Mohammed Ali Bhamrahad, Peddler

When Mohammed was born (August 1, 1892), the countries we know today didn't exist. During the Ottoman rule "Syria" was the name of a region that was otherwise known as the Levant. The word "Syria" did not depict any separate entity/state but a geographical area the same way we use today the words "Western Europe", or "Far East". Lebanon was in the region of Syria but it was a semi-autonomous mutasarrifiyya (like a country) which was established in 1860. The leader of Lebanon was chosen by European nations and it was off-limits for the Turkish army.

When France took over the (Syrian) region, there were actually 6 countries: the state of Aleppo, state of Damascus, Jabal el druze, Alexandretta, Allawite state and Greater Lebanon. Some of the five other regions were annexed by Lebanon.

Toward the end of the mandate, Alexandretta got annexed by Turkey, Lebanon gained full independence, and the other four were merged together into a new country that adopted the name "Syria".

Lebanon has always been a de facto separate entity since the 1500s even if many historic maps don't show it; France simply decided to put it on paper and make it official.
___________

Mohammed Allay Bomrad was born near Beirut (?) in Damascus, Syria in 1892. He arrived in the Edinburg, North Dakota area in 1915, using that town as his mailing address while he traveled around Walsh, Pembina and Cavalier counties, selling his wares and working on farms during the busy seasons.

As a country peddler, he first made his route with a sack on his back selling notions, toiletries, dress goods, medicines, jewelry and other essentials.

In 1917, he bought his first horse. In 1922, his "one hoss shay" was replaced with a wagon when he bought a second horse, making a team - Bud and Biada, which he treated with utmost care. When talked sharply to them, he would say: "I'm talking Irish."

He wasn't "fussy" about where he slept - hay stacks, hay lofts - but later, when he was better known, he would find lodging and a bite to eat at some farm homes. For a number of years, he frequently stayed at the Sigurdson home west of Gardar.

Although he was thrifty, he was known for his kindness and generosity. During the flu epidemic of 1918, he spent weeks helping farmers who were victims of the "flu bug," never mentioning pay. He loaned money, trusted his customers when they were unable to pay. He sent much money to relatives in Syria and retained his Islamic faith by reading publications. He made regular trips to Vang on election days to mark his "X" as he had received his citizenship papers in Cavalier County. He stated it was a privilege for an American to vote.

"The Syrian Muslim, Mohammed Ali Bhamrahad...He lived among the Icelanders in America his entire life. He was
quite a legend and a very sweet man." - Janet Muldoon.  [Photo taken west of Mountain, ND and up the hill on the
Pembina Escarpment, also known as Schroeder Hill, on the Swanson farm, rural Cavalier County, North Dakota]

Although he had enjoyed good health, he had been the victim of several accidents, runaways and once losing all his wares when his horses stepped off a bridge crossing a flooded area.

While all his material possessions could be contained in his wagon, he stated his wealth was immeasurable. His unfailing health permitted him to be amid the beauties of nature, the joy of music and most of all - the hundreds of friends he had acquired while living in this country.

Eventually he retired to Canada where he expected to enter a nursing home among relatives. He passed away in February 1989 at age 97.

Profile: James Scobbie

St. Vincent EFC - formerly Valley Community Church, Green Store 
(circa 1960s)

A big part of growing up in my hometown area was your church.  My church began in St. Vincent, and eventually moved to Pembina. The church was literally at the end of the road from my house, due south, and across the side road from my grandparents' home.

Of the St. Vincent church, I have fragmented memories:  large hanging ceiling lights; the piano on one side of the platform and the organ on the other; a nursery room in the back of the sanctuary near the entrance; a basement kitchen and eating area with several curtained sections, used for both Sunday School and potluck dinners; high, exterior entry steps that were used as a dare to jump off of.  I remember other things - after everyone greeted the pastor on their way out, there was lots of visiting after the services between the adults.  I suspect that there wasn't always a chance to visit otherwise during the week, men and women being too busy working and taking care of families.  People took more time then to find out how you were doing, and what the latest news was.  Social events like church were the 'Facebook' of their time.  Often we kids got restless, wondering what on earth the adults could possibly be talking about that long, so we'd start playing games like hide 'n seek, or kick the can.  Games like this were particularly fun if it was an evening service and were played after dark.

Some of that changed when the church moved to Pembina in 1968 - but that's another story.  This story is about the first pastor I remember of my church:  James Scobbie.  I recently reconnected with Mrs. Scobbie, or Ena (short for Christina), and asked her if she would be so kind as to provide some memories of their time with us.  The other day, she wrote to share...

Brethren Revisited

I grew up around the Brethren and have written about them before. I knew them as the Plymouth Brethren, but I recently learned they actually go by Exclusive Brethren. For the most part, they are good people. They may not be like you or I, but they are good people. Like many from my area, I lived with them, went to school with them, played with them, shopped with them. Really not that unusual for any of us. Some in my own family were Brethren themselves in the past, I have learned. Others worked and broke bread with them.

I also have known some who left the Brethren, and each one had their own reasons. Their leaving took great courage because it meant cutting all ties to their families. It wasn't until I came across the group called PEEBS (which if I remember correctly is an acronym standing for People Escaping Exclusive Brethren) that I fully realized the magnitude of their actions and the consequences thereof. Each individual's story is unique of course, but they all have certain things in common.

WikiPEEBia is a website that...

...endeavors to investigate and report the Truth behind the Exclusive Brethren, a group of so-called Christians, and by so doing, help break the chains and break down the barriers that prevent us from seeing our families, friends and loved ones, trapped in what many are calling a bona fide Cult.

Our mission is to educate the media and help those who have left and those who wish to leave a vicious regime that is causing increasing concern world-wide.

Unbeknownst to me (and I'm sure most non-Brethren) - until now - was that at one time, the head of the entire Brethren (world-wide) was from our own neck-of-the-woods, a man by the name of James Symington.

According to PEEBS:

James H Symington - (1914-1987)

James Harvey Symington (JHS) was born to Lyle and Ida (Hughes) Symington on the 28th of August, 1913. He was a Neche, North Dakota, (USA) farmer. He was one of 11 children and was a grandson of Harvey and Louisa Hughes, who hosted the first brethren meeting in North Dakota in a building on their farm.

The family farm was on the wind-swept prairie two and a half miles from Neche. Young James rode a horse to and from town each day to complete a high school education. His theological foundation derived solely from his own studies of the bible and the ministry published by the brethren. He had no other post-secondary education.

Mr. Symington became leader of the brethren as a consequence of a number of fortuitous circumstances. James Taylor Junior died suddenly while the aftermath of the Aberdeen incident was still rippling through the brethren community. Many prominent brothers had been withdrawn from. Several had been summarily ejected in the parking lot of the Nostrand Avenue meeting room in New York by Mr. Taylor. Other prominent figures were variously out of favor. The two Hales brothers, John and Bruce, had recently been withdrawn from. It is not clear whether they had been restored before Mr. Taylor died. In the meantime, JHS had come unequivocally to the support of JT Jr, accepting Mr. Taylor's accounts of the incident without question. 

His loyalty was rewarded more quickly than he could possibly have expected. Mr. Symington's tenure as leader of the brethren was longer than any other twentieth century leader save James Taylor Senior.

It is said among the brethren that JT Jr "cast his cloak" upon JHS before he died, alluding to an Old Testament story of the selection of a successor by a dying prophet.

The Symington ministry is contained in a set of light brown volumes.

JHS developed the idea that the principal leader should approve all significant decisions. He exercised enormous control, approving weddings, permitting or not permitting people to re-locate, and determining who should be "shut up" or withdrawn from. Note that these decisions were ostensibly made locally, but local leaders were encouraged to seek approval from Mr. Symington. The Neche telephone exchange was expanded because of the volume of telephone calls to Mr. Symington.

JHS prophesied that computers "used for gain" were evil. (The phrase "used for gain" is apparently the loophole whereby the current leadership is allowed to use computers to operate the organization's publishing business.) While JT Jr had tolerated post-secondary education, JHS strongly discouraged it. Towards the end of his life, he actively suppressed any discussion that found value in higher education.

Mr. Symington invented the idea that grown family members should be more dependent on their local brethren than on their families. When a person visited a city where a sibling happened to live, such as while attending special meetings or for some other approved reason, they were often denied the simple pleasure of staying overnight in the sibling's home. Any such visit had to be approved by Mr. Symington and approval depended on the political fortunes of the requestor. Although there is no scriptural basis for this practice, Mr. Symington felt that there were parallels in the treatment of Moabites by the children of Israel and over time, the brethren began to refer to their out-of-town relatives as their Moabites.

One of the principle tenets of brethren doctrine is the belief that these are the "last days". While JT Jr and John Hales each predicted that the Lord would return during their lifetimes, JHS appears to have been a bit less bold. One correspondent recalls hearing him say in 1980 that he did not believe babies born that year would see five years.

JHS assigned meetings to divisions and sub-divisions. All meetings in a division became part of an "interchange".

JHS turned the fellowship into a cash machine, receiving an estimated US$1.5 million per year in brethren contributions. Non-brethren in Neche reported monthly invasions of busloads of brethren who would come to Neche from all over the world to hear the latest Symington ministry. At one point the Internal Revenue Service sent auditors to Neche to investigate possible tax evasion, but no charges were brought.

