Karl and Ida: Karl’s early years and bachelorhood

Karl Theodore Dalager was born on October 31, 1885 in Barsness Township, Pope County, Glenwood, Minnesota. He was the son of Hans Sylfestsen Dalager and Ingeborg (Isabelle) Knudsen Dalager. Karl’s mother died January 5, 1887 of childbirth when Karl was a little over 14 months old. Marthine, the child that was born at that time also died.

This left Karl in the care of his 5 older capable sisters, the oldest being Jenny who was 15 years old. Hans married Amilia Bentrud on April 7, 1888 and Karl soon had a half-sister, Tillie. Not much is known of Karl’s childhood other than that he attended country school and was often in his sisters’ homes as they moved away to their own home. At the age of 14 years Karl left home and moved in with his sister Sophie (Mrs. Theodore Ogdahl).

One of the best sources of information about family is found in family letter and newspaper articles. They also give a time frame and give a picture of community activities. The following letter written by Karl’s sister Julia to a cousin in Webster, S.D. mentions Karl and shows Julia’s concern for Karl. Karl was 19 at the time.

Willmar, Minn. Feb. 27, 1905

My dear cousin Julia:

I received your letter sometime ago. Thank you very much for same. I was so glad to hear from you. I presume Karl has told you all about things here so I shall not write much concerning the affairs. I am real well and have a lovely position this year. When I heard from the folks last they were well. Well, I presume you were surprised to see Karl. He is quite a man now. He was kind of tired out and wanted very much to go and see you folks so I let him go. He wrote me the second day he was there. He was so delighted with the place. If he is not a good boy you must go for him. He has not been away alone before. Karl wrote me about your beautiful home. I was so glad to hear you are so comfortably settled now. I presume it is real pleasant.

I was very much surprised when I received Andrew’s invitation. (Andrew Dalager of Webster, S.D. was married Feb. 8, 1905.) He surely did not wait very long. Well, dear, I shall try to pay you a visit. I have no idea how soon I will be able to do it, but rest assured I shall do so soon.

Give my love to the folks up there, also Karl. Ask him to let me hear again from him. You would do me a great favor if you would look after him. I have no idea how he will care for himself out among strangers. I was so glad when he decided to go west as I do not care to have him around home. The young people there are not the nicest kind as so many of the boys drink and I am very anxious to keep Karl away from such society. Let me hear from you soon, if you will kindly favor me with a few words. With love and best wishes, I am,

Your loving, Julia Dalager

PS. I have mislaid your letter and I cannot think of your name so will you kindly pardon me for sending it in your maiden name.

Over the next few years Karl worked at different jobs in the Glenwood area and also in North Dakota, Montana, and Canada. When his father died on March 23, 1910, Karl was working in Inverness, Montana. Karl worked in this area of eastern Montana and western Dakota so he would be close to his sister Julia who was living in Sherwood, N.D. Julia’s husband, Tollef Solverud, had a drug store in Sherwood, North Dakota.

To follow Karl’s activities as a young man I will use newspaper news and letters.

The Sherwood Tribune & Journal, Sherwood, ND

April 16, 1908 Karl Dalager went to Mohall Monday to accept a position as clerk in the Sherwood Hotel at that place. Mr. Dalager has had experience in the hotel business and will most likely give value received in his services at Mohall.

June 4, 1908, page 2 Karl Dalager took Rev. J. P. Davis to Antler this morning to catch the early morning train.

June 18, 1908, page 5 Karl Dalager and R. M. Ripley drove to Kenmore Tuesday.

August 13, 1908, Page 3 Karl Dalager came over from Kenmore Saturday to visit his sister, Mrs. Solverud and friends. Karl has a good position at Kenmore and he returned there Monday.

April 22, 1909 Karl Dalager came up from his home in Minnesota Tuesday. He expects to go to work for the Northern Telephone Co. soon.

May 6, 1909, page 2 Karl Dalager left Monday for Russel where he is working for the Northern Telephone Co.

The letter below was written shortly before Hans passed away March 23, 1910.

Glenwood, Nov. 1909

Dear Son Karrel (sic),

I will now lend you a few words and let you know that your letter was welcome and I thank you for it. I am now much better than the time you were here but as yet I am not able to work. I am happy that you have begun a steady occupation as lumber work is a good job. I would think it is very good if you would follow after what Tollef wants. Be honest in your dealings and pray to the Lord that he will help you in every instance. Seek first the Kingdom of God and then everything will be added unto you. Be steady in the work you now have. I believe it is good and I am glad. I am happy that you have quit the telephone business.

How much land I have near the Red River you shall now know. It is 378 and 1/2 acres located in Marshall County Minnesota in sections 4 & 5, township N 156, range 50 and my price is $28.00 per acre and I give you one dollar per acre for you to sell the $30.00 per acre.

If you wish to go there to see the land you go to Oslo, Minnesota and then it is 9 miles to the farm. The name of the township is Big Wood and there is a store and an elevator 5 miles from my place and three miles north there is a church and now a store. At the elevator with a bank near by one can sell all that one has to sell. You and Tollef take a trip there and see both the farm and woods which are beautiful. Ask at the Lars Klakkig for information where it is located.

I will now close my writing with friendly greeting both to you and Tollef Solverud from all of us and I hope to hear from you soon.

