The following article is part of the Diamond Club Member group that began in the January 7, 1943, issue of the Rock County Star Herald. Members of this group consist of persons of age 75 and older.
March 11, 1943
“Can’t agree with you that Luverne’s as good a place as any,” declared William Everett, when someone commented that this part of Minnesota was a pretty fine spot for a home. “I’ll take the west any day. You’ll make two dollars for every one here if you just go about it right.”
That led to the question, “Bill, how did you happen to make Luverne your home, then?”
“Well,” said the old timer, “it was this way. I came here from Doon, Ia. I didn’t know where I was going, but I knew I was going. I went to the hotel to wait between trains and I guess it never came. Some fellow came into the hotel and wanted a man to go to work on a farm. I went to work, and Luverne has been my home ever since. That was in August, 1917.”
Born in Dakota Territory
Mr. Everett isn’t certain just how old he is, but thinks he’ll be 77 on April 21. He was born at Elk Point Union county, Dakota territory either in 1863 or ’64. Records of his birth have since been lost.
There were still Indians and gun-totin’ whites at that time and Hell’s Bend,” the wooded area where the Big Sioux empties into the Missouri, was still a hot spot. “I knew of four fellows who died with their boots on there. Two of them came to Johnny St. Pierre’s cabin one night and he got them both. Johnny St. Pierre was a violinist who played for dances all through the country. He had just come back from a trip to Sioux City, Omaha and Missouri Valley, and two fellows came to get his money. He pulled his .44 before they did. One of them dropped right outside a window — the other was found the next morning at the edge of a wheat field, five or six rods away. As far as I know, that cleaned up Hell’s Bend.”
Saved by an Indian
In those days, there were Indians in that area, but most of them were civilized. He recalls that one time when he was a child of two or three years, two Indians came and asked his mother for something to eat. She refused for some reason or other, and one of the Indians picked him up by the heels and was about to smash his head against the side of the building when his father’s friend, also an Indian, came to his rescue. Several days later Mr. Everett’s father was walking along the river and there came across the body of the Indian with four arrows in his body.
Elk Point was the Gretna Green of the northwest when Mr. Everett was a boy. Being in Dakota territory where there was no marriage license law and where couples would come in droves from Iowa and Nebraksa to tie the nuptial knot.
Father Had Three Trades
Mr. Everett’s father was Abner Everett, a man who had served as an apprentice for 15 years and had learned three different trades. He spent five years learning to be a cabinet maker, earning only 25 cents a month for that period. His first job as an apprentice was making his own tools. After his cabinet apprenticeship, he learned to be a wheelwright, and spent five years as an apprentice in this trade as well. His wages at that time was increased to 50 cents a month. After that, he served as a carpenter’s and joiners apprentice, and then went into business for himself at Elk Point.
The Luverne man did not remain at home after he was nine years of age. He went to work for J. H. Brace, a cattle drover, and for three years, he virtually lived in the saddle, traveling with Mr. Brace wherever he bought cattle. His wages were 25 cents a day, plus board, room and clothing. Within six months after he had entered Mr. Brace’s employ, he knew the name of every man who lived in Union, Spink, Clay and Yankton counties, and on the darkest night could drive to the ranch of any person one could name. In those days there weren’t roads — only Indian trails, Mr. Everett said, and it was not a matter of not being able to find a visible trail of any kind, but to pick the right one. When not riding, he would drive a livery, and on many occasions, it was his lot to take people to other ranches from the Brace ranch. For the average boy of nine or 1o to be out in the dark with only the stars to guide him, the job would have been frightening indeed, but to him, it was a thrill and a pleasure to hold the reins on a steady team and figure out the shortest way home.
Visited This Area
It was when he was thus employed that he made his first trip to this section of the country. His employer had bought cattle in the Garretson, Sherman and Jasper areas, and he was driving them toward Elk Point. He had a herd of 180 head when he stopped to spend the night at a farm place east of Sioux Falls. It was then he learned that the famous James brothers had been there the night before him.
This article will continue in next week’s edition of the Star Herald.
         Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.

The following article is part of the Diamond Club Member group that began in the January 7, 1943, issue of the Rock County Star Herald. Members of this group consist of persons of age 75 and older.
