This sound clip highlights the history of the John Halvorson family of Jadis Township and the Andrew O Erickson family of Skagen Twp. The Roseau County Historical Society prepared this radio script to share county history through broadcasts on KJ102 FM in Roseau. The topics highlight the history of Roseau County and the people that lived there.
The first interview, with Arthur E. Morgan, was conducted by Dr. Charles Vandersluis on an unrecorded date in an unrecorded location, probably Yellow Springs, Ohio. Arthur E. Morgan discusses working as a surveyor in Beltrami County and Itasca County, Minnesota in 1902 to 1903. He describes encountering unique natural features in Minnesota like rapidly growing poplar trees and a magnetic declination. He provides a white perspective on Ojibwe, Dakota, and other Indigenous people. He also describes his work with developing rural communities and recommending a rural university program in India. The interview is continued from BCHS 031a. The second interview, with Helen Lidstrom (Mrs. Hadley L.) Bean, was conducted by Dr. Charles Vandersluis on an unrecorded date in an unrecorded location. Helen Bean discusses her parents immigrating from Sweden in the late 1860s and her childhood near Hastings, Minnesota. She also describes her family giving up her grandfather's homestead when he was killed in a hunting accident. She describes some of her family members as working as a maid, a blacksmith, and a farmer.
Harriet Villemin Cameron discusses a lumberjack named Big Mike; feeding logging crews; the wild town of Tenstrike and a murder there; her memories of Henry Funkley; the couple she got her furniture from; and Grandma Carson. Dr. Vandersluis reads the text of deeds to her land. Previous interviews are found in BCHS 054a and BCHS 054b. In the second part of the recording, Cameron's brother, Louis Villemin, discusses his arrival in Bemidji; his arrival in Porterville, California; his homestead in northern Minnesota; his horses, Billy and Prince; and the Dewey battle on Lake Bemidji. The recording, dated December 1953, is continued in bchs103b. Villemin was speaking from Porterville, California, probably via telephone.
Van House, John; Miller, Anna E.; Saltnes, Josie Hanson
Date Created:
1950 - 1959
Description:
The first interview, with John Van House, was conducted by Dr. Charles Vandersluis on an unrecorded date in an unrecorded location. Van House discusses a boat that was lent to Ojibwe people near Waskish around 1916 and was used for hauling liquor. He also describes a sawmill. The interview is continued from BCHS 059a and BCHS 059b. The second interview, with Anna E. Miller, was conducted by Dr. Charles Vandersluis on an unrecorded date in 1953 in an unrecorded location. Miller discusses the fire in Kelliher, Minnesota around 1913. She also discusses the Kelliher Mercantile Company, the area's old settler's organization, and deadheading logs on Bullhead Lake. She also mentions working for the post office starting in 1918 and serving as postmaster from 1920 to 1934. The final interview, with Josie Hanson Saltnes, was conducted by Dr. Charles Vandersluis on an unrecorded date in an unrecorded location. Josie Hanson Saltnes discusses teaching at the Park School in Solway, Minnesota in 1907 and 1908, then Foy, Minnesota in about 1909 to 1912, and again at Foy in 1915 or 1916. She describes attending summer school, boarding with neighbors, surviving a forest fire in 1908, and eating at a logging camp. She also describes the store at Foy and a location called Jerome. She also describes interactions between white settlers and Ojibwe people, including Ojibwe people camping near the store at Foy and selling corn there. The interview continues in BCHS 072b.
The first interview is with Josie Hanson Saltnes, and was conducted by Dr. Charles Vandersluis on an unrecorded date in an unrecorded location. Josie Hanson Saltnes discusses teaching at the Park School in Solway, Minnesota in 1907 and 1908, then Foy, Minnesota in about 1909 to 1912, and again at Foy in 1915 or 1916. She describes boarding with neighbors and getting mail delivered by stage from Blackduck, Minnesota. She also describes several photographs including a picnic and a school photo. She also describes interactions between white settlers and Ojibwe people, including how Ojibwe people camped near the store in Foy and interacted with white people on the reservation. The interview is continued from BCHS 072a. Late in the interview, an unidentified man describes traveling to a homestead without enough provisions, with a companion who gets drunk and freezes to the bottom of a boat. He also discusses Bridgie, Minnesota. The second interview is with an unidentified man, called Bill late in the recording. The unidentified narrator discusses traveling to Bagley, Minnesota in 1897 or 1898. He also discusses logging for Jim Sherry and caring for his team. He also describes running a general store and interacting with loggers.
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.
