Tolstoy Family Biographies

Gottlieb Banik Family

Gottlieb was born in 1888 on a farm near Bowdle. Mrs. Banik (Fredarica Wolff) was born in 1891 near Eureka. They were married in April of 1908. There were 11 children born to this union, six of whom are still living. Dave, of Tolstoy; Ed, Ella Walli, Clarence; all of Spokane, Wash. Arnold, Aberdeen; Arlene Heckman, Florence, S. D.

Gottlieb and Fredarica farmed most of their married life. In the late 30's they moved to a farm south of Tolstoy and lived there until they retired and moved into town. Due to ill health they moved to Aberdeen in 1971. Mrs. Banik passed away at a nursing home there in April of 1974. After her death Mr. Banik transferred to a nursing home in Bowdle where he passed away December of 1977.

Dave is the only member of the Banik family who continues to live in Tolstoy. He was born in 1909. As a young man he worked for Jake Wolff who was at that time a Pontiac dealer in Tolstoy. Soon after that he received the nickname "Dave Pontiac". At times he received mail addressed to Dave Pontiac.

On Feb.16, 1930 Dave married Edna Heiser, daughter of Martin and Louise Heiser. The Rev. Schlein officiated at the wedding in the Methodist church in Tolstoy. They made their home in Tolstoy until 1931 when they moved to Lowry where Dave ran a cream station Later they moved to Watertown where Dave took a position with the Park Grant Co. for four years. After returning to Tolstoy Dave began working for Dave Hottman in the Grain Elevator. He grew to love the business world and several years later purchased shares in the Hottman Grain Co. and finally buying the remaining shares from Tillie Hottman. It then became Banik and Son Elevator.

Dave and Edna have been very active in the community. Dave has been mayor of Tolstoy for about 32 years, director of Sully Buttes and fire chief for many years. He and Edna have been active in organizations such as A.B.C. Community club. They have done much to hold the community together. They have been members of the Methodist church in Tolstoy for 52 years. They have also been active in church work. Back to Index

When John Bieber came to this country it is believed that he settled in the Lowry area, along with many other Bieber families.

The Jacob Trefz family came to America from South Russia and settled in the Eureka area. A few years later they moved t/' mile south of what is now Tolstoy.

The older Trefz boys would walk all the way to Ipswich and each carried a sack of flour back. Today we take the car and drive 2 blocks to buy our flour.

Katherine Trefz was 12 years old when she came to America. In about 1900 she married John Bieber. Seven children were born to this union. All the children were born in Tolstoy except Edward who was born at College Place, Wash.

Dora married Ben Maier, Tolstoy.

Lydia married Jake Bollinger, Lincoln, Neb.

Katie married Jake Stotz, Redfield, S. D.

George married Bertha Stotz, Tolstoy.

Edward married Bertha Roesch (deceased) Leontina Kahler, Tolstoy.

David married Eva LaFave, Loma Linda, Calif.

William married Viola Bietz College Place, Wash.

In 1908 the John Biebers moved to the state of Washington to be near the Trefz family but John preferred South Dakota and soon came back because of his love for farming.

John Bieber had always longed to have four sons so he could operate his own threshing rig. Yes, he did get his four boys but he didn't live long enough to run his own rig. The flu epidemic of 1918 took him away along with many other young men.

Katherine stayed on the farm and leased out the land. She and the children milked cows and raised chickens which provided a living for the family. The children also worked at any jobs that were available in the neighborhood for added income, like driving the header box for $1.00 a day.

David and William went on to high school and college. David better known as Dave spent all of his time within the Seventh Day Adventist denomination teaching in academies and colleges. Later he became president of Union college, Lincoln, Neb. His work took him to different places in the United States and Hawaii. Before retiring he became president of Loma Linda University in California.

Fredrich Wilhelm, being the tail end of the family, thought himself much abused although he had many privileges the older ones didn't have.

His long name caused the family to call him Willie. As he grew up he received the name of "Bill", by which he is known today.

He also worked in the schools within the denomination which took him to several different places in the U. S. and Canada. For several years he was president of the South Dakota Conference of the Seventh Day Adventists. Later he became president of the Idaho conference. He is now retired and living in College Place, Wash.

