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  Astrid Forde Interview, 1976

  Astrid Forde

  In this interview, Astrid Forde discusses the process of changing church services conducted in Norwegian to church services conducted in English in the Lutheran churches in Pope County.

  Pope County

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  Fred Foslien Interview, 1978

  Fred Foslien

  Fred Foslien was born July 25, 1895 outside of Alexandria. He completed an 8th grade education. While farming with his father, he was instrumental in organizing the Production Credit Association of Alexandria. He managed PCA for 39 years, beginning in 1933. He bought land east of Alexandria and was responsible in setting up the Victoria Heights Community. As a State Senator for three years in the 1930s he did much to pass vital highway legislation among other things.

  In the interview, Foslien discusses the Production Credit Association (PCA), Victoria Heights development, the state highway legislation of the 1930s, the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), and the Non-Partisan League, in which he was very active.

  Douglas County

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  Lewis Fults Interview, 1974

  Lewis Fults

  Mr. Fults was born in Hampton, Iowa. He moved to Minnesota in 1940, and was a farmer for most of his life. He was president of the Stevens County Farm Bureau from 1953-1957.

  In this interview, Mr. Fults discusses farm organizations, centering on the Farm Bureau from 1953-1957.

  Stevens County

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  Lewis Fults Interview, ca. 1977

  Lewis Fults

  Lewis Fults was 74 years old and was born in Iowa. His family came to Minnesota because of cheaper land.

  In this interview, he compares the land in Donnelly to that in Iowa. He discusses business college, school experiences, the depression, and his involvement with the school board, Farm Bureau, and his duties as an assessor.

  Stevens County

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  Herman Gades Interview, ca. 1977

  Herman Gades

  Herman Gades farmed in the Holloway area since 1923. His father came from Germany when he was 15 years old. Herman was 82 years old and still engaged in farming at the time of the interview.

  In this interview, he talks about the blizzards they survived and the changes from horses to big tractors and combines.

  Swift County

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  Leona Galbreath Interview, ca. 1977

  Leona Galbreath

  Leona Galbreath was 75 years old and lived at Elbow Lake at the time of the interview. She also lived in North Dakota for a time.

  In this interview, Leona discusses school, including going to both English and German school. She also talks about farm life, gardening, and house work. She talks about working in hotels. She finally discusses zone therapy.

  Grant County

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  Rosie Garberick Interview, ca. 1977

  Rosie Garberick

  Rosie Garberick was 81 years old and he came to Morris in 1911 from Sheldon, Iowa.

  In this interview, he talks about the different jobs he had. He worked for the railroad as a cook on the B&B Gang. He also tells of his dealings with the National Guard and his time in Europe during World War I. Then he tells of his adventures as a postal worker and transferring to Browns Valley and retiring in 1966.

  Stevens County and Traverse County

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  Sydney Gausman and Millie Michaelson Interview, ca. 1977

  Sydney Gausman and Millie Michaelson

  Sydney Gausman and Millie Michaelson were both members of the first graduating class from Alberta High School in 1917. They walked to school before the consolidation of the school and then they were picked up by a buggy bus, a two-seated buggy pulled by two horses.

  In this interview, they discuss various different aspects of the school, such as recess, hot lunch, the classes and education, transportation to school, and their graduation.

  Stevens County

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  Fred Gerber Interview, ca. 1979

  Fred Gerber

  Fred Gerber was born in Illinois and moved to Minnesota when he was an infant. He was 84 years old and lived in the Donnelly area at the time of the interview. He farmed for the first few years of the depression and was appointed postmaster in Donnelly, a position he held for 27 years. He was also active in the Senior Citizens Group.

  In this interview, he talks about methods of threshing using steam threshers and some of the difficulties they presented in transportation. He talks about his job as postmaster and about the postal service in Donnelly. He relates how the Donnelly Threshing Bee got started and how it works. He then discussed some of the senior citizens groups he was part of, including a small band and the senior citizens' play.

  Stevens County

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  Jessie Getchell Interview, ca. 1977

  Jessie Getchell

  Jessie Getchell was born in Ontario, Canada and was 85 years old. She was only one-year old when her family moved to Brainerd, Minnesota so her father could work in the saw mills. She met her husband in South Dakota and were married in 1910. She and her husband later homesteaded in Canada from 1912-1915. They then moved to Stevens County and Douglas County.

  In this interview, Jessie Getchell discusses her family history. She talks about an unfortunate trip to Canada to visit her husband with her young son where she ended up having to work as a housekeeper for a while to support herself as she could not find her husband. She then discussed homesteading and the little sod house they lived in in Canada. She talks about the struggles they had during their time homesteading in Canada.

  Stevens County and Douglas County

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  Julius Gilbertson Interview, ca. 1977

  Julius Gilbertson

  Julius Gilbertson was 84 years old and born in Grant County in 1892.

  In this interview, Julius talks about his parents' reason for settling in Grant County, the Donnelly Threshing Bee, and his own custom threshing work.

  Grant County

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  Elmer Goodyear Interview, 1976

  Elmer Goodyear

  Elmer Goodyear was born in Sioux City, Iowa and was 81 years old at the time of the interview.

  In this interview, Elmer Goodyear discusses the Depression and his early schooling. He also discusses a wagon train move from South Dakota to Iowa during the 1930s.

  Pope County

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  August Grammentz Interview, ca. 1979

  August Grammentz

  August Grammentz was born in a sod house in Brown County, Minnesota. He was 81 years old and lived in Morris.

