Bits By Betty

1942: Matthiesens recall hard work in pioneer days
By Betty Mann, Rock County Historian
October 07, 2026
The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on Oct. 1, 1942. The story of Matthiesens continues from last week. Worked Long Days With Mr. and Mrs. Matthiesen when they moved here were their five small children, the oldest of whom was five and the youngest, six months. Sometimes the children wouldn’t see their father for several days, because he would leave before they arose to go…
1942: Matthiesens share move from Germany, first years in Rock County
By Betty Mann, Rock County Historian
September 30, 2026
The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on Oct. 1, 1942. Miles of treeless prairie extended in all directions from Luverne when they settled in Rock county in 1889, recall Mr. and Mrs. J.F. Matthiesen, Sr., well known Luverne residents, this week’s Diamond Club members. Luverne was only a straggly little village, and where their home now is at 319 N. Oakley was then a part of somebody’…
1942: Minnie Ford remembers making maple sugar, syrup
September 23, 2026
The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on Sept. 24, 1942. Days when maple sugar was a more common household item than white sugar are remembered by Mrs. Minnie Ford, now a resident of Hardwick, but who lived in Luverne from 1916 until about three years ago. Mrs. Ford spent most of her life in Putnam county, Illinois, where the hard maple trees were abundant, and where the making of…
1942: Soutar recounts early days of farming
By Betty Mann, Rock County Historian
September 16, 2026
The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on Sept. 10, 1942. The story of William Soutar continues from last week. Other public offices he held include serving as chairman of the Magnolia township board for eight years, school board member a number of years and also as member of the Rock County Fair board. Mr. Soutar was married in 1888 to Susan Bowen in Marshall. She died several…
1942: Soutar shares experience coming to Rock County from Ireland in 1800s
By Betty Mann, Rock County Historian
September 09, 2026
The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on Sept. 10, 1942. “It’s just a person and you can’t change it any more than you can make a wild goose keep from going north in summer and coming in winter,” declared William Soutar, when he was asked how he happened to leave Scotland and come to the United States. “When a person has it in his system that he wants to try something different, it…
1942: Dodds recall building a life in Rock County
By Betty Mann, Rock County Historian
September 02, 2026
The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on Aug. 27, 1942. The story of the Dodds is continued from last week. Although he had maybe worked 12 hours when he ate his noon meal, his working day was still not completed. It was the custom in those days for the stores to stay open not only on Saturday nights but every night of the week except Sunday. So on many days, he worked 18 and 19…
1942: Dodds move from Indiana to Rock County
By Betty Mann, Rock County Historian
August 26, 2026
The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on Aug. 27, 1942. Two well known Luverne residents, Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin S. Dodds, are this week’s members of the Diamond Club. Although they were married before they decided to move to Rock county, Mrs. Dodds did not arrive until a year after her husband did because they were unable to find a place to live. Both Mr. and Mrs. Dodds were…
1942: Reka Zenker recalls home destroyed by tornado
By Betty Mann, Rock County Historian
August 19, 2026
The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on Aug. 20, 1942. People may find it difficult to accustom themselves to using less sugar and coffee in their daily lives, but even with stricter rationing than is now in effect, they will have more than the residents of this area had when Mrs. Reka Zenker, Steen, came here from Clayton county, Iowa. Coffee was a rare commodity this far west, and…
1942: M.W. Chunn recalls opening law office in Luverne
By Betty Mann, Rock County Historian
August 12, 2026
The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on July 30, 1942. The story of M.W. Chunn is continued from last week. After leaving university he went to Wisconsin to spend the summer. It was while he was in Wisconsin that the president of an eastern college wrote him to the effect they were planning to establish a department of Hebrew in the college and suggesting that he become the head of…
1942: M.W. Chunn recalls religious study
By Betty Mann, Rock County Historian
August 05, 2026