Cordially, Hans S. Dalager

The land described by Hans in Big Wood township of Marshall county was very good land and well suited for raising wheat, potatoes, or sugar beets. However it is near the Red River of the North which is prone to spring flooding. When visited by the writer, it was interesting to note that the township roads were much higher than the surrounding land.

Karl and Ida: Courtship and Wedding

Ida Maria Franze was born on January 31, 1887 at Battle Lake, Minnesota. She was the oldest child of John J. Franze and Emma Louise Jensen Franze. Ida attended school through the 8th grade and helped at home with her younger brothers and sisters. She was known as a good seamstress. Not much is known of her young adulthood until we read the following in the Deering Herald when she was 24 years old.

Deering Herald News Deering, N. D.

May 6, 1911 Mrs. and Mrs. Fred L. Allen and children autoed to Granville Wednesday evening to meet Mrs. Allen’s cousin, Miss Ida Franze of Battle Lake, Minnesota, who will soon take up her duties as saleslady in Mr. Allen’s store.

(Mrs. Allen, Clara Holo Allen, is the daughter of grandma Emma Franze’s sister Anna Christine who married Michael Holo.)

Karl wasn’t far away.

July 30, 1911 E. E. Booth and Karl Dalager were given the initiatory degree in I.O.O.F. lodge at the regular meeting of that organization Tuesday evening.

Karl’s sister Julia was now living in Deering because her husband Tollef had bought a drug store there. Therefore, Karl visited Deering quite often. The story goes that he gave the Allen store a lot of business after Ida Franze started working there. From there, things progressed quickly.

August 5, 1911 Misses Anna Solverud and Ida Franze and K.T. Dalager were among those from Deering who took in the circus at Granville Wednesday.

September 2, 1911 E.E. Booth, G.S. Burtch and K.T. Dalager were given the second and third degree work in the I.O.O.F. at the regular meeting of the lodge Tuesday evening.

September 16, 1911 K.T. Dalager departed Monday for Fargo. He has accepted a position on the road and will make Fargo his headquarters.

December 31, 1911 Mrs. Fred Allen entertained a few friends Wednesday evening, in honor of Miss Franze, who leaves for her home in Minnesota on Friday.

Fergus Falls Daily Journal

August 31, 1912 Saturday “Marriage License: Karl T. Dalager of McHenry County, N.D. and Ida M. Franze.”

September 11, 1912 (page 4) DALAGER – FRANZE: Pretty wedding takes place at bride’s home south of Battle Lake, Minnesota.

Battle Lake, Sept. 9. A very pretty wedding was solemnized at the home of Mr. & Mrs. John J. Franze, residing about 6 miles south of Battle Lake on Sunday afternoon, September 1, at 4 o’clock, when their daughter, Miss Ida was united in marriage to Mr. Karl T. Dalager of Glenburn, N. D., in the presence of about 150 invited guests. The ceremony took place under an evergreen and sweet pea arch outside in the yard, Rev. Lerohl of Dalton officiating. The bride, who was given away by her father, wore a beautiful gown of cream messaline silk and wore a long veil and carried a bride’s rose. She was attended by Mrs. Julia Solverud, sister of the groom, who acted as Matron of Honor and wore lavender and white and carried pink roses, and also misses Julia and Louise Franze, sisters of the bride and Miss Cora Dalager, sister of the groom, who wore white and pink and carried pink roses.

His brother, William Dalager, a nephew, Arthur Ogdahl, and Otto Franze, brother of the bride, who acted as best man, attended the groom. Miss Anna Evanson played the wedding march. After the ceremony and congratulations a bounteous wedding supper was served and the evening was spent in a social way, with a speech by Rev. Rendahl of Fergus Falls. The couple left Tuesday for Glenburn, N.D. where they will go to set up housekeeping at once.

The out of town guests were the Dalagers and Ogdahls from Glenwood, MN, Houstons from Herman, MN and the Solveruds from the southern part of the state.

Glenwood Herald

September 6, 1912 Karl T. Dalager and Ida M. Franze were married last Sunday near Battle Lake. A wedding reception was given in the afternoon at the home of the bride’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Franze, about five miles southwest of Battle Lake to about 200 guests. The groom is a son of Mr. Hans Dalager. He is an energetic, clean-cut young man and we are told that he has won an excellent wife. Bride and groom leave this week for Glenburn, North Dakota where Mr. Dalager is engaged as a grain buyer. Mr. and Mrs. J. O. Grove and son Rolland, Mrs. Theo. Ogdahl, Arthur Ogdahl, Mrs. Anton Ogdahl and Cora and William Dalager rode up to Battle Lake Sunday morning to be present at the ceremony.

James Franze, Ida’s brother, remembered Karl and Ida’s wedding well. For decoration they had Chinese lanterns with candles in them hanging from the trees around the yard. He had never seen these before. Karl also had a box of cigars and was walking around treating the men folks. James had never seen these before, either. He also remembered his dad standing on the front porch making a little congratulation speech after the wedding.

Glenburn Advance

Sept. 5, 1912 Mr. K.T. Dalager, who is here this fall as assistant manager of the Imperial Lumber Co., was married Sunday to Miss Ida M. Franze, at her home at Battle Lake, Minnesota. They arrived here Wednesday evening and have secured rooms for the fall in the Jerry Butts residence. The Advance extends congratulations to the young couple and hope they will make Glenburn their permanent home.

