Text of Ziebach Co., SD History (1982) - pages 320 - 340 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, . THE DON COLEMAN FAMILY Both born and raised in Faulk County, east of the Missouri River, one would say we became western folk in 1949. After Don graduated from Law School at the University in Vermillion, we moved to Deadwood, purchasing a law office from an old timer, John T. Heffron. After six months , Don could see no future with sixteen to twenty other lawyers already established there, so he knew he would have to look for something better to support his family. The County Judge's office was vacant here in Ziebach County at that time (1949) so we packed our few belongings with the two children, Marsha, 4, and Tom, 3, and rented the old yellow telephone building on Main Street. (Now the building has been moved to Thunder Butte). There was no running water but we made out the best we could. In March, 1950 our third child, Jim, was born in Faulkton, as we had no hospital or doctor here. It took me and the family three weeks to return home as each time we tried, we found roads blocked due to huge amounts of snow that year. Don's first job in Ziebach County was taking the 1950 census, which at that time meant a living for the family. Soon after, he was appointed County Judge by the Governor and moved his office to the courthouse. In the spring of 1950 we moved to the Vance house and there I operated my first beauty shop in one of the bedrooms. In 1952 we moved to the Creamer house, now the house for the school superintendent. There Bob was born and I managed the beauty shop run by Ruth (Hersey) Schutz. By that time Marsha had entered school. In 1953 we bought the Bednar house and again I established a beauty shop in the front porch. About this time Don was elected States Attorney and for many years thereafter Mr. Wanous and he would hold their office for two years and then the next two they would change. Soon after, I established and managed Ann's Beauty Shop on Main Street for five years which I finally sold. After many owners the building now has been sold to Ray Kintz where his law office is now located. After a year of college, Marsha married Gary Frame and after living in Minnesota and Tennessee while Gary was in the Naval Reserve, they moved to California where they have resided for the last twelve years. They have two children, Amy, 4 and Marina, 2. Tom went to SDSU and married Laurie (Linn). After graduation they spent three years in Okinawa, where their oldest child, Nicole, was born. Cody was born three years later at Kadoka. Tom and his family now live in Pierre where he is Hughes-Stanley County Conservation Area officer. Jim graduated from Black Hills State College, married Sheila Enger and they live in Rapid City. He is the Loan Officer for the American Indian Consortium with headquarters in Denver, Colorado. Bob has lived in Redfield for the last 25 years. At present I am the Ziebach County Clerk Magistrate and have been for the last six years. Don still sits in the same office chair in his office (as States Attorney) in the Courthouse which he has occupied for the last 31 years. WILLIAM FRANKLIN COLLINS FAMILY written by Mildred Collins William F. Collins (Frank), son of Luther W. and Leanna Collins was born January 3, 1904, at Rockford, Ohio. He had two brothers, Marvel and Ledra, both deceased, and one sister, Mildred (Mrs. Jack Foster), who resides in Salem, Oregon. Frank Collins moved to South Dakota with his parents in 1910 and homesteaded on a farm near Timber Lake, South Dakota. He was graduated from Timber Lake High School in 1922 and then attended the State Agricultural College at Brookings, South Dakota. On August 6, 1937, Frank married Mildred Birkeland at Timber Lake. Mildred, daughter of Ole and Olena Birkeland, Dupree, South Dakota, was born March 12, 1907 at Willmar, Minnesota. She was graduated from Dupree High School in 1927 and then attended Northern State Teachers College at Aberdeen. Mildred taught in the Ziebach County rural schools and the Indian Day Schools at Bridger and White Horse prior to her marriage. After their marriage Mildred and Frank moved to Motley, Minnesota, where they ranched and farmed for two years. From Motley they moved to McMinnville, Oregon, where their first child, Connie Kay, was born on September 18, 1940. In 1941 they moved to Forest Grove, Oregon, where a second daughter, Donna Mae, was born on November 2, 1941. During World War II Frank was employed at the Kaiser Shipyards at Vancouver, Washington. It was here that their third child, a son, William F. Collins, Jr., was born on September 18, 1944. After the war ended, the family moved to a dairy farm near Gaston, Oregon. In 1947 Frank moved his family to Dupree, South Dakota. Their youngest child, Jean Lucille, was born November 17, 1949, at Mobridge. Frank was engaged in farming and ranching near Dupree until his death at the age of 59 on December 28, 1963 at Aberdeen, South Dakota. Mildred continues to live in Dupree. The Collins children all attended Northern State College with Donna, Bill and Jean graduating with a degree in secondary education. All the Collins children are married. Connie and William N. Jones live in Milbank, South Dakota with their three children, Terri, Jeff and Susan. Bill is a salesman for Dakota Granite. Donna and Doug Stanford reside in Lemmon, South Dakota where they both teach at the Lemmon High School. They have two daughters, Karmen and Marci. William Jr., (Bill) Collins and his wife, Joyce Miller Collins, have five sons: Laverne, Bruce, Jamie, Kevin and Kelly Keegan, and two daughters, Teresa and Jennifer. Bill farms and ranches at Dupree. Jean and Alien Reede live in Spearfish, South Dakota, where Alien is service manager for Brekhaus Chevrolet and Jean teaches math at Spearfish Junior High School. They have two sons, Michael and Matthew. [photo – Frank Collins family. Donna, Jean, Bill, Mildred holding granddaughter Terry Jones, Frank, Connie and Bill Jones] JOHN COMSTOCK FAMILY written by Harriet Comstock Merritt Our lives in Ziebach County began in October, 1916. Our parents, John and Josephine Comstock, came from North Dakota. With the Sylvester Price family, they made the move in a Model T Ford that our mother drove. Accompanying my mother in the Model T was her sister, Lillian Price, Mrs. Price's three children, my sister and myself. The men trailed the horses overland and the livestock came in an immigrant car. We were pretty young to remember that trip, however we do remember our home on the prairie. It was a flat-roofed, tar-papered shack which our Dad built and it kept us warm in the cold winters. During a blizzard our Dad would string rope from the barn to the house so he could find his way back to the house. After the storm the snowbanks would be so high we could slide down from the roof of our house. Grandma Gillard, as everyone called her, was a neighbor who lived west of Glad Valley. She would walk to Isabel and spend the first night of her journey at our house. We lived in northern Ziebach County along the highway west of Glad Valley. On November 18, 1922, our brother John William, Jr. was born and Dr. Sargent came from Isabel with his black satchel. Our father taught school at Joe Bloom, Irish Basin and Grondahl Schools. We had a little house that we moved from school to school so we had a place to live in. Our parents homesteaded a section of land, did a little farming and had cattle and some horses that Dad broke to ride. When Dad couldn't teach, Mother would substitute for him. They were both our teachers until we moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota at the ages of 9 and 7. We remember Red Bird and other Sioux Indians. Red Bird visited our house and Mother would trade him some article of clothing for some berries. We also found many arrowheads that we should have kept. We remember the coyotes howling at night and many prairie dogs, the meals we had from jack rabbits since our Dad took his gun with him wherever he went, and neighbors by the names of Joe Silks and the August Schafers. Our move to Minneapolis, Minnesota was brought about by the very dry years and lack of water. We feel very proud to be part of the history of Ziebach County as we have many fond memories of South Dakota and feel it was our first home. Josephine Comstock Nelson was born in 1913 at Fargo, North Dakota; Harriet Comstock Merritt was born in 1916 at Halleday, North Dakota, and now lives in Menomonie, Wisconsin; John Comstock, Jr. was born in 1922 at Isabel, South Dakota and is deceased; and Robert Comstock was born in 1925 at St. Paul, Minnesota and both he and Josephine currently reside in St. Paul. TOMMY CONDON told by Ellen Condon In the Woods Tommy Condon was born in 1875 in Yankton Territory and later left home and came to Ft. Pierre. He lived with a relative of his mother's. Tommy worked on the ferry boats on the Missouri River and became acquainted with the cowboys who were shipping their cattle from Pierre. Narcisse Narcelle brought "Irish" Tommy to the Cheyenne River when he was fifteen. Irish Tommy stayed with Narcelle and then worked for the Sword and Dagger and Diamond A cattle outfits. When he was 25, Tommy Condon