March 4, 1943
To have seen a real prince and princess as a boy was one of the many interesting experiences of William C. Tomlinson, Luverne. Mr. Tomlinson was the son of Joseph and Mary Tomlinson. He was born in Nottingham, England, April 5, 1866, and recalls that Prince Albert of England and his wife had come to Nottingham to dedicate a museum which had been remodeled from a royal castle which had been damaged by fire. At first the instructor of his class at school had decided to permit his pupils to take the day off for the occasion, but later changed his mind.
Intent of seeing the royalty, Mr. Tomlinson and about five or six friends left the school without permission and went to see the royal procession. They would wait on the street corner until they passed, and then would run as fast as they could to the one beyond and wait until they had passed again. This kept up until the boys were almost eight miles from home, but they had the satisfaction of having seen the prince and princess, although they went without a thing to eat from morning until 10 o’clock that night.
Nottingham, which by the way, was the city made famous by Robin Hood, was one of England’s big manufacturing towns. Its factories provided work for men, women and children of all ages. When Mr. Tomlinson was seven, he worked in a hosiery factory, daily turning 100 dozen pairs of stocking inside out for 16 cents. He was so small, he had to stand on a stool beside his work table.
Later he worked in a lace curtain factory and became quite expert at his duties. When he was 19, a number of young men were being selected from the various factories to go to Australia to work, but Mr. Tomlinson followed his mother’s request. She had told him that if he wanted to leave England, he should go to America.
Having an uncle and aunt living in Illinois, Mr. Tomlinson decided he would leave home, and on St. Patrick’s day, 68 years ago this month, he boarded a boat for the United States. The boat was not a luxury liner, he recalls, for on the trip to England, it had been loaded with cattle. After they were unloaded, it was remodeled somewhat into a passenger vessel. It was seaworthy, however, and that was the main thing. He landed in Delaware Bay on the last day of March, and on April 2 arrived at Bloomington, Ill. From there he went to Arrowsmith the following day.
The trip to Arrowsmith he recalls vividly. The ground had thawed and the mud was so deep and sticky that the road was almost impassable. In those days, nearly everyone traveled on horseback. If they went to town to make a few purchases, they would put them in a grain sack, climb on the horse and ride back home.
Mr. Tomlinson hired out at $18 a month that first spring, and although he found the work considerably harder than it was in the factory, he never became discouraged.
“I guess I was born about 30 or 40 years too soon,” he states, “as at that time, the only machines that had seats were mowers and binders. It was all walk from sun up until sun down and at first, I became so footsore I could hardly walk. When I would go to bed at night, my feet were almost raw from blisters, but the next morning, they would feel pretty good, and I’d start all over again.
“Finally, I found an old timber man who made me some moccasins. They really helped, and later, I was able to buy a certain kind of shoe they had on the market, for about $1.15. After that time, I didn’t have any trouble.
Many farm implements which are now being used had not yet become common. All corn stalk ground was cultivated before the small grain was planted. There were no grain elevators, and when the corn was sold, it was shoveled directly from the wagon box into the box car.
He worked as a hired hand for three years, and then married May Coss at Bloomington in 1889. They began farming for themselves and it was not all sunshine, according to Mr. Tomlinson. “In those days, a farmer was on his own. He had no help from Uncle Sam and often, the going was pretty hard. We sold oats for 10 cents a bushel, corn for 15 cents, and hogs for $2.50 a hundred. We managed to live, and after the Spanish-American war, things became somewhat better. I sold corn the year of the Spanish-American war at three bushels for a dollar. After that, prices continued to get better,” he declares.
There was a great deal of timber in the vicinity where Mr. Tomlinson lived in Illinois, and he recalls that he bought an acre of woodland for $12.50. This strip furnished them with fuel for three years, and it still had many trees on it when they left Illinois to come to Rock county.
They came here in 1903, after Mrs. Tomlinson’s uncle had told them of the inexpensive and productive land. Mr. Tomlinson never regretted making a move as he states, “Here, I was able to make two dollars to every one I made in Illinois.” They farmed one year south of town, then moved to the Bierkamp farm in Springwater township which was their home for six years before they moved to Luverne.
