Reply to Picture
From Bob Hosmer (’56): Lynnwood, WA.
The Westerman girl in the picture Dick Johnson sent is Bertha Westerman. I believe she’s the younger of the two sisters. They had a younger sister, Imogene, who lived with my wife and me for a short time when I was in seminary. Bob Hosmer
Turtle Mountain Home
Posting from Vickie Metcalfe (’70): Bottineau, ND
Gary and friends,
Wintering in ND returns me to fond Turtle Mountain memories.
Recollecting early memories of going to my Turtle Mountain Home; was the journey by rear wheel drive car or the black Ford pickup driven by my dad. Rain, shine, or freezing cold, Dad always kept his window rolled down and his elbow folded over the door. Mom sat in the passenger seat, my sister and I either stood on the ‘bump’ or sat on the seat between them.
Old Highway Number 3 wound around lakes, sloughs and creeks, up, down, and over the tree covered hills about 10 miles North of Dunseith
Finally, we’d see the Oliver Handeland farm to the right; Dad would say, ‘Here go up the ‘Jim Smith Hill’.”
Then we were on the flat homestead meadow. Slowing, Dad stuck his arm out to signal right.
The car turned at ‘Snoose’ Box Junction. A mile East in the distance one could see another Oak hill, the road curved by the Carlson Farm sitting across the road from the Seim Farm. I’d look to see if Kingfra (aka Art) and Fafa’s (aka Eva’) windmill was turning, or if it was later in the day watch to see their warm twinkling lights. It was always a warm welcoming neighborly feeling.
Another mile, another curve, over a coulee, east well, and up the ‘big’ hill to the mail box.
Nestled turning south, down under a hill among the trees and hazel brush; Oak, Poplar, Bam, American Elm, Paper Birch, Pin cherry, Chokecherry, Juneberry and brush which dominated, protected and sheltered our humble dwelling from the North winds.
We were told, it was a cold winter day, a short few years before,leaving mom and my sister snug with his in-laws; Dad had walked south cross country south from Grandpa and Grandma Lamb’s on highway #43; through the woods in three foot deep snow. They used their savings accumulated by dad’s plastering in Washington, to buy the little farmstead from Bill Childs who had purchased it from John Randon. (I believe Bill Childs wife was related to Lude Peterson. Lude and Lily for a time lived across the road before moving to Spokane.) Mom, Dad and my sister lived the spring and summer in one of the little houses by Kelvin Store before Bill Childs and his son moved out. Of course, Dad knew all these people previously whilst living with the Seim family.
A small one bedroom house covered with brick tarpaper with homemade wood rain gutters, faced south with an entry room attached on the east. The entry room housed a big wood box beside steep stairs that led down below the kitchen to the cellar. Under a mirror sat a white enamel water basin on the dry sink.
Over the wood box on a shelf stood a water bucket and a communal dipper. It did not have indoor plumbing. One day I climbing up over the wood in the box for a drink, I pulled the whole cold water bucket over me. Along with the shock of cold water wakeup call I also got a swift spank on my behind!
Around a corner, into the small kitchen was an Admiral fridge and combination wood-electric stove, On the east wall over another brick chimney hung a Murphy table. Mom would pull that table down to prepare food and for meals. The floor covering was linoleum.
Mom, only used ‘Dakota Maid’ flour purchased at Hosmer Store or Lucien and Hannah Bedard’s Red Owl in Dunseith. Mom used egg money to buy staples for the little pantry behind the Murphy table. One chore for us as children was washing the eggs and putting into the crate. Sometimes she sold the eggs at Kelvin.
The dining room/living room were kept cozy with a parlor oil burner, foldout couch, farm table and chairs, all the furniture came with the house when it was purchased.
Between the living room and the one bedroom hung a huge floor to ceiling mirror backed by closets and shelves. Whenever our cousins came we had fun with antics and that mirror!
My sister , I, and Prince Albert became expert cigarette makers using a cigarette maker which given to Dad who smoked heavily after WWII.
The house was not equipped with a hot water heater but, lots of firewood cut in deep winter by dad and Barney and brought home by the team of Prince and Corky.
