October Birthdays and Anniversaries

1. Rachel Zoe Anderson Thomae (41)
Who is this?
She is the daughter of Robert Anderson and Elodee Ranum.
Her grand parents are the Ella Rye Anderson Steinhauer and the late Lloyd Anderson, and Stanley Ranum’s.
Jaeme: Mother
Kelsie: First cousin once removed


1. Lawrence Henry Rye (50)
Who is this?
Son of Ralph Rye and Atropa Moncrief
His grandparents were Henry and Julia Rye and William Arthur Moncrief and Mary Etta Morgan
Jaeme: First cousin twice removed
Kelsie: First cousin twice removed

1. Vernon Mellem (82)
Who was this?
He was the son of Peter Mellem and Caroline Lappegaard.
His Grandparents were Thorinus and Pauline Mellem
Jaeme: First cousin three times removed
Kelsie: First cousin three times removed

1. Royal Jorgenson (59)
Who is this?
Jaeme’s and Kelsie’s second cousin twice removed
Royal's great great grandparents were OK and Gertrude Olson


7. Lorine O Ranum (107)
Who was this?
Lorine married Benhard’s half brother Otto.
Jaeme: ½ second grand aunt through marriage


7. Shalin Anderson (13)
Who is this?
Shalin is the son of Juanita Hagen and the late Bing Anderson
Jaeme: Second cousin
Kelsie: First cousin


10. Bennie Ranum (125)
Who was this?
Bennie was the brother of Benhard Ranum
The son of Knute Ranum
Jaeme: 2nd grand uncle


10. Thorinus Mellem (153)
Who was this? Thorinus was the patriarch of the Mellem family
Jaeme: Third great grandfather
Kelsie: Third great grandfather


11. Lora Rye Andreae (53)
Who is this?
Oldest child of Ralph and Atropa Rye.
Ralph was the son of Henry T Rye and Julia Olette Olson
Jaeme: First cousin, twice removed
Kelsie: First cousin twice removed.


17. Larry G Schneider (71)
Who is this?
He is the husband of Dorothy Elaine Anderson
Jaeme: Grand uncle by marriage
Kelsie Grand uncle by marriage


18. Gregory J Ranum (67)
Who was this?
He was the son of Stanley K Ranum and Ella Lundberg.
Stanley was the son of Benhard Ranum and Julia Opseth.
Jaeme: Grand uncle


21. Lillian Alby Ranum (88)
Who was this?
Lillian was the wife of Harry Ranum
He was the son of Benhard Ranum and Julia Opseth.
Jaeme: Great grand aunt by marriage


24. Julia Olette Olson Rye (118)
Who was this?
Julia was the daughter of Ole and Gertrude Olson.
She married Henry T Rye.
Their daughter, Ella, married Lloyd Anderson.
Jaeme: Second great grandmother
Kelsie: Second great grand mother


24. Julia Clara Opseth Ranum (122)
Who was this?
Julia was the daughter of Hannah Nordhagen and Andreas Opseth.
She married Benhard Ranum.
Jaeme: Second Great grand daughter


25. Sarah E Chamberlain (17)
Who is this?
Sarah is the daughter of Reta Rye and Robert Chamberlain.
Reta is the daughter of Ralph Rye and Atropa Moncrief.
Jaeme: Second cousin, once removed
Kelsie: Second cousin, once removed


25. Olga and John Ranum (94)
Who were they?
John is the brother of Benhard Ranum.
Jaeme: Second great uncle, Olga is aunt by marriage


27. Louis Cloutier (95)
Who was he?
Louis is the husband of Nora Rye
She is the daughter of Henry T Rye and Julia Olette Olson
Jaeme: Great grand uncle by marriage
Kelsie: Great grand uncle by marriage


29. Melissa Ranum (43)
Who is this?
Melissa is the daughter of Bruce Ranum.
Bruce is the son of Harry and Harry the son of Benhard.
Jaeme: Second cousin, once removed


29. Elizabeth Ranum (28)
Who is this?
Elizabeth is the daughter of James Harry Ranum
He is the third child of Harry Ranum and Lillian Alberg.
Harry’s parents were Julia Opseth and Benhard Ranum
Jaeme: Second cousin, once removed


29. Melvina L Rye (81)
Who is this?
Melvina is the wife of Cliff Rye
Cliff is the son of Henry T Rye and Julia Olette Olson
Jaeme: Great grand aunt by marriage
Kelsie: Great grand aunt by marriage


30. Niels Knudsen (271)
Who was this?
Niels Knudsen is the father of Knute Nielson Ranum who married Siri Dickin.
They had Benhard Ranum.
Benhard married Julia Opseth.
They had two children: Harry and Stanley.
Stanley married Ella Lundberg
They had two children; Greg and Elodee.
Elodee married Robert Anderson
They three children, Rachel, Paul, and Ryen.
Rachel married Lynn Thomae
They had Jaeme Lynn.
That makes Jaeme the seventh generation!
Jaeme: Fourth great grandfather of Knut Nielson

Four Generations of the Rye Family

FOUR GENERATIONS

JULIA RYE, RALPH RYE, HANK RYE, AND AARON RYE

The picture you are viewing was taken September 1980 in Thief River Falls, Minnesota

Julia (1889) would turn 91 on October 24
Ralph (1929) would turn 51 on December 5
Hank (1957) would turn 23 on October 1
Aaron was a few months old, having been born on January 19, 1980.

In sifting through boxes of pictures, it is exciting to find multiple generational pictures. What is really special is the numbers of pictures, although not four generations, taken with Julia Rye. I especially like the expression on her face on this picture.

Ralph was the last child born to Henry and Julia Rye. In 1980, as now, he lives with his wife, Atropa, in DeSoto, Kansas. How typical to see him with his glasses on his forehead. Ralph and Atropa celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary in 2002. I found the invitation in the boxes of pictures. Both of them are very special people. The coffee pot is always on.

Hank will turn fifty the first of October. I saw him last fall and to look at the picture above and compare him to our recent visit, well, I will tell you he doesn't look much different. He still has that light in his eyes and a song in his voice.

We stayed overnight at Ralph and Atropa's house in DeSoto when he was little. A six year old is going to get visitors up very early. One windy March Sunday, he helped make box kites.

