USA > Minnesota > Otter Tail County > History of Otter Tail County, Minnesota: Its People, Industries and Institutions, Volume I > Part 48
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The policy of the present management is to co-operate in every possi- ble way with the various rural companies of the county, corporated and otherwise, in an effort to extend efficient service to every corner of the county. In 1910 the company rebuilt their whole system in Fergus Falls. At that time they changed from a grounded system to full metallic lines and installed underground cables throughout the whole business part of the city. They had planned to occupy their present home on north Court street in the spring of 1911, and in view of the fact that they were going to change their old quarters on Mill street, they felt it would be a most oppor- tune time to overhaul the whole system in the city. Their present building
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was erected by the Fergus Falls National Bank and was occupied for the first time in April, 1911. At that time all the old telephones were taken out and burned, a new switchboard was installed and everything possible was done to make the plant strictly modern in every respect.
While the company was getting its switchboard in place in the new building in the fall of 1910, they met with a disastrous fire which postponed the use of the new building for nearly four months. On December 9, 1910, at twenty minutes after twelve, the switchboard, which was then just about completed, caught fire and within twenty minutes was a total loss. This fire cost the company at the rate of four hundred dollars a minute, the total loss being eight thousand dollars, not to mention the loss of time occasioned by the fire. This postponed the change from the old headquarters on Mill street until April 1, 1911. The exact cause of the fire was never determined, although it had always been maintained that if the dam had not gone out in Red river, thereby depriving the city of electric light, there would have been no fire. The men who were installing the switchboard were compelled to use candles and it was thought, but not proved. that the fire originated from a candle which had been left in the bottom of the switchboard among some waste.
The company now has fourteen hundred thirty-five telephones in Fer- gus Falls. In addition to this number the local exchange handles three hundred ninety-seven rural telephones, representing thirty-two different lines, all privately owned lines. In addition, the company owns an exchange at Battle Lake and one at Henning. The Battle Lake line has one hundred two telephones in the village and one hundred fifty-six on rural lines run- ning into the village. Henning has ninety-nine subscribers in the village and one hundred fifty-four in the adjacent territory. The company owns the toll lines running from Fergus Falls in four directions: North to Pelican Rapids, east to Wadena, south to Nipes and west to Breckenridge. With these exceptions all the other lines in the county belong to private com- panies or individuals. Some idea of the growth of the company's business from 1906 to the present time may be seen when a comparison is made of the number of connections handled in 1906 and 1916. In 1906 there were three hundred local. and from ten to fifteen toll connections daily; in 1916 the number of local connections has increased to nine thousand, while there are at least five hundred toll connections each day.
The company offers switching connection to all of these rural com- panies-and there are more than fifty in the county-at the rate of twenty- five cents a month, or three dollars a year. All that it asks is that the rural lines have such equipment as will insure satisfactory service to the patrons on the line. Mr. Taylor, the present manager. has been bending every effort
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during the past two years to improve the quality of the service of the local companies. He has encouraged them to incorporate, given them all of the necessary instructions as to the management of their lines and in every other way tried to get the local companies to keep their lines and equipment in such a condition that their subscribers can have quick and easy access to all parts of the county. To do this Mr. Taylor has worked out a system of grouping where patrons are urged to attach themselves to that line which will insure them the best service. It must be understood that all of these are party lines and that when John Doe calls up Bessie that every other swain on the line, whether it be one or a hundred, can hear what he says to his Bessie. The difficulty which has confronted Mr. Taylor as local mana- ger of the Northwestern is to keep down the number of subscribers on any one particular line and to distribute the patrons on the lines so that they will not overload any one particular line. Radiating from Fergus Falls alone are no less than thirty-two separate lines, the Friberg company having five of these lines. These thirty-two lines carry a total of three hundred ninety- seven telephones. all of which are in direct connection with the central station in Fergus Falls.
The local exchange now requires eighteen regular employes in addi- tion to Mr. Taylor, the manager. These include twelve operators, three linemen, a wire chief, clerk and private secretary to the manager. In case of a storm, or whenever there is extra work needed, additional employees are sent into the county by the company. At other times some of the operators in Fergus Falls are transferred to other offices to relieve congested condi- tions. There has been one employee of the office. Harold Soderquist, who has been connected with the telephone history of Fergus Falls since 1898. He helped to install the system in 1898 and was manager of the Fergus Falls Telephone Company during its career of eight years, and continued as manager of the Northwestern Company in Fergus Falls until November 1, 1909. At that time George H. Gard became the manager and he retained this position until the close of 1911, when George Beatty became manager. He was replaced by L. D. Taylor, the present manager. in March. 1914.
