July Ruminations

I saw these very cool power-dudes at Greta's Genealogy Bog and fell madly in love. They're available from Amazon, so I've added them to Ye Olde Genealogy Shoppe.

I'm enjoying Dr. Daniel Hubbard's blog, Personal Past Meditations, which was new to me this month (although celebrating its first blogoversary on August 1). It's the perfect place to take a break from what you're thinking and see what someone else is thinking, because Daniel is an excellent thinker.

Speaking of thinking, July Ruminations doesn't look like a very good place to find much of that going on! It's been too hot, muggy, and stormy to think of anything besides how hot, muggy, and stormy it is. I'm not a fan of Michigan weather, and this summer seems worse than any I can recall.

Nevertheless, I've been juggling several Blurb book projects all month. The ones getting all the attention right now are those which don't require thinking, i.e., old (non-genealogy) blogs which just need to be slurped and edited. I finished and ordered my second book; the third is done except for the jacket flaps (thinking required!); the fourth is a bit less than half finished; and the fifth has been slurped and a few posts edited.

Because I'm actually posting this a couple days late, I've been giving some thought to something that happened "in the future" so to speak, on August 2. One of my Facebook friends had her account hacked. The hacker, pretending to be her, contacted me via Facebook's "chat" feature. The conversation started with a simple "hi... how are you?" In many instances this would seem normal enough, but I was immediately puzzled. I have never met this Fb friend, I know her only through the GeneaBloggers group, and can't recall ever having had anything like a conversation with her. After trying to figure out whether I'd commented on her blog or something, I decided to respond in an equally harmless manner... I replied with a complaint about the weather and asked if hers was equally muggy. "Not good here... in some kind of mess," she answered. "The weather? or you?" I asked. "I'm stranded in London, United Kingdom... was mugged and robbed at gun point last night."

Yeah, I'm sure the first thing I would do after being mugged and robbed at gunpoint in a foreign country would be to instant-message a virtual stranger for idle chit-chat. Another line or two and there it was: "I need your help."

We all want to believe everyone is honest, but hey, I was not born yesterday. I advised calling to report the credit cards stolen, and then closed my browser and called it a night.

This morning (actually August 3), I checked her profile. She had already posted a status update saying that her account had been hacked, that she wasn't in London and had not been mugged. Other GeneaBloggers reported that they, too, had been instant-messaged by the hacker with the same bogus story. Many had already heard about a similar hacker scam recently. I hadn't, so my own suspicion was that this particular Facebook account had been set up by a scammer right from the start to target members of this community. That I was wrong on that particular point doesn't comfort me much though. In an open group as large as GeneaBloggers has become, there certainly is plenty of opportunity for clever scammers. Fortunately, GeneaBloggers is also a very interactive group, and awareness of last night's scam attempt was shared very quickly among group members.

In any case, I've been reconsidering the way I use Facebook, and will be reducing my Friends list in the coming days to family members and friends with whom I interact on a regular basis. Fellow GeneaBloggers, please don't take it personally if you find yourself unFriended! I look forward to reading your blogs, participating with you in GeneaBloggers activities, blog carnivals, etc. Honestly, I'm betting you won't even miss me, as I'm not much of a Facebooker anyway!

------------

July Accomplishments

I bought the car wax.

And in the other column . . .

I did not apply the car wax to the car.

Blurb Blurb

 Screenshot of Blurb's Booksmart software in use.

The text in this two-page spread can include all the information found

in a family group sheet, but in a visually appealing way that will draw

attention even from genealogically-disinclined members of the family.

In April, Heather Rojo wrote about using Blurb to create a blog book. There was quite a bit of interest in this topic, and she followed up with more Blurb details in answer to questions people had. I'd been leaning toward Blurb for a family history book I'm planning, so I was happy to know she'd had a good experience with it.

I wasn't quite ready to begin my project, but Heather told about Blurb's blog-slurp capability, and I decided to give that a test run using my first (non-genealogy) blog. By the end of May, I had my blog book in hand and was more than satisfied with the materials and workmanship. I started the family history book I'd had in mind, and also slurped a couple more of my old blogs.

The new-found portrait of the Schulte cousins has inspired yet another book project. My cousin Cheryl and I are putting our heads together on this one, a book about Joseph Meyer Schulte's ancestors and descendants. Together we have an abundance of material, lots of excellent photos, and a great mix of skills for getting the job done.

One of our goals is to keep the book under 120 pages. That's the cut-off point beyond which the binding of the book would be glued rather than sewn. We want the added strength of a sewn binding for our book.

Another goal is to create a book that will be interesting to all family members, including those who fall asleep when the word genealogy slips into the conversation. Think family history meets coffee table book. To that end, the first half (or more, as needed) of our book will depend heavily on photographs and narrative text pertaining to our immigrant ancestor, Joseph Meyer Schulte, and his children and grandchildren. For great-grandchildren and subsequent generations (in other words, those of us who are still living), I hope to include some yearbook-style pages, with several smaller portraits on each page identified simply by name and birth year. A section on Joseph's German ancestry is next, followed by a section about Joseph's niece Lizzie and other descendants of Joseph's ancestors. Charts, documents, and a bibliography will play a part in the remainder of the book, based on how much space is left.

I'd already roughed out about forty pages of the book when I read Denise Olson's The Hybrid Family History. You'll want to read that if you're thinking of creating a book yourself.

95 Years Ago Today: Krintz-McArthur Marriage

(click to enlarge)

From The Baker Sentinel, 23 July 1915:

"The marriage of Miss Emma E. Krintz and Peter McArthur occurred at the home of Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Heifrin Tuesday afternoon, Rev. Tack, of the Congregational church, officiating. Both young people have a wide acquaintance in this vicinity and are very popular. They left that evening amid a shower of rice for Thermopolis, Wyo., for a ten days' honeymoon after which they will occupy the Mallough house on West Montana Ave."

Long-time readers here may recall a story I published three years ago about the McArthurs' marriage certificate. Family members may wish to know that the images in that story, along with the image above, are suitable for inclusion in our family history slide show. To download them, first click to enlarge, then right-click and select Save Image As, and choose where you want to save it on your computer.