The interview with Alvah G. Swindlehurst was conducted by an unknown interviewer on an unrecorded date in an unrecorded location. Swindlehurst discusses growing up near Hubbard Prairie and Wadena, Minnesota in the late 1800s. He describes working in the newspaper business for 20 years in Wadena, then moving to Cass Lake, Minnesota in 1914 to be the registrar of the U.S. Land Office, then becoming postmaster in Cass Lake in 1934. He provides a history of the Scanlon Gipson Mill near Cass Lake, the Morris Act for forest conservation, and fur trading. He also describes interactions between white people and Ojibwe people, including trading posts, treaties, Bishop Whipple's missionary activities, and settler interactions. The interviewer mentions that he's seeking testimony to support Native American attorneys in court.
Archie Logan and Leonard Dickinson discuss how lumberjacks were recruited; what lumberjacks did in their free time; Sundays in the lumber camp; salesmen in the camps; Catholic sisters in the camps; lumberjack sky pilot Frank Higgins; where settlers came from; Indian agents; Redby; John G. Morrison, Jr., and his collection; Indian Paul; early Buena Vista; Dickinson's father's box company; getting cheated of payment; and eminent domain. The recording is part of a series, continued from BCHS 115a, BCHS 115b, BCHS 079a, and BHCS 079b, and continued in BCHS 116b.
Archie Logan and Leonard Dickinson discuss Durand Township; logging around Crookston; Weyerhaeuser logging; mills in Bemidji; the murders of Nicolai and Aagot Dahl; George Cyr shooting Paul Fournier; and an old Hudson Bay Company building. The recording is the final part of a series, continued from BCHS 115a, BCHS 115b, BCHS 079a, BCHS 079b, and BCHS 116a.
Archie Logan discusses mosquitoes; when he first came to the area; the source of the Mississippi; driving logs at Deer River; saloonkeepers taking advantage of lumberjacks; staying with the Native American man John Smith; coming to Bemidji in 1896; and taking a homestead. The recording is dated March 3, 1952. It is part of a series, continued in BCHS 115b, BCHS 079a, 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.
Charles Lemuel (Charlie) Slough and Christian Hoines discuss Slough coming to Bemidji in 1901; what Bemidji looked like at the time; what Nary looked like at the time; many local residents; fires at Nary; a story about Slough's father sleeping in a rut in the road; Slough's father losing his gun in the lake; Al Jester; who was logging around Nary; how much money loggers made; rocks in the ground; early days on Slough's homestead; how companies acquired timber land; logging companies selling land to a land company; S. D. [Samuel Dallas] Works selling land; and a large sheep operation. The recording is continued from bchs106a.
Charles L. Slough and Christian Hoines discuss S. D. [Senator Samuel Dallas] Works and a sheep operation; when and where Slough was born; how Slough's parents came to St. Cloud from Ohio; his parents homesteading near St. Cloud; his parents' sales of venison; his father losing money working on a log drive; his parents' shanty; wildlife; his father fostering nephews and nieces; Cass Lake in 1901; and taking his homestead. The recording is continued in bchs106b.
The interview with Claud Fish was conducted by an unidentified interviewer on an unrecorded date in an unrecorded location. Claud Fish discusses travelling through Bena, Deer River, Moose Lake, and Island Lake, Minnesota in 1901. He also discusses moving there in 1902 to homestead and building a house. He also discusses toting goods from Bena, Minnesota and working in the logging industry. The interview is the third in a series, beginning in BCHS 070a and continuing in BCHS 070b, and finishing in BCHS 071a.
The first interview, with Claud Fish, was conducted by Dr. Charles Vandersluis on May 27, 1955, in an unrecorded location. Fish describes a series of photographs from near Northome, Minnesota including at Bowstring Lake and his homestead on Island Lake. He discusses laying railroad lines, the Itasca Logging Company, and J. P. Sims. He also discusses how Ojibwe people lived and processed wild rice near Island Lake. The interview is the fourth in the series, continuing from BCHS 070a, BCHS 070b, and BCHS 069a. The second part of the recording is an interview with Emma Knutson [Mrs. Mike Knutson], conducted by Dr. Charles Vandersluis on July 2, 1955, in an unrecorded location. Knutson discusses arriving in Big Fork, Minnesota in 1902. She describes toting goods by foot and later traveling by train. She also describes mail delivery by dog team from Marcell, Minnesota. The third part 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 of unidentified narrators discuss logging in northern Minnesota around 1900. They discuss the Clearwater Logging Company's camp near Pinewood, Minnesota. They also discuss the Bagley dam, timber sales, and how T. B. Walker acquired his timber holdings. This portion of the recording continues on BCHS 071b. The final portion of the recording is an interview with an unidentified narrator (possibly referred to as Charlie in BCHS 071b), conducted by an unidentified interviewer, possibly Dr. Charles Vandersluis, on an unrecorded date in an unrecorded location. The unidentified narrator discusses how a logging company would prepare its ox teams in St. Cloud, Minnesota to go up north in the 1880s. He also discusses the tornado at St. Cloud, Minnesota on April 14, 1886. This portion of the recording continues on BCHS 071b.
