Interviewer: Cassie Ptacek Typed by: Marlena Fongthian North of Dodge Born in a house With a doctor & a midwife March 4, 1921 Remembers way back, there was no money Was in the CCCs Worked on the Chateau d'mores in Medora Got $8/month $22 went home Loaded up in Stanton & went to Medora Changed every two weeks Found wine in the basement Started building roads Found a skeleton wearing a leather jacket Watford City First camp he was in was a lots of snakes Thistles everywhere A snake hunter from Belfield Went home 3 months, then joined again Was between Fairview & Sidney, MT Was a night guard A room was $.75 Hitchhiked all the way to Halliday Walked home
Had to walk to Grandma's So tired he wouldn't sleep Lots of dust storms, grasshopper, potato bugs Had to pick them off Had to chase off grasshoppers Had big gardens those days Had watermelons, cucumbers Butchered - cured Lost the farm North of Dodge Had to move 14 miles south of Beulah Dad rented 7 years A flood came along A tractor floated away Bought 2 cars for his sons - '56 Ford & '57 Chevy Family was very poor Emil broke his leg His dad splinted it 1933 - sister died Walter died even before that All family buried north of Dodge All summer went barefoot Would walk to Grandma Weidners Would get the cows Saw an Indian had butchered a cow Always got farmed out to uncles You ate what was grown
Made cheese Made liver sausage Always dirt basements with shelves Store enough food for the year Bought salt, sugar, coffee Sometimes bought shoes Gave a sack of oranges for the 9 kids He would haul wheat to town Would get $.50 $.10 for a burger $.05 for pop No insulation in the Medora Barracks Cold - if it was 15 below, they didn't have to work Rode the back of a truck wherever he went Had street dances sometimes in Watford City $.12 for a show, cigarettes were $.13 Only had $8 for a month Pool cost $.05 before CCCs Worked for NYA Built 2 long cabins for $14/month Went to NYA school in Fargo Learn how to weld Got $14/hour Had to peel potatoes for 4 hours All stayed in dorms & ate there often
After that, got married Couldn't afford a ring Hauled coal in the fall Threshing - wheat - dad would send them to town - only got $.19 Eggs were $.06 No refrigerators Money was so scarce - no place to work Baths - rinse with vinegar water Share water in a tub Had a windmill Water was bad to drink -terrible water Would pick up cow pies in the summer when they ran out of coal Didn't mine in the summer Had to run around and get cow pies for heat and cooking - no trees to cut down Water inside would freeze No parkas No closets Wash machine - had a washing board Got a gas motor washer - Maytag Oldest sister got her hand in the wringer, tore fingers off - was a doctor in Halliday - 14-15 miles In winter, drove with a team Had to back up steep hills for the car to get gas - tires were very bad Could buy plastic curtains No heaters Was 7-8 when they got a car Finally came out with a Chevy with windows in about 1932
Gas tank was in the back 1936 car had a decent heater Put kerosene in Had a coupe with suicide doors when came back from Army Money was just unreal Sears Roebuck, Montgomery Ward, Spiegel's - ordered rings from there -his wife paid for them She taught school - ordered on payments Had to order clothes through catalogues - could buy shoes for $3 - $4 - repaired shoes In the summer went barefoot - went to get the cows barefooted No sewing machines - mother sewed and patched - hand-me-downs Butchering - neighbors Picked corn by hand Woke up by 5:00AM to go get the cows and horses Caught a horse - put a wire around the neck - rolled over Emil - should have died Had a horse named Peanuts Had big workhouses Had a good dog - Emil's best friend Never got toys - used little boxes to be the animals - never had a bike Never had a bike 2 lumberyards in Dodge, a bank There was a Jew in almost every town They don't like work Don't see any Jews now Always in business Had 3 elevators Came in with horses
Drove up to weigh it No trucks Always homemade bread Made own yeast Good bread - would try to get out of eating it when it got hard - ate a lot of cream Food was always homemade At weddings, kids always ate last Had to eat what was left 2 cousins lost their heading from being hit on the head Emil & his brothers had a folding bed in the kitchen - 3 to a bed - a brother wet the bed - no place to shower Mom died when he was 14 or 15 Had cancer for many years Died at home Screamed towards the end Had lumps on her arms Mom was very nice Dad was more strict No funeral homes Hauled her to Beulah Left her in the house overnight Had to pull her to the graveyard Always ground your flour - grind enough for the winter Dad was strict Read a prayer every morning, before and after eating Everyone had their place at the table
Always had a belt hanging - for discipline Grandparents on father's side (Frank side) came over from Russia Grandma had to go back Got pregnant back in Russia by a Chinese man (because of war) Had to carry a lot of water to wash A banker came one day School Didn't know a word of English Had 2-seat desks 1 room school house Dad would sometimes take them to school Walked over a mile Aunt Lena - had 9 kids - Uncle died - all the kids raised without a father No one lived on much land Had to work it with horses - cows sometimes Only had straw to eat Uncle wanted $6 for threshing A guy came wanting to buy cattle - offered $25/pound - dad sold Would hunt rabbits - to buy cigarettes One time accidently broke off the sight - would dig out skunks & weasels Got $3 - $4 for weasel Got about $5 for rabbits There were always magpies flying around - got paid for those A fisher guy came around - would fish for farmers - would trade for cowhides, batteries, etc. An Uncle made puffed wheat - would trade for that as well Had to raise food - only had a little cupboard