Mr. and Mrs. Tomlinson became the parents of six children, five of whom are living. They are Albert I., Emery and Lee Tomlinson, all of Luverne, Dewey Tomlinson of Sioux City, and Mrs. Vera Eckert of Imola, Cal.
Since Mrs. Tomlinson’s death last month, Mr. Tomlinson has lived alone in his home. He does his own cooking and housework, and other work about the place and is in good health.
 
         Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.

The following article is part of the Diamond Club Member group that began in the January 7, 1943, issue of the Rock County Star Herald. Members of this group consist of persons of age 75 and older.
February 11, 1943
The name “Drake Station,” unfamiliar to the majority of Rock countyians born after the turn of the century, was a place of significant importance to the early day residents of eastern Rock county and western Nobles county.
According to Mrs. Frank Peschon, Luverne, who lived in Westside township, Nobles county, in the 1870’s and 1880’s, the little store at the station saved her father and his neighbors many trips by ox team to Luverne for provisions for their families.
There, too, was the postoffice for the settlers of the community. Before the railroad was built in 1876, a postoffice known as the Westside postoffice, located on the Worthington-Sioux Falls overland route, served the community.  After the railroad was built, however, it was replaced by the present village of Magnolia. Mrs. Peschon remembers how a neighbor would go to Drake Station to get the mail for the residents living in the vicinity of her father’s home, and how the settlers would go to this man’s farm to get letters and news from the “outside world.”
Mrs. Peschon was born Dec. 2, 1867, at Waterloo, Ia., the daughter of George S. and Sophia Meyers Barclay. She was one of a family of nine children. She doesn’t remember how they came to Rock county in 1874, she states, as she was then only a girl. Inasmuch as most of the pioneer settlers came by covered wagon, she assumes she, too, made the trip here from Iowa in that type of convenience.
The Barclay family settled on a farm near Luverne, and had lived there only a short time when fire destroyed one of the buildings in which they kept many of their belongings such as trunks, some furniture, etc. These belongings were lost in the fire as were family records.
From Luverne, the family moved east of Magnolia into Magnolia county where Mr. Barclay filed a homestead claim. This was Mrs. Peschon’s home until she was married and moved to Luverne.
Because they lived so far from town, the children, girls especially, very seldom made the trip. Mrs. Peschon believes that she was almost a grown girl before she saw Luverne again, after the family had moved to the homestead.
She attended school in the rural district a mile away from her home. Because she was the oldest of the girls, it became her duty to help with the work at home, so her education opportunities were limited. During that era, work generally came before education and she recalls that she earned the first money she could call her own by caring for a sick child of a neighbor family.
Upon reaching young womanhood, she married Frank Peschon of Luverne on Dec. 8, 1882. She and Mr. Peschon took up their residence here and since that time Luverne has been her home.
She states in looking back over the years she has lived in and near Luverne, she can see nothing that would make her want to live her life over again in a different way. She has been contented with what life has given her, and it is her philosophy that one’s life can be a happy one if a person seeks happiness and enjoys giving happiness to others.
Of the nine brothers and sisters in the Barclay family, Mrs. Peschon and three others are living. They include herself, a brother, G. M. Barclay of Sioux Falls and two sisters, Mrs. E. L. Grapes of Minneapolis and Theresa Barclay of Luverne.
Mr. and Mrs. Peschon quietly observed their golden anniversary here last Dec. 8.
         Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.

The following article is part of the Diamond Club Member group that began in the January 7, 1943, issue of the Rock County Star Herald. Members of this group consist of persons of age 75 and older.
February 4, 1943
When prairie chickens were so numerous in this section of the country that one could ride along in a wagon and shoot them was recalled this week by William Heckt, Luverne. The birds found the unbroken prairie an ideal place for nesting and raising their young, but as the county became more densely populated, and more and more land was placed under cultivation, the number of prairie chickens gradually decreased until now there are only a few scattered flocks that spend the winters in corn fields here.
Mr. Heckt has been a resident of the United States since 1880, when he came here from Germany. He was born Aug. 5, 1865 in Holstein, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Joachim Heckt. His father was a ship’s carpenter, and the town in which they lived was located on the sea. There was fog where he lived which was much the same as in England, he states.
