Stories from the Collection

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[lakeregionheritage]

Ethel’s Wedding Dress

Each artifact at the museum tells a story.  There is wedding dress here that tells us the story of a couple from the Brocket and Lawton area. The dress was worn by Ethel McNamee on her wedding day July 20, 1910 to William Powers of Brocket.  Ethel came to the area in 1909 to teach in the Brocket elementary school.  William came to Lakota in 1898 at age 17.  He found work with the John Rainsberry, Sr. family of rural Brocket.  When they married, Bill was renting a farm close to Brocket and in 1914 they moved to their own farm in northern Lillehof Township.  It was here that they farmed for over three decades and raised their family.

They lived in the same area their whole married life and were active members of the Lawton and Brocket communities, spending a great deal of time contributing to the success of these small towns.  Bill served on the County Agricultural Board for many years.  He was an avid fan of the local baseball and basketball teams.  He was involved in businesses and organizations including the Farmers Union, the Lawton Elevator Company, the Workmen’s Lodge, and the Lawton Security State Bank.  

Ethel was involved in the Royal Neighbors of America and the Lawton Homemakers Club.  She served as postmaster from 1933 to 1951.  The Heritage of Lawton, ND and Surrounding Area tells that “during the years of World War II, she deemed it her responsibility to send her personal greetings to the local servicemen.  Later, many reminded her of the morale boost her short notes were.”  Once she even delivered a letter to a rural family, 10 miles out of town, from their son who was a prisoner-of-war over seas.

As a farmer, Bill loved the land and Ethel, as well, was known for her beautiful lawn and garden.  They belonged to St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Brocket, but Bill was known to lend a hand to the other churches if help was needed for certain projects.

It is also interesting to note that Ethel wore the dress on their 25th Wedding Anniversary in 1935 and again at their 50th Wedding Anniversary in 1960.  The wedding dress is currently on display here at the Lake Region Heritage Center.

[lakeregionheritage]

Franklin H. Prosser:  Early Devils Lake Businessman

Lake Region Heritage Center recently received a research request from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  Many small details were found on Franklin H. Prosser, which helped piece together his life while in Devils Lake.  He was a prominent business man in the early days of the Lake Region.

Franklin H. Prosser came to the Devils Lake region in 1882 (one year before Devils Lake was founded.)  He lived in Ohio and Indiana prior to coming to Dakota Territory.  At age 24, Franklin located a claim seven miles southeast of the city of Devils Lake, in Minnewauken Township. He moved to the city two years later but retained ownership of the land at least through 1909, where his name appears in the 1909 Ramsey County Atlas.

Along with partner Ole Serumgard, he owned farm implement businesses in Devils Lake, Webster and Starkweather.  He served as probate judge for one year in 1884, and was a member of the North Dakota State Senate in 1895.   Our library has a few city directories from the early 1900s.  These directories list the name of city residents along with their address and profession. Although he is listed as “dealer in farm machinery” in 1909, by 1916 he is listed as “attorney.”  By 1920 Franklin is retired.

He and his wife Sallie were involved in the community.  Franklin was a member of the Masons and the Knights Templar, and served on the Board of Education.  Sallie was involved in the Devils Lake Study Club.  Sallie and Franklin raised two sons, Don and Frank, Jr. A fun fact on the Prosser family is that they lived at 503 – 7th St, which still stands today.  Franklin is buried in the Grand Army of the Republic cemetery located in Devils Lake.

There are thousands of people who have a part in the history of Devils Lake.  Because of requests like this, we learn about people from the Lake Region’s past and have a deeper appreciation for our community.

Below is an ad that appeared in the Devils Lake City Directory.

[lakeregionheritage]

LRHC Update

My name is Jackie Johnson, and I started my job as the museum assistant at the Lake Region Heritage Center in August 2015.  We haven’t been doing much blogging in the past year so let me catch you up.  

A little bit about me….I grew up on a farm near Edmore and I studied Public History at NDSU and St. Cloud State University.  My favorite history is North Dakota history, especially the small towns.

Our new director Rachel Johnson started at the beginning of April.  Rachel moved here from Springfield Missouri where she worked at the Springfield Art Museum.  She has a degree in Art History from Missouri State University.

Dan Dosch is our caretaker/historian.  He not only keeps our building spotless, but can give a great tour and is very knowledgeable about Devils Lake since he grew up here.

Since Rachel began, we have been focusing on doing an inventory of the collection.  This means we make sure each item has a number and is labeled with that number.  We then take a photo of the object and enter it into the museum database along with where it is located, so we can find it later.