Hank married Teri and they had two boys. Aaron, the oldest, is close in age to Ryen. The family, labeled, THAT, (Teri, Hank, Aaron, and Thomas), came to visit us on occasion. Aaron, Thomas, and Ryen always had a good time playing together. Ryen had 24 square lunch boxes filled with little like-with-like. The next day, Ryen and I would make a pile, open all the empty boxes and sort the toys back to their home.

The last I heard, Aaron has a pilot. He is married and has a child of his own.

Thomas is a computer whiz

This all shows us the multiple talents of the Henry and Julia Rye children. One of the strong common strains is how graciously they host others

Fast forward to 2007

Ralph is the great grandfather approaching 78

Hank is the grandfather approaching 50

Aaron is the father at 27

Wesley, born on May 16, 2005

The Little Professor

Ryen Bentley Anderson
September 27, 1979
9:47 PM
6 pounds
20 inches long


1. Ryen’s middle name is Bentley, he is lucky it isn’t Rolls Royce because his brother thought he should be named after a car. As you may have gathered, Ryen's ancestors are RYE, thus Ryen, NOT Ryan.

2. Ryen didn’t like to eat corn when he was little; he thought it would make him fat.

3. Ryen was rarely ill; although he had a hearing problem. The doctor said putting tubes in his ears would help, when they started the process, they found he had adenoids the size of fifty cent pieces. We were used to talking loudly so Ryen could hear. After he had his surgery, he cried when we talked loud because it hurt his ears.

4. I told him I would help him financially until he was ready to 'be on his own' after college. He announced in just a few months he was ready.

5. He had no early interest in going to nursery school. I remember something about he didn't want to grow up like his brother and sister. The kindergarten teacher thought it might be a problem. I asked her what type of problems. She said, “Oh, like what it means when the teacher turns off the lights or how to line up.”

6. Ryen and I ordered a movie via cable. He was sure it would be on his television, I was in the living room waiting for it to start. It started on his and he was jumping around and broke his toe.

7. When he was in the lower grades, he wrote a letter to the Walt Disney Studios asking for a job; he included that he wouldn’t be available until 1998. He wanted a job as a voice over for a cartoon. He drove the second grade teacher nuts by doing old English lettering instead of writing like everyone else. I told her to give him a break.

8. When he was born, the nurse said, "Five pounds, 16 ounces." The doctor said, "Let's just make that six pounds even."

9. He liked to dress up for Halloween and no matter what, he wanted to do his own make up. He had his own talent for make up including an oatmeal concoction to look like peeling skin.

10. Ryen’s first job was pool guy at the apartment complex. Although he was not 12, he was allowed to swim without an adult supervising him.

11. He loved BBQ ribs. When his grandmother with the dog came to visit, we went to the place on Iowa Street called the Bum Steer and she let him eat as much as he wanted. I think that was the end of him eating pork.

12. He set up the first AOL connection. He was trying to come up with a screen name and password. He looked at the door knobs and decided ORBKNOB would be a good name. He looked at the clock and decided PENDULUM would be a good password.

13. We wanted to know if there were 23 restaurants on Twenty-Third Street in Lawrence, KS. I am happy to report, according to the Yellow Pages, there are presently 32 listed. We also counted curb cuts.

14. He loved He Man cartoons. They were only available on Sunflower Cable. We had a satellite dish that had 130+ channels but we kept the cable for He Man. Most of his TV time was watching the Disney Channel.

15. There were two kids in the neighborhood named Adri and Derek. He and Derek drew a lot of pictures; both of them have an art profession. I think Ryen helped Derek find his way in life. Although working in a doughnut shop is an honorable profession, Ryen was not instrumental in helping Adri find her way.

16. When I was trying to select a color of nail polish at Dillons, he suggested I put a different color on each fingernail. But I only brought one to the check out. No, they weren't tester bottles.

17. He liked Star Wars characters instead of allowance. He may still have the two Star Wars quilts I made for them. Our garage still has the He Man series including a few characters which were redesigned.

18. Bud and Ryen were fighting over a blanket. To solve the argument, their father cut it in half and both of them were unhappy.

19. I am happy to see Paisanos Ristorante is still in operation; it was a favorite of Ryen’s on special occasions. He worked at Paradise Café when he was in high school.

20 He spent several weeks in Germany one summer. When the student came to the United States to stay with us, Klaus wanted to go to Disneyland…………From KANSAS? Think about this: When Ryen was hosted by Klaus family, they went to different countries!

Sending a son to Germany for the summer was expensive. We had met the fees and had some spending money. I hoped he would have at least an additional $250.

We had an ice cream cone bank that sat on the floor in the kitchen. Ryen took it to the bank and the coins put us over the top. The bank had $265 and a little bit more. Never under estimate the power of change.

21. He was into knight armor one year. For his birthday I rented a six foot set of stationary armor for the weekend. The budget wasn't great enough to buy it. He appreciated the thought.

22. He learned all about hair and diet from Melody and her family. He learned about Chinese from Helen and he observed what happens when people say mean and say cruel things from what's her name.

23. He lived in a co op while in college. He was bitten by a brown spider while sleeping. Ask him if you can see his scar.

24. When I visited him in Kansas, I was invited to come to Waxman Candles and make candles!

25. Ryen moved to New York after college. Although he worked for a company, he also did free lance. Splash sent him to France for textile conventions.

26 One birthday, he took himself to Norway. He went to Mexico recently and looks handsome sitting on a donkey.

27. When he moved to Ohio to work for Abercrombie and Fitch, he bought himself a new car. He stated it is nice to drive a car that doesn’t break down. He has zipped all over the country in his Honda.

28. When he was little, he asked his grandmother what to call the dog. She told him to call him anything because he wouldn’t come. He called Criket “Peanut Butter”. He liked to get into the dog's kennel.

I need to publish this, I keep rearranging and changing. Happy birthday, Prince of the Meadow.

Love you.

Mom

That's a Lot of Bull

Does he look vicious?

Ole Swenson killed by vicious bull. The bull struck him the breast with such force that the man’s neck was broken and death was instantaneous.

