Barnes County: A Moment in Time
1920
100 Years Ago...
The kiddies are enjoying the City Dad’s present to them—the skating rink on the lot adjoining the City Hall—to their heart’s content. The rink was flooded Saturday, and Sunday the youngsters were on it in full force playing hockey, tag and other games which prove great sport on skates. The rink is plenty big enough to let several scores of the little folks on to it at one time and is certainly a fine present from the city.
Valley City’s new High School building will be occupied on January 3, after the Christmas vacation. A modern and sanitary building in every respect, the new school, although not as large as some of the High Schools in the northwest, is as fully modern, and as well equipped with the very latest modern improvements to be found. The building has been under the process of construction for a period of over a year and a half, the work being unavoidably halted at times by the lack of material and labor, brought about by conditions existing after the war. The general contract for the construction of the building was awarded to W.J. Curren, the heating system and plumbing work to the Valley City Plumbing and Heating Co., and the electrical work by Arthur Bonhus.
The entire school is heated by city steam, supplied from the city power plant.
Commencing with the gymnasium, a brief outline will be given of the new school, describing the new modern improvements, the increased facilities for class work, and other details. The gymnasium is 51x80 feet, actual floor space, below the bleachers which occupy the east and west sides. The floor is marked off for basketball, volleyball, indoor baseball, and other games. No extra gymnasium equipment has been purchased at this time, and will not be for some time, due to the still prevailing high prices. However, there is plenty enough to carry on the work very successfully. Steel lockers are provided for the use of students who take an active part in athletics. Shower baths are also provided. This section of the school will also be used for physical education, which is becoming more and more important each year. The federal government is cooperating with schools throughout the country in this work and urging the extension on the same. It is also planned to make the gymnasium a sort of community center for young and old alike of the city, in which they can gather and enjoy a few hours of recreation at some kind of games. Leadership will be furnished by the school. More new equipment will be added later. It is also planned to put the gymnasium in the old high school building into use again for the students, in which physical education classes can be instructed. These classes will be under the leadership of two experienced directors, a man and a woman, and will form a regular part of the school routine. Credits are allowed for this kind of work the same as any other branch of study. A movable stage has been secured, and all dramatic plays, etc., put on by students during the year will be given here. The stage is built in sections so it can be easily moved.
On the first floor will be found the president’s office, consisting of a general office and board room, anti-room, private office with coat room and toilet. A vault has been installed in the board room.
On this floor also will be found the music room, domestic science room, a large room that will be used for general purposes such as chorus work. Coat rooms are on this floor, one at each end of the corridor. A ticket office to be used for entertainment of various kinds is also found here.
The two entrances to the gymnasium lead from this floor.
The large study room forms the nucleus on the second floor. This provides seating for about 150 students. The plan that will be worked out will be one of separate study with a lengthened recitation period divided into recitation and study time. All general assembly work will be held in the gymnasium, the bleachers providing ample room. Box lockers for each student’s books in school are provided. On the second floor sales room, mathematics and history departments and two toilet rooms, all spacious and well lighted.
A feature of the third floor, as well as of the entire school, is the splendid layout of the laboratory. This is as well equipped as any other rooms of its like in North Dakota, and all studies pertaining to physics, etc., will be carried out here. All equipment for this work is of the very latest model and design.
The third floor also takes care of the science, commercial and English departments. Three center rooms are provided for science, three west rooms for commercial work and three east rooms for English. In this connection, we might mention that the school has one of the best-equipped commercial departments to be found. Typewriting, shorthand, bookkeeping, and all work in connection with a commercial education is offered.
Approximately 282 high school students will be moved into the new building. This will involve the shifting of the Junior High School, consisting of the seventh and eighth grades, of more than 150 students into the old High School.
Architect Eugene McFarland of this city designed and made the entire plans and specifications for this fine building.
How the students appreciate the Christmas gift, as they term it, is expressed in the last edition of The Owl. In part, it follows:
“The students of our high school are going to receive a real ‘Christmas ‘Gift’ when the new building is opened for use. The people who have made this ‘gift’ possible have a right to demand that, in return, we take the proper care of it. We wish to start right in keeping the new building free from initials and names scratched upon the desks and walls. These things are unnecessary and are only the result of carelessness. If we will set a good example, the future students will follow it.”