James Symington died in 1987. At his death he was blind from adult-onset diabetes. He was buried in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the closest meeting to Rochester, Minnesota, where he was being treated at the Mayo Clinic at the time of his death. The brethren had acquired a kidney dialysis machine for him. After his death it was donated to the hospital in nearby Cavalier, North Dakota.

Trivia: Garrison Keillor was raised in the Plymouth Brethren church in Minnesota; an interesting article about that, has Garrison sharing about his faith...

Cemetery Lists

Marcy Johnson has been in touch again, and has kindly shared all her cemetery projects with us. This time, she shared the entire St. Vincent Cemetery, Joe River Cemetery, and Humboldt Clow Cemetery listings, through 2007. Listings like this can be invaluable in tracking down individuals for family history or town history purposes.

Take a look, and let us know of any corrections/additions you are aware of...

St. Vincent Cemetery Listing

Joe River Cemetery Listing

Humboldt Clow Cemetery Listing

The Indomitable Wallaces

Over a year ago, I posted a profile on Dr. Ada Wallace. My grandmother was one of many people's lives she and her husband touched in their lives' work. I asked at that time, that if anyone knew her and could tell me more about her, to please get in touch with me. Recently, someone did just that, and an amazing story it is; please note that our area is only part of the story, but I think you'll find it's well worth reading it in its entirety...

The Indomitable Wallaces

An autobiography of Doctors Ada and Harry Wallace as told to Beth Thornton during the spring of 1981

Published by Ryerson United Church
Vancouver, British Columbia
1981

What a pair! Marching together through the 20's and 30's and 40's and 50's and 60's, steadfastly pursuing their mutual goal of expressing in actions their concern for service and social justice for all persons under their care - especially the underprivileged. And all this by the grace of God and with a fine sense of humour.

Harry was born on February 16, 1890, in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, where he attended the public school until the age of 13. He was then invited by a town's lawyer to become his law clerk - a tribute to Harry's sound character and specialized handwriting. At this point Harry's "Double life" began! For six years he not only worked at County Court activities by day but studied at the Academy by night. Then there followed several years at Castle Wellan in charge of a branch law office, then a term at Waterford City as Session Clerk for a firm of lawyers, and as County Court Clerk as well.

Here in Waterford Harry prepared for the Courts, every three months, debt cases which involved clients many of whom were poor and liable to imprisonment for non-payment of debts. This work was distasteful to Harry, as Southern Ireland was debt-ridden at that time. Inevitably, the day came when one client was to be sent to jail for non-payment of debts which in this case had been contracted by a teenage son. Harry was so disturbed at this prospect for his poverty-stricken client that he went out for a walk during which he met the new minister at the Waterford Presbyterian Church. The minister, a former college professor, mentioned to Harry that he had just received a letter from the Presbyterian Church in Canada asking him to recommend a suitable young man as a student for the mission field in Canada. Would Harry be interested? After considering the matter for a few days, Harry accepted the proposition and was duly accepted as a student for the Presbyterian ministry on the Canadian mission fields.

Subsequently, in the spring of 1911, at the age of 21, Harry Wallace, deep Irish brogue and all, boarded the steamship "Lake Manitoba" in Belfast Harbour bound for St. John, New Brunswick. After passing through Immigration Offices in St. John, he took the train to Winnipeg, the wheels on the rails singing a monotonous litany, "For ever and ever, for ever and ever, for ever and ever...," and Harry mused on the fact that his boat passage and train fare together had cost the Presbyterian Church all of forty dollars. At the Winnipeg office of the Presbyterian Church Harry learned that he had been assigned to the mission fields of Saskatchewan - specifically, the Dirt Hills area beyond Estevan. A stranger in a strange land, fresh from his years in law offices in Ireland, Harry became missionary-at-large to the settlers in Southern Saskatchewan. A long, hard year of purchasing his own conveyance (buggy, cutter, two Indian ponies - all debited to his account by the Home Mission Secretary of the Presbytery), finding his own lodgings (sometimes a deserted cabin), procuring his own food (sometimes a prairie chicken), buying his own "suitable" clothing. Heat waves, prairie tempests, food poisoning, blizzards. But the villages and schoolhouses were located, and good Presbyterian sermons delivered.

Fortified now with funds towards tuition at Manitoba College of Arts and Theology, Harry resumed his "Double life", a busy mix of mission fields in summer, study at the College in winter. Summer after summer for seven years Harry served as missionary and preacher at Prairie Grove, Manitoba, at Elmwood-Transcona at Springfield, Hedley, and at Middle River, Minnesota. Highlights of those winters at Manitoba and Wesley Colleges were many and varied. In 1913, Harry won a Gold Medal for Oratory offered by University of Manitoba and all Colleges participating. He assisted in the organizing in Winnipeg of Associated Charities (still actively functioning) meeting personally with all parents of families needing that assistance. He served on the Board of Regents for several years during the uniting of Wesley College and Manitoba College of Arts and Theology under the new name of "United Colleges," and being an alumnus of both Colleges was especially effective in forging strong alumni ties. On one memorable occasion on campus, Harry attended a Theologs' party for Medicos during which he was introduced to a serene brown-eyed medical student, Miss Ada Wilson from Gladstone, Manitoba. In April 1919, Harry graduated from the Manitoba College of Theology. The first charge to which Harry was assigned after graduation was the Presbyterian Church at Kenton, Manitoba, where he served for two years. Then in 1921, he received a call from the Presbyterian Church at The Pas, Manitoba, and was advised by Presbytery to accept for the need was urgent and the north country was opening up. Harry took up the challenge, went North, and plunged into his work in a frontier Church. Soon he was resuming studies as well, resulting in a Bachelor of Divinity degree from St. Andrews College, University of Saskatchewan, in 1925. During his second year at The Pas, Harry began his "triple" life! In August 1922, he married Ada Wilson, M.D., the daughter of Magnus and Ellen Wilson of Gladstone.

Ada, daughter of a resourceful, creative brick - maker - cum - landowner - cum - horticulturist father born in the Orkneys, and an artistic, meticulous, musical mother, had attended the Glasdstone school as a girl. There she had studies at the foot of her favourite painting, "The Doctor," yearning to be a physician some day and save lives, too. At home, Ada had read the Wilsons' big Doctor Book from cover to cover. During summer holidays she had often gone to stay with friends at a nearby lake, and from afar had worshipped their family doctor whenever he and his wife had visited at the lake, too. At home, Ada had been her father's helper, and had loved to nurture their apples and strawberries, and had even tried her hand at brick-making as well. In the house, she had helped her mother, and had learned the mysteries of art and music and hardanger (an intricate Scandinavian embroidery). But by the time her senior years at school arrived, Ada had made up her mind to study Medicine although her parents would have preferred that she chose a life at home with them, and avoid the hardships of study and practise. But Ada had prevailed. She had applied for entrance to the Manitoba Medical College and had been accepted. To her delight, she found herself registered for 3 years of Science followed by 5 years of Medicine. Until her final year at College, no other woman was registered in Ada's class along with the 30 male medical students. The young Ada, destined to one of the first lady graduates of the Manitoba Medical College, experienced no discrimination because of her sex or age, and participated fully in all study sessions and all laboratory sessions throughout the 8 years at the College. During her final year at Medicine, Ada, along with two male medical students from her class, was invited to intern at Misericordia Hospital in Winnipeg at the same time continuing and successfully completing her studies at the College. In May 1922, Ada graduated from the Manitoba Medical College complete with a beautiful bouquet of her father's special tulips from Gladstone.

After the Wallaces' honeymoon at Herb Lake, Manitoba, during which Dr. Ada was called out on three cases, the bride and groom arrived in The Pas to being their four decades of devoted service in the West to parishioners, patients, family and communities. Teamwork all the way.

There was plenty to do in The Pas, where may an adventurer lost heart at finding no gold or silver, and became a social and moral problem. Harry and Ada, too, were busy assisting and advising these persons, as well as protecting the youth of The Pas from unwholesome influences. This early social service work for the Church, says Ada, was fitting her for her work later on as a country doctor. Harry organized Associated Charities for needy families in The Pas, just as he had done in Winnipeg. In 1921, he joined the Masonic Lodge at The Pas, and began a lifelong service to the Masonic Order. In his spare time he wrote articles for several Sunday School periodicals, and established friendships with surveyors, bush-pilots, trappers, teachers, geologists, and undertakers. Above all, he preached and served his Church.