  In this interview, he relates various farm experiences and the problem of moving to a new farm by rail.

  Stevens County

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  Margaret (Peg) Gramm Interview, 1975

  Margaret Gramm

  Ms. Gramm was born in 1954 in Bloomington, Illinois. She and her family moved to Hancock, Minnesota in 1960. At the time of the interview, she worked for the University of Minnesota Morris and had been a member of the Apostolic Christian Church since 1971.

  In this interview, Ms. Gramm discusses the customs of the Apostolic Christian Church and the philosophies and activities of the church. Special emphasis is placed upon the role of women within the church and the social customs.

  Stevens County

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  Nick Grossman Interview, ca. 1977

  Nick Grossman

  Nick Grossman was 83 years old and lived in Chokio at the time of the interview. He was born in Iowa and his family moved to this area because the land was cheaper.

  In this interview, Nick discusses his school days, farming experiences, threshing parties, butchering, and blizzards.

  Stevens County

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  Cora Grove Interview, 1973

  Cora Grove

  Ms. Grove was born and raised in the Morris area and was a former librarian for the city of Morris.

  In this interview, she recalls the social life in Morris at the turn-of-the-century, including the fair, community clubs, and her own experiences.

  Stevens County

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  Cora Grove Interview, ca. 1975

  Cora Grove

  Cora Grove was 90 years old. Her father operated a lumberyard in Morris. She reflects on early Morris and UMN Morris campus, the corn and alfalfa show and the Stevens County Fairgrounds. She served as City Treasurer from 1925 to 1964.

  Stevens County

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  Donovan Grover Interview, 1978

  Donovan Grover

  In this interview, Donovan Grover discusses his great-grandparents of English descent who settled at Pomme de Terre Fort and their journey from St. Paul,. His great-grandfather was one of the first settlers in Grant County. His maternal grandmother was the first school teacher in St. Olaf township and taught Norwegian speakers. He discusses the Nonpartisan League and opposition in the town of Ashby by merchants and bankers. As a child, Donovan Grover worked for his grandfather on his farm. He worked as village treasurer and assessor in Ashby, worked for the County Welfare Department in Elbow Lake from 1936-1940 and was postmaster and a rural mail carrier in Ashby for many years (1940-1966). He was also on the school board for many community organizations and discusses all of these.

  Grant County

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  George Grussing Interview, 1973

  George Grussing

  George Grussing, a lifetime resident of Clara City, Minnesota, served seven terms as state representative from 1955 through 1967. In Clara City, Grussing had a stone and carpentry business.

  In this interview, George Grussing discusses how his political career started, some bills sponsored by Grussing, and working for the area watershed program. He discusses the place of a rural background in the State Legislature, the growth of Clara City, area farming, the Great Depression, and Clara City businesses. He discusses his time as a legislator, the relationship between Grussing and his constituents, and the role of lobbyists in the Legislature.

  Chippewa County

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  Paula Gunvalson Interview, ca. 1977

  Paula Gunvalson

  Paula Gunvalson was 82 years old and lived in Starbuck. She went to college in Moorhead and studied art.

  In this interview, she discusses her experiences doing advertising work in Starbuck and creation of the Starbuck trademark. She also discusses New Prairie, Minnesota where she and her husband had a store. She talks about the railroad there and a train crash that occurred once. She speculates why the town didn't survive.

  Pope County

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  Georgina Gustavson Interview, ca.1977

  Georgina Gustavson

  Georgina Gustavson grew up in Benson and was 83 years old. She lived in Morris at the time of the interview. Her father was in the ice business.

  In this interview, she discusses the particulars of the ice business. She also talks about the depression and some reflections on the changes through the years.

  Swift County

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  Ida Hagen Interview, ca. 1978

  Ida Hagen

  Ida Hagen was born in 1886 and lived in Starbuck. She was 92 years old. She was originally from the Waseca area.

  In this interview, she discusses Native American/white relations in Minnesota when her mother was growing up. She talks about farm life growing up and the pests on the crops they had to deal with. She discusses food preparation and preservation and the changes she had seen over the years. She also recalls when President McKinley was assassinated.

  Pope County

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  Mrs. Tosten Hagen Interview, 1972

  Mrs. Tosten Hagen and Mrs. Herbert Blistning

  Mrs. Tosten Hagen (first name never given) was born in a dugout in 1837 near the village of Pomme de Terre. Her daughter, Mrs. Herbert Blistning (first name never given) assisted her during the interview.

  In this interview, Mrs. Tosten Hagen discusses her parents being some of the earliest settlers of Pomme de Terre in the 1860s and how they arrived in the area. She discusses how her father made a living fur trapping. She discusses the Native Americans her family interacted with during her childhood and life on the Pomme de Terre River. She discusses her first teachers, the sewing school in Fergus Falls, the stagecoach in Pomme de Terre, and the early businesses of the village of Pomme de Terre.

  Grant County

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  Emil Halburg Interview, ca. 1979

  Emil Halburg

  Emil Halburg was 82 years old and lived in Kensington. His parents came from Sweden around 1892. Emil was born in the United States, one of 10 children.

  In this interview, Emil discusses farming, food preservation, gardening, and the role of the horse in farming.

  Douglas County

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  Anna Halvorson Interview, ca. 1977

  Anna Halvorson

  Anna Halvorson was 83 years old and spent all her life in Elbow Lake.

  In this interview, Anna discusses growing up on a farm, country school, early homemaking techniques, and her experiences as a teacher. She talks about her work with 4-H, a gift shop she owned, and quilt and drape making.

  Grant County