Karl and Ida: Starting out in North Dakota

Deering Herald

October 5, 1912 Mr. and Mrs. K.T. Dalager were over Sunday visitors in Deering, guests at the Fred L. Allen home. They returned to their home at Glenburn Sunday evening in the company with Mr. and Mrs. Allen in their auto.

October 25, 1912 Mrs. K.T. Dalager of Glenburn visited friends in Deering between trains on Wednesday.

Karl and Ida Dalager’s first child, Horace Joel, was born August 31, 1913. His place of birth is unknown. He was baptized at Hope Lutheran Church in Makoti, ND on October 5, 1913. The pastor was N. H. Holen and the sponsors were Mrs. Henry Staflien, Rognhild Nilsen and Otto Franze. Otto was Ida’s brother who was working in a bank in Ryder, N.D. at the time. Ryder was not far from Makoti. Makoti is on the Soo Line railroad about 30 miles southwest of Minot, N.D.

James Franze remembered that Karl and Ida stayed with grandma Emma one winter when Horace was a baby. He said that Horace was a pretty big baby. Since Horace was born August 31, 1913, this must have been the winter of 1913-14. At that time the Franzes were working at clearing the three-acre piece of woods just east of the farm building. Karl would help with cutting the trees. James said Karl was pretty good with the ax. Since there were a lot of oak trees there were also a lot of squirrels. Karl shot some and prepared a meal from them. It was the first time James had seen a squirrel skinned. There seemed to be a second skin or film that had to be removed. Then Karl prepared a dish he called chicken pie but James didn’t care too much for it because he knew it was squirrel.

Karl and Ida farmed near Herman, Minnesota after they left grandma Emma’s farm. James was a kid at the time and was tickled to visit Karl and Ida. He remembered once when they went to visit Karl and Ida at Herman. It was a stormy cloudy day and he was turned around in his directions. When he saw the place he asked Karl why the windows on the chicken house were on the north side facing the winter storms. The windows were not on the north side: he had become mixed up in his directions because of the storm and clouds.

Karl and Ida: The move to St. Hilaire

In 1916 Karl, Ida & Horace moved to St. Hilaire, Minnesota. Following are some news items included to show social activities and are also of historical interest.

St Hilaire Spectator

March 23, 1916 More Settlers. Four carloads of immigrant effects were unloaded here last week. John Dwire of Lend, Minnesota had two loads and K. T. Dalager of Herman, Minnesota, had the other two. The first named will move on a farm east of town and the latter will occupy the Ness farm in River Falls township. Both these gentlemen come well supplied with farm machinery and stock and are prepared to farm on a large scale.

Because roads were poor, moving cattle, furniture, and machinery was by train. Because cattle needed care, it meant that the family moved right with them on the train. When Karl and Ida arrived in St. Hilaire, they moved onto the farm that had previously been farmed by A. Gunnar Ness, a bachelor.

James Franze remembered that his dad, John J. Franze, went up to St. Hilaire to visit his daughter and family in the fall of 1917. John said they had so much sowthistle that it really hurt the crops.

Feb. 1, 1917 A son was born to Mr. & Mrs. K.T. Dalager. (This was Karl Vincent Franze Dalager.)

Most children were born with the assistance of a mid-wife rather than a doctor. Grandma Peterson delivered my brother Vincent on Feb. 1, 1917 and two months later she delivered a neighbor’s son, Harold Walseth. Grandma Peterson’s maiden name was Anna Stena Broberg. She was one of two survivors of the Munson Lake Indian massacre near Willmar, Minnesota. Mrs. August Swenson was a daughter of Grandma Peterson. :Arlys Konickson, Mrs Jerry Konickson, would be Grandma Peterson’s great granddaughter.

Hilda Johnson remembered the Easter about a year after my parents had moved in. She and Otto were living on the Martin Hanson place where Nathan & Darcie Dalager live now. The road to town followed closer to the river than it does now. The Dalagers were driving a lumber wagon to church. The roads were so bad that they would have to get out and clean mud out of the wheels so the wheels would turn. They had two boys with them on the spring seat of the wagon.

Thorstein Walseth, a neighbor, remembered one time when Karl got caught in a rainstorm on the way to or from St. Hilaire and stopped at their place to get out of the rain. This was when Thorstein’s parents were living on the place that Ken Schroeder lives on now. Thorstein remembered helping unhook the horses and getting them in the barn so they would have some protection and have a chance to calm down. This happened before 1919 when Thorstein was 14. In those days farmers had most everything on the farm they needed on a day-to-day basis and they went to town to get items such as lumber, coffee, kerosene, sugar, and salt. Each fall farmers would take their own wheat to the Terrebonne mill that was about 20 miles south of the farm and have the wheat ground into flour.

The nearest neighbors to the south of their farm were the Gabe Petersons. Mrs. Peterson’s name was Josie, short for Josephine. Joe, Gladys, Melford, and Dale were children of Gabe and Josie Peterson. When the land was homesteaded, the land between the Dalager place and the Gabe Peterson place and north of the creek was all oak timber. Gabe had a sawmill and made good use of the oak. Joe said that the Dalagers would get their mail at the Petersons for many years. The Dalager’s mail was placed in the Peterson mailbox. The Petersons would bring the mail to their house and one of the Dalagers would come to get it. It was this way for many years. When the creek was high, either the Dalagers came on horseback or the mail was put in a bread pan and floated across the creek.