1945 75 Years Ago... Decorating the Evergreen
In readiness for the holiday spirit, the teenagers pictured about are getting the “evergreen” at the City High School ll decked out in festive yuletide rim. The girls are (left to right) Peggy Ployhar, Mary Lou Christofferson, Peggy Getchell, Rosemary Winkler, Shirley Fiola and Betty Fae Froemke.
Mythalers give STC Memorial in Son’s Honor
Stanley Mythaler, of
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the State Teachers College faculty, and his wife recently presented a gift to the college in memory of their son, David, who was a World War II casualty.
The memorial gift is a beautiful and expensive silver-plated Holton trombone which David played first as a member of A.L. Froemke’s College high Band and later was a member of the Band at STC, where he attended school for a year
1970 50 Years Ago... Al Rehbahn Employed with Wildlife Service
Al Rehbahn, formerly of the Valley City area, is employed with the Fish and Wildlife Service in Mercer and Oliver Counties.
An article appeared in the Beulah Beacon newspaper commenting on the large coyote population reported in Oliver County. Rehbahn, as a government hunter, finds himself anywhere in the area on request from farmers and ranchers concerning loss of livestock to coyotes.
He, along with an airplane and pilot on a contract basis for the Fish and Wildlife Service, makes trips around the counties, searching for troublesome coyotes and exterminates them on a selective basis. The plane makes it possible to pick out the old animals who are doing the damage, thus leaving the young animals to grow and reproduce.
Rehbahn is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Leo Rehbahn of Valley City.
County Historical Museum Enters Fifth Decade
Tuesday is the same as any workday at the Barnes County Courthouse, with one small exception. In the afternoons from 2-5 p.m., a door is opened into a small room of North Dakota’s past. Behind the door is the Barnes County Historical Museum. The same room has housed the exhibit since its inception 40 years ago.
In the fall of 1929, antiques gathered throughout Barnes County were on public display. From this display came the idea for a permanent exhibition of antiques and private collections, which was opened in June 1930.
Four organizations were instrumental in establishing the museum in its present location on the third floor of the courthouse. These four—Woman’s Relief Corps, American Legion Auxiliary, Pioneer Club, and the Daughters of the American Revolution— still have exhibits on display. When the museum opened, the County Commissioners also gave $200, which was used to purchase showcases for some of the smaller collections.
Many collections were donated and some were loaned to start the museum. This is still the only way the museum adds to its collection, since it does not purchase articles.
Exhibits that are loaned can of course be reclaimed at any time. One item reclaimed by its owners not too long ago was a drum that had been used in the American Revolution.
But there is no dearth of other interesting relics. Showcases line three walls to almost ceiling height. And where the showcases stop climbing, individual objects such as an ornate spinning wheel, an old cumbersome-looking scythe, and an oxen yoke are perched on top of the cabinets or hang from the walls.
One of the largest exhibits is a loan from Vernon Gale of Valley City. His collection of Indian relics dominates one wall. The showcase contains examples of beadwork, articles of clothing, and a 55 1/2 pound maul that would make a Hollywood “Indian” cringe.
But it is hard for the visitor to stand looking at any one showcase too long. The pull of years past is great and keeps the individual’s eyes moving.
One showcase secured for the exhibits dolls dressed in the native costumes of countries from which many of the state’s inhabitants have emigrated.
Men, as well as women, might be interested in some of the fashions worn by early pioneer women. A long, rich
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looking black gown was once used as a wedding gown. When the honeymoon was over, it also served as the lady’s dress gown. Economy, it seems, is not just a recent concern.
Among several articles of furniture contributed by the Hugh McDonald family is a priceless square grand piano. Massive, it was brought to North Dakota from the East Coast in the 1800s. It rests now in the museum on thick, carved legs, a reminder that North Dakotans are not concerned with “just farming.”
The American Legion has two showcases. One is filled with war implements from WWI, mainly captured from German soldiers. A larger cabinet contains uniforms (one worn in the war of 1812), swords and firearms. One muzzleloader bears the note that it was used in the north Barnes County area in the early 1800s.
The center of the room is filled by four large showcases that contain smaller articles, most used by early Dakota Territory pioneers. Children especially seemed attracted to the huge shoes worn by Christ Pateau, who was the largest man in the territory, weighing 425 lbs in his prime. Pateau was an organizer of the Trinity Lutheran Church in Valley City. He died in 1890 and is buried in the Hillside Cemetery.
