Adele Johnson was born in Casselton, ND. She discusses her first teaching experiences, including private music lessons, after graduating from MSC. She later taught music at Concordia College and then Moorhead State. During this time period, her involvement in community affairs, politics, the Democratic Party, and also she worked for Congressman Bob Berglund. She is now retired.
Alice Polikawsky was born in 1904 in Moland township. In 1951, she joined the Moorhead Daily News Staff as their first full-time alumni director. From 1957-58, she was instructor of Home Economics at Concordia and became chairman of that department until her retirement in Nov. 1974. Mrs. Polikowsky discusses her education and teaching experiences in home economics.
Mrs. Donald G. Rusness was born July 4, 1913 in Moorhead, MN. Mrs. Rusness discusses her experiences in dance and her position as a secretary to the County Agent and Extension offices.
Beulah Olson was born August 12, 1912 in Ortley, South Dakota. Her family came to Hoffman, MN in 1921. Mrs. Olson relates her childhood, early education, and life as a homemaker. She discusses the changing roles of women as student, teacher, housewife, mother, and finally as grandmother.
Carl Haima was born December 1900 in Raymond, MN. Mr. Haima describes his life as a child. He discusses his father's general store and his small businesses in Moorhead. Mr. Haima served several terms on the city council, a charter member of the Lions Club, and vice-president of the Chamber of Commerce.
Carrol Malvey reflects on his childhood days, his parents, his days at Concordia and teaching before entering into partnership in Malvey Service Stations with his brother and Mom. He relates World War II problems. Mr. Malvey was very active in Moorhead Civic affairs such as Lions, Chamber of Commerce, Volunteer Fireman, Planning Commission, Concordia Board of Regents, and Trinity Lutheran Church.
Catherine Fossay was born and raised in Fergus Falls, MN. Mrs. Fossay describes her years as a student at Moorhead State, particularly her experiences as a student teacher at the Model School on campus, and as a teacher in the affiliated rural school at Oak Mound. Included in her reminiscences are student activities and productions.
Life long Minnesota resident Dr. Clair Haugen has been the Director of the Concordia College theater program since 1960. He discusses the theaters history, growth and development, recollections of people and productions and the philosophy that governs the Concordia College theater program.
Dr. Clarence Glasrud was born in North Dakota October 15, 1911. He attended Moorhead State and joined the faculty in 1947 as an instructor in the Division of Language and Literature. He received his MA and PhD from Harvard. He taught at MSU from 1952 to 1977 when he retired and was considered an excellent teacher. Interview 2 of 2.
Dr. Clarence Glasrud discusses his involvement with the Moorhead Rotary Club over the past several decaded. He provides background into the history and functions of the Moorhead Rotary Club. He taught at MSU from 1952 to 1977 when he retired and was considered an excellent teacher. This is interview 1 of 2.
Daniel Preston was born in Bangor, Wisconsin and spent his childhood there. Preston gives some brief information on the early activities of the American Legion in the Fargo-Moorhead area.
David Beauchamp served in the Minnesota State Legislature from 1974 to 1978. In his interview, he discusses his political experiences in local and state office, and the issues in Minnesota government during his career. Mr. Beauchamp also discusses his Peace Corps years in Thailand.
Dr. Delmar Hansen is director of the theatre program at Moorhead State University for 30 years, gives his assessment of a number of regional and local literary figures. He also describes some of the changes since he came to Moorhead State University in 1958 such as there was no real theatre program. He is the Chairman and a professor in the Department of Speech Communication and Theatre Arts.
Donna Mathisen Dosland was raised in northeastern Minnesota. She moved to Moorhead when she married Mr. Dosland. She has been associated with the Clay County Public Health Nursing Service since its formation in March 1969 and tells of the purposes and functions of the Foundation. Donna Dosland describes the history, organization, and the obstacles that needed to be overcome.
Doris Eastman discusses her experience writing for the Forum of Fargo-Moorhead from 1934-1979. She became women's editor at the newspaper in 1959. She also tells about her days working for the Moorhead Daily News. Now retired, she is working at the Episcopal Church and Clay County Historical Society.
Dorothy Kippels gave a background of her childhood days as well about the Kippels family. The Kippels family, Bruno Kippels, Joe's father, were early Moorhead settlers. Mrs. Kippels, describes the Waterman's Store which she and her husband owned from 1944 to 1967. She told the merchandise they sold and talked about credit, competition in Moorhead, and fringe benefits.