married Josephine Little Eagle. Tommy adopted her sons, Andrew, who later lived in Buffalo, and Moses. Silas Felix Condon is Tom and Josephine's oldest son, born in 1900. He went to school in Rapid City from 1907 until 1916. By 1919, he was married to Mary Ward, daughter of Alfred and Nellie Hump Ward. They were the parents of Pat, Bernice (Lightfield), Angeline (Swan), Rose (Mrs. Percy Dupris), Willis, Andrew, Pearl (Hollow Horn), Rita, and Chester Condon. Silas later married Laura Between Lodges and had Eugene, twins Merle and Daryl, Bernadine, and Jeanette Condon. Silas adopted Sylvia, Cyrus, Madeline and Regie. Silas' brother, Felix, married Mary Little Wounded. Children: Cedric, Edward, Harold Lloyd, Isaac, George, Madonna, Frank Tilden, Cyril, Verna (Eagle Horse; Black Bear; Herrera), Delia (Fast Horse), Floyd, Lennis, Gloria (Ashley), and Rebecca (Lewis). The third son of Irish Tommy, Joe Rosco Condon, married Theresa Collins of Trail City. Their five children include: Thomas, Kathleen, Marilyn, Roger, and Terry Condon, who is deceased. Tommy and Josephine's children Rate, Edward and Gerald all died without issue. Their surviving daughter was Ellen, born in 1920. She married Joe In the Woods and they had thirteen children: Beverly Clown; Bernard, Blaine and Robert (deceased), Bessie (Moudey); Barbara (deceased); Burton; Bentley; Barney, Byron, Bryce, Bernita, and Belinda In the Woods. Bud Condon, the youngest child of Tom and Josephine, married Esther Between Lodges. They had nine children: Keeler; Julie; Lavonne; Gerald; Harold; Ira; Monte; and twins Bernice and Bernita. Tommy Condon was a stockman, a man of his own, an outlaw, and a good man. His wife, Josephine Little Eagle, had grown up near Bridger. Her father, Little Eagle, was a policeman working at the agency during the Ghost Dance. His wife was related to Big Foot but they did not go to Wounded Knee. Little Eagle or Spider Chases After Him, a nickname, came from the north. His wife was Her Horse is Sorrel, from Pine Ridge. Her name was incorrectly translated as Her Hair is Red. They settled on the reservation borderline, west of Bridger. Irish Tommy and Josephine Condon lived south of Cherry Creek Station on the Cheyenne River. There were four houses there: Eagle Chasing's (he was a cousin to Josephine); his son, Dan Eagle Chasing's; Tom Condon's; and his son, Silas Condon's houses. The Condons planted many acres of corn and crops to share with their relations and visitors. They milked from 17 to 20 cows and supplied people in Cherry Creek Station with milk, the kids hauling it on horseback. Two to three beef cattle were slaughtered at a time and canned or dried. Refrigeration was provided by a large dugout with a dirt roof, lined with 3 foot blocks of ice. The Condons taught their children to share in the Indian way and not to collect/save things as there was always someone in greater need of those things. People from the community helped with the planting, haying, harvesting, and hauling of wood. There was a long squaw-cooler by the Condon house with tables and benches for the family, visiting relatives and hired men. Men who worked for Tommy Condon included: Ruben Ward, Sam Eagle Horse of Lower Brule, who later married Martha Blue Arm, Wilson Eagle Horse, Jim White Feather, and Dan Brings Plenty. Jim White Feather was like an adopted son to the Condons. Irish Tommy became blind in his later years and while he still ran his place, his children and hired men had to do all of the work. Tommy would spend his days sitting and visiting at the Cherry Creek Station, often writing checks to people who needed and couldn't get credit. After his father died in 1933, Joe Condon moved the family into Cherry Creek community. Ellen was 12 when her father died. She finished the 8th grade at Cheyenne Agency and then went to school in Bismarck for a year before marrying Joe In the Woods. Josephine Condon died in 1943. She and Irish Tommy are buried in the Episcopal cemetery in Cherry Creek. Tommy Condon had been given the Indian name of Little Thunder, for he was a little man with a large voice. COOPER SISTERS These four ladies were residents of Cherry Creek in the early 1900's. Suzannah, Mrs. S. C. Derby, was the wife of a former boss farmer there. They were eventually divorced. She was postmaster in the Wm. F. Griffiths store in Cherry Creek and cared for the store for many years. Miss Jennie Cooper came as a missionary teacher to a school on Plum Creek, across the Cheyenne River from Cherry Creek. She taught the Jeffries School for two years, then taught in the school at Cherry Creek shortly before Harold Schunk came there as a teacher. Miss Addie (Mary A.) Cooper came also as a teacher to the missionary school. She was a tiny, stooped lady and kept busy with her garden and flowers. Miss Hope Cooper was in a wheel chair for many years. These four ladies lived in the house occupied by the late Lucy Swan. They were very genteel ladies and always called each other by the names of Mrs. Derby, Miss Jennie, Miss Addie and Miss Hope. They always used linen napkins, folded carefully into napkin holders after each meal. Grace said before meals was an integral part of their lives. Miss Jennie and Miss Addie had known Jim Swan before they came to Cherry Creek. He attended a school where they were teachers. They were most happy to greet him again and retained him as a lifelong friend. Mrs. Derby finally gave up her milk cow, selling her to the Jeffries. The cow wore a beautiful, musical bell and there were few gates she could not open! Miss Hope was taken home for burial, Miss Jennie and Miss Addie (Mary A.) are buried in the Dupree cemetery. Left alone, Mrs. Derby retired to Texas where she lived out her life. THE LEE CRANE FAMILY by LeRoye Crane Carlson The Lee Crane family came to the Faith country in early 1927. They had spent all their married life farming on shares in Potter County near Lebanon, South Dakota. Lee decided they weren't getting anywhere by that route and anyway, he had the so-called Great American Dream syndrome. To him that meant someday owning a place of their own, complete with wood and water. In 1927 there were four children in the family, of which I was the oldest, and none yet in school. For some reason Lee felt that the Faith area was the place to make his dream come true. So, the Cranes had an auction sale, keeping back four horses, a couple of cows, a few chickens, a bare minimum of farm machinery and household goods for a start in a new location. On Groundhog Day in 1927 they loaded up, hitched the two teams to a hay rack and an improvised covered wagon, tied the cows behind, crated the chickens, counted the kids and "headed west''. The Missouri River at Whitlock's Crossing was too frozen to cross with the ferry and not firm enough to carry any amount of weight so the family trekked up to Mobridge and crossed via the bridge. Each day they covered only a few miles as the livestock had to be considered. It took about six weeks to make the trip as far as Dupree and Red Elm. The rear end of the covered wagon served as sleeping quarters, the front was for cooking and eating and somewhere in between was the "living room". My mother tells that they had 100# of potatoes in the wagon and the potatoes didn't freeze even though some of the nights got pretty chilly. When we arrived in Red Elm, the weather was cold, snow banks were high, and travel was difficult. My Dad found a box car to rent for about a month and the folks fixed it up to be quite cozy while we waited for a warming trend. Sometime in April we moved out north of Faith where we were to make our new home. Dad had bargained with Mr. A. J. Flannery for a piece of land 17 miles from town with the Moreau River running right through it, and trees along both sides. He had paid Mr. Flannery $1,000 down and the rest was to be on the crop payment plan. In those days that was considered quite a lot of money. There were no buildings of any kind, just land with wood and water! The first year we lived on Bert Lehman's place across the river from where our building site was to be. During the first` season, Lee plowed, planted, cut logs for the house, and worked on a partial dugout which would one day become the chicken house. The river bottoms became alfalfa fields and the uplands were plowed for corn and small grain. Around the buildings were such things as a large potato patch, a big garden and a root cellar. The crop was very good the first year, the hay grew tall and lush, the garden flourished, we picked wild fruit, Mother canned everything from chokecherries to pickles. My Dad knew he had made a wise decision. His dream had turned to Utopia almost overnight. We had wonderful neighbors, the nearest of whom were Charlie Knife, the Melvin McGinniss', and the Bill Bockmans. For the school year of 1927-28 we moved into Faith where Irvin and I attended first grade. I remember that it, too, was a bitterly cold winter. Dad ran a dray service or hauled coal from up north in order to make a living. From then on we lived out on the river and rode horseback five miles to the Butler School until we got a school closer to home, two or three years later. The student body in the new school was