Roy A. Ployhar

Franklin Elmer Ployhar, son of Martin and Catherine Ployhar, eldest of a family of nine children, was born April 18, 1878, in Bristol, Worth County, Iowa. In 1881 when Frank was a lad of three years, his mother and father, together with Frank and his baby sister, Helen, moved to Wahpeton, Dakota Territory, by covered wagon. He grew up in Wahpeton and received his grade and high school training and thereafter became interested in the printing business. He worked at his trade for many years and in 1899 came to Valley City, and worked for the Valley City Alliance, thereafter acquired it and was owner and publisher for two years. Later it was combined with the Valley City Times-Record, which he published for two years before he sold the same. In March, 1912, he organized the Valley City Gas Company and laid twelve miles of gas mains. This was followed by his organizing the Bismarck Gas Company in 1915 and he was busy for many years with this occupation until he sold the gas companies to the Montana-Dakotas Utilities Company. Thereafter he became connected with the Truax-Traer Coal Company and also did work for the State Health Laboratory and spent much of his time in the interest of these several institutions becoming very widely known over the entire state.

In the year 1908, he was elected to the state legislature, being a member of the House for several years and then was elected to the Senate from Barnes County. Thereafter and for twenty-five years he was an influential member of the highest law-making body of this state, and the fine character and forward-looking personality are recorded in many of the laws which are in force today in our state. He won and held a great many friends by his straight-forward and fair minded attitude toward public affairs.

On April 16, 1902, he was united in marriage with Edith Maude Persons, who is now deceased, daughter of the late Page P. Persons and Elizabeth Coop (Hill) Persons, early pioneers in Barnes County, North Dakota. Two children were born to them, namely,

  1. Percy P. Ployhar of Valley City, and

  2. Franklin Earl Ployhar, of Artesia, New Mexico, both of whom are deceased.

Of his father's family, there remains one son, Roy A. Ployhar, of Valley City, North Dakota, and two daughters, Hilda (Mrs. James Ormsby) of Long Beach, California, and Effie (Mrs. Frank Essig) of San Francisco, California. He was a member of the Masonic Fraternity, Knights of Pythias, the Elks Club and Valley City Rotary Club.

He died on April 20, 1948, and funeral services were held in the Valley City Congregational Church of which he was a member on Saturday, April 24, 1948. His pastor and friend for many years, Rev. Thomas E. Nugent, was in charge of the last rites with burial in Woodbine Cemetery in Valley City, North Dakota.

Source: Barnes County History 1976 Page 195