Text of Ziebach Co., SD History (1982) - pages 440 - 459 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, . 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.