Edward Gudmundson was born June 29, 1917 in Mountain, ND. He graduated from North Dakota State Universtiy (NDSU) in 1949. He joined the US Navy in 1942 and was discharged in 1945. Edward Gudmundson has worked as a pharmacist from 1945 to 1984. He describes his schooling, experiences, and compares drug stores of the 1940s with those of the 1980s.
Elsie Lee was born on a farm near Big Lake, MN on September 2, 1916. Mrs. Lee tells of her many years of experience as a homemaker and describes her life and activities in Moorhead. Elsie tells of her experience as one of the first homemakers to work fulltime while raising a family of 3 children.
Eric Martinson is 97 years old and was born in Moorhead. His Norwegian parents immigrated here between 1870 and 1871. Martinson discusses the coal and fuel oil business in the Fargo-Moorhead area from 1926 to his retirement in 1968.
Florence Jenkins (Mrs. John) was born in Juanita, ND in 1914. Mrs. Jenkins began volunteer work and fund raising for the Red Cross during World War II. After the war she became an office secretary of Clay County Red Cross. She describes her work as a Red Cross volunteer and how it has affected her life. She discusses the goals and work of the Clay County Red Cross Chapter.
Dr. Frederick Walsh discusses his years as a theatre teacher at North Dakota State University, Fargo. Dr. Walsh discusses his interests in outdoor drama, production at Medora, old and new theaters at NDSU, and his philosophy on the role of the theater in the lives of students.
Hazelle and George Nassif were prime movers in Fargo-Moorhead Community Theater. George discusses his early interest in acting, his support of the F-M Community Theater and how some of the financial difficulties were overcome. The construction of the new theater building in Island Park, with labor donated by the Labor Union, is discussed by Hazelle.
Gertrude Saxman lived on a farm near Georgetown, Minnesota. Dr. Saxman discusses her experiences in medicine and her medical practice in Ulen, MN from 1960-1983.
Gladys Westrum was born March 27, 1907 in Moorhead. Mrs. Westrum describes a typical homemaker' day in the age before modern conveniences and how the homemaker's tasks have changed as a result of technology. She discusses the Depression and WWII rationing. She also describes the changes in the attitudes of people toward women working outside of the home.
Gustav L. Schoberg, on the Concordia College faculty from 1930 to 1970, was a professor of German and French and also head of the department. He was also an assistant to President J.N. Brown in public relations, publicity, fund raising, and student recruiting through the Depression of the thirties and World War II.
Hanny Wright was born on the island Tjoeme on the west side of the Oslo Fjord on October 27, 1899. She came to the United States as an infant. Mrs. Wright describes her association with St. Ansgar Hospital Auxilliary, of which she was a president for many years. She has also helped organize the Moorhead Camp Fire Girls.
H.B. Teichmann was 89 years old at the time of this interview. He describes his love of theatre and his training at the Academy of Theatre Arts in New York. He is famous for his character bits and has been in 20-30 Fargo-Moorhead Community Theatre productions, working under a number of our resident directors.
Helene Kaeding was born in St. Peter, MN. Mrs. Kaeding describes her ethnic background, her father's business, and attending school at Gustavas Adolphus. She began teaching in 1931 and married in 1940. She describes the difference in attitudes toward education in the various communities in which she taught, and how discipline and respect for teachers has changed.
Helen Peterson was born in Kenmare, ND on April 24, 1904. Mrs. Peterson and her husband Wayne owned the Moorhead Daily News from 1930 to 1944. She discusses various features of the paper and how the business has changed over the years.
A resident of Fargo and Moorhead since her birth in 1915, Miss Helen Euren was an employee of Moorhead Public Library from 1934 until her retirement in 1977. She discusses the new library services added during those years, the formation of the Lake Agassiz Regional Library and the bond issue for the new building in 1960.
Henry Grettum, a farmer near Detroit Lakes, recalls his early years of coming to Ulen, MN from Goodhue County in Minnesota. Mr. Grettum tells of his farm life at Ulen and Detroit Lakes and as farm manager north of Moorhead. He tells of his community activities. Mr. Grettum was 93 years old at the time of the interview. His ancestors are Norwegian.