We will be featuring traveling art exhibits throughout the summer, so stop in and take a look!  We will have a different show for each month through September. Once again we are having a summer photo contest.   Post your photos on Instagram with #summerdvl and your photo could be featured in the September art exhibit.  And stay tuned for more blogs and other upcoming events.

[lakeregionheritage]

The Elephant We’ll Never Forget

  Over the last year, the museum staff has heard rumors of an elephant being buried in Devils Lake. Not until recently did we receive an image from Dave Johnson Jr. of his grandparents standing next to an elephant. The elephant pictured here is an interesting piece of Devils Lake history. Her name was Vera and she was a circus elephant. She was one of the circus elephants that traveled through Devils Lake every summer in the 1940s and 50s. But there was one large problem in this case: on July 10, 1945, Vera the elephant died right in town after a six week illness. By the time she was unloaded in yards of the Great Northern, she had worsened to such a state she could no longer go on.  Local resident, Dave Johnson performed the cremation and burial after Vera's death. The remains and skull were buried near the site of death across from the Great Northern Station.

Vera the elephant, shortly after her death. Vera was cremated and her bones buried in Devils Lake by Mr. and Mrs. Dave Johnson.

Read the article from the Devils Lake Journal on December 21, 1949 about the death and burial of Vera the elephant. Some years later, a performer named “Skyline Bill” put a request in with the mayor of Devils Lake for the skull of the animal.

[lakeregionheritage]

Chief Justice Ralph J. Erickstad

It is a warm sunny day in July. The year is 1987 and Ralph J. Erickstad is thrilled. He has just been notified of his position as the new Chief Justice of the State of North Dakota. Coming from humble origins on a farm in Starkweather, one might wonder how he got here.

The story began in 1949 when Erickstad, after receiving his degree from the University of Minnesota, began a legal practice in Devils Lake.  He practiced law for over 12 years, and afterwards climbed the ladder of success, serving various positions such as Police Magistrate, State Attorney, even State Senator until he was elected to the Supreme Court in 1962.

Erickstad lived from 1922-2000. Here is a snippet from his obituary in Towner County Herald:

You'll find Chief Justice Erickstad's robe in our courtroom on the 2nd floor! 

 Blog by Emily Kenner

Curator's Assistant 

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FDR in Devils Lake

On this day in 1934 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt spent one short day on the shores of what was left of Devils Lake.  The president arrived at 8am and left just four hours later for St. Paul, MN.  In this short time he gave a speech to an estimated 35,000 people, rode in a parade downtown and even took a drive around the Lake Region to Sheyenne, New Rockford, Fort Totten, and Camp Grafton. 

FDR’s stop to our humble town 80 years ago was just one of several on his tour of the Great Plains.  At this point in time the Dust Bowl and drought combined with the Great Depression made a farmer’s life very difficult during the 1930s.  The president took on this tour to see for himself the issues people faced and sought to bring them some hope.  It’s hard for us to fathom today but at this time Devils Lake was only 1,407.3 feet above sea level.  That’s 47 feet lower than today’s elevation! 

The president’s speech is a reflection of the hardships the people of Devils Lake were facing.  Here are two excerpts from President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s speech that day;

“I saw some signs along the road that said: ‘You gave us beer, now give us water.’  Well, the beer part was easy. That was something that could be controlled very definitely by human agency. It was a question of what the people of this country wanted and when they made it clear they wanted beer back again, they got it. But, when you come to this water problem through here, you are up against two things. In the first place you are up against the forces of nature and, secondly, you are up against the fact that man, in his present stage of development, cannot definitely control those forces.”

“We hope that Nature is going to open the Heavens. When I came out on the platform this morning and saw a rather dark cloud, I said to myself, ‘Maybe it is going to rain.’  Well, it did not.  All I can say is, I hope to goodness it is going to rain, good and plenty.”

A full transcript can be found at http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=14736.

Eventually it did rain. And snow.  Now today we have a larger lake President Roosevelt could have imagined that brings a whole different set of problems.  As we deal with the issues in our present it is important to remember the issues of our past.  So today take a drive past the Great Northern building and just imagine all those people filling the streets to hear what our 32nd President had to say. 

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Edward Lohnes: Solider, Pioneer, Politician

Edward Lohnes, born April 21, 1844, was the first settler of the Lake Region area. That wasn’t his only claim to fame though. Lohnes would eventually become one of the members of the State House of Representatives.   His journey began at the age of 18, when he enlisted to fight on the battlefields of Virginia during the civil war. He continued to serve after the wars end, in the 31st infantry of Fort Rice. From there, his company was stationed at Fort Totten in Devils Lake. When his enlistment was through, he returned to the Fort as a civilian and mail carrier, carrying the mail between the Missouri River Forts, which was a difficult and dangerous task.

