October weather

Now that October is here and the scenery turns from beautiful to gorgeous we should take time to enjoy Mother Nature’s efforts. Isn’t it wonderful to see these changes from one season to another? Thirty five years ago we had no irrigation, there was a drought. Just think of the investment our farmers have from early spring until harvest time. So much money and time is spent to develop a crop, and then holding their breath hoping that bad weather doesn’t spoil it.

Farming they say, is a gamble, and that gamble can be narrowed by good decisions intelligent farming, and of course it helps to pray for good weather and good crops.

Thirty five years ago, we had a few droughty years, a poor economic period, and we were in the middle of the government’s soil bank plan.  Farmers were signing up their farm for a period of ten years, and as a result there were many farm auctions. There were usually two or three farm auctions each week for several years. The farm families offered all their machinery and livestock for sale, and with it went their farming abilities, and they moved out to large cities where there were jobs available never to return.

A few of them intended to return but their machinery rusted and was out dated, and they had no livestock to start with and they had no experience with the newly developing irrigation. They had adapted to a new lifestyle. We were sorry to see them leave. They were good folks.

Here’s a short story about Harold Imsdahl who worked in our Bank for 46 years. Harold was hired in 1909 as assistant cashier for $260 per year. His wages were doubled 6 months later and was made Cashier in 1913. Harold was a perfect gentleman. He treated everyone with respect, never said a bad word about anyone, and always wore a full suit and tie. I never heard him use any bad language.

I used to think of him as Harold the key twirler, because he usually opened the bank each morning and had a certain way of doing it. He would go up to the door, look both ways to see if anyone was watching, take his keys out of his pocket which were in a leather pouch and open the door. He then gave the keys a twist to get them back in the pouch.

Harold owned a farm north of Brooten which his brother Alvin farmed, and was close to town.  After Harold retired, he spent more time at the farm and took over management. Harold and his wife had a beautiful daughter Doris who was musically inclined, became a music teacher and married a teacher. They also had a young lady Myrtle Overlien, the daughter of a local distressed couple who they raised, also very attractive who also became a teacher, and also married a teacher.

Harold also was an agent for a fire insurance company for years servicing local people. There were very few local insurance agents at that time.

His health began failing when he retired but he was a very good stable employee over the years and had many friends. We were sorry to lose Harold, a very valuable long time employee. He was a dependable Cashier in our five-star bank. Right Dave?