The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on July 30, 1942. Student, teacher, preacher, lawyer and “gentleman farmer” is M.W. Chunn of this city, who is this week’s member of the Diamond Club. Mr. Chunn was born about 80 years ago in St. Mary’s county, Maryland. St. Mary’s is the county in which the first permanent settlement was made in Maryland in 1634. As far back as he can trace…
1942: William Lemke recalls economics of farming
By Betty Mann, Rock County Historian
July 29, 2026
The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on June 25, 1942. The story of William Lemke continues from last week. He told him about Taylor Kitterman at Ashcreek who needed a man to help plant trees. He said Ashcreek was eight miles south, so Lemka started out. When he saw nothing that looked like a town, he continued until he arrived in Rock Rapids. The fact that he had walked over twice…
1942: William Lemka recalls journey to Rock County
By Betty Mann, Rock County Historian
July 22, 2026
The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on June 25, 1942. Having lived in Rock county since Luverne was just a “burg” and Ashcreek was so small that he walked right through it without knowing he had, William Lemka, of this city, can tell you a lot of good stories about Rock county’s prairie days. Lemka came to Rock county at the age of 21 after having circled his way here by way of…
Diamond Club features Martin Connell 1942
By Betty Mann
July 15, 2026
The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on June 18, 1942. There’s a lot of difference between Luverne’s streets now as compared to when I was city street commissioner,” recalls Martin Connell, Luverne, this week’s Diamond Club member. Mr. Connell served as commissioner of streets here for 22 years, after he moved to Luverne from the farm. “In those days,” Connell states, “there was no…
1942: Catherine Gilfoy recalls bank robberies, life in Rock County
By Betty Mann, Rock County Historian
July 08, 2026
The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on June 11, 1942. The story of Mrs. Catherine Gilfoy continues from last week. Mrs. Gilfoy stayed at home with the children and took care of the stock, living in constant dread of blizzards, and prairie fires which seemed to be so frequent during that period. Hay and flax straw, used as fuel, also added to the fire hazard. Mrs. Gilfoy recalls…
1942: Catherine Gilfoy recalls rationing during long winters
July 01, 2026
The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on June 11, 1942. They could ration every article of food on the market today, and the public would have more to eat than did pioneer families on many occasions, according to Mrs. Catherine Gilfoy, former Luverne resident, who now resides in Lismore. Mrs. Gilfoy remembers when the main course of their meal was “stone soup,” made by boiling water…
1942: Civil War widow recalls life in Rock County
By Betty Mann, Rock County Historian
June 24, 2026
The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on June 4, 1942. I saw my brother leave for the Civil War; my nephew was in the Spanish- American war, then came the World War, worse than ever,” declared Mrs. Lucy Howard Hunter, of this city, one of the last if not the only living Civil War widow living in Rock County. Mrs. Hunter was a girl of 15 when the Civil War broke out. Her oldest…

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Community Bits By Betty 7 October 2026

1942: Matthiesens recall hard work in pioneer days

The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on Oct. 1, 1942. The story of Matthiesens continues from last week.

Community Bits By Betty 30 September 2026

1942: Matthiesens share move from Germany, first years in Rock County

The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on Oct. 1, 1942.

Community Bits By Betty 23 September 2026

1942: Minnie Ford remembers making maple sugar, syrup

The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on Sept. 24, 1942.

Days when maple sugar was a more common household item than white sugar are remembered by Mrs. Minnie Ford, now a resident of Hardwick, but who lived in Luverne from 1916 until about three years ago.

Community Bits By Betty 16 September 2026

1942: Soutar recounts early days of farming

The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on Sept. 10, 1942. The story of William Soutar continues from last week.

Community Bits By Betty 9 September 2026

1942: Soutar shares experience coming to Rock County from Ireland in 1800s

The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on Sept. 10, 1942.

Community Bits By Betty 2 September 2026

1942: Dodds recall building a life in Rock County

The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on Aug. 27, 1942. The story of the Dodds is continued from last week.

Community Bits By Betty 26 August 2026

1942: Dodds move from Indiana to Rock County

The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on Aug. 27, 1942.