A pieces quilt that belonged to Lohnes currently on Exhibit

Upon his retirement from the mail service, Lohnes set up a homestead in Freshwater Township. His neighbors chose him as a member of the board of county commissioners. From there, he moved on to the State House of Representatives. Colonel Hale of the Indian War Veterans, who spoke of Lohnes at his funeral stated, “He did not waste much of the people’s time in long speeches but he always voted right.” Not only did Lohnes serve in the military and on the House, but without him, the school for the deaf would not be located in Devils Lake. Lohnes died on March 31, 1933 and was laid to rest with full Military rites in the Crary Cemetery.

By Emily Kenner

Curator Assistant

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Hairstyles of the 1950s

The 1950s was a time of Soda Fountains and Drive-ins, of Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe. It was also a time of iconic hairstyles.  From Victory Rolls to ingeniously tied hair scarves (like Rosie the Riveter’s), many of the trends you are starting to see resurfacing today are based on styles from the bygone days of the fifties.

Let’s take a stroll down memory lane! We’ll look at some examples of Fifties styles, and compare the styling process back then to that of today’s. We’ll even include a tutorial so you can try these styles for yourself.

Here at the Lake Region Heritage Center, we have a large collection of newspaper clippings from the last century. Check out this clipping from the Devils Lake Music Club in 1954:

You can see a variety of styles here. Curling and pinning hair was a very big trend, along with victory rolls, where hair was curled around itself, framing the face.

We also have a collection of images showing the tools used for styling. The electric curling iron wasn’t invented until 1959! Until then, women had to heat up their irons over the stove. Check out our Flickr page; you can view some of the first electric curling irons and other beauty tools in our collection.

Of course, for those less interested in heating up their own irons, there were beauty shops. Shown here is an ad for Bonnie Beauty Studio in Devils Lake from 1951.

Now that you learned a little about the styles of the 50’s check out this video tutorial so you can achieve a few of these looks on your own!

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The Bomberger Execution

The Kreider family never expected the tragedy that would result from hiring Albert Bomberger to work on their farm in Cando, ND. They never anticipated the truly evil acts this man would commit. They hadn’t a clue that hiring Albert Bomberger would lead to their murder, and the murder of four of their children. For what they didn’t know when they hired Bomberger, was that they were hiring a cold hearted killer.

Albert Bomberger worked on the Kreider family farm for about five years. But it wasn’t until July 7th, 1893 that the truly horrific incident arose. Over the course of the five years he spent working for the family, he developed affections for the eldest daughter, 17 year old Annie.  When he was denied in his pursuit of her and told to leave the family farm, he snapped and went on a killing spree, murdering the parents and children Bernice, Melby, Mary, and David. The remaining children, Aaron, Eva, and Henry, managed to survive by hiding around the farm buildings.

Bomberger was captured in Deloraine, Manitoba and sentenced to death by hanging to be carried out on January 19th. This is photograph shows the execution of Albert Bomberger, a well-attended one, as many wanted to see the man who was notorious for the murders brought to justice.

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A Collector’s Life: Lillian Wineman

Lillian Wineman was known for many things during her lifetime.  She was the only child of Sam and Trina Wineman, she was an actress, she had home at Lakewood, and she was a collector.  The front room of her Lakewood home was filled with her treasures, most of which are now at the Lake Region Heritage Center.  The museum acquired her artifacts through a donation from the Pioneer Daughters of the Lake Region and a loan from the State Historical Society of North Dakota.  An exhibit dedicated to her is on display on the 1st floor of the Lake Region Heritage Center in downtown Devils Lake.

Why does Lillian have some many interesting artifacts?

There are two reasons to why Lillian’s collection is so interesting.

First, her father spoiled her.  Plain and simple, she wanted it she got it.  Lillian was the first woman to drive a car in Devils Lake.  Her father showered her with gifts and even built an Opera House on the 2nd floor of his store so she could shine in the spotlight.   Her home is filled with antiques from Europe, including a hand painted tea set from Norway that belonged to her mother. 

Second, she was fascinated by Native American beadwork.  Lillian loved to collect bandoliers, dolls, belts, and more from Native American artists.  She collected Sioux items from the Spirit Lake Reservation as well as Chippewa artifacts.  Not only did she collect Native American artifacts, she truly had a deep respect for the Native American people.  She valued their way of life.  When talking about the treatment of Native American peoples in Devils Lake she was appalled by white people’s treatment of their native neighbors.  