Edna Dunham (Mrs. Jack) Essler discusses where she was born and how her family first came to St. Peter, Minnesota; her grandfather's livestock business; her first teaching jobs at Traverse des Sioux, Lake Washington, Kasota, and Cleveland; working at Kerr's Department Store in Minneapolis; going with her friend, Miss Lula Rickmire, to stay at her homestead claim in Itasca County; buying her own relinquishment in Itasca County; what Farley and Blackduck looked like when she first went through; going up to her own homestead for the first time; her and Miss Rickmire's encounter with a bear; meeting her husband; teaching a country school near her claim; buying her land; getting married at Blackduck; what Bemidji looked like in 1902; and early doctors in Bemidji. The recording is continued in bchs087b.
Edna Dunham (Mrs. Jack) Essler discusses Rev. Frank Higgins; Rev. McCloud; whether she remembered early Bemidji businesses; consolidation of Nymore; early Bemidji residents she remembered; Rev. Zoll; Rev. Blair; early Bemidji infrastructure; the first cars in Bemidji; early women's organizations; the exceptional people of Hines; boats on Lake Bemidji; her first cabin in Bemidji; and traveling up to her homestead. The recording is continued from bchs087a.
Elsie Mae Willsey discusses landing a 20-pound muskie; her father's place on Three-Island Lake; and some of the furniture her father made. The recording, clearly dated September 19, 1952, is continued from bchs119a.
Dr. Vandersluis reads about the origin of Cutfoot Sioux and a conflict between the Sioux and Ojibwe. George Kerr and Charlie Wight talk about the narrow-gauge railroad between Gilpatrick Lake and Spider Lake; a woman talks about coming to Hackensack from Brainerd in 1894; Kerr describes Lothrop. The group discusses the location of Steamboat Landing; spurs and landings between Walker and Bemidji; and sinkholes in the area. Edna Essler describes coming up to her claim. A man describes an adventure as a child visiting his grandparents' homestead and returning home again. Other participants in the conversation include a man named Howard, probably Howard Newcomb.
The interview is with a man, probably Gus A. Anderson. A woman is also present, possibly a niece. Anderson discusses when he first came up into the Bigfork area for hunting; coming up to claim a homestead with a friend in 1902; how he made money while proving up; the lumber camps he worked for; early Canadians driving the Big Fork River; Busticogan helping ill surveyors; who was logging the Bigfork area in the early 1900s; a hoist at Craig; the Farm Camp logging camp; how they got supplies; where sawmills were; and logging his own timber.
Harry Carlson discusses businesses in early Bemidji; the early Bemidji Pioneer newspaper; El Carson losing his grocery store; early doctors; helping Doc Henderson stitch up a man's wound; being in the Great Northern wreck of 1898; Tom Joy's homestead; Freeman Doud; the athletic field; early cemeteries; the early jail; and Charlie Miles. The interview is continued from BCHS 104a. The recording is dated June 1955.
Henry Kolden discusses a man named Olson who was not a good lumberjack; what log drivers wore on their feet; how logs were marked; the route between Red Lake Agency and Fosston; the distance covered a day on a log drive; preventing logjams; who owned the timber; how they sharpened their axes; his regret in bringing his gun on his first trip to the area; lumberjack sky pilot Frank Higgins; hobos at Grand Forks; rain in 1896 washing out a log drive; selling his homestead; moving into Blackduck to start a store; and hauling supplies for the Langor schoolhouse. The recording is continued from BCHS 020a/b and BCHS 130a/b, and continues in BCHS 131a/b.
An unknown narrator discusses Klondike and the directions of different roads. Henry Holden discusses different stopping places; traveling with Langord to look for timber near Red Lake; Joe Juneau; squatting on his homestead land; W. R. Spears' store and hotel on the Red Lake reservation; boats on the Thief River; large timber around Nebish; the Jack Mealey camp; and the Arpin family. The recording is continued from BCHS 020a/b, BCHS 130a/b, and BCHS 131a.
Henry Lucius Carter and his daughter-in-law, Josephine Knutson (Mrs. Cass) Carter, discuss some of his cruising instruments; when he quit timber cruising; surveying; making errors when surveying; using compasses near iron ore deposits; who he worked for; evaluating different areas; and whether he ever homesteaded. The recording is dated June 8, 1952. It is continued from bchs077a.
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.
