its greatest following in the Cherry Creek camps. After Sitting Bull was killed on the Grand River, many of his followers fled south and camped a few miles above the junction of the Cherry Creek and Cheyenne River. When the army at Fort Bennett moved to suppress the Ghost Dancing, Hump used his influence against the Ghost Dance. In the dead of winter he rode with two men from the garrison and two other scouts, 40 miles to persuade the Sitting Bull camp to surrender and move to Fort Bennett. Those who did not surrender joined Spotted Elk, also known as Big Foot. When his band later fled toward Pine Ridge, they were met by the Army at Wounded Knee. Hump was given 500 heifers for his service to the United States Government. These he turned loose, to share with his people. The heifers wandered near Leslie and many died of pinkeye. Hump continued to work for his tribe until his death in 1908. He is buried in Cherry Creek. [photo - Scar Leg and Hump, 1906 (SDSHS)] [photo - Hump, 1906] HUMP told by John Hump Hump (Thomas) was born in 1850 to Mashes His Nails/Iron Bull and Ziti/Mrs. Iron Bull (1827-1917) in Montana. Hump's brother, Little Crow, had been born in 1844. (See Little Crow story.) Hump's sister, White Cow, married Fish (d. 1919) and had a son, James Fish (b. 1889) and a daughter. They lived on Rosebud. Hump grew up in Montana. He had three or four wives, some of whom lived in Montana and were Crow. While the Indians still roved in bands, he started to gather them together, to settle down and become 'civilized'. Hump came down the Missouri River when the Army brought them to the Cheyenne River on boats. Their stock were driven over land. Bertha Lyman Hump's mother's family came from Montana with Hump's band. Hump even joined the Army to work toward settling down. He was a scout from December of 1890 until June of 1891. He was discharged at Fort Bennett. There were three Hump Flats. One east of Bridger, one by Iron Lightning and one across from Cherry Creek. All are so named because he lived on them. On the way to Montana for a visit, Hump camped with Iron Lightning on the Moreau River. At that time they chose their allotments. Iron Lightning community was later named for Iron Lightning after he moved there. Hump had several wives. His son, by Good Voice/Good Woman, was Samuel Helper/ Stand By of Oglala, born in 1876. Hump's wife, White Calf/Bessie (d. 1915) was the mother of Pretty Voice/Nellie (b. 1882: Mrs. Alfred Ward); Important Woman/Sarah (b. 1884: Mrs. Silas Yellow Owl); Spotted Bear who died in infancy; Dora (b. 1891: Mrs. William Ward); Didn't Drop/Nelson Hump, born in 1898 (no issue); William Miles Hump, born in 1900 and died in 1917 at Dupree, (no issue); and John Hump, born in 1904. [photo - Bertha and John Hump, Darrell and Duane] JOHN HUMP John Hump was born at Cherry Creek, four years before his father's death in 1908. Hump is buried at the Episcopal Cemetery in Cherry Creek. John went to Carson Day School, Pierre Indian School and Rapid City Indian School. In 1935 or 1936, he married Bertha Lyman, daughter of Ed Lyman. John transferred his heirship lands from the Moreau River to Red Scaffold. John and Bertha lived on the flat south of the (Cherry) creek, on her folks' allotments. In 1954/1957 they moved north to their present home. John went into the cattle business on the Rehab program. John and Bertha's sons, Duane and Darrell, now run the ranch. Darrell is married to Alvina Runs After and Duane is married to Doris Halfred. EFFIE LOPEZ and GENO HUNT STORY My dad named me Effie Rebecca for my two grandmothers. I was born in Eagle Butte at Muzzle Johnson's house on April 17, 1934. My parents lived on the Cheyenne River in Ziebach County near the Kenneth West Ranch. The Oahe covers it up now. Due to the dry years, my parents moved to Goose Creek near Ridgeview. In May 1944, we moved back to Ziebach County and lived on the Rudy Creek Ranch until June 1947. We attended the Albee School on Highway 63. My teachers were Mary Schrier, Mary (Libolt) Smith, Mary (Sparky) Blasingame and Tootie Vanderpol. The families I recall attending school there were: Ray Seymour children, Sally and Evelyn Elsey, Marine Neilson, Harry Vanderpols, John Vanderpols, Garret Vanderpols, Annabelle, Effie and Lee Lopez. The school closed at the end of my 6th grade and Lee's first grade. I completed high school in Eagle Butte in 1952. I recall the years we lived on the Rudy Creek Ranch as the best of my childhood years. I was 9 when we moved there. Our home had burned when I was 8 and we had no furniture, saddles, few belongings of any kind. My folks always had good neighbors. While we lived on Rudy Creek our closest neighbors were Toni Nelsons, Ray Seymours, Mike Schatzs, Vanderpols, Jack Wilson, Virgil (Tarzan) and Gladys Anderson, Tom and Teen Maupin, and Mike Kellers. Tom and Teen were like part of the family. They helped us and we helped them all of our lives. I took care of the children each time a new baby came. Tom and my dad always did a lot of work together and took several trips together in their later years. Tom and Teen came to my Dad's funeral on January 20, 1978, in Timber Lake. It was 25" below zero. Teen had a fatal heart attack at the grave site. It was a double loss that day for both families. In 1923 my Dad spent his first winter in South Dakota in the Brings Arrow Camp with Tom Maupin. They really were lifelong friends. In 1953 I was married to the neighbor boy, Gene (Gene) Hunt. We both graduated from Eagle Butte High School. He was in the Army for two years and we both completed four years of college and taught school for a few years in Wyoming and Montana. In the spring of 1962 when Jeff was 4 and Jim was 21 months old we moved home to Ziebach County and lived on Cottonwood Creek. It was known as the old Hensley and Starr Ranch. We bought the deeded land and have made it our home for twenty years. I taught school in Eagle Butte from 1965 until 1976 because the boys had to go to school and we are 30 miles from town. Jeff and Jim both attended Sunshine Bible Academy at Miller, South Dakota for their high school. Jeff is married and ranches fifteen miles west of us with his wife, Vicki and two sons, Jodi and J.J. Jim is a senior at South Dakota State University at Brookings. In 1981 he won his 8 state college region in Saddle Bronc Riding, the NRCA Championship and SDRA. In 1966, we had a movie filmed here on the ranch. Casey Tibbs came home to South Dakota to film two pictures, Born to Buck and The Young Rounders. Our children and their Grandpa Lopez were glad to help Casey out. We had Joel McCrea and his wife, Francis Dee, and Slim Pickens with us for about two weeks. They all took part in the film. Gene's pride and joy is "Sparky One", a stallion he bought from Joe Schemer in 1979. He was especially happy when our filly "Sparky Girl" won Center of the Nation Quarter Horse Show for 1981. He has tried to fulfill a boy's dream of building a ranch, raising good horses and cattle. Someday our grandchildren can write the rest of the story. [photo - Effie, Jim and Geno Hunt. Jim was 1980 saddle bronc champ] [photo - Geno Hunt family. Gene, Effie, Jodi 3, Vicki, JJ 3 months, Jeff and Jim] [photo - From movie “Born to Buck” Casey Tibbs and Jim Hunt, 6 years old, in 1966] [photo - Effie, Joel McCrea, Albert Lopez, Frances McCrea, Jim and Jeff. Taken in 1966. Joel was main actor in “The Young Rounders” and Jim was child star] THE HAROLD (HAPPY) HUNT STORY Happy Hunt was born July 2, 1896, at Cedar Rapids, Iowa to Leland and Lillie Hunt. He homesteaded in Wyoming near the Little Powder River. He married Edna Tressia Solze June 15, 1936 at Jetmore, Kansas. They moved to Ziebach County in 1943 and herded sheep a couple years living in a sheep wagon. In 1945 they bought the Schlax place near Lantry, South Dakota. They lived here until 1958, when they had a sale and sold the place to Shorty Holloway. They moved to Nisland where they bought a store and filling station, which they operated until 1970. They sold the store and bought a home and retired in Nisland. Happy died January 10, 1982 at the Belle Fourche Health Care Center. Services were held January 13, at Frost and Sons Funeral Chapel in Belle Fourche. Burial was in Pine Slope Cemetery, Belle Fourche. Surviving are his wife of Nisland; one brother, Jack Hunt of Eagle Butte; three sisters, Hazel Schultz of Oillette, Wyoming, Gladys Danielson of Cedar Rapids and Myrtis Daly of Rapid City; and numerous nieces and nephews. [photo - Happy and Edna Hunt taken in 1981] FRED HUNTER by Fred J. Hunter I was encouraged by the Vrooman brothers, Charles, Roy and Mile to inspect land that was open for homestead in South Dakota. When I arrived in Ziebach County I found a 1/2 section that looked most promising. It had lush grass and a running creek. I really felt it was a perfect place to start a home and farm. On September 16, 1916 I filed on 1/2 of Section 7-11-23. I then left immediately and returned in November of 1916 with an immigrant car (supplied in those days by the railroad, at a cost of $35.00 from Orchard, Nebraska to Eagle Butte). In this car I brought a wagon, 2 horses, 5 cows and a bull, a plow, chickens and enough hay for the trip. My good neighbor and friend, Floyd Parker, helped me get the supplies to the homestead. I bearded with Floyd and his sister Gertie until January of 1917. That month I married my lovely school teacher sweetheart, Ruth Bengston in Iowa. We returned to a one room house I had rented from J. Hyatt. That was a bitter winter and no trains ran for two months. Ruth had brought only her suitcase and it was over two months until her trunk arrived. Fortunately I had ordered some cases of canned goods from Sears Roebuck, so we didn't go hungry. In 1917 we bought a one room house and moved it onto our own land. As the family grew we added rooms and porches to accommodate our growing family. Our first was our daughter, Jean Adair (now Varcoe); second was Shirley Mary (now Kingston); third was a little boy whom we lost at birth; next was our son, Jack, who was killed in the Second World War; our last was Dick (Richard J.). There were happy times and hard times on the farm but we managed to weather them. During the lean years we were so fortunate to have such good neighbors. There was Moody and Edna Drummond, Floyd and Maude Parker, Howard and Della McDaniel, Arleigh and Selma McLellan, Harlan and Dora Lindley, Fred and Winnie Rosenstock, and many more. Ruth and I both served on the local school board for many years. Our children had to cross the prairie four miles to school each year. They carried their lunches and usually rode their horses. The schoolhouse served as a community center in those days. The Christmas program was one of the highlights. We often held dances there and had community dinners. during the thirties when times were hardest, we all managed. None were hungry and, unlike today, none were on relief. Great meals of potato salad, pies, cakes and homemade ice cream was plentiful. Oh yes, and lots of good fried chicken--not Colonel Sanders-- home grown and fried. During my almost 50 years on the farm I was on the board of county commissioners and served two terms in the South Dakota State Senate. We helped raised the money for the present Congregational Church at Eagle Butte. Our drive was so successful, we were able to build the church, pay off the mortgage, and modernize the parsonage. Ruth was active in church work, was a member of Eastern Star and belonged to the Prairie Pride Extension Club. All this along with raising four fine children, of whom we were most proud. We celebrated our fiftieth wedding anniversary in January, 1967. Ruth passed away in September of 1967. I am pleased to report that our farm, which we were able to hold during the years, is still in the family and is ably managed by our son Dick. ARTHUR R. (ART) HURST I was born in Hamilton County, Iowa on November 14, 1908 and came to Dupree, South Dakota in the spring of 1911 with my father and mother and three brothers, Lloyd, Everett and Glynn. I attended grade school at the Pretty Creek school. I graduated from the Dupree High School in the spring of 1927. I then attended college in Brookings, South Dakota, starting in the fall of 1927 and became a registered pharmacist in the spring of 1931. I was married to Erma Serr, March 22, 1930, to which union one son, Raydon, was born. Raydon was married and today I have three fine grandsons living in Miami, Florida. Erma passed away in 1958. I was married to Ruth Jewett on April 20, 1958 and we are now living in Sturgis, South Dakota. I worked one year for Eric Blauert in the drug store in Dupree before I became a registered pharmacist. I bought the store from Mr. Blauert. I owned and operated the drug store in Dupree, known as "Hurst Pharmacy" for thirty years, from November 1931 up to November 1961, at which time I sold out and moved to Sturgis. My drug store burned up in the fire in Dupree in the spring of 1939. I then rebuilt the store which is today known as Lewis Everyday Shop. EVERETT HURST Everett Hurst, son of Levi and Julia Hurst moved to a farm northeast of Dupree in Ziebach County in 1911. He had three brothers, Lloyd, Arthur and Glynn. Everett married Clara Bitterman in 1935 and moved to California. They have two girls and one boy. Everett worked doing ranch work until 1941. He then worked at McClellan Air Force Depot until an accident in 1960, when he was struck by a car and forced to retire. Everett now lives in Sacramento, California. He has six grandchildren. LEVI C. and JULIA HURST by Glynn Hurst My father and mother, Levi C. and Julia Hurst, arrived in Dupree in an immigrant car along with their four sons, Lloyd, Everett, Arthur, and Glynn, in the spring of 1911. We lived in a tent that summer on the homestead, which was 8 1/2 miles northeast of Dupree. The Diamond A Cattle Company once grazed their cattle on the land where we would later build a chicken coop and then a house. We were still living in the tent that autumn when Dad drove to town in the buggy one day. Our neighbor, W. T. Searson, decided to fire up his stove to take the chill out of the house. Burning particles escaped the chimney to start a dreaded prairie fire. Fueled by typically blustery South Dakota winds, the fire rushed north, taking precious prairie grasses and livestock with it, before burning itself out at the Moreau River. Seeing the smoke and fearing for his wife and children, Dad hurried home in the buggy. He discovered that the flames had come within 100 yards of our tent and found we were all safe. Dad was a "sod-buster" or farmer--no easy occupation in those early days. Conflicts of one kind or another seemed always to develop between the farmer and cattlemen. Dad was able to put in a fair sized hay supply that summer that several cowmen needed and wanted to buy. He needed it for his own animals and, therefore, refused to sell. A short time later our hay burned and arson was always suspected. In the fall of the year, the Diamond A Outfit needed extra "hands" to help round-up their cattle. They'd asked my dad, who told them he was no cowboy, but they persisted. They needed him and he needed the money. Dad then went shopping for a saddle horse since all we had was a team of work animals and finally bought a pony from an Indian called Scarleg. The next thing we knew Dad was the proud owner of a Sears, Roebuck saddle, bridle and rope. The critter was about to be "broke" to ride! Dad planted a strong post deep in the prairie gumbo in the center of the corral; next he saddled the horse, tied him to the post and turned him loose. That critter bucked so hard and long that new saddle and gumbo were everywhere. The pieces of saddle were sent to Sears Roebuck and they gave him another new one by return mail! Further testing proved that all the buck had left the horse, and Dad was able to help with gathering the cattle. When I was 8 or 9 our place was struck by a tornado. It took the barn, coal and pump houses, and chicken coop. Just after I graduated from high school, another tornado took a cane stack and the rebuilt chicken coop. And still a third tornado got the cattle shed, house chimney, and moved the garage. Lloyd went to school in Dupree for his 7th and 8th grades. He also worked as the school janitor, and when the weather was nice, he would ride his bicycle back and forth to school. Later, he attended Brookings college taking a short course in agriculture. He graduated, spent some time helping on the farm, then got a job with the State Highway working a four-horse hitch on a patrol. He married Muriel Minkner in the early 1930's. Their son, Vilas, attended school in Dupree but later joined the Merchant Marines. Lloyd was then married to a Mrs. Badure. He died in 1956; his second wife also died soon after. Everett wasn't able to complete his 8th grade; he was needed on the farm. He took a Bitterman girl as his bride and farmed for a few years. He and his wife moved to Sacramento, California where he worked as a mechanic in an airplane depot. He was struck by a car as he left work one day. Following a lengthy stay in the hospital, was released, but he never fully recovered his equilibrium. Everett and his second wife now reside in Sacramento, California. Arthur and I began high school in Dupree together. We would ride horseback to and from school in nice weather, milked 3-4 cows before and after school, and helped out on the farm when we could. Arthur graduated from Dupree High School and became a pharmacist following graduation from Brookings. Erma Serr became his wife and they had a son, Raydon. Raydon and his wife were victims of a car accident west of Eagle Butte recently. I was able to attend but one semester my first year in high school; I was forced to drop out to help on the farm. One year, Dad, Mother, Everett, and I went through Yellowstone Park ending up in Canada working in the grain fields. My mind was set on a high school diploma, so I went the next four years, graduating when I was twenty years old. I worked as a truck driver in the Civilian Conservation Corps and later as the PX Steward until I resigned in 1936. I moved to Pierre, South Dakota in 1937 and worked for four years as a timekeeper, milkman, and bartender. My wife, the former Sybil Bird, and I moved to Ft. Ord, California after I joined the National Guard in Pierre. I trained for a year, war was declared, and I was shipped overseas in 1943 with the 975 Field Artillery. Following my discharge in 1945, I stayed in California until 1950 when we returned to run the farm. Along with working the farm, the next 20 years were spent as auditor or treasurer for Ziebach County. Sybil was the victim of a car accident and after a long hospitalization, passed away in 1979. Our daughter, Phyllis, graduated from Dupree High School in May, 1981. Dad and Mother died a few years ago and are buried in Dupree Cemetery. I remarried in 1980 to Velma Holloway Smith, and we divide our time living in Rapid City, South Dakota and here in Dupree. INAMONGST Charlie Inamongst was born in 1865 and died in 1901. He was a brother to Brown Thunder (1854-1915) but they took different names as was the custom in the earlier days. He was married to "Seeks One Without". She also went by the name of Mary Kills White Man and later still went by the name of Mary Jackson. Their children were Charlie Inamongst and Sarah Inamongst, who married Wallace Knight. Charlie Inamongst, Jr. was born October 15, 1894 on Ash Creek near Red Scaffold. He attended the Indian Mission School near Pierre, the Carson Day School, Cheyenne Agency Boarding School and the Pierre Indian School. He went to the seventh grade. In 1915 he married Lucy Hollow Horn and they made their home on a ranch near Ash Creek. Charlie was active in civic and church affairs in his community. He belonged to the Catholic Church. He served as a councilman with the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe for more than 25 years, representing the Red Scaffold District. To visit with Charlie about his life time experiences was a real treat, he could tell you about the early days in Ziebach County, about the big cattle outfits and the cowboys who worked for them. He knew the history of the reservation and its residents, how the government programs operated and the congressmen. He was always well dressed and a gentleman. Charlie spent his last six years as a resident of the Mobridge Care Center. He was plagued with diabetes in his later years. He passed away November 14, 1981, and is buried at the Frazier Memorial Cemetery. His great grandfather is also buried there. His children were Marvin Inamongst, deceased; Elizabeth One Skunk, deceased, and Edward Inamongst. Another son and daughter preceded him in death. IRON HAWK FAMILY by Frank Iron Hawk, 1936 My mother told me, I was born way back when the Lakota were living in canvas covered shelters (tipis) and traveled by travois. 1 was born within the camp of the 'Maspegnaka' (metal on the head or crown of metal) Band from Carlin, South Dakota. Chief Brown Thunder, of the Brown Thunder (Wakinyagi) Band and grandmother, my mother's mother, are related. Brown Thunder being the elder. Then, I have two grandmothers from the same mother and father, known as blood relatives or of one blood. My grandfather, Running Buffalo, is from a band who called themselves the "Buffalo Dung". My grandfather wanted one of Brown Thunder's sisters, the younger one, so he bought her with ten good horses and married her. This is how the marriages take place in this era. Another way of marrying is eloping. In those days getting married is very hard. At Carlin, in 1889, at the homestead of Fish Whiskers, the band of Brown Thunder and Maspegnaka gathered. There were no wagons. From there, Father, Mother, Grandfather and Grandmother, with three travois went on a 'tateyape' (hunting trip). At that time, my father was young, 33 years of age, my mother 22, and my sister 2 years. She is the only girl they had. The term 'tateya' means the hunting of all kinds of wild game. For two years, 1888-1889, they went on their hunting trip, their last. Traveling northward up the 'hinhan wakpa' (Owl Creek), now the Moreau River, and through the 'Paha zizipela' (Slim Buttes) and on to Montana. They camped at the Little Missouri, ‘Wakpa Cunsoke', meaning the Draw of Heavy Forest. This is where I was born. I was born in the mid-summer, the Moon of Black Cherries, which is the month of July. A lot of wild game was killed during this time; deer of all kinds, big chickens, antelope, elk, moose and mountain sheep. This is when a buffalo was last seen, so they killed it and ate it. The last time they had buffalo meat. My mother having no milk for breast feeding, I was fed soup from animals killed, with help of a buffalo horn spoon. They poured the soup in my mouth, I was told. For ten days this went on. They told me nobody could cry louder than me, then. I was born in a tipi, carried on a backsack among the wild animals that still roamed the wilderness on the border of Montana. Because they have a lot of meat, coming home was difficult. Meat was carried in a travois. Horses were led on foot. Traveling only half of a day at a time, camped at nights, they arrived at Carlin. Upon arriving at Carlin, they found only the remains of the Brown Thunder Camp. My grandmother was heartbroken for not seeing her brother. The very next day, they followed the trails of the horse drawn travois eastward on the 'Wakpa Waste' meaning river of good or the good river, now the Cheyenne River. Arriving at the mouth of the river, they came to an army camp, Fort Bennett, where the 'Hoh woju' people camped. Because of the closeness, respect and love among these people, they cried as they saw their relatives. At this gathering, Three Stars (General Crook) came to ask for land and (the touching of the pencil) 'wicazo yutanpi' took place, I was told. From there the Brown Thunder Band went back to the mouth of the 'Wah eoju', where my sister died as 1 was told. There were no churches in those days and prayers were unknown so after the death of my sister, we were somewhat lost in heartbreak and sorrow, I was told. At this location my father built a log cabin. As I remember, it was a bad winter. Sitting Bull was killed and the killing of Spotted Tail followed that same winter. Another event that took place was the Ghost Dance. This was the year 1890, December 15th. The community of Cherry Creek was first originated at this time. Small log cabins went up and a round bowry was built for dancing. We were still living in the cabin that my father build. Sometimes we visited Grandfather Running Buffalo's sister. Her husband was Sitting Eagle. Behind his house, the first Congregational Church was built. I was five years old at that time, 1894. People were joining the church and membership was strong. This same year the first Mission meeting was held in Cherry Creek. It was one happy event, I've seen. At the age of 13, I started working digging ditches. At 15, in 1904, I went to school in the Black Hills, Rapid City Indian School. Although I stayed in school for three years, I can't talk much English, but I know the meaning of 'yes' and 'no'. In the year 1907, I didn't go back to school. Instead, I worked at various homes of white men to earn my money. On March 1, 1889, I joined the Y.M.C.A. and on October 31, 1909, I joined the church with Reverend T. L. Riggs doing the confirmation. On June 16, 1915, age of 26, we were married in church. My wife, Esther Mandan, was 20 years. We have four boys and one girl. The oldest was born April 13, 1916. At 16 years old, he went to Haskell Institute, Lawrence, Kansas and stayed for four years. His name is Wilson. Because of my lacking education, I encourage his schooling. Our second oldest boy is going to school in Cheyenne Agency Boarding School. He is 17 years old, Claude Iron Hawk is his name. The third, Carl Iron Hawk, was in school but he got sick, so I brought him home. Sidney is 7 years old and not yet in school. And, on October 22, 1935, Sylvia was born, not yet baptized. My 'kola' meaning good friend or good buddy, John Iron Hawk, was active in this organization (church) until he died on May 27, 1935. He was born October 1894. His son, Levi Iron Hawk, pitiful, I took him in. Now, my father, “Cetanmazan” Iron Hawk, and his brother, Littlebird "Zitkala Cikala", are warriors from the Wajaja band under Red Cloud, "Mahpiya Luta". They are noted for their bravery, their ability to kill and to steal horses. My father went on a war party by himself twice and both times he found the enemy, scalped and killed. Because of this, they have him lead the traditional dances. Out of ninety warparties, he led forty of them, as told by others and himself. Although leading a life of bravery, they both died in poverty. Zitkala Cikala/Littlebird died July, 1915 and Cetan Mazan Iron Hawk died July 12, 1916. Grandfather Running Buffalo died April 12, 1923. Mrs. Running Buffalo died February 1899. The year 1889, my father chose a piece of land and built a house on it. This is where I grew up and called it my home up 'til now, 1936. It seems like they have gone away somewhere leaving me behind to take care of the place. I am saddened every time I walk out of the door and look about. Because I grew up in hardship, I thank the Great Spirit for giving me many years of good health, good thoughts and guidance in this life that He has given me. reprinted from "I 0 ", 1936 POST SCRIPT Her Different Horse (f. 1876-1880); John Iron Hawk (1893-1935) and the author, Frank Iron Hawk (1889-1957), were the children of Cetan Maza/Iron Hawk (1859-1916) and Lone Woman (1862-1932). Cetan Maza was a son of Eating Beef and Moving Iron of Pine Ridge. Lone Woman was the daughter of Jumps Over Buckskin Horse/Running Buffalo/Running Bull (1835-1923) and Her Brown Cane (d. 1899). (See Builds Fire.) When John Iron Hawk died, his brother, Frank, adopted his son, Levi. Levi Iron Hawk died in Oregon in 1978. In 1915, Frank Iron Hawk married Esther Mandan (1896-1963), the daughter of Watana/Amos Long Mandan (1857-1925) and Moves the Water (1861-1911). Esther's brother was Patrick Eugene Long Mandan (b. 1894). Frank and Esther Iron Hawk's children are as follows: Wilson Iron Hawk (1916-1979) married Margie White Weasel. Claude/Adolph, born in 1919, served in Germany during World War II. In 19__, he married Goldie War Bonnet. Carl lived from 1924-1932 and Sidney lived from 1929 until 1938. Sylvia, born in 1935, married Gary Blue Arm. Mathew/Ike (b. 1943) married Prairie Rose Charging Cloud. IRON LIGHTNING FAMILY by Myron G. Armstrong, 1941 Mr. Iron Lightning spent most of his life on this reservation at Cherry Creek Station. At one time, however, it is said that he went with others to Canada, taking his family with him. Mr. Iron Lightning didn't stay long, but (re turned) to Cherry Creek. Mr. Iron Lightning came to this vicinity to live on his allotment in 1906 or 1907. With him, he brought his three wives, whom he had married in traditional fashion. He had bargained for the oldest wife, White Buffalo, with her father, to whom he gave a horse. White Buffalo's father also gave him Red Crane (b. 1863), who was White Buffalo's younger half-sister, then a young girl. It is said that Red Crane was supposed to wait upon White Buffalo. Later, Mr. Iron Lightning brought his second wife, Pretty Elk, another half-sister to White Buffalo. Apparently, another horse was the price. So, Mr. Iron Lightning had three wives, all of them half-sisters to each other, having had different mothers. The middle wife, Pretty Elk, had the first born child, a son named John, who lies in the Iron Lightning family cemetery up on the hill. Then White Buffalo had the second child. Altogether, Mr. Iron Lightning beget twenty-six children: seven by White Buffalo, twelve by Pretty Elk, and seven by Red Crane. 111 health and tuberculosis stalked this family. White Buffalo and Red Crane raised only one child a piece and Pretty Elk, only seven. At present, (1941) four of Pretty Elk's children are still living: Grant Iron Lightning, Rose Iron Lightning Red Bull, Ellen Iron Lightning Red Bird and Gertie Iron Lightning Iron Bird. None of White Buffalo's children has survived and only one of Red Crane's is living, Dora Iron Lightning Talks. When the government urged Mr. Iron Lightning to choose one of (his wives) for his legal wife, the oldest and the youngest stepped aside and said, "let it be Pretty Elk, for she has seven children living and we have one a piece." However, it is said that Mr. Iron Lightning didn't marry any of them (in the Christian way), leaving the matter of establishing his legal heirs to be decided after his death. Mr. Iron Lightning had great herds of horses. I listened to a eulogy of Mr. Iron Lightning the other day, given by Mrs. Pete Talks, who was speaking for her husband. Of Mr. Iron Lightning, he said, in effect, "He was a great and powerful man. He could walk great distances and endure great physical hardships. His finesse in stealing horses marked him as a great man. He would start out walking and always came back with a horse. He was considered a Chief by the Indians, who admired his prowess." From this, I think we have the answer as to why this community was named after the Iron Lightning family, as most of the families had settled here long before the Iron Lightning family came, some of them almost twenty years before. While the present Mr. Iron Lightning (Grant), follows his father's steps as a leader of his community, there the likeness ends. The old Mr. Iron Lightning represents the Sioux of old traditions, the Sioux of tribal life and customs. The present Mr. Iron Lightning represents the modern Indian, who has adapted his life to fit in with the ways of white culture, who has kept of the old way of life what is useful to him and has discarded what is not. With his wife, educated at the Pierre Indian School, Mr. Iron Lightning is trying hard to establish independence for their nine healthy children. Iron Lightning and Red Crane's daughter, Dora, married Charlie Talks and was the mother of Dorothy, Lawrence and Andrew Talks. Iron Lightning and Pretty Elk's children were: Grant, Rose (Mrs. Wm. Red Bull); Ellen (1891-1981: Mrs. Wm. Red Bird); and Gertie (Mrs. Sullivan Iron Bird). Grant was the father of Cordelia (Mrs. Wilmer) Dupris, Florence (Lafferty), John, Amy (Curly), Grant Jr., Caroline (Cook), Teter, Dale, Delores (Hartfield), and Veronica (Thompson). Ellen Red Bird was the mother of Cyril; Evelyn (Elk Eagle); Earlwin, who married Mae High Elk; Rex; Martha (Mrs. Percy Marrowbone); Gladys (Mrs. Bernhard LeClair); and Harold Red Bird. Gertie Iron Bird was the mother of Harry, who married Anna Clown; Nancy (Mrs. True Clown); and Edith (Mrs. Wilbur Dupris). [photo - Iron Lightning, 1906 (SDSHS)] [photo - Chiefs Black Eagle, Hump, and Iron Lightning, 1904 (SDSHS)] HILDA JACOBSON Hilda Jacobson, daughter of John and Martha Jacobson, was born December 1, 1886, in Liverpool, England. After her mother's death, Hilda and John moved to Osceola, Nebraska in 1900. In 1911, Hilda and her father filed on a homestead south of Lantry. John died during the flu epidemic of 1918 and 1919. Her uncle, Oscar, helped manage the homestead until his ill health forced them to move into Dupree and purchase a home in the northeast part of town. Hilda cared for her uncle until his death. Hilda enjoyed gardening and raising chickens. She was organist for the Lutheran Church here in Dupree for several years. She moved into the Dupree Manor when it opened in 1973. Hilda had several birthday parties but in 1980 she was surprised by her friends and enjoyed a beautiful cake and all the trimmings. She was 94 years old. Ill health soon forced her to live in a nursing home in Mobridge. She enjoys fair health for a lady nearly 96 years old. [photo - Hilda Jacobson] VINCENT W. and RUTH M. (CUNNINGHAM) JEFFRIES Vin Jeffries was one of seven sons and four daughters born to John Jeffries and Cynthia (Cooter) Jeffries in Tennessee. They moved to Kansas when he was nine. Ruth Cunningham was the youngest of seven children of Ernest Cunningham and Florence (Campbell) Cunningham. She had two brothers. Vin and Ruth were married at Geneseo, Kansas. They moved to Littleton, Colorado, where he worked on a ranch. Their first two offspring were born there, Marjorie and Vincent C., always called Jeff. They moved to Haakon County, South Dakota in 1915 where he worked on the Swartz ranch. Eileen was born the last day of 1916. They homesteaded a quarter of land near the G. I. Towne ranch and Florence Ethel, always called Jackie, was born the year the United States entered World War I, and the year of the terrible flu epidemic that killed so many. Next they worked at the Bob Cheney ranch, up the Cheyenne River several miles. There they went through their first flood. Mother, and by now baby Doris, and four other children sought refuge in the haymow of the barn. Vin and Ray McKillup rowed a boat out and plucked them to safety from the door of the haymow. Vin was in partnership with Ned Wilkinson, brother-in-law of Bob Cheney, by 1921 when they moved to the L/Y ranch east of Cherry Creek station about six miles. They had Hereford cattle, many horses, an endless array of other animals--and of course the most beautiful of alfalfa fields on the river bottomland. They lived in a huge tent the first summer while carpenter Nedved and his son erected the house. Nedved was from the Milesville flat, south of the river. The east part of the building was a shop nearly as large as the house. A sturdy platform hung from rafters near the peak of the roof kept a winter's supply of flour high, dry and rodent free. Those were good years, ridin' high and well on the way to a rancher's dream of a spread of his own. There were always hired hands, huge gardens, ponies to ride, and a teacher that stayed in the winter time. There were rock gardens to build by the river, watermelons to pick from a sandy patch--ouch, those sandburrs, too! There was plentiful fish, one time Vin stood by a dead animal in the water and fished with a pitchfork when the catfish neared! Bud was born in 1923; Betty May in 1926, she lived only five months. School started there in 1924 when the schoolhouse was built back toward the hills on higher ground. Marjorie and Jeff had bearded out in Haakon County their first years. Eileen, Jackie and Doris all started first grade that year. Elizabeth Stinson taught, coming to the river each Monday morning with her little three year old daughter, Bunny, where Vin met True Stinson and ferried Lit and Bunny across. Sometimes it was by wagon, or across the ice. In the spring the water was high and a boat was rowed. The river flooded again in 1927. The team was trotting in water as they pulled the wagon piled high with necessities to live in the schoolhouse for a week or so. The building was about 14 x 14. It housed Vin, Ruth, six children, Merle Simpson, the teacher and Mel and Elvin Nesheim, the hired men. They picketed the milk cow and a couple horses. That school ran until the spring of 1929 when the big move came. With a little herd of cattle and other livestock, they went north of Cherry Creek to land purchased from Ed Spurling where they would farm, too. Neighbors were Joe Black Bear and Olney Runsafter. Vin bought a pickup, a Case tractor and other necessities. The bubble burst almost before it expanded. The stock market crash of 1929 caused chaos. Even though the crop that year was good, wheat was fourteen cents a bushel, barley was four cents. You couldn't afford to thresh oats. Cows were twenty dollars apiece. They did hang on during the depression until 1933. Some of the children had started high school working for board and room in Dupree. Jeff stayed at John Budahl's and brought Chester in to school one year; Marjorie stayed at Jim Davis' and Giff Lafferty's; Eileen stayed with Jim Pidcock's. Jeff and Eileen each missed a year, Jackie missed two, Doris was ready to start high school. They threw in the towel, moved near Dupree and Vin went to work on WPA. Marjorie had graduated in the spring of 1933 so she worked and helped the rest, too. Vin worked at the school site where the old building was demolished and the new one built. Kay and Fay were born in 1929 and 1931. They started school in Dupree. Done with high school graduation in 1939, the Jeffries moved to land he bought near the old Sword and Dagger ranch on Cherry Creek. World War II came, two sons were in service. The battle cry of producing more in the war effort for "our boys" excited them and they moved to Spokane, Washington. Vin passed away at the age of sixty-four in 1954. Ruth suffered a stroke and was brought back to South Dakota. Her last stroke at the home of her daughter, Jackie, in 1967 resulted in her death at seventy-one. They are buried in Spokane. [photo - Ruth and Vinn Jeffries. Fay, Kay, Bud, Doris, Jackie, Eileen, Jeff, Marjorie] [photo - Mr. & Mrs. Vin Jeffries] NORMAN D. JENNERSON by George L. Jennerson My father, Norman D. Jennerson, and I spent my 17th birthday, April 7, 1911, in an immigrant car on the way to Dupree to homestead the place where the Harold Johnson family now live. We used the immigrant car as living quarters while we were building a hen house as temporary living quarters while we built the house. That house burned down several years ago. That year, 1911, was extremely dry. In spite of that we ripped up several acres and planted corn and potatoes, which didn't even sprout the ground was so dry. In the fall we had some light rain, and the corn sprouted and grew to almost knee-high and the potatoes to about the size of walnuts. We harvested both. The following years we had both good and bad years, including hail, drought, grasshoppers and rattlesnakes. I killed about 24 while I lived there. I remember well many of our neighbors, the Penningtons, Chases, Leakes, Prices, Sam Stover, Fowlers, Langes, Callens, Solomonsons and Longbrakes, and of course many people in Dupree. My father was Chase postmaster for many years. My brother homesteaded across the road from my folks and I about a mile southwest of them. I wonder how many of those who homesteaded in Ziebach County are still living there, also anywhere else. I am the only one of my family left now, and my wife and I have eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. CHRIS and BELLE JENSEN by Belle Jensen Chris' parents came from Denmark by boat, which was about a 30 day trip. His dad came first and settled at Blair, Nebraska, along the Missouri River which flooded out at a later date and nothing was left of the place. His father sent money back for his mother and three children to come over later on. Chris was born in Blair, Nebraska and was about 9 years old when his father homesteaded in Tripp County (1910) near Millboro, South Dakota. His brother and sister also took homesteads which were later lost during the 30's drought and depression. Belle's grandparents came from Ireland and Germany to Iowa where her parents were born, later migrating to Nebraska. Her father homesteaded in Tripp County, (Rosebud Reservation then) in 1910 near Millboro. Father came first, building a house, then moving the family there. Later bought more land but lost it during the 30's. Chris and Belle were married. They lived at various farms, Chris farming with a few cattle and horses. I taught school for a few years. Wages were warrants which were sold to investors at 10% discount, so $50 per month became $45 cash. I rode a horse to school, built the fire and did all janitor work. In 1938, we moved to Dewey County to the Gus Matz place, near Leo Kellers place. We hooked a trailer (homemade) onto our Model A, which held all our possessions and Chris and I and four children, born in Tripp County, set out. It was very hot for September and we got north of Pierre and had a flat tire. Chris left the children and me in the trailer shade and drove back to Pierre and got the tire fixed and we went on. The distance seemed so far. The kids were very thirsty as we were out of water so we stopped at Hayes. Edith Horton gave them a drink of water there. She was returning from Pierre, having taken the Fergusons to the doctor. We did not meet here again until we moved to the Weeks place. We spent the winter at Matz. Beulah rode to the Fox Ridge School (near Morks) with Della McDaniel, who lived in Eagle Butte. In the spring we moved to Jim Wiegands place. They moved to Eagle Butte as Mrs. Wiegand taught Ganjes school south of Eagle Butte. We had a nice house there and plenty of wood for fuel and good neighbors, E. Brueschkes, Carl Petersons and Hans Joens, Sr. We moved to the Albee place next year, 1/2 mile from Eagle Butte so the kids walked to school and we even walked in for a free movie now and then, as we could not go otherwise. Chris worked out most of the time for Fay Lavender and others. Marvin was born at the Wiegand place. Dr. Green attended, probably the last doctor who made house calls from Eagle Butte. In 1940 we moved to the Weeks place southwest of Eagle Butte. The four oldest children attended the Johnson school. Edna Drummond, Daina Dunbar and Barbara Linn were the teachers. Daina lived in Dupree and rode the train to Eagle Butte where someone would bring her out to school. Many times she walked from Mork's, 2 1/2 miles across country. We had deep snow one January and she walked, got to Anton Zachers exhausted. Mr. Zacher took her with the team and wagon to the school, 2 1/2 miles away. Janice and Janelle were born on the Weeks place. Louie Meiers were our near neighbors there. She came over to help at Janice's birth. Their children got water from our well, with a little wagon and cream cans. Their well water was not good. Anna Meiers invited us to the Prairie Pride Club parties so we got acquainted with the neighbors and I then joined the club. Harry Weeks was a suicide victim. The hole remained in the attic roof of the house but his ghost never haunted us while we lived there. Floyd Parker bought the place and moved the house to his place. During one bad winter, Chris walked to Vroomans, 1 mile south and Lee Konkler, Myrtle Vrooman, Pete Zacher went with team and wagon to the Gregory Zacher place and by auto to Eagle Butte. Coming home they collided with Carl Peterson, who was driving a truck. The road was a tunnel through the snowdrifts. They were all badly hurt, those in the car, facial cuts, etc. Chris nearly bled to death. Carl Peterson put pressure on the wound and the bleeding was stopped. They took them to Mrs. Shannon in Eagle Butte and Dr. Creamer attended to them. In 1946 we moved to the Rosene place. H. D. Woodward owned it, Jim Keegan's lived there. The Woodwards lived in Lantry. Keegans moved to the Blue Eye place south of here. Albert Rosene homesteaded there and the school was named after him. Derl, Roger, Preston and Marvin drove a team of horses hitched to the wagon, 3 1/2 miles south while they attended school. Janice and Janelle graduated from Dupree High School. Some of our good neighbors were: McGills, Severs, Arleigh McLellan, Owen McLellan, Willis Thomas, Schad's, Yusko's. Mrs. Yusko had a few sheep and she would walk over the prairie hunting for them when they were missing. She enjoyed her walk as she very seldom accepted a ride. We are retired now and live on the farm. Our sons farm the land. We celebrated our S2nd wedding anniversary on February 16, 1981. Our children are as follows: Beulah, (Mrs. Gene Burgess) lives in Martin, South Dakota and is a teacher there. Derl is a farmer and rancher and lives in Lantry. Roger, married Barbara Munroe and they live in Sturgis where he is a maintenance engineer at Ft. Meade. Preston lives in Merriman, Nebraska where he is a maintenance engineer at Martin High School. Marvin married JoAnn Selby from Faith and they operate the Philips Station and live in Lantry. Janice married James Selby and they live in Faith, South Dakota. She is a homemaker and waitress. Janelle married Bob Follett and they live in Cheyenne, Wyoming. She is a beautician. Lauren is a farmer and rancher and lives in Lantry. Lloyd married Dianne LaPlante and he farms and ranches at Lantry. We have 23 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren. Two of the boys are veterans of World War II. Roger was in the Marine Corps and Derl was in the Army. [photo - Beulah, Derl, Mom (Belle) and Chris, Loren and Janelle. The old house on the Rosene