The following news articles are used to picture life on the Dalager farm for the next years.

St. Hilaire Spectator

May 24, 1917 Louise Franze of Battle Lake, Minn., is visiting with her sister Mrs. Dalager.

October 25, 1917 John Franze of Battle Lake, Minn., is a guest at the home of his daughter, Mrs. K. Dalager.

In the summer of 1918 Karl built a large barn measuring 68×36 feet. The head carpenter was Bill Gilbertson. During the building a carpenter named Leonard Erickson fell from the roof but was not hurt. A silo was added in 1919. Karl also sold many silos in the area.

Nov. 28, 1918 K.T. Dalager recently purchased a couple of extra fine pure bread Duroc-Jersey hogs. Mr. Dalager is going in for this class of stock exclusively & has a fine start.

Nov. 28, 1918 I have some acres of wood stumpage for sale. Some of the timber is dry and some green. Will sell in any size tracts to suit purchaser. Brush to be cut and piled ready for burning. K. T. Dalager, Route 2, St. Hilaire.

Dec. 26, 1918 Pure Bred Boar: I have for public service a pure bread Duroc-Jersey boar. Terms are $2.00 for grade and $5.00 for pure-bred hogs, cash at time of service. K. T. Dalager RFD No 2, St. Hilaire.

Feb. 13.1919 Mr. K.T. Dalager and son Horace were Sunday visitors at the T. M .Breviks who lived on the farm where Neil Peterson lives now.

Adelaide was born February 27, 1919.

Mar. 13, 1919 Miss Anna Franze from Battle Lake, Minn. is visiting her sister Mrs. K.T. Dalager.

April 10, 1919 Ad For purebred Leghorn setting eggs call or write to K.T. Dalager, Route 2, St. Hilaire.

April 24, 1919 Mr. & Mrs. E. H. Stephens & Mrs. K.T. Dalager & baby motored to Thief River Falls Thursday. (The baby was Adelaide)

July 24, 1919 K.T. Dalager purchased a new Ford car last week. K.T. Dalager is putting the finishing touches on a new barn out on his farm.

Aug. 14, 1919 Miss Louise Franze of Battle Lake, Minn. is visiting her sister Mrs. K.T. Dalager.

Nov. 20, 1919 K.T. Dalager has bought a complete set of steel stanchions, stalls and drinking fountains from St. Hilaire Retail Lumber Co. for installation in his new stock barn now under construction.

May 6, 1920 Ad Silo Solos were new and Karl had been the local salesman for a silo company.

May 13, 1920 K.T. Dalager has purchased a trailer for his Ford car.

Nov. 18, 1920 Mr. & Mrs. K.T. Dalager & family, Mr. & Mrs. Hans Hanson & family and George Stephens were Sunday guests at the Herman Jepson home. This is the farm where Kenny Noreen lives now.

Aug. 25, 1921 James, Fritz & Ruth Franze and Mrs. Clarence Larson autoed here last Sunday from Battle Lake for a visit at the home of their sister, Mrs. K.T. Dalager. Miss Louise Franze, who has visited in Dakota and arrived last week at the Dalager home, went back with them. (Louise was visiting brother Otto and family at Washborn, ND)

Kathrine was born January 14, 1924. The Pennington County courthouse spells her name Cathryne Isabella Dalager.

DEC 1, 1927 Mr. & Mrs. K.T. Dalager and family and Mr. & Mrs. N.E. Beebe spent Friday evening at the E. H. Stephens home.

Karl and Ida: Horace, Vincent, and Adelaide at Eastside School

Horace, Vincent and Adelaide attended Eastside country school that was located about 2 miles Southeast of their home.  The Walseths, Stephens, Gabe and Miller Petersons all had children about the same age and they would take turns hauling kids to school during wet weather or during the cold winter.  The children usually walked home.  Gladys Peterson, the daughter of Gabe Peterson,  recalled an incident that occurred when she was walking home with Adelaide.  It was a cloudy spring day and she had said, “I sure wish the sun would shine.”  Adelaide replied, “It is shining.  If it wasn’t, it would be dark.”  Gladys said that Adelaide was smart in school. 

Evelyn Peterson Hegrenes, the daughter of Miller Peterson, remembered those who attended East Side with her.  They were Ivanette Thyren, Ernest and Victor Erickson, Clarence and Mabel Konickson, Joe, Gladys and Melford Peterson, Horace and Vincent Dalager, Annie and Harold Walseth, and Mary and Henry Rohr. 

Among the things Evelyn remembered from country school were the syrup pail lunch buckets with syrup sandwiches.  When the weather was cold, their apples would freeze.  At school they always played ball and a game called pick-up-sticks.  They also played in the water in the big county ditch across the road from the school especialy in the spring.  The teacher would let them take turns ringing the school bell.  One day a boy tied their teacher, Bertilda Peterson, up with a rope.  Another student helped her get free.