The following pages give a brief history of all the telephone companies in the county outside of Fergus Falls. There are no less than fifty-three companies in the county, the great majority of them having been organized since 1908. Most of the companies are incorporated, but there are at least ten which have not yet taken out incorporation papers. With very few exceptions, all the data in the histories of these various companies has been obtained direct from their secretaries. In all other cases the information has been given by Mr. Taylor. the local manager of the Northwestern Tele- phone Exchange Company, in Fergus Falls.
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The Western Co-operative Rural Telephone Company was incorporated December 1I, 1907, by W. S. Tombs, of Western township, August Nissen and G. H. Reamish, of Orwell township; O. H. Solberg, of Fergus Falls. The amount of capital stock, according to the original articles of this incor- poration, was limited to thirty thousand dollars, divided into three thousand shares of ten dollars each. The first board of directors and also the first officers of this corporation were as follow: W. S. Tombs, president; O. M. Solberg, vice-president; G. H. Reamish, secretary and treasurer. The large amount of capital stock originally provided for may be understood when it is explained that this company, one of the earliest to incorporate in the county, was organized with the expectation of installing a system in Fergus Falls. Subsequent events caused a change of plans on the part of the com- pany and caused them to limit their operations very largely to the township of Western. This company now has forty subscribers, but is planning to add twenty new patrons to its list during the summer of 1916. The head- quarters of the company are at the town hall in Western township. The present officers of the company are as follow: O. N. Solberg, president ; August Nissen, vice-president; Carl Fabian, treasurer; Fred B. Swift, sec- retary.
The Friberg Telephone Company was organized December 14, 1911. with the following incorporators: Ferdinand Peters, E. W. Leeper, Arthur A. Krause, Henry Baumgarten, Henry R. Wenstrum, Herman Duenow, Joseph Elliott, John Seebe and Charles Drager. The capital stock of this corporation was limited to three thousand five hundred dollars, consisting of one hundred shares of the par value of thirty-five dollars per share. The first officers of the corporation were as follow: President, Ferdinand Pet- ers ; vice-president, Arthur A. Krause; secretary, E. W. Leeper; treasurer, Herman Duenow. The officers, together with Henry Baumgarten, Charles Drager and Henry Wenstrom, constituted the first board of directors. This company now has four lines, with a total of eighty-one subscribers. The company's lines extend to the corporate limits of Fergus Falls, where they connect with the city lines and the local exchange. The secretary of the company is H. F. Duenow.
The Sebeka Western Telephone Company was organized March 30, 1915. by the following stockholders: August Aho. Martin Bengston, Frank Gustafson. Carl Gustafson, Emil Maata, Victor Turnbladh and Art Pear- son. The capital stock was limited to seven hundred dollars, divided equally among the seven stockholders. The principal place of business of this com- pany is in the township of Blowers, although the company's charter allows it to extend its business in the future. The original officers, who are still serving, are as follow : President. August Aho; vice-president. Martin
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Bengston; secretary, Frank Gustafson; treasurer, Carl Gustafson; direc- tors, Oscar Hietala, Victor Turnbladh and Art Pearson. The company has eighteen miles of wire for its twenty subscribers living in Paddock and Blowers townships.
The Erhard Telephone Company was organized in 1904 and is now one of the larger companies of the county. Its service is practically all con- fined to the village and the adjacent territory within the township. The company owns its own switchboard in Erhard and also does switching for the Barbwire Telephone Company. A line extends to Rothsay and also one in the direction of Barnesville. The line now has two hundred and six sub- scribers.