Man is killed by angry bull at farm. Ness Anderson, 55 found dead on farm near Holt. Marks on his body showed that he had been severely trampled and beaten. The top of the dead man’s head was badly mutilated while his chest was crushed in and his sides showed marks of the bull having stamped on him.

Christ Mattson, a farmer living about one and a half miles northwest of Hazel and who on the day previous had celebrated his seventy-eighth birthday, was fatally injured by a Holstein bull in the barn at his home Friday evening. He was taken to Physicians Hospital in this city were he died Sunday morning.

The aged man had gone to the barn for the purpose of feeding the bull, this being one of his chores. The animal had at no previous time given indications of an ugly disposition and no one considered it in the least dangerous to go near him.

According to Dr. HW Froehlich, who was called, the animal had evidently hooked his victim first, the stub horn entered on the inside of the left leg near the body, tearing a wide gash and knocking the man down. Using his hoofs the bull had thereupon pounded his prostrate victim across the stomach, tearing the muscles and inflicting internal injuries although the skin was not broken at this point.

Examination at the hospital showed his injuries to be such as to make recovery practically impossible and the members of the family were notified. The body was prepared for burial at the Larson undertaking rooms and interment made in Hazel Cemetery.

The deceased was born in Norway and came to the country at an early age. He was a resident of Pennington County for many years and most highly regarded among the people of the neighborhood in which he lived.


Rosewood News An enraged bull attacked Peder Sorenson, a farmer two miles north of Rosewood, Friday evening. Sorenson was attempting to bring the animal into the barn. He was severely dealt with before help arrived. He was shipping the bull from Rosewood the following day as the animal was considered unsafe. Before anyone could reach the Holstein bull, he had thrown his master into the air three times and left him in bad condition.

Dr. Bowers from Thief River Falls was summoned for help. Sorenson was taken to town in a dray wagon. He is in Physician’s Hospital with four broken ribs and a lacerated lung. At the time of this writing, he is weak but hope is still held for his recovery.

As for the bull, he was later brought to Rosewood by about 15 men who volunteered at the task. The animal was in a furious temper and a very difficult job it proved to control him, and the only way he could be brought to Rosewood was after he was roped helpless and driven in on a stone boat.

Holstein bulls are known for their enormous size and bad temperament. As you can see, anyone growing up on a dairy farm knows stories about Holstein bulls that had attacked and even killed farmers.

Certainly farmers had smart strategies or luck that enabled them to escape a bull attack. One would think at the first sign of meanness, the bull would be shipped off to the meat packing plant.

Harlan Mellem and I visited about how he liked to cut through the barnyard where Benhard Ranum had his bull. He talked about how he would climb upon the roof of the shed to get away from the creature. Benhard would come out and distract the bull so Harlan could get away.

Harlan has a sister named Enid. Enid and her husband Rolland Sande, owned and operated the Sande dairy farm west of Thief River Falls on state highway one. There son, Gary, liked to grab the cows by the tail and get a ride when the cows ran. It was fun to watch, especially when he hit a cow pie. I don't remember being cautioned to be careful of the bull. They may have been using artificial insemination. Harlan and Enid are the children of Emil Mellem, who is the son of Thorinus and Pauline Mellem. Emil and Nina Mellem Anderson Bloom were siblings. I will email Enid and see what she says.

My favorite bull story happened in the summer of 1956. We had gone on vacation in the Black Hills. Daddy liked to take side trips and look at the country. As we know, South Dakota butts up with Wyoming. It is hilly there. We were on a gravel road in the middle of no where. At the top of a hill, Daddy could see in the ravine below, two bulls, behind fences, separated by the road we were on. To get a better view, Daddy drove to the bottom and stopped the car to watch the bellowing pageant. Mother was fearful, she was convinced the bulls would break the fence and charge the car. I was not allowed to get out of the car and take a panoramic picture of the Angus on one side and the Hereford on the other was they pawed the ground swinging their heads from side to side.

And now you have heard both the cock n' bull stories.

e

A Newly Found Picture of Gertrude Olson

We can thank Oliver for this picture's identity. On the back of the picture it states, Grandma Olson. The original picture is very dark; partial because of age and photo finish. It is printed on post card paper.

This is Gertrude. She is the one that was shot five times in 1914 at which time three family members and the man who shot them killed himself. See June 14, 2007 blog for complete articles of the murder suicide which includes, "Mrs. OK Olson, the fifth victim, is still alive and will recover. There are five wounds in her body resulting from the three shots that were fired at her. One bullet entered her elbow, passed through the muscles of the arm and lodged in her neck. Another struck her in the cheek and the third is lodged in her back about six inches below her neck and slightly to the right of the back bone".

Look at the walls. This was taken inside the house. We know that because of how the walls and the ceiling meet in the corner behind her. We can see there was a window because of the light in the upper right corner. We can see a shadow of the photographer. According to her hair and her statue, I am thinking she is in her forties when this was taken. It also compares with other pictures taken indoors during this era. What do you think?

I would like to comment on the Oliver Rye albums. I really commend him for writing the names of the people and the relation to on the back of the picture. What tickled me is something I found on the back of a picture of Ella's son, Bob.

Bob Anderson repairing Rubiks Cube in Judy Arnold's kitchen at 1126 Green Hill Drive while Ella Anderson, Bob's Mother, looks on. The divinity on the napkin is compliments of Shirley Hagen who made a box for Judy and Bob to share.

This photo was taken by Elodee Anderson on 1/1/1988.

Shirley Hagen is Bob's sister who just celebrated her wedding anniversary to Keith Hagen.

My mother-in-law said to write information on the bank of my photos so "many years from now, everyone will know who it is."

That is a little over kill but we get the point. It is like scrap booking and history all rolled into one.

But what the back of the picture doesn't say is that we were gathered together on this New Years Day because Stan Ranum had been buried the day before and Judy was hosting a get together. It doesn't talk about Rachel and her cousin Lisa, playing Scrabble nor does it talk about Ryen trying to get Phillip the poodle to warm up to him.

When one looks at old group photos, as at Christmas, when the picture is just backs of heads and paper, we wonder just what the subject of the picture was. It was a gathering. It was Christmas. It was if some tall person was walking though a house with a trigger finger just taking pictures as they looked down. We can't go back and retake a subject; the camera's were fixed lenses and the person did a good job of capturing the moment as they knew it. It should teach all of us to think about the subject in the picture.