place] [photo - December 1960 From right to left: Marvin, Preston, Roger, Derl, Janelle, Janice, Beulah, Lauren, Belle, Chris and Lloyd] [photo - An oil well being capped on the Chris Jensen place in 1963. They capped it] J. P. JENSEN Mr. J. P. Jensen came to Ziebach County in 1910 and settled on a homestead west of Dupree. Mr. Jensen had studied the carpenter trade while a boy in Denmark and continued with this work after coming to South Dakota. On May 1, 1907 he landed in New York City. He went to Cedar Falls, Iowa where he had relatives. He worked there that summer as a carpenter for the going wages of 22 1/2 cents per hour. Several years later in Chicago, he worked for the construction company that built the Northwestern Railway Depot. But in 1910 it was the Milwaukee Railroad which brought him to Eagle Butte, which was the end of the line at that time. He found a quarter of land to his liking about five miles northeast of Faith in Ziebach County. He filed on it in Aberdeen, South Dakota in November 1910. In April 1911 he brought in two cars of household goods, farm machinery and horses. He broke up 50 acres and had planned to plant flax but it was so dry that he kept the seed in the sack. He seeded ten acres of oats that never came up until fall when they had a little rain. He also planted some potatoes and when he dug them up in the fall, they were as good as when he had planted them. They really kept well in dry storage. However, 1912, proved that crops could be raised in this country. On July 28, 1912 he was married to Anna Cecilie Hansen of Chicago, Illinois. Four children were born to this union. Edith, Mrs. Karl Dexheimer, lives in Faith, as does Margaret, Mrs. Raymond Burnett. Folmer is deceased, as is Edwin. Mrs. Jensen passed away in 1930. On June 20, 1935, he married Ida Hegre of Redelm, South Dakota. Their three children are: Marie, Mrs. Dale Ingalls, of Opal, South Dakota; Volmer and Eldon of Lemmon, South Dakota. Through the years until 1950 he worked steadily either as a carpenter or as a rancher. He built up his ranch from a 181 acre homestead to about 5000 acres of deeded land. He had always taken an active interest in the activities of Ziebach County and was always very interested in the school situation. THE THEODORE JENSEN FAMILY by Mrs. Jim (Ray) Jensen John Theodore Jensen, the son of Otto Jensen, was born in Iowa City, Iowa, and arrived with his family in Ziebach County on September 3, 1921. Young Jensen's grandparents came to the United States from Germany. Emma Sinkula Jensen's grandparents came to this country from Bohemia and settled in Wisconsin in 1854. The Sinkula's then moved to Colfax County, Nebraska in 1873. John (known as Theodore) and Emma were married in Stanton, Nebraska on September 19, 1904. They then homesteaded near Burke in Gregory County, South Dakota, where six of their seven children were born. In 1921 the family moved to Ziebach County to eventually settle five and one-half miles south of Dupree. They were bounded by the Christiansen family, Mr. and Mrs. William Peavoy, the Solmonson family, and on the east by the vacant quarter of land owned by Bill Marple. The two-week trip from Burke to Dupree in their Chalmers car was quite arduous for the Jensen family. They had shipped their grand piano and other furnishings by rail and later sought shelter with the Solmonson's, the Peavoy's, and the Miracle's. Following Theodore's death in December, 1921, Emma traded the Chalmers for a Maxwell and enough lumber to build a one-room house. She then traded the Maxwell to Pete Knodel to build the house for them. Because the lumber was a long time in delivery, the house did not become a reality until 1925. Mildred, Evelyn, Jim and Geraldine attended the Gage school for two years. Because it was four and one-half miles from home, they would stay at the schoolhouse all week. Their teachers were Lillian Martin and Kitty Davis. Mrs. Davis would also spend the week at the school. Ted rode back and forth on a horse he bought for twelve dollars from Jim Davis. After Mildred's graduation, she and Adeline attended high school and worked for their board in the Shamrock Cafe in Dupree. Emma and Jim lived in the rectory and kept house for Father Timothy O'Brien, in Dupree. A small house was rented for the other children, and Mildred and Ted ran the farm. Jim served as Father O'Brien's altar boy and following the Sunday Mass at the Dupree church, they would drive to outlying missions for a second Mass. Quite often they would go hungry until their return to Dupree. In the spring of 1925, upon completion of the 12' x 16' house, Emma and her family moved to the farm. She canned wild fruit which she traded to the Indians in exchange for digging a cave and setting fences. Later that summer Emma built a bowery to give dances to raise money for the church. In the fall she used the lumber from the bowery to build a granary and then decided to move it up against the house for use as a bedroom. Emma and Ted farmed about fifty acres of virgin prairie and raised corn to feed their livestock. Jim would herd cattle for twenty-five cents a day and trapped muskrats, skunks, mink, and other small fur- bearing animals to help support the family. He would earn an average of eight dollars per week to add to the family's bank account. Ted left home late in 1925 to do some travelling and in February, 1926, Mildred became Sister Mary Theodore, R.S.M. In 1928 Emma, Evelyn, Jim, Geraldine, and Robinette moved to Omaha, Nebraska. Emma first worked at St. Catherine's Hospital, sewed at an overall factory, then taught homemaking for the W.P.A. Still later she sewed at the Blackstone Hotel, a linen supply company, and Boys Town until she retired. Sister Mary Theodore (Mildred) and Sister Mary Roch (Adeline) alternate weeks caring for Emma, who recently celebrated her ninety- sixth birthday. Adeline Jensen graduated from Dupree High School, attended college in Huron, South Dakota, and taught in Timber Lake, South Dakota and Dubuque, Iowa. She entered the Monastery of St. Glare in Omaha to become Sister Mary Roch, O.S.C. Alice Mildred entered St. Mary's Seminary of the Sisters of Mercy in Omaha in 1925. She became Sister Mary Theodore, R.S.M. and graduated from nurse's training at the St. Catherine's School of Nursing. She was assigned to supervision and teaching while taking classes at Creighton University. She received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing in June, 1935. She is currently in charge of St. Catherine's Hospital School of Nursing Alumnae Association. Theodore Otto (Ted) married a North Dakota native and has worked as a carpenter all through the years. Evelyn Rose married Edward Smajka. They lived in Omaha until Ed retired from the Union Pacific Railroad. Evelyn died in 1976; Ed, in 1978. Woodrow James (Jim) married Harriett Katherine (Kay) Hartley in 1938. He worked for forty-nine years for Standard Blueprint Company of Omaha. They had two sons and one daughter. Geraldine Agnes worked for the 7th Service Command of the War Department in Omaha and met her husband, Joseph Krznarich, at a USO activity. They moved to Minneapolis where Joe worked until retirement for Minneapolis-Honeywel1. Robinette Juliette became a registered nurse and worked during World War II in Gorgas Hospital, Panama Canal Zone, and later in various hospitals throughout the United States, including Alaska. She was married to William M. Thorpe. NELS A. JEPPSON FAMILY by Mrs. Katherine Jeppson Nels A. Jeppson filed on a homestead in Ziebach County in June 1910. The homestead was 4 1/2 miles west of Isabel. In October Mr. Jeppson brought his family to the claim. The family moved from St. Peter, Minnesota bringing with them two children. Mr. Jeppson returned to St. Peter to his work and his wife and the two children stayed on the homestead until the year of 1913, when he returned with the fifth immigrant car intending to farm. He began to pay taxes in 1911; our first crop and garden was planted in 1911. We saw no rain until September of that year. There were four cows to care for and some chickens. Our first year on the homestead was difficult for we had trouble with range cattle, but later we got up a fence which helped. The winter of 1911 and 1912 brought heavy snow, and we could not get about with our horse and buggy. A good neighbor made a sled and took us to town to get our supplies. Every homestead around us was taken, many of them by young single fellows. Our first real crop was five acres of flax in 1912, and it seemed all years ending in the even numbers were good years. Our expenses increased; more machinery was bought and we got in debt. We rented more land, as homesteaders left the county. When the children left, we had to hire help, as we could not manage alone. We had some wonderful neighbors, the Spellmans, Herseys, Chas. Young, the Schmidt brothers, Charles Bennett and to the north of us were the Feltons, Diamonds, Njos', Dragesets and many others that I do not recall. By 1914, a schoolhouse was built and in this we had dances; our music was a graphophone owned by Fred Little. Many happy hours were spent together in good neighborliness until the flu got bad; then all meetings were taboo, it was so fatal. For a time, we had a Red Cross branch from Dupree, but that too was cut off by the flu illnesses. When we got a crop, prices were low. However, our stock increased, and we milked more cows to make our expenses. When an inheritance came along, more land was bought. In 1932, we had a wonderful crop, but wheat was 16 cents a bushel and oats 15 cents. The machine companies took back the threshing machine and other farming implements. We sold our land to keep going, until in 1941, we had one quarter left. In 1944 the place was rented, and Mrs. Jeppson moved to Isabel, as Mr. Jeppson passed away in 1943. In August, 1946, the land was sold for $1.00 per acre, and the buyers did not make good the price at that. (Mrs. Jeppson lived in Aberdeen and was 87 years of age in 1960.) ORLIE W. JEWETT Orlie W. Jewett was born February 22, 1910 in Pierre, South Dakota. He attended school in Sturgis. In April 1934 he married Velma DeRoos in Ft. Pierre, South Dakota. The couple ranched in the Dupree area until 1950. They then farmed for four years in the Arpan area, before moving to Nisland. In 1960 they moved to Belle Fourche and he was the custodian at the school until he retired in 1972. He was a charter member of the Moose Lodge of Belle Fourche. Orlie died in June 1978 at the age of 68. The Orlie Jewett children are: Orlin, Gary, Sandi, Sharon and Ellen. PEARL UNDERWOOD HANKINS JEWETT written by Barbara Begeman information by Frances Reich Pearl Underwood was born August 31, 1882 in Redmond, Boon County, Nebraska. In 1883 she and her family packed their belongings in a covered wagon, joined a wagon train and headed for South Dakota. There were ten families that traveled together and settled twenty miles east of Rapid City on Rapid Creek Divide. Pearl was married at the early age of -sixteen to Arthur James Hankins. In 1900 a daughter, Helen Lillian, was born to them. She is now Mrs. Walter Weaver, Whitewood, South Dakota. When Helen was eleven months old, tragedy struck the Hankins household. Arthur became ill and died. As money was scarce, Pearl and baby Helen moved into Rapid City and stayed with Arthur's sister. This lady took care of Helen while mother Pearl worked at various jobs, usually in other people's homes taking care of someone who was ill. One source of entertainment in those days was dances. It was at one of these functions that she met a handsome cowboy named Frank Jewett. In 1905 Pearl and Frank were married. Five children were born to this union. George, Frances (my mother, Mrs. John Reich), Gladys, Orlie and Ruth. Frank ranched and by the time Frances was about seven, they lived in a big house near the railroad tracks in Wasta. Pearl and Frank had warned their children about railroad tramps. One day Mom and Dad Jewett went to another town leaving all the children at home. The kids were playing when Helen spotted a man coming to their house. Helen herded all the children in the house and locked them in a closet with Frances standing guard. The unknown fellow knocked on the door but not a sound was heard. He eventually assumed no one was home and wandered on down the railroad tracks. Apparently the Jewett clan was plenty scared as Aunt Helen and Mother recall this incident quite vividly. Mother attended first grade in Rapid City, second grade in Sulphur and third through seventh in Sturgis. All this time Pearl worked as a mid-wife and helped bring many babies into this world, in addition to rearing her own. When mother was an eighth grader, the Jewett family moved to the Dupree area. She attended the eighth grade at the O'Donnell school which was taught by Elmer Leckness. They had become interested in this area through two Jewett brothers, Bob and Oliver. The latter told Frank about the Robert Makes Room ranch on the Little Moreau River which was for sale. Pearl, Frank and family moved to this ranch. It later became the Chauncey Johnson Ranch and is now owned by Curly Johnson. The Jewetts lived on this place until 1927. At that time Pearl moved into Dupree and began her job of nursing with Dr. Creamer. Frank moved to Big Timber, Montana. Walt and Helen Weaver lived on the ranch. Pearl's granddaughter, Lavonne Weaver, born June 25, 1927, was the first child she helped deliver while working with Dr. Creamer. Pearl worked for Dr. Creamer until ill health forced his retirement in 1949. She returned to Sturgis at that time and lived with daughter Ruth. In the 1960's she moved to Rapid City where she took care of a patient until the patient passed away. Pearl moved into a nursing home in Belle Fourche, later she was moved to Sturgis. As her grandchild, I don't remember Grandma until she had reached her later years of life. I remember that she came to visit us only in the summertime. The outdoor jaunts to the little biffy and no running water were two things she liked to forget. I thought she was the prettiest lady I had ever seen and certainly the grandest. She always had her nails painted a bright red. It was the delight of her visit when she would paint my nails red just like hers. When she was in good health, after much pleading she would dance the jig for us much to the delight of her grandchildren. Pearl Underwood Hankins Jewett passed away at the Sturgis Hospital on January 17, 1972 after suffering a stroke. She was eighty-nine. PEARL JEWETT by Ruth Jewett Hurst These memories I've been asked to share Of Pearl Jewett's work as a nurse out there. The first hint of a hospital came Just two blocks east of Main In a three room house located between Jim Howard's home and Helen Wenger. The first baby born was Lavonne Weaver on June 25th, 1927, a girl to Mr. and Mrs. Walter Weaver delivered by Dr. Creamer and Pearl Jewett. With lots of babies and not enough space they had to move to another place. This building next to the Ziebach County News office, owned by Mr. and Mrs. Lange was a hat shop. It was sold to Mrs. Effie Weaver, she ran a hat shop. Dr. Creamer rented this larger place, it soon became crowded but served them well while the new hospital was being built. They moved into it two years later. Dr. Creamer's office was in the front with a main street entrance. The hospital behind the office had a side entrance with a neat board walk. Nurses and helpers besides Pearl Jewett were Mrs. (Nettle) Ward Zimmerman, Mrs. Walter Menzel and Hazel Sever. Ill health forced Dr. Creamer to retire, they moved back to Boone, Iowa. Mrs. Jewett returned to her old camping ground of Sturgis, South Dakota. They delivered most of the babies of the area near Dupree from 1927 until 1949. I, as Ruth Jewett, started the first dress shop at Dupree. Ruth's Dress Shop kept me too busy to run the streets or spend time in the pool halls. The Dupree Saturday night dances could never keep me home. These were Dupree's goodies of the week! My sister and her husband, Helen and Walt Weaver had an excellent cafe there for lots of busy years. Another sister, Frances, and her husband Johnnie Reich, have built a new home on their ranch north of Dupree where they have raised their children, farmed and ranched for so many years. Time jets by but I can remember many experiences and lots of fun that would take too much time and I've got to run. Pearl Jewett, the nurse who held your hand Brought the bed pan at your command, Cooked your goodies Served on a tray, Spoiled your babies your ten day stay. She was happy giving her best. Now she and Dr. Creamer are both at rest, God bless them! THE CARL JOHNSON FAMILY by Harold Johnson My father, Carl Johnson, immigrated from Sweden in 1908 at the age of eighteen. He often repeated the story of how all newcomers had to have twenty-five dollars each to be admitted to the United States. He didn't have it, so when they arrived at Ellis Island, he and a friend connived to have one at the head of the inspection line and the other at the rear. The front man used the money, rushed to the rear and gave it to his friend so they both got by inspection. Imagine coming to a new, strange land under these circumstances! He went to Moline, Illinois where the shops were hiring "green" immigrants for just the wages needed for a couple meals a day and a sack to crawl in at night. My mother, Gerda Clausen, came in 1912 and worked as a "Swedish maid" for a doctor on Chicago's North Shore. Dad worked in Illinois for a couple of years until the factory life was getting the best of his health. He then worked on a farm in Iowa and later on construction in Minnesota. He heard about the free land in South Dakota and came to Ziebach County in 1913 to file on the N.E. 1/4 12-11-20. He built the usual shack and had a barn dug in the bank with a roof made of hay and straw. As a quarter of land was not productive enough to provide even the necessities for one bachelor, he worked at different jobs, staying on the claim just long enough to comply with the requirements for proving up. Every quarter in this area had a claim holder on it. Many stayed only a short time. Some around Dad’s quarter were: James Price, John Holt, Callens, Leakes, Solmonson's and Langes. In 1918 Mother and a friend came out on vacation to this wonderful land my father had been describing to her. She never went back to Chicago and they were married on July 8, 1918. I was born in the homestead shack on May 2, 1919 with Dr. Creamer the attending physician. A quarter of land was not enough. Some of the owners sold their land, pocketed the money and leased larger places, others borrowed from the State of South Dakota on what was known as Rural Credit. Very few ever paid up these loans. Dad sold his homestead quarter and moved to the John Grenhild place east of Cliff Birkeland's farm. Later they moved to the G. P. Warner place along the Cherry Creek road. My sister, Viola, was born here. My youngest sister, Carol was born in the Dupree hospital. In the fall of 1936 we bought the N. D. Jennerson farm where our family still resides. The Chase postoffice was closed that year and the Jennersons moved to Los Angeles to be near their son, George. A source of income for the small farmer was the raising of turkeys. Most families would have from fifty to one hundred turkeys each summer, depending on how hungry the coyotes were or how many died from "blackhead,' a disease like cholera that would really clean up a turkey flock in a hurry. This money would be used to clothe the family for the winter. Viola and I attended Gage School. We rode the four miles on horseback. The school was located one mile east of the present Clint Farlee ranch. Carol attended the White Swan School. I started working for the A.S.C.S. in Dupree in 1939 on a part-time basis. I enlisted in the Navy in 1942 and served three and one-half years in the Pacific area. I received my discharge in 1945 and returned to Dupree. In 1946 I started working for the farm program as a range inspector, which was mostly staking stock water dams. In 1953 I was elected to the Ziebach County A.S.C.S. Committee. I served here for twenty-one years, twenty years as chairman. I married Neoma Bierman in 1956, and we have four boys. Mark works for Montana Dakota Utilities in Lemmon. He is married to the former Carolyn McDaniel. Douglas works for Dupree Lumber and Supply. Richard is a student at the National College of Business in Rapid City, and Dale is a sophomore in Dupree High School. Viola graduated from Dupree High School, served as deputy auditor and one term as auditor. She married Everett Shrader who was a teacher in the Dupree school. He later became a pharmacist working in Belle Fourche, Rapid City and is now in Denver nearing retirement from the Walgreen Company. They have two children: David, working in Denver and attending Colorado University; Donna is married and lives in California with her husband who is in the Air Force. Carol also graduated from Dupree High School. She was employed in Belle Fourche where she met and married Leon Pope. They have two boys Boyd and Brian. Brian is at home and Boyd is married to Tarah Ritchie and they have one son, Brandon, the only great grandchild. They all live in the Wichita, Kansas area. Dad passed away December 24, 1959 at the age of seventy. Mother is now ninety years old and lives with Viola in Denver. CHAUNCEY L. JOHNSON Chauncey L. Johnson was born October 14, 1881 at Peoria, Kansas. Edith Johnson was born June 6, 1896 on the Missouri River south of La Plant. At the age of 19 Chauncey went to work on the Narcisse Narcelle ranch 20 miles south of Faith where he stayed for nine years. In 1909 he went to work as foreman for Mrs. Herbert on the 24 Ranch, eight miles north of Lantry on Bear Creek. While there he homesteaded two miles west of the ranch and married his first wife, Josephine, who died in 1918. In 1919 he moved to California and later returned to Timber Lake and there he married Edith Pearman. Edith had attended St. Elizabeth Mission, Pierre Indian School and graduated from Haskell Institute at Lawrence, Kansas. She later was a matron in the Pierre Indian School and in 1919 moved to Timber Lake. The couple lived on a ranch` northeast of Dupree most of their lives. Chauncey died November, 1974 at the age of 93 and Edith died in August 1974 at the age of 78. The Johnson children are Anthony (Curley) Johnson, Ella Belle Tomlin, Mrs. Lawrence (Evelyn) O'Leary, Mrs. F. C. (Eda Jewell) Reno, Jr., Mrs. Billy J. (Betty) Brooks and Mrs. Dean (Emma Lu) Reeves. THE CHESTER JOHNSON FAMILY by Gertrude Trask Chester was the son of Christopher Johnson, who immigrated to Carthage, South Dakota from near Trondhiem, Norway in 1887; and Gertrude Ness who immigrated to South Dakota from near Hardanger, Norway in 1884. His parents were married in Sioux Falls in 1891 and came to Faith, South Dakota in 1910 to homestead on a location 4 miles north of town in Perkins County. Chester was 16 years of age at that time. His brothers and sisters were: Inez (who married in eastern Dakota), Inga, Jesse, Violet, Elsie, Curtis, Laura, Maurice and Arthur. He worked at many jobs, farming for his father, breaking land with horses and plow for other settlers, delivering milk to the residents of Faith and clerking in George W. Jenks grocery store. He recalls the excitement of January 12, 1911 when the first train came to Faith. On July 23, 1916, he filed on a homestead south and east of Faith, on Mud Creek in Ziebach County. Kate Spilman was also a child of immigrants. Daniel Spilman, the son of a Vicar of Yorkshire, England, came to America from England in 1868. Kate's mother, Thea Anderson, came to America from Valders, Norway which was situated in Hollingdal Valley. In the summer of 1914 Kate came by train to Faith to visit her brother Tom who had a "claim" 15 miles north of Faith near the Moreau River. When she arrived she learned, to her dismay, that brother Tom had gone to the harvest fields in North Dakota. Kindly neighbors, the Joe Miller family, invited her to stay with them until Tom returned. Kate learned to love the prairie, and the people, and when she returned home to Iowa to fulfill her teaching contract, which was for a term of 2 months, it was with a promise that she would return later in the fall to teach school on the Moreau River. When she returned, she filed on a 'claim' adjoining her brother Tom. She never returned to her native Iowa to live, and in October of 1916 she and Chester Johnson were married at Bison, South Dakota. They went to live on Chesters homestead on Mud Creek. They lived on this Mud Creek ranch for about a quarter of a century, and next to their children, they loved this ranch as much as anything on earth. Seven children were born to them: Daniel, Gertrude, Kenneth, Thelma, Russell, Ethel, and Beverly. In June of 1943 they were saddened when their youngest son, Russell, was killed by lightning while riding on the prairie during a sudden thunderstorm. They turned the operation of the ranch over to their son, Kenneth, and he and his wife have continued to live there for almost 40 years. Daniel, the oldest son, was graduated from the South Dakota School of Mines in 1940, holding a degree in Chemical Engineering. He married Adeline Knutson of Rapid City and they have three children: Sharon, Marion and David. Dan had lived in Seattle working for Boeing for 25 years prior to his death from cancer in 1980. Gertrude attended college at Spearfish and became a teacher. During the summer months she worked at a Black Hills Resort near Hill City, where she met Kenneth Trask. They were married in 1939 and have three children: Belva, Virginia and Alien. They operated a Ford agency in Custer 20 years prior to Kenny's death of a heart attack in 1975. Kenneth married Carol Frame in 1940. Thelma married Jim Frame in 1941. Ethel was married to Lester Lammers in 1951. She had one daughter Leslie, Mrs. Raymond Driving Hawk of Mission, South Dakota. Leslie died September 17, 1982 of a lingering illness. Ethel lives in the Dupree Manor. In 1955 Beverly was married to Dan Lindblom whom she met while attending college in Brookings. They have six children: Greg, Owen, David, Mary, Scott, and Ryan. Bev and Dan live on a ranch near Rapid City. Kate and Chester celebrated their 64th wedding anniversary in 1980. Kate passed away at Sturgis in March of 1981 and is buried in the family plot at Faith, South Dakota. Chester continues to live at their home in Sturgis. [photo - Kate and Chester Johnson, wedding picture 1916] [photo - Kate and Chester Johnson on their 50th wedding anniversary. Beverly, Kenneth, Thelma, Ethel, Daniel and Gertrude] JOHN J. and BERTHA E. (HALLEM) JOHNSON by Mrs. Robert Hoherz John J. Johnson was born in 1877 in Dell Rapids, South Dakota and died in Glendale, California in 1956. Bertha Hallem was born in Sweden in 1881. Her parents were Norwegian. She died in Glendale, California in 1972. Her mother passed away in 1884 and the next year the family moved to the United States. Bertha, her sister Anna and two brothers were raised in the homes of relatives near Sioux Falls. John and Bertha were married in 1899 at Garretson, South Dakota. Fifteen years later, with five daughters and a son, they came to Eagle Butte. They stayed at the Art Chalmers home (Anna was her sister) until a house they purchased could be moved eight miles southwest of Eagle Butte to their homestead. They had 320 acres in Ziebach County. Lutheran church services and school classes were held in one of the rooms of the Johnson home. G. M. Drummond taught Myrtle and Edith in their 7th and 8th grades. He was also high school superintendent in 1915 when Myrtle attended her freshman year. There was a teacher shortage, she attended summer school in 1915, then taught the Hoxing school for two years. Their last child, E. Vincent, was born on the farm in 1916. In 1919 the farm home was destroyed by fire. It occurred on a Monday--wash day for our family. As a result we were all wearing our oldest clothing and that was all that was salvaged from the fire. Ralph Hallem, Bertha's father, was an experienced carpenter so he, with the help of family and neighbors immediately constructed another home. It was enclosed so we could move in before winter. This was a two story, five bedroom home with large dining room, living room and kitchen. There was a floor furnace, hardwood floors and a basement. The oldest daughter, Myrtle, was engaged to be married to Frank Peterson. Her wedding dress and all shower gifts were lost in the fire that destroyed the Johnson home in 1919. She replaced her dress and received additional gifts that were stored at the home of Uncle Art and Aunt Emma Chalmers in Eagle Butte. While the Chalmers were helping volunteers replace the Johnson home, their home burned to the ground. Also stored in their home were items such as a sewing machine, dishes, cooking utensils, clothing and new material for clothing, etc. given to the Johnson family. Myrtle and Frank were married in 1919, their children are Ernest and Viola Faye. The school built in 1919 was called the Johnson School. John and Harry Weeks served on the school board for several years. A teacher who bearded at the Johnson home was Grace Ronninger. There was no school dormitory, traveling eight miles daily was impossible so the Johnsons moved to Eagle Butte in 1927 where Fern, Maurice, Margaret, Ilda and Vincent graduated from high school. John and Bertha operated a cafe for two years. John became school custodian and continued that for twenty-three years. He took a very special interest in the school grounds, planted trees and carried water for them. When running water was available in 1930 he planted many more shrubs and trees. Bertha had delivered many babies and in 1928 began operating a maternity home. They purchased the Starkey home and lived there until moving to California in 1949. Their home in the country was moved into Eagle Butte and is still occupied. Bertha "Muzzle" was the only one in the family and was the only one in the neighborhood to escape the 1918 flu epidemic which took many lives. She cared for the family and livestock and also helped many stricken neighbors. The family never had a Christmas tree in their home, but the children would hang up stockings with much excitement and the expectation of receiving an apple, orange, some candy and peanuts. Besides the stocking often would be much needed shoes or boots. Christmas morning hours were spent in glee, counting candy and nuts to determine how long they would last if only one piece a day was eaten! The much valued boots or shoes were tried on many times. Prior to Christmas, mother would do much baking and popped corn for us to string along with cranberries for the tree at school. The program and tree was perhaps the highlight of the year! Dressed in their very best, perhaps a new dress if mother could manage to make it, all the children performed in the program. Lighting the tree with real candles was a great delight. Parents stood by to guard against a tree fire. Refreshments were shared by every one. Social gatherings were held in the Johnson home in the winter, and near the creek in summertime. There would be dancing and visiting, John would provide music with his fiddle. Extra large groups were served coffee made in the copper boiler, the only container large enough. The women made ice cream in the summer, the men turned the cranks. MR. and MRS. KENNETH JOHNSON [photo - Kenneth and Carol Johnson - 1947 Dennis, Arlyce, Cheryl, Dean] Kenneth Johnson and Carol Frame were married November 21, 1940. They worked on the ranch with Kenneth's father, Chester Johnson. In 1943 Kenneth took over his father's ranch and operated on a partnership basis until 1967 when he purchased the home place. Kenneth and Carol raised sheep for many years with some cattle as a sideline. Low prices, lack of good help, and loss from coyotes made the sheep business very discouraging. Kenneth sold the sheep and went into the cattle business. Kenneth and Carol have four children, two boys and two girls. Dennis Marvin was born October 11, 1941 at Dupree, South Dakota. He attended elementary grades at the Mud Butte rural school, high school in Faith, and graduated from the School of Mines in Rapid City as a Commissioned Officer and with a degree in metallurgy. He went into the armed service and spent time in Germany, later in the First Cavalry in Vietnam. He returned to the United States and spent another year in the service at Fort Carson, Colorado Springs, Colorado. He was married to Welma Hawkins in Colorado Springs. Dennis and Welma have two children, Angelique and Lyle Eric. Dennis and his family have resided in Arvada, Colorado for a number of years where he is employed by Hazen Industries, a metal research company. Dean Malvin was born February 2, 1945 in Pierre, South Dakota. he attended the Mud Butte rural elementary school and high school in Faith, South Dakota. He joined the National Guard after graduation and spent several years in the service. He was married to Barbara Highline in Washington state. They returned to the Faith area and worked for several local ranchers. Dean and Barbara had two children, Devin and Rebecca. The couple was later divorced and Dean married Judy Griffith whom he met where he was working near Loveland, Colorado. Dean and Judy have three children, Christopher Warren, John Isaacs, and Russel Dean. Dean and Judy have purchased the Lloyd Dunbar land adjoining his father and they engage in both farming and ranching. Arlyce Marilyn Johnson was born December 4, 1944 at Dupree, South Dakota. She attended elementary grades at the Mud Butte rural school, high school in Faith, and graduated from Dakota Wesleyan at Mitchell with a degree in elementary education. She was married to Harry (Butch) Krause in 1966. Arlyce and Butch have three children, Kyle Lynn, Kenneth Wayne, and Karyl Anne, all of whom are attending school in Faith. They live about one mile east of Faith on the place formerly owned by Harry Krause Sr. Arlyce is teaching in the Faith school and Butch is in partnership with his father in the meat processing business in Faith. Cheryl Marlene Johnson was born December 30, 1945 at Dupree, South Dakota. She attended elementary grades at the Mud Butte rural school, high school in Faith, and graduated from college in Greeley, Colorado with a teaching degree in Home Economics. She was married to Alan Fowler from Faith in 1965 while she was still in college. After her graduation they moved to Loveland, Colorado where Alan was employed by Hulett- Packard. They later moved back to Faith. Alan and Cheryl have two children, Darin and Faith, who are attending school in Faith. The Fowlers have established their own Prairie Gold Honey business in Faith. Cheryl works part time at the post office. Kenneth continues to operate the ranch which he has expanded considerably by purchasing adjoining land when it was available. Carol taught school for many years and is now elementary principal for the Faith School District. Kenneth and Carol have purchased a new home in Faith, but as yet, are still living and working on the ranch. ART and FREDA JONES by Art Jones We were both born in Nebraska but came to Gregory County, South Dakota at the tender age of one year. My folks came to Burke, South Dakota from Columbus, Nebraska, in 1905, in two covered wagons. My older brother, who is still alive and well at 92, drove one of the wagons. He was only fourteen at the time, but still remembers the trip well. Freda's folks came to Naper, Nebraska. She too moved into South Dakota when a baby but only over the state line to Herrick, South Dakota. She moved with her family to Ziebach County in 1918 and I guess she could qualify as a pioneer. She is the oldest living member of the Dupree Congregational Church (United Church of Christ). My family did not come to Dupree until 1932--that period of history is now known as the "Good Old Days." Going back to that time of the 'Dirty Thirties', there are many changes in Ziebach County as everywhere else, some good and some bad. A lot of people now think they have rough going. Everyone today should experience one year of living then--no money, no jobs, no crops and no welfare, no Social Security and you really had to make it the hard way or not at all. On the other hand, nobody had anything, so everybody was friends and would share. That, of course, was before the affluent society, the me and I time. We have only one big problem today and that is we have been blessed with too much of everything. The physical changes in Ziebach County have been great, due to the outside help. The greatest need is and always will be water and rainfall. Building of stock dams in western South Dakota has been the greatest accomplishment in the improvement of physical conditions. The second greatest item to improve conditions in Ziebach County was beginning of larger units of operation, better farming practices and above all, better equipment and better seeds. A lot of sage brush and "hard pan" has been put into good producing land. Now it must be taken care of from year to year and not left to blow away. Perhaps the greatest handicap is lack of medical facilities. It is too bad that something in this line couldn't have been accomplished twenty or thirty years ago, at Dupree, the center of the entire area. But this was not to be. Now it means long travel for anyone needing medical aid. For those who do not have children or other close relatives it means that you must infringe on other people to get you there. This is especially true of older people. The next best thing is that you move to where those medical facilities are located. This is not much of a historical report but does express things that concern Ziebach County. Freda and I both shall never forget the almost fifty years we lived in Ziebach County and for our four wonderful children that grew up there, we know that they are better because of it. Nor, will we forget the friendly people and help we got in the "Dirty Thirties." We would be in Dupree yet if it were not for medical and other problems that go with older age. Freda and I feel this writing is 'historical' and hope it may encourage others to write of their life and experiences in the past or present in Ziebach County. History is made by people at certain periods of time. [photo - Freda and Art Jones] ELBERT (Eb) JONES submitted from memories of Jackie Birkeland Eb was born at Sioux Point, Dakota Territory, April 3, 1866. His father and mother, John Milton Jones and Sophia Dicy Swift, married at Sioux Falls, Iowa in 1864. Eb worked for many cattle outfits and was a scout for the United States Army. In 1888 he and Julie Anne Langlois of Valentine, Nebraska were married. Her father, Joe Langlois had been a scout with Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer in Kansas. He later came to Ft. Pierre, then lived near the forks of the Cheyenne River. In 1906 Eb and Julie Anne Jones moved to Cherry Creek where the children could go to school. It was there that they lost their 13- yearold daughter, Sophia Dicy. In 1908 Eb was elected County Commissioner of Stanley County, an honor he relinquished after moving to Dupree. There he was appointed deputy sheriff. At Dupree Eb was engaged, with partners, in the activity of locating homesteaders. Their work was extensive and they had offices in Aberdeen, LeBeau and Dupree. In the dry year of 1911, Eb was forced to move his stock to the Moreau River for feed. While they were up there, he and a daughter were employed in making two pictures for a movie company. He furnished seventy-five head of horses at a pretty fair price. Eb's wife died in the spring of 1928 while in Wyoming and is buried at Wheatland. He purchased and moved to a place on Cherry Creek, fifteen miles from the mouth of that stream. His home there was a dugout type house, the back room served as a cellar. The house was very cool in summer and warm in winter with windows facing the south. In 1931 Eb and Dessie Jamieson were married. They had known each other for forty years. They lived there until 1936 when they moved to Whitewood, South Dakota. Eb passed away there at the age of 72 on February 17, 1939. Eb served Greater Stanley County as deputy sheriff, U.S. Marshall and county commissioner. While in Ziebach County and with the coming of the railroad in 1910, he founded the town of Dupree, built its first store and post office, a land office building and a livery stable, and the Ziebach County News. His formal education ended with the 4th grade. At that time he joined his father in a long freighting trip along the east bank of the Missouri River to Ft. Berthold about 150 miles above Bismarck, North Dakota. He was then ten years old and doing a man's work as far as his size permitted. (The above submitted by Leonard Linn from notes left by his mother, Alice Linn). Eb and his second wife, Dessie Jamison Jones, were our friends and neighbors where we lived several miles apart, he on Ash Creek and we on Cherry Creek. He spoke the Indian language fluently and was a great historian and story teller. Unfortunately, his lifetime diary was lost when their home burned. He pointed out to me the pine covered draw near the Francis Straighthead place, just up the creek from the old Carson Day School, where the Indians fled south just before the Battle of Wounded Knee. This is just below the old Sword and Dagger headquarters, on the south side of Cherry Creek. In about 1931, my sister and I accompanied Eb and Dessie to Rapid City. The purpose of the trip was to see the launching of a stratosphere balloon from a natural "bowl" near Rapid City. It did not lift off and a subsequent attempt wasn't successful. We stopped at the Ben Ash monument west of Faith and he told us of his old friend. The inscription reads: "The Trail Blazers here on December 26, 1875, Ben Ash, S. C. Dodge, Russ Marsh, Ed Donahue and Stimmy Stimson on their trip from Bismarck through the Indian country first sighted the Black Hills." We camped in a tent while in Rapid City. Mrs. Jones, a Christian Scientist, went to a revivalist meeting. The next day we drove to the Veteran's Home in Hot Springs where my sister and I had the pleasure of meeting Ben Ash and enjoy the reunion of old friends, listening to their stories. Ben Ash was very old and blind. [photo - Eb Jones (SDSHS)] SEYMOUR JONES Seymour Jones was born Apri129, 1899 on the Rosebud Reservation. He attended rural school in Gregory and graduated from high school in Santee, Nebraska. He attended Yankton College and later worked in the shipyards on the west coast. He married Louise Fisherman White Feather and they lived in Rapid City. He retired in 1962 and returned to Dupree. He was a member of the Odd Fellows Lodge and the United Church of Christ in Dupree. He died in December 1973. A. A. KARLEY A. A. Karley and his wife came to Dupree and established Dupree State Bank in 1910. Through banking contacts in the east, he promoted and advertised the opportunities to be had in the west river country, and was the initial contact for many settlers who came to the area. In 1928, he helped establish, and was the first president of the Dupree Telephone Company. He was always active in civic and community activities and was especially interested in promoting the early baseball teams. He owned considerable land and was engaged in farming activities on a large scale. It was always a matter of much pride to him that Ziebach County was the only county in the state to never have a bank failure. In 1929 there was a merger between the Dupree State Bank and the Farmers State Bank. From 1934-1940, Mr. Karley was associated with Rapid City National Bank. In 1940 the Karleys moved to Madison, South Dakota where Mr. Karley and his son, James, established a hardware store. He sold his interest in the store in 1944 and retired from active business. He remained in Madison until his death in 1956. He was very active in building the Catholic Church and rectory in Dupree. During the winter months there were usually Lyceum concerts with out-of-town musicians. Also there were many excellent home town plays, usually directed by Mrs. Karley. She had professional training in dramatics and her plays will long be remembered in the town of Dupree. Mrs. Karley passed away in 1956. The Karley children are: Celo Karley Shook; W. J. Karley and J. A. Karley. MILO KAUFMAN The Kaufman family arrived here in 1910. Mr. Kaufman worked as a building contractor and he built several of the first buildings in Dupree--school, courthouse, bank, drugstore, Congregational Church, and a number of the early homes. Mr. Kaufman passed away in Eugene, Oregon in 1942. The Kaufman children are: Lester M. Kaufman and Guy R. Kaufman. THE RUSSELL KECKLER FAMILY written by Russell Keckler I graduated from high school in May of 1928. I goofed around until the fall of 1929, then I started work at the Diamond A Cattle Company at the Billy Dunn Camp, which was five miles south of where I now live. Beany and Alice Shannon were the foreman and cook. I spent the winter and spring there feeding cattle and fixing fences. I made $45.00 a month. That summer we fixed dams on their lease until July 4 when a wind and hail storm tore our camp up and we quit fixing dams. I then moved to the round-up wagon on the Missouri River and put up hay until fall. That fall we shipped beef to Sioux City. We sent one and sometimes two train loads a week. The 1st of November, 1929 we moved 1500 head of yearlings. We left 500 at the mouth of the Moreau at the Ambrose Benoist place and the remainder we took to the old Claymore place by Mobridge, which is now owned by Art Smith formerly of Ridgeview. On the trip up, at the Twin Dams, east of La Plant, the manager, Hans Mortenson, brought the good news that the Citizens State Bank at Eagle Butte went broke. I lost all my savings. I stayed alone at Willow Creek the winter of 1929-30. I worked for the Diamond A Cattle Company until 1934 when they closed out and sold all the cattle to the government. We were all laid off that fall. I went back to work in the spring of 1935, but they never operated big after that. I worked for them until May of 1941. Some of the bosses at the Diamond A were Hans Mortenson, Bill Gilbert, Bill Looney, Cable Kyle, and Nels Babcock. Other men I worked with through the years were: Miles and Philip (Poddy) Hudson, John and Shorty Holloway, Shortlog