In Harry's personal diary are many stories of people of the Northern Frontier in the early 1920's including this account of a funeral which he conducted: "Accidents on lakes, rivers, in mines and lumber camps made necessary many trips to the cemetery. The only suitable ground for internment was a sand and gravel mound about three miles from town. There were two ways of approach. You could walk dry-shod along the railway track, or risk getting your feet wet on the muskeg trail through the bush. The local hearse consisted of a democrat pulled by a single horse. As that was the only vehicle in town, the minister had the privilege of sitting on the spring seat with the driver, and holding on to the casket as the democrat bounced over stumps and logs. Mourners and friends walked some distance behind. Strange things sometimes happened on these unpleasant journeys. Indeed, on one occasion I lost the corpse. I was engaged in conversation with the driver and failed to attend to my duties. When we came to within half a mile of the graveyard, I looked back to see if the mourners and friends had kept pace with us, but they were not in sight. I then thought of the casket and found myself looking down into an empty vehicle. The tail board of the democrat was gone and the casket had fallen out! As I ran back over the trail, the driver unhitched his horse in order to turn around. At each bend in the trail I expected to meet the mourners carrying the casket. Then suddenly I saw it lying by the side of the road where it must have fallen. I picked up one end of it and dragged it around the bend onto the soft muskeg. The driver appeared on the run and between us we got the casket placed in the democrat just as the first group of mourners appeared in sight. No questions were asked, and I did not feel it expedient to reveal what had taken place..."

The "Diamond Queen" was a noted character that most visitors to The Pas in the 1920's wished to meet. Harry writes about the day when Ada and the "Queen" met each other: "The 'Diamond Queen' was purported to be one of the three famous May sisters, actresses of London, England. In her younger days she had toured South Africa with a road show, and had been greeted on one occasion with a shower of diamonds, hence the scintillating nature of the name which had stuck to her through the years. The 'Queen' and her husband Gilbert Le Croix, kept a stopping place at Mile 81 on the Hudson Bay Railway. She was very polite, and when sober almost timid. A few glasses of liquor, however, turned her into a boisterous female ready to fight anyone against whom she had a prejudice. During out honeymoon trip to Herb Lake I told my wife about some of the escapades of the 'Diamond Queen' and Ada expressed a desire to meet her. We arrived at the stopping place at Mile 81 around noon, and the 'Queen' received us most graciously. Indeed, my wife was so impressed by her ladylike manner that she doubted the truth of my stories. Later in the day a prospector presented the 'Queen' with a bottle of whiskey. What a transformation took place. Ada and I were preparing to portage across to Herb Lake when the 'Queen' rushed out of the door with the cash box under her arm. She shouted to me, 'Here, hold this until I knock the hell out of so-and-so!' And the man in question beat a hasty retreat with the 'Queen' in hot pursuit. He was no match for the 'Queen'. He reappeared with a black eye..."

In 1925 came Church Union at which time the Wallaces, at the request of the Settlement Committee, left The Pas to serve the former Methodist and Presbyterian Churches at Belmont, Manitoba. Harry's six years at Belmont passed swiftly as he organized the building of a brand new United Church, coordinated both groups of young people into a Young People's Union also a Dramatic Society (Harry played the part of the Private Secretary one evening in a production of "The Private Secretary"), and preached in outlying schoolhouses.

The Wallaces' 1922 model Ford finally had to be replaced, which pleased their garage man. I his diary Harry sets down the reasons for this: "It had been the garage man's task each Sunday morning during the winters to start the engine within a blow torch underneath the oil pan. If the engine refused to go at the first swing, he would take time off to turn the air blue with his language. One Sunday his blasphemy was extremely loud, and I suggested that he put on the 'soft pedal' as folks were passing on their way to Church. He turned to me angrily and demanded 'What would you expect me to do - sing hymns?!'"

The Depression Years were settling over the prairies as Harry accepted a call to Knox United Church in Russell, Manitoba, in 1932. By now the Wallaces were proud parents of two daughters, Isabel and Kathleen, and one son, Gordon. And by now Harry had received a Master of Arts degree in 1930. Still pursuing their service and social justice goals, Ada and Harry moved into their seven busy years of compassionate stewardship and service in and around their new Church and community. Everywhere communities were felling the pinch of poverty; some districts north of Russell had suffered five crop failures in succession. Harry was appointed Chairman of the local Relief Commission, using the large Manse as headquarters. Ada and Harry helped personally in the distribution of "relief" clothing and fruit and vegetables - freight-car-loads of gifts from United Churches in Eastern Canada. The Town Council controlled the flow of money to be distributed for other necessary groceries and clothing for the needy, and at one troublesome confrontation between the unemployed and Council when "relief money" was about to be cut off, Harry produced a more equitable schedule of distribution which was acceptable to both the recipients and Council. A Fall Carnival which Harry named "Vanity Fair" was organized by the Relief Commission to raise extra money for the needy. "Vanity Fair" has now become an institution in Russell and is sponsored by the local Elks.

And now the pace accelerates! In 1939, Harry, Ada, and family moved to a new charge, the United Church in Emerson, Manitoba, and here the War years were soon upon them. Emerson at this time was a chief Port of Entry to and from the United States, bordering on Minnesota and North Dakota. Harry and Ada soon found themselves deeply involved with not only the people of Emerson but also with the people of Pembina, ND and St. Vincent, MN; with tourists from railway, highway, and river, with Customs and Immigration officials, sometimes with soldiers and airmen in transit.

There were six doctors resident within an 1-mile radius of Emerson when the Wallaces first arrived but within several months two had died and the others had enlisted in the fall of 1939, so the number dwindled to one - Dr. Ada! The Wallaces family was scattering: Isabel enlisted with the Wrens, Kathleen attended boarding school in Winnipeg, and Gordon enlisted in the Navy. Dr. Ada found patients arriving at the Manse door in need of medical help, and soon she and Harry decided that this was her long-awaited opportunity to practise medicine full-time. With the consent of the Church Board, Dr. Ada opened her first medical office in the Manse on the first floor. Harry's study was one storey up. Dr. Ada's patients arrived on the veranda or in the Manse living room in increasing numbers, and she served them in her office or else in their homes, by day and by night. She travelled to her patients by car, truck, tractor, boat, buggy, sled, passenger train, freight train, stoneboat, Red River ferry, and even on foot! Dr. Ada never refused to answer a call at any hour, summer or winter, fair weather or foul, and all this over a wide area which included Emerson, St. Vincent, Pembina, and the two rural municipalities of Franklin and Montcalm, as well as Roseau Indian Reservation with its 300 families. The nearest hospital was 30 miles away. Hired help was scarce or frequently non-existent, but Harry willingly helped his wife, often driving her in their one car on winter nights, often assisting her in her office with her patients, keeping records, consulting, assisting at inquests where his law experience was of great help and when four copies of each case had to be made out for the Coroner. Sometimes a patient's visit to the medical office would end up in the minister's study. Their partnership meant "preaching" and "practising". Their motto was "We get you coming and going!"

Over their ten years in Emerson, Harry's work was preaching to and serving two large congregations - the United Church in Emerson and the Presbyterian Church in Pembina, ND His pastoral calls, weddings, baptisms, funeral services, social service work in the community, his dedicated service to the Masonic Order, all continued unabated. Added to this, of course, was his frequent assistance to Dr. Ada. In 1946, the United Colleges *University of Winnipeg) granted Harry an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree for distinguished service.

Very soon after opening her medical office Dr. Ada was appointed Medical Health Officer for Emerson, Pembina, St. Vincent, and the two rural municipalities mentioned; also Medical Health Officer for the Department of Indian Affairs for the 300 Indian families on the Roseau Reservation; also Medical Representative for the Department of Immigration and Customs at the Port of Emerson; and Medical Representative CNR Emerson Division. Along with all these responsibilities and her work as a family doctor to scores of residents - urban and rural - Dr. Ada was appointed in 1942 to the Office of Coroner of the South-East District, after special legislation was passed by the Manitoba Legislature to allow her to do so! She has the distinction of being the first woman in the Province of Manitoba to take over this semi-legal Office of Coroner.

Dr. Harry says of Dr. Ada, "I can recall scores of occasions when her condition seemed worse than that of the patients. But she seemed to thrive on hard work and sacrifice, for during the whole of the ten years she practised in Emerson she never had a serious illness." On month, he estimated, Dr. Ada travelled 1400 miles and served 250 patients. About 50% of her medical work was on the American side of the border. In order to facilitate travel back and forth each day, a special border permit was given to her by the US authorities so that there was no delay night or day. In fact, Immigration officials took messages for Dr. Ada and usually knew where to locate her in an emergency. The Governor of North Dakota made provision for all the gasoline that Dr. Ada required in that State.

Dr. Ada's diary is especially revealing of the difficulties (and rewards) of carrying out her duties as Family Doctor, Medical Health Officer, and Coroner in those War Years. She writes of one worrisome trip: "On winter's day I received a call from the Indian Agent at the Roseau Reserve asking me to locate a sick Indian child at Neche, ND, some twenty miles distant from my office. I located the family in a shack at the Ball Park. The door consisted of a couple of bags. The two year old child was ill with pneumonia. I wrapped her in my fur robe and returned to the highway enroute to St. Boniface Hospital, Winnipeg, where most of the Indians were hospitalized. This would add another seventy miles of travel. On my way to Winnipeg through Emerson, I called in at my office and found another message from the Indian Agent saying there was a very sick child at the Roseau Reservation as well. I promised to go back and examine the little one, and subsequently decided to take this child with me, also. Fortunately for all, my husband was the driver of the car, for on the journey I was obligated to pick up one of them, then the other, to help restore breathing. A doctor and nurses were waiting for me on our arrival at the hospital at 2:00am. The children were able to return to the Reserve in three weeks time. Our round trip on 175 miles had not been in vain. Indian women usually waited until the confinement was about to take place before asking the Indian Agent to notify me, some twelve miles distant. Pre-natal or post-natal care meant little or nothing to them. The first notification I would receive was when the child was on the way. Several children were born on the back seat of my car. On one occasion the Ferry-man paused in midstream to turn the ferry light on my car late at night while I cared for a mother and delivered a new babe. Another confinement took place on the busy highway at noon. I parked my car on the side of the highway and set to work, while tourists sped quickly on their way."

