Happy birthday Gwen Grimme Eltz (’68): Spokane, WA
Lillian Thompson Bergstrom (DHS 1936):
Biography provided by Keith Pladson (’66): Roanoke Rapids, NC
Gary Stokes’ Note:
Lillian Thompson’s mother was a Stokes, sister to my Grandfather Frank. My dad, Bob Stokes and Lillian were first cousins.
Lillian Thompson’s Father was a brother to Mrs. William (Ida) Pritchard. Robert, Corbin and Winifred Pritchard Eurich Pritchard were Lillian’s first cousins.
At the age of nearly 99, I believe Lillian Thompson Bergstrom is the oldest living to have graduated from Dunseith.
Gary,
Sorry this has taken so long. Below is a brief biography of my beautiful Aunt Lillian Fanny Thompson Bergstrom. Though I am the one submitting the information, most of the data was in fact provided by my cousins Ron Cain and Lucy Herrick. I am extremely grateful for their help and for their willingness to allow this to be included in the Dunseith blog. Interestingly, the source of some of the information I got on the Thompson family was provided in some hand written notes from my Aunt Esther. Apparently Esther had provided them to Lillian and then Lillian in turn gave them to her daughter Lucy. In any case, I now have a copy of those notes. From the notes, I learned that my mom and her siblings had another brother that I had not previously known about. Also, it was in those notes that I found out the year that my grandmother fell down the stairs. This confirmed what I had always previously thought but didn’t know for sure – that she gave birth to all of her children after she became handicapped. So I am indeed grateful that I asked Ron for his help and that between he and his sister Lucy I got all this family information on my ancestors.
This past April, Alice and I drove up to Superior, WI to see my aunt. My sister Fern and I accompanied our cousin Lucy and visited with Aunt Lillian on two separate days (Alice had a cold so we all thought it best that she not go to the nursing home). The first day’s visit was one of those things in my life that I will always cherish. Lillian was very alert, quite spry and very much in the mood for visiting. I can only wish, 1) I may live that long, and 2) if so, be that spry and mentally alert and aware of everything around me as she was. Since she really can’t hear anything, it was a little hard to communicate with her, but by using the chalk board and the old photographs we looked at and pointing at different people in them, she would start talking about the old days (really old days) and we all just sat there and listened and enjoyed her recall of the people and the stories she would tell us about the photograph or other stories that the photographs brought to her mind.
But I have rattled on enough. I do hope the below is of at least some interest to some of your readers.
One final request. My cousin Ron Cain would like to receive copies of your emails. Though he will most likely know very few names from your blog, he said he would like to get them anyway. So, could you add him to your list? His email address is diorron@gmail.com.
Thanks, Gary,
Keith Pladson (66)
Lillian Thompson Bergstrom was born February 21, 1916, the third of five children born to Ulysses Thompson and Alice Stokes Thompson. Her siblings included: Clarence Thompson, born either April 11 or 12, 1911 (and died shortly after birth), Esther Thompson Tangen, born November 3, 1912, William (Willie or Bill) Thompson, born August 1, 1920 and Ella Thompson Pladson, born March 31, 1924. Not surprisingly, at age 98, Lillian is the only remaining member of that generation of the family.
A little background here will help. Six months or so after Lillian’s mother Alice married Ulysses on June 15, 1910 she accidentally fell down some cellar stairs and severely injured her back. As a result she spent the remainder of her life confined to a wheel chair. Though this greatly limited what she could do physically, she never-the-less gave birth to all five of her children while confined to her wheel chair. As one might imagine, her injury and resulting confinement to a wheel chair led to very difficult times for the Thompson family.
Even though times were difficult, Lillian, at a young age, set herself the goal of earning a high school Diploma. This was a significant goal, given that her and her older sister, Esther, had to trade off going to school for several years as one of them was always required at home to help their mother. Never-the-less, Lillian graduated from grade school in 1930 and then went on to high school starting out in Minot and later returning to Dunseith. On May 27, 1936 she achieved her goal when she graduated from Dunseith High School and earned her high school Diploma.
In November, 1936, Lillian married Lester Cain. This union led to the birth of five children: James (Jim) Cain on November 24, 1937 (now deceased), William (Bill) Cain on August 6, 1939, Lucy Cain Herrick on August 16, 1940 and twins Ronald and Donald Cain on October 29, 1943. The family moved several times between North Dakota and Wisconsin until 1947 when they settled for good in Superior, Wisconsin. Lillian’s marriage to Lester Cain later ended in divorce and on July 2, 1968 she married Carl Bergstrom. In addition to her children, Lillian has ten grandchildren, sixteen great grandchildren and seven great, great grandchildren.