and Johnny Tibbs, John, Leo and George Hagel, Barney Lyons, Gus Johnson, Hickory Spraw, Big Boy, Yellow Jacket, Tom Maupin, Sid Nordvold and many others. I purchased the place I am now living on. On June 15, 1941, I married Alvina Eiteneier at Akaska, South Dakota. We have five children, Jerry, who is married to Jessie Tibbs. They have two girls, Jeri Ann and Mikki Jo and live on the home place with us. Joyce is married to Jerry Collins and they have one daughter, Tami Rae and ranch on the Shorty Collins place 15 miles south of Lantry. Jack married Patti Thompson and they have two children, Billie Jo and J.R. He is engaged in trucking and ranching and lives two miles east of Eagle Butte. Ronnie lives in Lubbock, Texas and is an accountant. Linda married Gerald Thompson and they have three children, Roni Sue, Grady and Shane. They live in Lubbock, Texas and she works for Texas Instruments. We plan to stay on our place and ranch and enjoy our children and grandchildren and hell or high water will not run me off. [photo - Russell and Alvina Keckler wedding picture, June 15, 1941] [photo - Back row: Jerry Keckler, Joyce (Keckler) Collins, Jack Keckler, Ronnie Keckler and Linda Keckler, Russell and Alvina Keckler sitting. This was taken on their fortieth anniversary] WILLIAM C. KECKLER FAMILY written by Russell Keckler My parents were married December 20, 1899 in Troy, Kansas. They were William C. Keckler, who was born in Pinestown, Pennsylvania on February 26, 1873 and Margret Marbel who was born November 26, 1875 at Reading, Ohio. They were the parents of eight children, Gail B. Keckler, born January 29, 1901; Fred Keckler, born December 20, 1901; Lucille Keckler Roberts, born March 29, 1904; Vivian Keckler Bauman, born January 14, 1906; Ray Keckler, born July 23, 1908; Russell Keckler, born September 14, 1910; Billy W. Keckler, born July 9, 1914; and Dorothy Keckler Eiteneier, born September 3, 1916. Ray and Russell were born in Longford, Kansas; Billy and Dorothy at Eagle Butte, South Dakota and the rest were born in Troy, Kansas. My Dad came to the Eagle Butte area in the fall of 1911. He homesteaded six miles southeast of Eagle Butte on SW 1/4, of Section 35, Township 12, Range 24. He built a four room house and a barn. He spent the winter of 1911 and 1912 on the homestead. The summer of 1912 my mother and six children came from Troy, Kansas on the train. She carried her yeast starter for homemade bread on her lap all the way from Kansas. My father was a blacksmith by trade and had set up a blacksmith shop in Eagle Butte. We lived on the homestead for several years, then we moved 1/2 mile from Eagle Butte on the place presently owned by Mrs. Pete Zacher. My dad owned a well drilling machine and drilled wells all over Ziebach and Dewey County for many years. In 1917 we moved one mile west of Eagle Butte on the place now owned by the Bowman Brothers, where my dad was engaged in farming, well drilling and his blacksmith business. He was the best blacksmith in the country. In the spring of 1922 we moved back to the homestead, where we were engaged in farming and ranching. I live two miles south of the original homestead and still own it. Times were tough and then the Dirty 30's hit. We stayed on the homestead during the 30's. We kept the cattle but had to move them to the Moreau River and turn them loose. The horses we kept at home. We took them to the stockyards at Eagle Butte for water. After we had taken them several times they learned to go there for water by themselves once a day. Times started to get better in the late 30's. My father got sick and passed away on September 22, 1940 at the home place. My mother continued to live on the homestead and with the help of several of the boys, continued to ranch. She moved to Eagle Butte in the fall of 1952 where she lived with her son, Fred, until she passed away on May 14, 1959 at her home. Of the eight children, only four remain living. Gail passed away on June 5, 1945; Dorothy passed away May 30, 1962; Fred passed away January 21, 1969 and Ray passed away March 10, 1978. My sister, Lucille Keckler Roberts lives in Seattle, Washington, and Vivian Keckler Bauman lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Billy and I both live in the Eagle Butte area. [photo - Left to right: sons of Mr. and Mrs. William Keckler. Bill Keckler, Russell Keckler, Ray Keckler, Fred Keckler, and Gail Keckler] [photo - Left to right: Dorothy (Keckler) Eiteneier, Vivian (Keckler) Bauman, Mother (Mrs. Wm. Keckler), Lucy (Keckler) Roberts, daughters of Mr. and Mrs. W. C. Keckler] [photo - (Grandma Keckler) Mrs. William Keckler] JAMES KEEGAN, SR. James Keegan was born December 7, 1898 at Wyont, Nebraska. He came to South Dakota with his father in 1908 to homestead. He was married to Ethel Royer on November 12, 1914 at Dupree. They farmed and ranched south of Faith until 1938 when they moved to Dupree and he worked as foreman for W.P.A. Jobs took him to various parts of South Dakota. They moved to Portland, Oregon where he worked in the shipyards until 1945. They then returned to Faith where he worked as a heavy equipment operator until 1971 when he retired. The Keegan children are: Genevive Bachman (deceased); James, Jr., Faith, South Dakota; Valera Maynard (deceased); Mrs. Tom (Eva) Udager, Faith, South Dakota. Mr. Keegan passed away in April 1973 and his wife continues to live at Faith. KELLER FAMILY In the early 1900's, the Anton Keller family immigrated to the United States from Russia, although they were of German origin. They had moved to Russia seeking better opportunities but after finding only hardship, came to this country and settled in Selz, North Dakota. Family history seemed of little importance in those days, so many names, dates and places have been lost. We do know that Michael Keller, Sr., son of Anton, came over with his family from across the ocean. He met and married Mary Ann Niegel, who had also immigrated to this country with her mother and older sister after her father was killed in Russia. He had taken a load of grain to a neighboring village. On the way home robbers attacked him and whipped him severely. He made it to his home village, collapsed from the wagon, and within a few days, died from the beating. Mary shared memories of being so hungry they would search outside for anything at all edible, even hay, to fill the empty spot. Her mother soon took her children and came to the United States in hope of more opportunities. She met and married a man named Niegel, and Mary took his name. Her original last name is unknown. They, too, were living in Selz, North Dakota when Mary met and married Mike Keller, Sr. They moved to Stransburg, North Dakota, then Linton, North Dakota, where they operated a pool hall, and arrived in this area around 1912. Five children were born of this union--a baby girl who died shortly after birth, Anton, Leo (now deceased), Michael, Jr., and Jacob (now deceased). A permanent residence was maintained about twenty miles southwest of Eagle Butte, in Ziebach County. In the summer months Mike, Sr. traveled throughout Ziebach and Dewey counties, running a threshing rig. Always a thinking man, Mike had several irons in the fire, such as running around 100 head of cattle until he was wiped out (with the exception of his milk cow), during an April storm in 1920. He was caught in it himself and spent the night in the Hoxing schoolhouse. Tragedy visited the family in 1923 when Jacob, while trying to follow his brother Mike, Jr., after the milk cow, fell off a plank crossing a creek, caught his foot, and drowned in approximately 3 or 4 inches of water. As with all tragedies, this was a very hard time for the family. In 1927 they moved to Eagle Butte, where Anton, Leo and Mike went to school until spring, when the two older boys were kept home to help with farming, on land Mike, Sr. was renting. Their land southwest of Eagle Butte was rented out until 1936, when the family moved back to the country and went into the sheep business. The boys helped with the business until 1941 and 1942 when Anton and Leo entered the Armed Forces in World War II, and Mike, Jr. remained at home to help his dad. On July 6, 1943, Mike, Sr. was killed in a truck accident south of Eagle Butte. Jack Hunt was with him at the time, but he was not injured. Mary maintained residency in Eagle Butte until 1952 when she passed away. Mike, Jr., with the help of his wife, Neva Bringman, whom he married in 1941, took over management of the ranch until Anton and Leo returned from the Armed Forces. Leo settled on a small place outside of Eagle Butte with his wife, Kathleen Bowman, whom he had married in 1942, and Mike bought out his share of the ranch. Leo lived on his place west of Eagle Butte until the fall of 1979, when he passed away. Later Mike bought out Anton, who then moved to Eagle Butte. Anton never married. He spent his younger years working out, and is now retired. Mike and Neva still live on the original Keller place southwest of Eagle Butte, but have retired and the place has entered the hands of another generation, their son, Danny Mike and his family. They have a son, Larry, who we all hope will carry on when his turn comes. If heredity and the old saying "Like father, like son" holds true, he will not only be a sheep herder, a renowned card player always ready to make a wager, but also a family man with a son to someday hold the Keller place together and pass it on in turn. (Bud) J. W. KELLER Our family moved to Dupree in 1910. Dad had an outpost store at Dupree and had goods freighted from the big store at LeBeau. When LeBeau was burned down by an arsonist in 1909, we moved to Dupree and built a big store. We had a big house across from the Congregational Church. When I was last in Dupree, that lot was vacant. Where the big store was is a filling station. I understand the store burned down. I headed a dance combo called the Prairieland Syncopators. I played the drums, Paul Troon played the sax, John Darling played the piano, Dave Unterseher played the banjo and Bill Cody played the trombone. We played for dances about twice a month in what was then the New Legion Hall. About once a month we played a dance at the Community Hall in Parade. Another activity was the Home Talent Plays. Mrs. A. A. Karley directed them. She had studied drama in college. I often had the male lead, and my sister Ruby often had the female lead. After I graduated from Dupree High School in 1925, I attended Northern at Aberdeen. I taught country school two years. The first school was the Gage School. The pupils were Lee, George and Bessie Gage. I lived with Miss Fielder and her brother Bill. The second year I taught the Sulfur School and lived with the Baer family. Besides the store, we had a ranch north of Dupree. The ranch was called the H-G Ranch. My dad's name was Harry and my mother's name was Grace, hence the name. [photo 2nd Keller Grocery Store] [photo - Keller’s first store in Dupree. The small boy is J. W. Keller. He is crying because he couldn’t go along with his dad (the man in the derby) who was leaving on the train] [photo - Bud Keller at ranch] HARRY E. KELLER FAMILY Mr. and Mrs. Harry Keller came to Dupree by horse and buggy in the spring of 1910. Mr. Keller was one of the first businessmen in Dupree as he owned his own general store. He helped organize the first school and also served on the city planning board. The Kellers also owned a farm 6 miles northwest of Dupree. They were members of the Congregational Church, Masonic Lodge and Eastern Star. Mr. Keller was also the leader of a band in the early years. They moved to Huron, South Dakota in 1927, where they also operated a grocery store until Mr. Keller's death in 1928. Mrs. Keller passed away in Huron in 1947. The Keller children are: John W. Keller, Vera E. Keller and Ruby (Mrs. Tom Luby). TONY KEMPF Tony Kempf settled 12 miles southeast of Eagle Butte in Ziebach County, where he farmed and ranched until 1919. He sold out and went to Eagle Butte to enter the feed, cream, produce business. In 1933 he returned to Miller, South Dakota to run a Co-op milling company, but in 1934 he returned to Dupree and started a pool hall. This he ran for ten years and then he bought a farm one mile south of Dupree, which he remodeled and modernized. Prior to settling in Ziebach County in 1911, he ran a cafe in Eagle Butte. KNIFE Louis Knife (1826-1908) married White Cow/White Buffalo Woman (c. 1833-1910). Their children were: Otter (1852); Iron Cane (1856-1872); Otter #Z/Nancy Knife (b. 1856); White Cow/Lucy (b. 1861); Ka sla sla/Cut Hair/Edith/Slowly (b. 1868); Brings White Horse/Alice (b. 1872); and Hard to Wound/Charles Knife (1856-1952). Nancy Knife married James Talks About Him and later, Thomas Swift Bear. By Talks About Him, Nancy had four children (see Talks). Lucy Knife married Puts On His Shoes. They lived on Flint Rock Creek and adopted a daughter, Sophie. Sophie had one son who was adopted by Moses Eagle Man. Edith married Short Bull and lived along the Moreau River. She later married Bull Eagle. Alice married Fred Allison and they also lived along the Moreau River. They had no children. [photo - White Swan/Puts On His Shoes, his wife, Lucy Knife/White Cow and Edith Knife Short Bull Bull Eagle] [photo - Darlene, Mary (Mrs. George Knife), Viola and Ted Knife] [photo - Susie (Mrs. Phillip Knife), Fred and Rena Knife] CHARLES KNIFE Around 1896, Charles Knife married He maza win/Nellie Yellow Shield(d. 1945). They lived above the mouth of Flint Rock Creek and were the parents of: Phillip Knife (1897-1945); Frances (1898-1941; Mrs. Phillip Lone Eagle/ Kills Alive); Sophia (b. 1905); and George Knife(b. 1909). Phillip Knife had no children by his first wife and then married Susie Hollow Horn Widow. They were the parents of Calvin (b. 1937); Fred (b. 1939); and Rena (b. 1944) Knife. Sophia had a daughter and then married Ed Black Bear, a grandson of Chief Crazy Horse. They had no children. George Knife married Mary Half red (1904-1976). They lived near Red Scaffold and were the parents of Darlene (Mrs. Kenneth Young Bear); Ted Knife of Red Scaffold; and Viola (Mrs. Brian Charging Cloud). JESS AMOS KNIGHT Jess Amos Knight was born January 30, 1925 at Balfe, Nebraska. He was the oldest son of Wally and Sarah Knight. He lived around Cherry Creek all his life. He went to school at the Pierre Indian School and Cheyenne Agency School until 1943 when he joined the United States Army. While in high school he was active in football and boxing. He also did a lot of boxing while he was in the Army overseas. While in the Infantry he served overseas in northern France, Rineland, central Europe. He earned a good conduct medal and a European African Middle Eastern Service Ribbon. In 1947, he married Edith LaPlante in Pierre, and they lived south of Dupree on a ranch. Jess and Edie have eight children: Monte, Lona, Tom, Bill, Jess, Lucy, Jeff, and Mark. Jeff passed away in March 24, 1979 in a Lubbock hospital of injuries sustained in a car accident in February 25, 1979. Jeff was nineteen years old when he died. Jess's family is very active in rodeo. Jess was a saddle bronc rider and a calf roper in his younger days. He quit saddle broncs a couple years after he got married, but continued calf roping for a time. In the early years of the 1950's, Jess worked for Jiggs Thompson, taking care of his cattle, so he was home only on weekends. Then later, he worked for Samuelsons. He also worked for his father on his dirt moving outfit for about two years or so. Jess started out his operation with mostly Herefords, then later he bought some Angus and a few Limousin in his herd. He always had a few head of horses, and his boys broke them to ride. They toughened their horses by riding them up and down hills, jumping creeks and ditches. They were always playing cowboys and Indians when they weren't riding out on the cattle. Later on, they would come home with a bunch of boys and have their practice rodeos. When his boys were younger he trained them up for boxing. Jess and Pete Longbrake had quite a boxing team at Cherry Creek. Jess's boys and Fetes' boys plus some of the local boys were training every evening. Between 1973-1975, they had an outstanding club. In January 1977, Jess suffered a heart attack which slowed him down a bit, but not for long. He became active in the boxing profession again in 1979 and had one champion in the National Silver Gloves in Peoria, Illinois, in 1980 and one in the National Golden Gloves Championship in Montana which he missed out on going to. The following year he took two Silver Gloves Champions to the nationals in Peoria. Jess's boys do a lot of rodeoing. Jess Jr. is a professional saddle bronc rider and was in the top ten standings in the fall of 1980 when he suffered a broken leg and was forced to retire for a while. "Wild Bill", as all his friends call him, is another one of his boys who rides mostly amateur rodeos. Jeff was on his way up to making a champion. He was riding real well and everyone said he was going to be the champion of the boys. Mark is a fine athlete also and has been doing very well in the rodeo game. All the Knight boys have been active in high school rodeos, and are members of various rodeo associations around the country, including P.R.C.A. Lucy has been in rodeo since her high school days and is still competing in barrels and roping events. Lona, Jess and Edies' oldest daughter is presently going to college in Vermillion and will be getting her degree in May 1983. Tom and his wife Deanna are both students at National College of Business at Rapid City. Tom is majoring in electronics and Deanna is majoring in secretarial work. Monte and his wife Sherry are living at Wally's old place. They have one daughter, Dawnita who is 14 years old and going to high school in Dupree. Jess's wife, Edith LaPlante, was born to Mr. and Mrs. Bill LaPlante of White Horse. After graduating from high school, Edith went to Haskell Institute, Lawrence, Kansas in 1946 and 1947. She went to work for Project Head Start in 1965. After seven years with Head Start, Edith worked her way up almost to a two year degree level. Then the Teacher Corps Program which started about two years previously sounded like a good deal so she joined it and at the end of two years was graduated with a degree in Elementary Education and started teaching for the Bureau of Indian Affairs at Cherry Creek Day School and taught there for the past seven years. Edith is now working on her Masters in Elementary School Administration. The Knights have nine grandchildren at present. There are four girls: Dawnee, Heather, Robby, and Jessie Leu. Five boys: Berk, Little Crow, Ryan Lee, Little Wally and Clell. We have only Lucy home right now, but occasionally a few will come home for a few days. We especially enjoy our grandchildren. KNIGHT FAMILIES Wallace Webster Knight was born June 6, 1897 at Marshfield, Missouri. He was the fifth child of Amos Edwin Knight and Nancy Jane Wright Knight, joining brothers Earl and Edward and sister Lila. His father, Amos was born in Clinton, Iowa on June 17, 1870 and his mother Nancy Wright was born in Athens, Missouri on May 12, 1866. Wally's grandfather, Amos Peasley Knight was born October 10, 1828 in Ohio and his grandmother was Mary Baker. We don't know where she was born or where she was from. The family lived for a short time on a fruit farm in the Ozarks of Missouri. While living there Wallace was born. A short time later the family moved to Council Bluffs, Iowa. In March 1902, they moved to a farm at Redfield, South Dakota. At this time sisters Pearl and Leona and brother Ben were added to the family circle. About this time Wally started school. When Wally was nine years old, in 1906, Dad Knight decided to homestead farther west. He bought and trained four bulls to pull the covered wagon. The family crossed the Missouri River at Pierre on a flat boat and settled at Harding Grove. The children were happy at this location as there were many homesteaders with large families and they enjoyed many friendships which lasted all their lives. While living there Wally's seventh grade teacher was his sister Laura. After the Kinkaid Law went into effect. Dad Knight, along with other close neighbors, decided to investigate the Sand Hills region of Nebraska for possible homesteading. Many South Dakotans liked the country and along with Dad Knight, filed for land 35 miles south of Merriman. Earl and Laura, being of age, also filed for land joining Dad Knight's. During a bad blizzard in 1913, Dad Knight and Earl started for Nebraska. They left Wally home to take care of the family stock. In May 1914, Wally started the family out for Nebraska. They traveled in a covered wagon and the trip took two weeks to complete. After helping Mother Knight get settled on the homestead, he went to work at the Sault's ranch, a neighboring ranch to the south. In September of 1914, Wally, Pearl, Leona and Ben started to school at the Ketchum School four miles east of the homestead. In August of 1918 Wally was inducted into the United States Army at Philip. He served in the Cavalry as a wagoneer until his discharge, February 11, 1919 at Camp Funston, Kansas. After his discharge from the Army, Wally spent three years rodeoing, becoming one of the top bronc riders of the country. His name became a legend as the Indians called him "Bronco White". For many years he was known by that name. On December 21, 1921, he married Sarah Inamongst at the Ed Hopkin's ranch in Haakon County. He worked on several ranches along the Cheyenne River including the Ned Wilkinson ranch, a friend of the family, and the Bob Cheney ranch, Ned's brother-in-law. Wally continued rodeoing until after their fourth child was born, although not very often. In 1937 they moved to Ash Creek and started ranching on their own. In 1938 he bought one of the first dirt moving outfits in Ziebach County. He built dams in the county until 1963 when lack of help forced him to abandon his occupation. When Wally first began his dirt moving operation his first hired men were Jay Abdalla, Bain Swan, and Tony Roach. Then later other men who worked for him were Jim Frame, Eugene Henderson, Pat Pesicka, George Lafferty, Toad Frame, Buf Jeffries, Happy Herren, Bud Knight, Stanley Cook, Doug Knight, Darrel Koone, and Jess Knight. Louis Knight got his roping skill from horse roundups. His job was forefooting the wild horses to be branded or cut. He became one of the best forefooters around this area. Wally would come into the corral and say, "I'm gonna give you boys each a shot at it." (fore-footing) If they kept missing he would go in and join the competition and show them up. Some good fun times were had at these events. In the 1940's, you could always look for ward to when the neighbors would gather at Wally's ranch for a romping, stomping good old shin-dig. People would stay and dance until dawn. The Knight family--Wally, Sarah, their children and grandchildren always had family gatherings at the family ranch, Sundays, birthdays, Christmas, New Years, Thanksgiving Easter or any occasion that might come along. There was so much fun just playing baseball, basketball, football, cards, or sledding. Sometimes even the grown ups went up the hills to go sliding with the kids. The girls were even adept at playing football. These were the fun times that the Knight children missed when Wally left us. It seems that the family ties were centered around Wally and Sarah. Wally and Sarah celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary December 29, 1971 at their home. On November 4, 1972 Wally passed away and he is buried near their daughter, Lucille, in Dupree. The Louie Knight family lives on the old Knight place where they raise Longhorn cattle. A roping arena built there provides area cowboys with lots of practice as they gather for calf roping and feeds which are held there. Louie won the old men's breakaway roping championship in 1979. Doug and Marj Knight have a family of three girls and live on Cottonwood Creek. Doug is employed with the Bureau of Indian Affairs Plant Operations at Eagle Butte and Marj works for the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Telephone Authority. Doug served in the U.S. Army in 1951-53 and married Marj at Boston, Massachusetts. They built a nice home and have ranched since then. Lila Knight married Albert Steen, Jr. and they live south of Faith where they ranch, raising cattle and sheep. They have two daughters, Lou Ann, who is employed with the Faith Public School and Jo May, who is presently employed at Billings, Montana. Jo May received a degree in Secondary English in 1981 at South Dakota State University. Nadine Knight is married to Stanley "Duffy" Cook who came from California. They have built up a nice ranch near Red Scaffold and raise cattle. They have a family of five sons. Nadine works with Public Health Service. They have gone into the trucking business recently and their oldest son drives. [photo - Mr. & Mrs. Wally Knight (Wally and Sarah)] THE KNIPFER FAMILY by Helen Knipfer Graslie I was born in Baker, Montana. My parents both came to Montana from Massachusetts. My father, Edwin Knipfer, homesteaded in eastern Montana in about 1903. He was encouraged to come west by an older brother and by his uncle who had come to the area in the late 1800's. I would meet Orville T. Graslie as the result of a great drought in eastern Montana in the summer of 1919. My father and uncle shipped their cattle to the Cheyenne River Reservation for better pasture. There was also a terrible blizzard in 1919. Most of the cattle were lost, but a younger half-brother, Warren J. Knipfer, had come with the cattle, stayed on, married and settled here. He and his wife, Lelia Day, made Redelm their home until 1956. My parents also lived here briefly before they retired in 1950. My maternal grandparents came from the mills of Leichester, England to work in the mills at East Hampton in Massachusetts. I remember seeing them only once when I was very young. I recently stopped to visit a cousin in Montana and mentioned the fact that I knew so little of the man who had brought us all to the west, my uncle, Max Joseph Herrmann. My cousin trotted off to return with a newspaper clipping. It told of a family from the Alsace who had booked passage to America around 1850. Just before they were to leave, the father died suddenly, but the rest of the family, the mother and three children, came on to the "New World". They had been in Massachusetts but a short time when the mother also died. This left young Max Joseph to care for two younger siblings. He began "working out" for neighboring farmers when he was but nine years old. When great-uncle Joe was 15, he moved to Wisconsin, then to Denver, and then to the Black Hills. He was a barber in Deadwood and drove a stagecoach from Spearfish to Sundance, Wyoming. Later, with a partner, he established a ranch somewhere between Box Elder and the Little Missouri in Montana. In reading between the lines in that clipping, I think that things were great for a while. There were no fences and no limits. Then the "honyockers" came, causing their empire to crumble. Uncle Joe tried raising sheep, though not too successfully. He died of pneumonia in Chicago after having taken his sheep to market there. That tough little pioneer died seventeen years before I was born but he shaped my destiny perhaps more than anyone else. I remarked to my cousin that I even had Uncle Joe to thank for my middle name of Marine. She put an arm around my shoulders and said, "Hon, I don't tell very many people this, but my middle name is Herrmann!" Well, we held to each other rocking with laughter, but I'd be willing to bet she'd never have saved that clipping all these years if her middle name hadn't been Herrmann! ROY KRAFT Vernerva (Kraft) Wibben In late October of 1952 Roy Kraft opened the doors of the newly organized Farmers Union Oil Company of which he was manager until his untimely death in early January of 1970. Myself (Venerva) and our children Linda, Bob and Jeanne, joined Roy in early December of 1952 when housing became available. The all encompassing tasks and duties associated with being a working manager of a new business consisted of long days and was often seven days a week in the beginning. We as a family were not only involved in the business, but in the town and community which was to be our home for the next 20 years. Roy and I were a part of a large number of community organizations and participated in community functions and projects, through these interests we were able to learn about and help our fellow mankind in all walks of life. Roy was most concerned that our children and the youth of our community be allowed to fulfill their abilities and ambitions in life. For this Roy worked long and tirelessly as a member of the Dupree school board in the hopes of achieving this for all. For many years Roy served as chairman of the board and still filled that position at the time of his death. As chairman he was privileged to present both 8th and 12th grade diplomas to each of his children, two of whom received all of their 12 years of education in Dupree. In the 20 years we lived in Dupree we saw many changes and hopefully most were for the best. We also saw many people come and go and our circle of friends and acquaintances grew. Numbered among them are our Indian friends who have enriched our lives by teaching us about theirs. Our life in Dupree was an important part of our growth and hopefully we were able to help in the growth of others. Linda and her husband Gerald Carrier, their son Robbie, reside in Renton, Washington. Linda is a merchandiser for the J.C. Penney gift department at Southcenter Mall. Jerry drives a semi for Piano Brothers Asphalt Company of Renton. Bob and his wife Sondra, their daughter Amanda, reside in Kent, Washington. Bob is the wheel and brake specialist at B.F. Goodrich in Seattle. Sondra is a stylist at McBee's Styling Hive in Renton. Jeanne and her husband Dick Pesicka, their sons Shane and Shannon, reside in Renton, Washington. Jeanne is a sales counselor for Benton- McCarthy, Better Homes & Gardens Realty in Renton. Dick is a supervisor for Livingston Boat Company in Auburn, Washington. I and my husband Jack Wibben reside in Kent, Washington. [photo Jeanne, Bob and Linda Kraft in 1959] HARRY KRAUSE Harry Jacob Krause was born near Ft. Pierre October 11, 1909 to Magdelina and Jacob Krause. He had one brother, John. His mother married Oscar Sederstrom when Harry was 3 or 4. They moved to Faith and ran the Commercial Hotel for a few years. They then moved about 5 miles southeast of Faith (in Ziebach County) where he grew up. Harry remembers attending school at the Crane place where Chuck Capp later ranched. Belle Higgins (Isaacs) was his first teacher. He later went to Fairdale School where George Higgins, Ethel Higgins, Doris (Hoskins) Rudd, Maggie Walker, and Daina Dunbar were among his teachers. He had to take eighth grade exams at Dupree and remembers Cliff Birkeland being one of the students with him. The family milked 18 cows, and Harry helped area ranchers whenever he got a chance. He can recall breaking broncs for $5 a head. He married Anna Bauer in 1929. They adopted Doris Faye Bachman in 1941 and had a son, Harry James (Butch), in 1944. After they were married they worked for 6 months in the Badlands building roads. Later they worked for Milt Sturgis trading and breaking horses. They made $30 a month and bearded themselves. In 1938 Sturgis and Krause built the Tri-County Commission Company and ran it until they sold in 1957 to Nip Vane and Eddy Bros. They, in partnership with Ray and Ruth Mason, owned and operated the Faith Locker Plant as a grocery store, and eventually bought the Mason's share. At the present time, Harry and Anna own and operate the Faith Locker Plant where they butcher and process meat, and run a secondhand store. Harry also drives his own truck, hauling livestock. Their daughter, Doris Faye, is married to Warren Reede, son of the Henry Reedes and they have three children: Shane, Cindy and Darian. All are married and have children. Their son, Butch, is married to Arlyce Johnson, daughter of the Kenneth Johnsons and has three children: Kyle, Kenny and Karyl. They attend school at Faith. Harry and Anna recently celebrated their 53rd anniversary. They have six grandchildren and five great grandchildren. THE FAMILY LAFFERTY by Maye Lafferty Ronshaugen My maternal grandfather, Henry Carleton Lafferty, more familiarly known as "Hank", was perhaps the first and most colorful character in our family to participate in the early day history of South Dakota's "West River Country". Born in Durand, Wisconsin, to Irish parents, John Lafferty and Mary Jones, he came to the Dakota Territory at an early age and took up residence in Fort Pierre. He entered government service as a scout and was attached to General Stanley's command at Forts Sully and Rice on the Missouri River frontier. He served under General Sibley and participated at Beaver Creek near Bismarck, North Dakota in 1868 when General Stanley forced the Sioux tribes onto their reservations. In 1869 Hank Lafferty was one of five cowboys who successfully participated in the Battle of the Painted Woods above Fort Rice. When overland trading was established between Fort Pierre and outposts in the Black Hills, Lafferty became a freighter, driving an eight-horse span hitched to a covered wagon. filled with supplies of the day. On one occasion, shortly after leaving Fort Pierre, he was ambushed by a small band of angry Indians, and left for dead in roadside bushes, while those who had assaulted him made off with his wagon and team. Fortunately a French-Indian girl, Elizabeth Larrabee (daughter of Alexander Larrabee, an early-day fur trader) and her friend came upon the battered man. They moved him to safety and tendered care until his recovery was complete. This event caused Lafferty to reassess his attitude toward the Indian and he became their lifelong friend. Romance blossomed from his association with the young woman who had rescued him and they later married. Twelve children were born to this union, eight of whom owned ranch lands at one time or another and live for many years in the vicinity of Dupree. To pioneers they would be remembered as Arthur, Clyde, Gilbert, Walter, Boat (Bert), Mabel, Ruby (who married Willis Johnson), and my mother, Lillian Lee (who married her cousin, Gifford Rigby Lafferty). Hank Lafferty operated Dupree's first store (from a tent) and erected its first two-story frame building at the top of Main Street, known as the Big Chief Hotel. That structure later gave way to a brick building that housed the Salisbury Market. After he quit fighting the Indians, Lafferty learned their language and was adopted into the Cheyenne Sioux Tribe and proudly called all Indians his brothers. Until the time of his death, in 1936, he worked ceaselessly to help them improve their living conditions, constantly keeping in touch on their behalf through the agency offices and with the Department of Interior in Washington, D.C. Some of his efforts were well rewarded, while others went down as failures; but he never gave up. For many years newcomers to the area would wonder about a grave enclosed in a white picket fence just a few miles west of Dupree. This was the grave site of my maternal grandmother, Elizabeth Larrabee Lafferty, who was perhaps one of the first to die in the young Dupree settlement. Grandfather had hoped that this site would be the beginning of a community burial ground but the citizenry decided otherwise, and an area closer to town was chosen. In recent years my grandmother's grave has been moved to the Dupree Cemetery. Now on to other Lafferty pioneers. My father, Gifford Lafferty, was born and educated in Mason City, Iowa, homesteaded in Lyman County (where I was born) and took up residence in Dupree in 1913. At first he operated a dray line with the good help of John Leake. Then, after being offered the managerial position of either the new Bagley Elevator or the Standard Oil Station, he chose the former because at that time he was not convinced of the latter's future. Although the elevator venture was successful, so was the gasoline station under the aegis of one Jim Howard. I was the oldest child of Gifford and Lillian Lafferty. Of four brothers, two now survive: Robert, Denver, Colorado and Jerry who resides in Fresno, California. My mother died in 1940, my father in 1949. I was graduated from Dupree High School in 1928 and attended college in Sioux Falls. In 1933 I married Raydon Palmer Ronshaugen of Roslyn, South Dakota and our residences since that time have included Kidder and Milbank, South Dakota, Madison, Wisconsin, Kent, Connecticut, and Rome, Italy. In the latter city my husband was co-founder of St. Stephen's School, a project which was a high point in a career devoted entirely to education. His World War II years climaxed with his appointment as Director of Curriculum for the world's largest educational enterprise, the United States Armed Forces Institute, more commonly known as USAFI. Now in retirement, we live in our own country place in Cornwall, Connecticut. We have no children. My paternal grandfather, John Lafferty, Jr., can be considered a pioneer as well. Born in Durand, Wisconsin, as was his brother, Henry, he came to Dupree from Mason City, Iowa, by way of Lyman County where he, too, was a homesteader. He and his son Theron (Thede) arrived in Dupree probably in 1915 or 1916 and took up claims some 20 miles south of Dupree. My Grandpa John was a Civil War veteran and many oldtimers will remember with me how proudly he carried the flag at the head of each Memorial Day parade sponsored in Dupree. His good friend who shared this honor was one Tom Owens, A Spanish War veteran, who for many years clerked at the Keller Store. John Lafferty, Jr., and his wife, Mary Belle Ettel, had five children--Leonard, Charles, Ruby, Theron and Gifford; all are now deceased. Thede Lafferty married a Dupree girl, Laura Pidcock Sharpe. Their son, George Henry Lafferty, his wife, Lila, and their family of three are present residents of Dupree where George is the Ziebach County Highway Superintendent. Direct descendants of Hank Lafferty in the area are Eleanor Thompson and Henry (Pinky) Lafferty of Eagle Butte, South Dakota and Ellsworth (Buster) Lafferty of Gettysburg, South Dakota. A third pioneer Lafferty family was that of Edwin Lafferty, the nephew of John and Henry Lafferty. With his wife, Sadie, and daughter, Nora, he came to Dupree as a homesteader in 1916 from Lake City, Minnesota. He stayed here until 1925, eventually living on the 0. U. Miracle Ranch. Nora married Glen French and with their five children, Lucille, Evelyn, Glen, Jr., Virginia and John Gene, did extensive cattle, sheep and horse ranching, first in the Cherry Creek area, south of Timber Lake, South Dakota and finally in the Black Hills area where they now reside. Two granddaughters, Cherie Farlee and Vicki Birkeland, are present day residents of Dupree. BERNARD C. LANNEN by Hugh C. Lannen Bernard Charles Lannen homesteaded thirteen miles southwest of Dupree in 1913. His claim was east of Edward Armentrout. With a team and a slip he built one of the first dams in Ziebach County. In 1915 his son Bernard E., his wife and two small sons, Edward (Mike) and Francis, came. They homesteaded about one and one-half miles further southwest. Hugh was born April 5, 1916 in Grandfather's sod house. Five more children were born in Ziebach County: Peter, September 17, 1918; Thomas, June 7, 1920; twins Katherine and Kenneth, September 17, 1922; Ann, March 25, 1925. Helen inherited $18,000 in 1918. They bought the Anchor brand from Walt and Will Duke in about 1919. It included some cattle and over one hundred head of horses. In 1920 they bought three sections of land south of Rattlesnake Butte. In that year they also built a big house and barn, perhaps the best farm buildings in that area at the time. Standing on that high hill, they were a landmark for many years. Grandfather Bernard C. died in 1928 and is buried in the Catholic Cemetery west of Faith. Sometime in the 1940's, the big house was moved and relocated west of Faith, where the Front porch overlooks Grandfather's grave. The Mastels own the house. The barn was moved west of Rattlesnake Creek. Helen was a school teacher, and Bernard was an ironmolder. Like so many people who came there in those years, they badly over-estimated the average yearly production of the land in the West River country. They dreamed great dreams, and borrowed money to buy land and build buildings. In 1922 and 1923 the land and buildings were foreclosed on. In October, 1925, the sheriff came out and sold most of what was left for back taxes. We spent the winter of 1925-26 in Faith but were back on the old homestead in the spring of 1926. Bernard had a Model-T truck and a contract to haul coal to the country schools. He also hauled grain and livestock. Father was very good at training young people to perform useful tasks. He could have been a successful employment agent. He would very carefully instruct one in the main and important parts of the job at hand. When he thought you understood it, you were on your own. There was seldom any criticism. He trusted you and that trust was seldom betrayed. From about the age of seven to ten we would herd cattle or sheep and milk cows and do chores. From ten to fifteen, we were ready for field work, haying and harvesting. After fifteen we were capable of almost any manual job that country had to offer. We left the homestead in 1932 and lived a year on the Walling place. In 1933 we moved to the Keller place northwest of Dupree. Thomas graduated from Dupree High School in 1937 and Katherine graduated in 1941. Ann went there two years and graduated in Rapid City. The rest of us earned our degrees in the school of hard knocks. The folks moved to the Miracle place southwest of Dupree in 1937. That place burned in 1938 and they moved to Everett Reynold's place west of town on Bear Creek. They later bought that place. Edward and Francis and Hugh and Peter left Ziebach County in late 1935. None of us lived there again. Thomas left there in 1939, Katherine and Kenneth in 1941. Ann lived there until 1943. In the late fall of 1943, Helen and Bernard sold out and moved to Spokane, Washington. Helen died in 1955 and Bernard in 1963. Francis lived in Burbank, California. He was a heavy equipment operator and had a fleet of trucks. He died in 1969. Edward and Hugh, until their recent retirement, were for many years carpenters and millwrights. Edward lived at Pinehurst, Idaho and Hugh in Spokane. Peter, until retirement, was a carpenter and long-time union official at Anchorage, Alaska. he now lives in Spokane. Thomas is a heavy duty construction crane operator and lives in La Mesa, California. Katherine was a school teacher. She later ran taverns and restaurants and now lives in Downey, California. Kenneth worked at many things. He now lives in Deadwood. Ann is a registered nurse and lives in Spokane. [photo - B. E. Lannen Anchor Brand Ranch Taken about 1927] [photo - In the spring of 1924 a very unusual spotted colt was born to one of Lannen’s mares. Bernard showed him at fairs all over the state and in 1928 sold him for $1000 at the International Livestock Show in Chicago. This picture of Bernard and the 3-year-old was taken in 1927] [photo - Dakota prairie scene, 1924] LaPLANTE Louis LaPlante came of French lineage. He was a native of Quebec, Canada, born November 11, 1835, to Louis LaPlante and Sophia Marran LaPlante. His paternal grandfather and father were seafaring men. Louis first went to sea as a sailor at a young age. He sailed to parts in Germany and the British Isles in 1852 and arrived in New Orleans of that year. Louis later became a noted Indian trader, government scout and then a rancher in the early 1900's. He was married three times and had 2 sons from each union. Charles was a son of Louis's from his second marriage to Nancy Garreaux, a half breed Sioux. Charlie was born in 1869 near Chamberlain, South Dakota, twenty years before South Dakota became a state. He was one of 6 sons of Louis LaPlante. Charlie's father, Louis, had acquired a ranch near Midland on Bad River. In 1894, Charlie along with his brothers and sisters moved to the Cheyenne River Reservation and Charlie rode horseback throughout all the Ziebach County area and beyond. On April 29, 1895, Charlie married Fannie Gage, to which union was born 13 children, 6 boys and 7 girls. They lived in various places ranching at White Horse for several years. In 1932, they moved on Butcher Creek about 15 miles south of Faith and lived there until 1948. After living in Faith until 1962, they moved to Eagle Butte and then to Timber Lake. Fannie passed away on March 8, 1966 at age 89 and Charlie lived to the grand old age of 99. He passed away March 20, 1968. Both are buried at Timber Lake, South Dakota. [photo - Charlie and Fanny LaPlante on Charlie’s 90th birthday - 1960] BABE LaPLANTE I REMEMBER BABE by George Toll Babe LaPlante is one person whose memory is very much with me today. Babe used to provide a haven in the Theatre for people during the tornado season, undoubtedly saving many lives. He and his family were very early settlers to the Dupree area. He'd only just built a house east of town and lived there but a few days when it was totally destroyed by fire. His wife died a short while later leaving behind several small children. The eldest, Corinne, was only about 10 years old when she had to take over the care of the other children. I believe that some of the LaPlante children were cared for by families in Dupree but they moved to Rapid City, South Dakota in the 1920's. Corinne lives at Seal Beach Leisure World in California. She has excellent recall and tells some of the most amazing stories of early Ziebach County! [photo - LaPlantes: Charles, Babe, Louie, Alex. Seated: Fred, Louie, Sr. and George] [photo - Last Roundup Club. Meeting at Belle Fourche during the 67th convention of the South Dakota Stock Growers association, veteran cowboy members of the Last Roundup club (those who participated in the last open range roundup west of the Missouri in 1902) had this picture taken. In the front row kneeling, left to right, they are: Robert Cruickshank, Sturgis; Bert Hall, Kennebec; Charles Endicott, Custer; Billie