Gladys Peterson and my brother Horace started high school in St. Hilaire in 1928.  Gladys and Horace went to grade school and high school together graduating in 1932.  Prices were really poor and Gladys’ dad, Gabe Peterson, sold a whole load of wheat to buy her class ring that cost $13.00.  Some of the teachers Gladys and Horace had at East-Side were Effie Fredrickson, Nannie Erickson, Miss Votava, Gaberial DeCathelineau, Hazel Dann, Lily Baum, Oscar Brevik, Bertilda Peterson, Ellen Nelson, and Evelyn Peterson.  Oscar Brevik was the son of Tarbjorn & Magnilda Brevik who lived on the farm west and south of the Dalager farm.  Oscar’s siblings were Bernt, Martin, Adolph, John, Mary, Margit, Tilda, Cornelia, and Helen.  The children were good singers and would walk to St. Hilaire to church choir practice, a distance of about 6 miles one way.   Others who lived on the Brevik place were the Brent Walseths, Frank Bothmans, Dan Johnsons, Harry Uttermarks, and Pete Hansons.  The Art Petersons moved to the Brevik place when I was in high school.  Art Peterson’s grandson Neil lives on the place now.

Students at the East-side school that Gladys remembered were Thyrenes, Ericksons, Petersons, Hudelson, Weckworth, Walton, Hogquist, Stephen, Palmquist, Hesse, Durheim, Konickson, Walseth, and Dalager.  There were up to 40 students at the East-side school during the 1920’s.  In a situation like this the older kids had to help the younger one because the teacher couldn’t find enough time to help all of them.  This was really the forerunner of our present day mentor system.  Schoolhouses were not well insulated and Joe Peterson thought that the winters were colder and had more snow in those days.  Gladys Peterson and Helen Hess Simpson remembered hearing wolves howling as they walked to school.  Joe Peterson remembered hunting wolves on horse back and on skis.  Games Gladys and Joe remember playing were fox & geese, drop the handkerchief, ring around the rosy, farmer in the dell, kitten ball and others.  Kids had a good time.  School was the main time that kids got to see others of their age.

Delford Stephens was a real cut-up in school.  Once he pretended he was going to hang himself.  He had tied a rope or wire to the ceiling and was standing on a box or desk with the wire around his neck.  Bertilda Peterson was the teacher at that time.  She really got excited but Delford was only fooling.  When he jumped off the desk he dropped the rope.  He would bring frogs and snakes to school, tease the Thyren girls by sitting by them, etc.  Gladys Peterson said that Gerald Stephens and Thorstein Walseth were the best looking young men in the area.  They were also good friends.  Once when Gladys was swinging, Delford started pushing her.  She would have fallen off but Delford’s brother Bob, who was on the next swing, jumped off his swing and caught her before she fell.  Bob was kind and considerate.

My brother Vincent remembers his first day of school very clearly.  He had dark curly hair which mother had let grow which was not the style at the time.  When he went to school he was teased a lot and it was the last day that he went to school with long hair.  Vincent also told about Delford’s prank with the rope tied to the ceiling but he thought Delford wanted to hang the teacher.  Another time Vince tried to roll a pencil across the isle to his neighbor and the teacher came down the isle with a ruler and hit him on the hand.  Vince said he out foxed her because he hollered real loud so she didn’t keep on too long.  It really didn’t hurt very much.  He thought this teacher was Ellen Nelson who later married Andrew Mortenson.

Members of Vincent’s class at the East side school were Floyd Hesse, Donald Thyren, Cyrus Peterson, Joyce Stephens, Bulah Rinkenberger & Harold Walseth.

One of the tricks they would do in school was to place a 22 cartridge on the stove.  Later on it would go off with a big bang causing a disturbance.  They would also ‘accidentally’ drop a celluloid ring from a horse collar on the stove.  This would smell up the school so badly that it would almost be necessary to close school for the day.

When Vincent was old enough to ride horseback he always rode one of the farm ponies to school.  By this time there was a barn at the school for the horses.

When the weather was nice enough, the East-Side students would play softball or kitten ball all the time.  At that time, Pennington County had a softball tournament in the spring when all the rural schools got together to play softball.  They usually had about 5 boys on the team and the rest were girls.  One year they were playing a team from up north made up of all big guys and they were tromping the Eastside team.  The boys from East Side didn’t like this very well so the 4 boys decided to challenge the other team all by themselves.  There were so few on their team that as soon as they got home it was their turn to bat again.  They only had a pitcher, a catcher, a first baseman and one fielder.  However, with only 4 players they were able to beat the other team.  This county sports event also included races, broad jump, pole vaults etc.

Vincent couldn’t remember his 7^th grade teacher’s name but she let them do anything they wanted to do.  If it were a nice day, they would jump out the window and go for a ride on their horses.  She had a model A Ford car.  In the spring when it was muddy, the boys would ride their horses in front of her car when she was driving to school on the wet road and plaster her car with mud.  Vince said that he and his friends were the meanest guys you ever saw.  

 

Karl and Ida: The Fire

In May of 1928, tragedy struck the home of Karl and Ida.

St. Hilaire Spectator

 

Mar 15, 1928 K.T. Dalager & family were visitors Sunday at the E.H. Stephen’s home.

 

CHILDREN MEET DEATH WHEN FARM HOME BURNS

 

May 17, 1928 Trapped in their bedroom on second floor of the home, the two small daughters of Mr. and Mrs. K.T. Dalager, Katherine, age 5 and Adelaide, age 9, perished in a fire which completely destroyed the Dalager farm home five miles southeast of here shortly after midnight last Thursday, May 12th.