Early in her adult life Lillian began working as a nurses aide (now called nursing assistant or NA). Over the years she continued to work in the nursing field and she worked in several different nursing facilities and hospitals. In August 1980 she retired as a ward clerk at Superior Memorial Hospital in Superior, Wisconsin.
Today Lillian is a resident at the Villa Marina Health and Rehab facility in Superior, Wisconsin.
In early March of this year, my sister Fern and I accompanied by our cousin Lucy visited with our Aunt Lillian. It was a wonderful visit as Aunt Lillian was lively, very much aware and in a very fun mood. What was especially great was that she remembered and recognized both Fern and I. Though she can’t hear very well, we were never-the-less able to communicate with her using a chalk board and she regaled us with stories of her past – including her childhood. We also looked at many old photographs and enjoyed her telling us about where the photographs were taken and identifying the people in them. The sad part was leaving and saying goodby to our wonderful Aunt.
I have attached a few photographs of Lillian that may be of interest.
Keith Pladson (66)
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Blog (217) posted on September 9, 2008
Reply from Louise Pigeon Horsman (43): Tohorsmans @AOL ..com
Thelma Medlang lived in Seattle. Eileen Tennecour Korbol and I drove to Thelma’s house one day for lunch.
She passed away several years ago.
Folks, We have now found all of the folks from the classes of the 40’s. Thank you all for the info you provided, enabling us to locate all of these folks. I will be making a formal distribution of those class lists shortly to the respective class members. I will also incorporate their class lists into the big combined class list. After I’m finished with the 30’s classes I will be sending a copy of that combined class list to all of you. Gary
| Message from Sharon Longie Dana (73):
Gary, thanks again for ALL you do!!!!!!! Without you I would not have seen an old friend I hadn’t seen in 34 years….not since she graduated in 74′. Ivy Eller Robert was passing thru Missoula on her way back home for her sons wedding and she stopped in Friday night and we had a short visit but it was AWESOME!!!!! She got to meet my daughters and my husband( my son was working). It was neat to share news from back home!!! The first thing she told my girls wa “your Mom wasn’t my BFF that was Darla but she was a good freind”. It brought back alot of memories and did we have some good laughs………… Thanks Gary without you that wouldn’t ahve been possilbe!!! I appreciate you very much and just wanted you to know…… Don’t forget to call me Ivy when you’re on your way this way again!!!!! Hope the wedding is fabulous and you have agrat visit…..say hello for me!!!!
Sharon Longie Dana Ivy Eller Robert, I have marked on my calendar that you plan on being in the Dunseith area most all this week. Please keep us posted. Gary |
Message from Blanche Wicks Schley (42):
Congratulations Gary on finding all the alumni of DHS! This a very neat project that you have taken on.
Thanks for the phone call. Even though I did not graduate from DHS…my brother,Henry and sisters, Marjorie, Gwendolyn and Gladys did. We left Dunseith in 1938 and moved to Wahpeton.
I graduated from high school there and Henry and Gwendolyn attended Science School. After attending Minot State (now University) I finished my school at Jamestown College.
Did you find Margaret Ann Myhre and Barbara Nelson? I called Charles Emerson Murry and I guess you had already located him.
It is so very interesting to find out what has happened to everyone. I have kept in touch with Dorothy Schneider.
I m enjoying your web pages. Keep up the good work!
Enjoy your retirement! When did you retire”
Blanche Wicks Schley
Yes Blanche, With your help, I found Margaret Ann Myhe , Barbara Nelson & Emerson Murry all of whom are included with these distribution. Thank you, Gary
From Mel Kuhn (70):
Howdy Gary,
First I have to mention that it was nice that Dick Johnson included me in the meeting up with Bill Grimme along with Ken Nerpel, John Bedard and their wives in St. John yesterday. I really appreciate the fact that they didn’t bore me with any farfetched stories of yesteryear. HA! A BIG thank you to Bill for his donation to our cause at the museum.
Another great story from Larry. Only thing is that he didn’t mention any of those pocketknife games. Being afflicted with CRS I have trouble remembering names of these games. There was one called mumbely peg, mumbittley peg, mulberry peg, ahh whatever peg. Should have been called-make sure everyone is wearing shoes peg-because you might perform some unnecessary medical procedure on someones toes. Also the stick a knife in a tree game in a crowd of people, that was a good one. I hope someone can answer Larry’s question about the pocketpool game cause I’d sure like to hear more about that. I’ve heard of it before but don’t know anything about it. Is there like a list of rules that I can get somewhere?