Shoun, Ottumwa; George Tarrant, Sturgis. Middle row, starting left: Jess Estes, Spearfish; G. A. Williams, Belle Fourche; Charles Strong, Enning; Jack Gehen, Sioux City, Iowa; Bob McAdams, Deadwood; Charles LaPlante, Faith; Alfred Hopkins, Faith; Frank Soesbe, Gregory; Paul Ames, Spearfish; Lon Meredith from California; Frank Glover, Belle Fourche; Bill Lamoureaux, Valentine, Nebraska. Rear, starting at right: F. H. Sinclair, Sheridan, Wyoming; Colonel Frank Gothier, Anthon, Iowa; Jim Estes, Rapid City; E. A. Humphrey, Rapid City; Fred Bohnsack, Banner, Wyoming; Mert Fowler, Belle Fourche; Eardley Ham, Rapid City; Charles H. White, Oelrichs; A. L. Dinehart, Chamberlain; Gene McPherson, Sturgis; H. F. Bork, Okaton; W. T. Breeding, Belle Fourche] [photo - Charlie LaPlante and Babe LaPlante] THE ROY H. LAWRENCE FAMILY by Amida Lawrence Roy Lawrence was born April 6, 1895. He came from the Lebanon, Kansas area in the summer of 1917 to work in the harvest fields near Groton, South Dakota. On May 17, 1918, he enlisted in the U.S. Army in Aberdeen and was sent to Camp Dodge, Iowa, for basic training. He then was sent to a Pittsburg, Pennsylvania camp and attended Carnegie Institute of Technology for radio mechanics. After his discharge from the Army he returned to South Dakota and continued to work in the Groton and Aberdeen area. In July of 1919 Roy came to Dupree with the George Henderson haying crew. In September of that year he started working for the G. S. Cattle Company south of Dupree. Leo Starr and Fletch Hensley were also working for this same cattle company. In the fall of 1920 he and his friends, John and Ernie Leake, went to Kansas for corn picking. He spent the winter in Lebanon, Kansas, with his sister, but returned to Groton, South Dakota, in the spring. He worked there until 1922 when he came to Dupree to work on the Henderson-Wartenweiler farm. Later he worked for Harry Mosher in his McCormick-Deering Implement Shop as a mechanic and also did some farming. On November 26, 1925, he married Amida Serr. In 1929 Roy was appointed rural mail carrier for a route in the northwest and northeast area around Dupree. This was the first and only rural route in the county, which he served for 30 years. He retired in December of 1959 and continued to live in Dupree until his death on April 24, 1974. Amida still lives in Dupree. They have three children: Barbara, born August 19, 1928; Beverly, born September 3, 1930 and Ronald, born April 23, 1938. Barbara married Rudy Stradinger in Dupree, June 27, 1948. They live in Spearfish, South Dakota, where Rudy teaches at Black Hills State College. Prior to that he taught school at Martin, Eureka, and Watertown. He is a graduate of Yankton College. Barbara also attended Yankton College. She is now a medical receptionist. They have three children-Kirk, Julie, and Tamara, and five grandchildren. Beverly married Robert Huckins in Dupree, August 19, 1951, and they now live in Pierre. Robert is working in the State Educational Department and Beverly works in the Game and Fish Department Office. They are both graduates of Iowa State Teachers College at Cedar Falls, Iowa. Prior to their move to Pierre, they both taught school in Dupree for seven years and Mission, South Dakota, for two years. They have seven children--Ellen, Scott, Kathy, Marc and Brian (twins), Kent and Mary, and two grandchildren. Ronald enlisted in the Air Force after graduation from high school and was stationed at March Air Force Base in Riverside, California. He married Betty Lee Birkeland on December 21, 1958. While in California, Ronald attended night school and following his discharge they moved to Vermillion, South Dakota. Pre-med requirements were completed 1960 62 and two years of medical school at the University of South Dakota followed. His last two years of medical school were taken at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he received his M.D. in 1966. Their family then moved to Danville, Pennsylvania, where Ronald took a one year general internship and four years of surgical residency. They moved to Mobridge, South Dakota, the summer of 1971, and presently live there where Ronald maintains a practice in general surgery. Petty also graduated from the University of South Dakota and is a registered nurse. They have four children--Diana, Alan, Timothy and Tricia. Roy and Amida also maintained an active interest in community affairs. Roy served as president of the Commercial Club. They were members of Odd Fellows and Rebekah Lodge, American Legion and Auxiliary, and held offices in the Congregational Church. Amida also served a term as a school board member. Roy enjoyed sports. He played with the town baseball team, played with the Legion basketball team, and coached a summer boys baseball team. His son, Ronald followed his Dad's footsteps in sports. [photo - The Roy Lawrence family, Barbara, Roy, Ronnie, Amida, Beverly] [photo - Leonard and Jackie Birkeland, Betty, Ronald, Amida and Roy Lawrence, 1972] ERNEST C. LEAKE Ernest Leake came to Dupree with his parents, arriving in May 1911 from Arcadia, Nebraska. They homesteaded a few miles northwest of Dupree. As a teenager he played with the Dupree baseball team. Ernie served in the United States Army and returned to Dupree where he served as deputy sheriff and worked as a carpenter. He married Mable Marple. During the drought years they moved their family to Portland, Oregon. During World War II, although he was too old to serve in the armed forces, he accepted some high priority work in the shipyards and was a pioneer in radar installation on ships built in Oregon shipyards. He never lost his love for Dupree as he attended many of the reunions. The Leake children are Norman and Darlene Preston. JOHN H. LEAKE FAMILY John H. Leake, Ansley, Nebraska, filed a claim on land three and one half miles northwest of Dupree in 1910. In the fall of that year, Mr. Leake and his son, John, came by way of Isabel to build a house on that land. Upon completion of the house they returned to Ansley. In the spring of 1911 Leake brought his wife, Effie, and four of their six children-John, Ernest, Gertrude and Fred-back to Dupree in a covered wagon, sleeping in a tent along the way. They were detained for a few days in Wood, South Dakota due to a snowstorm. In 1912 Leslie and his bride came to Dupree and homesteaded on land just eight miles south of town. Harold followed in 1913 and filed on land close by. In 1917 John filed on land adjoining his brother Harold's. In May of 1917 John enlisted in the Army. Later Harold and Ernest would join to serve their country-Harold in the Navy and Ernest in the Army. Following the war and upon their return to Dupree, all three brothers would become active in the Edwin Hodgdon Legion Post 124 and assist in building the first legion hall in Dupree. During the first summer of its construction, the basement and floor were finished and bowery dances were enjoyed by local people as well as many others from the surrounding area. During World War I, Effie Leake was very active doing American Red Cross work. She was also an active participant in the organization of St. Phillips Episcopal Church in Dupree. John H. Leake passed away in 1916, Fred in 1926, and Effie, who became Mrs. O. S. Geesey in 1932, passed away in 1934. Harold Leake moved to Gresham, Oregon and was a Ford Motor Company salesman until his death in 1972. The John and Ernest Leake families left Dupree in 1931 and have lived in Portland, Oregon, since that time. Mrs. Ernest Leake (Mabel Marple) passed away in 1970. Mr. and Mrs. Verdo Rinehart (Gertrude) left Dupree in 1936 and lived in Oregon until her death in 1969. Verdo Rinehart now resides in Salem, Oregon. The Leslie Leake family went to Portland from Dupree in 1943. Leslie passed away in 1979. The children of these families still live in various parts of Oregon. Of the original Leake family, only John remains. He belongs to the Multnomah Barracks 1287 of World War I veterans; John is a past Commander. John also belongs to the Masonic Lodge 171 in Dupree, having received his 50 year pin in 1972. JOHN LEBER taken from the Faith Country Book John Leber was born in 1880 at Swan Lake, South Dakota, which was located 30 miles north of Yankton. His parents had settled there in 1878. John recalls the famous blizzard of January 12, 1888. The forenoon had been warm, cloudy, and quiet. Shortly after noon it started to snow. The storm grew wild and furious rapidly and in 15 or 20 minutes it was a raging blizzard. By the next morning the storm was over, but a good many inches of snow had fallen and drifted. Because of a slight illness the Leber children had been kept home from school that day of the storm. The frozen body of a neighbor lady, Mrs. Kneff, was found. She had attempted to reach the schoolhouse to get her daughter. The little girl was safe at the school with her teacher. In January, 1911, John came to Dupree on the first train. That spring he built a building in Dupree and leased it for a pool hall. In 1912 John married Kate Weiland and they lived for four years on her homestead three miles south of Redelm. In 1916 they moved to John's homestead on Red Coat Creek where they raised both sheep and cattle. He served one term as county commissioner of Ziebach County and was assessor three different times. The first time in 1915 he was both assessor and census taker. His area consisted of 18 townships along the west side of Ziebach County. His mode of transportation was a saddle horse. One year John was offered 65 cents for his wool. He held for 75 cents and took 23 cents. The next year he sold for 16 cents and the third year for 8 cents. Another experience of his happened during the blizzard of March 21 and 22, 1920. The storm started Sunday evening. The next morning he realized his band of sheep would drift under if left where they were bedded. He had to get them across a creek full of water to a pole shed. The sheep were so blinded with snow clinging to their faces that it was impossible to get them to trail across the creek on a long sheep panel. One by one he carried the sheep, between 400 and 500, across the panel to safety. Working until 3 A.M., John kept the sheep moving around so they would stay on top of the snow. After a few hours of much needed rest, he returned to the shed to find the sheep still on top of the snow with their backs against the shed roof. From this trying experience he lost only 13 sheep. During the same storm an acquaintance of John's lost all of his 800 sheep. The Lebers sold their ranch and moved to Faith in 1946, where they operated a dairy for about 10 years. ANDREW LEE Mr. Andrew Lee established residence on his homestead in Ziebach County in the summer of 1910. In 1911 he brought his family out from Wisconsin. The Lees farmed and ranched on this homestead until shortly before his death in 1949. Mr. Lee was a charter member of the First Lutheran Church in Dupree. The Lee children were: Mrs. O. S. Nygaard and Mrs. L. M. Kaufman. ISAAC LEE by L. Ted Lee and Mable Lee Brown Wolf My parents were Ike and Ida Lee. Dad was born in Kansas and mother in Iowa. They were married in Missouri. Mable and I were born in Missouri. We and the Jim Pidcock family left Missouri in 1910 with two immigrant cars headed for Dakota. The homesteads of Dad and Jim were eight miles southwest of Dupree. I believe ours was SW 1/4, Township 10, Range 20. Mable and I attended the Whittler School, one mile north. The teachers I remember were Cora Wince and Guy Kaufman. Our classmates were: Pidcock children, Jess Miller children, James Gray, and Hattie Hanson, who stayed at the Burt Goodnew home. Our house was of sod, bare 2 x 4's and sheeting with a dirt floor. A cook stove from Missouri was all the heat I can remember. Dad tried to farm as he did not know much about livestock. We had only a few pigs in a pen or a milk cow in a stall, Missouri fashion, which was no formula for Dakota. Neighbors were very good and did their very best, most of them as bad off as we were. The ranchers there told the people what the country was like but of course no one believed them. The Indians also tried to steer the Honyockers. The men started from Burlington Junction, Missouri with three wagons of supplies and three or four wagons to haul the people. In five or six days the women loaded the children and other things on the train and headed for Omaha. These women and children joined their husbands with the covered wagons and headed towards South Dakota, going along the east side of the Missouri River. There the seven covered wagons crossed on a large flat ferry. The family names were my parents, Mr. and Mrs. Isaac W. Lee and two children, Luman Theodore, age two years and myself, Mable Dora, age five years; Mr. and Mrs. Frank Cunningham; Mr. and Mrs. Reade, and I think there were one or two children; Mr. and Mrs. James Pidcock and nine children. The wagon train headed southwest, across country, heading for the homesteads which were located seventeen miles southwest of the present town of Dupree, South Dakota. I remember approaching riders from the southeast, on the flat east of present Eagle Butte. These riders were young cowhands of the big Diamond A Cattle Company. As I recall, these riders included a Mr. Maupin, Mr. Clarence Ward, and I think one was the late Irish Tommy Condon, and seems like a Dupris was one. One day, after we reached the claim, a family came over the ridge. It happened to be Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Bridwell and their two daughters, Carrie Mae and Marietta. There began that day a long and sincere friendship between myself and the Bridwell girls. The first real labor my father did on his new home was to dig with a shovel a large nine feet-deep hole which he called a cave. He traded some of the things he brought from Missouri to Mr. Bridwell and Mr. Owl King and Mr. Ward for poles or logs with which to put a roof over this hole. He put a door on one side and steps going to the bottom of the cave. This cave served as our refrigerator and a place to keep our garden stuff for many years to come. My dad and the other settlers' men folks took their teams and wagons up to Timber Lake for fresh supplies. There the men each purchased a sulky plow, a plow drawn by two or four horses, and brought it home with them. Then they plowed up the land and cut squares of sod. Placing these sod strips on top of the boards, they would put tar paper and pour tar over it to keep out the rain. Sometimes they even put a layer of sod on the roof. They put windows and door frames of lumber purchased from Timber Lake or Isabel. On the inside was blue building paper for covering over the sod, and canvas tents for floor covering. These houses were warm in the winter and cool in summer but not very strong...not strong enough to turn the horn of a steer, for example. There was a large water hole in a slough, about a mile from the house. We had to go to down to this water hole to carry water for all our household uses, washing clothes, cooking and so on. On this special day, my mother took my brother and me with her to carry water from the water hole. She had five-gallon pails that she always used to carry water. Mr. Bridwell had warned us all to beware of wild cattle which were numerous then. He called them Texas Longhorns. We got to the water hole and were just about to reach the top of the hill where our house was. Lo and behold, Mother heard a bellowing such as those steers made. All at once we saw a lone animal approaching. Mother grabbed my brother and put him astraddle on her side and me on the other side. In each hand she still carried a five gallon pail of water. She started to run. We had about the distance of a city block to go before we reached the house. We just went around the corner of the house when that steer ran his horn through the corner of the house. The whole corner of our sod house had to be replaced. One of the roaming cowboys just happened through that spot and saw what happened. He came to the house to see if any one survived. He tried whipping the steer but finally had to shoot the animal to get it away. After the house and cave were completed, Dad took a green willow stick and witched it in front of him to locate water. He must have walked the length of seven city blocks before this stick began to buckle up in his hands. There with a post hole auger he started to dig a well. He dug as deep as the auger was long, then he took a shovel and spade and made a well 43 feet deep, and six across. He dug maybe 30 feet and struck a small vein of water coming through a thick layer of blue shale. He took a steel crowbar and dug through the shale and there he struck a wonderful big vein of soft water. He put up a derrick above the well with a pulley and rope and pail. I, on top, hauled the dirt and slush up and returned the empty pail. Dad stepped in this pail and I hauled him to the surface. That water kept rising to about 20 or 30 feet. Dad and I went to another neighbor's place who had lots of stony hills around his home. This land is about 10 miles south of Dupree west of the highway and in these hills we dug out blue granite rock, broke it as we could, so Dad could handle it, and hauled this rock by horse and wagon to this well. Dad walled this well from top to bottom with this rock and when finished he purchased a pump from Isabel and put in this well. About 1915, Dad took another homestead south of Ash Creek, about ten or twelve miles from the first. At our new home we had many Indian families for our neighbors. Several of their children went to school with us. Mr. Edward Swan had two girls, Mr. Dick Swan had a boy and a girl, and Mr. Oscar Bridwell had two girls and two boys. Then in between there was Mr. Phillip Brownwolf, but their children all went to school at Pierre Indian Boarding School. When school was out in the spring there were several young people home from different schools. It was one of these young men who in 1922 became my husband. In August or September, I just don't recall, there was a big fair and rodeo going on at Faith. Mr. Brownwolf's family had all gone. He had been going by our place before and would stop and talk to all he saw. Well, this one time he decided that maybe we could go with him to the fair. He loaded his record player into the buggy drawn by two horses and he came over to Dad, and asked Dad, "Mr. Lee, I would like to trade my record player for your girl" Of course, Dad did not approve, but after he left I did a lot of coaxing and I wanted to go to the fair, so Dad said I could go with the Bridwell girls. I came home about four days later and John bringing me. Dad asked him to take his record player home so it wouldn't get broken. John said, "No, I traded for your girl." We were married December 29, 1922 in Dupree by Reverend Owens. Avie Geesey Lange and Thomas Kills First were our witnesses. We had five children: Oliver Phillip was born in 1924; Charlotte Iola in 1928; Leroy A. Melvin in 1935; his twin sister, Flora Belle, was stillborn; and KayAnn-Aloma was born in 1942. John Brown Wolf died in 1943. Mable Lee Brown Wolf passed away in 1975 and is buried at the Custer Cemetery. L. TED LEE I married Doris Perkins in 1931. We left Dakota in 1943 and moved to Iowa. Doris died in 1965. In 1969, Rheba Wagoner of Lexington, Kentucky and I were married. Doris and I had five children: Dale, in Iowa; Lyle, San Marcus, Texas; Sid, Lubbock, Texas; Virginia, Spokane, Washington; and Billy, Fort Smith, Arkansas. I had two brothers, George and Albert, and two sisters, Mable and Olive. Mable, Olive and George are all deceased. Albert lives in Maysville, Missouri. THE JOHN LEMKE FAMILY HISTORY by Mercedes Lemke I was born about 18 miles south of Glen Ullin, North Dakota in Morton County south of the Heart River, February 6, 1913. I was the oldest child of Maurice and Mary (Yusko) Tracy. My next sister Mrs. Alvin (Rose) Griffith was also born at the same location. When we were quite young, our parents pulled stakes and left their North Dakota homestead moving south to Coal Springs, South Dakota. Another sister Mrs. Alvin (Josephine) Denton and brother Major Thomas T. Tracy (de ceased) joined the family. Later our parents acquired some land closer to Faith, South Dakota where they hoped to build a new home and send us to school. Our father was graduated from an engineering school and expected to work on the railroad. It wasn't in the cards however, for both he and our mother contracted the flu in 1918 and both, along with an infant son, passed away just before Christmas. They were the first buried in the Catholic Cemetery at Faith, South Dakota. Our maternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. George Yusko, took us into their home which already had six members at home, making ten of us in all. My grandmother was the only mother my youngest sister and brother ever knew. I received my formal education in Soliday and Rosene schools in Ziebach County, my high school education in Lemmon, and one year and summer sessions at Northern State Teachers College. John was born the youngest member of Mr. and Mrs. William Lemke (our closest neighbor) March 8, 1915. It was a cold winter with snow above the fence lines, so even with the help of neighbors, it was very difficult for the family doctor, Frank H. Creamer of Dupree, to make his way to the Lemke home in time to save Mrs. Lemke's life after complications of childbirth. But the miracle was performed. Other members of the Lemke family are Mrs. Lurinda Perkins, Mrs. Harold (Virena) Rasmussen (deceased), Mrs. Carmine Albert and an only brother Orville. John also attended Soliday School his first two years. His parents and family moved back to Wisconsin where he attended one year at Wausau and one year at Abbotsford. They then moved to Minneapolis where they lived two years. From there his family moved to Santa Clara, California where he completed his 7th grade. The following year the family, just with the two brothers now, moved back to their original homestead in Ziebach County, which they had rented out while they were gone. John completed his 8th grade at Soliday School. He started high school at Eagle Butte. Due to many complications and hardships in those days he decided against completing high school and remained at home where his parents needed him. When work was slack at home he obtained many outside jobs besides breaking horses, and playing for dances and parties. We started dating after my first year of teaching and intermittently over a few years, during which time we each traveled out the eastern and southern United States and Canada. The SDEA convention was being held in Hot Springs, so we asked John's sister and brother-in- law, Mr. and Mrs. Lou Perkins to be our witnesses at our wedding. We left early the next morning for Newcastle, Wyoming where we had a civil wedding October 23, 1941. We chose Wyoming mainly because they did not require blood tests which took time. We made it back to Hot Springs in time for dinner and the first session of the convention. We didn't have fancy weddings in those days, we were happy to be able to pay the officials and buy the necessary items to set up housekeeping. The first few months we rented and lived on Howard McDaniel's ranch. I kept on teaching school, while John ranched and broke horses. In February of 1942 we bought a house from the Olson family at Lantry and moved it near John's parents home as John's father was in poor health and needed help. John farmed and milked cows and I helped during the summer months while school was not in session. There were anxieties during the war years, we didn't know from day to day if John would be drafted or not, until they decided they needed the farm boys more at home. Maurice was born May 6, 1945 at St. Mary's Hospital in Pierre. In January 1946 we purchased the Ed McGill farm and moved there that following June. A good crop of barley helped us to pay the balance of the transaction that fall. The first part of October of that year John's father William Lemke passed away from a stroke. On July 28, 1947 John D. joined the family, then Alice on Mother's Day, May 1949. Jim was born the following year on September 16. He was two weeks old when we lost our Grandmother Yusko with a heart attack. As time went on we enlarged the acreage of our farming and ranching operation. Until the boys were big enough to help us we had hired help. In the fall of 1952 John's mother came to live with us. That year we got REA, and the Lantry Telephone Company was organized, which was quite an asset. On June 26, 1954 our youngest son Clayton was born. The older children were delighted with a new baby, including the neighbor children. In February of 1959 Grandma Lemke passed away at 85 years of age. We missed her very much. Our children received most of their elementary education at Soliday school. Maurice went his first year at Lantry and Clayton the last four years at Dupree. They all graduated from Dupree high school except Clayton who completed his last two years at Eagle Butte. Maurice and John D. were graduated from SDSU at Brookings. Alice completed an IBM course in Kansas City, Missouri and one year at Northern State College. Jim went one year at Black Hills State and completed an IBM course at Sioux City, Iowa. Clayton decided against attending college. John D. enlisted in the Headquarters Battery of the 147th Field Artillery group of the South Dakota National Guard at Pierre. He took his basic and advanced training at Fort Ord, California in the spring and summer of 1970. All of the family is now married. Maurice married Jeri Burgee July 26, 1969. They have one son Kiel, 6 years old. John D. married Judy Marx on June 26, 1971. They have three children: Duane, 9 years; Martin, 6 years and Brandon Jon, 4 years. Alice married Carl Olson August 24, 1968 and has a daughter and son: Shawn Marie, 12 years and Travis, 9 years. Jim married Charlanne Rogers on June 24, 1972. They now live at Biddle, Montana. Clayton married Betty Johnson January 26, 1974. They have three girls: Randi, 5 years; Robyn, 3 years and Misti, age one. The late 70s were unkind to us, as John found he had a kidney disorder; so we sold our farm-ranch to Maurice, John D. and Clayton. In 1977 I discovered I had a malignancy and had a mastectomy, followed with a month of radiation treatment in August at Rapid City, South Dakota. In early December I fell and broke my hip and had surgery again to insert a pin. In May of 1978 John had to resort to hemodialysis, until last August when he was fortunate to get a kidney transplant. He is now feeling better than he has in the past ten years. After her separation from her husband, Alice is in her last year at SDSU, and hopes to complete her MBA next year. We just celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary and it was a great day for us. We have much to be happy for. Over the years John served on the district and county ASC committees as well as the FHA county board he also served on the Board of Directors of the Dupree Co-op Oil Company for 7 years. After teaching school, I served approximately twelve years on our district school board and on the County Board of Education of Ziebach County for 17 years. We both worked with 4-H leaders and project leaders while our children were members. (Mercedes passed away September 22, 1982.) [photo - John and Mercedes Lemke Our wedding day, October 23, 1941] [photo - Our first rented home. The Howard McDaniel homestead. South of Lantry] [photo - Our first home we owned. Bought from Olsons and moved near John’s parents home] [photo - Taken on our fortieth wedding anniversary in 1981. Our family Maurice, John D., Alice, Jim and Clayton] [photo - John and Mercedes Lemke taken on their fortieth wedding anniversary. 1981] WILLIAM LEMKE written by Lurinda Perkins My parents, Mr. and Mrs. William Lemke and their four children, Lurinda, Virena, Orville and Carmine were residents of Wausau, Wisconsin. My father was employed in a sash and door factory. Having taken a trip to some of the western states earlier, he could never forget South Dakota with its vast barren prairies, wide open spaces with no trees, and where crops were raised and harvested without having to clear the land of trees and stumps, which he had been accustomed to doing on his father's acreage. One day in the fall of 1910 the inevitable happened. He became excited over the news that at Aberdeen, South Dakota one might register for a homestead. He heard that literature was being handed out at railroad stations advertising this new land. At once he secured a pamphlet from the Chicago Northwestern Railroad in Wausau. His foreman gave his consent to a leave for a few days that he might register for 160 acres or a quarter as it was commonly called. His neighbor, Mr. Klade, decided to go also. After registering and receiving a number, both men returned to Wausau to await the outcome. Within a few weeks Mr. Klade received notice by mail that he had drawn a lucky number. My father, however, was not this lucky. Mr. Klade and his family made plans to leave for South Dakota. His homestead, which became a part of my brother John's spread, was south of Lantry about a mile and a half. Finally my father received word from his friend that there was some vacant land near his homestead which could be purchased. He decided to leave for South Dakota again. Upon arriving at Eagle Butte, he was given instructions to follow the "Old Wagon Trail" or Indian Trail and he would arrive at the McDaniel home. They would direct him to the Klade home which was about twelve miles from Eagle Butte. My father started walking. It seemed to him that the farther he walked, the fainter the trail became in the tall buffalo grass. He decided to return to Eagle Butte, but as he looked around, he saw that someone was following him. This man finally caught up to him and explained that he was a "walking preacher," and that he knew the country well. Together they walked until they arrived at the McDaniel home and later the Klade home. This quarter section of land was located by a neighbor whose name was Ben Jones. Since it was close to his friend's home, my father decided to buy it. He was then taken to the town of Dupree where the necessary down payment was made. He paid $2.50 an acre for it. On March 11, 1911, my mother and we four children left Wausau by train while my father left with an immigrant train and the necessary lumber and livestock and a few possessions. In a short time our frame tar-papered roof, sod siding "shack" was completed. My father started to break his new soil, after going to Dupree with two of the horses he brought from Wisconsin to buy a walking plow for himself. Another requirement of a homesteader was to build a fence around his quarter of land before "proving up". It was also necessary as a protection for his new grain fields and his few head of cattle. Buying posts and wire was a big item, so the new homesteaders found a way out by venturing with their lumber wagons down to the breaks to pick up broken-down ash trees. Most of the homes were of one room construction and represented what the government required to prove up on a claim. After years of continuous drought and destruction by hail and tornadoes, no farmer could afford the luxury of a new home. These "shacks" or homes became the pride and joy of all the pioneers. They became a common meeting place for social gatherings and a place where Indians and whites came together to do their bartering and exchanges. The only amusement they had was that which they made for themselves. They sometimes gathered for dances, often going miles in a wagon, taking the entire family and staying all night. It was here the latest news was heard, plans for protection were made, letters passed to friends to be mailed, and a discussion as to where the next dance would be held. These dances were something to look forward to for many weeks and discussed for weeks later. My folks were proud of their two-story home built with the lumber they brought from my grandfather's wooded acreage. A nicer home would never have withstood the surprise parties and dances. Sometimes fifty to seventy-five people would attend. Many were total strangers. They would call at your home without previous notice, bring their own lunches to be served at midnight, and furnish music for dancing. On these occasions, all furniture was placed outside. A new life was created among the settlers by their social gatherings, through which life-long friendships were made. The first or early pioneers in South Dakota were "tough" The years of 1911,'12 and '13 were dry, and it wasn't until 1914 that my parents were able to harvest any grain. This gave some of the people a small chance to recover. It was these years that the pioneer spirit wavered. Taxes were due as were payments on their land, they needed farm equipment and also wished for additional cattle and horses. The first school in our vicinity was built on the Soliday quarter- section of land and therefore was known as the Soliday School. The school was later moved to the south to accommodate more children. It was destroyed by fire and a new modern school was then built. It is still known as the Soliday School. My brothers, sisters and myself received our early education at Soliday school. [photo - Lemke homestead, 1911] [photo - Mr. and Mrs. Bill Lemke in their home on their original homestead. Taken in their later years] AFTERNOTE by Maurice Lemke Lurinda Lemke married Lou Perkins and they lived south of Lantry, South Dakota. They moved to Deadwood, South Dakota in the late 1940's where he worked as a commercial sign tradesman until his death. Mrs. Perkins returned to college and was a teacher for several years. She now lives in Faith, South Dakota as does their daughter, Mrs. Duane (Alice) Thomas. Virena Lemke was educated in Wausau, Wisconsin. She married a career Army officer, Harold Rasmussen, and they lived in Kenosha, Wisconsin until her death in 1957. Orville Lemke worked for many years at the American Motor Company as a test engineer in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He and his wife, Margaret, have since retired and live in Park Falls, Wisconsin and Titusville, Florida. Their sons, Rudy and Ronald, live in Titusville and Seattle, Washington, respectively. Carmine Lemke received her education in Wausau, Wisconsin but later moved further west to Nevada. She married Eddie Albert and together they bought, refurbished, and resold older homes in California. Their son, Steve, teaches in Hawaii. Albert died in 1979, and Carmine now resides in Palm Springs, California. John C. Lemke married Mercedes Tracy, the daughter of Maurice and Mary Tracy, in 1941. Lemke's father died in 1947, his mother in 1959; Mr. and Mrs. Maurice Tracy were victims of the flu epidemic of '18. THE LIBOLT HISTORY Clyde Libolt and four brothers, Clair, Jess, James and Cass, came to Ziebach County in 1910 and filed on claims 12 miles south of Eagle Butte on Rudy Creek. In the spring of 1911, the boys and their parents, Charles and Nettle Libolt, moved by teams and wagons from Nebraska to their claims. Charles could not file as he had already filed on tree claim in Keyapaha County, Nebraska in 1881. Clyde was the only son married and he brought his family of four children, Bert, Lorraine, Pearle and Lydia with him. Eldon was born that December. They built up their claims. Bert and Lorraine rode horseback to Sciford school in 1912 where Harry Perkins of Lantry was their teacher. The Libolt boys were all musically inclined. Clyde, Clair, and Cass played banjos, Charles, James and Jess played violins. They played for many a dance and James and Clyde continued to play for dances after the rest were gone. Clyde and Clair went to North Dakota, near Jamestown, in the fall of 1913 to thresh with six head of horses. Then in 1915, Clyde moved his family up there where they lived until 1918. A hired hand exposed the family to smallpox and all of the children had it. In 1916 Charles and wife, with sons Jess and Cass, moved on to Montana, then near Wapato, Washington. Charles and wife passed away in 1927, within nine days of each other and buried at Yakima. Jess and Cass also died and were buried there. Clair and wife lived in Washington too and had four children but moved back to South Dakota in 1947 with the two youngest children, Jack and Arletta. Clair died at Lantry and was buried at Eagle Butte. Charles' two daughters lived in Washington and Montana and both died there. James married Cecile Meacham in November of 1913. They moved to Iowa and raised nine children. One boy was killed in World War II. Clyde and family, with two more children (Leola and Willis, born in North Dakota) moved back to South Dakota. They left on May 3, 1918, and reached their claim June 21, 1918. They moved with three wagons, with 36 head of cattle and 14 horses. They calved along the way and hauled the calves in a wagon. After camping at night, they milked the cows, separated the milk and cream, churned the butter while traveling the next day. Della "worked the butter", and sold it in towns they passed through. They ferried across the Missouri at Wakpala. They settled on three additional quarters at 15-10-24 in Ziebach County and built a two room frame house with a car roof. Later they got up two homestead shacks and put them on their house, making a five room house, heated by stove in living room and cook stove in kitchen, two bedrooms without heat. Here their last three children were born (Aleta, Mary and Jack). They leased and bought more land and 48 cow-calf pairs and 70 head of southern heifers, but lost 30 head. They were broke and worked themselves back up, through blizzards and drought, sickness and all. All children finished 8th grade at Olson School, which was built 1 and 3/4 miles north of their place. Lorraine, Lydia, Pearle, Leola, Mary and Jack all graduated from Eagle Butte High School. Bert broke broncs, worked for CBC horse company, Diamond A cattle ranch, besides putting up hay on contract and helping his folks. They bought the Olson School and made it into a nice home in 1947 where they lived the rest of their life. Clyde passed away in 1958 and Della in 1959. Eldon still lives on the home place and raises cattle. Lorraine taught school, married Gerritt Likkel, moved to Grangeville, Idaho, where she passed away in 1935. Lydia also taught school, married Harry Vanderpol and moved to Lynden, Washington and raised a family of three girls and one boy. Willis was in World War II. He married Johnna Vanderpol and moved to Lynden, Washington and raised a family of five boys. Pearle married Lee Konkler, raised a family of six girls and finally settled in Mitchell, South Dakota, where Pearle passed away in March of 1978. Leola worked in Pierre, married Gene Wright and raised a family of three boys and two girls. They moved to Englewood, Colorado, where Gene passed away November 1, 1980. Aleta married Harlan Meyer and had a girl and a boy. Harlan was in World War II and killed in action April 8, 1944. Aleta married Ted Minor (Harlan's buddy in war) and moved to Bandon, Oregon, and raised five more children, four boys and one girl. Mary taught school and married Harold Smith after he was discharged from the Army in World War II. They moved to Lynden, Washington and raised three girls and one boy. Jack served in the Korean War and after returning, married Gladys Schwahn and moved to Cody, Wyoming, then settled in Lynden, Washington, raising one girl and three boys. Bert married Laura Ernst, whose folks and grandparents homesteaded in Dewey County a mile east of the Ziebach County line. She had taught school for seven years, three at Olson School, one at Aldridge School in Dewey County, and one at Cloverleaf School and two at Sciford School. They lived in a shack south of his folks for two summers and one winter, where the rattlesnakes slept under the house, in the cellar and haystack. Coyotes came out of the breaks at night and got the turkeys that roosted on haystacks. Grasshoppers came and were so thick they covered the fence posts and moved around the post so they could stay in the shade. They moved east of Eagle Butte and had to cut thistles to feed the livestock along with soybean meal, which was bought. They moved to the Fred Hunter farm and worked on WPA building dams during the drought. Then they moved to Ernst farm, near Dupree, and helped thresh that fall and milked cows. They bought the Siebold place in 1941, moved there and raised their two girls, Velda and Joyce. Velda went to summer school one summer. She taught Haines School by Maurine one year and Main School one year. She married Leonard Edwards. Leonard went to the Army for two years. When he got home, he went to college, got his Doctorate Degree and is now head of the Industrial Arts Division at Black Hills State College in Spearfish where they still live. They raised three children, two girls and a boy, Laura Ruth, Rodney and Marla. Laura is married to Paul Ausderan, has a little boy, Hens, and lives near Piedmont. Joyce went to college at Aberdeen for two years, taught at Mobridge for two years, went back to Aberdeen and got her B.S. degree, then to the Air Base near Rapid City and taught for five years. She married Art Reichert, had two boys, Arthur and Dudley, went back to summer school at Spearfish and got her M.S. degree in elementary education, back to the farm and had two girls, Joy Lyn and Jodi, and is still living on the place they bought from Art's folks by Isabel, South Dakota. Bert and Laura rented their farm to Robert Ernst in 1974, had a sale and moved to Spearfish, South Dakota on October 18, 1974, where they had bought a duplex in 1973, and are still living in Spearfish. WILLIAM J. LIECHTY FAMILY Mr. and Mrs. William J. Liechty came to Dupree from Polk City, Iowa in August of 1910. They got as far as LeBeau, South Dakota, with their goods and there met Mr. Haagen, who had a hardware store and was going to Dupree to a town lot sale. They took care of the Haagen store in LeBeau while Mr. Haagen was gone and on his return he let them use a team to haul their goods to Dupree; where they put them in a tent on their homestead 4 1/2 miles north of Dupree. The next day they got lumber to start building their house, which was 12 x 16 ft. Mr. Liechty resigned as assistant cashier of the Polk City Savings Bank to come to Dupree to homestead. While in Dupree he also worked for Mr. G. A. McGarraugh in the Bank of Dupree during the winter of 1910. He also worked some at the carpenter trade while in Dupree. The Liechty's named their place Midway Farm as it was on the trail from Dupree to the government school on the Moreau River. The Indians would stop in the summer to get a drink of water and in the winter to get warm. Mr. Robert Straight Head was especially good to stop and give Mr. Liechty a ride to town until he bought a horse in January 1911. After settling up on their homestead the Liechty family moved back to Iowa. The Liechty's had one son, Noel J. Liechty. ALFRED and REGINA LIGHTFIELD Regina Ehli was born August 28, 1915 in Selz, North Dakota to John and Rosalia Ehli. She grew up and was educated in Eagle Butte, South Dakota (south of Eagle Butte). She married Alfred Lightfield, Sr. on February 8, 1937 in Dupree and lived in the area until 1947, when they moved to Boise, Idaho. She worked for 20 years at Daly Company and three years at the Imperial Plaza. Alfred and Regina had three daughters: Martha (Mrs. Zon Lloyd) of Ronan, Montana; Bertha (Mrs. Darrell White) of Kuna, and Coleen (Mrs. Don Kateley) of Garden City. They had five sons: Robert of Santa Clara, California; Alfred, Jr. and Ralph, both of Boise, Idaho; Albert of Meridian, and George Albert (deceased). Regina died in November 1981. Alfred is still living in Donnely, Idaho. EMERY and LENA LIGHTFIELD Emery A. and Lena D. (Beguhl) Lightfield, originally from Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, came to South Dakota in the year 1917. They first lived on the Till farm along Bear Creek, about two miles east of Dupree. At the time of moving to South Dakota, they had two boys, Ernie, age 14 and Alfred, age 9. Emery had formerly been a street car motorman in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, before moving west to South Dakota. On July 16, 1918, their daughter, Florence, was born. The family farmed on the "Till Farm" until about 1921 when they moved to the Fred Beguhl Farm about 7 miles northeast of Dupree. They farmed there for several years. Fred Beguhl (Emery's father-in-law) and Emery ran a threshing machine for several years, threshing for several of the neighbors. On September I, 1927, another son, Vernon was born. In 1942, Emery purchased a farm four miles east of Dupree (known as the Brush Place or the Jim Bowling farm). He farmed there until the fall of 1950, when they moved into Dupree. He ran a small cafe in Dupree for a couple of years before retiring in 1954. In 1957, they moved to Caldwell, Idaho, where they bought a small place near their daughter's fruit ranch. About ten years later, Emery and Lena sold their place near Caldwell and moved in with their son, Alfred, who lived in Boise, Idaho. That year (1967) Lena contracted cancer and passed away on December 14, 1967, at the age of 81 years. Emery lived another eight years, spending the last part of a year of his life in a manor house in Boise and passed away on October 1, 1975, at the age of 94 years. Of their children, Ernie passed away in 1964, while living in Boise, Idaho. Alfred lives in Boise, Florence lives in Caldwell, and Vernon lives in Rapid City. FRED LINN FAMILY by Leonard Linn Our dad, Fred Linn, first filed on a homestead in Wyoming, but was not satisfied there so returned to Nebraska. Grandad, Aaron Main and Uncle Claude Main wanted to come to the Dupree area to look the country over. After investigating they liked it much better here and decided to make the move. In the year 1918 the two families loaded two emigrant cars and came to Lantry. The Claude Main family located north of Dupree and the Linn family located five miles north of Lantry, across Bear Creek. Leonard was born in Nebraska, in a sod house, which was the first home for Fred and Alice. Raymond, Elva, Floyd and Barbara were all born in the home near Lantry. The first bridge across Bear Creek was made of long cottonwood logs with planks nailed across, and would wash out whenever the