Washed everything by hand No running water Had a lot of plums, raspberries, strawberries Would go out to the river & cut ice put it in the cellar Run there for tornadoes Hung butter down the well to keep it cool Butter made with a hand crank Had no ice cream mixers No birthdays Celebrated Christmas and Easter Christmas - would heat rocks, put them in the sled - go to church - everything was German Preacher was rough - Church - Men & women segregated - Missouri Synod Lutheran Remembers when they built the church - how to get the bell up there? Decided to use a well puller - The 1st church, the wind blew down 6-8 weeks for confirmation - everything in German Everyone had a big family - was so cold in the house - frost & ice Mail was always delivered by horses - would board the mail mans horses - got $1/day to feed them Didn't have corn cobs - threw corn on the roof to dry Had a Christmas tree with candles - had gas lamps - Christmas tree was hung up with candles Had to watch about farming Hauled coal Saturday night built fire, had to make sure it was still going Sunday morning - just an ordinary furnace Easter Raised own eggs
Dyed them Would hide the eggs Would get a few peanuts, some suckers Go to grocery store, would charge groceries - grocer would always give a sucker Mission Fest In the fall Got Lord's supper Also at Easter All the banks were broke - ran the header - one day while heading, bank closed All the wheat had to be cleaned at home with a crank School 32 kids in a 1 room school - teacher often boarded in the school house - put a curtain up in the school house - May Olson from Golden Valley - had to sit double - had poor books - pulled out of school when he was 6 - finished school in the CCC's Always had to share books - all 8 grades in one room - taught them all in the same school house Used a stick to play ball - made a ball out of twine; would just run around at recess; you ran and had to get to home base - no room inside to play - a little porch for over close Water froze - no heat in the porch - had a coal stove Always brought homemade bread & liver sausage - chicken noodle soup Jelly bread - in summer Hitched up a team, went to reservation, picked chokecherries - can them - make jelly Dirt basement - hatch door Grew up in a 4 room house 9 kids No living room Dad had a wooden rocking chair
Girls slept in one room Boys had a folding bed in the kitchen No corn flakes Later was puffed wheat Cleaned with a fanning mill Had oatmeal, cream of wheat - came in bags, not boxes Mother made coffee cake Never saw frosting until 14 years old Only had oranges at Church Christmas program - could buy apples Apple wrappers as toilet paper - or use catalogues - catalogues came in the mail Could buy a quilt for $.90 No parkas like we have now - sheep wool Overshoes would freeze - couldn't get them off - froze feet many times - horses were best transport Winters were cold, dark, no telephone, no radio - got a radio with a "dry battery" - wasn't very good - "Andy Divine", "Lights Out" - Ghost story - would ride to neighbors to listen Phone - 2 long 1 short - party line Never got hauled to school - Model T was hard to start in Winter - no shift handle in Model T's - no foot paddles Rubbed onions on the ice to defrost Got to town 1-2 a year in winter - Christmas & Easter Spring Worked with horses - if you had feed, fed them - got them ready for spring work - oiled harnesses with lard, from pigs Walked to school all the time
Everyone was poor Plowed with 3 horses - 1 bottom plow - had a wooden box & drill - hitch them, harness them, fed them, went by the sun, not watches Lost the farm, rented it back A steam engine - Rumley tractor - made a harrow out of trees Would stay overnight on the reservation Drove home with a team Summer All with horses - binding, threshing, bundles, shocking - one had to drive the horses - grasshoppers would eat the heads off grain - binder was a different ball game Had to shock bundles, let them dry - got $.50/an acre for shocking Pitched the bundles up Got $2.50 - $3.00 if you brought horses Later on had carnivals for the 4th of July Would sometimes go to Halliday - 4 Bears Bridge Had big 3-day rodeos at the reservation Got 95 points, 5 points short of being able to go home, so had to go to Japan - Went to Hiroshima Japanese would eat grasshoppers and rice On guard duty - shooting with a.50 caliber machine gun A lot of black market stuff MacArthur - big chef Got to be a sergeant Pencil drawing of his wife - for a candy bar Fall Had to get ready for winter Haul coal
Had to mine No dynamite, had to dig it out Coal was $1.50 - $2.00 Kitchen stove used coal & heated water Carried water in by hand - pump by hand or windmill Water was so contaminated, sometimes had to get drinking water from neighbors Had to put lye in to wash clothes - "We didn't know any different" Not favorite season Toward the end of thirties, headed for shows - Gene Rogers, Hopalong Cassidy because he worked for NYA... Stressful Death of his mother, lots of neighbors died Had to dig graves in the winter, sometimes laid in the granary, frozen, till spring Hand-milked outside Drink milk right out of the cow Hunting rabbits was the only way to get money Gas was $.18/gallon - fuel for lamps - Kerosene used for studying at night; sat on table Happiest Dances & shows - but dancing was a sin -would hide from the preacher if they went Walked home from Dodge 13 miles; especially in winter Once walked & stopped at a farmer's house for food Adventurous Would ride horses Excitement was listening to the radio There were really no doctors All of the family born in the house
Had to lay on the floor while mother gave birth Mail delivered by horses - just horse trails Winter, you might see town for Christmas - Thought nothing of it - it's how they grew up