 

The parents were aroused about midnight by noise from downstairs and upon investigation found the incubator and wall behind it ablaze. After calling the children, the parents made an attempt to extinguish the blaze that seemingly had not gained much headway by that time. It is believed gas must have generated from the heated incubator lamp as the whole room suddenly burst into flame, driving the parents out and cutting off escape by the stairway for the children. The two boys, Horace and Vincent, managed to break a window and jumped to the ground clad only in their night clothing. Mr. Dalager made a heroic attempt to reach his daughters but was driven back by the flames that completely enveloped the interior of the house by that time.

 

Help was summoned from the Walseth house nearby and a general alarm was sounded on the farm telephone line. Help was soon at hand but too late to be of any assistance in rescuing the children or saving any of the contents of the house that burned to the ground. Position of the remains of the children found after the fire would indicate that neither had awakened and it is likely they smothered before the fire reached them.

 

Rev. M.L. Dahle assisted by Rev. Lerohl of Oklee at the Norwegian Lutheran Church here Saturday afternoon conducted funeral services for the little girls. Internment was made in the cemetery east of the village.

 

The heartfelt sympathy of the community is extended to Mr. and Mrs. Dalager in the sad loss of their little ones and their home under such heartrending circumstances.

 

Pastor Lerohl was from the Glenwood, Minn area and had officiated at Karl and Ida’s wedding. Because Oklee and St. Hilaire are not to far apart, the Lerohls visited with each other quite often.

May 17, 1928 Mr. & Mrs. J.O. Grove of Glenwood, Mrs. K. Knutson of Willmar, relatives of K.T. Dalager, arrived here Friday being called by the holocaust that occurred at the Dalager home Thursday morning. They all returned home Sunday, Mr. Dalager accompanying them to spend a short time with his relatives.

The Glenwood Herald

May 17, 1928

 

Mr. & Mrs. J.O. Grove of Glenwood and Mrs. Knute Knutson of Willmar left here last Thursday evening for Hazel, Minn., called there by Mr. Karl T. Dalager, brother of Mrs. Grove and Mrs. Knutson, on account of the burning the night before of Mr. Dalager’s farm residence where two of his children lost their lives.

 

The fire was noticed in the middle of the night and at that time it had reached such headway that Mr. and Mrs. Dalager and the two elder boys barely exited in their nightclothes. Some of them had to jump out through the windows. It is not known how the fire started except that it is thought that it may have come from an incubator that was running in the house at the time. The two children that lost their lives were: Adelaide nine years old and Kathryn four years old.

 

Funeral services were conducted on Saturday afternoon at St. Hilaire. Relatives from Hallock, Minnesota also attending were Mrs. John Brendal and Hazel Grove.

 

Karl and Ida took this especially hard for if they had cleared the house of people before trying to put out the fire, no one would have lost their lives.

 

At the time of the fire, Gladys Peterson remembered waiting along with her mother for her dad, Gabe, to return. He had gone over to the Dalager place when central had sent out the general call. Horace went to stay with the Gabe Petersons and Karl, Ida & Vincent went to Walseths. As a result of the fire my parents lost all their pictures. They had lost the house and Katherine and Adelaide but also their memories.

Hazel Dann was the teacher at the East-Side school during the 1927-28 school year, the year of that fire. Hazel remembered that Katherine was visiting school the day before the fire. Katherine and Adelaide were having so much fun and they did not want to go home. Hazel described the girls as being “sweet.” When school met again Hazel said she had a “sad group of children.” One of the hardest jobs she had was to clean out Adelaide’s desk.

My parents never talked about the fire, however, the cellar and foundation of the house was always there as I grew up. The pain of the event is evident, also, in the fact that Dad left the farm for a time to live with his sister in Battle Lake, and Mom’s hair turned from black to white in a year’s time.

One of the sweet memories that mother told Shirley in later years was that Katherine and Adelaide had run down to the barn to say “good night” to their dad before they went to bed on the night of the fire.

Karl and Ida: Starting Over

After the fire, August Erickson, a neighbor who had built a new house on a forty about 1/4 mile away, let the family live in his house while a new house was built. The new house was completed during the summer and fall. That fall James was born on August 23 and Horace started high school in St. Hilaire. He drove a model A Ford car to school as long as he could and stayed in town during the winter.

Vincent took his eighth grade at the St. Hilaire School starting in the fall of 1930. Horace was a junior in high school there and Karl and Ida thought it would be simpler if they both went to the same school. Horace and Vincent drove to school every day. A neighbor, Paul Jepson also rode with them. Vincent could not remember what they did on stormy days or when the roads were impassible but they most likely had to resort to horses. Horace graduated in 1932 and Vincent graduated in 1935. Shirley was born May 28, 1930.

St. Hilaire Spectator

May 16, 1929 Evelyn Peterson, Annie Walseth and Horace Dalager spent the weekend at their respective homes.

Jan 9 1930 Mr. & Mrs. K.T. Dalager & family were guests at the home of Mr. & Mrs. Hansen of Red Lake Falls, Sunday Jan 3, 1930.

Feb. 13, 1930 Mr. & Mrs. K.T. Dalager & Mrs. G B Peterson attended the PTA meeting at St. Hilaire last Friday. They reported the Declamatory Contest very good.

May 28, 1930 Karl and Ida Dalager were blessed with the birth of a daughter. This was the birth of Shirley.

July 24, 1930 Rev. & Mrs. M.L. Dahle and family were guests Monday at the K.T. Dalager home.