Mel Kuhn[70]
| Gary Metcalfe’s (57) reply to Larry Hackman (66):
Reply to Larry Hackman You are a blessing to remember where some of us came from. I am headed out for the Hurricane Ike evacuation, but had to take time to respond to your stories. I will make it quick. My dad, Jim Metcalfe and Harry Zeiler were sawing lumber on the Miller 80. While the crew had lunch, Harry, the machine man worked on the drive belt. He asked my dad if he had a jack knife, when Dad handed him the knife, Harry threw it as far as he could in the wild, tall grass and said, “anyone who has a jack knife like that should be ashamed!” So, with tears in his eyes, my dad told Harry that was Mrs. Evan’s knife (Grandma). Poor old Harry hired us kids to look for that knife, to no avail. I have been going to ask you to share stories about Gus and Bill. I have a lot of my own. Larry, Gus had two Prince Albert cans in his bib pocket. One was his billfold. He paid me for a load of wheat straw one winter day. I can still see him standing behind that load bending the can just right and putting it back in his bib. When Gus lived over by the Kelly place, my dad and his pesky brother Archie delivered a young bull Gus had bought from one of them. Gus was much younger then. Gus was not home, so they backed up to the old building, perhaps a barn. After Archie got the lariat off him, he had to swing on the rafters to get out. He turned pretty mean. So they wrote a note and left it on the door, “mean mountain lion”. Saturday night at Kelvin, Dad asked Gus how he handled his new bull. Gus said, “I wrestled him down and put a polk on him.” I am not going to explain what a polk is. For the other story teller, Dick….in case you run short of stories, you probably have a couple of Otto Streitzel stories. About 1956 or 57, the summer your Uncle Cliff and Otto were housed in Glenburn. Otto was driving Cliff’s gravel truck on the Air Base second shift. Otto spent one afternoon chasing a fly in that old trailer house, I don’t think he really liked flies according to what he called them. Otto told me he was related to Jesse James. Some Missouri folks said he was a dead mix for Jesse. I always liked that Missouri jargon. Gary Metcalfe
From Vickie Metcalfe (70): V Gary, You are so…. relentless and good at keeping us on task from Cebu. Thank you for your foresight in giving back to the Dunseith Graduates something they didn’t realize they needed/wanted. Do you realize you now that can’t ever think… quit ? ..There would be a number of us folks on with drawl. Vickie
From Vickie Metcalfe (70): Gary,Inga and Ingolf Medlang were twins, no other siblings. Both are deceased. Ingolf was caretaker at the Peace Garden many years and Peace Lutheran treasurer at times. Inga’s daughter, Sharon Bjornson just retired from working at Bottineau County Social Services resides in Bottineau. Inga and Ingolf’s dad was a brother to Odin Medlang’s dad and Dot Larry , Thanks for affirming my dad, Cliff’s saying, “A good farmer
Thelma Medlang is mother’s (Mildred Nelson Parrill) classmate (43). I just talked to mom and she said that Thelma is a cousin of Inga and Ingolf. She is also a cousin of Odin Medlang. Thelma lived in town during high school. Her father ,Iver, was a carpenter and built the house that Ed and Florence Conroy bought. Thelma had a brother named Kenneth and a sister (mom couldn’t remember her name) and possibly another brother. Inga Medlang Bjornson (deceased) had a son in Alaska and a daughter in Bottineau named Sharon who just retired from social services after about 40 years of service. She may be traveling, but I think she would be willing to help us out if she can. I called her tonight and there was no answer. 701-228-2724. She also has a cabin at Lake Metigoshe 263-4917 and I just called there and that line was busy. Mom asked about Wilma Fisk so I finally wrote her an email tonight. We’ll see if we can’t get those two in contact. Thanks for all your wonderful work. LeaRae
(Part 3) CARROLL CARLSON’S TRAVELING YEARS, BY VICKIE METCALFE (70): THE SPRING 38, YEARS OF 39, 40, AND FALL OF 41 AT THE MILLER BROTHER’S RANCH In the Spring of ’38, Carroll returned to the Bears Paw of Montana by train and went to work for Henry Miller. The pay was $40.00 a month. Carroll continued working for the Henry Miller Ranch. from the spring of 1938, through 1939, and 1940. Carroll was not to return to Dunseith until after the war. The Miller Brothers were progressive ranchers and good managers . The brothers each, had their own focus, Chris, sheep and Henry , cattle. The Miller Brothers Ranch at that time ran about 1,900 head of cows and over 35,000 sheep. Carroll worked in many capacities including hauling hay by team