Roy and Norman McGinniss, and Irvin, Lorraine and myself. A man named Mr. A. A. Hines was the teacher. Mr. G. M. Drummond was county superintendent at that time. When he came to visit our school, he and Mr. Hines talked hard and fast. I suppose Mr. Hines was the only male teacher in the whole of Ziebach County. In January of 1929, on a cold snowy night, my sister Imogene decided to join the family as number five child. There was no way to get a doctor or even go for a neighbor. My Dad officiated at the ceremony because that was all there was to be done. After five years north of Faith, four of them dry, there was no way to make payments on the land. We moved twice to short-term jobs with a couple of other ranchers before Dad made a deal with Mr. Adolph Schultz for a place 17 miles southeast of Faith, on Mud Creek. This too was a crop-payment plan as we had no money. Once again our belongings were unloaded from a wagon or hay rack as we made a kind of Grapes-of- Wrath entrance into a new neighborhood and a two-room shack. Faith goes with Hope and that's about all we had. Dad had to build a barn, repair the house, dig a cellar and all the rest. We accumulated some cattle and a number of horses. It appeared that the Dream had not entirely faded after all. We herded cattle for summer pasture, cut wood, hauled water, put up Russian thistles for winter feed, and worked very hard as a family to make ends meet. Once in a while there was a partial crop for forage and a little garden stuff to can or preserve. Wild fruit kept us in jams and jellies. We raised chickens and a few turkeys. If we hadn't "bugged" the potato vines by knocking the red bugs into a pan of kerosene every so often we'd have had no crop there either. I cannot emphasize enough that we had very good neighbors. Now and then we would get together for a rodeo or ball game or gathering around the piano with Kate Johnson at the keyboard; the rest of us would sing. I am sure that neighborly encouragement was sometimes the only reason people had for hanging on. I also know that out of adversity has grown some of the deepest friendships we've ever had. Everyone was POOR -- so poor that we didn't even realize we were poor!! After five years on the Schultz place and two more additions to the family, Harold and Cora Lou (who John Leber always called Lulu Belle), the economics had continued to worsen. I should insert here that Bill Isaacs went to town to summon Dr. Lister for Harold's delivery and even though the doctor was late, Harold was right on time. Martha Miller was on hand for Cora Leu's debut. By the time Cora Lou was born I was a freshman at Dupree High School. The year was 1934. Irvin worked summers herding sheep for John and Kate Leber. My Dad took jobs where he could get them, putting up hay for some, herding sheep for Bastian's or Parrot's, or building roads on WPA. The following year was no better and by the spring of 1936 the government began buying and slaughtering cattle, for $15.00 a head for the best. Today we pay that much for a Sunday roast. I think our Utopia dried up with Mud Creek. In the fall of 1936 we moved to Spearfish where we have lived since. All in all it was a good move. There were good schools here and we all graduated from high school. Six of us attended or graduated from college. Lorraine, Irvin and myself have earned Master's Degrees in education, and taken some post-graduate work as well. I believe we would not have achieved this if we had not seen hard times during the Dirty Thirties that nurtured an appreciation for school and instilled strong character and high values that came from the encouragement of our parents. Perhaps the Great American Dream materialized in Lee and Lula's children rather than from a piece of land with the potential of wood and water. And perhaps, now, I am speculating! Anyway, we are all trained for and hold responsible positions. Lee Crane passed away while visiting and working in Alaska in 1955. Lula passed away on April 1, 1982. The Crane kids are now scattered over half a continent from Alaska to Texas and from Washington to South Dakota and Kansas. Needless to say, we older ones have many wonderful memories of Ziebach County folks in spite of the ten low-income years we spent there. All riches certainly are not contained in the pocketbook, and Utopia is what one makes of where he/she is at the time. Note: For more information on the log house we had north of Faith contact one of the Capps. It was dismantled and moved south of Faith where it was reassembled and is still in use. Every log was hand hewn and fitted at the corners. It had to be put back up the way it came down or they wouldn't fit. CRANE PRETTY VOICE told by Ellen In the Woods Crane Pretty Voice had two daughters. The first was six weeks old when her parents took her toward Pine Ridge and Wounded Knee with Big Foot in 1890. The father was a policeman or a scout for the government, but they were on the trail with Big Foot anyway. He told his wife that it looked like they (the army) were going to get them together and surrender them and kill them. He told her that if the army started anything the women folk should run for the creeks and get out of sight. When the shooting started, that's what she did. When she was about a mile away, she said, her baby was crying and pretty soon it looked like something hit her from the back. And then the baby wasn't crying so she wrapped it up in a blanket and she left it and she kept running. There was a lot of them running. They got to Pine Ridge Station. The army headquarters was there. The next day the army came and they had found a baby. They wanted to know who it belonged to and it was theirs. The captain wanted to keep the child. They asked her and she said she was so angry because she thought they had killed her little girl, so she told them to just take her. The captain took the baby to Oklahoma and his family raised her. In 1941, Ellen was visiting her mother, Josephine Condon, when an old time Cadillac drove up to there, where Crane Pretty Voice and another older lady were also visiting. The lady got out of the car with two grown daughters and was coming, and here it was her mother. She came looking for her mother and they told her where she was. She went back. She just came and gave her mother $100.00 and visited her. Then she went back. Crane Pretty Voice was also the mother of Sadie Hale's mother. DR. FRANK H. CREAMER taken from West River Progress November 15, 1956 [photo – Dr. Frank H. Creamer] [photo – Creamer Community Hospital] [photo – In Memory of Dr. Frank H. Creamer, 1956] Dr. Creamer came to Dupree on July 20, 1910, from LeBeau, South Dakota, where he had practiced his profession with a classmate, Dr. Clarence Olson for two years, crossing the Missouri River by ferry, and driving the old wagon trail along the Fox Ridge when this area of the Cheyenne River Reservation was opened for homesteading by the Government, and located at the old townsite near the Fred Prink residence. Here he assisted the carpenters to erect his own building -- receiving a few pieces of lumber as his share daily, that was transported overland from Isabel, some thirty miles to the north. It was after the Government lot sale in August that this building was moved to its present site, where it has remained ever since. Tllis was six months before the Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad arrived in Dupree in January, 1911. He made his country trips by horse and open buggy. His town calls were made by walking, sometimes in pouring rain, sometimes in blinding snow, and sometimes in the heat of the summer prairies, but he never failed to see the beauty of the sunsets, the glory of the morning sun, and the thrilling mirages in the clear atmosphere of the Dakota skies. It was not until April, 1913, that he purchased his first Ford car, and through the years he wore out 15 different cars. Doctor Creamer was the youngest of nine children born to Simon and Dornia Creamer, November 20, 1885. During his fifth year in life, he and his little sister were victims of the once dreaded disease -- diphtheria. The family doctor told his mother that the lad could not live until morning. The sister died, but it was at this time and in his childish way determined to fight for life, and keep other children from this terrible thing, that saved him from this dreadful disease. All through his years of practice, and with his own struggle for health, he continued to make the welfare of children his own concern. His elementary schooling was in Hartwick and Belle Plaine, Iowa, and during his early school years, was unable to attend school more than half the time because of nose and throat conditions -- the effects of the diphtheria siege. He graduated from high school in 1903 and from the State University of Iowa Medical College in 1908. In his senior year he was on crutches most of the year because of inflammatory rheumatism -- again the aftermath of the diptheria of childhood. The professors had advised him against continuing his senior work, but again his determination came forth. At two different times from 1915 through 1925, he suffered eye infection, commonly known as trachoma, at that time so prevalent