He attended the school in his home town and was confirmed there before his family left for the United States in January, 1880. Making the trip here were his father and mother and five brothers and sisters in addition to himself. He recalls but little about the trip here except that the weather was bad and the sea was so rough that they were confined to their cabin for several days.
His father deciding to come to America was due, perhaps, to the fact that Germany was undergoing an economic recon-struction following the Franco – Prussian war, and times were difficult, especially for a man with a large family. Another factor which no doubt had some bearing on his father’s decision was Mr. Heckt’s older brother, who was already living in this country. He told of America’s wealth and agricultural future, and this, Mr. Heckt believes, had its influence on his father.
They settled in Tama county, Ia. near the village of Dysart, where the elder Mr. Heckt bought an 80 acre farm. Although thought of as a comparatively small acreage in this country, this was a big farm for the Heckt family, who came from a country where land was farmed only in very small tracts. Farming was different here too, than it was in Holstein, Mr. Heckt recalls. There all the farmers lived in villages, and tilled the land adjoining the village.
Mr. Heckt lived at home until he was 21, and he then went to Lyon county to obtain employment. He worked as a hired hand for several years for a salary of $20 a month. He came to Rock county in 1889 and worked on a farm that summer. On Dec. 24 of that year, he married Mollie Hemme at Luverne. In 1891, the couple began farming in Springwater township. From there, they moved to Rose Dell township which was their home for nine years. In 1905, they moved to the village of Hardwick where Mr. Hemme was engaged in the retail mercantile business. Three years of business life was as much as he wanted, however, and he moved back to a farm in Denver township. Here the Heckt family lived until retiring and moving to Luverne in 1919. Farming today in many ways is different from what it was when he came to Rock county, Mr. Hemme states, but in one way, it’s just the same. You still have to plant the seed and harvest your crops, he philosophizes, no matter how mechanized your farming has become.
Threshing from stacks rather than from shocks was the common rather than the uncommon thing when he first came to Rock county. One year, he set up over 100 stacks, 80 of which stood through the winter because he was unable to get a threshing crew to finish them in the fall. Although the butts were wet, the grain in the upper five sixths of the stacks were dry and in excellent condition. The driest years he experienced was during 1894 and 1911. In 1894, he recalls, there was a killing frost in May, and no rain fell after that time. Wheat sown on corn stalk ground produced some grain, but that sown on plowing was worthless. He harvested his biggest crop the year following, in 1895.
Mr. and Mrs. Heckt became the parents of two children, the late Mrs. Gus Schlapkohl and Louis Heckt of Hardwick. Mrs. Heckt died about two years ago.
Mr. Heckt has three brothers and three sisters living. They are E. P. Heckt, Dysart, Ia., R. O. Heckt, Mason City, Ia.; E. C.  Heckt, Hardwick; Mrs. Emma Hemme, Hardwick and Mrs. Meta Rohlk, Luverne. He has six grandchildren and three great grandchildren. Two of his grandsons, Orville Schlapkohl and Alvin Hemme, are in the Army.
Mr. Heckt is a member of the of the Woodmen lodge. He states he has held no offices except that of treasurer manager of the Rock County Burial association several years ago.
         Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.

The following article is part of the Diamond Club Member group that began in the January 7, 1943, issue of the Rock County Star Herald. Members of this group consist of persons of age 75 and older. This is continued from last week’s edition of the Star Herald.
January 14, 1943
The distinction of being a distant relative of one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence belongs to Mrs. Addie Clark, 84, who resides with her daughter, Mrs. Vernon Goembel, near Luverne. Although most people at her age would not undertake it, Mrs. Clark recently wrote a brief family biography, tracing the history of her family since early in the 18th century.
Her father David McKean was of Scotch descent, his forefathers having come to this country in 1720. An old family history, which was later destroyed by fire, stated that the first McKeans came to Boston in that year. There were five boatloads of Scots that came at one time, but Mrs. Clark is not certain that all were north to Nova Scotia, others settled in Connecticut and New York and many probably settled in Massachusetts.