In cleaning out albums, there is a significant amount of pictures of my grand daughter Jaeme. The pictures are close ups of her face. We can see her features. We appreciate this sort of picture. We appreciate seeing pictures of people in scenery if the people are close enough to identify. As I work with scenery pictures with people, I am hopeful the face of the person is the size of a pencil eraser, that gives us a chance zoom it to see who the person is.

I appreciate seeing a note on the back. One said, "This would have been a perfect picture if ....wouldn't have hide behind ..."

Mostly, without being anal, I appreciate pictures, like the one of Gertrude. It gives us a chance to see her in earlier years. There are so few of her. Kudos to Judy for letting me sift through the albums and find such a treasure.

And I will get off my soap box now.

e

City Directories

The question was, when did the Lundberg's live in Thief River Falls. The answer was found in the city directories at the library. It is not as complete as a census, however, it is taken more frequently. One may consider calling the reference desk and asking them to look in the books for you. The directories are catalogued in two ways: Alphabetically and according to street/avenue address. The quickest way to gather the information is to write it out by hand, although one may copy it.

1913-14
Andrew Lundberg and Josephine Lundberg
Restaurant business in hotel
319 North LaBree Avenue
Lived on premises

Louise Lundberg
319 North LaBree
Student

Rose Lundberg
319 North LaBree
Student

1915
Andrew
Rose
319 North LaBree

1917-18
Andrew
Resturant
319 North LaBree

Phillip Lundberg and Clara L
319 North LaBree
Laborer

1919
Andrew
Laborer
302 Tindolph

Christine Lundberg
703 North Main (House gone)
Student

Phillip Lundberg and Clara L
Repairman for Soo Line
302 Tindolph Ave

1921
Christine Lundberg
teacher
209 1/2 Third Street East

Phillip and Clara Lundberg
Repairman for Soo Line
1023 Atlantic, (House gone)

1923-24
Phillip and Clara Lundberg
Repairman for Soo Line
1023 Atlantic

1927
Phillip and Clara Lundberg
Repairman for Soo Line
1023 Atlantic

1931-32
no Lundberg's listed

1934-35
Lloyd Lundberg
Laborer
1104 Dewey, (house gone)

Phillip and Mae Lundberg
Laborer
1104 Dewey

1937-38
Phillip and Mae Lundberg
County engineer
1104 Dewey

1945
Phillip and Mae Lundberg
County Highway engineer
Owned house at 1123 Arnold

1957
Phillip and Mae Lundberg
Owned house at 1123 North Arnold

1960
Mae Lundberg
1123 North Arnold

The only house standing which was linked to Lundberg is the house on Arnold Avenue. The house appears to be added on to from the east, west, and north. The little windows Phillip looked out when he was bed ridden remain. The tree we tied the horses to remains. The front porch which was flanked by Tiger Lilies in the summer, is gone. I wondered if Phillip and Mae's initials were still etched in the sidewalk. The gladioli garden hosts a three stall garage which butts up to the St. Bernhard's Cemetery gate. Gone are the wild raspberries which grew along the fence line.

Anyone want to play Jacks on the front porch?

e

More About Ella Rye's Early Life

I visited with Ella when I was in town for the trunk items. I asked her about her education. I did not feel like we had done her justice on the September 15 blog. She stated I needed to ask her daughter's about it.

Her daughter, Judy, did find her 8th grade diploma in the documents she had gleaned from the house earlier. In an email, Judy writes:


"I looked up her 8th grade diploma and it was from TRF Public School. I remember her telling me that Grandpa Rye thought the NDak school system back in those days was very inferior to MN and that he wanted her to go to TRF ... but I can't remember any more details".

Another email regarding Ella's education states:

92207
"I verified with Mom how Grandpa Rye felt about the NDak school system way back then. Mom said she did go to a country school around Adams ND for a while. She said the books were so old, Grandpa asked if they didn't think anything had changed since those books were written! She was going back to school after 8th grade but had an appendicitis attack and that ended her school days".

92307
Added 9 24 2007
Mom and I talked more of her school days yesterday. You were right, she did stay with Clarence and Grandpa Nels Rye when she went to TRF Schools. She only took 3 classes a day (she only needed to take two but they offered a math class and being she loved math, she took that one too). She also stayed with another lady but couldn't remember her name.

After she "graduated" she did housework for a lady living on the St. Hilaire road until she got sick. Alice took over the job but didn't like it and quit.

We must agree that having appendicitis attacks and surgery was a major problem of the times. Many people died because of the infection which followed. We are grateful both Lloyd and Ella survived theirs!

And the best of birthday wishes to Bobbie Jo Schneider, grand daughter of Dorothy Anderson and daughter of Larry Gene. She is 25 today.

Happy first day of fall to all.

e

What about that letter?

As we know, Lloyd Anderson worked for the railroad from 1942 until he died in 1967. He was always concerned about doing his job well. We know from the New Solum railroad blog that he was a section foreman and that he accepted his moves throughout his career. He was liked at a laborer and a foreman. He worked with his men.



When he was working in Thief River Falls, he had a boss that came into the place where Lloyd was working and told him to go move something. Lloyd explained that it would be moved and by whom. That is, he had assigned someone to come with equipment to move it. The man started to swear at Lloyd.



While looking through boxes on Thursday, a letter was found written on Soo Line stationary, written in Lloyd's long open hand. The head man needed to know the kind of language the man was using. This wasn't a few choice words, this was a super up on his toes and in-his-face old fashion drill Sergeant sort of berating.



Now, this may not seem like much in our day. You just need to know that Lloyd didn't need to be yelled at. We also need to see that he had a plan to report the fellow. The Soo Line was not a place, nor is any other, now or then, that this sort of conduct is appropriate.



It was always been felt that this episode brought about the heart attack which Lloyd suffered. He died as the result of of the attack by his supervisor. The letter wasn't sent.



Shirley will correct me if I am wrong about this: Lloyd went right from the job to the clinic and an ambulance came to the clinic and brought him to the hospital. The date of the letter and the time of his heart attack are very close. It was just about this day 40 years ago.