The French Telephone Company was incorporated on April 20, 1908. The amount of capital stock of this corporation is limited to twenty thou- sand dollars, of which nineteen hundred dollars has been issued. The cor- porators were as follow : John J. Tomhave, Ferdinand Pergande and John Jacob Tomhave, all residing in the township of Carlisle; George E. Tom- have, residing in the township of Fergus Falls, and Charles R. Wright, of Fergus Falls. The first board of directors and officers of this company were as follow: John J. Tomhave, president; John Jacob Tomhave, vice- president; Chrales R. Wright, secretary; Ferdinand Pergande, treasurer; and George E. Tomhave. The principal place of transacting the business of this corporation is at the school house of district ninety-six in the town- ship of Fergus Falls. This company, which is purely a co-operative com- pany, now has seventeen miles of line and twenty-five miles of wire, with thirty-eight subscribers. The present officers are as follow : William Zim- mer, president; C. R. Wright, secretary ; John J. Tomhave. Louis Tomhave and Charles Manske, directors. The company has switching connection with the Northwestern at Fergus Falls.
The Oscar Telephone Company was organized in 1904, shortly after the Northwestern Exchange Telephone Company put its toll line through the village of Elizabeth. The company operates in the townships of Oscar and Elizabeth and in the villages of Elizabeth and Carlisle. There are now on hundred and sixty patrons of the company, all but thirty of whom are in the rural districts. Twenty-eight subscribers are in Elizabeth and two in Carlisle. The present officers are as follow: Henry Halderson, president ; John Honeycomb. vice-president; C. O. Kantrude, secretary; Ole Haug, treasurer. The company maintains an exchange in Elizabeth.
The Fergus Falls Rural Telephone Company was organized January 30. 1915, with the following incorporators: M. C. Kronemann, William Schoening, Henry Kissinger. Herman Steinback and August Schulz. The principal place of business of this corporation is at Fergus Falls township.
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The amount of the capital stock of this corporation was limited to twenty- four hundred dollars, consisting of forty shares, at the par value of sixty dollars per share. The first officers were as follow : President, M. C. Krone- mann; vice-president, William Schoening; secretary and treasurer, Henry Kissinger. The officers, together with Herm Steinback and August Schultz, constituted the first board of five directors. These officers are still serving in their respective capacities. The company now has twenty-nine sub- scribers.
The Parkers Prairie Telephone Exchange Company dates back to the time when the Northwestern Company bought out the local company in Fergus Falls. At that time the Northwestern had a station in Parkers Prai- rie. Later, Charles Alexander got control of the Parkers Prairie Exchange and he disposed of it in August, 1912, to Earl Hutchinson, its present owner. There are one hundred five telephones in the village and two hun- dred thirteen on the eight lines radiating from the village. All of these rural lines are owned by private companies and pay a stipulated annual sum to the exchange in Parkers Prairie for switching connection.
The Hay Creek Farmers Co-operative Telephone Company was organ- ized in March, 1915, with the following incorporators: Johannes Koski, Abram Siirila, Ben Pantsari, Oscar Johnson, A. A. Ehnert, Abram Matti, August Anderson, Lars Anderson, Leesa Wesala and John Anderson. The principal place of business of this corporation is in Blowers township, al- though the company also has subscribers in paddock township. The capi- tal stock of this corporation is eight hundred dollars, consisting of eighty shares, of the par value of ten dollars each. The first officers of the cor- poration were as follow: President, Johannes Koski; vice-president, Abram Siirila; secretary, Oscar Johnson; treasurer, Ben Pantsari. The officers, together with A. A. Ehnert, Abram Matti and August Anderson, constituted the board of directors. The company now has twenty-six telephones in operation, with a total wire mileage of thirty-five miles. The present offi -- cers are as follow : Johannes Koski, president ; Fred Windels, vice-president; Oscar A. Johnson, secretary; Abram Siirila, treasurer; A. A. Ehnert, Ben Pantsari, Lars Anderson, directors. The exchange of the company is in Sebeka, a village in Wadena county to the east of Blowers township.
The Effington Telephone Company was organized February 1, 1907, with the capital stock limited to five thousand dollars, which later was .increased to eight thousand dollars. The incorporators of this company were Thomas Koep, John Hardekopf, George J. Kreamer, Claus Ahlf, Peter Hink. August Zimmerman and John Fridgen, all of Effington. The gen- eral business of this corporation, as set forth in its notices of incorporation, was the construction, maintenance and operation of a telephone plant or
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system, connecting the townships, cities and villages within the county of Otter Tail and other counties in the state of Minnesota, having less than two thousand inhabitants. The principal place of business is at Urbank, in the township of Effington. The first officers of this corporation were : Thomas Koep, president; John Hardekopf, vice-president; George Kreamer, secretary; Claus Ahlf, treasurer; Peter Hink, August Zimmerman and John Fridgen, trustees.