among the Sioux Indians, and almost lost the sight of his right eye. In 1918 he enlisted in the United States Army and was commissioned a Lieutenant in the Medical Corps during World War I, and was stationed at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Dr. Creamer's practice extended many miles in every direction from Dupree, where he was the only doctor of medicine for many years. He did his work in the spirit of the West River Country -- the hard way -- and was happy with his lot. When he first came to South Dakota, it was only for five years, but at the end of that time his roots had grown so deeply, and the need of a physician so great, he could not break the ties and leave the people without medical attention. Vacation was a word stricken from his thoughts because of the pressing needs of others and he was always greatly aware of his responsibilities in this vast area. Only occasionally did he take time off to attend medical meetings of this district and State, of which he had been a member since 1908. But he kept abreast of the times and of medical progress. He always left a part of each day to read scientific publications. It was his greatest desire and ambition to offer a free vaccination clinic to the children of Ziebach County and surrounding territory, which he did for over 20 years. In the beginning he gave of his time from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the first Saturday of each month, but later as his health was impaired, every eight weeks, that the children might be protected against those diseases which man now knows how to prevent. He gave over 7000 diptheria and smallpox vaccinations and many times would send his own car in the country ten miles or more for children who were unable to get in otherwise. Dr. Creamer was the first to greet some 2500 babies on their entrance into this world, including 29 pairs of twins. He has pictures of over 600, which were sent to him and are in his "Book of Baby Memories''. His first baby was Arthur Eastman, born on October 25, 1908, at LeBeau. His last baby was Yvonne Ilene McLellan, born on June 25, 1949. Nancy and Neil Birkeland, born December 13, 1944, was the last set of twins he delivered. Dr. Creamer gave of his services without compensation each year, examining the school children and the athletes throughout the county. The Doctor's civic pride was untiring. He thought a community was only as good as the people who lived in it. He was always active in businessmen's organizations, also Fraternal orders such as the Masonic Lodge of which he was the Worshipful Master in 1916 and again in 1929, and secretary for many years. He was also Past Patron in the Order of the Eastern Star -- Naja Shrine Temple at Deadwood in 1926. He served as secretary of the IOOF Lodge for many years. Also his patriotic and never-ending love for his American Legion, serving as its Commander, Adjutant and Historian for many years. He was a charter member of the local Post and held a life membership from this post, that was voted to him for his many years of outstanding service to the Legion. He was the first to give his World War I bonus check to start the building fund, and worked untiringly through the years. Everyone well remembers his pride in this community building and his efforts to always keep it in very presentable condition. He gave the first $100 for the building fund toward the building of St. Philips Episcopal Church at Dupree, and was a confirmed member of that church. He was the friend and the beloved "Pazuta We Choosa" (Medicine Man) of the Red People -- the Sioux Indian, and never showed any race discrimination in his practice, and doing everything he could for them -- sometimes giving medicine from his own private stock if need be, when the government supply was low. It was in 1912 that the Government recognized his interest and accomplishments and gave him a civil service rating and contract, aside from his general white practice. He won the respect and deep admiration of the entire Sioux tribe by his untiring efforts in administering to their many needs and welfare, especially his accomplishments with the young mothers in pre-natal and post-natal work. There is no way of estimating the pounds of candy given to the children -- or the dollars to hungry persons for a meal. Dr. Creamer always considered the Indians as "his people''. It was December 16, 1949, and after his retirement, that the U.S. Department of the Interior sent him a citation reading: "Honor Awarded for the Commendable Service. He gave unsparingly of his time in caring for both Indians and white people in his jurisdiction. Such devoted and continuous service has left its mark in the heart of his patients, and he is well deserving of this commendation of the Department. '' It was January 8, 1943, on a long call to Glad Valley, that he became aware of the disease he was to fight for 12 1/2 years, going to Pierre the next day to consult his good friends and physicians, Dr. Riggs and Dr. Robbins. They recognized the seriousness of the situation and sent him to the Mayo Clinic and to Dr. Emmett, where everything that was humanly possible was done to retard the terrible menace called cancer. There were many times when it seemed there was little hope, but with scientific treatment and the constant prayers of his people at home, he would make a come-back and continue to serve the community for 7 more years. In September of 1948, Dr. Creamer was honored by being nominated from the 5th Medical District as "Doctor of the Year". In January 1949, after having an unusually busy week, and working in the terrible blizzard of that year, he was discovered in his office with a severe heart attack, from which he was weeks recovering. It seemed advisable at this time to give up his practice, which he did in September of that year, moving with his family to Boone, Iowa. He continued his treatments at the Mayo Clinic, having made 34 different trips through the years. In 1952 it was discovered that his condition had spread to his lungs and from which nothing could be done and he made his "Triumphal Entry" in August, 1954. Believing that only a few times in a century does a town of the size of Dupree produce a man whose daily activities justify his name being written in bronze, the citizens of Dupree and surrounding countryside have deemed it fitting to dedicate this hospital to him for which he had given much of his time in supervising the attempts of the community in the matter of health. Dr. Creamer left only a moderate estate. No one knows how many thousands of dollars he might have charged upon his books, but did not; nor of the great amount of money which he wrote off his ledger, as he knew it was difficult for people to pay. The Doctor was the friend of all of the town folks. He brought many into the world and gave comfort to those who were passing out of it. His life was a benediction. The roads were never too muddy, the snow banks never too high, the day never too hot, nor personal affairs ever too pressing to prevent Dr. Creamer from making his humanitarian rounds. CREEK Luke, or Walter Creek, was born in 1885 at Wakpala. His parents were Rebecca Medicine Woman from Standing Rock, and Henry Paul Creek from Sisseton. Other children in the family were Thomas, 1880; Bald Head (or Emma), 1887; and James, 1874. Henry died in 1903. Rebecca lived to be ninety-two years old, she died in 1938. Maggie One Skunk was born on Felix Creek. Her parents were Josephine White Thunder (or Blue Eagle Woman), from Pine Ridge, and Peter One Skunk, 1865-42. Josephine's parents were Long Cat and White Weasel. Luke and Maggie were married. Their children are Cyril Creek and Amelia Morrison. CROW and IN THE WOODS told by Ellen Condon In the Woods Buffalo Church, Buffalo Cemetery and the Buffalo Association of the YMCA were named for Buffalo Eater, the oldest member of a community on the Cheyenne River. The community was located about eight miles west of the present route #63 bridge. (Buffalo Church was moved up to the Dupris Cemetery in the 1950's.) Iron Lightning, Counting, Little Skunk, Butcher, and Slides Off, all cousins of Long Mandan, came from Rosebud and were registered and allotted on Cheyenne River Reservation. This group originally camped on the Cheyenne but later moved north to the Little Moreau. Long Mandan was the father of Buffalo Eater. Four of Buffalo Eater's children married. They were: a daughter who married Jim Axe and had Sophia Axe; a daughter who was the first wife of Albert Owl King and had Bessie (Mrs. Joe Bowker); Hard to Kill or Asa Crow(b. 1864); and Kill Woman or Sophia (b. 1862). Hard to Kill and Kill Woman were ages 12 and 14, when they were at the Battle of the Little Big Horn. As a boy Hard to Kill was sitting on top of a hill. Eight crows were flying above them and he got up and came running and told them there were 8 Crows coming. They had better be prepared. One of his uncles said they had better go and see. It was Crow Indians coming to steal horses and the Sioux killed them. After that, Hard to Kill was called Crow Boy and later, Asa Crow. He was the father of Charlie Crow and the grandfather of Patrick and Lawrence Crow. Kill Woman or Sophia married