Oct. 30, 1930 Mr. & Mrs. Fred Erdmann, accompanied by Mrs. K.T. Dalager motored to Moorhead Sunday to spend the day with Helena Erdmann while Mrs. Dalager visited her sister-in-law Mrs. Knutson of Fargo. On their return Mrs. M.L. Dahle and Maria Erdmann who had spent the weekend in Moorhead accompanied them.

Karl and Ida: Vincent’s school pranks and watermelon defense

When school started the fall of 1932, the St. Hilaire school sent out a bus which consisted of a box on the back of a truck which Ed Enge drove. When Ed had let off the last kid, he would drop the box off in the ditch and pick it up the next morning. Ed was a trucker and needed his truck to earn a living. There was no heat in the box but it offered protection from the weather and the ride was not too long.

Vincent’s classmates in St. Hilaire were Merle Rolland, Vivian Lindquist, Donna Brink, Rufus Olson, Isabel Rosendahl, Aradell Olson, & Jim Bainbridge. Jim was really Vincent’s best friend but after high school the Bainbridges moved to Iowa and Vincent hasn’t heard from him since. Jim had some kind of paralysis that caused him to limp.

Vivian Lindquist was always interested in Vincent but the interest was not mutual. One day Vincent put a mouse in Vivian’s lunch box. This did not go over very well and Vivian’s brother Vernon settled the score when he beat Vincent up. Vince was not hurt and Vivian still liked him.

The superintendent when Vincent was in high school was Mr. Reiersgord. The principal was Miss Bernice Anderson. Marguerite Dahle, Pastor M. L. Dalhe’s daughter was a high school teacher. Vince said he would be sent to the superintendent’s office for shooting spitballs. Mr. Reiersgord was Vince’s friend and he wasn’t too hard on him. They would talk for a while after which Vince was told to go back to his seat and get to work. Mr. Reiersgord also directed the band that went to the state fair the fall of 1935. Vincent played the trombone in the band. Vince’s good friend Jim Bainbridge was also in the band. Vince remembered walking around the state fair grounds with dark glasses on. They heard some old ladies comment that it was too bad that those nice fellows were blind. The boys had the word ‘band’ on their shirt some place and the ladies had read it as ‘blind’. Vince was also in the senior class play and he said he played the part of the town ‘bum.’ He said he was very good at it because of all his experience! Vince also remembered his French class. The teacher always had them exchange paper and correct them after a test. As a result, they would leave their papers blank and when they corrected them, they would fill in the correct answers. They all got through the class but none of them learned a word of French. One of the teachers would always give tests on Monday morning because he lived it up on the weekend and wasn’t able to do much Monday mornings. This was Mr. Al Figenskau. Other teachers Vincent remembered were Bertha Hasted (English), Ruth Lee (Math) and Betty McCracker (junior and senior English).

In high school Vincent did not play football or basketball because he always had to get home for chores. However, he was able to play in the band. One time Vince got a bee sting on his upper lip. It really swelled up. This was especially bad at this time because the band was supposed to play some kind of concert. He said he was able to play anyway.

Vincent didn’t like to milk cows so he carried feed and water to the cows and calves. He claimed that this is the reason he has big hands.

There was a fellow near Plummer who raised ponies. Every year Dad would keep a stud pony during the winter. It didn’t cost anything except the feed. In this way there were always ponies around and some of the mares would be with foal by spring. Vince loved to ride so there were always ponies to ride. Jerry, the pony I rode a lot, must have been one of the last of these ponies. Vincent’s main recreation during the summers was to ride around on a pony, carrying a rifle shooting rabbits. etc. Vincent earned money to buy his first 22 rifle by selling salve and other stuff like that to the neighbors.

Every winter, dad would haul cream to the creamery in St. Hilaire once a week. Some times Vince would ride with and go walking around the creamery seeing all the big machinery with the electrical panels on the wall and this always fascinated him. He was pretty small at this time but this interest was surely one of the reasons he went into the electrical business.

One of the garden products that were always a favorite with the family was watermelon. These watermelons were also a favorite of a lot of the young boys in the neighborhood. Many mornings the family would find the remains of what had happened the night before. One time Vincent figured how to solve this problem. He slept upstairs in the room that faced west toward the garden. He got a battery, a light, a switch and some other materials. He strung a string on pulleys around the water melon patch and up to his room. When the string was tripped it turned a switch on which turned on the light and activated a motor that pulled a string to fire his shotgun. To his surprise, it worked. In the middle of the night, a few days later, the shotgun fired. Vince got up and looked out the window and saw a guy heading for the fence. He rolled over the fence and was gone. Vince thought it was Delford Stephens. I remember dad trying something like this. He put twine around the patch and attached this to some tin cans in his bedroom. I am not sure how successful this method was. Another time Vince had gathered the melons in and put them in the basement on a shelf. However, the shelf was not strong enough and it broke down and so did the melons. They were having some group there, perhaps Luther League, so they served watermelons to all.

When Vince was young, the land ‘up north’ was loaded with prairie chickens. Dad hayed that land. In the winter when they went to get a load of hay up north they would also take the shot gun along and get a couple of prairie chickens. This was before the fire. Mother would bake the prairie chickens and the family would really enjoy them. There were also partridge in the woods. Vince would take a salt shaker and a potato and go out and shoot a partridge, cook it along with a potato and have a good meal in the woods. At that time most of the land west and north of the buildings was wooded. This was where the family got their stove wood for the year. I remember every year Dave Johnson would come over with a saw rig, powered by a model T or model Ford engine, and saw wood for us.