George remained on the family farm until retiring in Tolstoy in 1981. Edward operated an implement shop where he sold and repaired farm machinery, cars, and of course tractors which replaced the horses.

Our present way of living is far different from the Pioneers. Most of the building material in those days was taken from the soil. Clay bricks were made by hand and dried by the sun. These were used to build their sod and mud houses. Everyone was thankful for what he had and you seldom heard anyone complaining. Back to Index

Mr. Peter Bieber was born in 1871 in Glucksthal, South Russia and his wife Katherine (Martz) Bieber was born in 1873 in Glucksthal. They were married in 1892 and came to the United States in 1895.

The Bieber family homesteaded approximately 5 miles northeast of Tolstoy, in Edmunds county. Their first home was a sod house in which they lived for only two years, and then building a frame house.            

They farmed in this area for many years. To this union were born seven children. Jake, the eldest was the only boy, his sisters were Katherine, Maggie, Mary, Rose, Emma, and Lydia. The entire family is deceased.

Mr. and Mrs. Bieber retired from farming in 1922, due to a rheumatic arthritis condition that afflicted Mrs. Bieber. From that time on Mrs. Bieber spent much of her time in a wheel chair. Mr. Bieber did gardening and also assisted Jake Bieber in operating the Bieber farm. '[they were regular members of the Tolstoy Methodist Church. The house where Walter Schumacher resides was the Bieber residence. Back to Index

Charles Bitzer came to the United States from Russia along with his family in about 1880. He was the son of Jacob and Johanna Bitzer. Jacob was a successful blacksmith in Germany but moved his family to Russia because of an opportunity to own land there. Later the Bitzers learned of the Homestead Act in the United States. They then migrated to America in search of land and freedom. A freedom they were unable to find in Russia.

Upon arrival in New York they went by covered wagon directly to the area around what is presently Tolstoy. This overland trip was harder than all the days at sea. Jacob's homestead was located about 6 miles north of Tolstoy. Jacob would often walk to Ipswich for supplies. They had only oxen to farm with hence no horse to ride. The first year or two their source of income was gathering and selling buffalo bones. A prime source of heat was the buffalo chips found on the prairie. There were few trees so the pioneers felt it their duty to plant some. Jacob built rock buildings for the family and animals. His hand dug well was cased down about 10 feet with rock.

The children of Jacob and Johanna were Jacob, Simon, Philip, Charles, Rose and Katherine.

Charles Bitzer was about 7 years old when his family came over from Russia and Lydia Knecht Bitzer was about 3 when her family came over from Germany. Lydia Knecht Bitzer's parents were Ferdinand and Catherine Knecht. Lydia used to tell her children stories of how she could hear the Indians in the hills when she was a young child in South Dakota.

Charles Bitzer and Lydia Knecht united in marriage in 1897. Their first home was a sod house, as sod was the only building material convenient and affordable. The house of sod also withstood very well the severe winters on the prairie. Eventually the railroad came to the area and Tolstoy was born and the Charles Bitzer family built a wood frame house which still stands 6 miles north of Tolstoy, and is still in good shape and habitable. The family eventually numbered 6 sons and 5 daughters. Emil, Ben. Fred, Ted, Delbert, Conrad, Tillie, Molly, Elsie, Ann, and Rose.

The oldest daughter, Elsie was a school teacher in the area. She taught Charles and Lydia how to read and write in English. They were then given their citizenship papers. This was a great day in the Bitzer family.

Probably the worst hardships were the winters. They would have snow higher than the milkhouse and there was no going to town unless it was a real emergency. The children got new shoes every fall for school and they had to last the whole school year. The summertime they all went barefoot to save on the shoes.

They had a root cellar for refrigeration. The root cellar is still there attached to the wooden house they built. Lydia also made all her own soap.

