The Ekalaka Eagle - Your Community Builder

Sorry it has been so long since I have written a memory article, but the summer has been filled with unexpected activities. I will not bore you with them.

This article will be about two early Carter County homesteaders, their families, places of residence, raising livestock, cattle trailing, winter storms, etc. My information is taken from “Shifting Scenes Vol.1” and was written by Harold Beltz who has a couple of pages about his dad’s family, his life, and other family activities. I will start with his dad.

Frank Beltz came to the Ridge Community in Carter County in about 1890 and his mother and brothers, Fred and John, came later. He worked for various ranches and about 1896 took squatters right about four miles North West of the Ridge store.

Frank married Eramma Memhirter in 1910 and they had five children, Mae, Harold, Jessie, Ruth, and Vera, with some born on the home place and others at different locations. As with all homesteaders, he built a log house, later enlarged, dug a cellar, a log barn and had a chicken house.

Schools were started at different locations and had lots of students.

Harold reports that his dad bought his first car, a new 1913 Model T. Ford, with it being an exciting time when he arrived home. The gentle horse he and his sister were riding ran away, the milk cow calves got out of the corral and ran away, the pigs jumped out of their pen and the chickens went to the brush.

In 1921 Mae, Harold’s sister, was ready for high school and his dad sold the cattle and brand, left the ranch and moved to Belle Fourche, S.D. where he was employed at various jobs including building the first cement bridge across the Belle Fourche River.

In 1923 Frank had a stroke. Later he recovered enough that he and Harold returned to the ranch. He continued on the ranch until 1933, when his health required him to go to the Ekalaka Hospital where he passed away.

I am now going to switch to the life of Harold and his “Shifting Scenes” article with some of his memories of marriage, ranching, serving as County Commissioner from 1965-1971 and some other interesting memories.

Interesting: “In 1930 I traded my work horses and harness to Dad for a Chevrolet coupe, took it to Belle Fourche and traded it on flying lessons. When the depression hit, the airport went broke and I have not flown a plane since.”

This statement triggered memories of the early 1950s when airplanes and flying were popular in Carter County. I recall these individuals having planes (mostly piper cubs) and flying: Skeet Hedges, Richard (Dick) Janssen, Walter Johnston, Richard Yates, Richie Owen, Bud Hanson, Steve Williams, and Dickie Dague. Yes, another change as we remember those years.

On October 18, 1933 he married Hilda Mills in Broadus. They had five children: Kenneth, Barbara, Douglas, Jacqueline, and Sandra Kay.

Before I share more of his life, I want to give readers his memories of road building into Ridge by Career County around 1916-1917.

“They used a grader pulled with four horses. Wooden culverts and wooden bridges were put in. Horses and a fresno were used to fill in the cuts. The road went over the worst hills that could be found. The Model T had a hard time and often had to be pushed over the hill.”

Just think about the dirt moving equipment that is used today — what a change we have seen over the years. Even from what we used on the Ekalaka to Alzada road in 1949.

I must end this here, but have a lot more to bring you in future articles.