1916

Another start to a new year with bad weather. There was a record low of -44º this January 13th.

I only get a chance to write in this book occasionally, so put in tidbits as and when I can. Lynn J. Frazier was a successful NPL candidate for governor. He supported programs helpful to farmers so we were very pleased.

The railway has now been complete all across the state.

There was talk of moving the state capital to New Rockford, but thankfully it was disallowed.

On December 10th, this year, my brother-in-law, Leonard, married Lydia Nytzke at her home town of Nicollet, Minnesota. I’ve seen the wedding photograph of them. It was a beautiful wedding, and she looked so lovely. Lydia wore a long full sleeved white dress with lace around the neck and sleeves. She had two white roses in her hair, and carried a bouquet of roses. Her long auburn hair was parted on the side, and caught up at the back of her head. Len wore a white tie with what looked like a diamond pin in front, and a black suit. He was looking at her with such an enthralled look. Her bridesmaid was her best friend Eileen Stagie. Her two brothers and five sisters were all there. Len built them a small house to live in on the same property, so they will have some privacy.

Then on Christmas day, we had what was considered the worst storm in 48 years, with 20 inches of snow and 36 miles an hour wind gusts. The snowfall began on Christmas afternoon, with the snow making the trains unable to travel. Mostly all travel was by bobsleds and sleighs. They had to dig tunnels through snow banks for trains.

On the 26th, there was a big fire in Bismarck, and also a strong wind, fanning the flames. The fire fighters had problems as the subzero temperatures immediately turned the water on their clothes to ice making them human icicles. So they had to turn their water hoses to a building in the path of the flames, and the water turned immediately to ice, preventing the flames from taking hold. The next day the building looked like an ice palace - but it hadn’t been burned down.

Christmas, 1916.

Hello all of you in Montana and a very happy holiday to you. What a bunch of nurses we are going to be having in the family. I hope you are all enjoying it.

Our lives are busy as usual, and yet we seem to be getting somewhere with the farming. Nick is thinking of increasing his acreage. We are specially busy each year at harvest time, and I’m enclosing a picture of the thrashing crew that worked this area last year. They were very efficient, and everybody helped everybody else. Can you guess which one is Nick?

My best friend Emma Burman who married Harry Fisher has had a son, and they called him Johnnie. I hope he and my children will be good friends.

Love from Laura

Chapter 9

1917

This awful war is now starting to affect our lives too. This year North Dakota units were ordered into Federal military service.

There is talk of women voting, but it won’t happen for some time yet. The bill has been introduced, but even if it passes, it needs to be signed into law, ratified, and so on. I doubt if it will have any effect this decade.

We have had some frightening accidents around here. Little Mildred hung herself in the barn. How it happened was this. She watched Chester go from the haymow down through an opening into the feeding racks in the lean to building. So she thought she would try to do the same thing, only she picked the wrong set of feeding racks, and they were too narrow and she got stuck. She had a 2 x 2 on each side of her ears. She says she screamed and screamed, but the wind was something wild that day, and nobody heard her. But when she had been missing for awhile, I send Chester out and he found her. He and the hired man got a hammar and eventually they got her out. She was hysterical, and very sore behind her ears. I finally got her calmed down in her high chair and I thought that would teach her to be more careful.

Then not a week later, Chester had a friend over and they were fixing their bikes, and he cut the end off one finger. Luckily we managed to stop the bleeding before too long, but he will always have that short finger to remind him to be more careful.

Then if that wasn't enough drama for one summer, Mildred a few months later, was climbing on a board nailed to a telephone pole. She slipped and the nail in the board tore a long gash in her arm which cut it clear to the bone. Nick and I wondered if we should take her to the hospital in Bismarck to have it seen to, but decided that since it had bled freely, it wasn't likely to have blood poisoning. But I'm sure she will always carry that scar too.

Christmas, 1917.

Dear Pa, Berte, and Bertha and family,

I am so pleased that you are all together this Christmas time and know things will be easier for you now, Bertha.

I am sending the latest picture of our children - which I think is very sweet. I think Chester is the picture of Nick, and people say that Mildred looks a lot like me, but little Allan seems to have a look all his own. Chester is six now, and started school in September. He loves it.

Well, with this war going on, the men are supposed to sign up for the draft. Len did it, but he asked for an exemption on the grounds that he was the sole support of his wife. Nick hasn't done anything about it yet.

The powers that be have changed the name of our township. It is no longer called Malcolm, but is now Weiser.

As far as family news goes, Benjamin and Caroline had another baby, who they called Alice.

Love from Laura