Highlights of the children's lives were going to Uncle Philip's ice cream parlor when they came to town. Also, school picnics at Schuler's grove which is about 4 miles north of Tolstoy. Back to Index

Philip was the third son of Jacob and Johanna Bitzer. He had three brothers Jacob, Simon, and Charles and two sisters Rose and Katherine. Philip was never certain of the date of his birth. He was sure of the month of February but the date was questionable. Being an ardent admirer of Abe Lincoln he chose to call his birthday Feb. 12. He always said he was a "man without a country" for he was born on the Black Sea while his family along with many other German families were going to Russia to take up land the Russian government had offered to settlers who would come and work it. Upon arriving however; they learned that Russian promises true to form to this day were not what they were purported to be and they would simply be slaves of the state. When they heard about the Homestead Act in this country they set sail for America and settled in the Dakota Territory.

Philip married Annie Marie Anderson and to this union 9 children were born: Mildred (Mrs. Otto Rostomily - deceased); Emma (Mrs. Helmuth Gundert); Lillian (deceased at seventeen); Harold - deceased; Alice (Mrs. J. B. Gundert); Helen (Mrs. Otto Mees); Floyd; Lucille (Mrs. Prince Graber - deceased); Harlan - deceased.

When the busy little town of Tolstoy was springing up in 1907, Philip moved his family here from Bowdle. His first drug and variety store was in the building presently housing the "Village Cafe". Later he built a drug store a block down the street with living quarters in the back. He received his appointment as postmaster on August 27, 1912. The postoffice was located in one corner of the drug store. The first switchboard for the "Springs Mutual Telephone Company" in Tolstoy was also installed in Philip's drug store.

Philip directed the town band for a long time. Later that job was taken over by his son Harold. Harold was better known as "Ole" a name he acquired from some Swedish Carpenters he worked for in his teens. He also worked for Ed Erickson the local barber who probably influenced him to attend barber college in Minneapolis and open his own little shop. This same building is now preserved in "Pioneer Village" near Madison, S. D., as is the old bandstand. Besides being band director Harold also worked as a gunsmith, jeweler, electrician, radio and television repairman, and rural mail carrier. The culmination of his career came when he received his appointment as postmaster on April 1, 1942.

Harold married Elma Glanzman on July 25, 1925. Elma first came to Tolstoy as a teacher in 1919. She was an active member of the Methodist Church choir for many years and served as W S C S Treasurer for 18 years, she served on the school board, and clerked at the post office. Upon Harold's retirement she was appointed postmaster on Dec. 10, 1965.

Harold passed away Jan. 27, 1969. Two children were born to this union, Vincent and LaVonne.

Vincent and wife (Mary Baus) of Tolstoy have eight children. LaVonne and husband Philip Vik of Vermillion have four children.

This was the first schoolhouse built In Tolstoy. It was moved to Gettysburg and is being used to store lumber in it at John's Lumber. Back to Index

John Block was born in Volnina, Russia, but was of German descent. Dora Schneider was born in Freeman, S. D. in 1881. Her parents immigrated to America from Russia. They settled in Freeman where they farmed and raised their family.

Dora's early childhood was spent on the farm with her seven brothers and three sisters.

At the age of eighteen, Dora married John Block of Webster, S. D. Four children were born to this union, William, Tillie, Anna, and Alvina. Mr. Block died very suddenly of typhoid fever in 1908.

Dora's two brothers, Pete and John Schneider and her parents, were living in Tolstoy at the time of Mr. Block's death. The brothers owned a meat market and an adjoining restaurant. They persuaded her to move to Tolstoy and work for them as a cook in their restaurant. Sometime later she purchased a lot located in the northern part of town and bought a little old red schoolhouse; which was moved onto the lot and converted into a home. Dora raised her four children in Tolstoy. Bill was born in Webster in 1901. He attended school in Tolstoy then on to Aberdeen Commercial College. He was town treasurer for sixteen years, active in the Red Cross, a former banker of Tolstoy, engaged in insurance, real estate, and farming. Bill was elected to the House of Representatives in 1940.

He moved to Herried, S. D., where he lived until his death, Sept. 12, 1975. He was a cashier in the bank at Herried.

Ottilia attended school in Tolstoy and Hoven. Later on she attended dress making school in Aberdeen. Ottilia married Louis Schile. They moved to Portland, Ore. and she passed away in 1976.

Anna attended school in Tolstoy. She worked in her mother's cafe and in the hotel in Hoven. She married Ralph Neilan, a former depot agent in Tolstoy.

After Ralph's retirement, they moved to Maryland.