The present officers of the company are as follow: George Frenden- berg, president; J. M. Prazak, vice-president; J. A. Fridgen, secretary; Claus Ahlf, treasurer: Peter Hink, August Zimmerman and T. A. Howe, directors. The company has one hundred thirty-six miles of wire for its one hundred eighty-two subscribers.
The Battle Lake Farmers Mutual Telephone Company was organized January 27, 1908. with the following incorporators: Ludvign Jensen, Will- iam Bondy, Knud Hanson, August Bjorkland, Nels Hustad, J. B. Thomp- son. E. K. Evenson, A. Sandstrom, L. L. Wickstrom and A. C. Hatch. The principal place of transacting business is at the village of Battle Lake. The capital stock of this corporation was limited to ten thousand thirty-five dollars, to be divided into two hundred twenty-three shares of forty-five dollars each. The first officers of this corporation were as follow: Presi- dent, Ludvig Jenson; vice-president, William Bondy; secretary, August Bjorkland; treasurer, Knute Hanson. The officers, together with J. B. Thompson, E. . Evenson, .\. Sandstrom, L. L. Wickstrom and A. C. Hatch, constituted the first board of ten directors. This company has always been well managed and now has one hundred fifty-one telephones in operation. The present officers are as follow: Ludwig Jenson, president ; J. B. Thomp- son. secretary ; Knute Hanson, treasurer.
The Girard Rural Telephone Company was organized July 10, 1915, with the following incorporators: Ben Kimber. W. S. Genaros, I.ester Whiting, Rupert Locker and C. G. Ricker. The principal place of business of this corporation is at Clitherall. The capital stock of this corporation was limited to two thousand dollars, consisting of forty shares. The first offi- cers of the corporation, who are still (1916) serving, were as follow : Presi- dent, Ben Kimber; vice-president. W. S. Genaros; secretary and treasurer, Lester Whiting. The officers, together with Rupert Looker and C. G. Ricker, constitute the present board of directors. This company obtains switching connection with the Clitherall Telephone Company in the village of Clitherall. The exchange is owned by Julius Severson and he charges the Girard line one dollar and fifty cents a month for service.
The Star Lake and Dent Farmers Rural Telephone Company was organized April 24, 1908, with the following incorporators: E. D. Garber.
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H. M. Hancock, Albert Obert, Otto Kanne and Henry Tenter, all residents of Dent. The amount of the capital stock of this corporation was five hun- dred dollars and was paid in, at such times and places and in such a man- ner and such amounts as was called for by its board of directors. The prin- cipal place of transacting business of this corporaion was at Dent and the annual meetings of the stockholders of said corporation are held on the third Tuesday in December. The first board of directors consisted of Albert Obert, Otto Kanne, and E. D. Gerber, the original incorporators and the first officers were as follow: H. M. Hancock, president; Albert Obert, vice-president; Otto Kanne, secretary, and E. D. Garber, treasurer. This company is now amalgamated with the Amor-Dead Lake and the Maine- Star Lake Company and has lost its identity as an individual company.
The Fish Lake Telephone Company was organized June 12, 1914, with the following incorporators: H. B. Quitmeyer, Herman Johnke, William Kendall, John Duberowski and Albert Ost. The capital stock of this cor- poration was limited to six thousand dollars, divided into twenty shares of the par value of thirty dollars each. The principal place of business is in the township of Parkers Prairie. The first officers were as follow: Presi- dent, H. F. Quitmeyer ; vice-president, Herman Johnke; secretary and treas- urer, William Kendall. The officers, together with John Duberowske and Albert Ost, constituted the first board of five directors. This company operates in the southwestern part of Parkers Prairie township and in Doug- las county.