One of her father’s forbears was Thomas McKean, who was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
Mrs. Clark’s father was a boy of 17 when he came west to settle in Clinton county, Ia. His father bought a half section of land at $2.50 per acre, which land was owned by the McKean family until 1867. Mrs. Clark’s father cared for his parents as long as they lived. He was married in 1855 to Sarah E. Banks and they reared a family of five girls­—“three school teachers and two milliners” according to Mrs. Clark. Mrs. Clark, who was one of the school teachers, was born on the home farm Sept. 14, 1858.
“My mother,” says Mrs. Clark, “married at 18 as most of the girls of that age did. They moved to father’s farm, part of the original farm, and lived there until after the Civil War. My mother did not like farm life.
“We had a good school there and she was anxious for us girls to have every advantage.
“Those were hard times after the war,” recalls Mrs. Clark, and predicts, “they’re such as we’ll have when this war is over.
“We lived on the old farm until 1867, then moved to Wheatland in the same county. Later, in 1873, we moved to Calhoun county, Ia. where I stayed with my grandfather and went to high school that year. Then I went to Missouri to school and lived with my great-uncle 1½ years. The next summer, I taught a country school, and that fall on Oct. 11, 1876, I was married to Ellis I. Clark, at Lake City, Ia.”
Mrs. Clark taught school the next year, and then she and her husband moved on a rented farm. In two years, Mr. Clark bought an 80-acre tract, and built a small house, 14x20 feet, with one room on the second floor. They lived there until 1881 when they sold the farm and bought another. There they built a large house and barn, and as Mrs. Clark describes it, “we were very comfortable.”
In 1896, they sold their Iowa farm and moved to Nebraska, living there 12 years before moving to Clear Lake, S.D. This was their home for five years, and they then moved to Luverne, coming to this community Feb. 24, 1914. They bought a farm near Luverne and operated it until moving to Luverne on Decoration day, 1917.
Mr. and Mrs. Clark were the parents of 10 children, nine of whom are living. They include Edmond L. Clark, Dickson, Ill.; Mrs. J. H. Pinkley, Pender, Neb.; Guy E. Clark, Cedar Rapids, Ia.; David W. Clark, Detroit, Mich.; Neil C. Clark, Walker, Ia.; Mrs. Vernon Goembel, Luverne; Floyd M. Clark, East Moline, Ill.; and Leslie L. Clark, Tallahassee, Fla. She also has 24 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Mrs. Clark has two sisters living, Mrs. Clara M. Alt, Evanston, Ill. and Mrs. Bird Davey, Des Moines, Ia.
“As to my own life,” Mrs. Clark writes in her biographical sketch, “it is hardly worth talking about. It was quiet and uneventful as you may suppose, cooking and doing my own work the better part of the time. I never knew what it meant not to have plenty for my big family of seven boys and two girls. I lost one girl, eleven years old, in 1896. This was a great grief.
“I am 84 years old now, and as happy as one can be out of her own home. My husband died in 1926.
“As to the reason for my long life, perhaps that can be found in Exodus 20, in the fourth commandment, “Honor thy father and thy mother and that days may be long in the land thy God giveth thee’.”
Mrs. Clark is a member of the Presbyterian church, serving many years as superintendent and teacher in the Sunday school.
She has made her home with Mrs. Goembel since her husband’s death in 1926.
 
         Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.

The following article is part of the Diamond Club Member group that began in the January 7, 1943, issue of the Rock County Star Herald. Members of this group consist of persons of age 75 and older. This is continued from last week’s edition of the Star Herald.
Mr. Kennedy was married May 4, 1894, at Luverne to Susie Kean, a native of Village Creek, Ia. and they made their home on the farm at the east edge of Hardwick until they moved to Luverne about four years ago.
When Mr. Kennedy bought the place, it was unbroken prairie and had no improvements. He broke all the sod, however, and built all the buildings. He modernized it by piping water to the buildings from a spring 80 rods distant, and by installing electric lights as soon as electricity was available in Hardwick.
Very few have had the privilege to watch a village grow as Mr. Kennedy did. He recalls when there was nothing at Hardwick except a station platform. After several had settled there, Mr. Kennedy and some of the others organized the first village council. After that time, Mr. Kennedy served in various capacities but mostly as mayor, an office which he held for 22 years.
