These stories can also be heard on Sunday mornings around 10 am on WILD 102’s “Look Back in Time” program. Each week’s radio story will be posted here on our website.
Weekly radio stories are researched, compiled, and read by Sheila Winstead, RCHS Board Member.
March 23, 2025
One of the many writers for the Roseau County Centennial Book, printed in 1994 for the 1995 Centennial
celebration of Roseau County, was Bill Buran. He contributed the story I’ll read today, which he called
Nostalgic Memories.
The railroad came into Roseau in 1908 and to the people of Roseau it was a very important event. But 17
years later to two little eleven-year-old boys it was the thrilling part of their lives. The two boys, Sydney
Bonaime and Billy Buran made it a point to meet every train during the summer whenever possible.
The train had an engine, a mail car, a baggage section and a passenger car. The baggage car hauled cream
cans and express. Sydney and I were good friends of the man in the baggage car, and we were permitted
to ride back whenever we wanted to and of course we did all the unloading of the express.
To this day I can feel the thrill of the first movement of the train as it glided past the water tower and
gradually picked up speed as it neared the railroad bridge. I can hear the rumble of the train as it crossed
over the railroad bridge and rounded a slight curve on our way to Salol.
The sliding door on the baggage car was always open in the summer so we could watch the scenery as it
whizzed by at 40 miles per hour.
After a brief stop in Salol it was on to Warroad where a “Y” in the track made it possible for the train to
turn around and head back west. The Warroad depot was almost downtown and only a short way from
the larger Canadian National Depot. After a stop in Warroad to unload and reload we were on our way
back to Roseau.
When we arrived back in Roseau we had the feeling of just having crossed the Atlantic on the Super Jet
Liner.
As we grew older the train crew decided that we were capable of doing a little lumberjack work. A couple
of weeks before Christmas we took our axes along on the Warroad trip. The train stopped in the
evergreen forest a couple of miles west of Warroad and two young boys jumped out of the baggage car
with their axes and headed for the well-shaped trees. While the train went to Warroad we chopped
down 4 or 5 nice trees and dragged them to the track. The train then stopped on the way back and we
loaded the trees and the happy crew had their Christmas trees when they arrived back in Crookston. It
was permissible in those days to go into the woods and cut the trees without asking anyone.
At one time in the late 1920s the schedule of the Crookston-Warroad train was changed so it left
Warroad at 6:30 AM and arrived in Crookston about 11 AM and returned at about 5:30 or 6 PM. This
wonderful trip was granted to us one day by Frank Bonaime (Sydney’s father) who was depot agent in
Roseau. We got to ride the train nearly all day and spent a couple of hours in the huge city of Crookston.
You would seldom see two happier boys after that trip.
As we grew older the train fascination slowly faded as we pursued other interests such as camping and
raft building. But the train trips were our favorite occupation as eager young boys.
Thank you to 
for letting us share our county’s history with your listeners by donating air time, studio time, and production staff every week.