Most of those buildings are still there. Hettinger is about 90 miles east of my ranch at Westmore, Montana. Hettinger is, and was, the BIG town in western North Dakota along the Milwaukee Road/Highway 12 west of the River. Probably 1,000 people today. When the Milwaukee came west in 1907-1909 it crossed the river at Mobridge (Missouri Bridge= Mo. Bridge) South Dakota and as usually happened along those new railroad routes, established a new town every ten or twelve miles with a depot & a siding. New towns boomed and within weeks. where there had been only barren prairie there were stores, lumber yards, banks, implement dealers and homesteaders. The first few towns west of Mobridge in South Dakota established as farm towns, then there was a 50 miles or so stretch of pretty barren land not suitable for homesteading and partly an Indian reservation. The first town west of there that was suited for farming nearby was Hettinger. It was, and is, a pretty viable farm town, the county seat, etc., etc. Next to the west are Scranton, Bycyrus and a couple forgotten sidings, then Bowman, Rhame, Marmarth and the Montana border with Baker, Plevna, Westmore, Ismay & Mildred before you get to the Yellowstone River where the Milwaukee turned and went west over the Calypso bridge across the Yellowstone and on to Miles City.

The story of the Milwaukee Railroad's build west through this area is told in "The Adventures of Herman & Freida and Their Model T Fords" with Hettinger being the model for the fictional Lindvold. This is the main street Herman and the boys drive down to the court house to visit Dr. Sather Numbuck (or as Herman calls him, Dr. Nummnuts) with the coil tester and explain to him how the Ford ignition system works.

The memorable line of that story, I've been told, is "My dad always said when you're picking up a turd it's hard to figure out which is the clean end to pick it up by and I figure that's the way you are, turd from one end to the other."

This is the big town Freida's sister Barbara moved to when she married Barlow Finsel and where she was part of the "society." Finsel's Fashions was right here on main street.

It's all in your perspective, isn't it??

Thanks, Jay.

Stan - That reminds me, It sure would be nice to get a volume 2 of Herman & Freida Adventures.

Any plans? If so, please put me on the list.

For those of you who haven't read "The Adventures of Herman & Freida and their Model T Fords", written by Stan Howe, you just don't know the fun you're missing.

Keith

Thanks, Keith.

Einar and Torval are building a race car so they can go racing in the Ford races that are going to happen on the 4th of July in Vindall. They are sure they will win there, go on to Lindvold to the big race at the county fair and win the $100 first prize. (Their car is going together about as fast as my barnyard cruiser which I'm trying to find a day or two to work on this month.) Anyway, Boyce Prickerson, Einar's nemesis from the Norwegian Sheepherder's Ball, reappears as the organizer of the Ford races and it turns out that Tillie DID know him from before, he wasn't just at the dance by accident. The boys are looking for a set of wire wheels and a hot head for their T, they are ordering a set of $7 Laurel lowering blocks for the front of the chassis they drug out of the neighbor's orchard and, as far as I have it written so far, are going to take the block to Lindvold to have it bored out bigger for the pistons they have ordered. (This trip will introduce them to the K R Wilson combination machine and babbitting as well as cylinder boring) They have been reading Murray Fahnstock like he is the new King James and spending money out of their Ford account like there is no tomorrow.

Freida doesn't think much of this whole deal and is sure they will both be killed, Tillie and Einar are fighting and know-it-all Boyce, of course, is needling Einar and Torvald at every opportunity. There are a few new characters & most of the old ones are back. (you'll like Yolanda & Yondola even better this time) So far I haven't got Dr. Nummnuts worked into the story so I don't know if he will be back or not but I'm going to try to work him in as he was very popular and good for a few laughs in the last story. Cory reappears as Torvald's first girlfriend and his main cheering section. Einar, being the good older brother and already having a girlfriend, has a lot of advice about women in general and girlfriends in particular. He is almost 18 and getting to be a man of the world so..................

Jew Jakes Store is sponsoring their car and Uncle Barlow sent them some money to have "Finsels Fine Fashions" painted on the side of the car, which didn't make Freida any happier. Herman is in the middle of the whole thing and is trying to get the farm work done, pay the bills and keep Freida happy but he thinks he'd like to take a turn or two around the track in their race car himself. He's a pretty darn good Ford driver, he figures, after all, he taught Freida to drive and if he could do that he ought to be able to do a little racing. Nobody ever passes his Ford unless he wants them to. (HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!! More possiblities.)

I don't think it will be out this spring or summer but maybe next fall. I'm about 45 pages into it so far and they are still a month or more from the race.

Stan - That sounds great! Do you think Maybelle and /or Freida will try driving the race car at all, like Herman would like to? This sounds like it has great potential - Model T period race cars, some romance & mystery, young guys growing up in the '20's, a good old fashioned Model T race at the county fair, etc. You can almost see Einar & Torvald waiting for the new Race Car mail order parts catalog to come in the mail. Will there be a wedding, or will that be in Volume 3?

Hopefully, it'll be ready to read next winter.

Thanks for the update Stan, I'm looking forward to it.

Keith

Building in photo at corner of South Main and 2nd Avenue is certainly still there.

http://tinyurl.com/69tsty2

Check out the trim over the windows.

J.O.

Well, Keith, since Einar has a Ford, and Herman has a Ford and Torvald got a Ford to drive to High School and Freida got a new touring car wouldn't you think that the girls would have to have a Ford of their own? Emmaline is only two years younger than Torvald and Mavelle is two years younger than Emmaline and with Torvald in High School and the girls and the triplets still in grade school, wouldn't it be a handy thing if the girls had a Ford of their own? Just to drive to school?? How could you possibly keep Henry Herman and Ford Helferstout from wanting to drive it when nobody was around. You know Clara wants to drive and she sat on Einar's lap and steered and ran the levers in the last story. She knows how to do everything but the foot pedals already.

I don't think there will be a wedding until Einar and Tillie get it worked out over Boyce Prickerson showing up and sniffing around and until Yolanda and Yondola quit making eyes at Einar. Drama ensues. As we say in radio, stay tuned for further adventures.

It's fun, I can just see them jumping in the pickup and running down to the mailbox to see if the new catalog from Laurel Speed Parts is there yet.

Hey Stan - I can hardly wait! Think of the possibilities: Boyce runs in the race too, he wins, but is disqualified because he broke the rules, maybe he used a downdraft carb. or something, so he is the bad guy. Maybe he has an accident during the race and is killed? Maybe he does something criminal (steals from the Girl Scouts cookie sale), is discraced, run out of town & told never to come back.

With great anticipation, I remain, Keith

Or has to have a match race with E & T to decide the final outcome???????????????????? Stay tuned.