water was high. One fall, the county said they would build a new bridge, so the planks were ripped off the logs and Ray, who wasn't yet school age, decided he would walk across one of the logs, he slipped and fell in. Ernie Olson jumped into the water and rescued him. On a high bluff northeast of home an older Indian who had been in the Custer Battle at the Little Big Horn, would go up on the bluff and patch his pants. Also, one of the ladies who had been in the battle made Elva her first doll of tanned cowhide and it is one of the things that was saved. There are very few of these dolls left anymore. In the spring of 1929, the folks bought the Mrs. Jake Halverson ranch on Bear Creek two miles east of Dupree, so we would be closer to high school. This home still stands and is an old landmark, the north three rooms were built of cottonwood logs and the large south room, which was added on later, is made of cedar logs. In the fall of 1948, Alice and Fred sold the ranch to Lawrence Woodward and spent their remaining years in Dupree. Mother passed away in 1958 and Dad in 1977. We all attended the Elm Creek country school until that closed and then we went to Dupree. When going to school we either rode horseback, walked or caught rides. There were times when days would go by with no cars parked at the Dupree School. Both Raymond and Floyd served in World War II. Raymond, Leonard and Violet purchased the Lars Petersen place northwest of Dupree and have added to it as the years went along. Floyd and Irene have owned the Lantry store and post office for many years. Elva and Gene Straight have lived in Minnesota and North Dakota, and are now retired and live in Sturgis. Barbara Capp raised her family and lives in Rapid City. Photo - Fred Linn family. Standing, back row: Floyd, Leonard. Barbara, Elva, Mrs. Linn, Raymond, Mr. Linn] LITTLE CROW Little Crow (1844-1916) was the son of Mashes His Nails/Iron Bull and Ziti (1827-1917). He was a brother to Hump (1850-1908) and White Cow (Mrs. Fish). In 1876, Little Crow married Cheyenne Woman (1861-1928). (Cheyenne Woman was later married to Long Mandan.) Little Crow and Cheyenne Woman's children were: Industrious/Charles Little Crow (b. 1876); George (b. 1878); Crane Woman/ Sarah (1889-1917: Mrs. Harry Bear Eagle); Brave on Both Sides/Lee Little Crow (1892-1965); Joseph Little Crow (b. 1898); Annie (b. 1894: Mrs. James White Bear); and twins Joshua and Lucy, born in 1902. Joshua died in 1915 at Rapid City Indian School and three other children died in infancy. Crane Woman/Sarah (Mrs. Harry Bear Eagle) was the mother of May (Mrs. James Buck Elk Thunder); Winnie (Mrs. Slow); and Noah Bear Eagle. Leo Little Crow married Frances Eagle (1878-1936; daughter of Red Fish) in 1908. They were the parents of seven children, of whom Mathilda survived. Mathilda Little Crow married Wallace Charging Cloud and later Jacob J. Red Bull. Leo married Lizzie Blackman in 1937 and became the father of Mark Peter Little Crow, Florence (Dubray, Harris) and Clarinda (Hart). LITTLE WOUNDED James Little Wounded was born in 1871 in Montana. He was five years old at the time the Custer Battle took place. During the skirmish, he was shot in the leg. His family were all killed but he survived through the help of others. He was thereafter called Little Wounded, though his real name was a different one. His parents were Hunts the Enemy and Real Woman. He died January 4, 1944, and is buried at Cherry Creek. He married Delia Center of the Camp about 1889. Delia was born in 1869 at Bear Creek, died May 29, 1943. Her parents were Blue Cloud and Mary Never Tires, also known as Pockets the Moccasin. James and Delia lived eight miles south of Dupree. They had a family of 2 boys Jonah, born 1898, and Edward, and 3 girls, Zoe Little Skunk, Annie Eye and Mary Condon, born 1907. They raised an abundant garden including potatoes, corn, watermelon, etc., and traded their produce to neighbors. [photo - Jonah Little Wounded is a retired Congregational minister from the Dakota Association] LITTLE SHIELD Edward Little Shield, 1883-1968, married Julie Cane, 1888-1959. Ed and Julie celebrated their fifty-second wedding anniversary on September 22, 1959. The next day Julie passed away. They always kept horses and Julie liked to make pets of animals. She had a pet raccoon, an owl and a porcupine. They also raised chickens. Their children are Phoebe White Magpie, Edith Waloke, Clyde and Theophile. Theophile is fifty-five years old and the only surviving member of the family. He married Myrtle Hale and they have a large family. LONE EAGLE or KILLS ALIVE John Lone Eagle or Kills Alive (1873-1904) was the son of Lone Eagle (1873-1929). In the Congregational Church in 1901, John married Excited or Maggie Red Horse (1874-1940; the daughter of Red Horse and Black Shawl). James Kills Alive/Phillip Lone Eagle/ Wounded in Winter (1903-1943) was the only child of John and Maggie. This family lived on John's allotment, having 'everything they needed there, hay and all'. John Lone Eagle had a large herd of horses that ran the draws of Cherry Creek with Barthold's sheep. Bill Smedley, Sword and Dagger wagon boss, rode Silver. Silver, 'as sharp as a fox,' was a palomino horse raised by Lone Eagle. One month after John died, Maggie got sick and was taken back to her father, Red Horse's. Maggie could not ride well, and after her husband's death, the horses scattered and were lost. James/Phillip lived with Maggie's oldest brother, Frank Red Horse, until he was four. In 1907, Maggie married Charles Red Bull(d. 1930) and her son lived with them. They lived for awhile on John Lone Eagle's land, then went to the Cheyenne River and started a place on Red Horse's allotment. James Kills Alive attended Rapid City Boarding School. By age 20, he married Frances Knife (1898-1941), daughter of Charles Knife and Nellie Yellow Shield). To James/Phillip and Frances were born: Kenneth who died a minor in 1933; 1924, Mollie or Catherine (Mrs. Roy Circle Bear); 1926, Margaret (Mrs. Pete Bear Stops); 1928, Merril Lone Eagle; 1930, Harlan Lone Eagle, and in 1934, Hildred Louise (Mrs. Doug Widow). Their mother, Frances, died in early 1941. Phillip later married Sarah/Stella New Black Bear, the widow of James Buffalo. Their daughter, Violet Colleen (Mrs. Eldon Clown) was born in 1942. In 1943, James Kills Alive/Phillip Lone Eagle died. Today, his descendants still live in the Bridger, Cherry Creek and Red Scaffold area. [photo - Old Lone Eagle house] ISAAC LONG Isaac Long was born in 1908. He went to school on the flat, south of the river for a primary year. Then at age 7 or 8, he went to Rapid City Indian School. He took the train from Philip to Rapid City, then walked six miles to the government school. He went there eight or nine years. After graduation, Isaac went into the National Guard and went to Huron for camp. In 1931, he went to Santee Indian School in Nebraska and graduated an honor student. Then he returned to Bridger. He served in the Army for three years and also worked on the construction of the Igloo ordnance depot. He married Eva Bear Eagle, daughter of George Bear Eagle. Their children are: Debbie (Mrs. Kenneth Day) and Clement George Long. LONGBRAKE FAMILY The Longbrake family came from Missouri by immigrant train in 1910, and located in Ziebach County. Dillman and his oldest son Emmett and brother-in-law William Couchenaw and his son Trix came first and built a 12 x 20 foot shack west of Hank Lafferty's store and cafe in Dupree. Molly and 4 other children and her sister-in-law came in April, 1911. Molly stayed in town with the children while Dil built on a claim 31/2 miles straight west of Chase post office. Clarence Ward's joined Longbrake's quarter on the east. Molly acted as a midwife throughout the area under Dr. Creamer's orders. She stayed alone with 6 children, 1 horse and buggy, 6 head of cattle and 3 milk cows while Dil went to North Dakota to thresh. She taught the first term of school in the Longbrake district in her front room. Elections were also held there until they finally got a schoolhouse. In 1925 Longbrake's moved to California in two Model T Fords and it took them 13 days to get there. They all remained in that area and built homes. Dillman died in 1949 at age 81. Molly returned every summer in her later years to South Dakota visiting her families here. She lived to be 97 years old. She died on December 27, 1975 and is buried in California. Their family consisted of 7 boys and 3 girls: Emmett, Delbert, Paul, Boyd, Ray and Frank Longbrake; Dorothy (Diermier Stangland), Orpha (Geier) and Mable (Patterson). Molly had 28 grandchildren, 74 great grandchildren and 11 great-great grandchildren. All of the Longbrake family moved to California, except Delbert. He married Marietta Bridwell in 1927, with whom he had grown up as neighbors. During the drought years Delbert worked for the CCC building dams. Later he acquired horses of his own and built dams throughout the area. Delbert and Mary had a family of eight children and lived 13 miles south of Redelm, South Dakota where they raised sheep and cattle. During the school months the children attended the Cheyenne Agency Boarding School, boarding the bus on Highway 212 in September. Delbert and his oldest son Jack were killed in a car accident September 21, 1949 and are buried at Dupree. Mary operated a cafe in Dupree for several years and later worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs until her retirement in August, 1975. Since then she has lived at Eagle Butte. PETE LONGBRAKE FAMILY Pete and Faye (nee Nordvold) Longbrake were married on horseback following the Timber Lake Days of 1910 rodeo on August 17, 1958. Their attendants were Beverly Berry and Jess Knight and Father James Rice performed the wedding ceremony at sunset. Friends mounted on horseback formed the aisle through the middle of the arena. They made their home on the former M-M ranch, or Hank Myers place on Ash Creek. Pete built a rodeo arena where friends and neighbors would gather often to try out broncs and to rope calves and steers. State amateur rodeo associations and high school rodeo clubs had been formed in the 50's and many young hands got in on lots of practice and coaching at Longbrake's. Pete rodeoed for several years, concentrating in the saddle bronc riding event mostly, and won several championships. There are four children in their family, three boys: Delbert, Jr., Jesse and Emmett, and a girl, "Charlie". They attended grade school at Red Scaffold and Cherry Creek and high school at Dupree Public School. All were active in high school sports, high school rodeo and 4-H club work. Longbrake's owned and operated the Cherry Creek Trading Post from 1971 until 1973 when it was destroyed by fire. Pete continued to operate the post office there in the last old log house left standing in Cherry Creek until 1980. Faye taught school at Cherry Creek and was later principal. Pete served on the Ziebach County election board for many years and on the Selective Service Board. They have always ranched on Ash Creek and raise bucking horses with which they operate a rodeo stock contracting business involving the whole family. [photo - Pete and Faye Longbrake at their wedding, August 17, 1958] ALBERT LOPEZ TELLS HIS STORY I was the third son of Elfido and Rebecca Lopez. I grew up in Los Animas County, Colorado. I was 15 years old when I crossed the Purgatoire River across the canyon from my father's ranch and went to work for the Diamond A outfit. They occupied a vast open range in Las Animas County, Colorado. We branded 15,000 calves that first fall. Mr. Bloom had around six or seven thousand (Circle Diamond) horses branded on the left shoulder. My brother, Joe, and I entered World War I in 1918. We were in for two years. I was in France for 18 months. When I came home in 1920, the open range in Colorado was gone. Homesteaders and dirt farmers from Oklahoma and Texas had moved in. The Diamond A's had closed out their major holdings in Colorado and had purchased the Wagon Mound Ranch in New Mexico. I worked there for two years. In 1923, Sam Stanton, Roy McClain and myself brought three trainloads of little steers to Mossman, South Dakota. I started breaking horses and riding line on 3400 head of steers. The grass was really good. I liked the country and I was interested in the people on the reservation. In the fall they put me to picking up poor cattle, and when it froze up for the winter, I opened water holes on the Cheyenne and Missouri rivers. When we went into camp that fall we never came out until the 15th of May. Tom Maupin, Walt Serbey, Lee Brown and myself stayed in the Brings The Arrow Camp that winter. Tom and Walt pitched hay to 1500 little steers all winter while Lee and I opened the ice and picked up the poor cattle. In those days we started opening water at daybreak and seldom got home until dark. It never got too stormy. If the cattle couldn't get water at an open hole it usually meant a loss in cattle as they would pile up on the ice. The Cheyenne Indian Reservation could be leased for about a four year period to the highest bidder. During my cowboy days on this reservation, from 1923 to 1950, the major leases belonged to the Diamond A's, the DZ's, the Chicago Cattle Company, the Peterson Brothers of Bassett, Nebraska, and the Holloway Brothers of Eagle Butte, South Dakota. I came to South Dakota with the Diamond A's and worked for them most of the time for 32 years. However, I worked for the DZ's from 1925 to 1927. That winter I was married to Luvisa Pelter. We spent our first winter on the Fred LaPlante Ranch. Winter set in the first part of November and we had a late spring. The snowdrifts were twenty feet deep and roads and railroads were blocked for three weeks at a time. The towns ran short of food and fuel. However we put in a good winter. We had plenty of cottontails to eat and I milked a cow. In the spring we went to work for Ed Sutton who ranched across the Missouri River on the east side. After several years we obtained a lease of our own on the Cheyenne River and later moved to the Goose Creek lease near Mossman, South Dakota. This was during the drought and everyone was on the move looking for water. I tested on top of the shale for water on Goose Creek and found water at about fourteen feet. I dug about twelve wells on the creek so when one went dry I could move to the next one. A well would pump dry about every two or three weeks. The first winter I was in South Dakota I went across the Cheyenne River to John Tibbs' for a dance. They were the parents, brothers and sisters of Casey Tibbs. Casey was the youngest child. He was ten years old when he started breaking horses for me. In about 1943 Casey had piled up quite a little bunch of broke ponies so we had a horse sale in Fort Pierre. We trailed about sixty head to the sale. We had sale bills printed and they misprinted his name. It read, "ALBERT LOPEZ AND CASEY FIBBS HORSE SALE". Casey got $15.00 a head for breaking my horses. In 1943 I'd gotten on my feet pretty good from the drought and depression. I had a little bunch of cattle and horses. I bought a house and moved it on my Goose Creek lease and I built a nice little barn. It was in November and Visa got the kids quite a little Christmas stuff and I got Visa a new Maytag washing machine. This was actually the first time since we got married that we had a few extra dollars for anything. I went over to Joe Hiett's to help him gather some horses and Visa and the three kids stayed home. In the night the house caught fire and burned to the ground. We lost the clothes, beds, new washing machine, Christmas gifts and all. Cap Mossman, manager of the Diamond A's, heard about my home burning. He wrote to me and asked me to go back to work for the company. He told me to bring my stock with me, so I threw up my lease. We moved to the Rudy Creek Ranch in Ziebach County. The kids had four miles to ride to school. We lived there four years when the Diamond A's lost the lease and the Chicago Cattle Company picked it up. I went to work for the Chicago outfit in 1948 and was their range boss as long as they had the lease. My children and grandchildren are stock-growers. Most of my friends are horse-minded people. I've spent my life on a horse, following a cow, because I loved it. I've raised and sold lots of pretty horses because I love a good looking horse. I feel there is more friendship, concern for humanity, actual western hospitality, and self-respect left among the self-supporting stock-growers than any other type of people left in the United States. [photo - Albert Lopez, 70 years old in 1966. When he rode the range he saw it all] [photo - Albert Lopez family taken in 1970. Albert, Lee, Visa, Effie and Anna Belle] MY MOTHER by Effie Hunt Luvisa Delila (Pelter) Lopez was born October 9, 1897 at Hermosa, South Dakota. She attended school at Hermosa and Harney. She graduated from St. Martin's Academy in Sturgis, South Dakota in 1915. She married Jack Kaiser of Hermosa in 1916, and they had one son Carl. They worked for the Matador Cattle Company at Porcupine, South Dakota. They moved to La Plant, South Dakota with the Matador Cattle Company. They purchased the La Plant store and lived there several years. December 5, 1927 she married Albert Lopez at Timber Lake, South Dakota. They had three children, Anna Belle Mortenson, 1931; Effie Rebecca Hunt, 1934 and Albert Lee, 1939. All three were born in Eagle Butte, South Dakota. Doctor Green and Muzzle Johnson assisted. Effie remained in Dewey and Ziebach County all of her life. Lee and Annabelle both live in Corson County on ranches (1957-1981). Mother's years in Ziebach County started in 1930 when she moved with our Dad and oldest brother Carl to the Cheyenne River. Carl rode across the river to Earl Sonnenschein's for school. Mama talked about the closest neighbors, Walking Hunter and the West family. Across the river on the south side they visited the Charley Kirley family and John Tibbs family. The dry years forced them to move to Ridgeview, South Dakota and again in 1943 we moved back to Ziebach County and lived on the Rudy Creek Camp until 1947. Mama kept a daily diary. Some of it went like this: (Written by: Visa Lopez) Rudy Creek Camp -- Ziebach County 1946 September 20, 1946 Virgil Anderson and Pony Rousseau finished haying today. September 24, 1946 Effie started 7th grade in Timber Lake. Lee 2nd grade. AB is in 10th grade in Eagle Butte staying at Muzzle Johnson's. Mike Schatz took Effie, Lee, Michael Schatz to Holy Cross School at Timber Lake today. October 24, 1946 Albert rode in with 800 head of cattle to winter on Rudy Creek. Home from round-up wagon to stay for the winter. October 28, 1946 Albert rode back to Sid Nordvold's after stray cattle -- home 30th. November 8, 1946 Chuck Martin and Jim Keegan came to haul hay. November 12, 1946 Put bull in with milk cows. November 13, 1946 Bob and Mrs. Rose and Ivan Fluhartys came -- stayed for supper. Nice visit. November 15, 1946 Started a big stack behind the barn using two teams. November 16, 1946 Tom Maupin and Nels Babcock for dinner. A perfect day. I went to help Albert fence the stack. November 20, 1946 Wednesday, Leon Williams came for dinner. Everything covered , with white frost. Jim Keegan finished hauling hay. Butchered a calf. Jim took half. November 25, 1946 Nick Ganje brought a tank of water from Circle P Spring. Mike Schatz brought Eff and Lee home from Timber Lake for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving Day, November 28, 1946 Gladys Anderson and kids (Virginia, Mary, Gal, Tommy, Alice, April, Eva and Billy) all came for dinner -- nice day -- Gladys has been a grand neighbor. December 10, 1946 Tom Maupin came to get Albert to help him butcher. I'm all alone. Went to look for pigs. Found 3 sows, 22 live pigs. Rained a little pretty rainbow in evening. Awful lonesome here all alone. December 11, 1946 Ancel and Casey Tibbs came by to spend a few days. Tied up some paint colts to break. CHRISTMAS 1946 A beautiful day! Albert, our 3 children and Ray McLaughlin for dinner. In the evening Pood Rose came by and took us all to the dance in Eagle Butte. Home by 2 am. Saw a lot of neighbors. Beulah Jensen came home with AB for a few days. January 18, 1946 Lee is 7 today and Carl is 27 my 2 boys were born 20 years to the day apart. When I started high school in 1949 she took a job as cook and girls dean at the Eagle Butte Dormitory for 7 years. Well known by all the school kids as "Ma Lopez" she baked all the bread and rolls and fed an average of 35 to 40 kids and teachers with a coal cook stove. In 1955 Mama moved to the Hensley and Starr ranch with my Dad. I was 19 then. I'm still living on the same ranch in Ziebach County. Mama retired when she was 70 from cooking for cowboys and school kids. She had started cooking for the Matador Cattle Company when she was 19 and never stopped until she was 70. Mother passed away in 1978 after a lingering illness with cancer. [photo - Luvisa Pelter and Jack Kaiser taken at their wedding] [photo - Visa and Albert Lopez. Taken in 1946 on the Diamond A Rudy Creek camp] [photo - The Lopez children - Effie, Carl, Anna Belle and Lee] E. H. LOVELADY Mr. E. H. Lovelady came by immigrant car to Ziebach County in 1910 and settled on a homestead south and west of Dupree. The Lovelady family farmed on this homestead until December 1934, at which time they moved to Long Beach, California. While in Dupree they were members of the Congregational Church and Mr. Lovelady was on the school board in District #2 for 14 years. The Lovelady children are as follows: Ruth Ward, Elsie Burnett, Grace Taylor, and Fern Nicklaw. OSCAR LUND taken from the Faith County Book I was born on a farm near Juletown, Wisconsin, on December 15, 1883 and I was next to the youngest of 8 children. We were all born in a log cabin. When I was 2 1/2 years old, the whole family, with the exception of my oldest brother and sister moved to a farm near Mooreton, North Dakota. I lived here until I was 18 years old and went to Yellowgrass, Saskatchewan, Canada to prove up on a homestead. I wanted to get a homestead of my own and since you only had to be 18 in Canada, instead of 21 as in the United States, I tried my luck up there. It took three years to prove up on the homestead and you had to be there at least half of the time. So for the next three years I spent my winters in Canada and helped on the farm in North Dakota during the summer. During this time I had to become a British subject in order to own land. I kept my place in Canada after I had it proved up, but I returned to my folks' home in North Dakota where I rented the home place from my father and farmed about 400 acres. In the spring of 1910 I came to South Dakota with a cousin. We drove from Wahpeton to Faith with a team and buggy. We spent about a month looking around and finally located on a homestead about 18 miles west of Dupree. I did my own locating on this land, after which we went to Mobridge by team and on to Aberdeen by train to the nearest filing office for this land. We had to cross the Missouri River both ways by ferry. I now had to take out naturalization papers to regain my citizenship in the United States, so I applied for my first papers in the summer of 1910. I sold my homestead in Canada on a crop payment basis, but I realized but very little from this transaction. In the fall of 1910 I came back by train to Isabel and from there I hired a man to haul my supplies. These included enough building material to build a 12 x 12 shack, two trunks, one cook stove, bedding and a few other necessary supplies. In crossing the Moreau River, the load mired down and we had to hire a man with an ox team to help pull the load across. We stayed in Dupree that night and came on to the homestead the next day. It took just two days to put up the shack. In about April, I returned to Wahpeton, purchased 6 head of horses, seed wheat, some machinery, furniture, and shipped out in an immigrant car which was unloaded at Arrowhead. Arrowhead had built up to a post office, lumber yard, two stores and a livery barn. By this time, too, the railroad had extended to Faith. The Arrowhead Post Office started on March 10, 1914. Minnie Henrich was the postmistress at Arrowhead. It was in the spring of 1911 that I met Mary Weinandy. We were married September 7, 1912 and moved to the Havedahl place just one mile west of Arrowhead. That fall I sold the homestead north of Arrowhead to John Johnson and leased this Havedahl place. I farmed here for three years. Our first child, Eudora, was born July 4, 1913. This farming continued to be a failure so we bought milk cows and earned our livelihood from them. On February 22 our first son, Eugene, was born. In this spring of 1915 we bought a home and moved to what is now our present home. Elizabeth Weinandy, my wife's sister stayed with us off and on while she was homesteading on a quarter right next to ours. Our second son, LaVerne, was born on January 12, 1917. In May 1919, my wife died giving birth to twin girls, Joan and Audrey. We struggled along for several years trying to keep the family together. My sister Clara stayed for a year, taking care of the three older children, while a friend, Mrs. Stroud, took the twins on her homestead and cared for them. In 1920 we moved to North Dakota to live with my brother-in-law John, and his sister Elizabeth Weinandy. I went into partnership with John in a coal mine for one year. Then in the spring of 1921 we all came back to the home place near Faith. While we were gone I had leased the place to Mrs. Stroud and her brother, so when we returned, Mrs. Stroud and her daughter Fern, stayed with us and kept house for us while Fern attended high school in Faith. In the fall of 1924 Mrs. Stroud and Fern left for Milwaukee so Fern could attend school and for the next three months we had a succession of housekeepers until Elizabeth (Aunt Lit) came to stay with us in November. She has made a home for us every since. In 1923 and 1924 I drove the school bus to what was the Katt School. This was practically a necessity so that the children could attend school as this was our closest school that was open. It involved 32 miles each day with a team of horses so that is almost all I accomplished during the winter days. From 1924 until just a few years ago when I resigned, I served on the school board of our district. In 1932 I was elected county commissioner in Ziebach County and served 4 years in that capacity. In 1934, in desperation, I invested in my first band of sheep. This involved long, tedious hours of care, but during the dirty thirties they proved to be the best money-making project on the farm. In 1952 I built a new home on the farm and believe that is one of the best things I have done. This past Christmas, 1959, served as a reunion for our family and my home housed all of us, although we were straining at the seams just a little. We reminisced, naturally, about the past, and all agreed that although we have come through hard times, the country has been good to us. [photo - The Lund family: Joan, Eudora, Audrey, Eugene, Oscar and Vern] [photo - Mrs. Vern Lund, Bill Ebert, Anna Bachman, Eugene Lund, Elizabeth Weinandy, Martha Lund, Joan Ebert, Audrey Gerlach] ED LYMAN According to records of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Struck-by- the-Ree was born at Calumet Bluff on the Missouri River on August 29, 1804. Struck-by-the-Ree was a Yankton Sioux chief. His daughter married William Penfield Lyman. W. P. Lyman (1833-1880) was the first white man to settle in Yankton County, bringing a ferry to the James River for the U.S. Government in 1857. In 1876, he left Yankton and headed west. He died of pneumonia in Red Lodge, Montana around 1880. W. P. Lyman's son, Ed Lyman, was born at Greenwood-Yankton in 1854, a grandson of Struck-by-the-Ree. Ed Lyman received his allotment along Cherry Creek on the Cheyenne River Reservation. He rode for Narcisse Narcelle and worked as a police chief. Ed Lyman's children by his first marriage were Esther (Mrs. Paul Chasing Hawk) and Marcella (Mrs. Stephen Bear Eagle). Ed Lyman's second wife was Agnes Walking Cow (a daughter of Spotted Bear), born in 1868 in Montana. Her family came from Montana with Hump's Cherry Creek Band. Ed and Agnes' daughter Bertha(Mrs. John Hump) was born in 1907 at Cherry Creek Station. She grew up on her father's section and her mother's half-section, west of Red Scaffold on Cherry Creek. Their house was log and frame and had three rooms, each 18' x 18'. There was a large cistern in front of the house that held rain water from the roof. Bertha Lyman went to Turtle Creek School, near what is now the Red Scaffold-73 Junction. Five families lived nearby in tents so their children could attend school. She attended Rapid City Indian School for two years. At age 28 or 29, Bertha Lyman married John Hump, son of Hump. Agnes died in 1935 and Ed Lyman in 1936. The Darrell Hump family now lives on the site of the Lyman house. GEORGE H. LYON George H. Lyon came to western South Dakota in 1917 and rented a place near Chance, South Dakota. He bought a relinquishment from Henry Johnson and in the fall of 1918, the family moved to Chance from Orient, South Dakota. They soon moved east of Meadow, then to the Buck Reeves place which is now owned by Ole Drageset. Harvey and Lela Lyon drove forty head of cattle forty miles when they moved from Chance. There was a sod house and a barn built in the side of a bank. Corn and flax were planted as well as a large garden. Cream from the Holstein cows was taken to Isabel, fourteen miles with a team of horses. Buyers were Jake Weber, then Butch Gower, Ben Rempher ran the store where shopping was done. Harvey, George and Lela attended the Bloom School from 1921-24, then the Rogers School until 1933. Marion also attended. There was always a big celebration on the 4th of July. During the depression many people moved away. The dust of plowed fields looked like a prairie fire. Those were hard winters and dry summers. Thistles were used for cattle feed. Lela married Rudolph Motis in April, 1932. The brothers Harvey, George and Marion left in 1936 and Mr. and Mrs. Lyon moved to Miller, South Dakota. Mrs. Lyon passed away in 1937. Three years later Mr. Lyon remarried and moved to Peoria, Illinois where he passed away in 1953. Harvey and his wife raised six children and have retired in Spearfish. George retired to Hillsboro, Ohio and passed away in 1980. The youngest son, Marion moved from South Dakota to Peoria, Illinois in 1947 and remains there. JAKE MACA Mr. Jake Maca was working as a cabinet maker in Chicago when a neighbor talked him into filing on a homestead as a vacation. This was in 1913. The vacation proved too long for them so they sent for their families to come and join them here. Mr. Maca recalls that they came to Timber Lake by train to file their claim, then by train to Dupree, and from here he hitch-hiked out to his claim nine miles southeast of Dupree. Mr. Maca said that every year they were going to go back to Chicago, but after 25 years they finally gave up! Mrs. Maca died in 1943 and in 1946 he left Dupree and moved to Hot Springs where his daughter, Sister Rachel, was a nurse in the hospital. During his years in Dupree, Mr. Maca was very well known for his cabinet making and did a lot of work along this line. MYRON MAHER Myron Maher was born December 8, 1910 at Athol, South Dakota. He homesteaded eight miles south of Eagle Butte, South Dakota. He was married to Mary Zorc in 1933 at Selby, South Dakota. The couple moved to a ranch ten miles south of Eagle Butte in 1949. Myron later married Rose Zorc. Myron was a Ziebach County committeeman for AAA (Agriculture Adjustment Act), a member of the Eagle Butte Township Board, Knights of Columbus and the All Saints Church in Eagle Butte. The Maher children are Mrs. Darrell (Mary) Forrester, Sturgis, South Dakota and Robert (Bud) Maher of Gillette, Wyoming. Mr. Maher passed away in January 1980 at the age of 70. AARON MAIN, CLAUDE MAIN AND FRED LINN by Hazel Main Stadel My father, Claude Main, my Uncle Fred Linn and my Grandfather Aaron Main, arrived in the Lantry-Dupree area in the fall of 1917 to look over the country and, hopefully, find a location. They ferried across the river at Forest City. They liked what they saw, so returned to Nebraska for the winter. In March, 1918, they returned with their families. They loaded their household goods, cattle, horses, chickens and machinery into two immigrant cars and came to South Dakota. They arrived at Lantry where they unloaded. For a short while they lived in a couple of homestead "shacks" until they found places to locate. The Fred Linn family bought a place about five miles north of Lantry and settled there. Aaron Main did not purchase a home for himself but lived with his children while in the area. In 1921, his son Jesse and his wife moved onto the Wright place which joined Claude's on the west. In 1922, his daughter, Mrs. Fred (Grace) Haskins and family located on Pretty Creek, north of Dupree. Their place today is part of Wallace Bram's pasture. Aaron was a well-liked, respected businessman. He acquired a considerable amount of land and owned some business places in Dupree. His wife, Rose, died in August, 1919 while they were visiting their son, Claude. Aaron passed away as the result of an automobile accident in Colorado, February 11, 1929. Aaron and his wife are both laid to rest in the Dupree Cemetery. Claude and Ella Main bought and moved onto the William Cody place five and one-half miles northwest of Dupree. It was here that their children, Earl (Bill), Hazel, Eva and Shirley were born and raised. When it was time for Earl (Bill) to attend school, there was none in the area so Dad built the first Main School. His neighbors, Joe Heimer and Andrew (Shorty) Gawenite, helped him erect the school. It was taught by Clair Maynard--his first experience as a teacher. He taught three terms there. When the Ralph Carter family moved into the neighborhood, it was moved one-half mile south of the Main place, and extended ten feet to accommodate 21 students. Mrs. Mildred (Birkeland) Collins, Dupree, taught the next two terms. This building served the purpose until 1930 when a new school building was built. In the spring of 1930, Dad decided to replace the buildings on the place. He sent to Washington state for two train car loads of lumber. Mr. Knudsen, Dupree, built the new barn that summer. In 1931, Mr. Orin Orbeck, Redelm, built our new house. The old house was badly in need of repair. How well I can remember climbing up the stairs with a warm flat- iron wrapped in a stocking to keep my feet warm during the night. Many times we kids would wake in the morning to find little piles of snow on our blankets. The night before we started tearing the old house down, we kids wanted to sleep just one more night upstairs where we could see the stars through the roof, so Dad let us. We neighbored a great deal with the William Birkenholtz, Elmer Brammer and Lars Peterson families. Many birthdays and anniversaries were celebrated with card parties and get-togethers. There was very little pasture for the cattle the summer of 1936, so Dad turned the cows out on the range north and west of the home place. It was a long way to trail them home to milk, so we rounded them up every other day and brought them home to a straw shed in one of the pastures one and one-half miles from home where we milked them. Lars Peterson liked to tease Dad, so when he saw him he'd always laugh and ask, "Is it today that you milk?'' The folks managed somehow and, Eva and I went on to high school and graduated in Dupree. February, 1939, held two memorable events for me. Mother was expecting our youngest sister, Shirley, so was staying in Dupree at Dr. Creamer's hospital. It was while she was there that the whole block of business places to the north burned down. February 9th was a bitter, cold night and a strong northwest wind was blowing, so the fire spread rapidly. Mother was moved to safety and on February 13th we were presented with our new baby sister. In August, 1955, Dad retired, leaving the farm to Earl (Bill) to manage. They moved to Mobridge, South Dakota where Shirley graduated from high school. Dad often returned to the farm to help out. It was while he was at the farm that he passed away on October 27, 1959 from a heart attack. He, too, is laid to rest in the Dupree Cemetery. Mother continued to live in Mobridge until June, 1977, when she sold her home. She now resides in a Manor apartment in Isabel, South Dakota. She likes to travel, so usually spends several months in California with Shirley and her husband. Except for Shirley, we have all continued to live in the area. Bill and Eva still live at Dupree, and I live at Isabel. [photo - Aaron Main family: Grandpa Aaron Main holds his daughter, Alice (who became Mrs. Fred Linn); Claude sits in front of his mother, Rose. Probably taken in 1897] [photo Mr. & Mrs. Earl Main] [photo - Earl, Hazel, Eva and Shirley, Ella and Claude Main] [photo - Glen Main] OTTO and EVELYN MANTHEI contributed by Mabel Manthei Kohlwey My parents, Otto and Evelyn Manthei lived in Ziebach County, South Dakota, the greater part of their lives, coming there from Boubon, Missouri to settle on a one hundred sixty acre homestead located nine miles northwest of Isabel. Their community was bordered on the north by Corson County and on the east by Dewey County. In early 1911 Dad traveled by immigrant car on the Milwaukee Railroad to break ground for the new home and to fulfill the filing requirements he'd made with the government in agreeing to build a suitable dwelling, dig a well, plow ten acres of sod, and to live on the homestead fourteen months. The price of the land ranged $2.50 to $6.00 an acre. Dad brought with him, a team of "Missouri mules", a mare, a one-horse plow, along with household articles and other necessities to see them (Mom was to join him later) through the residency requirements after which they fully intended to make their investment pay off and then return to Missouri. It didn't work out that way. My Uncle John Blomberg came with Dad and the two of them built a sod house and sod barn, plowed the sod, and planted a garden, getting things ready for Mom's arrival. Mom and two and a half year old Lillian arrived by train after traveling about four days and nights. In March 1912 my brother Milfred was born in the sod house. I was born the next year, also in the sod house, which gives my brother and me some sort of distinction, that of being born in a "soddy". Now with three children, my parents needed more room. They had fulfilled the residency requirements. They knew they were there to stay. They purchased a larger frame house and moved it onto their land. Along with the new house, a short time later, came a new baby girl, my sister Florence. Several additions were added to this house in the next few years. A large kitchen was built which also served as dining and living room. My parents reared six children on their homestead. Lillian, Milfred, Mabel, Florence, Edna and Paul. Little Pauline (Paul and Pauline were twins) died in infancy. By the time my sister, Lillian, was seven and other early settlers children were ready for school, a school district was organized. The Eliason School opened in the fall of 1916. I attended that school for eight years. Ernest Reber was my first teacher. In 1932 I received my teacher's certificate. That fall I began my first year of teaching at the same school I attended, the Eliason School. I also taught the Wilson School. (Some may remember it as the Wenzel School.) It was during the 1930's a drought, dust storms and depression occurred. Times were hard and many folks vacated their land. My dad had taken a second homestead and acquired other real estate increasing his land holdings to about a section of land. The rains came again in about 1937 and better times were on the way. But Dad's health began to fail. Milfred and Paul took over most of the farming operations. They had tractors now to replace farming with horses. Milfred married and was living on the former Eliason homestead just a quarter of a mile north of dad's place. Dad passed away in June 1952. We girls, all married, lived out of state. Morn and Paul remained on the home farm. When Paul married and moved to a ranch at Glad Valley, Mom was persuaded to leave her old home to live in a trailer on Milfred's ranch. She lived there until she suffered a stroke and passed away in January 1968. Where are all their descendants in 1981? Lillian (Mrs. Gust Mueller), deceased; Milfred (wife Bertha Roesler) both deceased; Mabel (Mrs. Fred Kohlwey), in Tacoma, Washington; Florence (Mrs. A. Brasco), in Lynwood, California; Edna (Mrs. John Bell), at Eatonville, Washington and Paul (wife Norena Grate), at Sturgis. ROBERT HENRY MARPLE FAMILY Robert Marple, Bob as he was known by, was born June 9, 1865 at Mancester, Virginia. His mother died when he was five years old leaving him, two brothers, and two sisters. Several years after losing his wife, his dad remarried and the children were raised by several different families. Robert and his sister Maude were taken care of by a family named Cather who took the children with them to Scottsbluff, Nebraska. They, incidentally, were the parents of the author, Willa Cather, who wrote several books. When they were grown up they both went to eastern Nebraska. Robert married in December 1885. His wife died in October 1901, leaving him with six small children. One of their children, Thomas Walter, died at 6 months of age. Robert kept his family together until in 1903 he married Hattie Irene Hitchcock. She took over the tremendous job of caring for the family along with giving birth to twelve of her own, one of which died in infancy. My story is about this second family. Most of them were raised in Ziebach County. They farmed in eastern Nebraska but with so many to support and on rented land it was impossible to make it. By now two of the older girls were married and were in homes of their own. So in 1910 they decided to file on a homestead and move to South Dakota. There were eight kids and Mr. and Mrs. Marple. In March they started the journey to South Dakota. They had a covered wagon which was pulled by mules, and one pretty good horse, a horse that I've been told was blind, pulled a single buggy. In the covered wagon they had the range cookstove to cook their meals and beds wherever they could find a place for them. Five of the children rode in the wagon. The three boys were to follow with the buggy. When they got to Carthage it began to look like it would be a good idea to stop for awhile. So Bob and the boys looked for work, but didn't get very good jobs as that was a dry year in South Dakota. They found an old house they could rent so they moved in their cookstove and stayed there until after the birth of Walter in August. They were afraid winter would be setting in the west where they didn't have even a road to get to or were very sure where their land was. They wanted to get shelter of some kind made before winter. They took off in September for Ziebach County. The traveling was very slow and when they ferried the Missouri the older ones began to have their doubts about ever making it. The boys who were 10, 12, and 14 years old hadn't been taking the trip very seriously, but when the longhorned cattle herds began to get close enough to rub their horns on the buggy spokes it didn't seem so funny. They were awfully afraid of the rattlesnakes, having never seen one, they could just imagine what they were like. So where they had been sleeping on the ground that was out now. So to bed down became a problem. Water was bad too, as they could only carry so much and the places were getting farther apart. When they arrived at what they thought should be their place, (they had a map of sorts to go by), Bob and the boys had to find the corner of their quarter, they were marked with what they called mounds. Each quarter had 4 holes with usually a rock in the center of the holes. As soon as they found a smooth enough place to anchor down the wagon they went in search of some place to get supplies. Dupree wasn't where it is now but there were a few brave people who had put up a few little shacks out by the Woodward place. Any lumber or other supplies had to be hauled from Isabel, which gave Mr. Marple his first job. Besides trying to get a shelter for his family he went with his wagon everyday staying all night in Isabel and bringing back a load the next day. There wasn't any bridge over the Moreau so it was a problem crossing it. For their first home, they found a steep bank and dug back into it so that the west side of their house was right against the bank and the roof was even with the bank. It was a one room affair made of shiplap lumber with the outside covered with tar paper. In those days everybody had the standard tar paper. It was held on the siding with big bright round pieces of tin with a big nail in each to keep the paper on. It was pretty well sheltered. Bill claims they had a rattlesnake under the floor all winter that stayed close where the stove sat, but maybe what they heard was in their imagination. One thing that wasn't funny was the bedbugs that came out of the lumber. They were horror for women who had babies as they loved to bite on them. The only thing that seemed to kill them was kerosene and it smelled so bad. It was also a fire hazard as most people had only the minimum of water in the house. Along with the other hardships was getting a well dug as it was all man power and it also was hard to get water. That first year, most everything a person needed was hauled from Isabel. The train got there before Dupree. Of course nobody had any money so going without things got to be a habit. In the spring of 1911 they set out to break up some land to plant a garden and even break up a few acres. The potatoes they planted didn't sprout, but petrified from the heat that next summer. Mr. Marple was a good carpenter so made a little money building claim shacks. He also had a job taking care of prisoners the county had. The jail was finally built but several of the ones he cared for just couldn't take it and lost their minds. One was a judge, who I guess just figured it was the easiest way out. Mr. Marple was a real big man and wasn't afraid of the devil himself, so he acted as jailer when he