Dr. Ada describes a different but no less memorable call: "It was impossible to secure the services of another doctor or a nurse during war time. The majority of my confinement cases were in the homes. A neighbour would be called in to help. I would instruct her in the use of the anaesthetic, for example. One case I recall was that of a woman who lived in a caboose during the summer. When winter approached, they decided to rent the caboose and move it into town. The caboose was propped up on four blocks of wood about 18 inches from the ground and was banked with snow for warmth. A week prior to her confinement I was called in and immediately suggested her removal to hospital. Both husband and wife refused. They had made up their minds that the baby would be born in their on-roomed caboose and that was that. Three previous children had died in childbirth and they were sure that this one would meet the same fate. I tried to assure her that the child id not have to die. My efforts were in van. When I arrived for the confinement, the local priest was already established behind a curtain in a corner of the room. A neighbour was called in to help me administer the anaesthetic. The expectant mother lay on a set of springs propped up on blocks of wood. A piece of wire was attached to the upper part of the springs and fastened to the wall for additional support. In a moment of excitement the neighbour leaned against the springs. At the most critical moment the supports under the springs gave way. The would-be nurse and mother and baby lay in a heap on the floor. The priest rushed from behind the screen and began to look for his Crucifix which had been placed in the hand of the expectant mother. The husband heard the noise from outside the caboose, and knew from experience what had happened. He came in with four large blocks of wood in his arms, and soon had the springs in their accustomed place. Fortunately, no one was injured. I picked up the mother and the new-born baby from the floor. The husband turned to me and said, "Doc, it's hell to be poor!" I was tempted to reply, "It's sometimes hell to be a doctor." In spite of its rough and tumble entrance into the world, the baby lived an was the joy and pride of his parents."

Dr. Ada's duties as Coroner called for investigations at the rate of 10 to 20 per year. Here is her description of one such autopsy: "My most unpleasant experience as Coroner was in performing a post-mortem in a barn in order to escape the burning sun. The temperature was around 80 degrees. The body had been found, buried in a manure pile for several weeks. Murder was suspected. Of the two young Police Officers present, one had to be assisted out of the stable, and the other very wisely assumed duty as close to the door as possible. When I had finished the post-mortem, I handed to the officers a bullet found in the brain of the deceased. They lost no time in returning to their detachment."

In her memoirs, Dr. Ada writes of an "experience" one stormy night in December 1947, when Dr. Harry drove her to answer a call to a sick child in Pembina, ND about 5 miles across the border. Snow was swirling across the highway. On both sides the ditches were level with snow. Several cars had been abandoned on the road. The temperature was low: "Each of us travelled with head out of the car window in order to see any car that might be stalled in the snow banks. With great difficulty we arrived at the entrance to the town. The patient's home was on the outskirts along a road that was completely blocked. We left our car as close to the edge of the highway as possible and set out on foot - a distance of a quarter of a mile. We walked along in silence shielding our faces from the storm and drifting snow. I turned my back to the storm and spoke to my husband; there was no answer. I retraced my steps and called again. There was a faint answer from a distance. He had failed to notice a slight bend in the road and was on his way to the local cemetery. He took off the belt of his overcoat, and we held onto that for the balance of the journey. Although the call was supposed to be urgent, the parents did not expect to see me in the storm. I found the child quite ill with pneumonia, and stayed until there were signs of improvement. The father accompanied us with a lantern back to the highway. He was very apologetic and said, "Doc, you have looked after my family for a long time and I have never paid any bills. Tomorrow I will see that you are paid." But 'tomorrow' never came. The return journey home was uneventful."

But the acceleration of activities for the Wallaces reached its peak in the spring of 1948. For fifty years floods had come and gone without devastation. In 1948 it happened! The Red River was in flood again; the water rose slowly and inexorably up and over the banks, up and into the towns. Main streets in Pembina and in Emerson were soon three to four feet deep in flood water. Storekeepers placed their wares high up on shelves; residents moved to the up storeys of their homes. Boats arrived from the Provincial Red Cross office in Winnipeg and were assigned to all areas of Emerson. A resident could hail a passing boat, and enter it from his door or upstairs window, whichever was more convenient. The Mounted Police provided a power boat for Dr. Ada's use; the US Army provided an amphibian for her five-mile voyages to Main Street in Pembina on American calls. Dr. Harry and Dr. Ada wore hip waders for days, as did numerous other residents. On the flood waters floated bodies of dead animals, boards, manure, barrels, and sewage. The chief danger was an outbreak of typhoid fever. Dr. Ada went everywhere inoculating victims of the flood. On one banner day, Dr. Ada, with the help of one nurse and several High School students, inoculated 1000 persons. For 10 days she had little more than 12 hours sleep. Dr. Harry supervised the building of a raft using a couple of oil drums and the side of a piano box. It was dubbed the "Queen Mary", and proved often useful to both the Wallaces. As the flood water gradually receded, Dr. Ada assisted in plans for fumigation and disinfecting of the flooded areas. She was named "Flood Heroine" by the Associated Press.

Dr. Ada was eulogized by Gordon Sinclair in the Winnipeg Free Press on Tuesday, April 27, 1948:

SHE DARES FLOODS TO HELP THE SICK

Lone Emerson Doctor lauded for her work

EMERSON, Apr 27. A grey-haired woman doctor has disproved for us any theories of the female being the weaker sex. If there is one person deserving to be singled out of the scores who have aided in the salvage of this water-ravished town it is Dr. Ada Wallace. The only doctor in a 30-mile radius, she has worked night and day on an international basis since the flood broke ten days ago. Monday afternoon after completing 75 typhoid inoculations for townspeople in a two-hour period, she took time out to outline the work of a country doctor during a flood. Dr. Wallace was called from her home during a heavy rainstorm last Saturday night, to rush aid to a seriously ill woman across the river in West Emerson. A 4-mile trip by auto and boat was required to reach the home of Mrs. Hunter Storms. The return trip was a race against time. Dr. Wallace won, and the woman was lifted aboard a Winnipeg-bound freight train to receive emergency treatment in a city hospital. Another trip made since the floods began took the Doctor to the farm home of George Johnston. Minutes after stepping out of a boat into hip-deep water, she had diagnosed measles for two of Mr. Johnston's children. A third emergency call took Dr. Wallace to Pembina ND, five miles from here. During the trip she was initiated into the intricacies of the U.S Army 'Duck", an amphibious vessel. "It was a lot of fun," the doctor smiled. "We had quite a ride in it." Treatment by remote control is another of Dr. Wallace's specialties. She prescribed treatment for John Kohut, will with pneumonia five miles from town. The messenger took the prescription and instructions back Sunday, and Monday the sick man was improving. Dr. Wallace was planning yet another mission, the transporting of the town "handy-man" to the Hallock, Minnesota hospital.

And now the Second World War was over, and many doctors and ministers were returning home to Canada. The Wallaces both yearned for a warmer climate, bade farewell to Emerson, and spent a winter in Florida. The following May 1949, they moved to British Columbia, where Dr. Harry had been appointed by the Superintendent of Home Missions to a term as pastor of the North Kamloops United Church, and as well, of the North Thompson Mission Field whose parishioners were strung out along a 160-mile trail from Kamloops to Blue River. Together the Wallaces undertook a week's "survey" of the latter area, a hazardous car-and-tent trip over a rough, narrow, gravel road that jutted like a rocky shelf halfway up the mountains, with the North Thompson River foaming far, far below! Dr. Harry and R. Ada met Scottish people at Barriere - some worked at the power plant there; scheduled services in a large Community Hall at Little Fort; Church at Bi4ch Island (and visited a hermit who claimed to live there happily for $6 a year); used a schoolhouse for meetings at Avola; and chose quarters in the temporarily empty Red Cross Hospital at Blue River. Thereafter, once a month Dr. Harry, and usually Dr. Ada, held services, conducted Sunday Schools, and made pastoral visits in each of these isolated congregations, travelling by car-and-tent until October. In winter Dr. Harry continued his monthly services to the five settlements, travelling by freight or passenger trains, alert for possible landslides. For the remaining 3/4 of each month, Dr. Harry devoted his energies to serving the congregation of North Kamloops United Church.

Dr. Harry's one-year term in the Thompson River Valley ended in the summer of 1950, following which he and Dr. Ada drove to Montreal. From there they sailed to Liverpool to explore by car Northern Ireland, Eire, England and Scotland from Land's End to the Orkney's. On their return in November, Dr. Ada and Dr. Harry settled in Vancouver near their daughter, Kathleen. Dr. Harry continued his service in the Masonic Lodge, and in June 1964, was appointed Grand Chaplain of the Masonic Order for BC and the Yukon. From 1951 to 1961 he served at Ryerson United Church as Associate Minister. In 1974, a biography of Dr. Ada was published in a prestigious Canadian book, "The Indomitable Lady Doctors", by Carlotta Hacker. On his 90th birthday in 1980, Dr. Harry's name was enrolled on the Honour Roll of the United Church of Canada.

