These are notes from Johnny Bennet and Ivan King. (Copy of their miscellaneous remembrances they jotted down and shared with those interested . this copy Shared by Ruth McLaughlin)(Also note: I am typing the names here as they are on the sheets given to Ruth, I think a few of the names may actually have a different spelling but I will leave as is)
At the West End Depot Toilet and fuel shed. A Large brick platform in front of the depot on the east side a brick wall to the cement sidewalk east across the road - Also a wooden railing south side of the brick sidewalk.
Main rail line and sidetrack across from tracks - elevator/grain office - East of grain office along the road posts with chain (hitching rail).
North of grain office was Elevator about a block north of the elevator was the stockyards.
On the East side of the rail line at the north west corner of town - West of Crich south side Fuller House moved to Gilbert Buckett Farm.
Ross Brooks House sold to Jerry Robb and moved to farm South East of Angus
Bill Black house at south East corner of main intersection vacant. Hitching Rail West side of street. Across street west - directly south of Ivan Kings store was Fuller Black Smith Shop Charlie Fuller - Burned in 1926.
Livery Barn next - Hotel next in line - Lumber yard - Coal sheds - one elevator about 150 feet south of main east west road - by rail road tracks.
One Block South of Ive's Store - United Brethren Church - across street south - Parsonage.
West of Church - Phil Michael's house - Jim Holsten - Bill Felton - Next west - Basinger house moved in form Brooks Farm - Nest west Neal Woherman House on corner on other side of the street west end East end -
West End - Vacant lot - Ralph Peters lived there at one time - Next east - Henry White built - (Clark Kinnison owned)
Back to Parsonage - Across east from Parsonage - Cal Judy Place
One block south of Cal Judy - Stall House "MALenay" House
#Thompson House on North side of Road Ive King Place - built by Jon Moss -? Last Place - Alfred Bures sold 13 acres Ive
back west to Cal Judy road - west lower track
Wayne Stevens
Hoard House - Elbrige Boyinton - Ralph White - across street west - Section House "DAGO House" Ive says was west of Leonard house on south side of the block - was a house where Frank Smith and wife lived.
Housen Hill - Charlie Bock - Opha Move House
Bill Peters place was the old Moore Place
Mrs Blevins was DRVgle
Mrs Moore house was built by Charlie and Ben Richards.
Shickley house mover Bougert
Ive Kings Grand Pis House (to rersona?)
And Lon Piller house - (Gilbert Bucketts house)
Christian Church (Early days was a Methodist Church)
House south of the church was Calin House
Alfred Bures House - Grandpa Joe Culbertson lived there before Bures
Christian Church was Oxbow Church Moved in from Chamberlais place after Methodist Church burned
Lee Carlin (Deaf/Mute)
Kings Grandpa Brad house - Barn - and storage sheds
North side of Main Street at west end Rudolh and Louie Buie's ronstoe (Buies Bros).
Lived and Mrs Drughis House
Next east - Millenery Shop (Maggie "AMRQS" Crandall)
Frude store next to bank on West Side
Bank
McNeir store bough by Henry Kinnason (Ive King's father in law) Ice house in rear.
Kinnison Store burned in 1917
Next in line Post office Bldg . (was moved to Walter Grossman Place.)
Next in line Loge Hall, Vance Hall and Richards hardware store - moved to Taylor Place on #4 Hiway. - Mrs. Taylor was Brooks
East of Block Garage employee of Fuller Garage lived in Cave.
Mrs. Kim Brooks House - Moss then Tom Taylor house (McClures lived there)
East of McClures - Ben Moore house - was moved 5 miles west of Angus and then South
East of Kim Brooks - west of Albert Shums
Charlie Fuller House - (house is gone now)
Albert Shien's house - Frok Borin (Bourgert Bures Bro.'s Store)
Fuller Auto Plant 1/4 mile east.
