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.
June 8, 2025
Last week I read an interview of Emmett and Alma Dahlquist of Roseau as they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 1972. Fifteen years before, both of them had been written about for different reasons in 1957 newspaper articles.
For 40 years Mrs. Emmett Dahlquist has had her finger on the pulse of community life in Roseau. Back in 1917 as a young girl she went to work for the Roseau Telephone Company, owned then by Olaf Holdahl, and last week, after an outstanding era of communications service in all types of situations … at all hours and always with complete reliability, she retired.
Mrs. Dahlquist has been an enthusiastic telephone figure here since the days she had to put coal in the old office stove in the office building, then located where Roseau Electric Service is now [in 1957], up to the time she retired. “I can truly say there has never been a day where I hated to go to work. I’ve always loved the work and just hate to retire,” she confided.
Back in the days of the old crank operated phones, she used to work. Work is the word for there were no regular hours, no overtime, no comfortable quarters, no really adequate salaries. “I used to be happy when I could get done with work and then, late at night, walk home to the farm where I could eat regular big meals … to tide me over for the next week.” She remembers the late night walks to the farm and the cold days when they used to dress real warm in the office to offset the cold that overcame the old coal stove.
She stayed with the phone company when it was sold to the old Tri-State company back in 1918 and then again when Northwest Bell took over in 1938. She remembers that in 1929 there were 201 phones in the area of Roseau … and a total of 402 which could be called all over the county.
It was nothing in those days to clean the old carbons, carry armloads of batteries out to change and ring by hand every call that came in. “Now things have changed a lot. We no longer ring by hand … don’t have to change batteries or clean carbons.” She smiled. She might have added that the girls no longer have to carry coal to heat the new building built in 1938.
There were three girls working when she started, Mrs. Alma Alley and Anne Sunset and herself. Now the hours are regular, the pay commensurate with the hours and the work. The old two-position switch board has gone the way of the work hours and the board is always busy. “Not like it was when I started,” she confided.
She used to know all the phone numbers in town, “something that is impossible now … there are so many and they change so often … too many people moving in and moving out.”
Mrs. Dahlquist has been on hand for many emergencies here and even played a leading role in the apprehension of some jewel thieves! Years ago, a man and woman robbed a jewelry store in Bemidji and committed some thefts in Iron Range communities. A description of their car was broadcast and one day, as she plugged in some parties, she saw the car go down the street. She excused herself to the parties, ran to the door for a better look at the car, yanked out the plugs and began making calls
for the law. As a result of her efforts the thieves were captured at Greenbush. She still has the pearl necklace and gifts awarded her by the Bemidji firm for capture of the culprits.
The flu epidemic of 1918 gave her some anxious moments as one by one the operators fell ill. She carried on day and night alone until she too, fell ill. Then the company called on Olga Knutseth, Thief River Falls, also now retired, and when she fell ill, the linemen took over. At that time they were Oliver Olafson, now a Minneapolis dentist, and Francis Olsen, now an insurance man in the same city. They saw the period through until she could return to duty.
She has placed all kinds of emergency calls … calls overseas to servicemen and calls of mercy and urgency. She especially remembers the many calls she handled for Dr. J. L. Delmore in the days her husband used to drive for him in his “all-hours-day-and-night” activities throughout the county. He was always co-operative in leaving a number where he could be called as the doctors here still do,” she confided.
Fire calls, ambulance calls, sickness, drownings, searches all called for her particular services and promptness. Many times her sleuthing got calls through that might have never been completed.
She has trained many others to operate and the interest of good service has always been uppermost in her mind. Now she will have more time to devote to her flowers and her beautiful yard.
Her headset is now on the shelf. A symbol of devoted service that has been a solid contribution to the community in which she lives. Congratulations and thank you, Mrs. Dahlquist, for 40 stellar years!
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.