Shirley shared "Just read the blog..i hadn't heard about a letter written but not sent before Dad died..I remember some of the stuff that I heard 1st hand at that time..about Baden..and another guy..can't recall his name right now. Also, Donny Omdahl stood by Dad in whatever was going on".



It is not known the his health status before this. We all know he was physically fit and lived a spiritual life. He loved his Lord, his family, his work, and his friends. We do know that Ella had some major conversations with the Soo Line about it.

Happy Birthday Dorothy Schneider on this 22nd day of September. May you have good health until your numbers reverse and you are 96.

e

A Worn, Musty Trunk

In an old trunk in a garage, the daughter and her daughter open the parcel and found old pictures and old Swedish song books. The books have names in the front. The pictures are enlargements.

She emailed me about the find and we set up to meet at the house which she, her daughter, and her sister had been sorting, sorting, sorting. If you have sifted through the contents of a house and touch every item, then you can understand how it is an emotional process as well as a time honored process. It is a big job. They have done well. The next step is a sale followed by a pick up from a charitable organization, and then selling the house itself.

The two of us looked through a few of the boxes. The agreement was I would take the boxes of pictures back to Fargo, clean, scan, and mount. Both sisters warned me there were a lot of pictures. A low estimate is 1500; I may double that before I finish the count. It doesn't matter, I am after the history; I am willing to work the five boxes and get the information collected in such a way that everyone knows what is there. Pictures declared 'new' where twenty years old.

We had set aside the books and the boxes of pictures and went to the bedroom where there was a box of Oliver's stuff. Oliver was the oldest of the Henry Rye children. He was a bachelor and had his own collection of pictures. In Oliver's box where newspaper clippings of obituaries. Although many obits can be ordered from local libraries for a few dollars each, this are the freshly cut from the paper. They are the first editions.

We also found the books provided by the mortuary used to give the details of their life and the signatures of guests. I was given the books and added them to others I have gotten. As we know, genealogy offers clues and information in all places.

In a photo album started by the oldest sister, were hand written documents regarding each grandparent and parent, and herself. This information was written as SHE KNEW IT. The passing down of stories from one generation to another is not always factual. The handwritten note in itself is precious. It provides a guide to the different personalities of the family.

The greatest find of all on the scene, were letters Lloyd had written to his wife, Ella while she was in a hospital in southern Minnesota. When this love letter was written, they had four kids yet it was a loving letter written with hope and prayers for her wellness.

We all knew something disturbing had happened before Lloyd got sick in the early fall of 1967. Something had happened at work. The letter about that was found in a box in the bedroom yesterday. I sat with my mouth open as she read it. The letter was not mailed. Now we knew what had happened at work.

In pasting history together, look for those notes in books. Look for old trunks. Look for information with a different set of eyes. Although it is a passage to clean out a parent's house, allow yourself to reminisce about pieces you find. Although you may have numerous bowls already, handle the old one and let the memory of the bowl flash before you. If you can't take it home to your already bulging cupboards; then maybe you can recycle it with fresh fruit for a family. PLEASE don't fill it with red Jell-o with strawberries on top!

e

Soo Line in New Solum Township

In Section 24 of New Solum Township, a siding was built off to the side of the track where gravel was loaded from the ridge and used in building the railroad grade. The gravel was removed by a steam shovel a distance of one mile. Near this siding a large wooden water tank was built and a well dug and windmill created to provide a supply of water for the steam engines to refill. This was known as the Anita Siding. It must have had a cluster of people because they also had a ball team with ANITA written on the front of the jerseys.


This became a headquarters for the section crew that maintained the railroad tracks . A house was built for the section foreman.


When the Soo Line no longer needed this stop, they moved the section house to Holt. There continued to be a depot at Anita where freight was dropped off, but no passengers used it.


In Anita, there was an old box car across the tracks that was used as a home by a little foreign man believed to be Greek. He had been employed by the building crew. It was believed he was illegally in this country. Foreigners were employed to rush the building of the railroads. It was a quick source of money for foreigners, and hopefully freedom. it was also quick, cheap labor for the railroad companies.


In 1905, the Soo Line built a branch line north of Thief River Falls to Kenmare, North Dakota, which was known as the Wheat Line. This junction was known as Dakota Junction. This line is what made Strip blossom and brought about the name change to Rosewood. There was a depot at Rosewood where passengers could get on or off, mail was left, freight shipped in, and cream, eggs, cement blocks, or other freight shipped out. There was a side track about a quarter of a mile east of the "present" site of the crossing where the stockyards were built. Emil Anderson managed the shipping of cattle for many years. A grain elevator was built by the Barzen River Falls. Benhard Ranum took numerous shipments of cattle to St. Paul. Do you suppose he stayed in the car with the cattle?


Rosewood also became a railroad section headquarters for many employees who worked at maintaining the tracks. Rosewood was a busy, rural village as long as the lack of good roads and means of quick transportation kept business in town. After trucking became profitable, the stockyards were closed. Modern cars took away the need for the depot. In the 1940's the train would only stop to let off a passenger. Mail was caught from the moving train by a mail hook.

The depot was destroyed by a grass fire in 1962.

Lloyd Anderson worked for the railroad starting in 1942. He was employed by the railroad at the time of his death in 1967. At that time he was foreman on the section in Thief River Falls. He had been section foreman since 1949. He had worked as foreman on jobs in Newfolden and as assistant foreman in Warren.


In January of 1920, The annual meeting of the directors of the Rosewood Livestock Shipping Association was held in the Soo Line waiting room last Monday. The manager’s wages were raised to 15 cents per hundred live weights of the livestock.

In June of 1922 it was reported in the Rosewood News that Budge Bulden and the rest of the carpenter crew for the Soo Line were here last week to lay in new planks for the platform, re-roof part of the depot, and other general duties.

