The discussion with a group of unidentified narrators was conducted by Dr. Charles Vandersluis on an unrecorded date in an unrecorded location. The group of unidentified narrators discusses sawmills, saloons, railroads, logging, lumber companies, and mail delivery in near Bemidji, Minnesota in the early 1900s. They also discuss how to scale a tree and a location called Brush Shanty near Alvwood, Minnesota.
Wellington Schroeder discusses establishing a dam at Bemidji with the Warfield brothers; the building he built with Julius Miller; building another building and how much contractors were paid; being in a financial wreck; his first homestead; Clarence Speelman; taking a Beltrami County exhibit to the state fair; organizing the county fairgrounds; a saloon-keeper at Tenstrike who wanted to take road contracts; and getting stuck in a storm with a team of horses. The interview is continued from BCHS 105b. In the second part of the recording, Peter Rudolph Peterson tells of the life of lumberjack sky pilot Frank Higgins; how they met; Higgins' death; and Higgins' conversion of John Sornberger. The interview continues in BCHS 084b.
Archie Logan discusses wages, room, and board as a logger; what loggers ate in lumber camps; logging accidents and health care available to injured loggers; lumberjack sky pilot Frank Higgins; what the Native Americans in the area ate; whether Native Americans got a fair deal for their lumber; how the lumber industry cruised forests for the best timber early on; traveling to Buena Vista by steamboat; stagecoaches; Freeman Doud; Tom Joy; early logging around Red Lake; steamboats used to haul timber on lakes; the volume of logs put in the river from Red Lake depending on conditions; how a sorting works operated; and deadhead logs. Leonard Dickinson is also part of the conversation. The recording is part of a series, continued from BCHS 115a and BCHS 116b, continuing in BCHS 079b, BCHS 116a, and BCHS 116b.
Archie Logan discusses what government scrip was; proving up on his homestead; living in Buena Vista; the saloon business at Buena Vista; hotels in Buena Vista; liveries; the first logging railroads in the area; quitting work for Richards; horse teams pulling locomotives up to the area; and a gunfight at a saloon. Leonard Dickinson is also part of the conversation and becomes the interviewer at the end. The recording is dated March 3, 1952. It is part of a series, continued from BCHS 115a and continued in BCHS 079a, BCHS 079b, BCHS 116a, and BCHS 116b.
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.
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.
Lillian French Baney discusses where her parents came from; her early life in Lincoln, Nebraska, and the St. Cloud area; her family's arrival at Bagley; their early situation at Four-Legged Lake; her father's efforts to organize the township and a school; the bachelors who tried to run a store on their property; her father's acquisition of the store and commission of a post office; the mail route from Bagley; Henry How's stopping place; a group of Frenchmen who stayed at her family's stopping place during a rumored Native American uprising; the Noonan lumber camp; Dr. McKinnon and Dr. Gilmore; a Native American campground on their claim; the brothel at Klondike; penalties for providing liquor to a Native American; Mrs. Henry How's reputation; wanigans near Bob Neving's place; and Clearwater Dam. The recording, dated October 3, 1955, is continued in bchs088b.
Peter R. Peterson discusses lumberjack sky pilot Frank Higgins' conversion of John Sornberger; how Higgins helped a lumberjack escape from the grips of the saloon; how he got interested in music; his first time playing in a band; playing for a municipal band in Bemidji; a man named Business Bill; the Star Theater; starting his own band in Bemidji; and helping Mr. Arnold get back on his feet. The recording is continued from bchs084a.
