The following article is part of the Diamond Club Member group that began in the January 7, 1943, issue of the Rock County Star Herald. Members of this group consist of persons of age 75 and older.
The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on May 20, 1943.
 
         Lycurgus N. (Coge) Merkel, Beaver Creek, one of Rock county’s pioneer settlers, is this week’s Diamond Club member. Mr. Merkel virtually “grew up” with Rock county, because he came here in 1872 and has lived here ever since.
Born in a log house at Cannon City, near Faribault, Minn., January 20, 1869, he came to Rock county with his parents four years later. The trip, made with oxen and covered wagon, required nearly three weeks.
“My father’s family and belongings consisted of mother, one son, Lycurgus, four oxen, three cows, a wagon, a few sacks of potatoes, and some barley,” Mr. Merkel states. “The trip was slow, but we came through o.k.”
Remember Elk Slough
Mr. Merkel remembers crossing Elk Slough, between Luverne and Magnolia. In pioneer days, the slough was virtually a mud wallow, and to get through it required considerable engineering on the part of the traveler. There being no bridges, and only a rough wagon path leading up to it, the Merkel family did not attempt crossing it with the oxen hitched to the wagon. The best plan, Mr. Merkel states, was to unhitch the oxen, take off the yoke, drive them through the mud to the other side. Then all the oxen would be hitched together, a chain run across the slough and hooked into the wagon tongue, and the pull would begin. Unless there was plenty of power on the pulling end, the wagon would be stuck right. In that case, it would be necessary to take the wagon apart and carry it out piece by piece. “There was always some fellow stuck at that point,” he recalls.
Stop at Sheldon Farm
After getting through Elk Slough, the Merkels stopped at the E. T. Sheldon home. “Mr. Sheldon was very kind to my people and helped them in many ways,” Mr. Merkel states.
Mr. Merkel’s father filed a claim on the northeast quarter of section 21 in Beaver Creek township. With the help of neighbors, they built their home, a sod house, about 20 by 24 feet. First, a cellar, about 2½ feet deep was dug. Then sod was broken, and cut in 18-inch lengths, and laid in layers like brick. Posts to support the roof were cut from trees on the Rock river. Each post had a fork at the top, and these forks supported the ridge pole. Rafters were also reaching from the ridge pole to the sod wall. On top the rafters was laid a layer of small willow branches. This was covered with a layer of long slough grass, then overlaid with sod and dirt. The floor was of dirt, usually “careted” with a layer of slough hay.
Decorated with Newspapers
Even the pioneer housewife liked to decorate. Mr. Merkel states that newspapers were hung on the side walls by the aid of wooden pins stuck into the sod.
The home was lighted by a saucer filled with tallow into which were dipped plain cotton rags. “We had plenty of rags,” Mr. Merkel states, “and plenty of light too, if you could locate it.”
Bed ticks were filled with corn husks. Rope running crosswise of the bed served as springs. As far as comfort is concerned,” Mr. Merkel says, “sleeping on those beds would compare favorably with taking a nap on top of Bunker Hill.”
A common secondhand stove was used to heat the home, and twisted hay was used as fuel. One fine feature of the sod house, he states, was that it was warm to live in and easy to heat.
 
         Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.