Alvina attended school in Tolstoy and N.S.T.C. in Aberdeen. While in Tolstoy, she worked in the Presszler store and also for Mr. Grosz in the mercantile. She married Eugene Herrboldt in 1928. He was employed at the bank. When the bank closed they moved to Aberdeen. Eugene passed away in 1953. They had three children.

In 1960, Alvina married Adam Oberlander. They are still residing in Aberdeen.  Back to Index

Micheal Bollinger was born May 6, 1870, in Neudarf, Russia. Margaretta Huber was born Sept. 20, 1874 in Glucksthal, Russia. They were married on Jan. 28, 1897 in Russia.

The reason for leaving Russia was for freedom of religion. They left in 1903 with their two children, Jacob and Carrie. Freddie, their first born died in Russia at the age of four. They arrived in New York and came to Redfield by train. After spending only a couple of days in Redfield, they came to Seneca.

Here they stayed with Mrs. Bollinger's parents. That summer they worked for Mr. Rudolph Reinecke. The following year they lived near Mother Bollinger's uncle.

They worked for him in the fields. The children were left with a cousin who lived nearby. The cousin went to the Bollinger home to bake her bread. She started the fire to heat the oven. Somehow the fire got out of control, burning the home and all of the Bollinger's belongings. They were left homeless with only the clothes on their backs and three children. Friends and neighbors opened their hearts and homes to them.

Alma, Katie, Maggie, Lydia, Adolph, Jake, Rose, Carrie, Martha, Emma

Later they purchased land seven miles northeast of Tolstoy. Here they built a humble home and other necessary buildings. It was all prairie, complete with many rocks. They cleared the land of rocks and tilled the ground with a one bottom walking plow. After years of hard labor and sweat they lost their farm due to drought. They rented farms for several years. In 1918 they purchased a small farm northeast of Tolstoy. They lived here until 1937. At this time they retired and purchased a small home in Tolstoy. Their family members were: Jacob; Carrie (Maier); Katherine (Dufloth); Rose (Klein); (Holweger); Lydia (died at the age of 33); Emma (Bovee); Edward (died at the age of 14 days); Maggie (Boone); Adolph; Martha (Christiansen); and Alma ( Houghton).

They had many hardships in their life time. With faith in God and His loving care they managed to get along. Mrs. Bollinger passed away on Sept. 27 1952.

Mr. Bollinger made his home with his children for several years until he needed special nursing care. He spent 3 1/2 years of his life in a nursing home. Mr. Bollinger passed away on Feb. 24, 1965. Back to Index

Gottlob Blumhardt was born March 24, 1871 in Crimea, South Russia. His ancestors had migrated from Germany. The queen Katherine (the great) of Russia had invited immigrants from Germany, Alsace-Lorraine, and other places to the underdeveloped territory of Southern Russia. They were promised freedom of worship, freedom of speech, and the men would not be drafted into the Russian army. They as a rule congregated in communities by themselves; had their 'own churches, schools, and spoke the German language. They were able to purchase some land for themselves.

In later years after the queen died, and Czar Alexander 111 was ruler, these privileges were taken away from them. He started to draft the young men into the Russian Army. This was one reason so many came to the United States.

As a young man. Gottlob came to the United States with another family. His brother Karl and wife had preceded him and were living at Bowdle, S. D. He told us what a wonderful feeling it was to be looking out the windows of the train as it was nearing Bowdle and to see his brother Karl standing there with other members of the railroad crew. We can well imagine the relief after coming all that way by himself not even knowing the English language.

Some months later, his parents, three sisters, and three brothers came to the United States. They settled on a farm near Hosmer in Edmunds county.

Gottlob and Katherine Dufloth were married Nov. 19, 1896 at Bowdle, S. D. in the Evangelical Lutheran church. It must have been a large wedding. We noticed on the marriage certificate that there were four attendants two bridesmaids and two groomsmen.

They lived on a farm near Hosmer and later had a Livery Stable and a dray line in Hosmer. While there; six children were born: Freda, Emma, Emil (who are now deceased), Lena (Mrs. Al Meisner), Pauline (Mrs. Christ Stotz), and Alma (Mrs. Bill Reinschmidt).

