NHS 1965 News

Every ten years our beloved federal government does an inventory, so to speak, of US residents that we call the census. We all know that. What some may not know is that each census is made up of a set of questions designed just for that particular survey. In 1930 (the most recent census available for the public to see), one of the new questions was whether or not the household had a radio set? The answer to the question provided a peek into that home’s prosperity and interest in this exciting new communication technology. (About 40% of the US households had a radio in 1930.)

This is a bit of an introduction to an offer I’ll make to NHS’s class of 1965. I have online access to the 1930 US census (and all the previous ones, too) and will be willing to do look-ups for classmates. Just let me know the names and where these folks lived and we’ll go from there.

As a way of starting the ball rolling and to show us all a bit of Rice County history, I started looking up all the surnames of our classmates. My source for the names is the alphabetic index titled “Senior Activities” in the 1965 Norhian.

Here’s what I found for the letters A and B. What I’ll list here is the last name, the number of people with that name living in Rice County in 1930 and the first names of the adults. If a last name isn’t listed it means I found nothing for that name in Rice County. Be warned that spelling of names was no were as precise back then as it is now. Names were often spelled as they sounded to the census taker. (Other information included in the census for that year is: whether the home was owned or rented, the value of the home, the age at first marriage, whether the person is able to read and/or write, the person’s birthplace, the birthplaces of the person’s mother and father, the mother tongue if person was foreign born, the year of immigration, occupation and whether a veteran.)

Ackerman – 2; M. Etta, Alberta

Ahlstrom – 1; Peter

Albers – 16; Alfred, Amelia, Louise, Clarence, Ellen, Hubert, Teresa, Henry, Louise, Lorrine

Aldrich – 17; George, Pearl, Murvil, Gilma, Ida, Clarence, Roy, Edith, Ira, Clara

Anderson – I didn’t attempt this name since there were bound to be many. Sorry. Give me a first name and I’ll be happy to check.

Babcock – 13; Vernet, Adah, Charles, Electa, Lora, Ida, George, Ada, Helen, Fager, Lana

Baker – 29; Earl, Goldie, Frank, Ella, Levander, Mattie, Joyce, Betrice, Anna, Charley, Mary, Hebert, Clayton, Rozella, William, Blanche, Edwin

Barron – 1; Rose

Behrens – 1; Luverne

Bennett – 5; Carl, Lydia, Nellie

Bickel – 19; Henry, Rachel, Minnie, John, George, Edith, Catherine, Ferderan, William, Rith

Bradford – 7; Alfred, Perle

Bruss – 3; Verna, Luella, Emily

Burmeister – 9; Joseph, Agnes, John, Nettie

The rest of the C through Z to follow as time permits.

Posted by Rynda Neff Carlis

It was back in 1955 that my family moved to rural Northfield. I started school at Castle Rock and met classmates Edith Fredrickson, Linda Nelson, Marilyn Strachan and through them met Sharon Volkert, and many from the class of ‘64. I went to church and school in Castle Rock, so hung around with the neighborhood kids. I remember riding my horse over to Linda Nelson’s and we’d go riding. What Fun days those were! I can also remember finding the “old” Castle Rock Cemetary. Well, the years flew by and during our middle school years met up with Pat Stanton. We rode the same school bus, and began spending time together. I have fun memories of hanging around during the summer and going to the drive-in movies at night with our group of friends. Once in high school I added many more friends to my social circle and after all those years we still get together. I live so far away now and only make it to a couple meetings a year, but oh how special they are! After high school, I like many others, decided the cities were calling. I got my own apartment and moved near the U. of M. There I received my training in the medical field and began working as a medical secretary – loved every minute of it. While there, Edith Fredrickson (who also lived by the U) and I joined a fast pitch softball team and low and behold, that is where I met my husband Don. After we married in 1969 we lived in the Minneapolis area and had two children. After almost 20 years of city life we moved back to the Northfield area. I took a job at the Northfield Hospital and although Don still worked for the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, and yes drove the sixty miles one way to work, he also became the Chief of Police in Dundas. Quite a schedule for our family. Our kids loved the area it was kind of neat to have my kids go to the same school I went to. In 1998, Don decided it was time to retire and so he did. I was too young to retire, so just quit. We sold everything and bought a motor home and toured the country for five years. We ended up in Yuma Arizona where we have been ever since. The traveling continues. We have gone on 5 cruises, the last was in January 2008 a trip of a lifetime – 30 days to Hawaii and the South Pacific. Our next jouney is a 34 day ” Tour of the Vikings “, leaving from Boston in July 2009. Our son Craig live in Las Vegas, so we see him during the winter and our daughter Jenni and husband live in Minnesota, so we see them during the summer. Last year, we bought a RV lake lot near Annandale and our daughter and husband live next door to us, which makes for a great summer. During the summer we travel in a 17′ trailer and love it. Good thing we get along! We have also been priviledged, because of Don’s Law enforcement backgroud, to have worked a summer in Yosemite National Park and if all goes well, the next couple of years should find us in Yellowstone or the Grand Canyon.

I can remember helping plan our 50th birthday party and then going to our “60th” last year. We are all so fortunate to have such a great class – no other class, as far as I know, in the history of Northfield High does what we have done and will continue to do!

Submitted by Pat Nelson