The following article is part of the Diamond Club Member group that began in the January 7, 1943, issue of the Rock County Star Herald. Members of this group consist of persons of age 75 and older.
The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on May 13, 1943, and is continued from last week’s issue.
(Continued from last week, featuring Mrs. Sarah Scott.)
She remembers how two small boys who were herding cattle, were found frozen to death after the storm subsided, their arms clasped about each other and their dog between them.
         It was while they lived in that part of the county that Mr. Scott “cried” his first auction sale, Mrs. Scott states. He had gone to the station of Bruce one day where the liquor store was to be sold at auction. The auctioneer, a Sioux Falls man, was unable to get a bid, so Mr. Scott made the comment that even he could do that well. The auctioneer invited him to try and he did, eventually selling the property.
         From that community, they moved nearer Luverne, farming the William Jacobsen farm in Luverne township for three years, and moving from there to a farm in Clinton township, between Luverne and Ashcreek. After residing there 10 years, they moved to Luverne where they purchased some property east of the Rock Island depo. Later they lived in a home on East Maple street, and this was Mrs. Scott’s home for a number of years after Mr. Scott died in 1920. At the present time, however, she makes her home with her children.
         Mrs. Scott has six children, R. B. Scott and Mrs. Logan Trunnell of Luverne; Mrs. Ben Mc Dowell, Beaver Creek; Mrs. Bertha Stein and Russell Scott of Bremerton, Wash., and Claude Scott of Fulda. She also has 13 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Of the former, two serving in the armed forces, namely, Corp. Glenn Trunnell and Staff Sgt. Vance Scott.
         She has three half-sisters and one half brother living. They are Mrs. May Brown, Orleans, Neb.; Mrs. Stella Cover, Kearney, Neb.; Mrs. Josephine Rogers, Minden, Neb., and Harvey Boicourt, also of Minden.
         During their lifetime, Mrs. Scott has been interested in many outside activities. She at one time was a member of the Rebekah Lodge, the Women’s Relief corps and of the Ladies Aid of the First Presbyterian church.
         She always liked sewing and doing fancywork as a hobby, but during later years has been forced to quit because of her health. However, she still reads books, magazines, newspapers and the Bible.
         Last Sunday she observed her 82nd birthday, and for the first time, her birthday and Mother’s day fell on the same date. She was well remembered by her friends and children, and she expresses her appreciation for their thoughtfulness.
 
Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.

The following article is part of the Diamond Club Member group that began in the January 7, 1943, issue of the Rock County Star Herald. Members of this group consist of persons of age 75 and older.
The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on May 13, 1943, and is continued from last week’s issue.
         The Biblical prophecy “there shall be wars and rumors of wars,” may be just another scripture passage to many, but to Mrs. Sarah Scott, Luverne, it has a deep meaning, for during her 82 years of life, she has lived through three years, has seen the beginning of the fourth, and “the end is not yet.”
         Mrs. Scott was born May 9, 1861, near Jacksonville, in Cass county, Ill, the daughter of William and Jane Lindsey Matthews. Her father died when she was an infant, and she and her mother and sister lived with her grandmother until her mother was remarried to a man who fought in the Union army during the Civil War.
         From her stepfather and from her uncles, Mrs. Scott heard many stories of the Civil War. She had two uncles who were captured by the southern army, and were placed in the famous Andersonville prison. One of them was released before the other and when he left, the one who remained warned him to not eat too much meat after he was released. He had been starved too long, however, and was so famished that he did not overeat after arriving home, and died three days later.
         When her stepfather arrived home after the peace had been signed, she remembers she met him with a pair of stockings which she had knit for him with her mother’s help. She was then only about five years old.
         Because she had heard so much about the Civil War and the South, the book, “Gone with the Wind” was to Mrs. Scott in the nature of a trip “back home.” She read the book through once, and read half of it the second time, in addition to seeing the movie, she states.
         Cass county, where she was born, was a wooded country, and as a girl, Mrs. Scott learned to recognize birds and flowers that were native to that area. “Whenever I wasn’t to be found at home, my folks usually knew that I’d be wandering around amongst the trees,” Mrs. Scott states.
         At the age of 14, she began earning her own living, doing housework at $1.25 per week. At the age of 16, she had one of the greatest thrills as a girl when she visited the state house at Springfield, Ill., and saw Lincoln’s tomb.
         From Cass county, she moved with the family to McLean county where she lived until going to Ford county. It was there that she met her future husband, Amos Scott, and was married to him at Matamola, Ill., on Jan. 8, 1880. Shortly afterward, they decided to go to Kansas, but got as far as Sedalia, Mo., with their team and buggy, and decided to stay there. After about a year, they returned to McLean county, Ill., by covered wagon, and remained there until 1883 when they decided to come west to Minnesota.
         They settled in the southwestern part of the county near the “old iron post” which is the dividing marker between Iowa, South Dakota and Minnesota, and they lived there about eight years.
         During that period, Mrs. Scott experienced the famous blizzard of 1888. Her husband had gone to a neighbor’s farm, and she was left alone with a man who had been making his home with them. The day dawned mild and clear, and the temperature was warm until the storm struck about 4 p.m. Mrs. Scott had no fuel or water in the house when the storm struck, but the man who was with her obtained some and managed to get to the barn and get the livestock indoors and safe.
         Meanwhile, her husband had started home and found his way to the house after he had come to a clothesline which crossed the lane that led into the farm yard. He followed the wire which led directly to the house, then opened the door and fell virtually exhausted on the floor.
(Story continues next week.)