Timber Bank, whose name was translated into English as In the Woods. In the Woods' parents were from Pine Ridge. His father had four wives: Jealous Dream was In the Woods' mother. His half-brothers included Eagle Heart, Short Steps, Oscar Good Shot, and Frank Short Horn, all of Pine Ridge. Sophia's allotment was on Rudy Creek, west of present route #63. Her and In the Woods' children included: Elizabeth (Mrs. White Horse, mother of Jerome); Bessie (Mrs. Walter Carlin, mother of Hazel and Catherine)' John, who was a Congregational minister and who married Mazie Blue Eyes; Joe, who married Ellen Condon; and Julie (Mrs. William Dupris, mother of Chauncey, Millard, and Percy). John and Mazie were the parents of Loveleah and Llewellyn. Joe and Ellen lived on Rudy Creek with Joe's mother until their third child was born. Then in the '40's, they moved to In the Woods land on the Cheyenne River, to be near water. They lived near the Buffalo Cemetery. Joe and Ellen are the parents of Beverly (Clown); Bernard; Blaine and Robert, deceased; Bessie (Moudey); Barbara, deceased; Burton; Bentley; Barney; Byron; Bryce; Bernita; and Belinda In the Woods. TOM CROWLEY FAMILY Mr. and Mrs. Tom Crowley came to Ziebach County from Wimbledon, North Dakota in 1909 and homesteaded near Thunder Butte mountain, where they built a home and helped build a school, and also served on the school board for 13 years. Mr. Crowley passed away in 1951 in California where the family had lived since 1941. The Crowley children are as follows: Joe, John, Cecial, and Neal. DANIEL COUNTING from History of Cheyenne River by Noralf Nesset, Superintendent In 1868, Daniel Counting started his life on the Cheyenne Reservation and now in the twilight of his career he can look back with unusual clarity to an eventful life that has seen many changes. The people of the Lantry District recently (1950's) held a three-day celebration in honor of Mr. Counting. It was my pleasure to attend this celebration and have the privilege of visiting with the grand old man. Daniel Counting devoted fifty-two years of his life to Missionary work among his people. He expressed the conviction that his long life and accomplishments were possible through the help of a greater Power that has guided him during his lifetime. In reviewing some of the events of Mr. Counting's life, one cannot help but be impressed by the great changes that have occurred during the lifetime of one man. He saw the days of the Custer Massacre, the Battle of Wounded Knee, the days of monthly rations, the establishment of the reservation and the opening of the reservation to the homesteaders and the cattlemen. He witnessed the moving of the original agency headquarters at Fort Bennett to the present site which in turn must give way to the waters of the Oahe Dam. Many changes, some good, some bad, have taken place in the lives of his people. The wheels of progress grind relentlessly and his people find that many of the old ways must be discarded and replaced by more modern ways of living. (Daniel Counting died in 1962. He was the grandfather of Mrs. Ed (Delma) Widow and the father of Rosalie Eagle Dog, Amy Garter, and Simon Counting.) PETE CULBERTSON by Ann Fleming Pete Culbertson was a white man, called "Indian" Pete because he lived among the Indians. He had a place west of the reservation with a dugout barn and frame house. He wore his hair long and wore pearl handled pistols. Above the door to his house, he rigged an apparatus that held a pistol aimed at the head of anyone who knocked at his door. He may have been an outlaw. Alex Chasing Hawk remembers that he slept with his holster above his bed. Culbertson was thought to have come from Montana. Earnest Loves War, hung in Sturgis for murder, worked for Pete Culbertson on his cattle ranch. Culbertson was also known for his spotted horses. He was the suitor of one young lady who was encouraged by her relatives to marry Pete, so that they would be able to ride his spotted horses! [photo – Pete Culbertson] B. R. CUSHING Mr. and Mrs. B. R. Cushing came by train to Isabel in 1910, then journeyed by farm wagon and horses to their claim south of Redelm. In 1913 they moved to Georgia and in 1920 moved to Buffalo, New York where he worked for a construction company and did home missionary work. In 1934 they left for Barbados, British West Indies to do full-time missionary work. Due to illness, they returned to the States in 1944 where they received medical help and served as pastor of the Congregational Church at Eagle Butte, South Dakota for a year. In May of 1946 they were called to serve four small country churches, helping them until younger pastors could be found. In the spring of 1949 they were forced to resign as they could not stand the long drives necessary, and the severe winters, any longer. Their son, Samuel, became a minister and served the Congregational Church at Dupree from 1942, for about four years. The Gushing children were: Lawrence, Helen, Samuel, Frances and Ralph. J. G. CUTTER FAMILY My father, Joseph Cellars Cutter, came to Eagle Butte in 1911 from Moreland, Ohio and bought 160 acres of land five miles west and a half mile north of town. He brought the family in April, 1912 by train. The emigrant car contained a new range, cabinet and their own furniture, Mother's organ, and the Collie dog, Watch. Of course there was much more. With the help of neighbors he had built a two room sod house. For two weeks we were split up and stayed at various places until the house was ready. Blanche, Mildred, Norma and Bill stayed at Gott's Hotel. Maude and Mabel, who was three years old and the youngest, stayed at Bengstons. Mother, Dad and I stayed at Oscar Swartzls which was two miles from our house where Mother and Dad worked during the day. I was very homesick for them until they came. We were the largest family in the neighborhood. There were two baby brothers buried in Ohio and one in South Dakota. Arlene was born in 1914 and the snow was so deep that Dr. Creamer couldn't come. Dad and neighbors built the Fox Ridge School. Etta Anna Hansen taught two years. Ruth Stock was teacher the next year, then Edna Drummond. On the prairie the grasses were tall and blowing in the wind, it looked like ocean waves. Mother missed the trees and the constant wind was wearing. The house was comfortable, cool in summer and warm in winter. We used cow chips for a quick fire. J. C. as he was known, was really not a farmer. He had attended Adin College, liked people and clerical work. He was also a carpenter. He served as clerk and assessor of Lantry township. He was county treasurer and county auditor of Dewey County. He and mother went to Washington for a visit in 1941 and the next year went there to stay. He worked in the shipyards at Vancouver during the war. Later he was a hotel clerk in Portland and retired in 1960 at age 86. He liked to visit and remembered people. He had a very keen mind until his death. How he did enjoy the South Dakota picnics! He had inflammatory rheumatism in 1913 and it left him with a bad leg. In 1960 we took him to Ohio for a visit and he certainly enjoyed it. They celebrated their golden wedding anniversary and Mother died at the age of seventy-eight; Dad at the age of ninety-three. [photo – The Cutter sod house and family. Blanche, Maude, Mildred, Mother and Dad. Front row: Norma, Susie, Mabel and William] [photo – Mr. and Mrs. Cutter, taken in Washington] [photo – The Cutter family taken in 1964. Dad and Mom, Blanche, Maude, Norma, Susie, Bill, Mabel, Arlene and Mildred] ALONZO G. DAVIS Mr. and Mrs. A. G. Davis and five children came to the Dupree community by team and wagon in June, 1910. The trip from LeBeau, South Dakota took 8 days and after the original supply of water was used up, the family drank the same water that was available for the livestock, but without any ill effects. During the month of July 1910, a very bad prairie fire started northwest of the Davis homestead and burned many acres of tall, thick grass, but no loss of human life was reported. The Davis family resided on this homestead until about 8 months before the death of Mr. Davis, when the family moved into Dupree. Mr. Davis joined the Odd Fellows Lodge as a young man and continued his membership until his death. He was a county commissioner of Ziebach County for 12 years. The Davis children were: Hazel E. Davis, Herbert P. Davis, Hattie J. Burke, and George Davis. MR. AND MRS. GEORGE DAVIS George and Nell Davis came to Ziebach County in 1910 and filed on a claim 3 1/2 miles southeast of Lantry. They came overland by team and freighted their belongings in by train in the spring of 1911. Mr. Davis was a farmer and a carpenter. Elections were held in the Davis home for several years, which is the reason for the one voting precinct being called the Davis precinct. The Davis children are as follows: James Davis, Frank Davis, Zelma Zimmerman, and Aletha Troon. JAMES DAVIS James Davis, in 1911, located 1 1/2 miles east and 2 1/2 miles south of where Lantry was later located. In 1918 he married Catherine Perkins of Lantry and homesteaded in 1919 on Cottonwood Creek 17 miles southeast of Dupree. Of the many types of work during the years, he taught school, was