Lillian’s legacy lives on at the Lake Region Heritage Center in Devils Lake.  Some even claim that she has moved into the building along with her prized possessions.  Workers have heard shuffling and footsteps when they’re the only one in the building.  Men claim that someone is whistling in their ear, and children have even felt a pressure on their hands when trying to touch her artifacts. 

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Artifact Tuesday: Scandinavian Mangle Board

For the last 2 weeks we have been exclusively working with Lillian Wineman’s collection.  Lillian was an interesting woman who grew up in North Dakota at the turn of twentieth century.  Throughout her life Lillian collected an amazing array of artifacts.  This gem is only one piece of her impressive collection. 

  This object is a Scandinavian Mangle Board used for ironing.  This object also had another use.  In Norway (where Lillian’s mother immigrated from) these mangle boards are a sort of engagement gift to young women.  A man would carve and paint a beautiful board for a young lady; if she accepted the gift they were to be married.

This mangle board can now be seen with Lillian’s collection on the 1st floor of the museum!

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The top photograph was taken circa 1940 of the Hollywood Theater in downtown Devils Lake, ND, where Gerrell's is today.  Last week a local woman brought in this advertisement that she found underneath her porch.  The ad for this 1940 film, "Secrets of a Model", is an "adult only" film, pretty risque!  Check out this building on our History Pin page to see the difference between 1940 and today.

The museum has very little information about the Hollywood Theater; if you have any we would love to hear it!

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Nash Finch Gets it's Start in Devils Lake

It is very rare for a family-run business to last more than 100 years.  The Nash Finch Company started with 3 brothers in the boomtown of Devils Lake in the Dakota Territory in 1885.  Fred P. Nash started with only $400 in his pocket.  40 years later the company he and his brothers started was worth more than $40 million.  The story of the Nash Finch Company is a true rags to riches story that all began right here in Devils Lake. 

Our Family Brand carried by Leever’s Foods is a creation of the Nash Finch Company.  Here are some examples from our collection of Nash Finch products around the 1960s.

Here is a photograph of the Lake Grocery Company store in Downtown Devils Lake. 

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Today’s object comes to us from our amazing Native American Collection.  This cane belonged to Chief Tiyowaste, a.k.a. Chief Little Fish.  He is photographed here with the cane. 

Chief Little Fish was a part of the Northern Sisseton band that came to the reservation at Devils Lake in 1868.  He was instrumental in getting support from the U.S. government for the Dakota at Devils Lake. 

Chief Little Fish’s cane came to the museum around 1984 and has been on display on the first floor.  See this cane and learn more about Chief Little Fish’s influence on Native American relations in the area in the upcoming exhibit, Life of the Lake, opening December 12, 2013. 

Lisa Zimmerman, Director

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Hunting and Fishing Artifacts in Devils Lake

Today I’m not going to write about something in our collection, rather some artifacts I would like in the collection for the new Devils Lake Exhibit.  Currently I am writing the labels for early life around the lake and have hit a road block. 

Hunting and Fishing have been so important to the area for the last 150 years.  I want to display this in the upcoming exhibit.  I am looking for antique hunting and fishing artifacts.  Right now I have these duck decoys but they’re very lonely. 

The exhibit really needs a hunting gun along with a fishing rod and reel from between 1905 and 1925. 

If you have or know of anyone that might be interested in donating or loaning these items to the museum please let me know.  You can call me at 662-3701 or email me at [email protected]. 

Life of the Lake will open December 12, 2013.  For more information on our exhibits and events visit www.lrhcmuseum.com

Lisa Zimmerman

Director

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Last week we had a great addition to our Devils Lake Exhibit come into the museum.  This plat map displays all of the townships and plats in Ramsey County based on the 1900 U.S. Census.  This 4’ x4’ Devils Lake Inter-Ocean Map of Ramsey, County, N.D. was done by Hunter and VanValkenburgh from Rockford, IL. 

We are happy to add this to our upcoming exhibit, Life of the Lake, opening December 11, 2013. 

[lakeregionheritage]

Yesterday I was re-organizing the basement storage area when I came across more than 40 of these medals.  After looking a little closer I realized they are from the Ancient Order of United Workmen or the A.O.U.W.

The AOUW, established in the 1860s, was a fraternal society that provided financial protection to the working class after the Civil War.   The fraternity incorporated many Free Mason symbols as seen with the Anchor and Badge emblems. 

These badges come from Lodge No. 97 in Oberon, North Dakota. The organization nationally dissolved in 1952 and became Pioneer Mutual Life Insurance Company in North Dakota. 

If anyone as has anymore information about Lodge No. 97 in Oberon I would love to see it!

Lisa Zimmerman

Director, Lake Region Heritage Center