347 Years Ago Today: The Passing of Rev. Samuel Stone

Boynton, Percy Holmes, Howard Mumford Jones, George Sherburn, and Frank Martindale Webster. American Poetry. New York: C. Scribner, 1919.

Notes from The Sheldon Progress, 1917

World War I draft registration of John S. Krentz

 January 25:

Fred Buss and Emil Greuel of Leonard were guests at the H.C. Buss home this week.

February 15:

Casey: "Grandma" Buss, living in Anselm, is reported on the sick list.

Miss Hulda Krueger is staying at the Buss home in Anselm this week.

March 15:

Casey: Born on Tuesday of last week, to Mr. and Mrs. Fred Krantz, a baby boy.

March 29:

Casey: Messrs. Carl and Will Nightingale, Fred Krantz, Henry Krueger, E. Froemke, and Mr. and Mrs. F. Buss were Sunday guests at C. Krueger's.

Mr. and Mrs. Ed Wall of Owego are rejoicing over the arrival of a daughter who put in an appearance at their home Wednesday morning.

April 5:

John Krantz arrived from Anselm last week to the buildings on the old Froemke farm now owned by Fred Wall. He will work for Mr. Wall this season.

April 12:

Casey: Mr. and Mrs. Jake Muth and son Esmond, Mr. and Mrs. F. Buss, and Mrs. Litzau spent Monday with Mr. and Mrs. George Schunk.

April 26:

Casey: Emil Seelig and family visited at the John Reis home Sunday.

May 3:

Mrs. F.J. Jaster returned Tuesday from Kenosha, Wis., where she was called last week by the death of her mother Mrs. L. Leining. Mr. and Mrs. Leining were formerly residents of both Casey and Shenford townships.

May 10:

Shenford: Mrs. John Reis called on Mrs. Stewart Friday afternoon.

May 24:

Word was received at Anselm just as we go to press this afternoon that the mother of Barney Buss just died. She was eighty-six years of age and had made her home with her son for years. Death was due to old age.

May 31:

Casey: A large crowd of friends and neighbors attended the funeral of Mrs. Buss Saturday.

June 21:

Dan Froemke and Fred Krantz are among those who have purchased new cars recently.

Men who registered June 5th: August Litzau (Greene Pct. 2); Elmer Nohr, Phillip Nohr, and Herbert Nohr (Casey Pct. 10); Gerald Buss, Edward Buss, William Nohr, John Krentz (Shenford Pct. 11).

August 23:

Edward H. Buss of Lisbon, #383, was #179 of Ransom County called for a physical in the draft. William Philip Nohr of Lisbon, #388, was #171 called.

October 18:

The First National Bank put through a real estate deal this week whereby they disposed of a part of the old Jas. Marks place in Shenford township. The purchaser was Fred Krantz, who bought the quarter where the buildings are. Mr. Krantz also disposed of a quarter he owned southwest of Venlo to John T. Reis. Mr. Krantz for the past two seasons has farmed just east of Lisbon on rented land and was in the hailed out district this summer. He has already moved his personal property to his new acquired land.

November 29:

Casey: August Ludtke, Phil Nohr, Sr., and John Reis and families and Mr. and Mrs. Max Moldenhauer and mother of Chaffee were guests at the H.C. Buss home Sunday.

December 20:

Ferdinand Buss left Wednesday for Minneapolis where he will vist his daughter Mrs. Nelson.

Mr. and Mrs. H.C. Buss from south of Sheldon were at Chaffee Tuesday to attend the golden wedding anniversary of Mrs. Buss' parents, Mr. and Mrs. A. Moldenhauer. There are eight children in the family and all were present at the gathering. The couple are 74 and 72 years of age and are grand old people. They have made their home in the vicinity of Chaffee for a number of years. There are 24 grandchildren and three great grandchildren in the family.

Notes from The White County Democrat, 1916

This photo of the Jewell Ward home appeared in W. H. Hamelle's

A Standard History of White County, Indiana in 1915, 

the year before it was destroyed. (click to enlarge)

 Friday, March 24 ~ Front Page:

TWO KILLED, MANY INJURED BY CYCLONE'S FURY

NORTH HALF OF COUNTY HARD HIT

LOSS OF PROPERTY IS TREMENDOUS

Houses, Barns, School Houses Blown to Pieces--Fire Added to the Destruction--Much Stock Killed

SCORES OF PEOPLE LUCKILY ESCAPED DEATH

THE DEAD

• ROBERT RECTOR, MONON
• INFANT ERWIN, MONON

BADLY INJURED

• Jewell Ward, Rural Route 3
• Mrs. Jewell Ward, Rural Route 3
• Arnold Lucy, Rural Route 4
• Mrs. Arnold Lucy, Rural Route 4

Both of the fatalities due to the cyclone were in Monon township. One of the victims, Robert Rector, lived alone in a cabin that was demolished by the wind. His dead body was found in a field this moning fifty feet away from the spot where his cabin stood. He was employed in the Monon stone crushing plant and was quite old.

The other victim, an infant child of Mr. and Mrs. Al Erwin, residing south of Monon, died this afternoon from the result of injuries received. The child, an infant in arms was blown out of its mothers arms and carried away by the wind to a distance of 150 yeards into a field. Two other children were hurt  but not seriously. The house and barn on the Erwin place were blown to pieces.

In the wake of the cyclone which followed a path about five miles wide from east to west, and which swept over the county about 10 o'clock on Tuesday night, left a waste of houses, barns, school houses, orchard and forest trees, dead animals and chickens.

The toll in death which the storm took in this county was 2 lives, the fatalities occurring at Monon. Several persons were more or less injured, but taken as a whole, and computing the opportunity for scores of fatalities, there was cause for thankfulness next morning when an inventory of the storm's damages was taken.

