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 always amazes me when I talk to Malt-O-Meal employees about their community involvement, and Herman Transburg is no exception. I kept thinking, “When does the guy find time to sleep?”

Herman started at Malt-O-Meal on November 5, 1979. One of his early highlights was running the batch gun. He said, “Boy, you could really feel the floor shake when you opened one of those up!”

Herman has been involved in the Defeat of Jesse James re-enactment for quite a few years. The first time he rode in the event was in 1980, and he became a regular in 1992. They do four re-enactments on Saturday, two on Sunday, and last year added two more on Friday night. That’s a lot of ridin’, shootin’, and getting plugged to be doing in one weekend.

Herman has a significant other-Mary, two sons and a daughter, and four granddaughters. One of his highlights has been having his sons ride with him in the re-enactment for the last eight years or so.

Herman also appeared in a “In Search of…” episode (hosted by Leonard Nimoy) about the James Gang raid that was filmed in 1981 in the Waterford area and at the DeMann farm.

Herman has been the Chairman of the Defeat of Jesse James rodeo event for the last five years. He is a past member of the Northfield Historical Society, and is a current member of the Civil War Roundtable Club, which meets at the Rice County Historical Society in Faribault.

Herman also has an interest in tractors and belongs to Chapter 15 of the International Harvester Collectors. He also is part of the Rice County Steam and Gas Club, which holds a big fall show featuring steam driven farm equipment on Labor Day weekend at their location south of Northfield on Hwy. 3. They also hold a smaller spring show.

Once a week in the fall, Herman takes part in a wagon train to benefit Camp Winnebago in Caledonia. They typically travel around 130 miles in a week, and over the last two years have raised more than $30,000 to benefit young people and adults with disabilities. Herman mentioned that Malt-O-Meal and MOM Cares have also been very good supporters of this event.

In his spare time, Herman has been putting together the “Wild West Roundup”, a re-creation of a small western town complete with storefronts. They re-enact a roundup on the second weekend in June of each year.

Herman retired from Malt-O-Meal in the December. It sounds like he will be down to only one or two full-time jobs once that happens. Herman is another good example of a Malt-O-Meal employee who carries his “Great Service” attitude over into community involvement. – Posted by n. larsen