In 1908 they moved to Tolstoy, S. D. where Gottlob ran a dray line until he retired. A son Edwin was born in Tolstoy.

As young children we found it exciting to watch for the train coming from the east. We could see the smoke for miles then to go with Dad to pick up the U. S. Mail, cream to be shipped out of town, etc. then to pick up the incoming U. S. Mail, empty cream cans, and freight to be delivered to the two stores.

Tolstoy was a perfect town to grow up in a happy and peaceful place.

Gottlob passed away Aug. 5, 1949. Mrs. Blumhardt passed away May 9, 1949. Both are buried in the St. James Lutheran cemetery at Tolstoy.

Mr. Gottlob Blumhardt is pictured here with his team of horses and wagon that he used for his dray line business. Back to Index

Christian Buechler was born on April 9, 1889 at Glucksthal, South Russia to Christian Buechler and Magdelina (Bieber) Buechler. Christian's mother passed away during the birth of John. Later on Mr. Buechler married Lisa Sandmier and to this union were born Jacob, Catherine, Christina, and Fredricka. John was orphaned at the age of twelve and he then made his home with Bieber's his maternal grandparents. Mr. Buechler passed away of pneumonia at the age of 32.

In 1906, Christ and his brother John immigrated to the United States. Their money was sewn into their clothes for safety on the nine day voyage across the Atlantic. Mr. and Mrs. Walz chaperoned their trip. When Christ and John arrived in the U. S., they stayed at Seneca with their uncle Joseph Buechler. John attended day school and Christ worked at various farm related jobs. John joined the army when he was 18. Christ went to live with his cousin Jacob Buechler and family at Parmlee, S. D. It was here that Christ homesteaded and built a set of farm buildings.

Rosina Hottman was born near Hosmer on April 20, 1892 to Jonathan Hottman and Christina (Albrecht) Hottman. In 1899 the family moved to a farm southwest of Tolstoy in the Springs community. Rosina had eight brothers and sisters.

Christian Buechler and Rosina Hottman were married March 10, 1913. They farmed near Parmlee until October 1917 when they moved to Tolstoy. Later they purchased a farm northeast of Tolstoy. (Known as the Johnny Buechler farm.)

Five children were born to Christ and Rosina. John was born in 1913 at Parmlee.

He married Katherine Dufloth in 1941. He died in 1967. Edward was born in 1915 at Parmlee. He and Lydia Keszler were married in 1937. He passed away in 1981.

Maria was born in 1917 and died in 1918. Elsie was born in 1919 near Tolstoy.

She married Edgar Dutt in 1945. She died in 1971. Martha was born near Tolstoy.

She now lives at Hot Springs, S. D.

Christian died in 1941, Rosina passed away in 1948. Back to Index

Daniel Dickhaut, immigrated to Lesterville, South Dakota from Russia in the year of 1912, at the age of 15.

Upon his arrival at Lesterville he met his two brothers, John and Jacob. He lived with his brother John and his family for some time before he moved in with the Jacob Weber family were he was employed as a farm laborer until his marriage to Rose Sayler in 1920. Four children were born to this union, Oscar, Raymond, Loretta and Leonard.

They established their first farming operation near Tabor, South Dakota, and continued to farm in the Lesterville area until 1945; when they moved to the Jonathon Hottman farm near Seneca were they resided for a couple years before moving on the Peter Hoven farm near Tolstoy.

In the mid 1950's they purchased a farm near Roscoe, South Dakota where they resided for the remainder of their lives.

Daniel died in July of 1961 and Rose in January of 1966. Our parents have always had fond memories of the generosity, friendliness and neighborly atmosphere of the Tolstoy community.

Oscar is a high school administrator at Milbank, S. D.

Raymond deceased.

Loretta deceased.

Leonard is a supervisor at a lumber yard at Winner, S. D. Back to Index

G. G. Dufloth and Carrie Schneider were married Nov. 14, 1909, in Tolstoy at her parent's home. This was the first marriage in the new town of Tolstoy. It was performed by Rev. Schaefer. On this day a terrible snowstorm came up and the guests from out of town could not go home. They remained as guests of Mr. and Mrs. Schneider for three days.