Mrs. Hildergarde Kraus, a well-known local organist, describes her musical training at a boarding school in Bismarck, North Dakota, and at the Dakota Conservatory of Music in Fargo. She discusses playing for silent movies and vaudeville and traces the events in her twenty-eight year career as organist for WDAY.
Jacob "Jake" Kiefer is a native of Moorhead and returned to the community after military service in World War I. He managed Kiefer Chevrolet. His oral history concentrates on his memories of Moorhead at the turn of the twentieth century. He discusses his involvement in community's service organizations such as the Legion club, the Rotary, and the Moorhead Chamber of Commerce.
Judge James Garrity, a life-long Moorhead resident, describes the practice of law in Moorhead from late 1940s through the late 1970s when he became a judge. He reflected on his father;s practice as well. He discusses the varied personalities of other lawyers, interesting cases, and his perceptions of how the law has changed.
James ORourke was born in Langdon, North Dakota in 1933. He went to Concordia College for history and art and spent 1957-1960 in Europe. Mr. O'Rourke opened the Rourke Gallery in 1960. It later merged with the Red River Arts Center to form the Plains Art Museum. He discusses community support for the gallery, participating artists, and the growing collection.
James Baccus, retired journalist, has been involved with journalism since his high school days and discusses his writing career for various newspapers and organizations, as well as doing personal writing. He worked for the Forum for approximately 14 years, retiring in 1984 at the age of 70.
John Ingersoll was born November 6, 1908 in Moorhead, Minnesota. Mr. Ingersoll begins the interview with a short description of his family history. He briefly describes his time in college graduating from Moorhead State Teacher's College in 1932 and his military service which began in 1942 at Fort Snelling. Mr. Ingersoll discusses business in Moorhead, his Black Hawk Cafe, and his involvement in local politics.
Dr. Joseph L. Knutson was born February 14, 1906 in Grafton, ND, where his father was a Lutheran pastor. Dr. Knutson begins the interview with a short biographical sketch. Dr. Knutson was president of Concordia College from 1950 to 1974. He discusses the college's finances and its relationship to the American Lutheran Church. Concordia College's natural constituency for enrollment was from the Norwegian Lutherans of North Dakota and Minnesota.
June Dobervich describes her activities with both the Little Country Theatre at North Dakota State University and the Fargo-Moorhead Community Theatre. She discusses such factors as the costs of theater production, the types of productions, participants in the program, and the achievements of Alfred G. Arvold.
Justin W. Swenson was born near Battle Lake, Minnesota. Mr. Swenson describes his career as a superintendent of public schools. He discusses attitudes toward education, special education, and changes in public schools over the years.
Katherine Richardson has lived in Moorhead since her birth in 1928. Mrs. Richardson discusses her long interest and involvement in the Republican party. She tells of her position as one of the first presidents of the local Federation of Republican Women.
Kathy Coyle discusses her career as the anchor of a local television news broadcast, including details concerning the production of local news, the importance of ratings, relations with co-workers, and the advancement of women in television journalism.
Ken J. Frolund tells of his introduction to the Fargo-Moorhead Community Theatre and his involvement in set building and administration not only for the theatre but also for the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony.
Dr. Kenneth Covey started an independent family practice in Moorhead in 1966. He discusses small town medicine and the changes in orthopedics-prothesis, replacement joints, etc. He also describes the economic turmoil in medicine and the treat of socialized medicine.
Laura Scherfenberg discusses her many years of activities with the Moorhead branch of Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU). She describes the organization's goals, finances, projects, and its role in the community.
Leveta Bryson was born in Illinois about 1913. In 1920 her parents lived on farm near Sabin, MN. Leveta graduated from Moorhead State Teachers College and began her teaching career. In 1938, she had to quit teaching because she married. Mrs. Scott describes her life as a homemaker on a farm in Borup, Minnesota from 1938 to the 1960s.
Lois Selberg is a native of Rustad, Minnesota. She speaks first of her high school education and her early experiences at Moorhead State. She describes what entering college meant to her in the way of intellectual enlightenment. Mrs. Selberg discusses what the college was like during wartime.
Magnus Wefald was born in 1900 in Hawley, Minnesota and grew up there. Wefald discusses his law practice in Hawley, Minnesota, and his service in the Minnesota State Senate for 12 years. He describes the changes in the law that he has seen over the years. He talks about the community affairs in which he has been involved and his term as mayor.