could. He usually walked when he worked in town because saving the horses was very necessary in those days. Since most of the homesteaders had large families one thing that became necessary was a school. So the Fairview school was constructed. The Marple children, except the three older ones who had finished school in Nebraska, attended school. It was one of the largest schools in Ziebach County and was used for Sunday school as a minister came out from town. It was also very popular as a dance hall for many years. The older generation as well as the younger ones came many miles to attend the dances. They started right after dark and continued until daylight. Because they were so enjoyable people hated to leave. Traveling by buggy, saddle horse, etc. in the early days they needed daylight to travel on the roads. Of course by the twenties lots of people had cars but people still made a night of it. After living in their claim shack for several years, Bob built a regular house. It was small, with only two rooms but it had a real house roof and was a big help to have more room. Three of the older children were gone. Louise had married and after trying life here for a few years they left for Duluth where they lived the rest of their lives. Two of the boys, Jim and Fred, went out to work at threshing time as did almost every man from here. After World War I, Fred went back to Nebraska and Jim to Milwaukee, where they married and raised families. In 1927, Irene, the last child of the Robert Marples, was born and they began to have things better. A year or so later Mr. Marple's health began to fail and he spent time consulting doctors. In June of 1930 he was taken to Rochester where he was operated on and it was found he had cancer of the spine. He contracted pneumonia while there and on June 24, 1930 passed away in Rochester. Mrs. Marple was left with eight children still at home as Mary, Celia, and Mable were all married. The dirty thirties were just beginning and no one was raising anything. In 1935 Sam, who was a young man, went up to help his sister Celia whose husband was dying of tuberculosis. When Sam got tuberculosis he went out to Custer to the sanitarium but died in surgery in 1945. George was the next victim and he went to the sanitarium, they thought they had his about all cured but one of those real hot days in the summer of 1941 he died in his sleep at home. Walter had bought back their place and was caring for his mother. When war broke out Robert, Ralph and Frank all served in the Army. Frank and Robert both were in Germany and were in the Battle of the Bulge, however didn't know they had both been there until later. Ralph served most of his time in Okinawa. After the war he worked for awhile in the gold mines then later he worked for a rancher down on the river until he died in 1973 and was buried at the National Cemetery at Ft. Meade. Walter fell victim to tuberculosis and went to Custer where he died in 1949. Hattie went out to live with her daughter Mary at Spearfish. When she required more care she went to live in the Dorsett Home at Spearfish where she passed away in 1962 and is buried in Dupree. Those Marple children still living are Irene Webb of Dupree; Edna Sowers of Dupree and Rocelia Fisher of Mundelein, Illinois. The old place is still in the Marple name, as when Walter died, the kids all signed it to Hattie so she would have money to pay her expenses. She sold it to Bill and we sold it to our sons, Bill, Jr. and Pat in 1965. Bill passed away in 1967. [photo - Robert Marple and Irene Marple Webb, taken in 1928] [photo - Bob Marple’s first home in 1910, 6 miles south of Dupree. Jim and Fred on roof, Mable, Edna and Roscelia, Hattie holding Walter, Bill and Mary. WILLIAM MARPLE FAMILY William Oscar Marple was born at Blair, Nebraska on May 3, 1900. When he was a year old his mother died of cancer. His oldest sister was twelve years old so with their father and five brothers and sisters they managed to keep the family together. Four years later his father married a wonderful woman who raised the children as her own along with giving birth to twelve of her own. Bill always thought of her as his mother as she was always so good to all of them. When he was ten years old they made their trip from Nebraska to Ziebach County in a covered wagon. The two oldest girls stayed in Nebraska as they were married and making homes there. The times were very hard as it was with all the homesteaders. They finally got a little land broke up, but with a walking plow, one furrow at a time and very poor horses it was slow. They also had to build some kind of buildings but they all worked at anything they could get to do, so made what they could. When war broke out Fred joined the Navy. Jim was rejected on account of his eyes so he went to Milwaukee where he started working in factories. Bill was in the home guard here and was due to report to Fort Snelling on a Friday, but the war ended on a Tuesday, so they stopped taking them to World War I. After that he spent several winters in Nebraska and farmed a little and ran his threshing machine here in the fall if there was any crops. In the summer of 1925 Bill worked on a lot of bridges here but was going to Milwaukee in the fall. I was a senior that year but became a dropout and we were married on September 16, 1925 in the Catholic rectory in Dupree and we left for Milwaukee. Bill had bought a new car that summer but owed some money on it so the day before we left he traded it off and got the worst looking and acting old Dodge touring car but it was his and all his life he never wanted to owe anybody. Mary, Bill's sister, had married Matt Stephenson in June and they wanted a ride out of here so they went to Milwaukee with us. This became a strong tie that lasted until death parted us. The two years we spent in Milwaukee were great. In 1927 we rented a place from Alvin Johnson, who wanted to go back to Michigan. He sold us everything he had and we moved into his two room house. He had a few good milk cows and a lot of good alfalfa hay in the stack so we had a very easy winter. In the spring of 1928 we bought a new tractor and some other machinery we needed. Many of the businessmen in Dupree furnished the money for gas and oil for some of the crop. We put in several quarters of flax and nature came through and we got a good crop. In 1929 on July 12, we had our first child, Shirley Faye, that made everything just about perfect. During the crash of 1929 we didn't get anything for our crop. Bill, a truck driver, and the elevator man got some wheat together and sent out some to Minneapolis for which they got 29cents. The feed grain we raised we got about 4cents a bushel for. 1930 was a rough year, Bill's dad was getting paralyzed in his legs so Bill took him to Rochester where they told him it was cancer and terminal. The next year we began to get into the dirty thirties. We did get a little crop and had the best threshing crew I ever saw. Some of the young men working for us were Russell Birkeland, Alvin Griffith, Walter Marple and Buck Miller. They worked from daylight until dark and furnished their team for the big stomping price of two bucks a day and board. None of us had houses big enough so they slept in the straw stacks rather than drive clear home at nights. We had our second child, Bill Jr., in 1932. Pat was born in 1934 and Mary in 1936. We bought the Goodnew place two miles south of the Johnson place where we were living. In the spring of 1938 we had another beautiful daughter, Frannie, and I often think if it hadn't been for babies the dry years would have been harder to take. On May 3 of 1938 Bill was bitten, probably by a spider. Lloyd Romereim, the school teacher, and Mr. Swanson, a neighbor, took him to the hospital in Pierre. For almost a week they didn't hold out any hope of his living, but they tried some new kind of serum and after two weeks he regained consciousness. Although his skin was scorched and his hair came out, he was able to come home around Memorial Day. It took about a year before his leg was healed and he began to regain his health, but he always figured he was living on borrowed time after that. He had been declared dead a couple of times during the time of his delirium. He had pleaded to God to be allowed to live until his family was grown and he could get all his debts paid up. In 1940 we had our last child, Carol. Our good old Doctor Creamer came out, and as he had broken a blood vessel in his leg, the men had to carry him in and he got around the house on crutches. In 1941 World War II was upon us. One of Bill's brothers died of tuberculosis. Cub, Frank and Ralph all went to the service. We began to get a little rain and at least got some grass so we could keep some cattle. In 1946 we got some crops and began to pay our debts, remodeled our house, etc. We got a real nice car for $1500, put running water in our house, and we also got 110 volt electricity with a motor. Before that we had a wind charger 6 volts that seemed like the batteries were down when you needed lights. In 1950 the crops started to get better. In 1952 Bill Jr. went into the Korean War, he spent six months in Germany before the war was over. During the week Bill Sr. and Pat batched on the ranch and I stayed in town with the two younger girls. Two years after Bill Jr. returned from Germany, Pat was called up but a few days before he was to go he was in a car wreck and broke his neck so he didn't go for one year. Much to his disgust, when he did go in 1957 there was no war and the only place he got to was Colorado Springs where he worked on missiles and Fl Paso where he did a little of everything. Fran graduated with a scholarship from Mount Marty College but helped at home until she had a chance to work at the A.S.C. office where she worked for five years. Carol decided to be a nurse so after graduation she spent three years in Aberdeen where she became a registered nurse. This made three nurses in the family. Faye and Mary both graduated from Pierre. The boys were both home so in 1959 they went into partnership with their Dad and we moved to town. We came in one day to buy a house and Bill went upstairs and fell through a place the owner had left unfloored to put in a gun cabinet and as a result Bill broke his back. After 1959 on we didn't really do any work but took a lot of time traveling. In fact we visited every state and some of them several times. Our children are all married and we are lucky to have three of them living here. In December of 1966 Bill entered the hospital at Gettysburg and it was discovered he had cancer in both lungs. He died at home April 20, 1967. The other tragedy of our life was Bill Jr.'s son who was born in 1964 with muscular dystrophy. After a few years he began to get crippled, but he lived until October 8 of 1979. He was such a wonderful person. To have known him and to have had him was a reward in itself. We miss him so much but are thankful God in His mercy saw fit to end his suffering and to take him home. We have all of our children, most of them with large families so have 27 grandchildren which we are very thankful for. We also have 8 great-grandchildren. HANK and MILLIE MARTENS by Ava Martens Vaughan In the fall of 1916, while threshing out of Platte, South Dakota, our father, Henry Frederick Marten, better known as "Hank", along with Albert Fish and Gus Anderson, went with team and buggy to Lone Tree, North Dakota to find land to homestead, but none was available. They continued on to Faith where they met Frank Morgan, the sheriff at that time, and he showed them land that was open there. Our father made a homestead application October 17, 1916 on a quarter section about eighteen miles east and south of Faith. About two months later he heard he had acquired it. He was required to be living on it by April of 1917, so that spring he built a house 12 x 20 ft. on it. He later learned his building was on Chris Johnson's quarter section, so he moved it on to his own land and later added on it. He remembers the good times when beginning at his place with a team and buggy and going either toward another home, or to town, for a dance or a party, he picked up couples along the way. The dancing or party might go on all night until dawn, when they started home. They usually stopped at the first home on their return for breakfast and sometimes the second--the better cook often influenced their decision--this was added with a smile. He recalls going to barn dances where Lawrence Welk, dressed in overalls, provided the music. With transportation like it was, sometimes it would be near noon the next day when he got home and his chores waited until then. Our mother, Amelia "Millie Hay", had two sons, Louis and Earl Carlson, from a former marriage. She had been working in Platte, too, and she and our father thought that Faith would offer them more opportunities for working. They were married in the Faith area, December 16, 1917, on her 29th birthday. At that time our father was a widower with one daughter, Florence. Our father remembers when just after he and mother were married, they had a man drive them with a team to the homestead from Faith. A snow storm came up on their way. They let themselves into Lloyd Dunbar's place as a refuge from the snow. Fortunately they were able to start a fire in the barn to warm themselves and to prepare some food. Mother had quilts in her trunk which provided the necessary warmth that night. The next day the three of them continued on to our place. Our father said that initially the telephone lines in the country were run on fences, but notes that later they had to set tall poles on either side of the gates to run the wires on or else service was cut whenever a gate was left open. Our parents had four children from their marriage: Lee, born June 15, 1919; Lester, born September 15, 1922; Ava, born July 2, 1924, and Henrietta, born February 15, 1932. Our mother never had a doctor for any of our births, but a midwife was in attendance for some of us. Our mother was able to have Minnie Johnson--she and Jess were our nearest neighbors. Our father was a carpenter by trade and he was hired by the school board to build the first schoolhouse in our area.-Our mother helped with the building jobs. There were times when we hauled water to wash clothes, using a stoneboat and large barrels. Oftentimes our father, on his weekly trips to Faith, with cream to sell, would bring home the emptied cans from the previous trip, full of drinking water. As children, out after the cattle, it was the usual thing to drink from a waterhole. One could close his teeth together, hoping this would strain out whatever might be in the water! During the winter that I was in the first grade, a terrible snowstorm came up. Our teacher went home with the family she bearded with as those children's father came to school after them, and that left the rest of us at school. Gertrude Johnson, as I recall, had the presence of mind to write a note on the blackboard that we had all gone to the Chester Johnson home, in case someone came for us. We all held on to hands and started on our way. In the meantime, Chester took a team and sled and went to school, only to find everyone was gone. After reading the message, he was worried as to the safety of all of us children for we had walked the same "draw" he had traveled and he had not seen us. It was a great relief to find all of us safe and sound at his home when he returned. We were having the time of our lives! I never realized children could have so much fun. We had the forerunner of snocones with the freshly fallen snow, and we all played games and had such a good time that the next day after the weather had cleared and our brother, Louis, came for us, we were not anxious to go home. The years spent with our friends of the Mud Butte School brings back so many pleasant memories. I started first grade with Gall Rider and Vernon Overacker. Sometimes we were fortunate to have a teacher with a car and a special understanding of children. Leona Johnson loaded all of us either in, or on top of her car and we went to Mud Butte where we had an Easter egg hunt and ate our lunches. The teachers names 1 remember are Nina Batson, Barbara Schell Johnson and Loretz E. Pederson. Even though their home was not large, friends seemed to gather at the home of Albert Fish where his wife, Ivy, played the piano. Jimmy Keegan played the guitar and Gerhard Orvedahl played the violin. Others danced and everyone had such a good time. The home of the Chester Johnson's has always stood out in my memory--they had a pump in the kitchen, which seemed a blessing, and they also had a piano. Once, while at Johnsons, when I was three or four, I noticed a wire extending from the peak of their house to the peak of their barn and I commented on their high clothesline. I was so embarrassed and humiliated to learn it was the aerial for their new radio. We moved to Faith in the spring of 1935. In August of 1940 we moved to Port Orchard, Washington, where most of the family still reside. Louis and Lora moved to California in 1948 and in a few years were settled in Newcastle, Wyoming, where he is serving his third term as mayor of that city. They have four grown children and will be celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary in August. Earl is semi- retired and lives with his family in Kimberly, Idaho. He and Betty have three children. Florence had lived with her husband, Dewey Bercheid and their two sons, in Kimball, South Dakota, until 1941 when they moved to Washington state. He passed away in 1963 while they were living in Port Orchard. She later married Gerald Wigington and they have lived the last fourteen years in Mesa, Arizona. Leo served 4 1/2 years in the Air Force in World War II and married a Port Orchard girl. They have four grown daughters and he and Loreta live in Bremerton, about ten miles from Port Orchard. He retired from the Bremerton Naval Shipyard in September of 1981. Lester was in the Army in World War II, married a Port Orchard girl and he and Juanita have three daughters and a son. Lester retired from the Naval Shipyard in March of 1981 and has spent the past year in eastern Washington. Henrietta, after graduating from high school in 1950, went to work near Vancouver, Washington. She met and married John Olesen from Vancouver and that has remained her home. They have three sons and two daughters. Our mother had relief here after suffering for years in South Dakota with hay fever, only to develop asthma in 1946. Her condition was noticeably worse in November 1962 and it was then we learned she had lung cancer. She passed away February 7, 1963. I feel she was always the mainstay of our family. Our father, at 97, does remarkably well. He has lived from the time of horse and buggies to see men land on the moon. I am married to Don Vaughan, a native of Port Orchard, and his childhood is such a contrast to mine that I wonder if he can realize how things were for us when we lived on the farm. I have two sons, Robert and James Houston, by a former marriage and they and their families also live in Port Orchard. For eighteen years I worked as a dental assistant until I had a stroke in 1975. I have pretty well recovered and I feel I am very fortunate. These are some of the memories of that little girl who lived back home on our farm so long ago. [photo - Left to right: Henry, Florence, Millie, Lester, Ava and Leo Martens] ARTHUR and ARLENE MARTIN by Arlene Martin Art came to Dupree in 1947 from Burke, South Dakota where he worked for his uncle, Art Jones. In 1948, he went to work for the highway department, where he worked for 14 years. Arlene came to Dupree the winter of 1949 where she worked as a waitress at the Dew Drop Inn for Agnes McInerney. Arlene was born at Edson, South Dakota. Cooper was her maiden name. Art and Arlene were married in 1952 at Pierre, South Dakota. In 1953 our son, David, was born at Dupree in the little hospital on main street. He now lives in Whitewood, South Dakota and works in Sturgis at the Sturgis Tile Company. In 1957 our daughter, Diane, was born at Faith, South Dakota, which was the closest hospital at that time. She graduated from Dupree High School and spent a year at college. She then came back to Dupree and became the business manager for the school for 5 years, and now is employed at the Farmers State Bank of Faith. In 1962, Art got the mail route from Dupree to La Plant and is still carrying mail. In 1966, Arlene got the mail route from Dupree to Cherry Creek, which is carried 3 days a week and is still over gumbo roads. [photo - The Art Martens: Diana, David, Arlene and Art] MAUPIN FAMILY The Maupin family originated in France as de Maupin. Mau was pronounced "Moe" and meant mouth or head; Pin was pronounced "Peen" and meant pine, de Maupin pronounced in French is de Moepeen. The name was probably a description of a place in France meaning literally that the Maupin ancestors who acquired the name de Maupin were from de (edge) Mau (mouth or head of) and Pin (pine forest). The Maupin coat of arms shows pine apples which is what pine cones were once called in England. It is believed that Gabriel Maupin was the first Maupin to come to America in about 1700. The family had left Navarre, France, and went to England because of the conflict between the Huguenots and Catholics. The Maupin family that lived in the Ziebach County area are descendants of the first Maupins in America. John Maupin and Mary Jane Williams lived in Clay County, Kentucky, near Manchester and Liberty. They had eleven children, eight which grew to adulthood. In 1874, they moved from Kentucky to a place near Chickasha, Oklahoma. The daughters, Pauline, Lucy and Mary Daniel stayed in Oklahoma and raised their families there. The boys, Arthur, Tolbert, Thomas Jr., Jim and William Henry Same north and finally settled in South Dakota. In about 1879, Arthur, Jim and Thomas J. or "Bogie", as he was called trailed a bunch of horses north from Oklahoma headed for Canada. Arthur took his share of the horses and located on the Bad River near Ft. Pierre, South Dakota. He started a livery stable at Ft. Pierre. Arthur was killed oh July 13, 1889, at Springview, Nebraska. He was married to Maggie Traversie and they had a son Charlie Maupin. Charlie married Caroline Garreau on February 6, 1906. They lived in the Timber Lake and Eagle Butte area. After Arthur's death in 1889, "Bogie" and Jim returned from Canada where they had settled on Pincher Creek. Jim, later, moved to Flagstaff, Arizona. Tolbert "Tollie" Maupin came to South Dakota in about 1888 according to the 1905 South Dakota census. Tollie lived around Leslie, Ft. Pierre, Hayes and Dupree. According to the census he was stockman and he once owned the Togo Ranch Road at Hayes, South Dakota. The Stockgrower News and Leslie Pioneer of November 10, 1910, states, "Tolbert Maupin is, now, engaged in the store business at Dupree. He sold the first bunch of prunes shipped in there." Tollie had two sons, Neal Baine and Oscar Arthur. Neal B. joined the Canadian Army in 1910 and was killed overseas. Oscar moved to Arizona and California. Tolbert and his wife, Rose, moved to Longview, Washington, where he died in 1938 and she in 1946. [photo - Tolbert Maupin and his wife and son Neal B. This picture was taken before South Dakota was a state] WILLIAM HENRY MAUPIN William Henry Maupin, “Henry” or "Hank" as he was called was the youngest of the Maupin boys. He came to South Dakota in about 1902. He was a stockman, horseman, played the fiddle and was a very good dancer. In 1910, Henry started the first grocery store in Dupree in a tent. He became known as "Uncle Henry" after the birth of his nephews and was even called such in issues of the Leslie Pioneer. Hank, Bob Yokum and Eddie Carr took a team of buffalo to the Calgary Stampede in 1912. Hank stayed in Canada, became a Canadian citizen and returned to the United States only to visit. Hank punched cows south of Calgary, and worked in the mines at Drumheller. He was injured at the mines and later worked at a hotel in Drumheller. William Henry Maupin died on April 26, 1961, and is buried in the Drumheller Cemtery in Alberta, Canada. [photo - William Henry Maupin] THOMAS JEFFERSON MAUPIN Thomas Jefferson "Bogie" Maupin was born at Liberty, Kentucky, on April 12, 1863. He came to South Dakota from Canada after the death of his brother, Arthur. He returned to the Fort Pierre area, lived one year at Dog Buttes east of Timber Lake and then moved to his home south of Eagle Butte on what was known as Maupin Flats between Plum Creek and Deep Creek. On February 20, 1903, he married Rose Benthin of Ligonier, Indiana. To this union were born five children, William Henry "Bill", John, Thomas Jefferson "Tom", Evelyn and Donald. Their home was the crossroads for many, a stopping place for neighbors and cowboys. Bogie was a freighter from Fort Pierre to Cherry Creek. He made his first trip with the mail in July 1906. He had a runaway accident and died as a result of those injuries on December 19, 1925. He is buried at Robbs Flat Cemetery. Rose stayed on the ranch until 1934 when she moved to Eagle Butte. She was active in the membership and women's work of the Congregational Church, and later a member of the American Legion Auxiliary and was a Gold Star Mother. Son, Donald, was killed in World War II. Rose died at the age of 95 on January 4, 1974, at Belle Fourche, South Dakota. She was laid to rest at the Eagle Butte Cemetery. She was known as a pioneer wife and mother, a great friend and neighbor. [photo - Bogie (T.J.) and Rose Benthin Maupin wedding picture taken February 20, 1903] [photo - Bogie Maupin at the old Bob Gray Rood Ranch about 1905] MAUPIN FAMILY by Peggy Maupin Symonds Bill Maupin married Wally Whipple. They were in Arizona for a time then they moved back to Eagle Butte where they ranched and operated a cafe in town for many years. They had two sons, Billy, who is a ranch manager for the SL Ranch at Suscarora, Nevada and Tommy, who lives at Fort Pierre and works for the South Dakota State Brand Board. John married Elsie "Toots" Hiett and they ranched south of Eagle Butte. They had one daughter, Mary Sue. Toots still lives in Eagle Butte. Evelyn "Sid" married Oscar Gray and they ranched at La Plant, South Dakota. Pat and Sid raised seven sons and Sid still lives on their ranch at La Plant. Tom worked for the Diamond A and CBC for most of his early life. Tom spent several years in Arizona and Wyoming at Rock River. He returned to Eagle Butte in 1940. Gramma Maupin had moved to Eagle Butte in 1934 after Donald left home and when Tom came back he bought some cows from Jim Brown and he and his mother moved back to the ranch south of Eagle Butte. In June of 1941, Tom had a runaway with a team of broncs and smashed his leg. He fought and doctored this leg until 1946 when he had to have it amputated. He never let the leg handicap him. He rode broncs, stacked hay and everything else that needed doing. In October of 1941 he married Christene Hansen McKinney at Pierre. Tene had a son Thurman McKinney and she and Tom raised 4 children of their own. Thurman and his family live at Piedmont, South Dakota. Peggy Symonds lives at Sturgis, South Dakota. Bogie and Jim live at Alzada, Montana and Baine lives at Camp Crook, South Dakota. Ours was always a stopping place for people going to and coming from Eagle Butte. We had a rollaway bed in the kitchen and I remember waking up to find Albert Lopez, Bud Annis, Elmer Rivers and many more whose names have gotten away from me, sleeping on the rollaway. They all lived below us and it was a fair day's ride to Eagle Butte. One visitor we kids were fascinated by was James "Deafy" Eagle Chasing. He and Dad talked sign language. We couldn't understand a word of it but enjoyed it greatly. When Baine was a baby in 1951, Mom, Dad, Kelly Berndt, Palmer Horseshoe and Bill Schnerle built three rooms on the top of the basement which really provided all kinds of space. Also got a 32 volt lightplant and were terribly modern then. I'm sure it was appreciated. My mother got her first washing machine and I think one of the first things Dad got was a sickle grinder. The barn was log, built into the bank. They bought the Isberg house and moved it in onto a cellar made of railroad ties. It was a two story house and the upstairs was a bunkhouse and the downstairs was for storage. There was one room upstairs and one down. Thurmon went to the Hoxing School over by Anderson's, Bogie and I went to the Albee School until 52-53, then we stayed in Eagle Butte and went to school. The term of 51-52 the teacher stayed at our house and had school for just Bogie and me. Dad was on the Ziebach County school board for several years but I don't know the dates. When I think back on this time I'm sure people saw their neighbors more and enjoyed each others' friendship more than we probably do now. Everybody needed everybody else, they worked together and weren't so hurried as we are now. Friendship wasn't taken for granted. On Saturday everyone went to Eagle Butte, weather permitting. The grownups did their shopping and visiting and we kids went to school and played on the big swings until show time, then went to the show. Jerome Payne had the theater and that was the highlight of our week. The battery radio was important in many ways, news, weather, the serials, but also communication. When Jim and Baine were born, Dad took Mom to Pierre several days early and every day we listened to the radio to see if anything had happened when "ole lady Pierre" gave the hospital report. Found out the same way when someone was dismissed. I remember a rooster Mom had that could whip a kid in nothing flat and did many times but Mom wouldn't kill him because of rattlesnakes. The yard wasn't fenced so he came right in on our own territory and ran us kids off. The changes that have taken place in the past 40 years are hard to comprehend. Forty years isn't that long but in some respects it seems a lifetime. I can remember when Dad got his first haying machinery in 1950. He got 2-8N Ford tractors, mower, rake, farmhand and a post hole digger. Sam Mortensen, Albert Lopez and probably Tom Lynch spent the summer haying with Dad. They really covered the ground. It seems some older person was with us a lot of the time. The first one I remember was Billy Lucus. He had slowed down to a shuffle and used a cane. He and Dad could really tell the stories and he always enjoyed it so much when someone he knew came along to talk old times with. He was also Mom's babysitter for Jim. Jim could crawl faster than Billy could shuffle and I remember more times than one he'd catch Jim going under the gate to the barn. He'd hook his cane in Jim's diaper and drag him back under the fence and turn him around. Harry Sturgis spent several years with the folks before he went to the nursing home. He loved beans and bacon. We had to eat a lot of beans anyway, but that was Harry's favorite food. After several years of searching and corresponding the folks found Henry Maupin up in Canada and he spent several summers with us. He and Gramma Maupin would argue about early day happenings in Ziebach County. They were both in their 80s at that time but Gramma would say "Couldn't tell him anything when he was a young man and he hasn't changed a bit!" He was a very interesting man with a fantastic sense of humor. Maupins left Ziebach County in 1952, moving to Alzada, Montana where two of their sons, Bogie and Jim, are still on the ranch. The new ranch must have seemed like heaven to my mother. She just begged trees to grow in her yard near Eagle Butte and their place at Alzada is very similar to the Black Hills. Later on they bought land on the Little Missouri River and had hay and water except on the very driest of years. Mother passed away of a heart attack at the funeral of a very dear family friend, Albert Lopez, January 20, 1978. Albert was not only a leaning post and true friend to the folks he was about the nearest thing to a grandfather us kids had. That's how we thought of him too. Dad had been in ill health for several years and he passed away November 11, 1978 at the Belle Fourche hospital. They are both buried at Pineslope Cemetery in Belle Fourche. Mom was a 4-H leader in Crook County, Wyoming for many years and they both loved youth rodeos or anything to do with kids and horses. The family started a 4-H Memorial Rodeo at Hulett, Wyoming in Mom's memory and when Dad passed away it was changed to Maupin Memorial Rodeo in memory of the two of them. In 1981 this rodeo was moved to Sundance, Wyoming and changed to a youth rodeo so all children could participate. I'm sure the folks would be proud of the participation we've had to this rodeo. [photo - Bill Maupin] [photo - Tom and Tene’s 36th wedding anniversary, 1977] CLAIR F. MAYNARD FAMILY by Clair F. Maynard Clair F. Maynard, born December 24, 1906, was the third of ten children in the family of Claude and Gertrude Maynard, early pioneers who had emigrated with their parents to settle in Dakota Territory. Clair was born in Faulk County, South Dakota and attended a rural elementary school near Orient, South Dakota. The family moved to a homestead in Ziebach County in May 1919. My parents had shipped two livestock cars and one emigrant car filled with household goods, seed wheat and oats for the first year's planting. Our first summer was spent at diversified tasks of building, putting up some hay and planting crops and garden. Our nearest neighbors to the southeast were the Lou Taylors. We arranged with them to haul drinking water from their well until we could get a well dug. We dug several wells, but they all turned out to be dry holes. We gave up the search for surface water and my father bought a well-drilling rig. We finally struck water but it provided only enough for household use. During the drought of the thirties, we had to drive our livestock four miles north to the Moreau River to water them. Many residents had to dispose of their livestock for a lack of water. Some of our neighbors were: Lou Taylor; Tom Sawyer; James Pidcock; Jim Thomas; Lars Petersen; Frank Bloom; Russell Smith; Mrs. Nettle Edwards, sons Clarke and Ed, and mother, Margaret Kagey; Al Tibke; Lee Eaten; Charlie Cain; Albert and Herman Picker and mother. Later Elmer Brammer, Bill Thomas and Ralph Carter moved into the area. Clair attended the eighth grade at Lone Tree school, and graduated from the Dupree High School in 1925. Clair began his teaching career at age 18 at the Main school, after attending summer school at Aberdeen. While Clair attended Dupree High School he worked for his room and board for Mrs. Mary Miracle, wife of the famed O. U. Miracle, and Harve Hensley Sheep Company north of the Moreau River. From 1928-1931 he taught the Grondahl school north of the Moreau. From 1931-1934 he taught Fairview school, south of Dupree. In June 1933, Mr. Maynard and Helen Griffith were married. They were both employed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs to teach at the Indian day schools at Bear Creek and at Bridger. After these four years, the couple and their daughter, Estella, moved to Spearfish where Mr. Maynard worked and attended college to complete his B.S. in education degree. In 1941 he was principal of the elementary school at Custer, and taught the 6th-8th grades and coached basketball and track. He taught at Central High, Rapid City from 1942 until 1951. During the summer months, 1943-44, he was employed by the United States Area Engineers. He also was soil chemist and took tests of concrete samples for the construction of the three runways for Ellsworth Air Force Base. In 1951 Mr. Maynard decided he could no longer teach for $185 per month at Central High, so he was offered a position with Mr. Chris Hogan of the Rapid Chevrolet Company for $400 per month. In 1952-53 Mr. Maynard assisted as principal at the Faith High School and taught there. In 1954-56 he was superintendent and instructor at Keystone High School. The Bureau of Indian Affairs decided to start a high school for Indian students at Sioux San, Rapid City. He was hired by the Bureau for the high school position. He served in the Civil Service from 1957 until 1977, when he retired at age seventy. He completed the last four years at Little Wound High School in Kyle, South Dakota. Clair Maynard is a substitute teacher in his 56th year of teaching in the public and the indian Day schools of western South Dakota. Clair and Helen's two sons and two daughters have all completed their college and hold responsible positions in their respective communities. They are at home with their seven grandchildren who have had an annual homecoming vacation and visit during the first two weeks of August. Clair, Jr. and his wife, Susan, live in Rapid City with their daughter, Mindy. William Alan and his wife, Nancy live in Greeley, Colorado. Dorothy Jean (Maynard) Hanson is employed in Chicago, where she lives with her husband and their three children: Michael, Michelle and Mark. Estella Lucilla married George Tidwell and assists him with his Flight Service in Lonoke, Arkansas. Their children are Kathy, Conway, Jeff and Jim. [photo - Mr. and Mrs. Clair Maynard and family] [photo - Clair and Helen Maynard] [photo - Clair and Helen Maynard in front of home in Rapid City] CLAUDE and GERTRUDE MAYNARD by Ruth Maynard Edwards Early in the year of 1918, Claude Maynard filed on two quarters of land nine and one-half miles northwest of Dupree. In April, 1919, Claude came by train from Orient in Faulk County to Dupree to build a new house on the homestead. He borrowed a team and wagon, and with the help of an old friend, Pat O'Donnell, hauled lumber to the site on which he had chosen to build. Next morning there was three feet of snow over the place where he was to build the house. First he built a small house about 12 x 16 to live in until he built the main house. As soon as he had the floor, sides and roof sheeting up, he returned to Orient for his family, household goods and livestock. The family consisted of mother Gertrude, Fred, Marie, Clair, Lester, Ruth, Edwin, Wilbur, Mable and Gladys. Our belongings, household goods, chickens, cattle and horses were all loaded into immigrant cars, and we rode in the passenger compartment of the train. We came by Roscoe, Mobridge, Trail City, Promise, La Plant, Ridgeview, Eagle Butte and Dupree. We spent the night in Roscoe and were into Dupree after dark the next day. We stayed in the old Lafferty Building -- then a hotel. We must have been a sight, walking from the depot to the hotel. The next morning we loaded household goods and chickens in wagons, and by noon started the trip to our new home. The road was a rough, deep-rutted trail angling northwest from the corner north of what used to be the Hank Lafferty home, now the Pesicka farm, straight across where Bednar Dam now covers the creeks. Before we reached the place of our neighbors, the Louis Taylor family, my father stopped the head wagon. When all wagons were abreast he pointed out Thunder Butte, Taylor's place, and two and one-half miles from Taylor's home we could see our new home. May 1, 1919 -- this was a day for our family to remember. Neighbors came in and helped shingle the house and build fences to hold the cows and horses. Stock had to be herded during the day and corralled at night. We had only been in our new home a week when all the neighbors surprised us with a house warming. We had an organ, and others brought a fiddle, and everyone danced until the sun came up. This kind of entertainment was repeated often. All the neighbors came the 4th of July for a picnic in a grove known from then on as "Fourth of July Grove." Games, races and pie eating contests were held, and everyone stayed for an evening lunch and then came back to our house and danced. All the neighbors brought their children and everyone had a good time. After school started in the fall, programs and dances were held there, too. Winter came early and the days were short. We drove a horse and buggy two and one-half miles to school and it would be dark when we got home. Our mother would have supper ready. It was a long trip to town so the trip was only made for supplies during winter, and usually only by my father and elder brother. Sometimes they had to walk beside the wagon to keep warm. Summers were enjoyed by all of us. We would ride back north and west for miles to discover buttes, caves and pick wild fruit chokecherries, plums and buffalo berries for fresh fruit to make jams and jellies. On September 3, 1921 a new baby joined our family. Claude Lawrence arrived one afternoon while the younger ones were visiting a neighbor. Years went by, times were getting rough because of the drought. Claude and Gertrude were hard working, loyal, and honest people. Their spirits were brave, and they faced hardship with a smile. This was not the first experience of pioneer life for this couple. Gertrude Preston Maynard was born in Pennsylvania May 22, 1881 and came to the Dakota Territory with her parents, Carlton and Sarah Preston, in 1883. They drove from Watertown by oxen team to north Hand County close to where Orient now stands. She grew up during the time of Indian attack scares, homes being heated by burning twisted hay in hay burners, and the blizzard of 1888. She was burned badly in a prairie fire. She had to help care for a family at age 12 and learned to sew and cook at an early age. She didn't need a cookbook but could bake bread, cakes and cook anything fit for a king. She sewed for herself and family and made wedding dresses for friends and relatives. Claude Maynard was born January 6, 1875, and he and his mother also came from Pennsylvania to South Dakota in 1889. They homesteaded east of Orient near Athol. Later they moved into the town of Orient where they owned their home. Claude worked for his uncle in livery stables. Later he learned to be a carpenter. He worked on the railroad between Orient and Roscoe. Later he ran steam engines on threshing machines. On January 15, 1902, Claude and Gertrude were married and began a full life of their own. Claude was a lover of good horses and he was in the height of his glory to be driving a glossy team with shining harness and buggy. After many years of pioneering and raising their family, farming and ranching, they retired and moved into Dupree. Claude worked for the State Highway Department for several years before his death April 16, 1949. Gertrude spent her retirement years gardening, raising chickens and rabbits. She died suddenly March 24, 1961. They were both buried in the Dupree Cemetery. Fred Maynard lives in Deadwood; Marie Maynard Edwards lives in Dupree; Clair Maynard lives in Rapid City. Wilbur Maynard, Lester Maynard, Gladys Maynard Coen, Claude Maynard and Edwin Maynard are deceased. Ruth Maynard Edwards lives in Dupree and Mable Maynard Hinzman lives in Eagle Butte. Each of the children grew up and married and took their place in the pioneer world, each with pioneer spirit inherited from forefathers of sturdy stock. The following poem was read during the funeral sermon for Gertrude May Maynard (1881-1961) by the Reverend Lawrence Burger, First Congregational Church, Dupree, South Dakota. All business places in Dupree were closed during her funeral, March 27, 1961 as a tribute. BEAUTIFUL HANDS Such beautiful, beautiful hands! They are neither white nor small, And you, I know, would scarcely think That they were fair at all; I've looked on hands whose form and hue A sculptor's dream might be, Yet are these aged, wrinkled hands More beautiful to me. Such beautiful, beautiful hands! Though heart were weary and sad, Those patient hands kept toiling on, That children might be glad; I almost weep, as I look back To childhood's distant day, I think how those hands rested not When mine were at their play. Such beautiful, beautiful hands! They're growing feeble now, For time and pain have left their mark On hand, and heart, and brow; Alas, Alas, the weary time, And the sad, sad day to me, When 'neath the daisies out of sight, Those hands will folded be. But Oh! Beyond this shadowy damp, Where all is bright and fair, I know full well those dear old hands Will palms of victory bear; Where crystal streams thro' endless years Flow over golden sands, And when the old grow young again I'll clasp my Mother's hands. --Author Unknown Gertrude Mae Maynard was a recipient of the 1861-1961 Dakota Territory Centennial Award as a Pioneer Citizen of South Dakota, presented by Archie Gubbrud, Governor, State of South Dakota. [photo - Claude Maynard home - built in 1919 - picture taken 1977] [photo - Claude and Gertrude Maynard, 1919] [photo - Claude Maynard digging a well on the homestead] [photo - Claude Maynard family, 1933] [photo - Claude Maynard family, 1961. Fred, Clair, Lester, Edwin, Wilbur, Claude Lawrence. Marie Edwards, Ruth Edwards, Mable Hinzman, Gladys Coen] [photocopy - Award given Ruth Maynard Edwards by Joseph Heimer (historian for area in 1960-61 for Dakota Territory Centennial) at Dupree Community Club meeting June 1962, after the death of Gertrude Maynard March 24, 1961] EDWIN and EULALAH MAYNARD FAMILY by Eulalah Maynard Edwin Maynard was born in Faulk County, South Dakota, near Orient, on December 6, 1912, the son of Claude and Gertrude Maynard. He moved with his family in 1919 to homestead 9 1/2 miles northwest of Dupree. He was educated at the Lone Tree School in Ziebach County. Edwin learned the ranching and rodeo business at an early age by helping with the business of keeping the farm and ranch going for his parents. He broke horses to ride and to drive as work teams on a daily basis. At an early age he worked for different sheepmen during spring lambing. Watt Tidball was one of the men he worked for. At about age 12, he and his sister, Ruth, had to pump water for the horses during the day. They would catch a young horse while he was drinking and put a rope halter on him. Edwin would snub the horse to his saddle and Ruth would ride it. He was afraid she would not snub the horse close enough. After an afternoon of riding the horse, it was usually ready to be ridden alone. The parents didn't know what was going on for a long time. Edwin married Eulalah Carter, oldest daughter of Ralph and Myrtle Carter. They made their home on several ranches around the Dupree area. They lived on the Paine place west of Dupree and had a large herd of