"We must never let the traffic gradually smother with noise and fog the flowering of the spirit." - Stephen Spender

"I am happy to have served as a Country Doctor." - Ada Wilson Wallace, M.D.

"Life is still for us 'not a goblet to be drained, but a measure to be filled...'" - Harry B. Wallace, D.D.

Dr. Harry and Dr. Ada Wallace, the Ryerson Church family salutes you! God bless you both...

Easter 1955

EASTER PROGRAM – April 10, 1955

Evangelical Free Church – St Vincent, Minnesota


Song – by Congregation – “Tell Me the Story of Jesus” #113

Prayer – Mrs Winnie Lapp, Sunday School Superintendant

Piano Prelude by Janice Kockendorfer as Beginners & Primary classes appear to recite Bible portions & sing

Recitation – “A Great BIG GREETING” – Bobby Gaetz

Beginners Class – “In God’s Garden”

Primary Class – “I Thought I would Make a Garden”

Song – “Happy Easter to You!” – by both classes

“Two Ways to Conquer Faults” – Intermediate boys

“Near the Cross” (dramatized) – Intermediate girls with a Trumpeter (Ed Lapp) & Pianist (Janice K) used in interludes

“The Easter Story” – by older boys and girls

Mixed Quartette – Mary K, Winnie L, Roy C & Eugene W

Easter Carols & Scripture presentation by following group:

Piano Prelude (as orchestra & readers march in)

1st Reader – Douglas Ward – I Tim 1:25

Reading – Kay Babcock “There is a Green Hill” #458 – piano

2nd Reader – Bill Clow – Isaiah 53:5-7

Solo – Doretta Rachuy “Hail, Thou Once Despized”

3rd Reader – Danny Erickson – Psalm 22:6

Orchestra – “There is a Fountain” #115 with the 2nd verse sung by Helen Gatheridge

4th Reader – Bill Dykhuis – Acts 13:29-30

Violin Solo – “Christ Arose” – Pastor Erickson

5th Reader – Dean Rachuy – Acts 2:24

Orchestra – “He Lives” #124 with 2nd v. played by trio

6th Reader – Charles Clow – I Cor 15:20-22

Duet – “In the Garden” – Janice K and Doretta R

7th Reader – Bobby Feick

Instrumental Sextette – “Lord I’m Coming Home” #105

8th Reader – Kay Babcock – John 14:3

Solo – “O Zion Haste” – Grace Dykhuis

Remarks & Benediction – Pastor Erickson

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” – Romans 10:9-10

DO YOU KNOW JESUS CHRIST AS YOUR PERSONAL SAVIOUR?

First Cemetery

Marcy Johnson also sent along this bit of info on that other - and first - cemetery in St. Vincent. Very few know where it is. I hope someone who does shows the next generation...

Additional Burials in St. Vincent Township

Christ Episcopal Church in St. Vincent was the first church in Kittson County. The first service was held on Christmas Day in 1880 and the church was duly organized on 10 June, 1881. According to information from the Ryan family, Bob Cameron and the Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota, there was a cemetery located north of the church which was used until the present St. Vincent Cemetery was established in 1887. Copies of the baptism records and parish burials from 1881 to 1933 are on file at the Kittson County Historical Society. The original records are in the archives of the Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota in Minneapolis. Two of the parish burials refer to the place of burial as the Church Yard of Christ Church. They are: Ray Mena who died 26 Oct 1884 at 25 years of age and Robert William Johnson who died 16 Jan 1885 in St. Vincent at 8 months.

The Works Progress Administration Report from March 1937 listed the following [additional] three burial sites:

"In St. Vincent Township, section 1, owner Great Northern Railway Company. No marker to show exact location of grave. Member of construction gang who was laying a new track to the Canadian border and he was killed between two handcars and buried in the same spot that the accident happened. Name unknown, Italian section hand.

"In St. Vincent Township, section 12, along Red River, on John Griffith farm. At least three burials. Hans Maxwell, 8 Oct 1881; Matilda Ann Balderson, 1882. When the railroad was torn up, this piece of land was purchased by the father of the present owner; these graves are about 200 feet south and east of the owner's home.

"Block 91, St. Vincent, along the Red River in the former William Powner lots. Baby boy Powner, 1886; Baby girl Powner, 1886. Main St. runs by the front of these lots and the burial was made in the back of the house next to the alley. Main St. is now known as Highway 59. Since these twins were buried there, the land has changed hands several times and their home was torn down a number of years ago; the lots used as a burial ground have been used as a garden the last 12 years and a house stands on the adjoining lot to the east. The property is owned by a party living in Emerson, Manitoba."

Cemetery Project

I received a most welcome - and exciting - email two days ago, but was only able to post about it now since I've been out-of-town (yes, even I do get away from the computer once and awhile...) The email came from Marcy Johnson, and she had this to tell me...

I have been meaning to contact you ever since I found your web site. I am Marcy Dahl Johnson from Hallock and have been working with Perm Diamond on the Humboldt book. She asked me to do cemetery indexes for St. Vincent, Joe River and Humboldt/Clow Cemeteries. I have visited your web site several times and LOVE it! My interest is always the history.

I grew up in Marshall County (Eagle Point Township) and I enjoy genealogy. I have a data base with 45,600 names and information for Kittson and Marshall counties. I have been entering information in the data base for 6 years and it is from old newspapers, Kittson County atlas, maps, and history books from the area. This data base will be at the museum in Lake Bronson soon. They are in the process of setting up a new computer with Family Tree Maker software.

I also volunteered with the Minnesota Genealogical Society a few years ago and helped them create a data base of all cemeteries and private burials in Kittson and Marshall Counties. I visited all the cemeteries in both counties and gathered the following info which is now online:

Name; Alternate names; Cemetery Type (church, community, private); Oldest Burial; Active or Inactive; Location (City, Township, Street Address, County, State, Zip); Latitude; Longitude (I used a hand held GSP to determine latitude and longitude); Township Number; Range; Section Number; Sexton – Name, e-mail, Street Address, State, Zip, Phone; Driving Directions; Cemetery Notes; Location of any transcriptions of the cemeteries.

It would be great to put the cemetery indexes online after the Humboldt reunion so people can contact me with corrections or additions.

Someday I hope to complete cemetery indexes for all the cemeteries in Kittson County. I like to think big! I am now working on Teien Covenant, Saron Lutheran, Skjeberg Lutheran, and Eidsvold in Halma. I just finished Red River Lutheran for their 125th Anniversary last summer.

I could go on and on! I will send you a sample of St. Vincent. It is too huge (16 pages) to send it all as I just have dial-up at home. I also sent the page I did on the additional burials in St. Vincent Township. Since I finished the information on the cemeteries that went in the book, I have received copies of the early records covering the years 1881 to 1915 for Christ Episcopal Church from the Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota. I wish I would have had them before all the information went in the book. There is several additions to the Joe River and St. Vincent Cemeteries that we never had and the additions were not in the early cemetery record books. I am giving copies of the early records to the museum. They would be a neat thing to put on your web site as it also lists all the baptisms for the area for those years.

When completing this research I found out that there was a cemetery north of the Christ Episcopal Church in St. Vincent. I will have to contact the MN Genealogical Society and add that info to what is already online. When I received the early records from the Episcopal Diocese there is two burials listed as being in the church yard. We did mention this early cemetery in the Humboldt book but the names of the two burials in the church yard are not in the Humboldt book.

St. Vincent Cemetery
A list of burials with family information

The St. Vincent cemetery is located in St. Vincent Township, NE1/4 SW1/4 of section 2, Kittson County, MN. It was established in 1887. To locate the cemetery on the north side of St. Vincent (from the intersection of State Hwy 171 and Cty 35) - go south on Cty 35 for .2 miles - cemetery is on your left.

Information was obtained from Kittson County Historical Society, township and cemetery records, Kittson County history books, Red River Valley Web Site by Dennis L. Matthews, the online MN and ND birth and death index, Social Security death index, census records, obituaries and family members. On occasion the dates in the courthouse records are different then the dates on the gravestones. We have used the dates from the birth and death records at the Kittson County courthouse if available. Many of the French, English, Swedish, Norwegian, etc. names were spelled or pronounced differently in the US. If there is more then one spelling of a name, the old spelling was used first, followed by a / and the current spelling.