Nah Bird - Bootleggers
South
Swimming pool build by Bill DeVore approx 1920
Angus school house across road west from Bill DeVore's
Back west on south side of road to barn Frank Bouin Owned 10 acres with Bun
Angus Swimming Pool - Built around 1920 on William (Bill) and Pear Devore's farm - east of Angus - They build and ran it. Compared to the swimming pools today it was quite crude. It had a slide on the west side of the pool. Diving boards were on South east end and a teeter tooter straight out from the bath house. All who went down there said they had a lot of fun. It was in operation for over 20 years. Spring water was used to fill the pool with water powered ram pump. The pool was probably the first cement pool in the county. The pool was much larger than the pools of today. Back to the pool was a shady park with oaks for shade and pools, used for picnics and get togethers. Jack Cox told us that he almost drown and that Pearl pulled him out with a pool cleaner (Can be seen in the wash house picture). When he and Bard were married, Bill and Pearl came to the wedding. Pearl told Jack that he belonged to her because she had saved him. Betty Koontz told of Elmer Shuck pulled her out of the pool when she was 2 years old. She had almost drowned. Celia Hunter called with this information in the summers of 1933-1945 - The Edgar Women's Club sponsored free swimming lessons, they were given by Celia Hunter. Bruce Merrill (Celia's dad) made a little car with a spring buggy seat that Celia drove down to Angus when they had lessons - Usually she took several children with her. Roger mountford told how his mother (Mrs. Doc. "Irene" Mountford would load their car up with all the kids (After all the jobs she lined up for them to do were done) it would hold (some of them rode the fenders behind the big headlights) and take them down from Davenport for a day.
with Tom's permission 10-10-2024
Ivan was my grandfather, After he married, he and my grandmother farmed near Angus. He bought the building across the street east of the general store and became a self taught auto mechanic. There weren't many vehicles back then so not many mechanics either. He later bought the general store from the Judy family and added the post office and a fuel business to it. The store was open seven days a week and in the early years the store did not close until 8 pm. He bought two small pieces of ground and farmed that, later renting the land west of town to Roy Burkett. Grandpa King was a brillian man and I found out from many of his former store patrons at his funeral that he carried a large accounts receivable from his customers. many told me that they would not survived through the Depression without his generosity. To my knowledge, only one of those customers did not fully pay him back. He retired in the late 60s and moved to Edgar living off of a generous post office pension, his land rent and wise investments. The post office pension was way more than what he made as a postmaster. For his first year of being postmaster, he made just over five bucks a month! He used to love going to Nebraska football games back in the forties and fifties which led to his only poor financial decision. His season tickets were under the west balcony at the 35 yard line. After sitting through multiple losing seasons, he gave up the tickets just prior to Bob Devaney's first season!!
These remembrances were told to Ruth McLaughlin by Bonnie and shared by Ruth
The swim pool where the turtle pond is that was where they rented canoes and paddled around and where the springs emptied into and there was a filter between the swim pool and that little place that was in a pipe between the two that emptied the water from the pool and that little place that was in a pipe tween the two that emptied the water from the canoe place to the swim pool. Picnic place there also.
Bonnie told about the sisters that Wm (Bill ) DeVore married Pearl and Pearl's sis, Carrie, lived with them where our farm house is, and how they painted themselves up so beautiful.
Darrel Wards folks lived just west of Jessie Cox's house (Which was south of Culbertsons) on in the field abit and his folks, Frank and Edith Ward made brooms back there. The hotel Bonnie believed was catacorner from the store then a livery stable and that house in the bank where the windmill is across from Huck, Calvin Judy lived there and worked as postman and then his daughter Florence Judy Jorgansen.
Neal Wehrman and Red Melvin traded places. I believe Neal was Red's mother's (Mrs. Homer) dad, but he married his housekeeper when his wife died.
The Bueoys which were Alice Culbertson's folks lived down the road NW of what is now Deana's place, back there by Mrs. Carlson's place.
Shared by Duane Steele. This is an exerpt what he had written about that photo.