The rumbling and roaring of the wind shook houses in Monticello and those who were awake were much alarmed, but no damage was done here. The storm spent its fury on a strip of country five miles north and the center of its activity was in Liberty township in the Cullen Creek neighborhood. Roads leading to the north, particularly on the Buffalo Pike, were littered with trees that had either been uprooted or broken off, telephone poles and wires, wire fences and posts and all sorts of debris imaginable. Hardly a single farm escaped damage in the whole path of the storm from west to east and over a territory about five miles wide. Telephone connection on all lines north of the Panhandle railroad was destroyed and it was a very difficult matter to get particulars of the actual damage done. Nearly half of the telephone poles between here and buffalo were blown down. Manager Hanway estimates that the company is damaged fully $2500. Telegraph wires and poles were also blown down and the Western Union was without service all day between this city and Logansport, as well as points west.

Liberty township seems to have bourn the brunt of the wind. There also, the wind played some of its most freakish stunts. The home of Jewell Ward, north of Sitka, was blown down and afterwards caught fire and was consumed. There were thirteen people occupying beds at the Ward home. They were all carried away by the wind when the house collapsed but escaped death by a miracle. Three daughters, who were occupying a bed upstairs were carried away with the bed and deposited, bed and all, in a berry patch several hundred feet away. None of them were hurt. One of the girls went half a mile to the nearest neighbor for assistance, barefooted and with nothing on but her nightclothes. One daughter was found in the middle of a field several rods away and another member of the family, a son, was in the cellar, where he had been buried. A piano was blown out into a cornfield. Mrs. Ward was the only member of the family who was badly injured. When Dr. McCann attended her next morning he found that she was bruised all over, but there were no bones broken. Mr. Ward and some of the children were slightly injured but none of them badly hurt. The premises were searched for bed clothes and enough found to make the sufferers comfortable in the barn where they remained until they were taken to the homes of neighbors.

Arnold Lucy and his wife were among the badly injured. Their house stood on the west side of the road and was lifted up by the wind and deposited on the east side of the road and nearly two hundred feet from the place where it originally stood. The house was demolished. Mr. and Mrs. Lucy were hurled fifty feet east of the road and 150 feet from the place where they had been calmly sleeping. Mr. Lucy sustained a fractured collar bone, was badly bruised on the back, and had a number of cuts and bruises on his head and body. Dr. Cray was in the neighborhood attending another patient and was called to go to the assistance of Mr. and Mrs. Lucy. When found, Mrs. Lucy was unconscious and was in that condition when Dr. Cray arrived. She had sustained a bad injury to her back, the extent of which could not be determined at the time. It is feared that her back was broken.

In the same neighborhood Del Rouhier's barn was blown down. The windmill at Lew Tucker's home was blown on to the roof of the house, smashing in the roof and doing considerable damage. John Amich's kitchen was unroofed, window glass blown out and shade trees uprooted.

On the Buffalo pike Victor Hare's fine barn was ruined but none of the stock was killed except two hogs.

The barn on the Samuel Wolf farm and the old blacksmith shop that stood along the road were demolished, also the barn on the Frank Wolf place.

Other barns destroyed in the Sitka neighborhood were on the farms of Wm. Criswell, Bert Luse, Mrs. Wm. Daugherty, Wallace Moore, Mike Criswell, where a cow was killed, and Logan Hughes.

There were nine head of horses and fifteen head of cattle in the Hughes barn. The barn was leveled to the ground and the stock caught under the wreckage. The animals were all down when Mr. Hughes began to investigate his damages and he supposed they were all dead. Not a single head was killed and none of the animals badly hurt. Mr. Hughes was injured by running a nail in his foot while searching the wreckage. Dr. Coffin was called to attend him.

Four school houses in Liberty township were ruined and the house at Sitka was so badly shaken that the trustee would not permit the house to be occupied, school being dismissed.

The school houses destroyed were as follows:

• White Post, blown down and afterward burned.
• Amich, blown across the road and entirely demolished.
• Valley, blown down.
• Carr, lifted from the foundation and carried out into the road, a distance of about 100 feet, where it was smashed to pieces. This was another of the freakish performances of the wind. The house was lifted cleanly off the foundation and carried in an upright position over a pile of cordwood, without knocking the wood down. It caromed on the ground in two places and lit in the road, collapsing, but without disturbing some of the seats that were left in a row on the floor, with books on top of them. The bell was in the yard fifty feet away from the foundation and the stove was carried out to the road.

The cupalo [sic] of the Cullen Creek church was blown off, but otherwise the building was uninjured. The bell was deposited in the yard about fifty feet away.

The barn belonging to Henry Reid near the old county farm northwest of Monticello, was blown down and six head of hogs killed. Mr. Reid's barn was practically new. He estimates his loss at $2000. The house was also twisted.

On the August Dreifus farm, the old county farm, every building on the place was twisted out of shape and otherwise damaged, but one of them blown down.

A new barn on the Sperry Miller farm in the same neighborhood was also blown down.

Some damage was done to the county house, a part of the slate roof being blown off.

The damage to orchards and standing timber cannot be estimated. In some places orchards were practically ruined. Chickens also suffered from the wind. At almost every farm house there was a litter of dead fowls.

In the neighborhood around Wolcott farm buildings and orchards suffered considerable damage, but the wind did not become very destructive until it had reached a point east of Monon and Reynolds. The latter place escaped damage but reports have been received that considerable damage was done to buildings and trees between there and Monon.

It is impossible to even place an estimate at this time on the [illegible] amount of damage done in the county by the cyclone, but it will run up into thousands of dollars. A great many of those damaged carried cyclone insurance, but their policies do not nearly cover their total losses.

Logansport was hit hard by the storm, there being one person killed and six injured there. Among the injured are Mrs. A. H. Nethercut and her son. The Nethercuts formerly lived at Burnettsville. Mr. Nethercut is telegrapher in the tower at Trimmer, seven miles west of Logansport and saw the house blow over which his family occupied. He could not go to their assistance when the storm broke on account of being detained by his duties. When the house blew over the heating stove fell on Mrs. Nethercut and her body was badly burned. The son was only slightly injured. Mrs. Nethercut and son were taken to Logansport on a Pennsylvania engine where they were treated.

