Ryder News Jul 6, 2017

Ryder News for July 6, 2017

We just heard that Gerald Johansen passed away this last week in Trinity Hospital. He had been ill for some time. Our sympathy goes out to the family.

Ardell Folden trying the Harley-Davidson jumpstart.

The Harley-Davidson Ryp to Ryder isn’t over yet as one of Ryder’s oldest participants, Ardell Folden was trying out the Jumpstart. Way to go Ardell and good luck. I suppose we will see you tooling around Ryder on one of their new motorcycles now!!

Lee and Roseann Cunningham at the Hiddenwood Picnic.

 

We surely do miss Larry Cunningham in our little Ryder area. It was great having his two siblings with us in June. Roseanne drove up from Kansas by herself and spent time at their farm east of Ryder. She was joined by Lee “Sam” during the week of June 24^th when he attended his Ryder’s 50^th class reunion in Ryder. They also attended the famous Hiddenwood Picnic.

Joyce Pollock Lovgren was in the Ryder area this past week with her 94 year old aunt, Ruth and some of her aunt’s family. The aunt is a sister to Harold Pollock, Joyce’s dad, who died in 1997.  They were out to the old Pollock farm north of Ryder and attempted to walk and recall where the aunt had lived west of that farm.

Then, they visited the old school building where the aunt and Joyce had gone to school.  It now belongs to Donnie Liefson and he happened to come by as they were “trespassing” and trying to peek in. She and Donnie had gone to school together there; so, they had fun recalling some of those days and Donnie let them go into the building. Joyce asked Donnie if he remembered when she had thrown his lunchbox unto a slough. Donnie laughed and said, “Yes”!  Donnie had been walking and talking to Joyce’s sister, Shirley, after school one day back in those older days and Joyce got mad at them for ignoring her. So, she grabbed Donnie’s lunch bucket from his hand and threw it out on the ice. Donnie had to go after it and he fell through the ice. Oh, those “good-old-school days”! Well, Donnie!  Did you learn not to ignore Joyce? And things must have turned out ok with Donnie going out on the ice to retrieve his lunch box as he is still around!

The Ryder museums had visitors again this week. Harold Pollock’s 94 yr. old sister Ruth, her daughter and son-in-law, grandson and great-grandson were here from CA along with Joyce Pollock Lovgren from MN. Harold’s sister wanted to return to the farm where she was born which was north of Ryder. There are no buildings remaining there but they got to walk around in the area and say they had been where “Grandma” was born, etc. This location was just west of where Harold and Pearl Pollock had lived and raised Shirley and Joyce. After that they journeyed on into Ryder and checked out the town and museums.

While they were visiting the museums, several ladies from the Makoti area arrived and wanted to go through them also. They really enjoyed the Ryder museums and stated that it was sad that more little communities had not preserved their history such as Ryder had. Well, we Ryder folks know that we just lost the gal that started this preservation back in the 1970’s. Phyllis Mueller had the museum idea and pushed the idea onto others who joined her into making it into a worthwhile community project. So, much appreciation goes to Phyllis and those other ladies such as Mona Hansen, Lorraine Bradley Nelson and Frances Johnson McKinzie, who stepped up and did lots of the beginning work. That work continues today and has involved lots of other folks from the little community with many of them being the “country-folk” living outside the little village of Ryder.

We lost two more Ryder Alumni this past month. They both were from the class of 1943 and died only 4 days apart. Wonder if they had kept in contact all those past years?  Alyce Haugen Carlson died June 18^th and Beatrice Gidding Charging died on June 21^st.

Alyce was a sister to Donald Haugen and our sympathy goes out to their family. Donnie and son, Brad, flew out for her memorial services. She was the second sibling to pass away in his family and lived in OR. He also lost another sister Pearl earlier,

Beatrice only had one sibling, Raymond Gidding, and he is deceased. They were raised in the Roseglen area and Bud Karna remembers working for Raymond when he harvested Brome grass seed. Beatrice lived in OK at the time of her death where she had retired after 20 years as a registered nurse.

The Merritt and Annie Warner families celebrated 100 years on the Warner family farm June 23rd hosted by John and Janice.