HEADLINE: Man Falls from Freight Train and is Killed
September 1922
The accident occurred Monday between Rosewood and Thief River Falls. Frank Williams, an unknown transient, fell beneath the freight train number 58 on the Soo Line shortly after it pulled out of Rosewood Monday evening between the hours of six and seven and died at the hospital a short time later. The man, who appeared to be about 25 years of age, was beating his way and was riding on top of a car near the front of the train when he fell off with the result that his body was all mangled by cars passing over it before the train could be stopped. He was seen, when falling, by one of the train crew but there was no time to avert the accident. Williams left leg was cut off at the ankle, his right leg at the thigh and his right arm was severed from the body at the shoulder. The severed limbs were connected with the body only by pieces of skin. He became unconscious at once from the shock and the loss of blood and although rushed to the hospital immediately, died about a half hour after being brought there. In his pockets were found a membership card in the International Brotherhood of Steam Shovelers and Dredgeman, a few receipts, and $25.00. A broken bottle of lemon extract and the fact that the dead man smelled strongly of liquor indicates that he was intoxicated at the time of his fall.

One thing that tickled me about the newspaper articles was how they would say, "...... visited between trains." I imagined someone standing between the trains visiting.

EXAMPLES:
JUNE 1916 Rosewood News Mr. Olaf Opseth was a visitor in Thief River Falls between trains.

JUNE 1920 Rosewood News Olof Opseth, assessor, was it town between trains

FEBRUARY 1926 Rosewood News Lilly Holson spends Saturday here between trains.

What it meant was they got off in Rosewood and would catch another train going the other direction. Did Rosewood have double tracks for two way traffic? I don't know. We will leave that up to someone who lived there. ANY ONE KNOW?

Minneapolis, Sault Ste. Marie & Atlantic Railway

This is a picture of the first Soo Line Depot in Thief River Falls. This depot was moved north of this site and became the freight depot. This depot was possibly built in 1904.
This is the 'new' depot. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. It was built in 1914 for a cost of $60,000. The building is used by the city of Thief River Falls.

One of last summer's pleasures was the company of three former classmates; their dad’s worked for the Soo line Railroad. They miss the sound of the trains. Another person could tell what was going on by the type of the blast of the engineer’s horn. I wonder how many people in Thief River Falls worked for the railroad?

What can we find out about the trains of Thief River Falls? Where they an active part in how the village became a city? How were those railroads built? What was the first line to come to this town? Let’s look to the old newspaper’s to find the answers.

1892
The Great Northern railroad was built into TRF in 1892, the town took quite a start but as a matter of fact, Thief River Falls has been built mostly since 1899

March 1903
Wiley Tindolph writes from Minneapolis stating that the rumor that the Soo Line Railroad will build to Thief River Falls is confirmed by officials of the road in Minneapolis.

THE SOO LINE RIGHT OF WAY SECURED! It comes through the center of Thief River Falls and crosses river above bridge.


1904 Grading for the Soo Line Railroad has begun.

2,000 teams, 3,000 men, and 4 steam shovels are needed to build the Soo rail between Otter Tail City and Emerson.

Soo Line expected to be in TRF b y 9 10 1904


1907
Soo Line Hauls the Mail


1908
Red Lake Falls Gazette is of the opinion that in view of the number of railroads that are to be built into TRF in the near future, this city is more in need of a union depot than a normal school.

MARCH 1909
A new depot to be built for the Soo Line. Thousands of dollars to be spent by the Soo Line Railroad in TRF this summer. New two story brick and stone depot to be erected and round house enlarged. The building will be 50’ wide and 200’ long. It will be one of the finest and most permanent in the Northwest and built with a view of accommodating the business several years to come

Edmond Pennington was last week elected president and manager of the Soo Line. Mr. Pennington is one of the greatest railroad men in the United States and is fast making the Soo Line one of the most popular railroads.

June 1909
Tom Wood, brakeman for the Soo Line had both feet cut off just above the ankle in an accident which occurred in Minneapolis, no particulars have been received here.

October 1909
Soo Line may go to International Falls; will use old logging trails for development

June 1910
Soo Line adopts pension system

1911
Soo Line train wrecked when it derailed by washout caused by heavy rains. One passenger killed and seventeen receive some injuries near Vergas, MN

1911
Near Karlstad. Soo Line hits moose on track, stopped train to see if the moose could be saved

1914
Soo line Depot completed for $60,000.


SEPTEMBER 1917
Parents urged to keep children off the railroad right of way to prevent accidents

June 1920
Auto stalls on railroad crossing, four injured

Formerly known as Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railway (and commonly known as the Soo Line after the phonetic pronunciation of Sault), the present name was adopted as a trade name in 1950.


ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL Aboard!

Happy Birthday to Jeremy Delfin

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Post Offices of New Solum Township

Llewellyn Post Office, New Solum Township
Postmaster Per Hagen at Llewellyn Post Office

At one time New Solum Township had four legal post offices. Travel across the sloughs was always difficult, espe­cially in the spring, summer and early fall so having post offices on ridges or high ground made travel easier to deliver the mail from main towns and also more convenient for the settlers to go and pick it up.

The half dozen sand ridges run in a north-south direction in New Solum Township so that was the pattern of travel, communication and even socializing in the earliest pioneer days.

Hellem Post Office was in the Rasmus Nelson home in Sec­tion 9 during the 1880's. Later it was moved to the Claus Rasmussen home in Section 17.

Stone Post Office was located in the farm home of Ole Hall in Section 13 where he also had a general store. Mail was brought here twice a week from Warren in the 1890's.

Llewellen Post Office was on the farm in Section 3 of Per P. Hagen where he also had a general store. He was postmaster until 1909 when the post office was discontinued and improved roads made it possible for mail routes to develop.

Strip Post Office was in the Enoch and Tina (Mellem) Nel­son home in Section 3 of Strip before the wheat line branch of the Soo Line tracks were layed. They also had a general store in their home. Mrs. Pauline Mellem delivered mail with a pony and a two wheel cart. She delivered mail from the Strip post office to people living north.

After the railroad came through in 1905, the mail was dropped off the train in a mail bag each day. Axel Larson, the first postmaster of Rosewood. Larson was a bachelor and had the post office in part of his feed mill which was located on the north side of the tracks, east side of the road. As the businesses became less in Rosewood through the years, the post office became a part of some general store there.

The last post mistress was Mrs. Tom Stolaas who served from 1947 to 1954. In 1954 when she and her husband sold the general store, the post office was discontinued and a mail route from Thief River Falls served New Solum. The address was Star Route, Thief River Falls.

Have you posted a letter lately?