The following article is part of the Diamond Club Member group that began in the January 7, 1943, issue of the Rock County Star Herald. Members of this group consist of persons of age 75 and older.
The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on May 6, 1943.
This is continued from last week’s issue of Mrs. Charles Brauer’s story.
After living there six years, the Brauers moved to Missouri, in a community south of St. Louis, where a man owned considerable land and employed men to help him, furnishing them with homes to live in. Mr. Brauer worked in the woods, splitting rails, receiving $2 a day. Mrs. Brauer earned a little pin money by gathering dewberries and selling garden products to the families who worked in the mines.
Mr. Brauer became ill with malaria there, so they moved to Cedar county, Ia. There Mr. Brauer was employed as a railroad section worker for five years. However, he preferred working on the farm so they moved to Wilton, in Muscatine, Ia., where they obtained an 80 acre tract. They raised quite a few dairy cows, sold their milk, and were able to save some money.
From there, they moved to Rock county, and settled in Springwater township where they bought a farm and lived for 22 years. During those years, Mrs. Brauer states, she worked hard, taking the place of an extra man many times during the busy season. She helped with the chores, and even shocked grain.
About 25 years ago, they retired and moved to town. Mr. Brauer died about three years ago.
Mr. and Mrs. Brauer had three children, only one of whom is now living, Mrs. Meta Weckner of Springwater township. Her other direct descendents include five grandchildren and six great grandchildren.
Mrs. Brauer is a member of St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran church in Luverne and has always been active in the work of the Ladies Aid, although she has never held an office.
Her favorite pastimes include piecing quilts, gardening (in summer) and caring for house plants. She has numerous plants of all varieties, and she enjoys working with them and watching them grow.
She attributes her long life to living on common food, and keeping regular hours.
She is the only one of her family now living, she states, and she was the oldest of all of them. She had one brother and three sisters, and one half-brother and two half-sisters.
        
         Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.

The following article is part of the Diamond Club Member group that began in the January 7, 1943, issue of the Rock County Star Herald. Members of this group consist of persons of age 75 and older.
The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on May 6, 1943.
Of all the trips she has ever made, the one perhaps remembered the best of all by Mrs. Charles Brauer, Luverne, was the voyage from Germany to the United States. The trip is memorable for two reasons: one because she observed her 21st birthday on the ocean, and the other, because of the extremes in weather conditions encountered while on the voyage.
Mrs. Brauer, whose maiden name was Hilda Marie Krieger, was born in West Prussia, Germany, Feb. 27, 1868. Her mother died when she was eight, and her father remarried. He was induced by his cousin to come to the United States, so he decided he would make a trip over to see if he liked it well enough to go there to live with his family. After being here a year, he sent the family money and told them to come.
“The first few days out of port were as beautiful as I have ever seen,” Mrs. Brauer recalled. ‘I’ll never forget how the band would go on deck and play every morning at sunrise. When we had been at sea several days, there arose a great storm, and none of us were permitted to leave our rooms. I’ll never forget the people on board. Some were crying, others were playing and still others were singing. The storm did considerable damage to the ship, but it didn’t go down, and we finally reached America.”
The trip, made on the “Karlsruhe,” required 18 days.
Recalling the portion of her life when she lived in Germany, Mrs. Brauer stated that until her father remarried, she, being the oldest of the girls, helped her grandmother keep house when she was not attending school. School in those days was for children eight to 14. After the age of 14, everybody went to work.
Her father was a guard in the government forest preserve. The poorer people had been guilty of stealing wood from the forests, and for that reason, the government employed guards to prevent further loss from that community.
When she came to the United States, she and the family went directly to Wayne county, Neb. where her father lived. She immediately obtained work in a farm home and received $1.25 per week. Her duties included doing the cooking, baking, washing and cleaning indoors, and helping with the milking, gardening and chicken raising out of the doors. After a while, she felt that she was earning more than she was getting, so she asked for a raise. After that time, she received $2 a week.
She worked for one year, then was married to Charles Brauer at Wayne, Neb. April 30, 1891. They farmed in Nebraska for six years, and those six years were as trying as any she ever spent on a farm. If their crops weren’t dried out they were hailed out. Grasshoppers were numerous and money was scare. She recalls how her husband broke the prairie land, and how they gathered big roots which had been uncovered and saved them for fuel.
One year, they had some corn, so they took a load to town to sell it to buy coal. The amount of coal they received for the load of corn was so small that they decided they could get more heat for their money by burning the corn instead, Mrs. Brauer said.
(Part 2 next week)