This cemetery list will be available at the Kittson County Museum and will be updated yearly. Contact the Kittson County Museum at history@wiktel.com or contact Marcy Johnson at marneil@wiktel.com to add your additions or corrections. No responsibility is taken for the accuracy of the information.

baby Ahles 7 Oct 1949 - 7 Oct 1949; dau. of Allen and Alice Swenson Ahles; Lot 35-A

Christie McDonald Ahles 25 May 1894 - 13 April 1967; wife of William 'Bill' George Ahles; dau. of John and Katherine McDonald; mother of Katherine (Fred) Harper, Allen (Alice Swenson); Lot 5-E

Phillip 'Phil' Christoph Ahles 31 Jan 1882 - 19 Oct 1967; 1^st hus. of Marie A. Seed; son of John and Louisa Younker Ahles; brother of William; Lot 69-A

Andrew E. Anderson Feb 1848 - 1901; hus. of Annie Donnelly; son of ?; father of John Harris, Mabel M.; Lot 65-D

Annie Donnelly Anderson Oct 1857 - 9 Jan 1937; wife of Andrew E. Anderson; dau. of ? Donnelly; mother of John Harris, Mabel M.; Lot 65-D

John Harris Anderson 8 July 1878 - 9 Sept 1949; son of Andrew E. and Annie Donnelly Anderson; Lot 65-D

Ruth Russel Cowan Armstrong 13 Aug 1913 - 25 Oct 1929; dau. of Fred and Margaret 'Maggie' Cowan Armstrong; Lot 46-D

Sarah Sophia Russell Armstrong 29 Aug 1861 - 19 June 1939; wife of William J. Armstrong; dau. of ? and Rebecca Russell; mother of Ann, Margaret (Joseph) Lang, Lillian, Albert, Edna, Stella, Fred (Margaret 'Maggie' Cowan), James, Olive (John Samuel) Easter; Lot 56-D

William J. Armstrong 31 Aug 1858 - 17 Nov 1900; hus. of Sarah Sophia Russell; son of James and Ann Armstrong; father of Ann, Margaret (Joseph) Lang, Lillian, Albert, Edna, Stella, Fred (Margaret 'Maggie' Cowan), James, Olive (John Samuel) Easter; Lot 56-D

Barbara Ash 2 Jan 1882 - 17 Feb 1970; dau.of George and Solomey Ash; Lot 33-A

Carrie Amanda Cederholm Ash 15 Dec 1872 - 24 Aug 1941; wife of William Ash; dau. of Samuel J. and Bengta 'Betsy' L. Cederholm ; mother of William S. (Vera Easter), Carl (Marjorie Sylvester), Laurence Edward, Marguerite (Alexander) Shaw, Robert (Dorothy Gardiner), Ida (Edwin 'George') Sylvester; Lot 32 A

Esther Alida Johnson Ash 5 Jan 1879 - 27 Aug 1946; wife of Thomas Ash; dau. of Adolph Fredrick and Anna Mary 'Marie' Miller Johnson; mother of Russell (Florence Johnson), Muriel (Clifford) Clow, Nora (Albert) Clow, Marjorie (David) Irvine, Roy (Marion Peto); Lot 44-A

George Ash Jr. 11 Aug 1870 - 28 Dec 1923; hus. of Nellie Sugden; son of George and Salomey Dunneral Ash; father of George J., Florence, David, Woodrow; Lot 11-A

George Ash Sr. 17 Nov 1843 - 5 Jan 1914; hus. of Salomey Dunneral; son of George and Barbara Ash/Esch; father of William (Carrie Cederholm), George Jr. (Nellie Sudgen), John (Mabel Horne), Thomas (Esther Johnson), Marguerite 'Mattie' (John) Horgan, Catherine (Thomas) Seed, Barbara, Lena (John 'Jack') Webster, Josepine (George) Webster; Lot 33-A

Joan Ash 12 Dec 1946 - 12 Dec 1946; dau. of Roy Frederick and Marion Alice Peto Ash; Lot 23-A

Jean Ash 12 Dec 1946 - 12 Dec 1946; dau. of Roy Frederick and Marion Alice Peto Ash; Lot 23-A

Laurence Edward Ash 18 Aug 1904 - 8 Oct 1921; son of William and Carrie Amanda Cederholm Ash; Lot 22-A

Salomey Donneral Ash 31 May 1849 - 5 Feb 1920; wife of George Ash Sr.; dau. of Nicholas and Margaret Donneral; mother of William (Carrie Cederholm), George Jr. (Nellie Sudgen), John (Mabel Horne), Thomas (Esther Johnson), Marguerite 'Mattie' (John) Horgan, Catherine (Thomas) Seed, Barbara, Lena (John 'Jack') Webster, Josephine (George) Webster; Lot 33-A

Thomas Ash 5 Jan 1874 - 2 Nov 1929; hus. of Esther Alida Johnson; son of George and Salomey Dunneral Ash; father of Russell (Florence Johnson), Muriel (Clifford) Clow, Nora (Albert) Clow, Marjorie (David) Irvine, Roy (Marion Peto); Lot 44-A

Vera Blanche Easter Ash 18 June 1900 - 25 Jan 1988; wife of William Samuel Ash; dau. of William H. and Hilda Monroe Easter; mother of William Herman (Audrey Joyner), Leo (Ann Botko), Harold (Barbara Saburn); Lot 32-B

William Ash 15 Jan 1869 - 24 Jan 1950; hus. of Carrie Amanda Cederholm; son of George and Salomey Dunneral Ash; father of William Samuel (Vera Easter), Carl (Marjorie Sylvester), Laurence Edward, Marguerite (Alexander) Shaw, Robert (Dorothy Gardiner), Ida (Edwin 'George') Sylvester; Lot 32-A

William Herman Ash 4 Jan 1930 - 6 Dec 1998; US ARMY; hus. of Audrey Marilyn Joyner; son of William S. and Vera Blanche Easter Ash; father of William G., Steven (Joy Johnson), Darryl (Candy Quarve), Mark (Kim Hatton); Lot 21-E

William Samuel Ash 12 Dec 1897 - 19 May 1981; hus. of Vera Blanche Easter; son of William and Carrie Amanda Cederholm Ash; father of William Herman (Audrey Joyner), Leo (Ann Botko), Harold (Barbara Saburn); Lot 32-A

Francis 'Bud' B. Bakken 13 June 1929 - 01 October 1982; US ARMY KOREA; hus. of Violet 'Vi' Johnson; son of Otto and Helen Juberg Bakken; father of Rodney (Shannon Seng Stenmark), Richard (Becky Gregorie Thorlacius), Rock (Deloros 'Dee Dee' Giffen), Robin (Chris) Brown, Randy, Lori (Tim) Gustafson; Lot 17-F

Blanche Marie Balderston 12 July 1909 - 29 Aug 1919; dau. of William 'Ernest' and Florence Marie Fitzgerald Balderston; Lot 59 D

Jane Balderston June 1864 - 19 Jan 1941; 2^nd wife of William Charles Balderston- dau. of ?; Lot 59-D

Mable Jane Balderston 23 April 1900 - 22 Aug 1900; dau. of William 'Ernest' and Florence Marie Fitzgerald Balderston; 4 months old; Lot 59-D

William Charles Balderston 14 June 1849 - 3 Jan 1919; hus. of Matilda Ann Hinton and Jane ?; parents unknown; father of Artemas Sandford (Mary Hannah Sylvester), William Ernest (Florance Fitzgerald), Benjamin Foster (Lillie Fitzpatrick); Lot 59 D

Annie Rose Ross Ball Sept 1874 - 6 July 1901; wife of Guy H. Ball; dau. of Wellington and Mary Graham Ross; mother of Orma, Almira; Lot 59-D

Guy H. Ball 9 July 1873 - 5 Nov 1931; hus. of Annie Rose Ross; son of John and Eliza Orr Ball; father of Orma, Almira; Lot 57-D

Marie/Mary Berthelet/Bartlette 1861 - June 1939; dau. of Pierre and Louise Bracer/Brayeau
Berthelet/Bartlette; Lot 37-C

Arlo Orsen Bergh 6 June 1918 - 21 Sept 2002; hus. of Dorothy Hazel Goldstrand; son of John O. and Olga Hoven Bergh; father of Arlene (Ronald) Curtis, baby girl, John (Deborah Gatheridge and Sharon ?), Orlin (Sherry ?), Loann (Pat) Misson; Lot 21-B

Dorothy Hazel Goldstrand Bergh 24 Oct 1921 - 7 Aug 2002; wife of Arlo Orsen Bergh; dau. of Ambrose and Mary Coffield Goldstrand; mother of Arlene (Ronald) Curtis, baby girl, John (Deborah Gatheridge and Sharon ?), Orlin (Sherry ?), Loann (Pat) Misson; Lot 21-B

Catherine Donneral Bernath 24 June 1842 - 16 July 1914; wife of George Bernath Sr.; dau. of Nicholas and Margaret Catherine Donneral; mother of John (Sarah Nolte and Jessie A. Doig), Salome (John 'Jack') Adams, Margaret (James A.) Thompson, George Jr. (Ellen Raynard), Julie Ann (Charles Henry) Hart, Albertina (Charles) Oakes, Daniel T., Barbara Ellen (James) Brown, Mary (Arthur) Hart, Jacob 'J.J.' (Nellie Elizabeth Brown); Lot 31-A

NOTE from author: deleted about 12 pages here for example purposes

Florence Ryan Sherman 31 Dec 1889 - 13 Sept 1970; wife of Carl Sherman; dau. of Joseph 'Joe' Richard and Sarah Jenkins Ryan; mother of Florence Sarah; Lot ?

