Grandparents Come to Callaway • Chapter 5

Chapter 5 • Grandparents Come to Callaway

In the fall of 1913 my grandparents Mr. and Mrs. Ole Strand and half-brother Palmer, who lived with them at Wildrose, North Dakota, came to live on the farm with us that winter. Mother cooked and did the laundry for twelve people.
Palmer was about eighteen years old and he played the violin and sang western songs, we sure loved to hear him sing. Palmer and Rudy cut wood for Dad. They walked four miles back and forth morning and evening to the woods, but most of the time was spent visiting with some girls on the way to the woods, so Dad couldn't figure out why they did not have any more wood cut for the time they spent in the woods.

Frank, Rover and Lawrence Peterson, Callaway Minnesota 1914

Then in March 1914, my Dad's health was not good so he decided to sell his farm to Mr. Beirman and have an auction sale. I don't really remember much about the sale, as we were in school. Dad bought a grocery store in Callaway. We rented an upstairs apartment in Callaway, next door to the store. My grandparents also lived up there, till they went back to North Dakota. Palmer also left home and Rudy and Annie stayed and worked in the store for a while.
One day, before the insurance was transferred over to Dad, and the former owner was still around the store, smoke was coming out of the storeroom in the back of the store. Dad rushed to the rear to see what was burning. Here was a pile of rubbish burning in the middle of the floor. He had a pail of water handy and poured over it, putting the fire out. I don't know, but Dad seemed to think the fire was started on purpose, since the insurance was not transferred to his name yet.

We had a big St. Bernard dog named Rover. Dad left him in the store every night to guard the store. One night the dog was not around lock-up time, so he just locked up and went home. The next morning somebody had broken in and taken some things. Mr. Rover never got out after that.

Dad and Mother's new house in Callaway; Mother, Andy, Rover, Annie, Elsie, Myrtle, Lawrence and Frank. Taken in 1914

Dad built a new house on the south side of Callaway, so my mom was busy getting new things for her new house. It was the nicest house she ever lived in. She had a cow from the farm in town for our milk and she sold milk all over town. That was our job, to deliver milk. The money she got for the milk was her pin money, so she bought new furniture and curtains for her new home, and many other things. She got five cents a quart for milk.

In 1914 when we moved to Callaway School from District 15 in section 5. We had quite a time making new friends in Callaway School. Jennie Moody was a substitute teacher when we moved into town. The first morning of school the teacher put me in the back of the room in the second to the last row. We had roll call and singing exercise. I had two long braids hanging down my back. The girl behind me just couldn't resist giving my braids a good pull and my head flew back. That was not enough, so she gave them two more pulls. By this time my Danish blood was boiling. There was a ruler with a steel blade in it on the desk, and I picked up this ruler so quick and turned around, hit her two times on top of the head as hard as I could with the sharp edge of the ruler. I guess she didn't expect this. The sound passed over the schoolroom and it got so quiet. The teacher came down the aisle to see what was going on. She asked us what happened, and I said, "I guess she likes to yank hair, so I let her have it!". The teacher walked back to her desk and never said a word to me. But this was not over yet. At noon hour, we went home for our lunch across town.

Callaway School 1914. This school burned down after we moved to Richwood

It was March and the snow had melted into icy slush on both sides of the wooden sidewalk in a shallow ditch. When I was going home for lunch, she and her girl friends jumped on me and started to beat me; they didn't figure I was so strong. Before they knew what had happened, they were all laying in the ditch in ice water. Then l took off running as fast as I could home. l was all wet, too. After lunch on the way back to school, I took the other side of the street across from where she lived, as she lived upstairs, as I did not want her to jump me again. Sure enough, when I looked across the street, here she was waiting for me with a stick in her hand, so I ran to school as fast as I could go. It took Frank and I the rest of the school term to whip every kid in town, that would not leave us alone, but we did, and later had all kinds of friends. They sure liked to pick on the new kids that came to town school from the county. They called us hayseeds and country dumbbells and everything they could think of.

When Dad moved to Callaway, he had a colt by the name of Dick that he saved from Kate. It was her last colt. She died when they had to take it from her, so Dad raised him with the bottle. He was a spoiled colt. He bought a new top buggy, so we went riding in the buggy on Sunday to Richwood Church and to see his sister Sena. Dick was not exactly a buggy horse, but he served the purpose.
In 1915 Dad bought a new model T car, so we went to Richwood village, Mahnomen, Detroit Lakes and many other places with the car. With the car we could get there faster than with the horse.

On a nice warm summer day in 1915, my friend Helen and I walked down the railroad tracks to a little creek that ran under the tracks. We took some lunch with us and sat there with our feet in the warm water. It was getting late and soon it was time for the passenger train to come, so we started back towards town. We came to the first road crossing south of town and here was a little boy about three years old. He had his foot stuck in the crossing bars and I tried to get his foot loose, but couldn't pull it out. We untied his shoe and pulled his foot out, and then the shoe came too. But by this time the train whistle blew about a mile down the track, we got him out just in time. His mother lived down the road a little way, so we took him home and told her what had happened. She didn't even thank us for saving her child, but she gave him a spanking for running away.

Frank and I picked potatoes in the fall for Londeens, Olunds, Monsons, and many others west of Callaway, for a dollar a day. What a backache for one dollar a day! Grandma Londeen was a wonderful cook. She always had a table laden with the best food l have ever eaten, and we all enjoyed her food so much. After supper they loaded us in the Model T truck and hauled us back to Callaway. The next morning he came back to get us for another day. One night at Londeens we came out after supper to go back to town. It was dark and the northern sky was alive with lights. I did not know what it was as I had never seen such a thing. I was frightened, but they said that is the northern lights.

About this time, Annie left for Wildrose, North Dakota, to go see Grandmother Strand. She had helped Dad in the store until now. When she came to Wildrose she married Henry Knudtson, a widower with two children.

Elsie Johnson and Annie Knudtson in Minot, North Dakota, 1966 at the Dorothy and Alvin Hanson home

Four Generation Picture, left to right. Dorothy holding Dianne's 2nd child Tanya, Annie Knudtson, Dianne Hanson Scheflo.
Taken March 1966 in Minot, North Dakota at the Dorothy and Alvin Hanson home

The children were living with his parents. In a year or so they came to Wildrose to live with their father. Their names were Bernice and George Knudtson. A daughter Dorothy was born to them.

Dorothy spent her early years going to school and later teaching. Before World War II she married Alvin Hanson from this area. A daughter, Diane was born to this union on June * 19** at Minot, N. Dakota. Diane took up baton and was a state champion. Diane married Monroe Sheflo. Monroe Delano Scheflo was born Jan. ** 19** at West Hope N. Dakota. They have three children; Steven Monroe Scheflo, Oct. ** 19** at Minot, N. Dakota; Tanya Lynn Scheflo, July ** 19** at Minot and Monica Rae Sheflo, March ** 19** at Minot.

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