The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on June 10, 1971.
Who in the World Were Gimm and Byrne?
Not everyone remembers Gimm and Byrne’s any more.
There are still some, however, who do, and this writer is one of them. Now that Ohlen’s Café, which years ago was Gimm and Byrne’s, is closed, it is unlikely there will ever be a restaurant there again. So we’re going to reminisce a little in the event future historians should ever go through these pages searching for material on what happened “way back when.”
There are those who ask, even now, who in the world were Gimm and Byrne?
Well, as I remember them, Gimm was a jolly, well-built German, whose first name was Fred, but who often was called “Feedy.” Byrne was an Irishman, slight build, serious in demeanor.
Gimm was the talker and had a hearty laugh. Byrne was quiet.
Gimm was tri-lingual. He was best at German and English, but he could also speak and understand Norwegian.
It wasn’t until the prohibition era that I was old enough to come to town with Dad, and invariably, one visit we made in Luverne every time we came was Gimm and Bryne’s. (Before prohibition, it was the corner saloon). Gimm always hailed Dad with a greeting in Norwegian as he stood behind the massive bar. The best drink he could then serve was a bottle of Country Club near-beer which he called “Peeah.” “Peeah” was beer with a German accent.
I had my first drink of root beer in Gimm and Bryne’s. In a mug. It was at Gimm and Byrne’s that I had my first hamburger in a restaurant. Up to that time, I thought a hamburger could only be bought at a food stand at the county fair, and nowhere else.
What a treat a Gimm and Byrne hamburger was for a farm boy who had to be content with sandwiches made of minced ham, grape jam, and cold roast pork every noon while attending country school.
Gimm and Byrne’s also conjures up another boyhood memory. It was the only place I knew of to go when I had to go. A place like that you don’t forget too soon.
The first black man I ever saw was in Gimm and Byrne’s. When he wasn’t cooking in the kitchen, he was out in front cleaning and scrubbing.
A row of chairs lined the side of the building opposite the bar. Here was the town’s meeting place for men. A cuspidor (c’mon, man, they were spitoons, and you know it) stood beside each chair. The town characters of those days could usually be found sitting there.
It was at Gimm and Byrne’s that I came to know Dada Baer and Fred Start. The Martins and the Coys may have been feudin’ mountain boys, but their feud was a lover’s quarrel compared to the feud those two men had developed over the years. One thing, though, Dana and Fred never pulled guns or fought with their fists. Usually, when one came in, the other went out by another door, mumbling words unprintable in a family newspaper. They just weren’t for being in the same building together.
One thing I never did see in Gimm and Byrne’s, however, was a woman. Unless, in later years, it might have been a waitress. A “nice” woman wouldn’t go in the place; in fact, she wouldn’t even walk down that side of the street. I always wondered why!
Gimm and Byrne’s has been gone now for many years. Changes have been made, most of them for the better, I am sure. But as years go by, places like this take on a historical significance, not because they present an era that is gone, never to return.
Fred Gimm and John Byrne never achieved fame of greatness during their lifetimes. But ask anyone who knew them, and he’ll tell you they helped make Luverne history. That’s why, perhaps, you still occasionally hear an old timer refer to the “corner” as Gimm and Byrne’s.
Anyone for erecting a plaque, designating it as a historic site?
The Rock County Historical Society is having our annual meeting on October 3 at noon at the Big Top Events Center. We invite you to join us, $15 a person in advance available at the History Center; $25 at the door. Our program is on old restaurants. Do you remember this one?
         Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.

