bits by betty
By Betty Mann, Rock County HistorianOctober 28, 2026The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on Oct. 29, 1942. All the children attended school in one building when Mrs. Eva L. Butler, Luverne, this week’s Diamond Club member, attended school here. Mrs. Butler, who before her marriage was Eva Cornish, spent one year attending school in Luverne. She came from her home in Fayette county, Ia., to stay with an uncle, the late J.F.…
By Betty Mann, Rock County HistorianOctober 21, 2026The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on Oct. 22, 1942. When Sever Helgerson, Steen, was a boy, it was the custom for parents to teach their children to work almost as soon as they were able to walk. One example was Mr. Helgeson himself. He began herding cattle when only four years old. He kept it up every summer until sunset. During the entire season, he seldom wore shoes…
By Betty Mann, Rock County HistorianOctober 14, 2026The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on Oct. 15, 1942. “I was born a democrat, and have voted the democratic ticket all my life,” declared Charles Storts, this week’s Diamond Club member. ‘As a matter of fact, my father was one of the old ‘Kentucky democrats’ to its little wonder that I became one myself.’” Mr. Storts was born near Clinton, Ill., Jan. 7, 1858, and lived in…
By Betty Mann, Rock County HistorianOctober 07, 2026The 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…
By Betty Mann, Rock County HistorianSeptember 30, 2026The 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’…
September 23, 2026The 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…
By Betty Mann, Rock County HistorianSeptember 16, 2026The 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…- By Betty Mann, Rock County HistorianSeptember 09, 2026The 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…
By Betty Mann, Rock County HistorianSeptember 02, 2026The 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…
By Betty Mann, Rock County HistorianAugust 26, 2026The 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…
By Betty Mann, Rock County HistorianAugust 19, 2026The 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…
By Betty Mann, Rock County HistorianAugust 12, 2026The 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…
By Betty Mann, Rock County HistorianAugust 05, 2026The 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…- By Betty Mann, Rock County HistorianJuly 29, 2026The 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…
By Betty Mann, Rock County HistorianJuly 22, 2026The 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…
By Betty MannJuly 15, 2026The 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…
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