Vincent remembered an interesting incident with the double barreled shotgun when he was quite young. One Sunday morning there was a crow making a lot of noise. It was sitting in the willows by the slough that was near the house. He got up, put two shells in the double barreled shotgun and went to the slough to shoot this crow. He aimed the gun and pulled both triggers. This knocked him on his butt and the crow flew away unharmed.

Speaking about shotguns and their use, the kitchen door of the farmhouse had a small hole in it that had been patched by stuffing a small cork into it. This hole was made when a shotgun was accidentally discharged through the door. I do not know if it was Horace or Vincent who was holding the gun.

St. Hilaire Spectator

Dec. 23, 1937 Mr. & Mrs. Karl Dalager & family, Mr. & Mrs. Herman Sandberg and children, Mr. & Mrs. Adrian Anderson, Erling, Phoebe & Mayme Anderson were Sunday dinner guests at the Harry Winter home in St. Hilaire.

Karl and Ida: The Depression and other hard times

The depression was difficult on the farm but by working hard they always had enough to eat and to feed their cattle.  Mother always said that they did not have a lot of food or a great variety but they never were hungry.  To get enough hay, KT and the two older boys cut hay on a quarter of land two miles north and hauled it home during the winter.  He also cut cordwood and sold it to the St. Hilaire Creamery and school.  Grasshoppers were bad during the 30’s.  Neighbors would get together; mix a grasshopper poison made of sawdust, wheat brand, and arsenic and spread it on the fields by hand.    

Gladys Peterson remembered an incident that occurred during the drought and depression years of the thirties.  A man came to the door of the Peterson house asking for food.  None of the Peterson men were home so Josie said she would bring some food out.  About this time my dad, Karl Dalager, came to pick up the mail.  Josie asked him to come in so she could ask the stranger into the kitchen to eat.  This man was carrying a big suitcase so that made it a little scary.  When he came in to eat he set the suitcase by the door so he could keep an eye on it.  He probably had all his worldly possessions in that suitcase.  More of these men on the move stopped at the Miller Petersons rather than our place because their place was closer to the road.  Gladys remembered one sleeping on the edge of the road when they came home from school.  They were very quiet when they walked by him.  Gladys was in grade school at the time so it was in the mid 1920’s.  I remember these homeless men coming by our place.  They would ask for food and mother would give them something to eat.  Many times she asked them to split wood or carry water.  This would be about 1933 as I can remember it.  When asked about the depression, mother would say it wasn’t too bad.  They were always warm and had plenty of milk, meat, eggs and garden vegetables.

The following story was told by John (Jack) Winter, the son of Harry and Salma Winter when Jack and Jim Dalager were having lunch after Jack’s mother’s funeral at Calvary Lutheran Church, St. Hilaire, Minn. on Sept. 23, 1983.

During the hard times of the depression years, people often came to homes in town or country asking for food.  Once when someone came to Pastor Dahle’s home and asked for food Mrs. Dahle said she didn’t have any food but she had a quarter that she gave to the man.  She did this and then prayed that the Lord would provide. 

Later in the day there was a knock on the door and there was K.T. Dalager.  He had brought a bag of potatoes and a side of beef.  The Lord does lead and provide.

Karl and Ida: James and Shirley go to school

After graduating from high school in 1932 Horace stayed home to help on the farm. Following his high school graduation in 1935 Vincent took a two-year electrical course at Wahpeton State School of Science graduating in 1937 with a two-year degree in electricity.

When I started school in the fall of 1934, I rode in a car driven by Clif Schantzen along with Vincent, Paul Jepson, Henry Bothmans and Stella Omundson. The car picked us up at the cluster of mailboxes, located at the intersection of two roads about a half mile north west of our farm. Vincent and I had to walk the half-mile across country. I remember Vincent making a path for me through the snow.

For my second year I had to meet the car bus at the Bothman corner. This was over 1.5 miles from home or one mile west of the cluster of mail boxes.. Since Vincent had graduated from high school and was now at the Wapeton Technical school, I was on my own. During good weather Horace took me to this corner in the car in the morning. During the winter Horace took me on Jerry, our black and white pinto pony. On the way home from school, I would walk home from the Bothman corner. My usual path was one mile east on the gravel road and then across Anderson’s field through the Larson yard where Ron Hink lived later, then the path through the woods to home. Many time I stopped at the Larson house to get warmed up. Iris Larson, who later married Art Dicken, would give me something warm to eat before I left.

When Shirley started school in 1936, they had a real bus and the route was changed and we met the bus on the county line road south of our place. To meet the bus we had two routes. We could walk either through the Gabe Peterson place that was south and east of our place or through the Dan Johnson or Peterson place. We did this for three years until Carol Walseth started school in 1939. I was in sixth grade when Carol started school. The school bus had changed route again and we met the bus at the mailbox corner which was about 1/2 mile north of the Walseth place. Thorstein took Carol and later Bob by car to meet the bus. Shirley and I would walk to the end of our driveway and Thorstein would pick us up in his Model A Ford. We did this for several years until the bus started coming south from the mailboxes and turned at the Walseth crossing. This may have happened when Robert Peterson and Bob Walseth started school. There were five getting on the bus at that location so the bus came to the Walseth driveway.