a carpenter, cowboy for the Diamond A, and worked for the government as a cattle inspector. In 1944 he moved his family to Princeton, Minnesota and managed a feed mill. He bought a feed store in 1948, which he operated until 1955, and then operated a filling station and store near Princeton. The Davis children are: Catherine Fare, James, Ruth Ranch, Walter, Call, Shirley and David. RATE POWERS DAVIS Kate Powers Davis was born in 1852 in Davenport, Iowa. In 1869 she married Mark Davis of Noblesville, Indiana. He passed away in 1902. In 1911, Mrs. Davis filed on a claim near Edson. In 1914 she left to make her home with her daughter Leah northeast of Faith in Ziebach County. Mrs. Davis was a greatly beloved pioneer and was very public spirited. She was keenly interested in folks and her life was most fruitful with good deeds. She was an ideal neighbor and most exemplary personality. She was kindly in thought and generous in purpose and action toward all within the wide circle of her friendship. ED DELEHAN by Leah Davis Delehan Ed Delehan was born in Pennsylvania. His father came from Ireland. Ed worked on many cattle drives and large ranches. For awhile he and his first wife lived in Lemmon, South Dakota, where he operated a livery stable. He and his partner, Ben Ash, bought and sold lots of cattle that they had brought up from the south. Later Ed moved to Faith where he helped start the first bank. He was still in the livestock business. In 1912 he married Leah Davis and moved out to her claim, building one of the finest log houses around. He ranched here two years until his death due to an accident while branding cattle. He was struck in the eye by a steer's horn, and passed away a week later while being operated on in Aberdeen, South Dakota. Leah Davis Delehan was born September 15, 1883 in Noblesville, Indiana, where she grew to womanhood. She came to Faith in 1910 and took up homestead north of Faith, in Ziebach County. In 1912 she married Ed C. Delehan. They had one son, Edward. After Mr. Delehan died, Leah's mother, Kate Davis and brother Mark Davis moved from Edson, South Dakota and worked the ranch there till they passed away. Edward Delehan recently sold the ranch to the Ulrich brothers and he now resides in Sturgis, South Dakota. [photo – Ed Delehan ranch house] THE ALVIN DENTON FAMILY Alvin Denton of rural Dupree and Josephine Tracy of rural Lantry, South Dakota were married in Dupree, South Dakota in 1936. They have made their home in Dupree since. Alvin has been engaged in trucking, farming and construction work over the years. He still owns and operates a farm north of Dupree. [photo – Josephine and Alvin taken on their 40th wedding anniversary, 1976] They have five children, all who started and graduated from Dupree. James was born in 1938. He went to California after graduating from high school and was employed at Rocketdyne in Canoga Park, California. He enlisted in the Air Force which ended as a career. He was trained as a weatherman and was stationed in Japan and many other places in the far east. He married Takako Ishijima in Tokyo in 1963. They have two boys and live in New Baden, Illinois. He is stationed at Scott Air Force Base at the present time. Robert was born in 1941. After graduating from high school he was employed on the Minuteman Missile sites out of the Black Hills. He joined the army in 1964. He was stationed at Fort Walters, Texas and served eighteen months in Thailand. He married Mary Ann Jackson of Mineral Wells, Texas in 1965. They have five children and live in Dupree where Bob does construction work. Sandra was born in 1946. After graduating from high school she attended Black Hills State College for two years. She married Norman Erdman from Ralph, South Dakota in 1966. They live on a ranch near Ralph. They have two boys and one girl. Galen was born in 1954. After graduating from high school he attended Black Hills State for a year. He is now engaged in construction work and cabinet making. He is still living at home. Monte was born in 1959. He is attending South Dakota School of Mines in Rapid City, and is employed by Magnetic Peripherals in Rapid City. [photo – The Denton family. Back row: Robert, Monte, Galen, and Jim. Front: Sandy Alvin and Josephine] MOSE and ANNA DENTON FAMILY [photo – Mose and Anna Denton. Their wedding picture, taken in 1905] Mose Denton was born in Denton, Kansas in 1881 and Anna (Odden) Denton was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1880. They were married in Denton, Kansas in February 1905 and moved to a homestead at Herricks, South Dakota. Three of their children were born here -- Alvin in 1906, Beulah in 1908 and Lorene in 1910. In April of 1912 they moved by covered wagon to a homestead six miles northeast of Dupree, South Dakota, where they built their home. Here the three younger children were born -- Bernice in 1912, Ruby in 1914 and Doris in 1920. The children all attended Cloverleaf School which was located one mile east of their home, and the girls all attended high school in Dupree. Times were hard, money was scarce, but living on a farm there was always enough food for the family. Lots of canning of the food from the garden and wild berries from around the country. Our closest neighbors were Al and Ruby Martin, who lived about a mile and a half east and north of us. The Herman Eulberg's lived one mile south of us. Good friends and neighbors of ours were Carl and Hazel Anderson, A. G. Davis and his family, Frank and Mattie Ortmeyer and their five boys and one girl. We were all good friends and used to go to church together in Dupree. Living on the farm was a hard life, especially for the folks. There were lots of crop failures, hail, grasshoppers, dust storms, blizzards, but 1 would not trade those experiences for anything. In 1941 Mose purchased the Harry Mosher farm east of Dupree. They lived there until Mose died in 1951. Anna lived in Dupree and California until she died in 1957. Alvin married Josephine Tracy from Lantry, South Dakota in 1936. They have five children, and they now reside in Dupree. Beulah married Vernal Vance. They had three children. She is now married to Boyd Page and lives in Homeland, California. Lorene married Lawrence Vance, now deceased, and they had four children. Lorene now lives in a nursing home in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Their oldest daughter died at the age of 19 from a lingering illness. Bernice married Guy Landee. They had two daughters. After his death she married George Pittam and they live in Kamiah, Idaho. Ruby married James Goff. They have two children and live in Bellflower, California. Doris married James Clark. They have three children. James was killed in an auto accident. Doris lives in Downey, California. [photo – Denton family picture taken in 1941. Back row: Doris (22), Ruby (27), Bernice (29), Beulah (33), and Lorene (31). Front row: Mose, Anna and Alvin (35)] [photo – Mose and Anna Denton, taken in 1946] ROBERT DEAN DENTON FAMILY I was born May 18, 1941 in the old Creamer building in Dupree, South Dakota to Alvin and Josephine Denton. I was the second of five children. I went to the Dupree School all twelve years. I graduated in May of 1959. After graduation I worked construction work mostly in Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado and North and South Dakota. In 1963 I was drafted into the army. After basic I was stationed at Ft. Walters, near Mineral Wells, Texas. This is where I met and later married my wife, Mary Ann, on July 11, 1965. In August, 1965 I was sent to Thailand for four months, where I helped build large fuel tanks at an air base there. I was discharged from the army in December of 1965, then Mary Ann and I came back to Dupree where we still live. I've worked for different people since I came back, but in 1968 I formed my own construction business. I bought the old Hickenbotham building in 1975. We made an apartment in half of the building, where we live. It also houses the West River Progress and my shop and electric business. There also is an apartment upstairs that is usually rented to teachers. I have five children: Ronald, born in 1969 in Weatherford, Texas; Penni born in 1970 and Kristi born in 1976, at Pierre, South Dakota; Karen born in 1978 and Stephen born in 1979 at Mobridge, South Dakota. My wife, Mary Ann (Jackson) was born in Midway, Oklahoma, to Harlen and Grace Jackson on June 29, 1946. At the age of two she and her family moved to Mineral Wells, Texas where her Dad was stationed during World War II. She has one brother, James, living in Killen, Texas, and one sister, Eugenia Nixon, living in Mineral Wells, Texas. Mary Ann went all twelve years to school in Mineral Wells and graduated in May of 1965. EDWARD DIERMIER FAMILY written by Sharon Diermier Raile In 1910 William Diermier and his son Joe came from Bon Homme County by train to the Dupree area. Because it was so dry, they went back to Avon. The next year William and three of his children, Joe, Elsie and Ed came back to homestead 12 1/2 miles south of Dupree. Ed, our Dad, was about seven years old at the time. Dad spent his growing up years working for several different friends and neighbors. We remember most him talking about