Archie Logan discusses deadhead logs; where log marks were recorded; the lengths of logs; how logs were loaded on railroad cars; most prevalent species of timber; cedar yards around Kelliher; the logging railroad from Nebish to Red Lake; where logging took place in the mid-1880s; the logging railroad out of Crosslake; the narrow-gauge line at Gull Lake; smallpox in the lumber camps; quarantine in a lumber camp; and the source of the Mississippi. Leonard Dickinson is also part of the conversation. The recording is part of a series, continued from BCHS 115a, BCHS 115b, and BCHS 079a, and continued in BCHS116a and BCHS 116b.
Otterstad discusses his family's arrival in the Turtle River area in 1900; the early buildings of Turtle River; the logging industry; the town of Farley; the Red Lake-Leech Lake Indian trails; and early Turtle River newspapers. This record contains parts of multiple interviews. Please refer to the transcripts for help understanding these.
The interview with Charles William Vandersluis (CWV) was conducted by his son, Dr. Charles Wilson Vandersluis, on an unrecorded date in an unrecorded location. Vandersluis describes traveling through northern Minnesota as a hardware salesman for Janney, Semple, & Hill Company starting in 1901. He discusses traveling by foot and train, including a description of a stopping place outside Little Fork, Minnesota. He describes selling to logging companies and mercantile stores. He also describes the early buildings and businesses of towns like Farley, Turtle River, Red Lake, Solway, and Redby, Minnesota. He describes the early days of Brainerd, including building the Central School and Episcopal Church. The interview continues in BCHS 029b.
Elsie Mae Willsey discusses her father's life before coming to the area; her father's choice of homestead ending up far from the railroad; her first trip to Big Turtle Lake from Chicago in 1901; what they did for fun; mosquitoes and bedbugs; her friendship with Martha Miersch; their sock and stocking bazaar; early residents of Turtle River; the town water pump; the railroad coming to Turtle River; her father building boats; a description of her father; who cared for her father in his final years; her father catching 11 fish for dinner; their roothouse; salting fish; and how Movil Lake got its name. The recording, clearly dated September 19, 1952, is continued in bchs119b.
Four part interview with surveyor Euclid "Ernie" Bourgeois discusses the logging industry, S.C. Bagley, spur 75, Red Lake steamers, platting and civil engineering, recollections of Farley and Turtle River, histories of local railroads, Markham Hotel, and early Bemidji saloons' involvement with railroads. In part 2, Bourgeois discusses his early memories of Bemidji and Buena Vista, early Bemidji infrastructure, platting and civil engineering, Marcus D. Stoner, the town site of Turtle, and his work on spur 75. In later portions, Bourgeois discusses the evaluation of local land for dairy production and/or clover or seed; logging on Clearwater River; his experience with the Brainerd Lumber Company near LaSalle Lake and log unloading during winter; whether logs were driven on the Mississippi; spreading clover seed on drive to Baudette; name of cruisers for whom creeks might be named; knowledge of surveyor Thomas H. Croswell, plats of small settlements in the area; naming of Buena Vista and plats of Tenstrike, Hidewood, Kelliher, Funkley, and Dexter; the Red Lake Transportation Company; how Bemidji business owners chipped in to induce a railroad to come to town; surveying for a railroad near the Blakeslee farm; breaking out to survey on his own; recollection of the Delphine post office; the Red Lake-Leech Lake trail; early history of Lavinia; platted communities of Jens Opsahl; early history of Grand Forks Bay; and comparing old Nebish to modern Nebish.
Borgerding discusses early non-Catholic churches in the Red Lake area, the Red Lake-Leech Lake Trail, early mills in the Redby area, Moose Dung and the legal battle among his heirs over his land at Thief River Falls, his acquaintance with the Meehan brothers, steamboats on Red Lake, his acquaintance with Joe Jerome, his acquaintance with Bob Neving and his wife, his knowledge of Father Gilfillan, the Episcopal mission west of Cass Lake and the couple who lived there, and biographical information about Father Roman Homar and his great-uncle, Father Pierz.