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The Rye Family

This is the picture from which the picture of Ella was out cropped. She is the one in the front on the right side. We believe the picture was taken in 1924, as the youngest Cliff, appears to be about a year old. At the time the photo was taken, the family lived in Reiner Township, Pennington County, Minnesota. Henry homesteaded on section 13 and 14. Their first house burned and they moved to another; both in the same township.

The man in the back and left is Henry, the father. His brother Ole, is in the center, and Julia is on the right.

Hilda, (1911) is holding Cliff, (1923), Alice, (1912), Oliver, (1909).

Nora, (1918), Murvin, (1921), and Ella, (1915).

The two other children, Ilene, (1926), and Ralph, (1929) are not born yet.

Ella lives in Thief River Falls and Ralph lives in Desoto, KS.

Kaitlin Delfin was born on this day in 1990. According to what Ella taught all of us, that means it is her golden birthday. Golden birthdays are special. You haven't heard of this? We have two very special birthdays in our lifetime. The day and the year. For Kaitlin, today is special, and then again when she turns 90!

Like I said, Ella got all of this started in my head. My children, born on the days: 1, 12, 27. Years: 66, 70, and 79. Last year was Ryen's golden birthday. He knew it was a big deal. I spent several weeks putting together a picture memory album which included grade cards, drawings, and pictures. I also sent him his baby book. It very well maybe the best gift he will ever get.

As for myself, my family honored me on my birth year when I turned 44. They pinked me out and made a red carpet out of newspaper from the roll. It was very special. Do other families' celebrate this?

Joy to all.

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Gust Opseth and His Rumely Oil Tractor

My great uncle, Gust, had a Rumely Oil Pull Tractor. We know this from the photograph and from the news of Rosewood. "Why are they called Oil Pulls?" The answer to this is; they use oil in the radiator instead of water for cooling. The oil pull cooling system automatically keeps the motor at the right temperature at all loads, warm for light loads, increasingly cooler for half load up to full load. The harder the oil pull works the cooler it runs. This is the main reason they were so successful as a kerosene burning tractor.

This is a threshing Machine. See the light colored part on the top? That arm is where the straw is blown out. Do you see the wheels on the body of the machine? That is where the tractor is attached to drive it. Do you see the the place near the back on the top? That is where the bundles of grain are placed. Inside the machine are places that shake the grain off the oats. I think the little trap door between the wheels that roll the machine is where the grain comes out.

This is a picture showing how the tractor and the threshing machine are hooked up. On this side of the threshing machine, do you see the horse? That is the wagon that is loaded with bundles of grain. Do you see the big wheel on the tractor with the belt on it? That is what drives the thresher. I am certain you can see the straw stack!

It took more than Gust's tractor to thresh!

1917

Rosewood News Gust Opseth is threshing and home for the day

1918

Rosewood News Benny and Benhard Ranum and Gust Opseth will resume threshing

August 1920

Rosewood News Gust Opseth will once again leave for farming areas to thresh with his Rumley Oil Pull Threshing outfit.

Rosewood News Gust Opseth has been in Numedal with his Rumley Oil threshing rig this fall and is expected home this week. His brother, Olof Opseth, who has been employed in ND, arrived home on Monday. He is putting a new shingled roof on their residence in the eastern part of town.

1924

Lots of rain, people coming home from threshing. Another soaker over the weekend delays all fall operation.

Rosewood News Gust Opseth left for Warren with his threshing rig and will commence a run the beginning of the week.

1927

Benhard Ranum and Victor Axelson have left for Argyle where they will be employed during threshing.

1938

Emil Mellem is busy threshing

1943

Clifford Rye and Murvin Rye are at Calvin, ND where they have about 20 days of threshing

Although Gust was paid for his services and his tractor, most of the grown men where part of other farms near by. The tractor would move from farm to farm. Young men, like Cliff and Murvin Rye, were paid for their services.

Anyone out there ever lay on the top of a fresh straw stack on a chilly September day? Cozy, wasn't it?

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The Grandma with the Dolls

Oh dear, please forgive me. I was offering pictures of all of the grand parents and had the grand lady, Ella Elvina Rye Anderson, in the wings but she did not get center stage. If there is any one you would wish to mirror, she is, without a doubt, the one to learn from.

Ella is about nine in this picture. It is an outcrop of a family picture taken out doors when her brother, Cliff was about one. We will see the entire picture in the blog at a later time.

Ella started school in Goodridge, MN. By the time the family moved to the New Solum area in 1931, she would have been finished with her eighth grade education. According to the Rosewood News, she worked for a family in Warren before her marriage to Lloyd Anderson on St. Patrick's Day of 1934.

3 29 1934

Miss Ella Rye and Lloyd Anderson, both of this place were married at the home of the bride's parents on Saturday afternoon, March 17. Rev. CE Anderson, pastor of the Mission church here officiated. Miss Alice Mellem acted at bridesmaid and Oliver Rye as best man. A two course supper to immediate relatives was served following the ceremony. The bride is a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Rye and the groom is a son of Mrs. Carl Bloom. Following a wedding trip to Red Lake Falls this week where they visited at the home of the bride's sister, Mrs. Carl Thode and family, they will make their home for the present with the grooms folks Mr. and Mrs. Carl Bloom.

3 1935

The Henry Rye family were entertained at the Carl Bloom home Sunday commemorating the first wedding anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd Anderson. (Their anniversary fell on a Sunday)

According to the Rosewood News, which Ella took over in 1946, the Anderson's did a lot of entertaining. Their house, which they bought from Gust Opseth, was small, yet to be there with a dozen people, seemed to give everyone their own space. If you ever see a welcome mat on a front porch, it certainly came from this sort of home. The coffee was always ready and no matter the time or day, the welcome mat was always offering welcome.

Even with five childen to raise, she was actively engaged in outside activities in the school, church, visiting, and Ladies Aid. Remember this is a time when the wash water had to be carried in and out and heated on the stove. Her children can tell stories about their involvement in the duties of running a house.

After Lloyd died in 1967, Ella bought a house in town. It would become a place for young adults to live while going to the trade school and junior college. There is no doubt in my mind these kids became very close to her. I am certain she patiently listened to their worries and complaints daily.