the time he worked for Ed Ritter. Dad met Mom (Martha Ehresmann) while she was staying with her brother and sister- in-law, Henry and Laura Ehresmann, who had homesteaded south of Dupree also. Mom and Dad were married September 5, 1938 in Wagner, South Dakota. Their first home was located just east of the Lutheran Church in Dupree. This is where they lived when their first two children, Richard and Ronald were born. It was during this time that Dad worked for the WPA while the Dupree School and the Courthouse were being built. Then they moved to a place 2 and 1/2 miles south of Dupree that we remember as the Gray place. They then moved to a location we knew as the Lee place. Their next home was the Klinchuch place where the three youngest children, Shirley, Sharon and James were born. Sharon and James were born at home because the snow was too deep for the horses to get through, so they couldn't get Mom to the hospital in Dupree. Then they moved 2 and 1/2 miles east to the home where we grew up. They lived there for the next 25 years. They lived in Dupree for the next five years, until they died in 1978. We all went to small country schools the same as all the farm family kids. Richard and Ronald attended the Whittler School for the first two years. They went the next six years to the White Swan School. Shirley, Sharon and James went all of their grade school years to the White Swan School, which was located 2 miles east of our home. We walked the two miles to and from school everyday. There was only one winter, when I was in the first grade, that Shirley and I stayed with the teacher at the school because the snow got too deep for us to walk through. Some of our classmates were, Cully Miller Family, Cliff Birkeland Family, Casey Miller Family, Donald Miller Family, Bill Fields Family and the Happy Herren Family. Our home was a two room house. At that time it didn't seem so small to us but I bet to Mom it was small. One room was a bedroom which had three beds. One of them was a rolla-way which we folded up each day for more room. The other room was the kitchen. One of the things we remember most about it was the gray paper ceilings which were replaced every year. It was heated with wood and coal. Then when Mom's family came for a visit from the southeastern part of South Dakota, there was never enough bedroom so all the kids slept on the floor. Sometimes we had kids sleeping from one end of the kitchen to the other. Wash day was always quite a day. It seems like the washing machine would never start. Mom would step on a handle to start the motor and sometimes it took all morning just to get it started. Then the exhaust hose had to hang out the window. I do remember Mom washing clothes on a scrub board. Then in the winter time there was always a kitchen full of frozen clothes hanging around until they were dry. The 4th of July was always a big event at our house. We would spend the morning hoeing and pulling the weeds out of the big potato patch. When we were done there was boughten ice cream and pop to celebrate. Richard, the oldest child, is married to Eleanor Freeman of Rapid City and they have three girls, Patty who is a freshman in high school, Jennifer in grade school, and Jessica, 1 month old. They live on the home place south of Dupree. Richard works at the Dupree Coop Station and does some farming and ranching. Ronald is married to Vivian Hall and they live in Albany, Oregon. They have 3 children, Ronnie, Sheila and Kimmie. Ron does cement work and has a few farm animals. It seems like he is still a farm boy at heart. Shirley is married to Jake Schuler of Eagle Butte. They now live in Gettysburg, South Dakota. They have three children, Jimmy, who is planning to go to college at Northern State in Aberdeen, Jeanie and Debbie who are both still in school. Jake delivers Cass- Clay products around Gettysburg. Shirley is a cook at the Gettysburg Memorial Hospital. I am married to August Raile of Ridgeview. We have four children, John who is now in the Air Force stationed in Italy, Mary plans to attend Northern State College in Aberdeen this fall, Andy and Danny are still in high school. August does farming and ranching and likes to do carpenter work when he can. I am a homemaker and assistant postmaster at Ridgeview. James is married to DiAnne Bown of Gettysburg. They have five children, Paula, Paige, Scott, Jamie and Andrea. James does construction work and they live in Ashby, Minnesota. [photo – Jim, Martha, Shirley, Ronald, Sharon, Richard, Ed] [photo – Ed Diermier home] [photo – Martha and Ed Diermier] JOE DIERMIER FAMILY Joe and Reka Diermier and son Ralph came to Ziebach County in September of 1911. They came from Bon Homme County in eastern South Dakota, where Joe owned and operated a livery stable. They filed their claim on land located 121/2 miles southwest of the townsite of Dupree and began the task of building their home. In January of 1914 this small family was joined by a baby daughter whom they named Myrtle. Those early years were very rough on the residents of the area as it was very difficult to keep afloat. But, I guess hard times is what helps to build character. Ralph and Myrtle spent their school years attending the Whittler School, which was located 2'/2 miles east of their home, on land belonging to a family called Leach. Also attending that same school were Jesse Miller, Henderson, Klinchuch, Wuennecke and Tupy children. They all endured the Dirty Thirties and then came the forties and World War II, into which Ralph was drafted and served for four long years. In 1944 Myrtle married George Gage at Pierre, South Dakota and they made their home on the family farm while Ralph remained in service. The Gage children are Harold (1945) and Mary (1946). Both arrived at Creamer Community Hospital and were attended by Dr. Creamer. Both Harold and Mary attended the Dupree schools. Joe and Reka retired from the farm in the 50's and moved into Dupree where they lived until their deaths, Joe (1957) and Reka (1975). Ralph and Myrtle operated the family holdings, which had grown into a sizable ranch, until their deaths in 1979. At the time of this writing, Harold is taking care of ranching interests which still include the family homestead and Mary has joined the world of high finance at The Farmers State Bank at Dupree. [photo – Back: Myrtle, Ralph, Reka, Joe. Front: Mary Gage, Harold Gage] DILLMAN--DOMINA Frances Domina and Mike Dillman were married in 1938 and made their home in Glad Valley. In 1942 they moved to Dupree where Mike was bulk station agent for Standard Oil for a year. They returned to Glad Valley and Mike served in World War II. Mike worked eleven years at the Elfrink General Store in Glad Valley, and in 1956 the family moved to Rapid City. He worked as service manager in several tire stores and finally for Pete Lien & Sons, Inc. Mike retired in 1975 for health reasons. He and Frances continue to live there. One son works in a bank in Denver, Colorado. JOHN DOCEKAL FAMILY by Lillie Lightfield In 1910, my dad, John, was taken up with the free land idea and home-steaded in Ziebach County, South Dakota. Dad came out alone and built a shack in early summer and my sister, Julia, came out in mid-summer to cook and help get the place in order. The Nebraska farm and equipment (where we had been living) was sold that winter and our household and personal things were loaded into an immigrant car. My brother, Raymond, traveled with the car and the rest of us went by train. What a trip! So exciting for school kids. I was ten at the time. We arrived in Dupree on December 28th, stayed in town overnight and drove out to the claim the next day. A gray, cold day.., not below zero, that came later, but not a real bright day that we might have appreciated. There we were, eight miles out from nowhere, it almost seemed. Dad got us unloaded and settled... packed was the better word. There were 7 people in a 2-room 10x12. Then Dad had to return to Dupree to wait for the immigrant car and my brother. They arrived December 3lst...a cold windy day, and that night the wind howled and snow drifted into the shack through every small crack. Mother and the girls tore up a pair of coveralls left by a carpenter and stuffed the strips in around the 2 x 4's where the roof came down, shutting out the snow and wind. The shack was covered with tar paper so it wasn't so bad once the air strips were closed off. On New Year's Day the men started moving out to the claim. Furniture was stored under a tent till spring and Dad built on another room. Then it was moved under a roof. Dad plowed a garden spot the next spring and broke out some acreage for crops. During the summer, the neighbors got together and formed a school district. The school house was built on school land, 2 miles north of our place and about 1/2 mile west. My sisters, Jane, Josie, and I walked to school to the Pretty Creek School. Lillian Jeffries was our first teacher. Her parents were also homesteaders and her father was a shoester in Dupree. Her younger sister, Ada, came to Pretty Creek also. I went there to school till I finished the 8th grade. Though the school house was struck by lightning and burned, the new school was built about a mile