Lori Gooch
Northwoods Press
Nevis, Minnesota
June 25, 2009
Historical Society hosts descendants meeting
Over 75 years ago students from seven families attended Vokes School, a tiny one-room schoolhouse in District 13 near Park Rapids and Nevis. The 15 students in grades 1 through 8 were all taught by Eula Edum, a 19-year old first-year teacher with only one year of education past high school.
John and Ruth Linsley attended Vokes School for two years beginning in the fall of 1932 after their parents, James and Martha Linsley, traded their Minneapolis home as a down payment for the deed to a 160-acre parcel near Park Rapids. Their time in Hubbard County is detailed in family letters and photos on the website, deardaddy.com.
When the Dear Daddy website was introduced locally, descendants of Vokes students began correspondence, sharing photos, recipes and memories.
This past week, relatives, descendants, and neighbors of the original 15 classmates met in person, thanks to the efforts of Ruth Linsley Forman's children, Mark Forman and Lucy Jeanne, now of Deer Park, Washington.
Forman filmed interviews for a documentary, and Jeanne hosted a presentation and an open question and answer session.
The Hubbard County Historical Society (HCHS) hosted a campfire session last Friday night and a day of old fashioned fun for all ages at Hoosier Beach resort on Stocking Lake, providing a chance for families to meet and try their hands at baking bread, churning butter, making jam, and a variety of daily chores. Favorite family recipes used at the event were shared by the HCHS:
White Bread
From Dena DeVore
1 cup milk warmed to 90 to 100 degrees
3 cups flour
1½ tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon yeast
Mix all ingredients and knead. Let rise until double. Punch down, knead, and form into a loaf. Place dough in a greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
Blueberry Jam (without pectin)
From Ramona Bliss and Mae Graunke
4 cups of berries
3 tablespoons vinegar
4 cups sugar
Add vinegar to berries and cook until boiling. Add the sugar all at once. Boil for 8-10 minutes, or until the jam falls from the spoon in a glossy sheet instead of drops. Pour into jars or jelly glasses, seal and cool.
Enjoy ice cream, pie at courthouse
The Hubbard County Historical Society will host an old fashioned pie and ice cream social on the courthouse lawn at the museum in Park Rapids, Saturday from 2 - 4 p.m.
The public is invited to share in entertainment provided by County 20, tour the museum, and visit with friends and family of Dear Daddy: The Farm Letters project, a collection of memories and experiences shared from the 1930s by descendants of Vokes School students in Hubbard County.
Lucy Jeanne from Deer Park WA, will be presenting a slideshow and facilitate a discussion about early life on the Hubbard County Prairie, in a program at 3 p.m.
Slices of pie and ice cream will be sold for $5 ($3 for HCHS members) or $2 for children. Children are welcome and families are encouraged to attend.
All proceeds will go to the Hubbard County Historical Society towards the Historical Hubbard County Project, a program developed to help complete the society's historical resources and educate the public about the fascinating and unique history of our community.