cattle, sheep and horses. He had rodeo stock for the Dupree Rodeo Association, of which he was a charter member. In 1945 they sold their ranch and moved into Dupree to send their children to school. Edwin bought the dray line and truck to haul things from the depot to town, mail and all supplies for stores, coal from the coal mines of Isabel and Firesteel, and from railroad cars to the lumber yard. The family consisted of three boys and one girl -- Eugene, who lives in Thoreau, New Mexico; Lyle of Eagle Butte, South Dakota; Bernice Sampson of Grove, Oklahoma; and Ralph, of Thoreau, New Mexico. Lyle graduated from Deadwood High School, Bernice and Ralph graduated from Dupree High School. They are all married and have families of their own. All are rodeo champions in their field. Edwin and family sold the trucking and draying business and moved to a ranch ten miles north of Dupree. After a few years, because of Edwin's ill health, we moved to Deadwood. There he did some logging, before moving back to Dupree. He became Dupree town cop, night watchman, and maintenance man for the water department. In 1962, we moved to Missouri and Edwin worked in a feedlot as overseer of health of stock. Because of his health, he was forced to retire early and we moved back to Eagle Butte and made our home here until his death on January 10, 1981. He is buried in the Dupree Cemetery. Eulalah lives in Eagle Butte, South Dakota. [photo - Edwin and Eulalah celebrate 45 years of marriage, November 4, 1978] FRED and MARY MAYNARD by Fred Maynard All pioneers endured experiences of joy and sorrow in the years from 1910 to the 1930's, and our family was no exception. But the good times outnumber the bad times. I was married to Mary Pidcock in Dupree on November 5, 1920, and we stayed with my folks for several years. I worked with sheep outfits on the Moreau River northwest of town for several summers. I received $5.00 a day, and that was good wages for those times. I learned a lot about sheep those summers. In May 1925 I went to work in a garage in Dupree. It was owned by Broberg and Yusko. I drove back and forth from the farm until fall. That garage was located in the old Lafferty Building. The Dupree Garage was built in 1926 by Aaron Main and we moved into it in 1927. Everything worked out fine for two years. Working with me were Bill Nelson and Clarke Edwards. Dupree Garage had the agency for Overland cars, later we got the Buick and Chevrolet Agency. In 1931, "the dirty thirties" got the best of the Dupree Garage and Broberg. I moved into the Monk Jefferies Blacksmith Shop by the livery stable. Then in 1932 my brother, Lester, and I leased the Dupree Garage and called it the Maynard Bro. Garage. We had good business there, as we had two trucks on the W.P.A. projects and Lester hauled coal from Firesteel and Pogany Coal Mine while 1 worked in the garage. We kept busy fixing trucks. Sometimes we worked until midnight on some trucks so they were ready to go in the morning again. We sold the garage to Chris Williams and Ed Ross in 1937. I went to work for the State Highway, and Lester went to work as a mechanic in Eagle Butte. In 1938 I bought into the Tibke Filling Station with young Bill Tibke. I spent the next two years there, and in the spring of 1940 I sold my share to Bill Tibke and moved to Deadwood to work in the Liberty Auto owned by Bill Koti. I moved my family to Deadwood in July 1940. Mary and I had three sons, Phillip, James and Russell. My brothers, Wilbur and Lester, were working at the Liberty Auto also. They had moved to Deadwood in 1939. During the war years in 1943, I went to work in the Chevrolet Garage in Deadwood. Brother Lester left with his family to Portland, Oregon to work in the shipyards and Wilbur went to work in the filling station in Lead. In 1944 Wilbur came to work in the Chevrolet Garage for several years. I retired in 1967 on account of my health. My wife died in April, 1948. In the fall of 1949, I married Mary Baker. We live in our home on Highway 385 at the foot of Strawberry Hill above Pluma. After spending one year in the nursing home, I am now home and enjoying good health. My sons married and raised their families near here. We are fortunate to have most of our grandchildren and great-grandchildren near us. My son, James, is deceased. Phillip lives next door, and Russell lives in Deadwood. My brother, Clair, is in Rapid City. My sisters, Ruth and Marie, live in Dupree. My sister, Mable, lives in Eagle Butte. Lawrence, Lester, Wilbur, Edwin and Gladys are deceased. [photo - Dupree Garage. (Later the Maynard Bro. Garage)] [photo - Sylvia and Martin Broberg] [photo - Relaxing in the Tibke Garage: Fred Maynard, Pete Maynard, Jim Maynard and Paul Mraz] [photo - Martin Broberg, Fred Maynard, Bill Nelson and Wilbur Scott] LAWRENCE MAYNARD FAMILY by Ruth Edwards Claude Lawrence Maynard, son of Claude and Gertrude Maynard, was born September 3, 1921 on the Maynard ranch 9 1/2 miles northwest of Dupree, South Dakota. He was the youngest of ten children. He grew up on the ranch, helping with the cattle, horses and sheep. Lawrence attended Lone Tree School all 8 years. When his parents retired, he moved to Dupree with them. Lawrence married Valera Keegan and their children are -- Larry, Ronnie, Buster, Richard (deceased), and John. They adopted Denise for their daughter. Lawrence spent two years in the army during World War II. His time was spent in Europe. After he returned, he worked trucking; ran the dray line in Dupree; later he and Valera ran the locker plant, cafe and store on the outskirts of Dupree. He was working on construction work just before his death -- January 6, 1966. He is buried in the Black Hills National Cemetery near Sturgis, South Dakota. Valera and family moved to Faith, then to Sturgis, where she was employed at Fort Meade Veterans Hospital until illness forced her to retire. Richard was killed in Vietnam and is buried in the Black Hills National Cemetery. Valera died of cancer, after a long illness, on October 26, 1976. She is buried in the Black Hills National Cemetery. Ronnie and family live in Sturgis, South Dakota. Larry, Denise and John live with them. Buster and family live near Rapid City, South Dakota. [photo - Four Generations - Maynard family. Louisa Maynard, Claude Maynard, Gertrude Maynard, Lawrence Maynard and Shirley Edwards] [photo - Lawrence Maynard, July, 1945] LESTER and ALTA MAYNARD by Ruth Edwards Lester C. Maynard was born in rural Faulk County, 4 1/2 miles northwest of Orient, December 24, 1908, to Claude and Gertrude Maynard. He attended Jessen School the first few years. He moved to Ziebach County to the Maynard ranch 9 1/2 miles northwest of Dupree with his parents on May 1, 1919. He attended Lone Tree School and one year at Dupree High School. Lester learned early in life to ride horses and herd cattle and sheep. He worked for Harve Hensley and Watt Tidball during lambing time while he was still a teenager. Later years he worked for Jim Thomas and Monk Jeffries in the blacksmith shop learning the trade. Early in the 1930's, Lester and his brother, Fred, went into a partnership as Maynard Bro. Garage in Dupree. In June, 1932, Lester married Alta Sciford, and one son was born on September 9, 1933. He was named Lester LeRoy. Later they moved to Eagle Butte and ran a garage and filling station, and in the late 1930's they moved to Deadwood and worked in a garage at Pluma, South Dakota. During World War II the family moved to Portland, Oregon and he worked in the shipyards as a welder. Lester became an instructor as a riveter in the shipyard. In the late 1950's, Lester returned to South Dakota and worked for Silverman Garage in Dupree, Fisher's Garage in Faith, and later began working for Dick Bigler as a farmhand and mechanic and welder. It was in September, 1977, while working for Curly Johnson seeding winter wheat that he had a tractor accident and was killed. He is buried in the Dupree Cemetery. Lester was a hard working, self-taught. mechanic and welder. He was a generous person and had the sturdy spirit of a pioneer. [photo - Lester, Clair Maynard and Ed Edwards played for community dances] [photo - Gertrude Maynard and son, Lester. 1960 Jubilee] WILBUR MAYNARD FAMILY by Ruth Edwards Wilbur R. Maynard, son of Claude and Gertrude Preston Maynard, was born August 25, 1915, in Faulk County near Orient, South Dakota. He moved with his parents and family to Ziebach County 9 1/2 miles northwest of Dupree on May 1, 1919. Wilbur attended Lone Tree School all 8 years. He worked for neighbors, and cattle and sheep companies, while growing up. Wilbur married Dorothy Brewer of Eagle Butte, South Dakota and they moved to Deadwood, South Dakota, where he worked at filling stations and garages as a mechanic. He passed away of a heart attack September 22, 1972, and is buried in Oak Ridge Cemetery near Deadwood, South Dakota. Dorothy now lives in Moorcroft, Wyoming. Children of Wilbur and Dorothy Maynard are -- Robert, Sundance, Wyoming; Darlene (Mrs. Jim Shoun), Rapid City, South Dakota; Wilbur Duane, Moorcroft, Wyoming; and Cleo Kay Roster, Lakefield, Minnesota. THE LANTRY and McDANIEL STORY In June of 1910 the F. M. McDaniels, A. G. Davises, Roy Foltz's and Judge Ott came as far as LeBeau in two immigrant cars. They forded the Missouri River with livestock, machinery and household goods and traveled with teams and wagons 75 miles to a site one half mile west of the town which is now Lantry. The McDaniels built a sod house which was used as a store and post office. Mrs. McDaniel (Carrie) was the first postmaster. Also, homesteaders coming in stayed there until they could get out to their claims. The house soon became too small, so when a couple of salesmen could not find accommodations, they decided the house should have another room, so they, along with the family and a few friends, started building that morning and by nightfall had a room and a place to stay. McDaniels built a new store in 1911. Then they had to move the town the same year, so McDaniels moved their store. The town moved one half mile east, where it now is. The new store still housed the post office. A lady homesteader by the name of Frances Voigt was postmaster for two years until she went back to Aberdeen. It wasn't long until the town grew to be quite a town. The Kimberline Hotel was built, also two lumberyards, Messer and Sanderson, and two elevators, Bagley and Farmers. The Bagley, run by Harold Lange, and the Farmers by John Francis. The Miller Bros., the Pioneer Cafe and Pool Hall. Pete Askin built another store, later bought by Drees, and Stowman's built a hardware store. Bill and Emma Perkins published The Lantry Ledger, a fine paper. Then when the train finally got through in 1910, it became a shipping point, so a large stockyard was built. Then Kady and Austin built a general store south of the railroad track and Roy Foltz and Frank McDaniel built a garage across the street from it. They never got to use it as a garage, as the community bought it for a hall. In the meantime a nice school and the Catholic church were built. Now the town is not the same since they took up the railroad. There is no longer a depot, or elevators. The school burned down and was replaced by a one-story, more modern one. The only place of business now is the Four Winds Bar, owned and operated by Ralph Reede. There are a few homes there yet though. In 1917 Francis McDaniel retired to his farm about one mile south of Lantry, where he lived until he died in March, 1941. His wife (Carrie) died March 28, 1959 in Deadwood. They had five children: Winnie (Mrs. Roy Foltz), who also lived south of Lantry. Winnie and Roy had five children: Eunica, Francis, Grace, Manford and Chadwick, who died in infancy. Howard was born on January 27, 1891. He married Della Greenwalt March 4, 1913. They homesteaded about twelve miles south of Lantry. Della taught school for many years in the county. They had three children: John Hubert, Donald Marion and Patricia (Mueller). Howard died on June 16, 1974. Lewis Ralph was born on June 28, 1894. He married Charlotte Speker January 31, 1915. They had five children: Robert, Sheila (Andrews), Harvey, Jack and Jerry. Ralph died August 26, 1971. Frank married Esther Burke on May 23, 1922. They had four children: Marion, Gailen, Jim and Bill. Frank and Esther live in Spearfish. William Edgar married Marie Staten. They had two children, Margie and Eugene. They live in San Bernardino, California. [photo - Lantry in 1911, ½ mile west of Lantry today. The large building is F. M. McDaniel Store. Also shown, W. A. Messer Lumberyard and R. F. Stowman Hardware] [photo - Frank McDaniels, Lurinda Perkins, Floyd Parker, Maude Parker, Jessie Smith, Marion Smith, Esther McDaniel and Lou Perkins] [photo - Esther and Frank McDaniel with Marie and Edgar McDaniel, taken on their 60th anniversary] [photo - McDaniels original sod house and store at Lantry taken in the fall of 1910. Left to right: Ralph and Howard McDaniel, baby Hubert, Della and F. M. McDaniel. Edgar sitting on frame box used as darkroom to develop pictures] FRANCIS McDANIEL, by Peggy and Cindy McDaniel Francis McDaniel's settling in South Dakota was, in a way, the result of an illness. His son, Howard, was hospitalized with pneumonia while working in North Dakota and it was while on his way to get Howard that he saw an advertisement in Aberdeen about homesteading. He decided to put his name in and when he returned to Illinois the letter was waiting he had drawn some land near what was to become Lantry, South Dakota. In 1910 he moved with his family to South Dakota. At that time LeBeau, South Dakota was the nearest town to many homesteaders and, as many homesteaders arrived before they could move on to their land, it was where many stayed until the land opened. Frank McDaniel remembers living in a tent in LeBeau with such neighbors as Dr. Creamer, A. G. Davis, Al Martin and the Eulbergs. Frank recalls that when they could finally move to their homestead, they passed the Davis family and saw Hattie and Hazel walking behind the wagon herding their two cows. Both families were on their way "home". Once they reached their homestead, the McDaniel family built the first general store in the area, and a sod house. The tent in which they had lived for so long was torn up, painted and became the carpet in their new home. My (Peggy's) side of the family was somewhat in this area too. My grandfather, John LaVoy, worked a while in Newell. He had relatives living in Faith and Eagle Butte. At Faith he met his future wife, Vivian Beck. She was teaching in Faith and boarding at his aunt's place. Vivian was raised along the Moreau near Bixby. Her father, Frank Beck, spent his life there ranching. John and Vivian were married in 1926 and moved to Michigan. A few years later they returned to South Dakota to live near Whitewood. They still reside at this place. Many of Francis McDaniel's descendants have lived in the Ziebach County area and attended school in Dupree. LEO GAILEN McDANIEL by Lois McDaniel Leo Gailen McDaniel (Gailen) was the second of four sons born to Frank M. and Esther McDaniel. All were born at Lantry, and raised there until they moved to California. During World War II, they worked at Douglas Aircraft. When Blanche Burke became ill, Frank came back to manage the Lantry Garage. Gailen was just out of the Air Force, where he served two years in the South Pacific, around Guam and Tinnia during the war. He came back to South Dakota for a visit and stayed. We met and were married shortly afterward. I brought 5 children to this marriage. Gene of Sturgis (deceased), Jerry of Hot Springs, Jimmy of Eagle Butte, Judy of Lantry, and JoAnn of Dupree. Frank, of Rapid City, graduated from SDSU and went on to graduate school at the University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, where he received a Degree in Planning. Cindy went to SDSU, received a Bachelor Degree. Mona, the youngest, is a student at SDSU and will graduate in the spring. Gailen became ill in 1969 and passed away at the Veterans Hospital at Fort Meade in the spring of 1970. He is buried in the Black Hills National Cemetery. In the meantime, we moved to Dupree where 6 of the 8 children graduated from high school. I live in Dupree at this time and have 10 grandchildren and one great-granddaughter. GILBERT AMOS McGARRAUGH Mr. McGarraugh started the first bank in Dupree, in fact, he reported that it was the first building in the town. In 1910 he organized this bank and operated it for 18 years. At this time he sold out and joined the Northwest Bancorporation of Minneapolis, and served as executive officer in banks in Brookings, Philip and Sturgis, South Dakota and Roundup, Montana until his retirement. Both Mr. and Mrs. McGarraugh homesteaded northwest of Ft. Pierre near Orton Flat. Both belonged to the Episcopal Church. Mr. McGarraugh was active in Masonic lodges, including the Shrine and Eastern Star. At different times he belonged to either Rotary or Kiwanis clubs in towns in which he lived. Mrs. McGarraugh was a member of the D.A.R. Woman's Club, P.E.O., Eastern Star and Past Matrons. Their children were: John Gilbert; Charles Thomas; and Clara Adelaide Anderson. ARLEIGH McLELLAN FAMILY by Arlene McLellan Klapman Arleigh H. McLellan was born at Door Village, Indiana on April 27, 1885, of Scotch-Irish ancestry. He was accustomed to hard work on the farm as he was reared on one where his mother, who was widowed before Arleigh reached young manhood, brought up five children. After completing a business course at Purdue University he began working his way westward. He traveled as far as Washington before he decided to return to Indiana. At this time a friend of the family, Nate Emery, who had homesteaded near Lantry, South Dakota, suggested in a letter that he stop and look over some of the homestead land. Arleigh arrived in Lantry by train in 1911 and established his claim about six miles southeast of Lantry. While he was getting himself established and his tarpaper shack built, he "batched" with Marion and Earl Smith. December 29, 1914, Arleigh and Selma Speker traveled by bobsled to Dupree, where they were married by the Reverend Blauert. That evening they were charivaried in the custom of that time. Selma Speker McLellan was the daughter of Gustave A. Speker, who, with most of his family, had migrated from the area of Dorchester, Iowa in 1910 to homestead north of Lantry. Selma's mother died in 1911. Selma followed her parents after completing her schooling in Caledonia, Minnesota. She, also, took up a homestead claim north of Lantry. She was teaching school at the time of her marriage. In the early years of their marriage, Selma learned to milk cows as Arleigh helped haul steel for the building of the Cheyenne River Bridge. Her younger brothers, Milton and Elmer, also helped out. Steel for the bridge was shipped into Lantry by train and loaded onto wagons to be carried to the site of the bridge. Selma's younger brothers stayed with her at such times. Arleigh had a great liking for horses, partly engendered, no doubt, by his grandfather in Indiana who made trips to Scotland to buy Clydesdales for his own use on the farm and for breeding purposes. Arleigh had a great ability to gentle horses to work in the harness, and he enjoyed driving spirited horses hitched to the buggy. The horse and buggy was the main means of transportation for the family until 1935 when they acquired a Whippet. Somewhere in the early days of their marriage, they had owned a Dodge car, but that was for only a short time. As the family began to grow, the homestead shack was added to, and a bunkhouse was erected a short distance southwest of the house to provide additional sleeping space. Arleigh and Selma were concerned with providing for church and Sunday School in the community. They were instrumental in helping get the Congregational minister to come from Eagle Butte to hold summer services at the Soliday School, where Sunday School was also held and summer Bible School. At other times the family of nine rode to the Lantry Community Hall where services were held in the summer. Education was another concern for the family. Arleigh served on the school board for Ziebach County School District Number Three for many, many years. He donated land one half mile north of his home for the placement of Soliday School when his oldest child was ready to enter the second grade. All the children completed the first eight grades at this school. All of the children graduated from Eagle Butte High School except Owen, who graduated from Dupree. Arleigh worked at the Ziebach County Courthouse as Director of the Social Security office in 1937-38. At this time Owen began attending high school in Dupree. After leaving the old homestead in 1946, they purchased and remodeled a house five miles southwest of Lantry in Ziebach County. The McLellans brought up seven children on the original homestead. They are: Everett, who married Josephine Byelich and lives in San Lorenzo, California; Paul and his wife, Opal, live in Irvine, California; Arlene and her husband, Jarvis Klapman, who reside in West Columbia, South Carolina; Ruth Kuchenbecker lives in Hayward, California; Owen and his wife, the former Lorane Pritzkau, who reside in Lantry; (He and Archie together form the McLellan Brothers Corporation and are presently ranching and farming in Ziebach County area); Archie and his wife, the former June Henderson, live about six miles southeast of Lantry; and Lyle and his wife, the former Hazel Rousseau, live in Rapid City. There are twenty-eight grandchildren and twenty-two great- grandchildren. Arleigh, who often said, when told to take it easy, that he would rather "wear out than rust out", died in December, 1954. Selma survived him by sixteen years. She died in January, 1971. Both worked tirelessly to make their community the best possible place in which to live, and believed that each person stood strictly on their own merits. CHARLES and CLARA MELIES by Sybil Pogany Charles and Clara Melies were married at Richardsville, Pennsylvania on January 1, 1895. After their marriage, they moved to North Dakota and when the west river territory of South Dakota was opened for the filing on land, Charles was the only lucky man among a group of 30 who came from North Dakota to draw in the land lottery. They came to Isabel, by immigrant car and homesteaded eight miles northwest of Isabel in 1911. They became active participants in helping to build a community. They held various positions in community organizations and survived the droughts, blizzards, grasshoppers and other hardships faced by the early settlers. In 1936 they retired from the farm and settled in Isabel. In 1955 they celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. Mrs. Melies died December 19, 1956 at the age of 82, in Mobridge Hospital. Charles continued to live in Isabel for a short time, visited relatives in Pennsylvania and then made his home with Mr. and Mrs. Dave Unterseher in Mobridge. He was also a resident in the Dorsett Home at Spearfish and the Manor in Mobridge, where he died on September 2, 1971 at the age of 97. Mr. and Mrs. Melies are buried in the cemetery at Isabel. They raised a foster daughter, Vera Prouty. [photo - Mr. and Mrs. Charles Melies] FREDERICK and SHIRLEY MENZEL by Shirley Menzel Frederick Menzel was born on a farm northeast of Faith in Ziebach County. He moved to Dupree with his parents in 1924. He attended all his school years in Dupree. After graduation he attended the South Dakota School of Mines in Rapid City for one year and then volunteered for the armed services. He chose to go into the Air Force where he served as a navigator on B-24's in the 445 Bomb Squadron and flew 35 missions over Germany. When he returned from the war in 1945 he was married to Shirley Vance. Shirley was born in Dupree and has lived all her life in Dupree except for a few years of working away from home during World War II. She attended all of her school years in Dupree. She attended business college in Rapid City, worked in Rapid City, Inglewood, California and Minneapolis, Minnesota, before returning to Dupree to be married. After marriage, they both worked in Osters' Grocery for a time. Fred served as Ziebach County Auditor for 3 1/2 years and in 1954 went to work at the Farmers State Bank in Dupree. At the present time, he is President of the same bank. Shirley worked in the Selective Service office for a time, at the Farm Credit office, the Ziebach County Welfare office for Mabel Ross, and at the Farmers Home Administration office, all in the Ziebach County Courthouse. She also helped out at the Farmers State Bank when extra help was needed. They have one son, Robert, who lives in Dupree and farms the home place, and also owns a hay moving outfit. He is married to Dondra Richardson and they have three sons and one daughter: Brady, 6; Carl Jo (C.J.), 4; Robert, 2; and Melanie, 6 months. Dondra is the City Finance Officer in Dupree. Fred and Shirley also have a daughter, Connie, who is married to Curt Bachand. They live in Minot, North Dakota, where Curt is a supervisor for the Mini Mart Stores. Connie has worked in the Farmers State Bank in Dupree and American State Bank in Rapid City, also for Barber Transportation in Rapid City. Connie and Curt have two children: a daughter, Tracy, 8, and a son, Jason, 4. Fred and Shirley bought the A. W. Robertson homestead on the south edge of Dupree in 1946 and live there at the present time. They have both been active through the years in 4-H work, Extension work, Dupree High School Alumni Association, and in their church and other organizations. Shirley keeps busy with her knitting and crocheting and enjoying her grandchildren. In December she was honored by being selected as Dupree's Citizen of the Year for 1981. [photo - Menzel family. Shirley, Connie, Fred and Bob in back] [photo - Fred and Shirley Menzel with their grandchildren: Brady, Tracy, Melanie, Carl, Jason and Rob] WALTER MENZEL FAMILY by Flora Lee Walter Menzel arrived in the area by train in 1912. He homesteaded in Ziebach County four miles northeast of Faith. In May, 1917, he married Cornelia (Nell) Kaeding from Milwaukee, Wisconsin at the Ed Passolt home near Arrowhead. Beside farming, he taught the rural school one-half mile east of the farm, then was County Superintendent of Schools, and also, had a law office in Faith. While he was County Superintendent, he would either drive a team and buggy to Dupree, and to visit schools, or would walk to the train at Arrowhead to get to Dupree. The train came back through Arrowhead at night. We would hear the whistle blow and then would know he was on his way home. We did have a shiny black car with fancy lights on each side by the front doors and a horn on the side you squeezed to make a warning sound. Most of the time the car was in a shed and we children played in it occasionally. In 1923, he was elected to be States Attorney of Ziebach County, and in January, 1924, we moved to Dupree -- a truck took the furniture and after putting hot water in the radiator and getting it started, the family rode in the car. We lived in the Wilbur Scott house until August, when our parents bought the Pladsen house. Cornelia Menzel was a trained nurse and while living on the farm, went to many of the neighboring homes to care for the mothers and new babies -- the George Ulrichs, and Nels Olson's are some I remember. When we moved to Dupree, she continued to do nursing in the homes until Dr. Frank Creamer established his maternity rooms at the back of his office, where she worked for many years. Mr. Menzel died suddenly in August, 1940, and their son, Robert, in August 1944. A year or so later, she sold the home to the Woodwards and sp2nt time in Milwaukee and in the homes of her children. For a time she lived in an apartment in Flandreau, and then moved to Spearfish. She was the first one to live in the Pioneer Apartments where she lived until her death on April 1, 1972. There were four children -- Flora (Mrs. Kenneth Lee), who graduated from Dupree High School in 1935. She attended Spearfish Normal and taught in the Cloverleaf and Redelm schools. After teaching in Egan, South Dakota for three years, she married Kenneth Lee. They lived on a farm near Flandreau until Kenny was drafted, then in Egan and in Flandreau for twelve years. In Flandreau, she taught 1st grade for several years, and started and taught the first kindergarten there. In 1960, they moved to Spearfish where she has taught 1st grade and kindergarten and has been teaching elementary music since 1965. They have 6 children, five of whom have been or are teachers. Sharon Carr, Rapid City; Glenda Bossa, Brockton, Massachusetts; Dr. Kenneth W., head of math department, Missouri Western University, St. Joseph, Missouri; Sally Hoff and Peggy Junek, both Spearfish; and Gary, who taught and coached in Dupree for three years. His wife taught music, and they lived in Mrs. Mable Ross' house. They now are both teachers in Riverton, Wyoming. Robert, the second member of the Menzel family, graduated from Dupree High School in 1936. He attended Spearfish Normal for 3 years before joining the Air Force. He became seriously ill in the service and passed away in August, 1944. Lewis also graduated from Dupree High School and attended Spearfish Normal. While teaching in Newcastle, Wyoming, he was drafted into the army and sent overseas. When he was discharged, he finished his education at South Dakota University in Brookings. He married Ruby Lyster from Langford, South Dakota and they lived in Arlington, where they both taught. Then he was superintendent at Parker, South Dakota, and then assistant principal in Washington High School in Sioux Falls, where he still lives and teaches in the Axtell Park School. They have 4 children: Linda, teaching in Albuquerque; Sandra (Mrs. Martin Mangan), now in Sioux Falls, where her husband is employed as food service director at Augustana College; Cynthia, a news reporter in Laredo, Texas; and Richard, a senior at the University of South Dakota at Vermillion. Frederick, the youngest Menzel, graduated From Dupree High School and attended the School of Mines in Rapid City, until he was drafted into the Air Force. He married Shirley Vance and they have always lived in Dupree. Their children are: Robert, married to Dondra Richardson and they have 3 sons and 1 daughter, and live in Dupree; and Connie, married to Curt Bachand, living in Minot, North Dakota, and they have a son and a daughter. [photo - Mrs. Walter Menzel and Flora by claim shack] [photo - Menzel family] [photo - Fred, Flora and Lewis Menzel] WALTER (CASEY) MILLER Walter (Casey) Miller, was born at Tolstoy, South Dakota on July 4, 1910 to Walter and Eliza Miller. He moved with his family to Dupree in 1929, where they lived on the Jake Maca farm south of town. In 1935 Casey married Genevieve Olson, of Lantry, South Dakota and they lived on the Pevoy farm south of Dupree until 1951. During these years, and until 1969, he also worked for the U. S. Department of Agriculture. Their children are Marlene Kundel, Eden Prairie, Minnesota; Ann Dennis, Tempe, Arizona; and Karen Kuiken of Sturgis, South Dakota. Casey and Genevieve have lived in the Sturgis area since 1953. DELBERT MILLER FAMILY Delbert W. Miller, son of Eliza and Walter C. Miller, Sr., and Eva C. Henderson, daughter of Ben and Elsie Henderson, were married on March 8, 1947. Delbert was born March 2, 1918 in Potter County. In 1929, he came with his parents to Ziebach County to the old Jake Maca place southeast of Dupree. He finished grade school at the Gage School. He stayed out of school a few years, then went to high school, graduating in 1940. While going to high school, he stayed with Dr. and Mrs. Creamer, and drove for the doctor. He went to the School of Mines one term, then went to California and worked at Lockheed for a year or two. He returned to South Dakota and joined the Cadets of the U. S. Air Force. He served as a bombardier in the Pacific theater, was shot down and taken prisoner about three months before the end of World War II. At the end of the war, he was released from prison camp, received a promotion to 1st Lieutenant and discharged from the service, returning to Ziebach County. Eva was born in Brown County on October 25, 1915. She came with her parents to Ziebach County in 1918, went to grade school and then graduated from high school in 1932. She worked in the county agent's office (who handled the farm programs at that time) on the various farm programs, also part-time for the Farm Credit Administration in Dupree. In 1942, she left Dupree, working first in Kansas, and later in the eastern part of South Dakota. She returned to Ziebach County in about 1945, and taught school at Little Ireland for two years before her marriage to Delbert. Delbert and Eva lived south of Dupree on their ranch until 1957. They raised cattle, milked cows and even raised mink one year! In 1956, Delbert was elected county commissioner in the same district his dad had been commissioner of for so many years. In 1957 he resigned as commissioner, and accepted the job of manager of the Farmers Co-op Elevator in Dupree, and they moved to Dupree. He became rural mail carrier, on the route formerly served by Roy Lawrence, and served there from May 1961 to December 1975. At that time, he was transferred to a route in New Underwood, South Dakota. During that time he served on the town board and the school board. He retired from the mail route in New Underwood in 1978 and they returned to Dupree where Delbert is now the County Director of Equalization. We have four daughters: Sally(Stout) Segelquest, who lives in Angleton, Texas. Sally has four children from her first marriage, Kelly, Kristi, Jeffry and Sara. Sue married Vernon Starr, a science teacher, and lives on the old Wartenweiler place north of Dupree. She is Dupree's new postmaster. They have four children, too, Lisa, Lori, Jesse and Duke. Mary married Lee Briggs and lives on a ranch in Haakon County, about 60 miles northeast of Philip. They have two daughters, Rea and Keva. Janie married Arlie Davis and they live north of Dupree on the Davis ranch. Janie is bookkeeper at the Farmers Union Oil Company, and they have two sons, Zachary and Joshua. Delbert also has a son, Warren, from his first marriage to the former Marjorie McDaniel. [photo- The Delbert Miller family. Mary, Eva, Sue, Janie, Delbert and Sally] [photo - Delbert and Eva Miller] [photo- The Delbert Miller girls. Sally, Sue, Mary and Janie] DONALD L. MILLER Donald L. Miller came to Ziebach County when 14 years old. He attended the 8th grade of school at the Gage Country School one mile west of the Miller family residence. My teacher was Lillian Birkeland. I attended the first year of high school in the wooden Dupree School building, during the school year of 1930-31. Not ready for more schooling, I stayed at home for the next few years. In 1934, having my fill of farm life during the depression, drought, wind, etc. of the 1930's, I decided to return to school. I graduated with the class of 1937. After graduation I worked at numerous jobs, and in 1939, with the aid of the National Youth Administration, was employed with the Ziebach County AAA -- a department with Federal Agriculture. My first salary was $45.00 per month. In April, 1942, I was drafted into the United States Army as a medical first aid person. My first month's salary was $21.00 per month. I spent the first year at army camps in Arkansas and Tennessee. In 1944 our general hospital unit went to England -- south of Bath, England. I later went to Verdun, France and Stuttgart, Germany. I was discharged in 1946 and returned to the United States. I returned to work with my past employer AAA -- in 1946 and remained there until 1947 when office clerk strength was asked to be reduced to half strength. I then returned to the Miller place south of Dupree to farm my land. The next year Florence Martin and I were married. She had been an AAA office secretary and clerk since 1940. She remained there during 1948. We lived in two different places south of Dupree during the next 14 years. During those years, our three children -- Donna, Marvin and Douglas -- were born. They attended the elementary grades of school at the White Swan School one mile west of the place. In 1961, we moved to Spearfish, South Dakota. We lived there for the next 5 years. While there I was employed with the South Dakota State ASCS -- Agriculture. Later I accepted employment with the Meade County ASCS and in 1966, we moved to Sturgis, South Dakota. I remained at that job until my retirement in 1973. Since 1966, Florence has been employed with the Veterans Administration at Ft. Meade, South Dakota. She will be eligible for retirement in November, 1981. We welcome her time of retirement, so we do not have to meet a time schedule with outside employment. Donna is married. She and her husband, Dean Dittus, have two daughters -- Jacolyn, age 13, and Gina, age 8. Both are employed and live at Gillette, Wyoming. Marvin is unmarried. Since graduation, he has been employed as a mining engineer with Magma Copper Mining Corporation, north of Tucson, Arizona. He lives at Tucson. Douglas is married. He and Denise (Barton) have three sons -- Christopher, age 6, Ryan, age 4, and Brandon, age 2. They live at Aurora (east Denver), Colorado. Doug is a geological engineer and is employed with AMOCO Oil Company at Denver. Denise has a degree in chemistry, but is staying home while the sons are small. They plan another move in about one year. If plans work out, Florence and I will do more traveling after her retirement. We have always been active during our lifetime, and hope it can remain that way. [photo - Back: Donald and Donna. Front: Douglas, Florence and Marvin] ED MILLER written by Ed Miller I am a native of Nebraska. I came to South Dakota at the age of nine with my folks, Mr. and Mrs. W. P. Miller, who homesteaded near Eagle Butte in 1910. My dad and I came via railroad immigrant car from Fender, Nebraska to the Messer Siding, which was the west end of the railroad at that time, about six miles west of Eagle Butte. The rest of the family (my mother, my sisters, Blanche and Martha, and my brother, George) followed by passenger train. Our first year, 1911, was a very dry year no crops, no feed for livestock, etc., but by tightening our belts, somehow we lived through it. In 1915 we were completely hailed out. That was the year the Lantry railroad dam went out. Again we saw hard times. Various jobs were taken to help out. I was one of the original pupils of the Soliday School, which was opened the first Monday of September in 1911. Mr. G. M. (Moody) Drummond was teacher. There were 12 pupils. They were Margaret and Neil Brownlow, Clarence and Alice Olson, Frank and Zelma Davis, Lurinda and Verina Lemke, Blanche, Martha, Ed and George Miller. I was hired by Mr. Drummond to do the janitor work at school, hauling in coal, taking out ashes, etc. He paid me 5cents a day. Things went along, hard times and all, until 1917 when we entered World War I. At the age of 16, I enlisted and entered the Aviation Section (later called the Air Force) part of the Army. I trained at Keller Field, San Antonio, Texas and at the David Parkin School of Mechanics Trade at St. Louis, Missouri. After training, I was assigned to the 236th Aero Squadron and sent to South Field, Americus, Georgia. When the 236th shipped out, I was reassigned to the training school detachment, so I taught World War I training pilots at South Field. After the war, I returned to Eagle Butte and tried farming, threshing, etc. After about 5 years of that, I went with the Highway Department and ran the big 20-ton Holt tractor, building Highway 212 through Dewey County. During the winter months, I worked in Eagle Butte. I ran the shop for Fred Gamutz, the Chevrolet dealer and at times worked for H. G. Arens, the Ford dealer. Early in 1927, I hired out to J. I. Case Company. I worked for them for over 34 years. I started as mechanic and advanced to sales department, assistant manager, and in 1949 I was made Pro. Manager. I held that position until I retired in 1961. I married Bertha Leone Hitchcox of Lemmon, South Dakota in 1934. She passed away in 1980. We had two children. Robert A. lives in Pierre, South Dakota. He is the presiding Circuit Judge there. Susan (Mrs. Steven Sultan), graduated from high school in Aberdeen, South Dakota. She taught army children in Taiwan, Okinawa, Germany, etc. Her husband is a career army officer and is stationed at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. now. This is my story. I am proud to be a South Dakotan. FRANK and ESTHER MILLER Esther (Drageset) Miller was born on her parents (Mr. and Mrs. Einar Drageset) farm on October 1, 1912. She attended a rural school near their farm and graduated from Isabel High School in 1931. On October 16, 1932, she married Frank Miller, who was born and raised in Minnesota. Their first home was on the Arnt Mortenson place in north Ziebach County. They lived here for 2 years and then moved to the Carl Njos homestead, which they still own. Like many others of the time, Frank and Esther found mere survival very difficult, in the early years of their marriage. Day after day they were swallowed by the scorching sun and the parched prairies, only to be spewed out to look forward to another day of no relief. Many times Esther went to the cupboard, only to view bare shelves. The land was unproductive because of dryness and they had no other income. Somehow, with only a scanty amount of food, they were able to survive and to raise their young children. Their dedication to each other and to God saw them through the difficult times of the 'dirty thirties'. Things brightened for them during the forties. They were able, finally, to turn their investment into a productive ranch. Frank became a government surveyor and staked many dams throughout Ziebach County. Esther worked as a school lunch supervisor and cook at the Isabel School for 20 years. In 1967, they moved to Isabel, where they still reside and are enjoying their retirement. They have four daughters: Bonita Ehly of Timber Lake, South Dakota; Dora Finley of Philip, South Dakota; Kay Nash of Timber Lake, South Dakota; and Shirley Peterson of Shoreview, Minnesota. They also have ten grandchildren. [photo - The Frank Miller family] [photo - Frank and Esther Miller] FRED N. MILLER Fred N. Miller was born in Brown County, South Dakota on November 18, 1902, the second of the nine children of Walter C. Miller, Sr. and his wife, Eliza. The family moved to Tolstoy, South Dakota in 1907 and lived in and around Tolstoy and later Onaka, South Dakota until they moved to Ziebach County in 1929. "Uncle Fred", as he was affectionately called by his family, bought the Maca place south of Dupree, and during his lifetime bought many other places, among them Miss Fielder's claim and the Clarence Potter land. He lived at home with his parents until after their deaths, and a few years before he died he moved into Dupree. He never married, and died February 17, 1978. Fred liked a good time and went to all the dances until his later years. He loved people, had many friends. He never liked to spend on himself, but was generous with his friends and family. There was nothing he liked better than to talk to strangers and tell them about Ziebach County -- I would like to have a record of the tall tales he must have spun! But he loved this country -- to him it was the 'rose garden of the world'. [photo - Fred Miller] JESSE MILLER FAMILY by Everett C. Miller In July 1910 my father, Jesse Miller, was notified by the U. S. Land Office that his application for a homestead on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation had been drawn. He left Missouri for South Dakota to locate a claim. He came to Isabel by train and by stage from there to Dupree where he hired a land locator to drive him around. They went eight miles southwest of Dupree as all the land closer in was taken. While driving around, they came to James Pidcock's homestead, and living close by was the Ike Lee family. They were from the same place in Missouri as we were. Having located a claim a mile north of these people, he returned to Missouri. He loaded an immigrant car with a team of horses, wagon, household goods and lumber enough to build a house. His brother, who was a cook in the railroad restaurant in Aberdeen, came out with him. My mother and four children (I was ten, Inez was eight, Lucille was three, and James was one) left Missouri the first of October. My mother didn't think much of leaving, as she had never been more than ten miles from her family and friends. We arrived in Isabel in the evening with winds blowing about forty miles per hour and dust everywhere. There had been only one rain that summer. The hotel shook and rattled all night long. The next morning, if my mother had had a ticket, she would have gone back to Missouri. We left that morning in a wagon. The bottom was covered with hay and we covered up with blankets. The wind still blew and it was cold. We got to Dupree about three o'clock, fed the horses and went into the store run by Frank Barnes. Dad bought some groceries and we loaded up and headed for the homestead. It was dark when we got there. Uncle Billie had a good fire going, and supper all ready for us. The next morning when we went out, it was something to see -- no trees -- no grass! There was a water hole on the north side of the place. We hauled our water from it in a fifty gallon barrel while they dug a well. Dad had built a coal shed on the side of the house. He had to haul coal from Eagle Butte. We took the team and wagon and drove around and picked up cow chips and filled the shed. They burned good, but you had to take ashes out of the stove every day. We had to feed the horses hay bought from a homesteader four or five miles east of us. They had good grass. There wasn't any where we were. The Diamond A Cattle Company had the reservation leased. They had a drift fence two miles east of us. It ran from Cherry Creek to the Moreau River. All the cattle were on the west side of the fence that summer, an estimated 50,000 head. The grass east of the fence was winter pasture. A telephone line ran along this fence from Cherry Creek to Thunder Butte. There was a road by the fence from Cherry Creek -- we called it the telephone line road. 1910-11 was a