The cyclone also wrought great havoc at Monon and in that vicinity, especially south. The Monon round house at Monon was reported to be badly damaged.

Farm buildings in the vicinity of Monon were badly damaged and a large amount of stock killed. Physicians and their helpers were kept busy all night caring for people who had been hurt.

A cyclone swept over the same section of the county on the 12th of May thirty years ago. Some of the farms that were hit and damaged by Tuesday night's storm were also badly damaged in the cyclone of 1886.

From Sitka the storm swept on eastward scattering devastation over the country north of Idaville and Burnettsville, reaching Logansport at 10:20, where one person was killed and several injured.

A partial list of the damage north of Idaville and Burnettsville follows. Owing to lack of telephone service it is likely that there was much more damage unreported than has been heard of yet.

Many houses in Idaville had windows blown out and roofs damaged. Several plate glass windows in the business houses were broken. The M. E. church was badly damaged.

Much damage was done to live stock, especially where the animals were sheltered by straw stacks.

At the Stuhmer farm, one mile north of Idaville, the house was badly damaged, windows all broken, chimneys blown down, large stock barn destroyed. Men from Idaville worked most of the night clearing away debris to liberate cattle and succeeded in saving all but 5 or 6 cows.

Sheds at the Suits farm north of the Stuhmer farm were destroyed.

Several head of cattle and hogs on the Timmins farm south of the Stuhmer place were buried when the straw stack went over.

A barn at the Nulf place northwest of Idaville was picked up and set down several rods away leaving the horses hitched in their stalls.

At Dave Gardner's farm 3 miles northeast of Idaville a barn was destroyed.

At the Allie Carson farm 5 miles northwest of Idaville, occupied by John Morgan, the barn was destroyed and two horses killed.

The Pious Chapel church 6 miles north of Idaville is said to be badly wrecked. Sam McVay, a farmer near by the church, had his barn destroyed and five horses killed.

James Nixon, four miles north of Idaville, had his barn destroyed but all the the ten horses were uninjured.

John Jones east of Mr. Nixon, near the Thomas school house, reports all buildings badly damaged. Harve Thomas, north of Mr. Jones, lost the roof off his barn.

Arthur Pingry, residing mid-way between Idaville and Monticello, had two horses killed.

Two barns on the Capt. Hays farm two miles north of Idaville were destroyed and a horse and several hogs belonging to te tenant Fred Ohman, were killed.

A big barn belong to Milt Mertz at Burnettsville was blown down and a house on the Guy farm northeast of Burnettsville was wrecked by the wind and later caught fire and burned up. Mr. and Mrs. Guy were both badly hurt, the latter's condition being quite serious.

Damages are also reported at the Russow farm west of Idaville, the Geisler farm 2 miles northeast of Idaville and at the John Neel farm northwest of Idaville.

Bert Shafer, who had a thresherman's cabin on wheels in the gravel pit at the edge of Idaville, awoke to find his cabin gone. When he attempted to give chase the wind slammed him into a wire fence from which he was unable to get loose until the storm subsided. When he got disentangled he hiked to his father's home at the south end of town leaving his cabin in flames. Idaville [illegible] who noticed the fire went in search of him and for a time it was thought he had been burned to death but his whereabouts were later discovered and the search came to an abrupt end.

7 April:

THE ERWIN BABY COULD NOT SURVIVE INJURIES

Infant Blown Out of Mother's Arms When the Great Cyclone Came, Died March 30

Infant Erwin, the little storm victim in Monon township, in whom everybody in the county had a solicitous interest, died Thursday of last week. The baby was reported in the list of dead in the first chronicles of the storm, but later reports, to the surprise of everybody conversant with the rough treatment the baby had received, held out some hope of ultimate recovery. During the week preceding the baby's death it had been in convulsions most of the time.

The death occurred at the home of Will Erwin, a brother of Albert Erwin, the father of the babe, and whose house was destroyed by the wind. The anguish and greif of the parents, from the time their babe was found by the light of their burning home, until death came as a merciful liberator, can be best understood by those who have seen their treasures taken from them.

15 September:

ONLY ONE DEATH IN FAMILY OF FOURTEEN

Our Sitka correspondent sends in the following death notice which is remarkable for the reason that it records the first loss by death in a family of fourteen children:
"The infant daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jewel F. Ward was buried at Riverview cemetery Monday afternoon. This is the fourteenth child born to them and the first death which has occurred in the family."

 

Notes from The Sheldon Progress, 1916

Herman Christian Froemke

1856 - 1916

January 6:

Mr. and Mrs. Ed Wall and family and Miss Elma Torfin were guests at the Bjugstad home Tuesday evening.

February 10:

Anselm: The popularity of checkers seems to have centered in Anselm this winter. The contestants most interested are Barney Buss, Mr. Sohenstahl, Leslie Legg and Ole Gutenberg who carry the banner of superiority. However, the tables were turned just recently when Charlie Krueger an old timer with past checker experience, defeated the entire line of "banner carriers", establishing a higher standard of checker brains.

Owego: With his pockets filled with salt and a hammer under his arm, J. N. Johnson sallied forth early Thursday morning with the intention of capturing several of the "domesticated coyotes" which are especially fond of Owego chickens. However, he soon discovered that his artillery was too light and was compelled to signal for reinforcements. His S.O.S. signal was soon answered by Carl Bjugstad who came hurrying across the field astride his worthy cayuse. Before his heavy Howitzer could be brought into action the coyotes had reached the hills and vamoosed from sight. The sportsmen returned late in the afternoon tired but not vanquished. Undaunted by his neighbor's failure, Ed Wall shoved his old musket under the seat of the cutter, hitched up his trusty team, and after securing the assistance of his father, gave chase late in the evening to two other coyotes. Just as Ed thought he had his game the sleigh struck a stump and upset and before he could dig himself out from underneath the wreckage the coyotes had made their getaway. Edward is seriously considering the purchase of a Zeppelin from the Germans as he is of the opinion they are not all needed in Europe. Should he be successful in making the purchase he feels certain that he can fly high enough to miss the stumps.