The wood sat and dried out to cure until late summer. Then long lengths of wood would be pushed and cut into smaller pieces by several neighbor fellows through a saw mounted on the front of a ?B John Deere. Early September brought a hard working pair; the Gunville brothers who split all the wood in a timely manner, a huge mountain of split firewood.
Mom using a wringer washing machine washed clothes usually early in the week I seem to think it was Monday, that was the day she’d bake 14 loaves of bread.
It seemed the job of washing clothes took the greater part of a day. Mom heated water on the combination wood electric stove
We girls loved to push the clothes carefully through the wringer flattening the clothes and pushed out excess water .
Mom carried the laundry out the back door to the clothesline which was hitched between two oak trees.
How I loved cold winter days when there was fresh warm bread, butter, chokecherry jelly and cocoa or eggnog made by us girls.
My sister and I beat the mixture, turning a hand beater; eggs, sugar, vanilla, and milk aroma smelled delish! Yummy eggnog! Mom would make us take turns. When it was my turn, mom would place the bowl on a kitchen chair, I’d be on my tippy toes, cracking eggs, reaching and turning that beater. My sister was forever hollering, “Mom, she did not beat the egg’s enough! “Mom! Egg shells!
……. Well maybe the eggnog was kinda, sorta slimy, but I was determined to have my turn and I thought I was good at beating eggs.
Later in the day, before evening milking chores, mom would gather and bring clothes in from the line. We girls felt it was especially funny watching her carry under her arm quite stiff, long, and frozen dad’s big union suit! The frozen sheets of laundry smelling so wondrously fresh and clean was set to be ironed or hung to dry further.
I know, I will never be as tough as my parents or those of the Greatest Generation. Too much, I enjoy my front wheel drive, indoor plumbing, electric heat, laundry room etc.
Long gone are those days of yesteryear. I will continue to keep memories close to keep me warm on these cold N.D. winter days.
Until Later.
Vickie Metcalfe
Stuck in the 50’s
http://safeshare.tv/w/FEDEwZHZXu
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Blog (536) posted on August 31, 2009
Posted on August 31, 2009
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From Jeanmarie (Jean) Abrahamson (65): Denver, CO
Hi Gary! Folks, I had a wonderful visit with Jeanmarie this morning. She has been on dialysis for a few months now. Things have been pretty rough for her the last while. She has been struggling, but she is hanging in there. She has lost about a third of her body weight and she was not heavy to begin with. She currently weighs about 100 lbs. She can be reached at her email address listed above. For those of you wishing to call her, please let me know so I can give you her phone number. I know she’d love to hear from some of you folks. She mentioned she had just talked to her mother a short time before I called.
Jeanmarie, Now that you have a computer, I have you back on our distribution list. Please keep us posted with your situation. Hang in there, you are on the upswing now. Gary First Cousins and DHS class mates of 65:
Reply from Florence Pladson Sime: Dunseith, ND
Gary, in response to my brother talking about my brother David. We were snowed in so our aunt Adeline Olson met dad at the main road and took my mother and David to Botno. They got to doctor Malveys office and Adeline went in and the doctor came out to the car and he told them to get David to the hospital and he died in route. He had pnemonia and there was 3 more of us that had it. Florence, As I remember you guys were living on the Zieman place west of Salem Church up in the hills when David died. Those were some mighty tough years for you guys. Adeline Pladson Olson was your Dad’s sister. Gary 2009 Alaska Cruise:
Question from Lois Tweten: Helena MT
Hi Gary, You certainly have a lot of wonderful information! Thanks to you and Bev Morinville Azure for adding me to your list/blog even tho I don’t know many folk. But…I do have a question. In the 40’s 1942-49 when I lived on Ohmer street – a block North on the East side of the hospital…two houses to the North, on the corner, Johnnie and I played with Smallie Houle…Do you know who that is now? Maybe you do Neola? We played with Dennis Langehoud, Billy Sauscer (spelling is all wrong). But after my Dad, Kenneth Tweten died, and Mom married Harold Skjervem we moved away and then I’ve lost touch with so many until this Dunseith blog. Thanks for any information… An old Bottineau classmate until 1949, in my 4th grade. Lois Tweten
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