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 22, 2026
In a Roseau Times-Region of 1957, Editor Bill Adams, wrote about a letter the Times-Region
had received from a former teacher, Ida Combs Dieter. Here’s his column:
We received a delightful letter from a lady who describes herself as “an elderly lady well past 80
years of age, who in her younger days, was a resident of Roseau county, taught school in many
of the schools there and was quite well known throughout the county.” She taught the first
school at Badger in an unfinished home of Mr. Reed and then later taught at Greenbush, then in
a school near Fox “down off the ridge” and then at Pinecreek and lastly north of Roseau about
five miles. Her name is Mrs. Ida Combs Dieter and I’m sure many old-timers will remember her.
“These terms of school were taught in the years between 1892 and 1898,” Mrs. Dieter writes so
one can easily see she was truly a real pioneer of the county. “I was married at Ross by a
justice of the peace from Pinecreek. No doubt many I knew at that time have passed away but
probably many who were my pupils at that time will remember me.” And we would be delighted
if every one of her former pupils who reads this would let the Times-Region know of their
whereabouts so we can forward the names to Mrs. Dieter to let her know she is not forgotten by
her home folks.
She enclosed a letter written years ago to her son which she thought might portray a bit of
history and be of interest to us here in Roseau county. The letter, filled with the things of the
past, is partly as follows:
“In the spring of 1897 your dad’s sister, Rose, was quite ill in Grafton, North Dakota. Her
husband, George Vernon was making fair wages cooking in a restaurant there. We were at that
time living in Greenbush and George wrote to us saying he wished some of us would come out
and bring Rose home so that he could continue at his job.”
“Money was something almost unknown in Roseau county but it was decided that your dad, with
his father’s light wagon, and our two nice little mares, Skippy and Fly, should make the effort.
Some means had to be provided to procure food for man and beasts. … where to raise the
necessary cash was a problem. Going out he could get credit at the numerous stopping places
along the way as he had been over the road many times and knew most of the proprietors.”
“Our part of the country was covered with spruce and tamarack, and it was rumored that the
people of Grand Forks would gladly purchase young spruce trees if available and guaranteed to
grow, which was somewhat of a gamble to say the least. Your dad and I went out on the ridge
and filled your grandfather’s light wagon with young spruce trees, ranging in size from about two
feet high. On reaching home, John asked me to get a lot of string. Wonderingly I did as
requested, and then he proceeded to tie a small piece of string to each tree. Wondering now
more than ever, I watched him, fascinated with such strange behavior. Finally I, too, joining in
the tying.”
“It was quite some time before I grasped the intent of his actions. Then he said, ‘You see
Debbie’ which was his pet name for me, ‘It is a fact that if these trees are planted with the North
side toward the North they will be sure to grow.’
“’But’ I remonstrated, ‘Now after the trees are already in the wagon, how can we tell which side
of the tree was toward the north?’ Silence greeted my remark. Later I learned that when a
prospective customer inquired, ‘Why the little string?’ the explanation quickly effected a sale!”
“Anyhow, after a very successful trip he returned from Grand Forks with your aunt Rose having
no trouble whatsoever and disposed of his trees at about fifty to seventy-five cents each.
Strange to relate, nearly all of the trees did grow whether because of, or in spite of, the strings, I
cannot say.”
“Years later your Uncle George spent some time in Grand Forks and hunted up some of the
trees that he and your dad had planted and found most of them tall, stately spruce trees. On
one lot where several trees had been planted in kind of a semi-circle, one had died. The owner
at that time said he would gladly give $100 for the missing tree!”
“And so my son, here is what this leads up to. If you are ever very badly in need of $100 this is
what to do. Go to Greenbush, procure a small spruce tree and after preparing it as your dad did,
proceed with it to the owner of a certain semi-circle of trees in Grand Forks and collect your
cash. Tell him you are the son of the original planter.”
We imagine it is quite a number of years since Dieter has been in Roseau county so she would
not know that where she once picked spruce trees from virgin land, there are now wide and
open farmlands. The spruce have given way to the poplar tree and the barley, flax and legume
fields. Bee hives sit where once the foot of man never trod. Fine farm homes stand where
scattered log cabins once crowded the forest edge.
Her little schools have given way to modern schools in Badger, Roseau and Greenbush. Her
little children grown up to man and womanhood, .. many we suspect with grandchildren who
have only the tales handed down from the past. Her county has proved the faith she had in it
and ventured through the hardships she shared with its other pioneers.
We are sure she would be delighted if her former pupils wrote to her, Mrs. Ida Combs Dieter, W
208 Shannon Ave, Spokane 17, Washington. We are sure too, they greatly appreciate the letter
and the bit of memory it brought.
Next week I’ll read a follow-up to this article about Mrs. Dieter’s letter.
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.