“You learn a lot of things when you hold an office like that,” Mr. Kennedy said, “and if I had it to do over again, I don’t think I’d ever want to go through it. Now that it is done, though, I guess it was worth it.”
Through the efforts of Mr. Kennedy and fellow council members, Hardwick became the first village in Rock county to have electric lights and a water system. Because they had the foresight to spend $7 and $8 per foot for drilling a well through solid rock to a depth of 410 feet, the village now has one of the finest water supplies in the county, and has over three miles of water mains to serve its residents.
The time the council got into the most “hot water” was when they bought trees with village funds and gave two to each lot owner. Although some of the taxpayers didn’t like the idea of spending money for such items as trees at that time, they have since changed their minds, because Hardwick now has as beautiful a residential section as any village its size.
Mr. Kennedy also served on the school board at the time the present Hardwick school building was built. He and another board member decided to look at other school buildings in the county before letting the contract, and this gave him an opportunity to take his first ride in a car. They came by team to Luverne and here hired a car from an “auto livery.” Not only was that Mr. Kennedy’s first trip in a car, but it was the first time he had ever seen Beaver Creek or Hills.
Although Mr. Kennedy devoted considerable time to the bettering of his community, he still had time to handle his farming affairs. He enjoyed raising livestock, and always had large numbers of cattle, horses and hogs on hand. He raised a considerable number of horses and mules.
Although farming has been his business all his life, Mr. Kennedy states he earned one of his first dollars as a mason’s assistant. He was a youth in his teens when a man by the name of Smith asked him to help mix mortar for layering rocks in a basement in Luverne. He worked for him for about three days, and earned about a dollar a day. His employer he recalls came to Luverne as a peddler, and later became a leading builder in this area. He later built the Calumet building in Pipestone, according to Mr. Kennedy.
Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy are the parents of four children, all of whom are living. They include Emmet Kennedy, Luverne; Leo Kennedy, Hardwick; Neva, at home; and Mrs. Rufus (Virginia) Putnam, Rawlings, Wyo. They also have seven grandchildren.
Of seven children in his father’s family, Mr. Kennedy is one of five still living. They include Mrs. Frank (Kate) Kennedy, Luverne; Robert Kennedy, Pipestone; Thomas Kennedy, Ellsworth; and Mrs. Ronald (Elizabeth) Kean, of Los Angeles.
         Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.

The following article is part of the Diamond Club Member group that began in the January 7, 1943, issue of the Rock County Star Herald. Members of this group consist of persons of age 75 and older.
The visit of Jesse and Frank James, two of the most noted robbers in the 1870’s, to Rock county was recalled this week by James P. Kennedy, Luverne.
Although he did not actually see the men, he recalls how a neighbor came galloping to their farm on a gray horse to spread the news that the James brothers had eaten breakfast that Sunday morning at the Charles Rolph home in Battle Plain township, about 12 miles north of Luverne. It was Mr. Rolph who notified Ezra Rice, then sheriff of Luverne, according to Mr. Kennedy, and a posse was formed to apprehend the bandits. As the story goes, only one Luverne man got close enough to see them. He was Jack Dement. They trailed them to a point near Larchwood, Ia. And there one of the brothers fired at Dement, hitting the horse he was riding.
There’s no truth in the stories that James hid in a cave in the Mounds or jumped the Devil’s Gulch at Garretson with his horse, Kennedy states.
Mr. Kennedy was a boy of 12 when the famed desperadoes made their escape after the Northfield bank robbery. Born in Clayton county, Ia. Jan. 26, 1864, he came with his father, a brother and a neighbor to Rock county in March, 1876, which was the same year as the robbery. That same year, the railroad was built into Luverne from Worthington.
Mr. Kennedy’s father had bought a farm two miles north of Luverne near the Mounds, and this was their home for six or seven years.
Mr. Kennedy had attended school about three terms in Iowa, and after coming to Rock county, resumed his education when school was in session. The building in which he first attended school was constructed like a chicken coop with one side high and the other side low. It was located on the south side of the Mounds, a short distance from Luverne.