February 17:

Mr. and Mrs. Ed Wall and son Herbert visited at the Christ Bjugstad home Tuesday evening.

Our North Dakota atmosphere has again captured Mr. Reis after having tried to begin a home in Minnesota the passing winter.

February 24:

Lena Buss returned last week after having spent a few days at Lisbon and Leonard.

John Reis, who farmed the Black place southwest of Anselm for years, and sold out last fall and moved to Bemidji, near where he had some land, sold out down there and will again locate in this vicinity. He has rented the Lovejoy farm on the Sheyenne river and is expected here soon with a carload of goods. Mr. Lovejoy will probably have an auction sale and move to Sheldon to live.

March 2:

Ed Buss has decided to quit farming this spring and will dispose of all his personal property at auction on Thursday, March 9, on the Banish place, three miles east of Sheldon. Ed has ten head of horses, a fresh milch cow, some corn in stack and a complete set of farm machinery. D. E. Jones will cry the sale and R. E. Kratt will do the clerking.

March 9:

John Reis and wife arrived from Bemidji, Minn., Wednesday morning and will take up their home on the Brocker place on the Sheyenne river. Mr. Reis sold out his interests at Bemidji this winter and was not long in deciding to come back to his old neighborhood to live.

March 16:

Mr. and Mrs. Ferdinand Buss called at the Shunks' Frinday afternoon.

Mr. and Mrs. Reis and daughter Mae called at Charlie Krueger's Sunday.

March 23:

Ed Wall and family spent Sunday afternoon at Walter Ihme's.

Mrs. Herman Froemke and daughter Elena visited at F. Buss' Sunday.

Mr. and Mrs. Phillip Nohr and two children and Mr. and Mrs. Lew Froemke spent Sunday at Herman Buss.

Mr. and Mrs Arthur Anderson and child from Bedford, Ind., are visiting at Herman Buss. Mrs. Anderson is a dughter of Buss and they expect to locate here now.

March 30:

Anselm: Miss Mae Reis visited at the Seelig and Lovejoy homes Sunday.

John Reis was a Lisbon visitor Monday.

April 6:

Owego: Last Thursday Mrs. Ed Wall entertained the Ladies Aid of the United Lutheran Church. Owing to the bad weather very few were present, nevertheless a considerable amount was raised from the sale of luncheon.

April 13:

[The Progress reported that more than two-thirds of the May jurors were farmers in the midst of seeding. Oscar Wieg of Green township was one of them. It was expected to take the greater part of a week to dispose of the jury cases.]

H. C. Buss closed a deal last week for the purchase of the southwest quarter of section 18, in Shenford township, known as part of the Black farm, from the Ransom County Immigration Association. Mr. Buss will summer fallow a greater part of the quarter this year. During the summer he intends to erect a set of farm buildings.

April 20:

McLeod: Mr. and Mrs. A Buss of St. Paul, who have been spending the winter in California, stopped off here enroute home Monday to look over some land.

Those who spent Sunday at Ed Wall's were Ina, Glenn, Ellen and Mae Black, Helen and Clara Johnson, Hattie Johnson, and Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Buss.

April 27:

Mr. and Mrs. Ed Wall and son Herb spent Easter Sunday at Zuelke's.

Gerald Buss's little son is quite ill with pneumonia.

May 18:

Last Sunday the stork was overloaded with little cherubs and so paid a visit to the home of Mr. and Mrs. John Krentz, southwest of Sheldon, and left them a pair of twins, a boy and a girl.

June 8:

Fred Krentz's visited Lew Froemke's Sunday.

June 15:

F. W. Froemke received a telegram at noon today from North Yakima, Wash., stating that his brother Herman C. Froemke had been seriously injured in an accident and was not expected to live. Mr. Froemke is well known around Anselm where he lived before moving west.

June 22:

F. W. Froemke departed Friday evening for North Yakima, Wash., where he was called by a telegram stating that his brother Herman was not expected to live, and who died Saturday evening before Mr. Froemke arrived. His death was caused from an injury which he received Wednesday of last week. He fell from a load of poles which he was hauling, severely injuring his back, some of the bones penetrating the spinal column between the shoulder blades. He was conscious only a part of the time after the accident. Old friends of the Froemke family around Anselm will be grieved to hear of his untimely death, the family moving from there to Washington some ten years ago.

August 3:

FOR SALE: Five head of horses--one good heavy work team and three four-year-olds. Fred Krentz, Lisbon, N.D., R.F.D. 2.

August 17:

Herman Schultz and family of Anselm Sundayed at the home of Ed Wall's.

August 24:

August Nelson and wife of Minneapolis are visiting with Mrs. Nelson's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Ferdinand Buss. Mr. Nelson returned home Tuesday while his wife will make a longer visit.

August 31:

Anselm: Sunday last, Mr. and Mrs. F. Buss entertained at a party at their home. Those present were Jake Muths, Oscar Weigs, Jno. Krantzs, and Mr. and Mrs. Nelson of Minneapolis.

September 7:

Anselm: Miss Annie Buss and Mrs. A. Nelson called on Anselm friends Monday.

Olge Schultz and Annie Wall were guests of Ella Shunk and Ella Toring Tuesday.

A. Nelson returned to Minneapolis after spending several days at the Buss home.

October 5:

Casey: Oscar Wieg, John Krentz and Ferdinand Buss and families and Mrs. Brehmer were all guests at the Jacob Muth home Sunday.

November 9:

Jacob Muth, a Casey township farmer, returned Tuesday morning from Parshall, up on the Berthold reservation, where he had been for a week looking after his farming interests. Mr. Muth was one of the lucky ones two years ago at the drawing for land and drew number 300. He had some of the land broken up and put into flax this year and harvested a bumper crop. Mr. Muth sold his land while up there on this trip, as he found it almost impossible to attend to his farm work here and establish a residence up there which the government compels him to do. He believes that is a good country up there and if he could dispose of his farm here he would probably go there and buy again.