George Kerr and Charlie Wight discuss railroad management; the railroad's engines; Pine Tree Lumber Company; the St. Anthony Lumber Company; a line to Moccasin Lake; a wagon road from Lothrop to Emily; various landing works; Spur 75; the Brainerd and Northern Minnesota railroad; railroad landings; area train wrecks; the railroad's survey through a residential area of Bemidji; Turtle River; and Tenstrike. Kerr appears to be reading from a document written by himself earlier. The interview is continued from BCHS120a.
The interview with Henry Kolden was conducted by Dr. Charles Vandersluis on an unrecorded date in an unrecorded location, probably Blackduck, Minnesota. Kolden discusses arriving in Blackduck, in 1901 and building and operating a grocery and hardware store. He describes Marcus D. Stoner's efforts to establish Blackduck and the area's early hotels, saloons, churches, attorneys, doctors, and hospital. He describes the myth of Ojibwe Chief Blackduck. He explains that Summit Avenue is located close to the Great Divide. He also describes meeting attorney Henry Funkley for the first time and the activities of traveling salesman. The interview is continued in BCHS 020b, BCHS 130a/b, and BCHS 131a/b.
The interview was conducted by Dr. Charles Vandersluis on an unrecorded date in at the hardware store of James Madison Reid in Glendora, California. Reid discusses selling merchandise in Blackduck, Minnesota from 1901 to 1920. He describes methods of transportation and hauling good in the early days. He also discusses selling to loggers and describes local surveyor Marcus D. Stoner. He describes early businesses including the cedar industry. He also describes developing the Blackduck Cooperative Creamery as logging activities waned. He also describes the near bankruptcy of Beltrami County and how counties were divided.
The interview with John Van House was conducted by Dr. Charles Vandersluis on an unrecorded date in an unrecorded location, probably Kelliher, Minnesota. Van House discusses living in Fosston, Solway, and Turtle River, Minnesota starting in about 1892, 1903, and 1906, respectively. He also discusses old village of Turtle versus the later village of Turtle River. He discusses early saloons, hotels, churches, and schools in those areas. He also discusses working in a livery barn and as a saloonkeeper. The interview continues in BCHS 059b.
Kate Hines Erickson is interviewed by an unknown man with Dr. Charles Vandersluis present. Vandersluis refers to man with something rhyming with "rig," possibly Marvin J. Briggs of the Bemidji Pioneer. Erickson discusses where her parents were from and when and where they settled; how her uncle conceived of the Farmer-Hines Railroad; her recollection of the land as a child; her early work for the Crookston Lumber Company; being transferred to Shevlin-Hixon at Blind River, Ontario; whether she remembered the Bemidji mill; the 1924 fire at the Bemidji mill; where lumber milled at Bemidji came from; working for Weyerhaeuser for 9 years; how much lumber Minnesota produced; where Leonard Carpenter might be; how the plant's closing affected Bemdiji; jobs that she said native people preferred; how the Canadian lumber company hired eastern Europeans to build the mill; and Finnish nobility who came to Canada to learn the trade. This record contains parts of multiple interviews. Please refer to the transcripts for help understanding these.
The first interview, with Ralph White, was conducted by Dr. Charles Vandersluis on an unrecorded date in an unrecorded location. White discusses moving to Aitkin County, Minnesota in about 1904. He also discusses logging, farming, and living in Wadena County, Minnesota. The interview continues from a brief mention at the end of BCHS 058a. The majority of the recording is a discussion with a group of unidentified narrators, conducted by Dr. Charles Vandersluis on an unrecorded date in an unrecorded location. The group discusses railroads including the Minnesota Duluth & Western Railway, the Cut Foot Sioux Branch, the Minneapolis & International Railway, the Virginia Rainy Lake Railway, and others. They also discuss logging camps at spurs 29 and 53. They also discuss logging near Blackduck, Minnesota and Turtle River, Minnesota. The final portion of the recording is a fragment of an interview with an unidentified narrator, conducted by an unidentified interviewer on an unrecorded date in an unrecorded location. The interview does not provide substantial information.