The Eastern Farmers Telephone Company was organized April 13, 1912, with the following incorporators: Leander Peterson, August Peterson, Ernest Peterson, Frank Hellgren, Claus Sundberg, Loth Holm, J. A. B. Hulstrand, O. K. Hanson. Gust Johnson, Hans Arvidson, Henry Sjobeck, N. J. Skoglund, John Smith, W. H. Smith, Nels Arvidson, Charles Mag- nuson, Arthur Parson, Willie Tanglien, Adolph C. Rosenquist, Mrs. Katie Skerick. J. P. Peterson, Lewis Peterson, Peter Lovgren, David Nelson and A. B. Rosenquist. The principal place of business of this corporation is located in the township of Eastern, but the service of this company covers the counties of Otter Tail, Douglas and Todd. The capital stock of this corporation was limited to nine thousand dollars and is divided into three hundred shares of the par value of thirty dollars each. The first officers were as follow: W. H. Smith, president ; N. J. Skogdund, vice-president ; A. B. Rosenquist, secretary; N. J. Skoglund, treasurer. The first board of directors consisted of the first officers and Willie Tanglien and Peter Lov- gren. Practically all of the business of this company is transacted in the counties of Douglas and Todd.
The Barbwire Telephone Company was organized in 1906 as a mutual
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company and is still operating as such. The name is no longer indicative of the kind of wire used, but when the company was first started it actually used barbwire. Taking advantage of the barbwire fences which ran from one homestead to another, the farmers of Oscar township utilized them to install telephonic communication with each other. When the line crossed the road it was raised sufficiently high to accommodate all passing traffic, and again lowered to the ordinary fence height. As the number of subscribers grew, the barbwire was gradually replaced by regular telephone wire, and at the present time all that it left of the barbwire is found in the name of the company. The company has thirty-two telephones in operation and main- tains its current expenses by an assessment levied on each member of the company. Nels Hegseth is the president and Carl A. Sethern is secretary of the company.
The Maine-Star Lake Telephone Company was organized, April 1, 1911. with an authorized capital stock of four thousand nine hundred dollars, of which nine hundred has been issued. The names of the incorporators were as follow : C. E. Bingham, Charles Johnson, A. O. Chapin, August Sand- berg, James Burns, J. H. Dinsmore, R. J. Perry, Peter Nygren, Carl Wald- moe, R. A. Coats and C. S. Blevins. The first officers were: C. E. Bingham, president; Charles Johnson, vice-president : August Sandberg, secretary and treasurer. The principal place of business of this corporation is in the town- ship of Maine.
The company now has forty-five telephones in operation. It connects with the Northwestern at Battle Lake. The company also owns a toll line from Phelps to Battle Lake in partnership with the Amor-Dead Lake Tele- phone Company. Connection is maintained with the toll line at Amor and with the Star Lake-Dent Farmers Rural Telephone Company at the store of A. L. Vogel in Star Lake township. The present officers are as follow : Charles Johnson, president : A. L. Vogel. vice-president; A. O. Chapin, secretary and treasurer ; H. D. Harmon, Edward Lawrenson, Guy Phelps and J. H. Dinsmore, directors.
The Henning-Star Telephone Company was organized, January 15, v 1912, with an authorized capital stock limited to thirty-five hundred dollars. The incorporators of the company were Charles Johnson, Morris Peterson, Ole E. Olson, Anton Hanson, Samuel Anderson, Oscar Ellingson, all residing in the township of Henning; John Hanson, K. B. Wilkinson. Nick Martine, Edward Ellingson. Nycklye Hanson, Voley P. Wilkinson, Ben Elis- son, all residing in the township of Leaf Lake, and Theander Carlson, residing in the township of Deer Creek. The first officers of the incorpora- tion were as follow: Charles Johnson, president; Morris Peterson, vice-
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president; Ole E. Olson, secretary, and John Hanson, treasurer. The first board of directors was made up of the first officers and Anton Hanson, K. B. Wilkinson and Nick Martine. The principal place of business of this corporation is in the township of Henning.
Although this company has only twenty telephones in operation, yet it is one of the best managed rural lines in the county. Its operating expenses are met by an annual assessment, which varies from fifty cents to a dollar. The subscribers of this company claim that their service is as good as that furnished by the Northwestern Company, and that this is due to the fact that they have a metallic line. The present officers of the company are as follow : August Bjorklund, president; Morris Peterson, vice-president; O. E. Olson, secretary; John Hanson, treasurer; Nordal Ellinson, trouble- man; Oscar Ellingson, T. Carlson and Anton Hanson, directors.
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