November 30:

At two o'clock Thanksgiving afternoon occurred the marriage of August Litzau and Miss Anna Buss, at the home of the bride's parents southwest of Sheldon, Rev. A. Haag pronouncing the words that made them man and wife in the presence of a large circle of relatives and friends. The groom comes from Frazee, Minn., but for the past two years has been working on different farms in the vicinity of Sheldon. He is a steady capable upright young man well thought of. The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ferdinand Buss, pioneer residents of Green township, and has always made her home with her parents. She is a charming accomplished young lad with full attainments for taking up the duties of a wife. The happy couple will make their home with the bride's parents and will assist Mr. Buss in operating his farm. Following the ceremony, after congratulations had been extended, a bounteous Thanksgiving wedding dinner was served. 

A party was held at John Reis' Sunday. Among those present were Chas. Colva and family, Robert McRitchie and wife and daughter Margaret, Leslie Legg, John Behrends, Edna Lovejoy, and Jane Behrend.

[Spoiler alert! The entire plot of  "The Serpent" is revealed here! TKS] Theda Bara at the opera house, Saturday, Dec. 2, is at her best as Vania Lazar, a beautiful Russian peasant girl. Betrayed and debauched by the Grand Duke Valonoff, she leaves the country and with naught but hate in her heart for all men deliberately sets forth on a career of devastation. High or low degree, it matters naught, her prey is man, and in the city which she has taken up her abode, she leaves a trail marked by ruined lives. The war has broken out, wounded soldiers are arriving from the front, and "The Serpent" watches in glee as the broken men file past her window. A Russian officer is carried past. His face wakens memories. She makes inquiry and discovers that the wounded officeer is Prince Valonoff, son of the Grand Duke. She helps nurse him back to health and he, too, falls victim to her charms, Shortly after their marriage the Grand Duke sends word that he is coming to visit his only and beloved son. The Prince is called away before his father's arrival. Vania greets the Grand Duke, who does not recognize her. He makes love to her after she had lured him on. The Prince returns, and finding his wife clasped in the arms of his own father, commits suicide. The last drop of venom from the "Serpent's" fangs has found its mark. Admission 15 and 25 cents. Coming Wednesday, December 6, Wm. Furnum in "The Plunderers."

December 7:

The following people spent a pleasant Sunday with Mr. and Mrs. Colva of Anselm. Mr. and Mrs. Reis and daughter May, Fred Wall and wife, Chas. Wall, Mrs. Henry Ihme and sons Henry and Christian, Mr. and Mrs. Paul Shimming and his father C. Shimming.

December 21:

The H. C. Buss family spent Sunday at the home of their daughter Mrs. Art Anderson and family.

[Some minor typographical errors have been corrected. TKS]

Lyman, W. D. History of the Yakima Valley, Washington Comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties. S.J. Clarke Pub. Co, 1919. [Bio and portrait of Herman C. Froemke, Vol. 2, p. 926-928]

Wordless Wednesday: 'Twas a hot day in July, summer of '16 . . .

. . . when a couple of guys from the U. S. Geological Survey set out across North Dakota . . .

. . . forded a stream or two in the ol' Ford . . .

. . . and set up their tent on the prairie.

William Clinton Alden and the young 'un had a job to do . . .

Photos courtesy of the U. S. Geological Survey Photographic Library.

Notes from The Sheldon Progress, 1915 (Part 2)

The Sheldon Progress and Sheldon Enterprise ~ Page 1

Sheldon, Ransom County, North Dakota ~ Thursday, June 24, 1915

January 7:

Casey: Last Friday evening Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Buss enjoyed several hours visiting at the August Ludtke home.

Shenford: Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Buss were Lisbon visitors Saturday and Monday.

January 28:

Ed Buss had the big toe of his left foot completely severed Friday morning while attempting to start a balky gasoline engine at the Gust Schmidt place three miles east of the village. In his efforts to start the engine Ed placed both his hands on the fly wheels and braced his feet against the frame. When the crankshaft revolved his toe was caught between the frame and the shaft, cutting it so that t only hung by a small piece of skin. Dr. Weyrens of Sheldon and Dr. Roy Labbitt of Enderlin were summoned and completed the job of amputation. Mr. Buss will be laid up for some time and is congratulating himself that the injury wasn't of a more severe nature.

February 4:

Herman Froemke came home from Fargo Monday morning for a few days rest. Herman has been laid up with a bad case of the grip and he wants to fully recover before going to work again.

March 11:

Jake Muth and family were Sunday guests at the John Reis home. 

March 18:

John Ihme and Miss Ella Buss went out for a joy ride last Sunday. Who knows where?

Mr. and Mrs. Fred Krantz, who reside east of Anselm, visited with the latter's aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. Gus Jaster, Sunday afternoon.

Miss Emma Krueger is assisting her grandmother, Mrs. Buss of Anselm this week with her general housework. It is reported that Grandma Buss met with an accident the past week, thereby hurting her hand which is quite a drawback in her work at present.

March 25:

H. C. Buss and daughter Miss Leona returned from their winter's sojourn in Florida and Indiana Saturday. Mr. Buss went down to Lake Alfred, Fla., where he has a tract of grapefruit land which was set out two years ago, and spent the winter there looking after the cultivation of the trees. He reports that all the old Sheldon folks are in the best of health and that Mr. and Mrs. Adam Goodman expect to remain in the south during the summer. Miss Buss did not go to Florida but visited with her sister at Bedford, Ind.

April 1:

Casey: Mr. and Mrs. Chas. Krueger entertained a number of friends Sunday, among whom were Mr. and Mrs. John Krantz and Joseph Legg.

April 8:

Herman Froemke came down from Fargo Saturday morning to spend the day with his parents Mr. and Mrs. P. W. Froemke. Owing to the large amount of spring business in the Northern Trust company, where he is employed, he could not remain away from his position any longer.

May 20:

Anselm: Mrs. Jack Woods spent Thursday of last week at Fred Krantz's.

