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.
May 12, 2024
In the March 20, 1941 issue of the Roseau Times-Region, a terrific wind and snowstorm struck
the previous Saturday evening without warning. At the time the article came out, 72 people were
dead as a result and their names were listed in the paper, thirty-eight in North Dakota, twenty-
eight in Minnesota and six in Canada. More persons were still missing and it wasn’t unlikely that
the grim toll would rise.
“The terror of the storm was brought close to folks in this community by two happenings, one
bringing death and the other which could have had a tragic ending.
Sidney Bonaime, son of Mr. and Mrs. S. F. Bonaime of Sauk Center now but former residents of
this community, lost his life on the open country near Dugdale as he was seeking to summon
help to save his family from freezing to death in a stalled car near Marcoux corner. And the other
was the Roseau high school basketball team which was marooned on Trunk Highway No. 75,
four miles south of Stephen.
The storm was terrible here but over in the Stephen and Grand Forks area it could be described
only by describing it in the superlative, “most”. Roseau school band had been taken over in the
late afternoon by Roseau people in their automobiles, so there must have been at least a
hundred persons from here over there that evening.
The storm forced a number of folks from the country who were in towns shopping to remain
overnight. The hotels were filled and the Municipal Auditorium was thrown open to the marooned
folks. They spent the night there. The following morning the restaurants saw to it that the folks
were well fed. The county snow plows were able to start out Sunday forenoon to open the roads
and to permit folks to get home.”
Back in the early days of Roseau county, Stephen was a very important place. It was the
jumping-off point for travel and freighting to Roseau. It was the Stephen coach which held this
area in contact with the outside world. Then things changed and most folks forgot about
Stephen. But last Saturday night and Sunday, Stephen re-established itself in the hearts of
Roseau folks.
Roseau was there in force for the basketball finals, having also brought the high school band. All
drove down during the late afternoon, arriving at various times between 7 and 8 o’clock. Shortly
after the consolation game between Argyle and Karlstad had started the storm broke. At the rest
period the news spread that the Roseau team had not arrived from Warren where they were
staying at the hotel. When the game ended, Superintendent Huslid of Stephen announced over
the loud speaker that Roseau had not arrived and that the game would have to be postponed.
From that time on through to morning it was a night Roseau folks who were there will not forget.
Sunday morning when news reached the crowd at the school house that the boys,
Superintendent Hollister and Coach Lindberg had been found and were up town all OK, a great
cheer went up and there were plenty wet eyes as the tension broke. During the night each one
would try to cheer the other with the hope that they were undoubtedly safe in some farmhouse
along the road. There were several mothers of the boys at the schoolhouse. Although they were
under terrific strain and anxiety every one bore up with fine fortitude.
Despite the almost unbelievable conditions outside with swirling snow and tornado like wind
which wanted to take one’s breath away, the Stephen Commercial Club got busy and managed
to bring food supplies to the schoolhouse. Twice during the night, they served the six or seven
hundred people with sandwiches, cookies and coffee. It was a marvelous job done under the
most adverse and difficult conditions possible. Then during Sunday, Superintendent Huslid, with
the aid of businessmen, arranged for sleeping quarters in private homes. Everyone responded
more than wholeheartedly. In the parlance of the basketball rooters, “a big fifteen for Stephen.”
In order to do away with the many conflicting reports regarding the team’s night out in the storm,
the following first-hand story is given:
When Superintendent C. D. Hollister and Coach O. T. Lindberg, each driving a car, left Warren
with the ten players and one student manager, on the 20-mile trip to Stephen, there were only an
occasional fluff of snow coming down. When they passed through Argyle it had started to snow
but there was no wind. About four miles south of Stephen the storm hit them with the
suddenness of a gun shot. Luckily they were not driving fast and managed to stop on the
highway. Visibility was absolutely nil but efforts were made to carry on by walking on each side of
the cars so as to keep them on the road It was just like walking blind and feeling one’s way, and
with the howling wind to buck they managed only a short distance when Lindberg’s car nosed in
the snow filled ditch. Despite the snow driving in on the motors they managed to keep them
running and the heaters going until midnight when the gas supply gave out.
Superintendent Hollister vetoed every suggestion to try striking out for aid, realizing that the only
chance was to stay together in the cars. All thirteen packed into the Lindberg car which was in
the ditch partly buried in the snow. Ten of the boys were in the back seat. They were kept moving
in changing positions and kept up a constant argument through the night to keep from going to
sleep.
Meanwhile an effort to go out from Stephen to look for them during the evening failed as it proved
impassable to even get out to the highway. Sunday morning as the street out to the highway was
opened and the search party with Dr. Nimlos of Stephen in charge, was ready to go, word came
from Argyle as to where they were stalled. With that information it was only a short time until they
were brought in, and as it luckily turned out, there is only a bad memory of a thirteen hours of
horrible experience. The information from Argyle came about through the fact that unexplainably
a man driving a coupe came by the stalled car and they were able to hail him. Raymond
Dahlquist then rode with him in to Argyle and the call was sent to Stephen.
Thank you to 
(www.roseauonline.com) for letting us share our county’s history with your listeners by donating air time, studio time, and production staff every week.