(Continued feature with Mathilda Schneekloth, Diamond Club member)
The following article is part of the Diamond Club Member group that began in the January 7, 1943, issue of the Rock County Star Herald. Members of this group consist of persons of age 75 and older.
This article appeared in the April 29, 1943, edition of The Rock County Star Herald.
 
 
 
By Betty Mann
Mrs. Schneekloth says that she never had a great deal of time or opportunity for entertainment and recreation as a young girl. Living 4 1/2 miles from the nearest town, Durant, going to town except for something absolutely necessary was rare indeed. Most of the “good times” were provided by parties held at the various farm homes. “We girls didn’t have to worry so much in those days that our dresses weren’t as up to date as those worn by our friends. Most of us had two “best” dresses a year, one for summer and one for winter.”
         When Mrs. Schneekloth was a young girl, her parents moved from Scott county to Cedar county, and it was Tipton in that county, where she and her husband were married on March 4, 1891. From Tipton they moved to West Liberty where they lived several years before moving to Rock county.
         It was at West Library that Mrs. Schneekloth had one of the worst scares of her life. She and the children were home alone, because the day dawned stormy and the children had not gone to school. Later, the sky became blacker and blacker, and finally a high wind arose. Although the fury of the storm missed their farm, it did hit the school. There, the teacher tried desperately to hold the door of the building shut, but was unable to do so. She drove a horse and buggy to school, and at the storm’s height, the buggy was picked up, blown away and wrecked. The storm frightened the horse, and it broke loose and ran away. A neighbor’s beautiful fruit orchard was ruined, and on one place, a house was moved off the foundation. Fortunately, however, no one was hurt, but there were plenty of people frightened, Mrs. Schneekloth states.
         Mr. and Mrs. Schneekloth became the parents of six children, all of whom are living. They include Mrs. Marcus Nath, Luverne; Theodore Schneekloth of near Adrian; Mrs. Ole Olson, Beaver Creek; Mrs. Walter Hand, Worthington; Mrs. Elmer Hemme, Hardwick; and William Schneekloth, Jr., Mason City, Ia. They also have 24 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
         Gardening and raising plants is one of Mrs. Schneekloth’s favorite hobbies. She’s been planting “victory garden” for years, and this year, has her garden all planted. She has good luck raising geraniums and other plants indoors, but she says she likes outdoor gardening better.
         Both she and Mr. Schneekloth are in good health. They enjoyed their 52nd wedding anniversary last month.
         At the present time Mrs. Schneekloth has only one sister, Mrs. Ida Merchant of Spencer, Ia.
 
         Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.

The following article is part of the Diamond Club Member group that began in the January 7, 1943, issue of the Rock County Star Herald. Members of this group consist of persons of age 75 and older.
This article appeared in the April 29, 1943, edition of The Rock County Star Herald.
          A resident of Rock county since 1909, and a resident of Luverne since she and her husband retired from farming a number of years ago, Mrs. William Schneekloth, Luverne, says she likes this community better than any community in which she has lived.
         She was born in Scott county, Ia. Oct. 12, 1886, the daughter of Henry and Sophie Miller. The fifth of a family of eight, she was given the name Mathilda. She spent all of her girlhood living at home, and because she had four brothers and a sister older than herself, she states she was relieved of much of the hard work that most youngsters of that era had to do. Even then, however, she was called on to do work out of doors as well as indoors. When she became old enough to do the heavier tasks about the farm, she and her sister were required to do the milking. Between them, they milked as high as 16 head at one time, taking it as a matter of course, much the same as the modern girl makes her regular trip to the beauty shop.
         The Miller family lived about two miles away from school, and Mrs. Schneekloth states that most of the time, she and her brothers and sisters walked every morning and evening. “In those days, it didn’t seem to be so particular if one went to school or not,” Mrs. Schneekloth states. “When we weren’t busy and needed at home to help with the work, we’d go to school, but work always came first. No one ever permitted his education to interfere with his homework.”
         Home economics during the time Mrs. Schneekloth was a girl was taught either in the farm home kitchen or in the dining room or living room where the sewing table was kept. Keeping a family of eight children in clothes, to say nothing of herself and her husband was no small task for her mother, and Mrs. Schneekloth helped her with much of the work as soon as she was old enough to do so. “We not only made clothes for the girls and for the smaller children, she states, but for the men folks too. Buying everything ready made was unheard of at that time,” Mrs. Schneekloth states.
         Even after ready made dresses came into their own, she continued to make her own clothing. “When we celebrated our silver wedding anniversary 27 years ago, I still hadn’t had a store dress,” she declares.
         Cooking and baking too were learned not for the sake of convenience, but because of necessity. A large family, especially where grownups and young folks alike spend a good deal of the time in the out of doors, requires good, substantial food and plenty of it. Being one of the older girls, she learned at an early age to bake and prepare meals.
         When Mrs. Schneekloth was about 13, she had to quit school and come home to “learn how to make good bread for the rest of the family.” Her mother was seriously ill, and being the oldest girl left at home, the burden of the housework fell on her shoulders. Mrs. Schneekloth’s mother died some time later, and from that time until she was married, she was family cook, baker and housekeeper.
         The hardest work she has ever done, she relates, is helping the men during the haying season. Often times she helped to level the hay and push it back into the corners of the hay mow after it had been hauled in. On a hot day, pitching hay inside where there was little ventilation proved to be as difficult a job as any she has ever tackled, she states.
(More of Mres. Schneekloth's story in next week's Star Herald.)