In 1883 or ’84, Mr. Kennedy’s father filed a homestead and tree claim in Pipestone county, northwest of Edgerton, and sold his Rock county land. Mr. Kennedy lived at home with his parents and helped with the farm work until he and his brother bought a farm near Hardwick in 1891, to which they moved the following spring. They farmed in partnership until after they were both married, and they then divided their property and began operations individually.
The two brothers did some “railroading” on the side. One winter, they hauled lumber and timber for the branch railroad between Hardwick and Wilmont. Every bit of piling, lumber and ties that is used in the bridge across the Rock river east of Hardwick was hauled by Mr. Kennedy, brother, and two other men who had been hired to help them with the hauling.
This, however, was not Mr. Kennedy’s first experience working on a railroad construction crew. The year the Great Northern built the line from Sioux Falls to Ihlen, he helped haul rock for every culvert and bridge for the entire stretch of track. He was paid at the rate of $3 per day, and board, but he had to furnish feed for his horses.
         This article will continue in next week’s publication of the Star Herald.
         Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.

The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on July 18, 1902. This is continued from the March 31 edition of the Star Herald.
Summer Training School
For Teachers of Rock County and Vicinity—Four Weeks’ Term Begun Monday.
READING.
The study of some good selection as Vision of Sir Launfal.
With this I plan to give outlines of work from Clark on “How to Teach Reading” applying the steps from day to day, as we read.
GEOGRAPHY.
The earth as a globe.
1. Form, size and movement.
2. Longitude and latitude.
3. Composition and general structure.
4. Distribution of land and water.
5. Movements of air and water.
6. Climate and weather.
Study of the continents.
1. North America.
a. Position, shape, size, zones bodies of water.
b. Surface, distribution and extent of mountains, highlands, lowlands; drainage and the continental slopes.
c. Physical features with reference to their relation to life-relations, productions, industries and trade.
d. Location of places with special reference to their physical and industrial relations.
1. Subdivisions of North America.
Unit of work based on relief. Special detailed study of the United States following the outline for N. A. as given above.
2. South America studied in the same manner as North America. Comparisons.
3. Eurasia, Africa and Australia. Line of work as for N. A. Comparison.
PHYSICS.
This subject will be taken up in what seems the best way for the class.
ARITHMETIC.
Decimals, Percentage and Mensuration. There will be two classes in this subject.
PRIMARY METHODS.
Training of the child in first, second and third grades.
MUSIC.
Music for all the students taught in a way that will help teachers in giving proper directions to pupils in the common schools.
a. Elements of music as taught in the first four grades.
1. Ear training.
2. Rhythm.
3. Tone work.
4. Notation.
b. Sight reading of simple exercises from music readers, supplemented by chart and black board drills.
c. Chorus work.
DRAWING.
FIRST WEEK.
a. Landscape studies in water color. Simple water color washes to represent different phases of nature.
1. The sky.
2. Sky and background.
3. Sky, foreground, line of distance.
b. Simple charcoal sketches from nature, teaching principles of proportion, growth and proper filling of space.
SECOND WEEK.
A. Charcoal. Drawing of sphere and hemisphere. Studying the effect of light and shade to express surfaces. Study of spherical objects.
b. Water color. Stained glass effects. Flower, sedge and grass study.
THIRD WEEK.
Simple growing of still life, teaching proportion, distance and space filling.
Mediums. Charcoal or color in flat tones.
FOURTH WEEK.
a. Principles of perspective as exemplified in the cube and cylinder.
1. Foreshortened surface.
2. Convergence of parallel lines.
3. Direction of lines when seen at an angle above, an angle below, or on a level with the eye.
b. Figure posing. Pose in landscape.
c. Imaginative drawing.
PHYSICAL TRAINING.
General Exercises—Correct position, correct. Walk.
Stretching exercises.
Lifting and dropping of arms. Hand work. Chest movement of arms. Arch movement of arms. Shoulder movement of arms. Swimming movement of arms. Head movements. Knee movement. Hip movement. Foot extension in 1st and 2nd attitudes.
Arm whirl—finger work. Pivot with arm work. Body over, arms back. Head down, arms up. Free leg, forward bend. Chart work.
