Listen to the Weekly Radio Readings by Sheila Winstead, RCHS Board Member
Recorded July 2018
July 1 The continued story of Jens Pederson from Greenbush, which was included in Book II of “Pioneers! O Pioneers!”, a publication by Roseau County Historical Society.
Jens started logging with his father when he was old enough, about 15 or 16. His father had sawmills, too, in the timber country south of Wannaska. He’d go there in winter…
July 8 In 1981, the town of Badger celebrated its 75th anniversary. Part of how they commemorated that event was to publish a book about the formation of their town called “Pioneers and Progress”. One of the stories I thought you might find interesting was about P. O. Fryklund, whose collection of miscellaneous artifacts formed the basis for the Roseau County Historical Society and Museum in Roseau. Here’s the story.
One of the early pioneer businessmen who came to Badger, and whose name will never be forgotten, was Per Olof Fryklund, more affectionately known as “P. O.”. Born in Lima, Dalarne, Sweden in 1873, he came to the United States with his parents in 1882, settling in Minneapolis. In 1899 he came to Badger…
July 15 A little piece that was included in the Centennial Book by Hazel Wahlberg, with information from “Cap” Nelson. It was called “Round, Round Goes the Merry-Go-Round”.
The tune ‘School Days’ could be heard blocks away for it was Saturday night and Mr. Calhoun had just started the little engine that made the model horses begin to prance. It didn’t take long for the youngsters to begin to gather for their chance at riding the merry-go-round. This was no primitive machine, for it had the usual array of horses – roans, whites, and grays. There was also a pony for the small less brave children to ride…
July 22 The Centennial Book produced for the 1995 Roseau County Centennial carried a story by Alice Johnson Lund from her ”Memories of Early Falun Township” telling about the 1918 Flu. Here it is: Looking back, our early years were mostly happy, carefree years. When sickness struck, the old home style remedies were used. For colds, the steam kettle was a must, also a woolen cloth soaked in turpentine and applied to our throat and chest usually as a slow but sure cure. Oh, how close tragedy came to our home. George got pneumonia in both lungs. He was so tiny and desperately ill…
July 29 This wee an article submitted by Robert Thacker for the Centennial Book of 1995 called “Health Care in Roseau County over the Last One Hundred Years”.
What we have today in medical service hasn’t always been so. In the early days of the century, training was much more limited among the professionals. Dr. J. L. Delmore of Roseau, for example, had about 5 years of training. Nurses were often trained by the doctor. Lab and x-ray technicians were not available. Drugs were not monitored or tested by any national organization. The solution to bad teeth was to pull them with not too much in the way of painkillers. There was no fluoride to prevent tooth decay. Dr. William Pitblado has indicated that he was the first permanent optometrist in Roseau when he came in 1950. Dr. Ed Embury, who lived in Warroad in the 1930s, was probably the first permanent optometrist in Roseau County. Prior to that, Dr. J. L. Delmore and other doctors, fit some people with glasses probably correcting near-sightedness and far-sightedness in the main…
Thank you to 
for letting us share the history of our county with your listeners.