The following article is part of the Diamond Club Member group that began in the January 7, 1943, issue of the Rock County Star Herald. Members of this group consist of persons of age 75 and older.
This article is continued from last week about David E. Payne, one of Luverne’s pioneer presidents. The article appeared in the April 15, 1943, edition of The Rock County Star Herald.
While in North Dakota, he (David Payne) helped break the prairie with oxen. He would leave them on the field and would haul water to them with a team. Many a time, he said, he would arrive there in the morning to see antelope drinking out of the watering tank.
In 1890, he landed in Adrian. He had friends from Wisconsin living in that community, so he decided he’d pay them a visit. He liked the country and obtained work, so he stayed. About 1903, he began farming for himself in Magnolia township on section 11. Later he farmed in sections 12, one and two, in Magnolia township and moved to the north half of section 36 in Vienna township, where he lived for five years. He farmed also in Springwater township one year on what was known as the Crawford place, but at that time, there were no roads, and being so far from town, he moved back to the Luverne community.
He sold out shortly after the last war, and he put his profits in a “good safe place like a bank.” That, he states, was one of the most foolish things he ever did in his life, because he lost it well soon after.
He continued to farm around Luverne until five years ago when he was going to help a neighbor cut some wood. He took his rifle with him, and it accidentally discharged, the shot going through his right hand. Since then, he has been unable to use his hand but little.
He moved to Luverne, and built himself a small home on a lot on W. Lincoln street and still lives there. He raises a garden but otherwise does not do a great deal of work “because of doctor’s orders.”
“I claim work never hurt me, but the doctor says it maybe hasn’t before but it might now, so I suppose I’d better listen to him,” Payne says.
Mr. Payne was never married, and says it’s a good thing that he never was. “I’m lucky I didn’t have a big wife and small family,” he states.
After working at many different jobs for 67 years, Mr. Payne should be a pretty fair authority on what hard work is. He believes that the hardest work he ever did was threshing from stacks in the days of dawn-til-dusk threshing with big rigs. On a number of occasions, he together with three other men pitched 16 stacks averaging seven loads of bundles each into a threshing machine in one day. That is an average of 28 loads each and any thresher will agree that pitching 28 loads of bundles is no snap.
Mr. Payne follows with considerable interest the war news of the day. He has a personal interest in it in that a nephew, his namesake, went down with the “Reuben James” at the time it was sunk. Although he never served in the United States army, it wasn’t because he didn’t want to, he states. He tried to enlist at the time of the Spanish-American war, “but they told me I didn’t weigh enough for my height.”
Of a family of eight children, Mr. Payne is one of three still living. He has one brother, John, who lives in Vancouver, Wash., and a sister, Mrs. Ellen Baird, who lives at Neenah-Menasha, Wis.
He attributes his long life to hard work and to regular habits. “I have always gone to bed on time and have gotten up on time,” he declares, “and I always eat regularly.”
 
         Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.