and wagon or team and sled to feed the sheep those three winters. And, lambing, sheep herding, haying, threshing and taking the large Miller horse herd to Harlem where they were wintered on the mountains of the reservation. It seem’s Carroll and his friends were never lag-abouts. When, not seeing the country, Carroll would try different jobs on time off. Once he got a job laying railroad ties out of Lewistown, Montana. However, “working on the railroad” was not for him. “It was hard heavy work and often be coated by creosote” . ……………………………So back to the ranch…………… . Carroll says other Dunseith fellows came out to find seasonal employment. He recalls Alcide Lajimodere who was on a haying crew. Alcide was deathly afraid of rattle snakes and somehow was put into the stack frame. Whenever he heard a suspicious rattle sound, Alcide would jump off the stack….. with a mighty holler. Alcide continued to do farm labor in the Dunseith area after he was released from active military service in the Pacific . And as we recall, never did care much for any snake. Alcide was a kind person, and hard worker, often would work for Cliff Metcalfe. In later years he would “chore” for Cliff and Lottie. He entertained the Metcalfe girls with his stories, “tall tales”. Alcide was a good top off man on a haystack, and in hay season Cliff Metcalfe children would stomp the stack frame and Alcide would top it off. With the Metcalfe humor, Cliff every now and then would holler, snake! Alcide would always jump. Carroll also remembers seeing one of the Henry’s and Charlie Metcalfe working for the Miller ranch. The ranch hands continued their Saturday nights off at a local gathering place, the Cleveland Beer Parlor. Then back to the ranch…. Carroll’s Traveling Years will Continue with part 4 tomorrow: |
Message/Pictures from Dick Johnson (68):
Gary and Friends,
I have yet another old car story–but wait ladies–there are a couple
pictures of interest to you too! Back in April of 1965, John Boguslawski
bought an old 1938 Oldsmobile from my Grandpa Hans Johnson, for $10. We
aired up the tires and pulled it out from the place it had sat for
several years. We had to clean out grain sacks and twine and other junk
that Grandpa had saved for later use. We towed it to town and John
started working on it in their back yard, close to the alley. Before he
could get it started the town cop or city council said he could not have
it in town unless it was licensed or garaged. We didn’t want to buy a
license unless it would run and we hit a ‘catch 22’. One night just a
few days later some kids, in the alley, broke out the windows so we
pulled out the engine and transmission and towed the rest to Albert
Roussin’s Junkyard on the San Hill. We were kind of disgusted with the
entire episode and just cleared our slate and chalked it up to our
ongoing education, I guess! The two pictures are of Kate Fassett,
holding Crystal (or Patty ?), Susan, Pam, and Dorothy, taken in April
1952. The old car to the left is John’s 38 Olds. My grandparents were
still driving it until 1954, when they got the 47 Plymouth that I
eventually had ( the one Paul Grossman and all the other kids remember).
Anyway, the other picture is of Toni Morinville, at Boguslawski’s, in
front of the same car some 13 years later. This picture is from Paulette
LaCroix’s collection which she sent a couple years ago, and I
reproduced, completely without her consent! Oh, and Paulette, play nice
with the other boys and girls!
Thanks Gary!
Dick
Kate Fassett, holding Crystal (or Patty ?), Susan, Pam, and Dorothy Fassett
Toni Morinville
Message/Pictures from Dick Johnson (68):
Gary and Friends,
A couple days ago, I sent some old pictures of my grandmother’s uncle,
Herman Strietzel, who had homesteaded in Saskatchewan, Canada. While
looking through more of Grandma’s pictures, I found two more. The
writing on the back of the first photo says–‘Sept. 1962, the day Uncle
Herman left for California’–( then added later ) ‘He passed away July
24, 1964’. In this photo is Herman, Cynthia, and me. This was the time
he came to say goodbye and gave me the old shotgun. The next picture was
taken by my mom, in California, in early August, 1964. I remember the
woman in this photo, being the one who rented the little shack behind
her to Herman. She told us she was sorry we hadn’t heard that he had
died just days before we got there. Maybe when we are finished with
Vickie’s well done stories of Carroll Carlson’s life, I could send a few
of the stories from the autobiography that old ‘Uncle Herman’. wrote.
That is if there is any interest from the readers for this.Thanks Gary!
Dick
Top Picture: Dick John, Cynthia & Herman Strietzel
Bottom Picture: Unknown name