The list of articles is enormous and varied. Chances are good that if a visitor is looking for a particular type of article used in pioneer days, he or she will find it somewhere in the museum.
Where in the museum is another question, however. Documentation and historical records are scanty. Helen Movius, present curator, talked about some of the problems. “We have only one book that catalogs that museum’s collections,” she said. “But it is very difficult to find anything by using the book. Objects are listed under the name of the person or family who donated or loaned the collection. I should catalog the articles properly, but I haven’t gotten around to it.”
That is understandable, since the task confronting a would-be documenter is enormous, and since Miss Movius donates her time.
Miss Movius “inherited” the job, in her own words, from the previous curator, Mrs. Helen Stowell when Mrs. Stowell died a few years ago. Mrs. Stowell took over from the original curator, Mrs. Winifred Benson, who for many years was a school teacher in Valley City.
Miss Movius is a 1932 graduate of Valley City State College and served as Dean of Women there from 1950-1962. She is eager and helpful in showing visitors the museum’s collections, and her interesting commentary is the best documentation the museum has.
One item Miss Movius will be sure that you don’t miss is the last issue of The Dialy Citizen, Vicksburg, Miss., printed Thursday, July 2, 1863. “The Union flag flies in the City now,” it reads, “and we print our last issue on wallpaper,” which was all they had left.
For a swift hour, it is possible to forget that we are still fighting wars, here and abroad. But also, in this small room with hardly an empty space, one becomes aware that someday the curiosities and relics of the twentieth century will be stored away in similar crowded rooms, waiting for school children to stop in on the way home.
1995 Fire Destroys Barn in Rural Litchville
Eight emus, two antique tractors and other pieces of equipment were destroyed Friday morning in a barn fire eight miles south of Litchville.
Litchville Fire Chief Kevin Smith said the fire was discovered on the Ron and Gay Ann Van Bruggen farm at 5:50 a.m. Friday. He said Bud TenPas was driving past the farm at that time and noticed the blaze. He woke the family and alerted the Fire Department. Smith said the barn had been burning a while when it was discovered.
Three fire units and 14 firefighters battled the blaze for nearly an hour. But Smith said, “It was pretty much all lost.”
The fire units returned to the station around 7:30 a.m. The cause of the fire has not been determined. Smith said he would notify the state fire marshal.
In addition to the eight emus that were killed, the fire destroyed a Minneapolis Moline Z tractor, an older John Deere tractor, a pull-type camper and a boat.
Smith said the Minneapolis Moline Z belonged to gay Ann’s father, Ray Lebahn. It was Lebahn’s first tractor, Smith said.
Rural Dazy Woman Accepted into Physician Assistant Program
The University of North Dakota School of Medicine has recently announced Marjorie K. Triebold has been accepted in the UND Physician Assistant Program beginning January 15, 1996.
She was selected from over five hundred applicants from the United States to be part of the 80-member class.
The UND-based physician’s assistant program was established in 1972 and prepares physician assistants to function collaboratively in providing comprehensive and accessible health care delivery in primary health care facilities. The program consists of four months of clinically- oriented didactics in Grand Forks and eight months of a preceptorship under the supervision of a primary care physician.
Triebold will be under Dr. Patty Pepper of the Cooperstown Medical Center and her preceptorship includes clinic, hospital, emergency care and nursing home work in New Rockford and other satellite areas. She will also complete clinical clerkships in specialty areas under the auspices of boardcertified physicians. Upon completion of the program, graduates are awarded twenty-four undergraduate academic credits, eighty-two continuing units and are eligible to sit for the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination.
Triebold graduated from Wimbledon High School and Magna cum laude from Jamestown College in 1992 with a degree in nursing. She has worked as a registered nurse for the Anne Carlson Center for the children, as RN Consultant for the Hi-Soaring Eagle Ranch and since 1993 as a charge nurse at Griggs County Hospital. Marjorie is the daughter of Lorene Paasch, Wimbledon, and the late Freddie Paasch. She is the granddaughter of George and Alpha Walker, Wimbledon, and the daughter-inlaw of Lloyd and Mae Triebold, Valley City. She and her husband, Don, reside in rural Dazey where he farms. They have four children: Stacey, 20; Lucas, 17; Rachel, 15; and Bryan, 9.