My children had two grandmothers by the name of Ella. They called this Ella, the grandma with the dolls. She had things for them to play with and a magic bag in a drawer in the living room when she lived in town on Knight Avenue. This house too, would become a hub her family to meet.

Ella would travel yearly. When she came to Kansas, she would stay for a few weeks. One night we were up very late talking. She was leaning against the counter. I opened the oven door and invited her to sit down. We laughed about that for years.

One time she came down and was on a diet. She filled her plate with a can of drained tuna and a can of green beans. She said, "Look, I can eat all this." It was about the same time that to-the-knee boots were in style. She and I went shopping and the boots were cut so skinny she couldn't find a pair to fit her calves. We laughed that she was not Cinderella. Later we found a pair with elastic gussets. She is not eating tuna and green beans now, age as given her the weight she wished for.

Then, something marvelous happened. Ella remarried. She told me 'she was in love with him'. She had been a widow for decades. I marveled at the love between them when they visited in Kansas. They were in their seventies, yet, when we went to get hamburgers, she said, "I will have onions if you do."

She moved to a new house. My life moved in another direction. We lost touch for a decade.

Then, another wonderful thing happened. We were reunited with open arms to one another.

She is in a nursing home now. She doesn't see well. At my last visit, before she got hearing aids, she could not see or hear me. She said I resembled her very good friend from Fargo. Near the end of the visit, she realized it was indeed, her friend.

If you knew this lady from church, work, Ladies Aid, classes taught at ATVI, (as it was called then), were a neighbor, a friend, or a part of her large family circle, then you know what I am talking about.

Ella, I raise the glass to you today. You are a pillar for what it means to be kind, patient, and caring......and stubborn.

Loving thoughts and precious memories.

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The case of the Backward Negative

Nothing really seems unusual about this picture until you look at the license plate on the car. The number is backwards. For those of you following family, this is a picture of the Anderson's. Dorothy with the purse, Shirley with the gun, Judy, and Lloyd holding Larry Gene, Dorothy's son.

One of the rewarding tasks one might do is scan old negatives. Yes, negatives. The price of this type of scanner is now under $200. Have you checked your local photo store to find out what a print from a black and white negative costs? One site thinks it is a deal for greater than $15.00 for one print of one negative! Let me see: 200 divided by 15 is about 13. That means that if I had sent the 157 black and white negatives to them, I would have spent 157 x $15= way too much!!!

The idea of getting a scanner presented itself when Tom's brother told me how much it cost to process negatives. I contacted a professional archivist who I had several scanners based on the jobs she was doing. She contacted her guru and he suggested a few different ones. Since I am not doing books or glass negatives, the less than $200 fit my purposes. It also comes with a refresh program. The user guide is loaded with the scanner program. You don't have to load the elements for photo enhancing if you have a program you really like on your computer.

Although the scanner will scan photos, documents just like any scanner, it also does slides, 35mm negatives, and black and white negatives as images into your computer. Other features are PDF and email. One has a choice of how you want them saved; I use jpeg for photos.

I have the kind of personality that prefers to try to set up equipment on my own; if all else fails, I will read the directions. I did go to a well written manual to find out why I couldn't get the black and white negatives to print. I was in the wrong mode, I needed to change to home mode. I found this information quickly through the index.

I recently scanned death certificates in PDF. The first one I sent was a single. She wrote to say she had received it. The next was a thirteen page document. She is either really busy, or her computer blew up with all the information and is in its own grave yard!

Yesterday, I looked at a negative before I scanned it. It looked like a lady holding a birthday cake. I knew this woman was born in the winter and there wasn't any snow on the ground. It was in the era of no flash. The preview of the picture showed her holding a set of silverware in a box! What I thought were candles were forks, knives, and spoons! Another looked like a person painting. I could 'see' the paint can and a strip of lighter paint on the side of the house. It appeared the person was bending over to load her brush. It turned out the light paint was a eve trough and the paint can was a butter churn! The person was crunched down talking to a child. The picture was poor, there was a long shadow over both of them, I did not print it. This helps us understand that once you have previewed the negative, you can decide if you want to save it (scan) to your computer.

Try using the brightness feature to be certain you have the negative in the right way. Look for things like back ward license plates on cars. You may not know the area and will need to look at other objects in the print to be sure.

We all know that when we scan pictures, they will need to be cropped. Sometimes one needs to brighten or do a contrast to get the photo to be worth your effort. Many of the negatives I am scanning were taken during a time when flash wasn't used outside; it was considered a major expense to buy flash bulbs. It is also a time when people forgot to wind the film OR they have their finger on the lens!

A picture of great grandparents holding a baby is worthless if great grandma's face is an image of a finger! Maybe you can save Great Grandpa Bloom with a crop. OR do you want to tell your children, "See this body with the fat ankles? Those are your great grandmother's legs."


How much time are you willing to put into the project? How many boxes of negatives do you have? Are any of the envelopes marked? Or is it all going to be surprise! The more organized the negatives the less time it will take because you are going to get a 'run' on pictures taken at the same time. I did 20 slides this morning, four at a time; the scanner saves them separately. I was only disappointed because I had 3 slides of a patch of watermelons. I was scanning and doing something else at the same time in another room and was going to wait and do clean up all at once. Slides do not require cropping, except in the case of multiples of still images, like watermelon.





How are you going to store these on your computer even if you move them later? Would it work for you to store each family together with a three or four letter prefix? I do MEL for Mellem, AND for Anderson, LUND for Lundberg, and so forth. I make a new folder each time I run into another family. This helps me keep them sorted as I go rather than have a sea of numbers and no idea what belongs with what. Genealogy is confusing enough without all those loose threads. Remember to save them as a named image and delete the img154.


As for time? I would strongly suggest thinking in terms of at least five minutes per negative. Do a few at a time, write what the negative is on an index card, whether you save it or not. Put the index card into the envelope with the negatives and mark it scanned and date it. Finish the image completely and store like with like. The folders I have saved with images will be moved to an external hard drive for us on other computers. When I finish with the Les Johnson slides, I will make CD copies and send them to the children. I have already had payment. Marc wrote to say it was nice to see what his mother looked like when she was young. He also had no idea what his grandfather and great grandfathers looked like. Paid in full.





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