Casey: Mr. and Mrs. F. Buss will leave Saturday for Davenport for a visit with friends and relatives until Wednesday.

Mrs. F. Buss and daughter Miss Annie spent Tuesday afternoon at the Shunk home. Miss Buss has been with her sister Mrs. Oscar Weig [sic--correctly Wieg] the past month.

June 3:

Mr. and Mrs. Phillip Nohr and family Sundayed at the home of Fred Krantz.

Ferdinand Buss and wife returned Saturday morning from Davenport, where they have been for a week visiting with relatives.

July 1:

Mrs. Ed Hasebring [sic--correctly Hasselbring] of Lemmon, S. D., and Miss Emma Krentz, of Baker, Mont., arrived Monday morning for a visit with their sister Mrs. John Ries [sic--correctly Reis], southwest of Sheldon.

July 8:

Casey: Mrs. Gus Jaster and May Feltman spent Thursday at the Fred Krantz home.

Anselm: Bernard Smith is now working for Fred Krantz.

Herman Froemke came home from Fargo Saturday morning to spend the bank holiday with his parents.

July 22:

Casey: Mrs. Phillip Nohr called on F. Jaster;s and on her daughter, Mrs. Fred Krantz, Monday.

August 5:

Mr. and Mrs. Herman Froemke have as their guests Mrs. M. Adams and children of Milwaukee, Wis. Mrs. Adams is their daughter and intends staying several weeks with her folks.

Jake Muth, John Ries, Frank Nohr, Chas. Krueger, William Hanelt and Bernard Schultz were pallbearers at the funeral of Mrs. Fred (Wilhelmina Stein) Seelig.

August 19:

Mr. and Mrs. Ferdinand Buss are entertaining their daughter and husband Mr. and Mrs. Nelson of Minneapolis this week.

September 2:

Fred Walls autoed to Owego Sunday. They visited there with the Edd Wall family.

Casey: Mrs. August Nelson and her mother Mrs. F. Buss were at the Mrs. H. Froemke home Monday. Mr. Nelson is near Velva looking after farming affairs.

Local News: During the high wind last Monday a load of bundles at the Lew Froemke machine caught fire from a spark from the engine and was entirely consumed. The load was being pitched into the feeder when the teamster discovered that his load was on fire. He drove away from the separator and the rest of the crew succeeded in saving the team and the wagon by tipping the rack off. The rack burned with the bundles. Mr. Froemke was threshing on his own farm.

September 16:

The home of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Krantz, east of Anselm, was made happy Monday afternoon by the arrival of a very sweet little baby girl--their first.

September 23:

Mr. and Mrs. A. R. Nohr visited at the Fred Krantz home Sunday.

Fred Wall's sister Ella arrived Friday evening from Idaho and will spend several weeks visiting her brothers near here.

September 30:

Casey: During the rainstorm last Friday night one of Ferdinand Buss's hay stacks was burned by lightning. The fire might have been serious, being that it was near the buildings. Mr. Buss, with the aid of the threshing crew successfully checked the fire.

Born last Monday to Mr. and Mrs. A. C. Weig, at the Enderlin hospital, a daughter. If the new arrival had been a boy, the entire state of North Dakota wouldn't be large enough to hold Alfred.

October 7:

Mrs. A. C. Weig and the new baby girl came home from the Enderlin hospital last Thursday.

Casey: Mrs. Ed Wall and son of Owego visited at the Fred Wall home Sheldon. [sic]

October 14:

Mrs. Ed Wall accompanied by Fred Wall's sister Ella visited at Ferdinand Buss's home Tuesday.

October 21:

Gerald Buss, with wife and baby, spent Sunday at Ed Wall's.

Mr. and Mrs. Reis left Tuesday evening on a business trip to Minnesota.

Fred Krantz bought some Ransom county real estate this week when he purchased the northwest quarter of section twenty-two in Shenford township. The land already contains a barn and granary and Mr. Krantz will build a house next summer.

October 28:

Mr. and Mrs. Albert Buss and two children of Leonard came down to spend Sunday with his brother Herman Buss.

November 11:

RANSOM COUNTY CITIZENS LUCKY: Three other [sic] Ransom county citizens were lucky in the drawing for land on the Berthold reservation at Minot last week. They all secured numbers below five hundred, and when others below their numbers are weeded out because of their ineligibility, they should secure some choice land. Those securing numbers were:
No. 303 - Jacob Muth, Lisbon.
No. 400 - William Lindemann, Enderlin..
No. 526 - Albert Hauge, McLeod.
No. 128 [sic] - Gust Kemmer, Alice.
Several other Ransom county people were lucky but their numbers were well beyond a thousand and it is not likely they will have a chance to file.

November 18:

Miss Mae Reis is spending a few days with the girls at Herman Buss's.

Mr. and Mrs. Reis, Gerald Buss and family and Mr. Nightingale spent Sunday at Herman Buss's.

December 2:

Herman A. Froemke, who has land interests near Lake Alfred, Fla., left last night for that point where he will spend the winter.

December 23:

A number of friends and relatives gathered at the home of Mr. and Mrs. H. Buss last Saturday afternoon to help them celebrate their silver wedding anniversary. Rev. Elster, pastor of the German Lutheran curch, gave a splendid talk to the group present which was enjoyed by all. After the address a most sumptuous dinner was served to the guests, a dinner which could not be excelled in quality and quantity. The guests were then entertained in numerous ways. Mr. and Mrs. Buss were presented with numerous tokens of remembrance and their friends wish them many anniversaries to come.

 ------------

Click to read Part 1 of Notes from The Sheldon Progress, 1915.

How do you explain that?

"Well, coincidence, first of all..."

"Nonsense. Literature does not permit coincidence."

"Maybe not in one book, there can't be coincidence," Joe argued. "But sure, all sorts of myths are alike from all sorts of places..."