The Depot photo is probably 1913. The Skyrmes lived upstairs in Depot when they moved to Angus. Gerald in the window was born in 1911 in Superior. I don't have exact dates but the Skyrmes must have moved to Angus in 1912 or so. They Lived upstairs in the Depot but moved to a house south of main Street before my mother and next brother were born in 1913 & 1914 respectfully. Then they moved to the little house across from what is now Deana's house. Ruth was born there in 1917 and Wayne in 1923. Times were so hard then (1923) Davies took a job on the Railroad again in Wyoming.
So in Angus, Davies worked at the Depot for a year or so. The local people asked him to work in the bank so he quit at the railroad and worked 7 years at the Angus bank until the 1st depression closed it. That must have been 1921 or 1922. He then worked at the store for a year or so to try to make a living but then went back to the railroad in Wyoming.
Shared by Duane Steele - In Photo: Teacher Nellie Drake, Joe Culbertson, Kenneth Jackson, Norma Worman, Lola Kinnison, Pansy Grossman, Nellie Grossman, Gladys Potter, Lyle Kinnison, Marie Caulk, Velma Kinnison, Dorcas Kinnison, Harland Born, Clyde Hunt, Claire Worman, Gerald Skyrme, Charley Hays, Irma Kinnison, Cleo Culbertson, Pauline Timbrook, Marvin DeVore, Marian Godwin, Glen Jackson, Lawrence Born, Jack Hays, Wilford Kinnison, Mildred Hunt, Genevieve Skyrme, Cecil Kinnison
Source: Excerpt from Email from Mark Stevens 2013
My grandparents (Charlie and Katherine Stevens) lived on a farm a few miles west of Angus and I visited there many times in the 50's and early 60's. My dad passed away a some time ago and before he did we visited Angus. We tried to secretly tape him on video telling stories about growing up in the area, and would not you know it, the tape did not work.
He did tell me of a man who lived in Angus who was known for raising great melons. My dad and a friend named Charlie DeVore (?) used to raid his melon patch to the old man's chagrin. My dad hatched a plan one day to wear a pair of my grandma's shoes that were much larger than his small feet and went out that night and stole a large melon. The imprint in the soil looking like cowboy boots which is what Charlie evidently wore. The next day the old man caught Charlie and gave him a licking thinking that it was Charlie. That story came up when I visited Angus with my dad a year before he died. We were driving through Angus and (if my sense of directions are right) it was south of the store that still remains. I think there was an old building or parts of it still standing where the old man must have lived or had a shop of some sort. it seems to me he might have been a blacksmith or something like that.
I have on very old tape my grandma telling stories of my dad and Charlie, once where he and Charlie's dads kerosene out to make mud pies. Another time she tells a story my dad walking through Angus with his ever present sling shot around his neck. Some old man that evidently always kidded my dad came up to him and said "what is this around your neck Dale" ? He reached out and pulled the sling shot down and let it go and hit my dad in the chin. My grandmother's voices cackled with delight as she talks about how mad it made my dad and how he chased the old man down the street of Angus shooting at his butt "with every jump".
A couple stories during Angus days (Skyrme Family)
While raising a family there are tense moments. When Gerald was a little fellow he would hold his breath a lot. I have heard it is caused by a weak stomach. When he was 8 years old the Sunday School had a picnic along the river. He went into the river and almost drowned. As he was going down for the 3rd time, a man grabbed him.
When Gerald and Genevieve were tiny, they were playing in front of the cupboard. I had some scraps from sewing in the bottom of it and they got a piee around her neck. Gerald couldn't talk, but he made it known to me.
Stella Melvin was working for us when Ruth was a newborn and one night she handed her to me as she was limp. Davies was so scared. He finally got some hot water with turpentine in it for her to breathe.
Source Superior Express 9.7.67 "The people of Angus are amazed at the number of visitors who have signed the guest book in the Sod House. There are over nine hundred names already. Almost every week there is a new addition to the house or its surroundings. Last week someone hung out the wash after an old washing machine had been put on display. "
** Peak Population (1900) 118. Post office name changed from Ox Bow in December 1886, discontinued in 1977. Angus United Brethren church organized about 1886. Methodist Episcopal in 1899. Methodist church burned in 1909. The Angus Automobile factory operated in 1907 to 1909.