Florence Sarah Charlotte Sherman 19 Nov 1911 - 20 Nov 1911; dau. of Carl and Florence Ryan Sherman; Lot 18-D

Gail S. Short 1 Aug 1895 - 23 March 1958; 1^st hus. of Liza A. Stranger; son of James William and
Caroline Foster Springer Short; father of Jeanne; Lot 50-C

Gordon Leo Short 14 March 1919 - 8 Aug 2001; hus. of Harriet Fitzpatrick; son of Homer Lyle and Bertha 'Bergit' Vera Sannes Short; father of Sharon (Bill) Hannaford, Betty (Bill) Thorsvig, Patricia 'Trish' (Thomas) Lewis; Lot 16-F

baby boy Skjold 30 Dec 1943 - 30 Dec 1943; son of John and Hazel Bernice Gradwell Skjold; Lot 37-A

baby girl Smidt June 1898 - 11 Aug 1898; dau. of Henry Smidt

Margaret Sorem 1872 - Sept 1943; wife of ? Sorem; Lot ?

Eva Sorgenfay 1905 - 23 July 1941; wife of Fred Sorgenfay; Lot 67-A

Evelyn 'Ellen' Mary Cridland Stacy 7 Dec 1875 - 9 April 1904; wife of James. W. Stacey; d. of ? Cridland; Lot 36-D

Percival 'Percy' Bernard Stacy 16 Sept 1901 - 29 June 1917; son of James W. and Evelyn Mary Cridland Stacey; Lot 36-D

Stanley Edward Stacy 22 July 1903 - 23 June 1904; son of James W. and Evelin Mary Cridland Stacey; Lot 36-D

Lottie May Matthew Stoltz 1875 - May 1938; wife of Ralph Henry Stoltz; dau. of Lousiea Matthew; mother of Wilfred Ralph; Lot 65 A

Ralph Henry Stoltz 1885 - Nov 1962; hus. of Lottie M. Matthew; son of ?; father of Wilfred Ralph; Lot 65-A

baby boy Stranger 29 Dec 1906 - 31 Dec 1906; son of Joseph and Della LaRoque Stranger; Lot 2-C

Charles Clarence Stranger 1908 - 14 Nov 1941; son of Joseph 'Joe' and Delma 'Della' LaRoque Stranger; Lot 49-C

Delma 'Della' LaRoque Stranger 10 Dec 1884 - 20 July 1979; wife of Joseph 'Joe' Stranger; dau. of Charles Alexander and Julia LaDouceur LaRoque; mother of Eliza 'Liza' (Gail) Short and (Fred) Kupcho, Christine (?) Schaefer, Charles Clarence, Fred J.; Lot 49-C

Eliza B. Stranger ? - 20 Jan 1901; is she the dau. of Joseph 'Joe' and Delma 'Della' LaRoque Stranger?; Lot ?

Frank Stranger 24 March 1913 - 25 March 1913; son of Joseph and Della LaRoque Stranger; Lot 1-C

James Stranger 1840 - 30 Nov 1921; is he the hus. of Rose and the father of Joseph, Peter Stranger?; Lot 1-C

Joseph 'Joe' Stranger 17 May 1877 - 20 Dec 1950; hus. of Delma 'Della' LaRoque; son of ?; father of Eliza 'Liza' (Gail) Short and (Fred) Kupcho, Christine (?) Schaefer, Charles Clarence, Fred J.; Lot 2-C

Peter Stranger 1877 - 8 March 1902; Lot 2-C

Rose Stranger 1857 - 28 Feb 1931; Lot 2-C

Dorothy E. Easter Surface 1 Oct 1925 - 7 Oct 2004; wife of Wilmer E. Surface; dau. of William Garfield and Florence Muriel Clinton Easter; mother of Charles (Danna Gayer), Peggy (Willis) Roberts, Pamela (Duane) Giffen; Lot 6-B

Wilmer E. Surface 6 May 1920 - 30 Jan 1998; TEC 5 US ARMY WW II; hus. of Dorothy Easter; son of ?; father of Charles (Danna Gayer), Peggy (Willis) Roberts, Pamela (Duane) Giffen; Lot 6-B

Edwin 'George' Sylvester 3 Jan 1909 - 24 March 1994; hus. of Ida Dorothy Ash; son of Richard T. and Hannah E. Thomson Sylvester; father of Jean, James, Jeffrey; Lot 11-F

Ida Dorothy Ash Sylvester 16 Feb 1915 - 9 May 1968; wife of Edwin 'Geroge' Sylvester; dau. of William and Carrie Amanda Cederholm Ash; mother of Jean, James, Jeffrey; Lot 11-F

baby Symington 1966 - 1966; child of William and Betty Symington; Lot 6-F

baby boy Symington 21 Oct 1967 - 21 Oct 1967; son of William and Betty Symington; Lot 6-F

Donna Belle Jensen Symington 27 May 1924 - 12 Feb 1960; 1st wife of Garth Hughes Symington; dau. of Carl H. Jensen; mother of Garth Jr., Joan Lee, Linda, Tom, Edward; Lot 3-F

Garth Hughes Symington 2 Sept 1919 - 6 Jan 1978; hus. of Donna Belle Jensen and Hazel Isabel Langrell; son of Lyle and Ida Hughes Symington; father of Garth Jr., Joan Lee, Linda, Tom, Edward, Elaine, Mark, Ruth Ann, Esther; Lot 3-F

Joan Lee Symington 3 June 1947 - 12 Dec 1949; dau. of Garth Hughes and Donna Belle Jensen Symington; Lot 3-F

Herb Synder May 1887 - Aug 1900; Lot 62-D

baby girl Thedorf 23 Oct 1904 - 23 Oct 1904; dau. of William and Dorothy Matilda Cridland Thedorf; Lot 63-D

Christopher 'Chris' Thedorf 1843 - 9 Feb 1934; hus. of Sophia Kinse; son of ?; father of William (Dorothy Cridland), Mary, Mathilda, Christopher; Lot 63-D

Dorothy Matilda Cridland Thedorf 1883 - Sept 1965; wife of William Thedorf; dau. of William and Elizabeth Ann Cridland; mother of Doris May, baby girl, Blanch, baby boy, Howard Ross, Marjorie Ann, Flodie Sophia; Lot 63-D

Mathilda Thedorf Sept 1880 - 10 May 1897; dau. of Christopher and Sophie Kinse Thedorf; Lot 63-D

Sophie Kinse Thedorf 1846 - 9 Sept 1931; wife of Christopher 'Christ' Theodorf; dau. of ? Kinse; mother of William (Dorothy Cridland), Mary E., Mathilda, Christopher; Lot 63/64-D

William Thedorf 1873 - 25 Oct 1922; hus. of Dorothy Matilda Cridland; son of ?; father of Doris May, baby girl, Blanch, baby boy, Howard Ross, Marjorie Ann, Flodie Sophia; Lot 63-D

James 'Jimmy' Erick Towner 23 April 1944 - 11 July 1947; son of William and Cecelia Gosselin/Gooselaw Towner; Lot ?

Gordon Charles Turner 14 July 1922 - 3 June 1998; US NAVY WW II; hus. of Elva Ruth Fraley; son of Robert 'Jack' J. and Anne Kothe Turner; father of Jerry, John, Linda; Lot 5-B

Leslie James Turner 25 Nov 1943 - 9 Jan 1944 ; son of Lester John and Marie Anne Parenteau Turner; Lot 62-A

Lester John Turner 24 Aug 1914 - 13 April 1966; hus. of Marie Anne Parenteau - son of Robert 'Jack' J. and Anne Kothe Turner - father of Vaughn, Larry, Robert, Leslie James, Richard, Faye Ann, Judith, Diane Marie, twin girls who died at birth; Lot 62-A

Robert 'Dale' Turner 8 June 1927 - 25 July 1987; PFC US ARMY KOREA; son of Robert 'Jack' J. and Anne Kothe Turner; Lot 5-B

Robert Stanley Turner Aug 1899 - 8 Oct 1899; son of ?

Franklin 'Frank' Thomas Twamley 3 March 1888 - 26 Aug 1957; hus. of Mary Ellen Munro; son of Peter and Mary E. Gillas Twamley; father of Eileen (Harold) Rolsch, Doreen (Howard) Hughes, Mary Ellen (Elmer) Umland, Ivan Peter (Avis Hennisson); Lot 33-D

Ivan Peter Twamley 16 March 1920 - 15 Oct 1958; MN TECH US ARMY WW II; hus. of Avis Marie Hennisson; son of Franklin 'Frank' Thomas and Mary Ellen Munro Twamley; father of David; Lot 2-E

Mary Ellen Munro Twamley 28 Feb 1887 - 31 July 1958; wife of Franklin 'Frank' Thomas Twamley; dau. of Peter and Lucetta Clow Munro; mother of Eileen (Harold) Rolsch, Doreen (Howard) Hughes, Mary Ellen (Elmer) Umland, Ivan Peter (Avis Hennisson); Lot 33 D

Faith Peterson Waldrop 17 Oct 1939 - 18 Nov 1996; wife of Garnet Waldrop; dau. of Carl B. II and Geneva Howe Peterson; mother of Jennifer (Brian) Hanson, Daniel, Gabrielle (Rico) Boursaw; Lot 32 C

Garnet Waldrop 20 May 1929 - 1 March 1993; hus. of Faith Pederson; son of Ernest and Melissa Woods Waldrop; father of Jennifer (Brian) Hanson, Daniel, Gabrielle (Rico) Boursaw; Lot 32 C