Arm swinging; from chest; from shoulder; oblique; front and back of hip.
Body bending.
Several good lectures will be given during the course of the term and a day for an outing has been proposed, but the plans as yet have not been fully matured and will be announced later.
To arouse as interest in the subject of agriculture, Prof. Wm. Robertson, of the State Agricultural school, will occupy a part of the time July 19th and 21st.
The school is in session from 8:00 a.m. until 12:25. The work of the term will be concluded August 9.
         Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.

The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on July 18, 1902.
Summer Training School
For Teachers of Rock County and Vicinity—Four Weeks’ Term Begun Monday.
The Rock County Summer Training school for teachers opened Monday in the High school room with Prof. E. M. Phillips, of Albert Lea as conductor, and Estella Scofield, of Ortonville, F. E. George, of Pipestone, and Ella Probst, of Minneapolis, assistants. The work was begun in the usual manner with registration on Monday. Sixty-seven teachers were registered as follows:
Luverne—Luverne Kreps, May Brewer, Jennie D. Wright, Francis McDermott, Deila Blodgett, Margaret Williams, Clarinda B. L. Stoughton, Viola Hvid, Nellie Ramsey, Vena L. Brockway, Maud M. Brockway, Luella Stoughton, Alma Haga, Merble Herrick, Anna Armstrong, Rosalie Teetor, Alma Heinz, Mrs. Myrtle Calhoun, Hanna M. Brady, Bertha Scott, Nora V. Adams, Harriet L. Henton, Blanche E. Abbey, Beatrice Angell, R. May Walters, Tillie Dietrich, Margaret Scheehan, Nellie E. Schellhamer.
Adrian—Christine Nash, Isabel Egeland.
Hardwick—Emelia Heiden, Louise Mannigel, Emma Hauger.
Magnolia—Evelyn Bareley, Mabel L. Ehlers, Theresa Barclay, Allie B. Adams, Ida H. Miller, Ettie M. Ehlers, Essie S. Pickett.
Ransom–Bessie Sorem, Clara Guernsey.
Hills—Christine Severtson.
Sioux Falls—Edith C. Cox.
Kanaranzi—Ethel G. Rowland, Zula M. Bowen.
Jasper—Mabel La Martine.
Sherman—S. D.—Dora E. Davis.
Ellsworth—Daisy Walker, Erie Rolfe, Bertha Buechel, Fred A. Buechel.
Edgerton—Vileta B. Nichols, Anna E. Carberry, Blanche Rogers.
Worthington—Mattie Bryan, Edna Goodrich, Alma Anderson, Janet K. Billington, Juanita Harden, Maud Ayer, Ella Cloud, Ella M. Wood.
Beaver Creek—Charlotte Snow, Maud Chesley, Francis Chesley.
Rushmore—Lulu L. Putnam.
The term will occupy four weeks and the general plan of the work is outlined in the following:
Elementary Algebra.
 The amount of work covered in this subject will be determined when the class is formed.
Plane Geometry.
The needs of the class will govern the outline in this subject.
U.S. History.
Period from 1765-1800. Establishment of Independent Government.
Period from 1800-1865. Industrial Development.
Any Eighth Grade Text.
ENGLISH GRAMMAR
I. Brief review—The parts of speech and their uses.
II. Verbs, verb phrases, participles, infinitives and gerunds.
III. Analysis of different passages.
Note. III Will be carried on with each day’s work in I and II. Each member of the class will be asked to get “Exercises in Syntax” published by Hyde and Manuel.
CIVICS
The Government of Minnesota.
I. History (studied with maps).
1. As a territory.
2. As a state.
II. The State constitution.
1. History of Written Constitution.
2. The contents of the Union Constitution.
3. Laws amended or revised.
III. Departments of Government.
1. Legislative.
2. Executive.
3. Judicial.
IV. Taxation.
V. Educational System.
SPECIAL SUBJECT
The School System.
PHYSIOLOGY
A brief review using any good text, taking the work by subjects. (Designed to help teachers prepare for the August examinations),
One or two subjects taken thoroughly as Digestion and Assimilation of Foods, with some simple experiments.
This will continue in next week’s article of Bits by Betty.
         Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.