warm winter, no snow at all. The Pidcock family got diphtheria and were quarantined, so Dad got their groceries for them. They were very sick. One girl got dropsy from it and died in the spring. Dad built a coffin for her and they buried her in the northeast corner of the place. Dad broke some sod that spring and we planted corn and a garden. It was so dry, nothing came up. There was no rain all summer. The water holes all dried up and the cattle that were there ran all over the country looking for water. They could be heard bawling day and night. They followed a trail west of our house, traveling one behind the other heading toward water on Bear Creek. My father's folks had shipped us a barrel filled with hams, bacon, smoked sausage and dried fruit. We ate lots of beans as they were cheaper than potatoes. That summer Pidcock, Lee, my father, and a man by the name of Brown who was married to an Indian and lived on Bear Creek west of town, drove two teams and wagons to North Dakota and worked having, harvesting and threshing. There were lots of chokecherries and wild plums on Ash Creek. We would take the team and wagon, load our family, Pidcock's, Lee's and another neighbor family and drive down the creek about six miles from where we lived. We took food and had a picnic, and picked chokecherries and plums. Some of the homesteaders butchered a range steer once in a while. After having no fresh meat for some time, the women thought they would try. We drove our team to Pidcock's, one of their girls took a saddle horse and another neighbor took hers also. My mother and Mrs. Pidcock took the team and wagon. I wanted to go, but they said "No". They took my twenty-two rifle and a few shells. None of them knew anything about shooting. They drove around that afternoon until they found a herd of range cattle with calves. They wanted a calf because they didn't think they could handle anything bigger. Well, they followed the herd, shot all the shells, but didn't hit anything. My father came home the last part of August. My sister and I had missed school the year before and there was still no school in the area. My parents decided to go back to Missouri for the winter so we could go to school. We stayed with relatives that winter and came back to Dupree in April. It was too late to plant any crops except corn. We had a big garden and a large patch of potatoes. There was plenty of moisture in the ground. That summer Pidcock, Lee and my father plowed sod and sodded up the outside of all three houses. The walls were about eighteen inches thick. We had rain, so everything grew well. My mother canned a lot of vegetables and we had a bin full of potatoes. We had hogs to butcher and some to sell. We got six cents a pound for dressed pork. We sold fifty bushels of potatoes for fifty cents a bushel. We had butter and milk, and sold a lot of eggs, so we were in good shape for the winter. My brother, Harold, was born that September, 1912. The next spring, 1913, my father sowed grain and planted corn. Everything came up and looked good. In July, we got hot winds for days. It cooked everything. My father said he had had enough and we were going back to Missouri. In August, my mother and we five youngsters took the train to Missouri. My father was going to load everything in a railroad car and come later. We got into a union station at Council Bluffs, Iowa in the evening. There were hotel rooms on the second floor, so we got a room and went to bed. In the night my mother woke me. She was sick and said for me to go down to the office and tell someone she needed a doctor. They called a doctor and he took her to the hospital, leaving us children there. My mother had given me the tickets and told me what to do. I got the rest of the children up the next morning, some were crying and wanted to know where mother was. I told them she was in the hospital, and we would have to go on without her. We went down to the waiting room and the agent was waiting for us. They gave us something to eat and put us on the train. The conductor said he would help us off when we got to Burlington Junction, Missouri. When we got there, my mother's folks came with a team and wagon and took us home with them. My mother came about a week later. My sister, Margaret, had been born at the hospital. My father arrived about a week later. He worked for his brother-in- law until the corn was all picked and at other jobs the rest of the winter. In the spring he looked for a farm to rent. He came home one night from looking and said, "We're going back to Dupree". They wanted cash rent or half the crop and he said he wouldn't pay it. We would go back to South Dakota and what we raised would be all ours. So we loaded the stock again and came back. He put up hay in July and had a good corn crop. In August, a neighbor and my father went south of Aberdeen and worked on a threshing crew until October. We made it from then on. It had been tough, but we did it. My youngest sister, Jane, was born in 1915 and brother, Francis, in 1918. [photo - Jesse and Maggie Miller on their 60th Wedding Anniversary] [photo - Inez, Jim and Lucille Miller in 1912] [photo - The Jesse Miller family in 1947. Back row: Everett, Lucille, Jim, Margaret and Harold. Front row: Inez, Maggie, Jesse and Jane. Not pictured: Jack] THE JIM and BERNEITA MILLER STORY Jim Miller was born August 3, 1909 to Maggie and Jess Miller. He married Berneita Pooley, the daughter of William J. and Mazie Pooley from Miner County, Fedora, South Dakota. They were married on November 18, 1930 in the Jess Miller home, where Bill Marple lived at one time. They tried to keep the wedding a secret -- just for the family, but Reverend Owen got lost, took a wrong turn which led him to the Henderson's place, where he then stated, "I've got a marriage to perform but I can't find it"! The secret was now out of the bag and neighbors as well as the family got to attend their wedding, followed by a wedding dance at Floyd Frame's place. Jim and Berneita lived on the Kaufman and Mundt places and finally on the John Budahl farmstead. Their neighbors were the Jim Grays, Grandma Pooley, Emil Hertel's, Schuchhardt's, Brown's and Albert Wilson. Their children would later attend the Whittier School. Some of the teachers that they remember were Mildred Klinchuch (who later married Berneita's brother, Orville), Lova Hersey, Doris Herren and Mary Alley. They made their living primarily by farming and raising cattle. Jim and Bill Marple supplemented their family's income by drilling wells using a team of horses and an auger. Life was not all work though -- the "Sunshine Band" was formed and Jim's partner was Darrel Sprague. They used to play for dances and box socials at the Whittler School, Cherry Creek and Red Scaffold. Hersil Sprague and Frank Mestes would, oftentimes, play with them and to advertise their ability as a dance band, they'd go to the neighbor's homes and play under their windows at four o'clock in the morning. Bernita moved her family to Dupree in the mid-50's following Jim's death, and she began her career as a retail clerk at Hickenbotham's, Jo Damberger, a waitress/cook at one or the other of the cafes in town, as maintenance person for the Laundromat and, finally, to her current position as manager of the Lewis Everyday Shop, owned by her daughter, Eileen Lewis, of Laramie, Wyoming. Jim and Berneita's children are as follows: Doris, married to Bill Dunbar; they are retired from the U. S. Air Force and living in Sturgis, South Dakota. Joan, married to Harold Ross; they farm/ranch near Redelm. Eileen, married to Jerry Lewis; they own the Lewis Everyday Shop in Dupree, and Jerry is a supervisor for the FAA in the tower at Laramie, Wyoming. Eileen works in a nursing home there as well. Jane married Mick Jung; they farm/ranch north of Isabel, South Dakota. Twin sons, Jesse and James, died in infancy. Joyce is married to Bill Collins; they, too, farm and ranch near Dupree. And Judy, who is married to J. T. Stout; they manage the Siesta Motel and operate the Phillip's 66 bulk plant in Dupree. Berneita has 28 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. [photo - Jim and Everett Miller in 1911] [photo - Berneita Miller and her six daughters - 1981 - Judy Stout, Joyce Collins, Jane Jung, Berneita, Eileen Lewis, Doris Dunbar and Joan Ross] MARGARET MILLER My parents were Jesse Nelson Miller (1876-1964) and Margaret Mae Maines (1878-1968). They were married at Burlington Junction, Missouri, December 22, 1897. My dad and mother and their four children, Everett Compton, 10 years old; Inez Irene, 8 years old; Jessie Lucille (Sis), 3 years old; and James Clark, 1 year old, came to Ziebach County from Burlington, Missouri in October, 1910. They homesteaded 8 miles southwest of Dupree. My brother, Harold Nelson, was born September 12, 1912 at the homestead. I was born August 2, 1913 at Council Bluffs, Iowa. My mother and brothers and sisters were on their way to Missouri. My sister, Jane Elizabeth, was born June 24, 1915 and brother Francis Pershing (Jack) on March 20, 1918 at the homestead. Some of our close neighbors were Goodnows, Shorty Brown, Andy Lee's and Kaufman's. I went to school at the Whittler School. It was one mile south of our place for one year, and then was moved another mile south. My first grade teacher was Ruth Solmonson. Other teachers were Mrs. Leach, Ruth Stevens, Mrs. Broberg, Mrs. Talbott and Darwin Clifton. We went to school with the Tupy, Klinchuch, Stopka, Diermier and Henderson children. I met my husband-to-be, Lewis (Cully) Tolvstad Miller (March 27, 1901-July 17, 1961) at a country dance. We were married at the Congregational Church parsonage in Dupree on September 20, 1933. Eva Henderson and Cliff Birkeland were our witnesses. Cully and I had 8 children and all were born in Dupree. They were: Inez Lavonne, born August 22, 1934 and died August 25, 1934; Lewis Tolvstad, born July 17, 1935; Eliza Jane, born December 10, 1936; Margaret Mae, born February 24, 1938; Robert Clark, born June 28, 1939; Gerald Lee, born April 5, 1941; Donald Dean, born January 24, 1944; and Jean Ileen, born December 17, 1946. We lived in Ziebach County all our married life except for about a year when we lived near Lead, South Dakota. We bought the Ben Henderson place in 1943 and I lived there for 22 years. It was about 9 miles south of Dupree on the Cherry Creek Road. Our neighbors were Cliff Birkelands, Ed Diermiers, Carl Johnsons, Harold Johnsons, Casey Millers and later Donald Millers. Also Little Woundeds and Felix Condons. Our kids went to school at the White Swan School, which was about a quarter of a mile from our place. Cully died July 17, 1961. I sold the place in 1965 to my daughter and son-in-law, Jean and Clint Farlee. They and their family still live there. I lived near Usk, Washington for 3 years and at Athol, Idaho for several more. I now live in Dupree. Four of my children still live in South Dakota, but only one in Ziebach County. Jean is married to Clint Farlee and they farm and ranch near Dupree. Donnie and family, live at Post Falls, Idaho, where he is a musician. Jerry and Tarri live near Hermosa, South Dakota on a ranch. Bob and family live at Dallas, Oregon and he is a carpenter. Maggie married Frank Laurenz and they have a farm near Eagle Butte, South Dakota. Lit married Dale Eberhard, and they live in Rapid City, South Dakota. Lewie and family live at Athol, Idaho and he is a carpenter. [photo - Margaret, Jane, Inez and Jim Miller in 1916] [photo - Jane and Margaret Miller in 1917] W. P. MILLER by Ed Miller My father, the late W. F. Miller, and a carpenter, Matt Finch, traveled by covered wagon from Fender, Nebraska via LeBeau to our homestead, 5 miles west and 3 miles south of Eagle Butte. A prairie fire had wiped out all the grass, etc., two days before they arrived. They were forced to turn back due to lack of feed for the horses. They returned to Fender. Later in 1910 when the railroad reached Eagle Butte, Dad and Mr. Finch returned by rail and built our first claim shack. He then returned to Fender. Early in 1911 the family moved from Fender, Nebraska. Dad and I by immigrant car, and the rest of the family by passenger train, to establish our home on the claim. 1911 was a terribly dry year. No crops and no feed for the livestock. We fed our cattle Russian thistles, etc. The going was tough. The year that followed also had its problems, hail, rust, drought, etc., were always with us, but somehow we always came through. Later the girls, Blanche and Martha, taught school and we boys, George and I, worked out wherever we could find jobs, so in that way, we made it. In 1925 the girls bought a store in Lantry. Later as the family split up to get married, Father, Mother and Blanche made the store their project, and it remained that way until their retirement. My father, W. P. Miller, died in 1927. My mother followed in 1953. Blanche (Mrs. Leo Burke) died in 1954. Martha M. (Mrs. Harry Perkins) died in 1961. Edward L. lives in Spearfish. George W. died in 1978. Floyd Linn bought the Miller's store, then built a new one north of the highway. The old store is still standing, but empty. WALTER C. MILLER, SR. Walter C. Miller, Sr. and Eliza Tolvstad were married at Redfield, South Dakota in 1900. They lived near Redfield. Later they moved to various farms or homes in, or near, Roscoe, Tolstoy and Onaka, South Dakota. Walt farmed, raising hogs and horses, ran a livery stable and a saloon during these years. Walter's people had come to New York in the early part of the 17th century, from Holland and England. Eliza's people came to Whitehall, Wisconsin from Norway. Both of their grandparents came to South Dakota about 1885, settling along the Jim River southeast of Aberdeen. Walt and Eliza raised nine of ten children, one having died in infancy. In 1929, Walt and his family (except Eunice, who had married Roy Baker, and Hazel, who was teaching school) came to Ziebach County. Some things came by train, while part of their belongings they hauled in a covered wagon made out of a trailer and pulling a hayrack. Delbert tells of this trip. Fred drove the team while Delbert rode horseback, driving some loose stock. When they came to the bridge at Whitlock Crossing, Fred insisted that Delbert walk over the bridge and lead his horse. He said, "Your horse could get scared and shy and throw you into the river". Delbert was nine years old at the time and was highly indignant at being treated like a little kid! However, once Fred made up his mind, nothing could change it, so Delbert walked and led his horse. The family bought the Jake Maca place, south and east of Dupree. Walt soon became actively involved in county affairs and was elected county commissioner, an office he held for many years. The family members that came to Ziebach County to live were: Lewis (Cully), who later married Margaret Miller, daughter of Jess and Maggie Miller. Fred, who remained single and died in 1978. Walter C., Jr. (Casey), who married Genevieve Olson. Verna, who married Arthur Flick and raised four daughters -- Dawn, Mary, Ginny and Lorna. Donald, who married Florence Martin. Delbert, who married Eva Henderson. Inez, who married Walter Boettcher and raised four children -- Linda, Bill, Bob and Nancy. Delbert, Donald and Inez all attended grade school at the Gage School south of Dupree and all graduated from Dupree High School. Verna attended high school her senior year and graduated in Dupree. Eliza died in 1956 and Walt died in 1961. [photo - The Walt Miller family in 1950. Standing: Hazel, Casey, Eunice, Verna, Fred, Donald, Cully, Buck and Inez. Seated: Eliza and Walt] [photo - Walt and Eliza Miller in 1955] ALEXANDER MILNE Alexander Milne, better known as "Scotty", was born in Scotland in 1865 and lived there until he was 21 years of age, when he emigrated to New York City in 1886. He worked there for some time as a bricklayer's helper. He then came out to western South Dakota in the spring of 1887 and was employed as a cook for the Flying V Ranch. He also worked as a sheepherder in Montana. During this time, he bought calves at $8.00 per head, and started his own brand the "9R", which he continued to use. He first went to Rabbit Creek in Perkins County and started a ranch there until homesteaders came in. He sold most of his cattle and moved to Ziebach County in 1917. He ran a ranch on the Moreau River until 1947, when he leased the cattle on a 50-50 basis to Roy Viet and practically retired. He stayed, however, with Mr. Veit until he had a stroke March 8th. He was taken to the St. John's Hospital at Rapid City and there he passed away on March 15, 1953. ROALD MITCHELL FAMILY Roald, son of Warren and Ragnhild, ranched with his father until his father passed away in 1954. In June 1956, he married Bonnie Stapert. They expanded their ranching operation by purchasing part of the old Eddy ranch. They have 5 children. They are as follows. Pamela Sue is employed at the Farmers Co-op Elevator in Dupree; Cindy (Mrs. Casey Weaver) graduated from Mitchell Vo-Tech School; Bernie attended Western Dakota VoTech at Sturgis and is in ranching with his father; Brenda graduated from Watertown Vo-Tech with a degree in medical assisting and is presently a nursing student; Dianna is a junior in Dupree High School and is active in cheerleading and all the sports. Cindy and Casey Weaver are the parents of Cody, the only grandchild. [photo - The Mitchells, 1979. Pam, Brenda, Cindy, Bernie, Bonnie, Roald, Dianna] WARREN MITCHELL FAMILY Warren was born in Minnesota and came to South Dakota around 1903 and spent several years in the Sansarc area northwest of Pierre before going into the service. He spent several years in the Army and Navy. In 1925 he married Ragnhild Pederson of Redelm and they lived south of Dupree. They had two children, Roald and Ida. Warren passed away in 1954 and Ragnhild continued to live at the ranch until she moved into the Dupree Manor. She passed away in December 1980. Roald married Bonnie Stapert and they live on the ranch. Ida married Till Wicks and they live near Redelm. ROY and ETHEL (ANDERSON) MOHAGEN Ethel Ruth Anderson, daughter of Carl and Hazel Anderson, was married to Roy Henry Mohagen in the "Little Church Around the Corner" at Inglewood, California, on June 29, 1941. Roy worked at Lockheed Aircraft Company at Burbank, California. In 1945, they moved back to Roy’s birthplace, Grafton, North Dakota. In 1947 they purchased a farm at Grafton and have lived on the same place to date. To this union three children were born. Delores Nell Mohagen was born in Burbank, California on May 10, 1942. She is married to Dennis Fast and lives at Thompson, North Dakota. They have two children, Anthony Dale, born January 18, 1969 in Rolla, North Dakota; and Janelle Ray, born May 19, 1972 at Mayville, North Dakota. Donald Roy Mohagen, born July 20, 1945 at Burbank, California. Donald married Carol Melin of Mohall, North Dakota on June 21, 1974 at Mohall. They live in Bismarck, North Dakota. Donald is employed as a field engineer with the John Larson Construction Company. Henry Charles Mohagen was born on October 18, 1949 in Grafton, North Dakota. On June 25, 1971, he married Linda Moberg at Fairdale, North Dakota. At the present time they live on a ranch at Towner, North Dakota. They also carry mail on a rural route. They have three children. Jennifer Lin was born at Williston, North Dakota on August 3, 1973. Robert Henry was born in Thief River Falls, Minnesota on June 2, 1976. Faith Darlene was born September 3, 1978 at Rugby, North Dakota. Donald and Henry also served a term in the United States Army. Henry served overseas in Viet Nam. [photo - Roy H. and Ethel Mohagen] RUDOLPH MOTIS by Mildred Motis Toman Frank Motis and Catherine (Baxa) Motis came to America in the 1860's from Czechoslovakia, settling at Lisbon, Iowa before homesteading near Milligan in Fillmore County, Nebraska where Rudolph was born July 6, 1873. On November 21, 1875 Mary Eliza was born to John and Antonia (Skliba) Kasak of Milligan, Nebraska. She married Rudolph Motis December 31, 1894. They continued to live near Milligan until 1904 when they moved to a farm between Solon and Lisbon, Iowa. Leona was born here. While still in Nebraska, five children were born: twins in 1896 died the same year; Antonia; Amalie, who lived only 6 months; and Rudolph. They moved to South Dakota in 1910, first to Huron and then to Leola where their last child, Mildred Frances, was born October 4, 1913. In April of 1917 the family homesteaded one hundred sixty acres, which was located five and one half miles northeast of Glad Valley. Later my sister, Annie, homesteaded another one hundred sixty acres adjoining Pa's land on the north. We built a shanty on it and Annie and I used to walk over there and sleep every night for a year. Isabel was our nearest town. We drove our team and wagon to get groceries and other supplies once a month. At that time there were no specific roads or highways, just wagon trails over the prairie. In the springtime I remember Pa always helping our neighbor, Charlie Swift, during lambing season. Charlie owned a large sheep ranch about one and one half miles north of our homestead. Some of our nearest neighbors were Peter Jensen, John Goltz, Gus Grieppe, Clinton Harris and Chris Goltz. Peter Jensen, a bachelor and his uncle came from Sweden to homestead in South Dakota. We had some hard times, but there were always good times that we looked forward to. On Fourth of July, there was a big annual celebration at the Glad Valley Store with a picnic dinner and homemade ice cream. Around mid-August, we always had a picnic and get-together of North Ziebach County and South Ziebach County on the Moreau River. One year it was on the south side of the river and the next year it was on the north side. The men always had a tug of war, North side against the South; pitched horseshoes and played baseball. Some of the older men sat on the riverbank and fished. Leona and I both attended Glad Valley School through the tenth grade. We drove the horse and buggy two and one half miles daily to school. When I was in the seventh grade, I won the county spelling contest in Dupree, which sponsored a free trip to the state fair in Huron, where I entered the state spelling contest. Here I received a ribbon for fifth place. My parents lived the remainder of their married life in South Dakota. After retirement in 1932, they moved to Isabel and lived there until 1940 when they moved to Tabor. It was while living at Tabor that Pa received his calling and passed away in the hospital in Yankton, January 6, 1946. He was buried in the Bohemian Brothers Cemetery near Milligan, Fillmore County, Nebraska. My mother sold their Tabor property and made her home with us. She passed away at the home of my sister, Anna, May 26, 1960 in Douglas County, Nebraska. She is interred next to her husband. Of the surviving children, Antonia, known as Anna or Annie, married John Svagera on September 6, 1922 in Timber Lake, South Dakota. Rudolph married Lela May Lyon in April 1932 in Dupree. She was born November 9, 1908 in Stillwater, Payne County, Oklahoma, the daughter of George Henry Lyon and Estaline Clara (Pringle) Lyon. To this union, ten children were born, with nine surviving and living today scattered over the world. Josephine Mary (Motis) Thomas, a school teacher, lives in Portland, Oregon; Frances Mildred Motis, a school teacher, lives in Los Angeles, California; James Joseph Motis, a Vietnam veteran, lives in Dayton, Tennessee. All three of these were born in Ziebach County. Benjamin Rudolph Motis is a missionary with the Sudan Interior Mission, living in Liberia, Africa; Alvin George Motis, an accountant, lives in Seattle, Washington; Julian Eugene Motis, a factory worker, lives in Dayton, Tennessee; Mabel Leanna (Motis) Nicholson, lives in Portland, Oregon; Harvey Arnold Motis, a Baptist minister, lives in Spokane, Washington; Joseph Daniel Motis died within seven days of birth; and Dona Marion (Motis) Burney, a school teacher, is living in Washington, D.C. Rudolph and Lela are still living in Dayton, Tennessee. They prematurely celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary at the home of their daughter, Josephine Thomas, in Portland, Oregon on the Fourth of July, 1981, where the entire family gathered for the happy occasion. Leona Mary Motis married Henry August Spellman, April 6, 1925 in Dupree. He was born August 9, 1898 in Gaylord, Sibley County, Minnesota, the son of John Henry Spellman and Emile (Boese) Spellman. To this union four children were born, three of which survived and are living today. Their firstborn, Bernal Leonard Spellman, was born and departed this life all on the same day and is buried in Isabel. Russell Lloyd Spellman served in the navy during World War II, now lives in Haines, Alaska; Shirley Elaine (Spellman) (Potter) Rhodes, lives in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho; and Duane Alien Spellman served in the air force, lives in Houston, Texas. All children were born in Isabel, Dewey County, South Dakota. Leona and Hemy are still living today in their own home in Coeur d' Alene, Idaho. Mildred Francis Motis married Matthias Milton "Mick" Toman, September 6, 1932. He was born February 25, 1906 in Plattsmouth, Cass County, Nebraska, the son of John Joseph Toman and Mary Theresa (Severin) Toman. We began our married life two and one half miles southwest of Mynard, Nebraska. During the fall of 1948, I was stricken with the dreaded disease, polio, which was raging the nation in epidemic proportions. I have been a paralytic victim for thirty two years in a wheelchair. We farmed all our lives in Cass County until retirement in March of 1963, when we moved to the village of Murray. To this union one daughter was born, Marie Elizabeth (Toman) Hammons, a school teacher, living on a farm near Murray. We are presently living in our own home in Murray and will celebrate fifty Golden Years together in September of 1982. [photo - Rudolph and Mary Motis and son, Rudolph, with their first Model T Ford in 1922] [photo - The Rudolph Motis family, 1948] [photo - Rudolph and Mary Motis on their Golden Wedding Anniversary, 1944] FRANK MRAZ FAMILY by Paul Mraz, Sr. Frank and Ella were married at Tyndall, South Dakota on September 22, 1910. Father came from Geddes, South Dakota in 1917 to Dupree with an emigrant car by railroad. He brought with him 2 horses, 2 pigs and 3 dozen chickens. Mother came out to Dupree in 1917 by railroad. They homesteaded 16 miles south of Dupree, near Cherry Creek Road, a wagon trail. Their first house was built in a draw (small creek) -- a shack with no windows. Later on, a home was built on a small hill south of the first house. Dad dug many water wells by hand for various people in that area. He also worked for the Staple M Cattle Company. The cattle company lost most of their stock in the blizzard of 1920. The stock drifted with the storm into the Cheyenne River. Dad started drilling wells with a new well machine, his first well was at the home place. He dug many wells with this rig, until he lost it and the homestead. We moved from the home place to the George Kruckman place (young Woodward's). He farmed and did odd jobs, digging basements in Dupree (one is still used today -- the old Pollard building -- now Denton's and the news office). In 1926 we moved to the A. A. Karley farm (Nordby's now). Dad farmed and raised hogs. He was bit by one, which left him partly crippled. From the Karley place, we moved to a place 5 miles north of Dupree, where he farmed. Mother and Dad lived there until he sold out and moved into town (brother Chet now owns this place). Father passed away in 1972. Mother passed away November 1, 1981 at Deadwood, South Dakota, at the age of 90. There were fourteen children in Frank and Ella's family: Paul, Bob, Helen, Edwin, Dorothy, Olive, Herman, Chester, Frank Jr., Jerry, Lowell, Darrell, Norman and Eleanora. Seven sons served in the armed forces. Edwin passed away in 1951. Eleanora died in infancy. Bob, Herman and Helen live in California. Darrell lives in New Mexico, Lowell and Frank Jr., live in Montana. Dorothy lives in Rapid City. Olive lives in Deadwood. Jerry lives in Yankton, Norman in Lemmon and Paul and Chet live in Dupree. [photo - Lowell, Frank, Chester, Betty and Ella Mraz. Fran Marple, Beth and George Till. November 25, 1955] NARCISSE NARCELLE NSS was the brand of Narcisse Narcelle, a French-Indian whose herd was one of the first and largest in the west river area. According to Lee and Williams in The Last Grass Frontier, 'the French-Canadian, Pierre/ Paul Narcelle (1816-1898), was employed by the American Fur Company at Fort Pierre. When it was sold to the government in 1855, he probably started his herd from the few head of cattle left there. Paul Narcelle had a herd of 400 cows on his ranch at Medicine Creek. He supplied beef and had a trading post at Fort Sully. 'Paul married Elizabeth/Blazie, a daughter of Thomas L. Sarpe. Basil Claymore married another daughter of Sarpe. The children of Blazie, who was part Sioux, and Paul Narcelle were: Esther (Mrs. Romielo Rousseau, the mother of Luciel (Mrs. Ovila 'Babe' LaPlante)); Sophia (Mrs. Herbert, pronounced Abair); Lucy (Mrs. George Pardis, for whom Parade was named); Edward Narcelle; Julia (Mrs. LeCompte); Louise (Mrs. Kid Rich); and Narcisse Narcelle who married Cecelia Benoist. Narcisse was the father of Joseph, Edward, and Rosie Narcelle, all of whom died without issue. The brothers, Ed and Narcisse, both became prominent cattlemen. Ed built up a ranch south of what would become Eagle Butte. Narcisse came to the Cheyenne River with his father, when he was single. Paul Narcelle had a trading post at Four Corners. Narcisse worked at his father's Big Stone Ranch. He moved to the Circle Dot Ranch, north of the river, a few miles west of the old bridge at the mouth of Narcelle Creek and got his start in ranching. He later moved to the Cherry Creek where the NSS headquarters remained. When the Edmunds Commission came to the Cheyenne River Agency in 1882, to negotiate the relinquishment of reservation lands, Narcisse Narcelle was the agency interpreter for Charger, White Swan and Swift Bird. It was later discovered that Edmunds had threatened the Indians, causing that Commission's failure. In 1892, Narcisse Narcelle was admitted to the Western South Dakota Stock Growers Association, along with Scotty Phillips of Fort Pierre and Ed Narcelle of Pierre. According to Alex Chasing Hawk, James Chasing Hawk was discharged from Fort Meade in 1893 and he went to work for Narcelle. 'About 10 men worked for him in, those days. At one time, they went almost to where Lemmon is on a round-up. There were nine wagons and it was the biggest round-up ever, in these parts.' 'Narcelle had a big three-room log house, barns and corrals. He tried new things. He was the first one to irrigate. He built places with earth along the creek. The creek flowed into those ditches and then the water trickled over the end into the fields. They got a lot of hay there. He even dammed Cherry Creek. They used scoops and everything and built a dam. Then when a big rain came it flooded. Narcelle went out to look at it and threw his hat into the air. As fast as that hat came down and hit the ground, the water swirled around and the dam broke. Some of the dirt from the dam is still there on the edges of the creek.' 'Narcelle was a breed, married to a full-blood. She would fix meat and have it hanging to dry. Narcelle really liked dried meat, boiled and made into soup. He liked Indian food. He would call young Paul Chasing Hawk into the kitchen and they would eat dried meat, even though his wife had fixed all sorts of food for the rest of the men. 'Joe Narcelle was shot on Bear Creek, west of Dupree, for being rowdy after drinking. He was buried on the hill south of the present house. From Red Scaffold News by Billy Circle Eagle came the following: "Long years ago Mr. Narcisse Narcelle bought a train load of cattle somewhere in Texas." "The train stop so many places they lost time to coming home. Narcelle walked up to engine and pull out 45 colt and say you black engine don't you know that I am engine too you are to run faster and make couple bullet holes on the stove pipe. After that the engineer run that train faster." "Mr. Narcelle first wife is Miss Benoist, Mr. Felix Benoist sister. Mrs. Narcelle is first school teacher at Cherry Creek station. Schoolhouse was lokeded at round Mr. Ed Little Shield house. Mr. Narcelle was boss forman at station same time." "First NSS cowboy is Mr. Felix Benoist, first NSS Round-up wagon in charge of Mr. Ed Narcelle, his cowboys: Rousseau, N. Pissanna, Ed Lyman, Chas Pearman, Chas La Plante, Chas. Pierpont Wood, Ron Flank, John Chasing Hawk, Jack Bull Eagle, Iron Shield and Carl Bridge." "Next round-ups in charge of: Nick Janis from Pine Ridge, Quill Ewing, Duff Quinn, Ed Lyman and Manuel Coy. About that time Narcisse Narcelle turned NSS outfit over to the Bert Cumming, First National Bank from Pierre. Dade Holcomb in charge from there on. After getting through shipping all the NSS cattle. After that Billy Troy work for the Diamond A roundup wagon to pick what they left over and after that Bill Circle Eagle pick NSS strays and put throught the government ration beef for Indians. No more NSS." Returning from Philip, Narcelle had set his horses to a gallop and dropped the reins (French style) on Hump Flat. He crossed Felix Creek and the tongue pulled out. Narcelle fell out and died. Narcisse was buried on Bear Creek and later moved to Whitlock's Crossing. Before the reservoir was flooded, the body was moved to the Eagle Butte Cemetery. Another version of Narcelle's death is that he forced his team into the Cheyenne River when the water was high and after the bank had given way in the rain. He was on his way back from Philip where he had gotten a gallon of whiskey and groceries. The horses and Narcelle drowned. Narcisse Narcelle died in the winter of 1911-1912. His son, Joe, was shot on Bear Creek the following summer. The ranch was later mortgaged to Dallyn in Chicago by Louise Narcelle Rich. Dallyn foreclosed and Charles Steen got the title from the county in 1948. The place was bought by Bill Ullmann in 1975. Mrs. Narcelle died after Narcisse and was buried on the hill between the present house and the old Narcelle house, with her son Joe and an infant child. Among the cowboys working for the NSS were Chauncey Johnson, A. E. Ewing, wagon boss in 1887, Kid Rich, and Blackmoon who broke horses for the outfit. At age 15, Irish Tommy Condon was brought from Fort Pierre to the Cheyenne River by Narcelle. Louise Narcelle married Kid Rich and lived on the Circle N Ranch, north of her brother, Narcisse. Narcelle Rich was their son. Gene Steen later owned the ranch. NSS had 15,000 head along the Cheyenne River and horses with Narcelle's brand survived into the 1920's on the Lower Brule Reservation. According to Ed Spurling, 'Sophia Narcelle married Herbert (Abair) about 1888 in Pierre. Herbert, a shoemaker, had come from Montreal. Sophia homesteaded and later received an allotment on the Cheyenne River Reservation near Lindsay Crossing. They also lived on the 24 Ranch. The 24 Ranch was on Bear Creek. Helen Lackey wrote that 'Herbert struck it rich in the Klondike country, coming to the reservation country and building up a large holding, which touched on the eastern border of the county. When Herbert passed away, Chauncey Johnson took over and assisted Mrs. Herbert.' Charles LaPlante also rode for the 24. Miles Hudson of Sturgis worked for the Diamond A on the 24 Ranch in the winter of 1928-29. [photo - Mrs. Paul Narcelle (Pelagie Sarpe) and granddaughter, Julie Narcelle (SDSHS)] [photo - Original NSS fencepost] T. R. NELSON Attorney T. R. Nelson was born at Sioux City, Iowa on February 25, 1884. He graduated from the Nebraska School of Law in 1906 and practiced the law profession at Rapid City until 1910, when he located in Dupree. He was for a short time at LeBeau, South Dakota, but was primarily interested in the new undeveloped territory around the west river country. He had the distinction of being the county's first practicing lawyer. He served as United States Commissioner from 1910 to 1914, and also as County Judge and States Attorney. He was a member of the South Dakota Historical Society, the American Bar Association, Odd Fellow Lodge, and the Woodmen of the World Lodge. He married Gertrude Young and to them were born two sons, Robert and Gerald. Mrs. Nelson was very active in church, school and club work while living in Dupree. WILLIAM and JENNIE (PIDCOCK) NELSON by Ruth Edwards William H. Nelson came to Dupree, Ziebach County, in February, 1917 and settled on a claim south of Dupree. He came from Stickney, South Dakota. He married Jennie Pidcock, daughter of Jim and Lulu Pidcock on September 17, 1917. He entered the service in World War I September 22, 1917, and served 19 months. He returned and lived on a farm southwest of Dupree. They had four children: James William (deceased); Robert Madison, Stickney; Ione Forche, Corpus Christi, Texas; Richard Keith, Louisa, Virginia; eleven grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. Bill and Jen lived on their farm south of Redelm for several years. Bill bought the "Old Dance Hall" in Redelm, and with the help of Claude and Fred Maynard tore it down and built a four room house on his farm in 1923. Later this house was bought and moved to Dupree and is now owned by Mildred Collins. In the fall of 1927, the Nelsons leased their farm and moved into Dupree to send their children to school, and Bill worked for Martin Broberg in the Dupree Garage. Later he had his own car repair shop in the John Hipner garage for several years. The family moved to Stickney in 1936 and farmed until 1951. They then moved to Chamberlain where Bill was in business with his son, James, in Nelson's Electric until he retired in 1958. In 1979 Bill and Jen moved to Stickney where they presently reside. In September, 1980, they celebrated 63 years of married life. [photo - Mrs. William Nelson] [photo - William Nelson] MELVIN NESHEIM by Marjorie Jeffries Nesheim Mel was the second child born to Mr. and Mrs. Albert Nesheim in Winnisheik County, Iowa on October 30, 1906. The children were Alice, Mel, Ruby, Ethel, Eunice, Carl, Nathan, Ervin and Selma. The latter four are deceased. The family, of Norwegian descent, moved to the Hayes, South Dakota area in 1908. Mel learned English after he started to school. Mel went to work on the L/Y Ranch east of Cherry Creek in 1922 working for V. W. Jeffries, and has spent the greater part of his life in Ziebach County working for many ranchers through the years, in filling stations and garages, dirt work with heavy machinery and in law enforcement. He was an early day cowboy and bronc rider, still has a saddle horse and maintains his great love for livestock. We were married September 23, 1936 and have six children. Two sons have retired from twenty years of military service. Don is studying for the Episcopal priesthood, David is in law enforcement where he and his wife live in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Vincent is an LPN. Ruth is in the National Guard in Rapid City, where she lives; Janice lives in Yakima, Washington; and Rose on the east coast. I doubt that we will ever leave western South Dakota. We like it for a "good place to live a good life". Good friends and neighbors certainly outweigh the tantrums of weather and nature. We have retired to Rapid City, South Dakota. OLAUS and ANNE NJOS by E. S. Simpson Anne Olsen was born November 7, 1871 in Silri Valdrus, Norway. At age seven she crossed the Atlantic with her parents and they settled at Clear Lake, Iowa. Olaus Njos was born September 16, 1869 in Adams, Minnesota. His parents too, had come from Norway. Anne and Olaus were married March 10, 1896 in the Olsen home. Their first home was on a farm near Lake Benton, Minnesota where Blanche, Adry, Gladys and Clara were born. In 1901 they journeyed in a horsedrawn covered wagon to Fosston, Minnesota. Here Nettle, Eleanor, Erwin and Alice were born. Esther was born in their South Dakota home. Olaus delivered all nine children. The homestead of Olaus and Anne Njos was located six miles northwest of Isabel, South Dakota. They arrived on the Chicago Milwaukee Railroad from Fosston, Minnesota in the spring of 1911. Olaus and son, Adry, traveled ahead in an emigrant car to bring the furniture, livestock and machinery. Anne, with children Blanche, Gladys, Clara, Nettle, Eleanor, Erwin and Alice, followed in a passenger car. They were among the "honyockers" who came to homestead a quarter section of land, available when the U. S. Government opened it for settlement. Their first home was a huge tent at Isabel. When the barn was built, they lived in the hayloft. Olaus witched for water and dug a well twenty feet deep which supplied ample water. Lignite coal was available locally in the hills and valleys for cooking and heating. By fall the tarpapered, flat roofed shanty was ready and the family moved in. Kerosene lamps were used for lighting. The "little house'' to the left of the shanty was well equipped with outdated mail order catalogs. A cave dug in the hillside was used to store canned fruits, vegetables, milk, butter and eggs through the years. A natural spring in the pasture was used for stock water and swimming. In the winter, Olaus would saw large chunks of ice from it, bury the ice in deep pits and cover it with straw. This was used for making ice cream in the summer time. A one-room schoolhouse called Center School built nearby was centered by a potbellied, coal burning heater. There were rows of crudely constructed desks, each one large a enough for three pupils. The teacher's desk and chair were homemade. A school term was eight months. The usual community functions were held in the schoolhouse. The exception was card playing and dancing. Keen anticipation preceded the yearly Christmas Eve program, complete with tree and treats. Unforgettable to Olaus was the poetry which read: "O is for Olaus who harrows and plows; Comes to the Christmas tree without milking the cows''. Sunday School was organized and church services were held if a preacher stopped by. A yearly picnic was held after services, then games of baseball and horseshoes took place. To the awe and delight of all, the Isabel storekeeper appeared in his new REO auto and gave free rides to everyone. Years later Olaus was to obtain his first car by trading four hens for it, then buying tires. The first year brought intense heat and drought. With no vegetation, many of the honyockers became discouraged and left after the fourteen month proving up period. For Olaus and Anne, each waking day exemplified their faith: "This is the day that the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it" (Psalm 118:84). Olaus rented abandoned acres and the children herded cattle on it during the summer months, encountering many rattlesnakes. A claim shanty was purchased, added to the original house, and it became the kitchen. A smaller one housed the loom on which Anne wove rugs to sell. A fence attached to the house made it possible to have a flower garden, water was carried from the well. Anne had customers in Isabel for cream, eggs and butter. The butter was made to order according to the amount of salt requested. She exhibited butter at the State Fair where it scored 100 percent except for taste which rated slightly lower due to the wild onion in the prairie hay. She was an excellent cook, baker and seamstress, but above all, her ability to "make do" was unexcelled. Olaus had a fatal heart attach October 26, 1940. Anne moved to Mobridge where she passed away April 3, 1949. Their prairie lives came to an end, but many memories linger. The surviving members of this sturdy Norwegian pioneer family are: Mrs. Buck (Eleanor) Simpson; Erwin Njos; Mrs. Pat (Alice) DeSart, Mobridge; Mrs. Al (Esther) Lococq, Tucson, Arizona. [photo - The Njos family. Erwin, Gladys, Nettie, Eleanor, Blanche, Clara, Maggie (Mrs. Adry Njos), Alice Esther Abent. Taken in July 1957, on the day of Adry’s funeral] [photo - Olaus and Anne Njos. Carl Te Poel behind. Center School in the distance] NORDVOLD FAMILY Hjalmer Severre Nordvold was born October 28, 1883 at Brookings, South Dakota. His father, Sivert, had come to America from Guldbrands Dahun, Norway in 1867, settling first in Minnesota and later in Iowa, then Brookings, South Dakota. Sivert Nordvold attended Luther College, and printed a Norwegian language weekly newspaper for a time. Later the family moved to Pierre and had cattle interests out along the Cheyenne River. Hjalmer "Yum" married Emma Dunn at Pierre in 1907 and they came to Ziebach County in 1908 to settle on a homestead 14 miles south of Eagle Butte. This was the Dunn children's land allotment and Yum and Emma lived on Billy Dunn's place, ranching there all their lives, until Yum's death on October 2, 1949. Their children were Sydney, born in 1908, who also ranched near them on Aebear Creek in Armstrong County; Frances (July 27, 1909-November 10, 1976) and Homer (March 17, 1915-March 24, 1938). Frances worked for the Civil Service, retiring in 1960 and later the South Dakota Highway Department, retiring in 1975. Homer was a school teacher, and lost his life in a car accident near Gettysburg in 1938. Neither Frances nor Homer had a family. The Nordvolds' were in the cattle business all their lives, Yum and Emma owning the Y6 brand, and later it belonged to Frances. Sydney Nordvold married Rose Powell in 1930 and they eventually made their home on Aebear Creek in Armstrong County where they were engaged in the cattle business. Syd worked for the Diamond A Cattle Company throughout the years and broke horses to ride for $10 a head. They had six children, Jerry, Faye Longbrake, Mary Jo Garreaux, Nan Savoy and Blaine, all of whom live in the area. Judson died in September 1982. Syd and Rose celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in August, 1980 at their ranch. They are still in the cattle business, branding SY on left rib, cattle and left hip, horses. Sydney passed away June 7, 1981 and is buried in the family cemetery on their ranch. The Cheyenne River Fair and Rodeo was dedicated in his memory in September, 1981. [photo - Emma and Hjalmer Nordvold] [photo - Yum Nordvold on a buffalo he broke for Bob Yocum]