G. G. Dufloth was the first postmaster in Tolstoy, and he also owned a grocery store, which was destroyed by fire.

Because of the fire, poor crops in the area, and no work, they left Tolstoy in 1911. They moved to Aberdeen seeking employment, but being unsuccessful, they moved near Minneapolis where they were caretakers of an island. They took care of it during the off season. It was a vacation spot for many people. Every time they would want to go anywhere, they would have to go by boat. They could have remained there but Mrs. Dufloth would always get seasick. After this they returned to Aberdeen where he worked for Mr. Lindboe in the grocery business.

They then moved to Beebe, then on to Onaka, returning to Tolstoy in the spring of 1919. Here he became the manager of the lumberyard until 1937 when it was closed.

They moved to Rapid City in 1947, where they have since resided. While in Rapid City, G. G. operated a grocery store and also a saw filing business. Mr. Dufloth passed away in 1968. Mrs. Dufloth is now residing in the High Rise Apartment Complex.

Mr. and Mrs. Dufloth are the parents of five children: Earl married Esther Knecht (deceased), lives in California; Howard married Ellen Hughes, lives in Rapid City, S. D.; Katherine married John Buechler (deceased) presently married to Edgar Dutt, lives in Tolstoy; Grace married Cy Pettigrew, lives in Rapid City, S. D.; Virgil married Richard Reeves (deceased) lives in Minneapolis, Minn. Back to Index

Nathanial Delker was born March 16, 1878 in Glucksthal, Russia. He came to America with his parents Jacob and Regina Delker in 1888. Nathanial married Carolyn Huber in 1900. To this union 12 children were born: Marie, John, Lydia, Amelia, Pauline, Tillie, Albert, Johnnie, Reiny, Milbert, Edwin, and Ben.

They homesteaded on a farm 1 1/2 miles north of Garrison. In 1916 they moved back to this area to a place called the Moser farm, 15 miles north of Bowdle.

They farmed there for eight years then moved 12 miles north of Tolstoy on the Funk farm and after 2 1/2 years they moved to the Titgen place 2 1/2 miles north of Tolstoy. Eight years later they purchased the Charley Shock farm 7 miles south of Tolstoy. They remained here until they moved to Sheridan, Ore. in search of better living conditions. In Sheridan they built a new home with the help of their boys and a carpenter.

Nathanial was sickly for many years and passed away Aug. 7, 1954 at the age of 76. He was buried in the Sheridan cemetery. Carolyn continued to live alone in her home as long as possible. Later she sold her home and lived with her daughter Pauline and husband the William Osbornes at Brooks, Ore. until she decided to reside at the Colonial Nursing home in Salem, Ore. Pauline lived close by and spent much of her time visiting her mother at the nursing home.

Carolyn passed away at the age of 90 on April 7, 1973.

The children of Nathanial and Caroline Delker and their descendants are as follows: Marie (Delker) Goetz, six children Violet, Ervin, Lavina, Clarence, Arlene, and Orvis; John Delker deceased at the age of six; Lydia deceased at the age of eight; Amelia deceased at the age of twenty-four; Pauline (Delker) Osborne, two children Merlyn and Vivian; Tillie (Delker) Stotz, two children Verlyn and Leland; Albert Delker, two children Shirley and James; Johnnie Delker, five children Joan, Jerry, Vivian, Orville, and Jolleen; Reinholdt Delker, two children Sharon and Sandy; Milbert Delker, three children Elaine, Tommy, and Rick; Edwin Delker, two children Darlene and Ron; Ben Delker, two children Steven and Susan.

The surviving members of Nathanial Delker are Pauline, Tillie, Reinholdt. Milbert, Edwin, and Ben. Back to Index

The Dickhaut family came from Odessa, Russia. John Dickhaut, had been in the Russian, Japanese war in or about the 1900's. After the war John heard rumblings of a World War and so thinking it would be safe in America, decided that was the place to go.

When he was dismissed from the service, he married his cousin, Katie Dickhaut, who was a daughter to his uncle, Karl Dickhaut. They decided to leave for America as soon as they got permits.

John came to America in 1910 and settled in the area of Lesterville, South Dakota. His brother, Jake Dickhaut had come there a year earlier.