Have you been here before? Then you already know I'm not much of a reader. You'll probably be ever so mildly impressed, then, when I tell you I've read not one, not two, but three meaty novels in the past two weeks. Myself? I'm so impressed that I think the three deserve a fancy title: My Summer Reading List for 2010 or some such. And, while it wasn't easy reining in the six-headed ADD beast through 1,393 pages (and I am not talking large-print editions here), I did enjoy all three titles.

This, however, is not so much a book review or book report--to be honest, I'm not sure I remember what the difference is between the two, nor what the proper elements of either one would be--as it is an observation.

To begin, I'll go back to this time last summer, when the world breathlessly awaited the release of The Lost Symbol, a new novel by Dan Brown, author of The DaVinci Code. I was as breathless as anyone. I loved The DaVinci Code. I had two text copies--one in English, one in Spanish--and the unabridged audio CD in Spanish. I'd read the English one first, then ordered the Spanish versions thinking I would use them together, aided by the English version, to teach myself to read and speak Spanish. This plan was as much for the sake of motivating myself to reread the book (something I never do) as it was to learn Spanish, although at the time I was also preparing for a trip to Mexico. But I digress. I pre-ordered The Lost Symbol, it was delivered soon after the release date, and I put it on my bookshelf to be read at a time when I was certain I'd be able to read non-stop for a couple days or so, long enough to finish it without taking a break to do anything else.

On another occasion last year, I don't remember when exactly, I happened to stop at the dollar store when they had a table of remaindered hardcover books parked right inside the entrance. Like everything else, the books were a dollar, so I took a minute to glance over them. The Lost Constitution looked good--William Martin was "a master storyteller," according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer quote on the cover--and the jacket threw around some eye-catching phrases--"treasure hunt through time" and "early annotated draft of the Constitution stolen and smuggled out of Philadelphia" and "in shocking detail, the Founders unequivocal intentions" caught mine, and hey, it was only a dollar.

Before I could move away from the table, the cover of A Geographer's Library caught my eye also. I picked it up and flipped it over. On the back, an 'advance praise' quote said, "The Geographer's Library is a real reader's book, magnetic and sharply written, with excellent history, a strong narrative, and a mind of its own." Now right away I can hear you thinking, wouldn't that be enough to cause TK to drop that puppy like a hot spud?, because we all know she is not a 'real reader,' and she hates history! But this is the point in the story where I reveal one of the reasons I never go shopping. I hate shopping, for one thing, but for another, there is some sort of gap in my mental apparatus which sometimes causes me to purchase something that makes absolutely no sense a'tall! And hey, it was only a dollar.

So I arrived home that day with two books which I was pretty sure I'd never actually read. I left them laying on the coffee table, on the off chance... but eventually moved them to the shelf below the TV. Their priority dropped, you might say, to about 3" above floor level.

Fast-forward now to mid-June, 2010. After more than three months of daily posts at Before My Time, I had only a few surname posts left to do, but I was dragging my feet when it came right down to it. I had blogger burnout and my energy was being pulled toward creating books, but I didn't feel like actually writing anything. Heck, it was so hot and muggy I didn't feel like doing anything. So, since I was laying around like a limp dripping dishrag anyway, reading a book seemed like a pretty good way to pretend like I was doing something while actually doing nothing.

In the course of writing my surname posts, early American history had come up a lot so my mind was already warmed up to that era, and I really didn't think I had enough mental energy for Dan Brown, so The Lost Constitution seemed like the best choice.

If you've read it, you already know how faulty that bit of logic was, but it doesn't matter.  William Martin, it turns out, is a master storyteller, and the book generated all the energy I needed to keep turning the pages. What's more, there was a strong family history/genealogy aspect that figured into the story. History mystery, family saga, political thriller--this turned out to be another book I'd like to reread. But will I have time? Martin wrote seven novels before this one, none of which I've read yet. And now I must!

While I was reading that book, my daughter called and asked me to farm-sit while she and her family take a two-week camping trip. I brought the book to Kentucky with me, thinking I would write a post about it. And, what the heck, I brought along the other two books that have been waiting to be read also, just in case.

And as it happened, the first few days I spent here were so hot and muggy I didn't feel like doing anything. Luckily I was prepared for that, huh? I settled in with The Lost Symbol and some lemonade.

You don't have to hit me over the head more than two or three times before I catch on to stuff, and indeed it didn't take me long to notice that this book, like the one just before it, was a thriller about finding something very old that has been lost. Yeah, I know what you're thinking... both books have 'Lost' right in the title. But you may remember, from several paragraphs ago, how I happened to acquire these particular books--i.e., without much attention to the fine points. The first was chosen largely because of its early American history aspect, and the second because... well, Dan Brown, duh. So the similarities seem like a pretty interesting coincidence to me.

As in The DaVinci Code, symbology and the Freemasons figure prominently in The Lost Symbol.  To be perfectly honest, I liked The DaVinci Code--the ultimate genealogy thriller--better, but having said that, I will admit I had no trouble turning the pages of The Lost Symbol. I ate it up in two hot, sticky days.

Two good thrillers in a row and the ongoing hot weather had me firmly settled into a rare reading mood, so I moved right on to The Geographer's Library--you know, the one where I judged the book by the grungy old map on its cover. And as it turns out--this is where my story gets just a little bit creepy--this book is a thriller about the search for a whole bunch of very old stuff that's been lost.

That, if you ask me, is a pretty strange coincidence--randomly choosing three novels, which came out in three different years, reading them one right after the other when I rarely read fiction, and finding that all three are crafted upon the same premise.

What's more, in The Lost Symbol, a recurrent phrase was "as above, so below," and in The Geographer's Library, the same thought was a chapter heading. That's a pretty odd coincidence too.

And the cherry atop this three-scoop sundae of coincidence? It's the title and quoted lines of dialogue which appear at the top of this post. They're from The Geographer's Library, page 300. Now, that's just plain bizarre!

------------

Fasman, Jon. The Geographer's Library. New York: Penguin Press, 2005.  (This post opens with a quote from p. 300.)
Martin, William. The Lost Constitution. New York: Forge, 2007.
Brown, Dan. The Lost Symbol: A Novel. New York: Doubleday, 2009.