The Ekalaka Eagle - Your Community Builder

As you read this memories article, you will discover that it is a little different from past articles. When reading through some Shifting Scenes, I became interested about the Mumedy family from an article written by Leona Mumedy Miller who begins with her father and mother, Andrew and Margaret Mumedy.

She wrote this information in 1981. It includes information about her family, homestead days, school, daily activities, court house clerk for different attorneys, and up through her time at state and federal government positions.

I will share some of those experiences with you readers. Keep in mind the many changes that have come these past 106 years.

She wrote: “My father was born in Weissenborn, Germany in 1866 and became a naturalized citizen April 29, 1895. Mother was born in Germany 1876. To this union 10 children were born, (two died in infancy), Minnie, Anna, Harry, Marie, Ruby, Leonard, Leona and Alvin. The family lived at Dogge, Nebraska where my father owned and operated a brick yard. In 1913 they came to Ekalaka under the Homestead Act.”

Like most homesteaders in the Ekalaka area, it had to have a house on it and so many acres of land in crop. The Mumedy’s built a sod house.

“The Mumedy sod house will always be a wonderful memory for me,” she wrote. “ Dad plastered the walls and with wooden floors and wooden ceiling it was very comfortable, warm in winter, cool in summer.”

A frame bunk house was built later.

Then, sometime in the early 30s, her folks bought the Dr. Wendell two story frame house and moved it from the top of Baker Hill to the homestead. I believe that house is still there and can be seen from Highway 7 just north of Baker Hill, on the west side of the road.

Leona recorded that her folks never owned a car. They went places in the spring buggy hitched to one horse; on longer trips they used two horses. She went with her mother quite regular to the cream station and to the grocery store once a week.

“There was no machinery for farming. Sever Dokken’s threshing machine was there and during threshing time my father, Harry and Leonard would harness 10 to 12 horses to pull the wagons and haul the grain.”

Harvest time has changed.

Around 1918-1919 the Mumedy family moved into Ekalaka and Margaret operated a restaurant. Andrew found work when he plastered the new courthouse that was being built at the time. He also plastered many of the one-room school houses in the county as they were built. In later years, he laid many of the sidewalks in Ekalaka and did a great deal of block work. He made his own blocks. I presume that some of that plaster is still on some of the walls in the old part of the courthouse.

Leona goes on to her high school days with this interesting report: “When I was in high school our teacher Mr. Tovey started a band. I was to play the saxophone and we had no money to buy one, but Mother was determined so she sold one of the milk cows to cover the cost. This was great for me for I was soon playing in the dance band with Bessie Pickering, C.K. Butnam, Eddie Sykes, and Royal Sandy, making $5.00 to $10.00 each dance night.”

What a challenge for us today!!!

She reports the ‘30s were trying times for all farmers in Carter County due to the drought and that she graduated from Carter County High School in 1930, saving up enough money by playing at dances to go to business college in Billings.

From checking the Carter County High School graduates book I found that her class had 22 graduates. A few of these individuals may be remembered by some of us.

They included: Leigh Symms (married Roy Remmen), Josephine Lane (Richardson), Ben Brownfield, Alberta Pangburn (married Shang Schneider), and Richard Tooke.

I still have much more information so I will continue next time.