The grandparents with their children, Karl and Dora Dickhaut, and some of the grandchildren and John's wife Katie with their two sons, John Jr. and Henry came to America a few months after her husband John Sr. had arrived.

When they landed in New York, they had to report to Ellis Island where all immigrants had to be cleared so no disease was brought in to the U.S.A. Mrs. John Dickhaut had both John and Henry with her and kept them covered when inspection time came as one of them had chicken pox. Had it been discovered, they would have been delayed. They managed to get on their way.

They arrived at Lesterville, where John was waiting for them. He had rented a small farm there and with the kind help of his landlord, who was the village storekeeper, he was given machinery and horses to start farming.

Grandpa and Grandma Dickhaut and the rest of the family moved on to Herried, South Dakota, where they lived until they settled near Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada. We still have many relatives up there at this time.

John Dickhaut lived near Lesterville, and farmed there until 1922. The crops were good and they got their debts paid, and a bit of money saved. They also had John's younger brother, Dan Dickhaut, come from Russia. There was a starvation period in Russia and three sisters and brothers died at that time.

He tried to help his father in whatever way he could. SO, he had Dan come live with them.

Rose was born into the family in May of 1915. Now the family consisted of two boys and one girl.

Things went well for them, and they saved money, enough to make a down payment on a farm. They wanted a place of their own. John's parents had a friend living at Tolstoy, S. D. They visited them and found a place that they could buy. It was northeast of Tolstoy. They moved to this area in 1922 and bought the farm that is now owned by the William Bomesberger family. Here, they lived and the children attended the country school. Some of the teachers were, Mrs. Fred Holweger and Mrs. Julius Voegele.

They lived north of town until the 1930's depression hit and John couldn't make his payments on the farm and lost it. John then rented a farm south of Tolstoy.

They lived there until they retired to Bowdle, South Dakota in 1945.

John died in 1959 and the fall of that year, Katie came to live with Rose at Aberdeen. She lived with them until her death in November of 1973.

Farming was bad in the 1930's. There were no crops. The Dickhauts wondered how they would manage to get food on the table. This was during the time Franklin D. Roosevelt was president. He had many good projects for the poor. One of them being the W.P.A. John worked on this project and Rose remembers him leaving with the horses and wagon for work. Their pay was fifty dollars a month, which was a God-send for them.

Food was cheap to buy in those days. Coffee was around 38 cents a pound and flour was gotten by taking their own wheat to the mill and ground. The meat they had came from their animals and the chickens were used both for meat and eggs. The vegetables were from the garden which was watered from a well. So, if you lived on a farm you could survive. Lots of bread dumplings, knoeples, and strudels, were fixed and they learned to appreciate these meals.

Concerning the children of the family, John the oldest, was married in the year of 1929 to Pauline Delker. They had two children. Merlyn Ray, who is married and has three children and lives in Seattle, Wash., and Vivian Cranley who had three children. She passed away in July of 1980 of cancer. John passed away in June of 1979 at Sacramento, Calif. Henry married Evelyn Wolf in 1935. They farmed at Tolstoy and later moved into Tolstoy, where he worked at the Elevator until he retired. Evelyn works at the Village Cafe. They had seven children: Donald of Denver, , Colo.; Betty of Fresno, Calif.; Jerry of Glendive, Mont.; Karen of Omaha, Nebr.; Beverly of Mobridge, S. D.; Alice and Ricky also live in Fresno, Calif. Rose taught school for 37 years and retired in 1977. She taught in rural school for 15 years and the rest of the time in Ipswich and Aberdeen city schools. During World War II, she married Harvey H. Strobel in June of 1943. They lived in Macon, Geo., and Laurel, Md. until he was sent to serve overseas. He was killed in the Battle of the Bulge, in Belgium in 1945. After his death, Rose went back to college and got her Bachelor of Arts Degree and kept on teaching. In the year of 1947, Rose married Albert J. Bertsch of Venturia, N. D. They farmed one year at Venturia and then moved south of Tolstoy, onto her father's farm. They lived there for five years. Due to her husband's health they left the farm and moved to Ipswich, and later to Aberdeen. They have lived there for twenty five years and are retired. Back to Index