Henrietta Franks Walker 21 April 1863 - 21 Jan 1938; wife of James Walker; d. of unknown Franks; mother of Milton, Elva, Beatrice, Vivian; Lot 27-A

James Walker June 1857 - 11 Oct 1933; hus. of Henrietta Franks; son of ?; father of Milton, Elva, Beatrice, Vivian; Lot 27-A

unknown Walker 1862 - Jan 1938; wife of Kenneth Frank Walker; Lot 27-A

Vivian M. Walker 31 March 1887 - 14 July 1969; son of James and Henrietta Franks Walker; Lot 27-A

Calvin John Webster 6 March 1919 - 25 Dec 1962; MN PVT CO K 4 INFANTRY WW II; son of John 'Jack' and Lena Ash Webster; Lot 32-A

Catherine Webster 13 Jan 1874 - 29 Feb 1960; wife of James Webster; dau. of Gilbert McDougall; Lot 54-A

Lena Ash Webster 7 Dec 1887 - 8 May 1974; wife of John 'Jack' Webster; dau. of George and Salomey Dunneral Ash; mother of Iona (Alfred) Schultz, Vernon 'Roy' (?), Calvin John; Lot 21-A

James Webster 7 Oct 1855 - 13 March 1918; hus. of Catherine; son of ?; Lot 54-A

Jean Yvonne Anderson Webster 11 July 1933 - 2 Feb 2002; wife of Rodney Walter Webster; dau. of Harry and Viola Allen Anderson; mother of Gary, Julie, Lori (Mark) Ellison; Lot 20-E

John 'Jack' Webster 15 June 1882 - 20 Dec 1946; hus. of Lena Ash; son of ?; father of Iona (Alfred) Schultz, Vernon 'Roy' (?), Calvin John; Lot 21-A

Peter Young Webster 15 Dec1885 - June 1966; hus. of Mabel ?; Lot 43-A

Vernon 'Roy' Webster 2 July 1928 - 19 Feb 2001; hus. of Vera Greer; son of John 'Jack' and Lena Ash Webster; father of Rob (Carolyn) Webster Guyot, Scott Webster Guyot; Lot 21-A

Bessie Jane McIlraith Wilkie 1 Jan 1923 - 3 May 1993; wife of William H. Wilkie; dau. of Fredrick 'Fred' and Lillian Christina Hokanson/Hawkins McIlraith; father of William 'Bill' Fredrick, James Scott, John Thomas (Susan Christensen), Gary Alan (Kathy Easter); Lot 19-E

William Henry Wilkie 13 Oct 1921 - 18 June 1989; PFC US ARMY WW II; hus. of Bessie Jane McIlraith; son of William and Hattie White Wilkie; father of William 'Bill' Fredrick, James Scott, John Thomas (Susan Christensen), Gary Alan (Kathy Easter); Lot 19-E

baby Wold 30 Sept 1943 - 30 Sept 1943; child of Lester Kermit and Eva Elizabeth Parenteau Wold; Lot 38-C

baby boy Wold 1 May 1937 - 1 May 1937; son of Lester Kermit and Eva Elizabeth Parenteau Wold; Lot 38-C

Eva Elizabeth Parenteau Wold 17 Sept 1907 - 16 May 1985; wife of Lester Kermit Wold; dau. of Moser and Angeline Jerome Parenteau; mother of Patricia 'Patsy' Ann, Rita (George) Arin, baby boy, Lester James, Angela, baby Wold, Henry Mark (Diane Applin), Elizabeth (Darrel) Dahlberg, Michael, Robert 'Bob' (Heidi Kruger); Lot 38-C

Henry Mark Wold 26 July 1942 - 14 Nov 1997; hus. of Diane Joyce Applin; son of Lester Kermit and Eva Elizabeth Parenteau Wold; father of Michelle (?) Walton; Lot ?

Lester Kermit Wold 13 June 1910 - 18 July 1970; hus. of Eva Elizabeth Parenteau; son of Olaf and Mary Iverson Wold; father of Patricia 'Patsy' Ann, Rita (George) Arin, baby boy, Lester James, Angela, baby Wold, Henry Mark (Diane Applin), Elizabeth (Darrel) Dahlberg, Michael, Robert 'Bob' (Heidi Kruger); Lot 38-C

Patricia 'Patsy' Ann Wold 15 June 1935 - 19 Oct 1936; dau. of Lester Kermit and Eva Elizabeth Parenteau Wold; Lot 38-C

Local Church Roots

Small Town Minister - ARRIVAL

I remember this humble small church very well,
and many of these faces from many years ago...

Upon discovering the roots of the church I grew up in, by overhearing a casual reference made by family or friends, I asked my Mom to elaborate. This was when I was still at home. As I remember it, she said there were several people in the town's Episcopal Church that were not happy there. I'm not sure what inspired the group to start their own meetings, but they did. Perhaps there was a nearby revival they had been challenged by. Whatever the genesis, they took that step. Eventually they had their own building, and called it the Valley Community Church. It was non-denominational at first, then decided to affiliate with the Evangelical Free Church. The EFC isn't a denomination, but rather an affiliation of independent churches. (Some may quibble with the semantics, but it's an important component to the people of those churches for many reasons...a story for another time!)

I'm not sure if the pastor in the letter below was the first pastor of the church, but the letter has the sound of it. The congregation was obviously excited to have the new pastor, and wanted him to have the best they could offer.

Pastor Erickson's daughters have graciously offered to share their father's memories of those times of his early pastorate through his letters. Although he is passed on, we'll revisit those times through his words, about what it was like to be a small town minister. Read below of how the pastor and his family were welcomed, and their first impressions of St. Vincent...
__________

Excerpt of letter written to friends by Rev Edward Erickson… February 12, 1955 (upon arriving in St Vincent January 27, 1955)…

“…We loaded up the big International truck, that the St Vincent Free church people sent down (Liberty, Nebraska), on Monday, January 24th. As big as the truck was, it looked quite inadequate to take all of our belongings. But by careful planning of the load, the good crew of men from the Pleasant Grove church led by Pastor Skoog himself, found a place for most everything, and still placed padding between, so that everything arrived here in good condition…

…arriving at St Vincent about 4 o’clock (on Thursday, January 27th). We discovered that the truck had arrived without trouble and was already unloaded. The parsonage is a fair sized house (6 rooms and bath) and it appeared for awhile to be full of boxes and boxes of our things. But we managed to find a place to sleep after having a delicious supper with the Kochendorfers, one of good families here.

The next day, with the help of some husky men here, we got the bigger and heavier furniture in its place, so by Saturday night the house was quite livable. The coldest weather of the winter had come on, so we surely appreciated the new automatic Lennox oil heating system that was just installed and completed the day we arrived. As a result the house is very comfortable even in this 20 to 28 below zero weather we have been having the past several days. I am using one of the upstairs bedrooms for a study, and Danny has his bed here also, but so far it has worked out quite well.

The church is about a block away, in this town of some 300 people. There is a Catholic and an Episcopal church besides our own. Also a Plymouth Brethren and a group of Cooneyites (commonly called 2 by 2’s) that meet in homes in the community. Most of the people we are told, consider some church as their own… The people of the community appear to be very friendly, yet I can detect that they are looking us over quite carefully…Most of our people of course are farmers, and I have been told that all but one family owns their farm. Some of the farms are quite big I understand, being a section or more. As a general rule they have good crops up here in the Red River valley, but last year the army worms did considerable damage. They were able to control some of it by airplane spraying. What seems to be the main crop, but there also are other grains, and potatoes. Some farther south in the valley they raise sugar beets too.

The first Sunday here, January 30th, we found 67 in Sunday School and a few more for the church service. Again in the evening there were about 40 out. At the Mid-week Bible Study and Prayer on Wednesday after choir practice, there were over 30 out. It is good to see such a good number for these services, bringing their Bibles with them & revealing by their questions and discussion that they had a spiritual hunger for a greater knowledge of the Word. Even last Wednesday evening when it was 20 below zero and a sharp, cutting north wind, that really would penetrate, there were 19 out.

On Friday evening, February 3rd, we were given our official welcome, by an invitation to a tasty Fellowship Supper at the church. This was followed by an informal program led by a nearby Baptist pastor, who serves in Emerson, Manitoba, Canada (we are only 2 miles from the Canadian border). After the kind & friendly welcome, to which I responded with a few words of appreciation and meditation from 1st John, concerning the blessed privilege of fellowship with the Lord and His people, we were invited to come upstairs. Upon going up, we were amazed to see a big assortment of canned stuff, flour, sugar, meat, etc. It pretty well filled our car, both in the trunk and back seat. We should not need to visit a grocery store for quite some time.

And that was not all. They gave us 100 gallons of oil for the new furnace, a new linoleum for the downstairs bedroom floor (all the other floors had some good covering of rugs or tile already furnished by the church). Then today, a new gas range (Caloric) arrived and was set up to take the place of the combination range, that was no longer needed for additional help to heat the kitchen.

…This church group is only about 6 years old, but they have come a long ways, including spiritually…

Our address is simply – St Vincent, Minnesota box 81 and telephone VA3-6245 (St Vincent)…”