The Merritt and Annie Warner families celebrated 100 years on the Warner family farm June 23rd hosted by John and Janice. There were families member from sons Murray, Leon and Glen Warner. John gave a brief history of the farm and others pitched in with stories of young and old. Sons, daughters, cousins and grandkids shared in a picnic supper and outside games. Several friends and neighbors also shared in the celebration. In honor of the occasion, John and Janice had the big rock at their driveway etched with the farm name and established date of 1917. Wonderful, Wonderful evening!!

Stolen by me from Gus’s things and stuff.

Sign proclaiming Mueller Lake Road as the official road to the Mueller place instead of Dump Ground Road.

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

You’ve probably all played the game: “What would your name be if you were an exotic dancer?” The way it works is you take the name of your first pet as your first name, and the street you lived on as a child as your last name. So, we might have a dancer from Ryder named Flossie Fredeen. Not bad.

For me, growing up on a farm just outside of Ryder, that little game never worked so well. Women just don’t run up to the stage to shove a dollar in your waistband when your name is “Rover Dump Ground.” I’m guessing that is what derailed Faye Wilson’s pole-dancing career, as “Bessie Dump Ground” really isn’t much better. Yes, it’s true, the road heading southeast of town, leading out to the Mueller and Wilson farms along the railroad tracks has been called “Dump Ground Road” for a long, long time, although I don’t think there ever was a sign to that effect. In case you’re curious, it indeed was the road that you would normally take to get to the Ryder dump ground, but that still doesn’t make it right.

What made it all worse growing up on that road was that I had to compete with other farm kids who lived on roads with cool names. For example, my buddies Lee Sorenson and Mike Larson lived southwest of town on Highway 2, except it was called “King’s Highway.”

How do you compete with King’s Highway when you’re on Dump Ground Road? Well, the way you do it is shown in the photo posted here. Thanks to the efforts of my nephew Kirby Mueller, the road is now officially named “Mueller Lake Road,” complete with a road sign located just south of the elevators. The scorn of the dump ground is finally removed.

“Rover Lake” . . . Yeah . . . Not bad. I might try that dancing venture after all!

(Great story Gus, I just loved it as will my readers, of course you KNEW I would

steal it for the news).

June ?, 1950    Blue Hill News by Mamie Olson

Wind and more wind Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday and this Friday morning.  It is still blowing pretty strong, with temperature at only 42 above. Is summer never going to come? After several days of wind, a good rain would be welcome to settle the dust. Farmers are getting well along with their belated field work.  Farmers have seeded their wheat as planned, hoping for a good season. 

Not many country folks went into Ryder on Tuesday for Memorial Day due to the weather. Ed Peterson and Roy, Mrs. Harry Peterson and Darlene, and Mrs. Paul Sorenson went to Minot and to Rose Hill cemetery.

Mr. and Mrs. Carl Olson, Mr. and Mrs. Ray Olson and children, Mr. and Mrs. Jess Baxter were supper guests at Ed Olson’s Memorial Day, the occasion being Mr. Olson’s 81^st birthday. Later in the evening, Mr. and Mrs. Harry Peterson, Don and Darlene visited there with Mrs. Peterson bringing a big birthday cake.

Barbara, Vernon, Diana, Shirley and Donnie Linnertz are attending Parochial school at the Catholic Church in Ryder for two weeks.

          Mr. and Mrs. Carl Olson have enjoyed the visit of Mrs. Olson’s brother, Jess Baxter and wife, who have traveled all over the U.S. the last three years, having visited every state but Maine. Three years ago they spent the winter in Florida, the last two in California. The Baxters have a large trailer house which is their home.  They are on their way to Minneapolis for the summer with plans to spend next winter in Arizona.

Mrs. Harry Peterson and Darlene visited at Paul Sorensen's Monday afternoon.

Leon Severance of Parshall spent the week-end at the home of his aunt, Mrs. Gilbert Johnson and family.

More of Mamie’s News to come next week!

Upcoming Events:

July 7: Bingo at the Ryder Community Center and gym starting at 7 p.m.

July 9: Services at Calvary Church of Ryder at 10:30 a.m.

July 9: Services at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church of Makoti at 9 a.m.

July 2: Services at St. John’s Lutheran Church of Ryder at l0:30 a.m. with communion.

July 10: Senior Citizens at 6 p.m. at Ryder Senior Center

July 15: Bull a Rama.

I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realize I should have been more specific.