east on the corner of Fred Judson's ranch. There were, in my family, Dad, Mother (Marie), my sisters, Mary, Julia, Jane, and Josie, and one brother, Raymond. The older girls soon found employment in Dupree. Of my family, only Julia Frijouf (now living in Canada) and myself, Lillie (Ludmily) Lightfield are left. I make my home in Pierre where a doctor and hospital are available and cab service when family are all working. My oldest daughter, Mrs. Kenneth (Coral Jeffries lives in Ft. Pierre and she and her family take care of my many needs. My family all live in South Dakota except John (Wayne). He and his family are near Ijamsville, Maryland. Jim and Bernice live in Faith and have a ranch near Red Scaffold. Jim does trucking and Bernice is a dorm attendant at the Eagle Butte Boarding School. Emie and Viola live in Brookings. Both teach, Viola in the 4th grade and Emie in high school. Cora and Jeff are in Ft. Pierre. Jeff(Kay Jeffries) welds wherever the work field lies and Cora teaches. John (Wayne) works for the government and Ardath works in a doctor's office. Bill and Wanda live in Waubay. Bill is driving truck and traveling far distances. Wanda is Counselor at the Waubay School which burned in 1981. Now they keep school in any available place that is large enough to accommodate a class. Norman and Florence Schuler live in Eagle Butte where they operate a garage with the good help of their oldest son. Florence still works for the Bureau of Indian Affairs and enjoys her work. The adults there work with the ambulance service. I have 33 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. DOG WITH HORNS parts from Charles Dog With Horns to A.I.R.P. Dog With Horns married Sarah Turtle and lived in Bridger. Their children were Lillian, who married John Black Bull; Nellie, who married John Red Bull; and Charles Dog With Horns, who married Esther High Hawk. Sarah Turtle Dog With Horns raised her grandchildren, Emma, Paul, Luke, and Evan Black Bull after their mother, Lillian, died. Sarah later married Owns the Bear. Martha Beard is their daughter. The following was taken in part from an interview with Charles Dog With Horns in 1971. "Jonas Dog With Horns married Sara Turtle, a survivor of the Wounded Knee Massacre. At the time of 1900, they were up to Bismarck, North Dakota. They were hunting around, roaming around. The troops went up there and they got a steamboat. They put them in and hauled them down the river to the mouth of the Cheyenne River. So they camped there for a while and then they moved over there to Cherry Creek. They lived there for a while and then this reservation was surveyed for allotment at that time. My mother, her husband, my sister and myself, we got land on Hump Flat, 160 acres apiece. So they moved over here on Hump Flat and lived on their own land ever since that time. My father died. Then my mother got married again. I was raised on the Flat and then I moved and I got married here. I went to Rapid City Indian School for about nine years. Then I went to Cheyenne Agency boarding school three years. I came back and became a stockman. I got this FID (Federal Indians Department) cattle. That's the first cattle program on the reservation. And then the replacement program came, I was on that too. And then this rehabilitation program. We have to pay for the cattle, that 100 head, so we replace them back, ten every year. I raised cattle and horses. We had a ranch on Hump Flat. After I retired I moved here." DOMINA Otis and Edna Domina came from Valley, Nebraska in 1911 to homestead near Glad Valley, which was then known as Pickerville. In 1912 Otis became the mailman from Glad Valley to Isabel and served faithfully for eighteen years. His was the usual early day mode of travel, any way possible so that the mail could be delivered. Sometimes it was by horseback, or team and wagon, and finally in later years, by car. Otis was a kindly and generous hearted neighbor and was always willing to pick up grocery lists and money left in the patron's boxes, then deliver the box of groceries or whatever it might be, on the way home. In spite of snow, rain, wind or whatever the weather, the mail was delivered on all but three days during those years. Many times Otis came home late at night through deep snow and had to shovel a tunnel through the snow to get the team in the barn. Edna Domina often made the trips with team and wagon during the busy spring and summer seasons, taking the little children along. Edna Domina played the piano for dances in the early days. Her piano was loaded and hauled to the dance site. Some of the other musicians who played in the band were Carl Rest, a violin player, Chancey Beebe, and later, Jim Perlik, who was an accomplished violinist from Bohemia. Some barn dances were held at the Domina farm. In the early 1930's, Otis Domina and Dave Unterseher built a bowery at Glad Valley where dances were held for a time. Otis was a good and concerned citizen, active in soil conservation work in the County and served on District 13 school board for many years. He organized several baseball teams and played until later years. The first team was organized in 1912 and the Glad Valley team played Coal Springs on Memorial Day, 1912, their first game which they won! The three children, Lela, Frances and Shirley, rode horseback three and one-half miles to the Glad Valley School. At one time as many as fifty children attended. The school was the usual focal point for social activities. Community club meetings, dances, political rallies, card parties, pie and basket socials, elections and church meetings were held there. There were even a few funerals. The family lived and farmed on the ranch one and one-half miles west of Glad Valley until 1947 when they sold out and moved into Glad Valley. Edna Domina passed away suddenly in 1953 and Otis passed away in 1970. Their children are Mrs. Lela (John) Wilson and Mrs. Frances (Mike) Dillman, both of Rapid City; Mrs. Shirley (Harvey) Frederickson, Black Hawk; and Mrs. Alyce (Hugh) Brammer, Absarokee, Montana. Alyce is a foster daughter they raised from babyhood. A son, Walter, passed away in infancy. [photo – Otis and daughter Lela plowing] [photo – Mrs. Domina, Shirley, Frances, Lela and Otis Domina] CHARLES DONNENWIRTH FAMILY Mr. and Mrs. Charles Donnenwirth came to Ziebach County in 1910 and settled on NE 10-12-21. Charles served as clerk and agent for the Milwaukee Railroad from 1912 until 1947 when he retired and moved to Coeur d' Alene, Idaho. During the early days in Ziebach County, Mrs. Donnenwirth made bread for the bachelors in the area. Charles was very active in helping to organize Ziebach County from Armstrong. He was an active member of the I.O.O.F. Lodge and held a 50-year medal from that lodge. Both he and Mrs. Donnenwirth were active in the Methodist Church. The Donnenwirth children are as follows: Charles M., (deceased); Vernon, Faith, South Dakota; Edith Davis, San Gabriel, California; Evelyn Hogue, La Puente, California; Elsie Anderson, Hayden Lake, Idaho; Kenneth, Rapid City, South Dakota; Buzz, Rapid City, South Dakota; Bob, Lillian, Alabama; Lloyd, Tacoma, Washington; and Fatsy Bell, Coeur d' Alene, Idaho. FAYETTE and CECELIA DOUGLAS by granddaughter Jessie Young Fayette Douglas was born in 1882 at Fairmont, Minnesota. In 1906 he was married to Cecelia Siewerdsen at Sisseton, South Dakota. They arrived in Isabel in 1917 and located on a homestead southwest of Isabel, in Ziebach County. They brought with them one boy, Clarence, and four girls, Fern, Eloise, Gladys, and Evelyn. They lived in a one- room claim shack until Grandpa was able to build a four-room house. The children walked 3 miles to the Grondahl School. Some others who attended the school at this time were the Grondahl's and the Lindskov's. One of the teachers was Miss Reine Prouty. On February 2, 1923, another daughter was born, Edna. They lost a lot of their sheep and some of their cattle when a bad storm hit the 18th of March. The drifts were tall and the kids enjoyed a lot of sledding and ice skating. Grandma and Dan Patch (an old Indian pack horse) took the Douglas's and the neighbor's kids on many picnics into the brakes to a place known as the "Hell Hole". Dan Patch didn't need a bridle or halter and once he spoiled dessert by stepping in the pie. They then left their homestead and moved on to the Gunder Pladsen place where they took care of a herd of milk cows. At this time the children attended the Wilson School with the Wenzel's and Stein children. The teacher was Sadie Van Gerpen. Sometime later Grandpa and Grandma lived north of Isabel. At this time Clarence passed away and Evelyn graduated from Isabel High School. They spent the remainder of their life in Isabel. I remember spending a week most every summer with them. The Douglas children are: Clarence Douglas (deceased); Fern (Prouty) Erickson, Portland, Oregon; Eloise Dearborn (deceased); Gladys Wright, Glenswood, Oregon; Evelyn Roesler, Mobridge, South Dakota; and Edna Isley, Greenleaf, Wisconsin. [photo – Douglas girls and friends] [photo – Fay and Cecelia Douglas] [photo – Emma Norine; Irene, Alice, Clara Grondahl; Fern, Eloise Douglas; Ingeborg, Olga, Edna Rekstad. School mates, 1923]