Histories

Julianna, the eldest daughter of Elef and Emma (Embjor) Arneson was born on March 7, 1872 in Arena WI. She married Anton Hendrickson on Feb. 22, 1899. They made their home in Ridgeway, WI., where Anton worked for the Staughton Wagon Company and then later for a Land Company that was selling land in southwestern North Dakota when the Milwaukee Railway had reached the area. Here he chose a homestead of 160 acres, but before he could sign up for it, he was called back to WI, as his family was suffering from typhoid fever. Later, in 1910, he moved his family to Woodbury Township in Slope Co, ND. By this time the couple had 4 children, Evaline, born in 1899, Lila, 1902, Earl, 1905, and Harold in 1909. While a house was being built, they lived with a neighbor, and Julia was the cook for the household and several laborers. They had one more child, Russell, born in 1912, the only one born in ND.

There was a coalmine on the homestead, and Anton and the sons worked in that, in addition to farming. Life was tough, trying to establish a home on the prairie. All of the children were hard workers, getting jobs wherever they could to help the family. When the girls and Russell were old enough they attended school in Dickinson, ND and went out to teach in one- room schools.

One of their closest neighbors was Ted Arneson, and his wife Belle. Ted was Julia`s cousin, the only 2 of the Arnesons who moved to North Dakota.

Julia died in 1934, and Anton in 1941. They were both buried back in Wisconsin near their birthplaces.

EVALINE—(1899-1951)

Evaline attended Dickinson Normal College, getting enough education to teach in rural schools in Southwestern ND. She taught in the Taylor area, where she met and married Knute Knudson, a farmer, in 1926. They raised 4 children. Education for their children was of up most importance, and all have college degrees. Knute passed away in 1964.

LILA (1902-1984[sic])

Lila taught in several ND schools, always returning to college in the summer, to further her education, She returned to WI in the late 1940`s, and taught in several schools there. She spent some summers working at Little Norway. Sometime in the 50`s she moved to Washington State, where she continued to teach in elementary schools until she retired. She passed away in 1984 [sic], and is buried in WA. (We Knudson kids thought a lot of our Aunt Lila. We always looked forward to her visits and the generous treats she brought us whenever she visited.)

EARL (1905-1986)

Earl stayed on the homestead and worked in the coal mine for several years. In 1934, he caught a leg in the belt at the coalmine, and had to have it removed. He moved to Minneapolis, and worked in a prostheses shop while being fitted for a new leg. He then spent some time with his sister Evaline and her husband, Knute, at their farm before returning to the Scranton area. During World War II, he moved to the Seattle area where he worked in the shipyards, until his retirement. In the 1940`s he married Dora Foss, a girl from WI. They had 2 children, Sharon and David. Earl passed away in 1986, and Dora in 2002. They are buried in WA.

HAROLD (1909-1946)

Harold lived and worked in the Scranton and Dickinson area all his life. He married a local girl, Palma Pierce in 1936. In 1946, while working with a house mover in the Hebron, ND area, he was electrocuted. He left 7 children.

RUSSELL (1912-2004)

Russell, too, attended Dickinson Normal School, and taught in several southwestern ND schools. He married Lucille Kessler Kinmark in 1939. They moved around to several jobs in ND, Montana, Idaho, and Washington, finally settling in Prosser WA in the 1950s.. They had 5 children. Lucille passed away in l990s and Russell died in 2004.