Reminiscing by Mrs. Oscar Foiles
Looking out the window during the noted blizzard of 1888. 1 could get an occasional glimpse of a little tree growing near the house. During this blizzard my father nearly missed the house-stumbling against the rain barrel at the corner of the house-as he came in from the barn.
I started to school when about 7 years old, and my first course was to learn to speak English. My parents used the Swedish language. When I was about 11, my mother was stricken with paralysis which left her an invalid for 25 years. As I became older I helped with the home work in addition to my school work.
One day as I was going to school at noon, having helped with the family wash, I noticed a heavy smoke from the southeast which seemed to be rising rapidly. This proved to be a prairie fire which had started near Willow Lake. The teacher, Miss Alta Mathews, if I remember right, took us all out to a plowed field. Some of the older boys guarded the school house and barn. All buildings on Mrs. Twaddle’s place burned except the house. This is the place where Mr. and Mrs. Lowell Graves now own. All buildings across the road and south of the school house burned. The barn on the Eric Nelson place burned also-the place known now as the George Franzen place. The fire was stopped after it reached the railroad between Clark and Raymond. Two of the older boys who guarded the school were Vivian Morser and Hugh Twaddle.
Among early neighbors were Phil Henry, Jud Edwards, the Morser family and the Twaddles. I well remember seeing Mrs. Twaddle taking her family to Raymond to church in a wagon drawn by oxen.
During the 1890’s there was quite a Jewish settlement here. They lived in several places, that earlier settlers had abandoned. After living on a homestead 5 years one could claim a deed, and they secured a loan, which many did, and considered their land sold, so deserted it.
One family one mile south of us had a large family and six or seven came to our school, and 1 remember the good times we had.
They observed Saturday as Sunday and I remember seeing them walk by on the Sabbath they would fall prostrate on the ground after going a certain distance, then do it again, until arriving at their destination. They had a resident priest or rabbi, who also butchered the animals needed for meat, which was considered unclean if butchered by anyone else. The rabbi also settled their troubles or disagreement when they arose.
In 1908, I was married to Oscar Foiles and we settled on our present farm where we lived until December, 1957 when we moved to this farm.