Roy C. Martin was born December 13, 1924, on the old W. S. Emery farm in Ashtabula Township, the son of Wm. Douglas Martin and Esther E. (Emery) Martin. His schooling was started in Alderman School, but in 1930 his father sold the farm and they moved to Valley City where he continued his education, finishing the first six years in both the Lincoln and Ritchie Schools and the last six years in the College High School (Training School for the Valley City State Teacher's College). He graduated in 1943.
July 1943 he entered Military Service, taking Basic Training in Camp Hood, Texas. After Basic Training he was transferred to an Army Specialized Training Unit and pursued a course in Engineering at the South Dakota State School of Mines. In 1944, the huge mobilization for the Invasion of Europe was begun and the school was closed for the military. He was transferred to the 44th Infantry Division, completed training with that unit and was sent overseas, landing in Cherbourg, France. They were assigned to the Seventh Army and went into the front lines near Nancy. On February 13, 1945, he was wounded by machine gun fire and returned to the U.S. through a series of hospitals and hospital ships. He was discharged from William Beaumont General Hospital February 13, 1946 and from the service February 16, 1946, returning to Valley City.
He was employed as an apprentice electrician by BONHUS ELECTRIC in 1946. In 1947, he, Harry Moore and James Emery drove up the newly opened Alaskan Highway to Anchorage, Alaska. It was a highly adventurous trip through very beautiful and sparsely inhabited country. Work in Alaska was plentiful and wages were good. They stayed until near the end of construction season and then returned down the highway to Valley City, where he was again employed by Bonhus Electric. The Rural Electrification was just beginning in the county and much of the wiring consisted of wiring farmsteads, although many commercial buildings, schools and grain elevators were also wired.
In 1948 Roy C. Martin was united in marriage with Lillian B. Swenson, daughter of Sven and Berthea Svenson of Sanborn, North Dakota. To this union were born three children: Douglas R. (January 9, 1949), Janis L. (January 7, 1951) and Angie R. (November 11, 1955).
In 1950, he took the test prescribed by the State Board of Electricians and won his Master Electricians License. In December of 1950, Bonhus Electric closed its business operation. Roy and four other employees pooled their resources and formed an electric company which they named BALDHILL ELECTRIC. But that first year with such a large partnership was a very rough one indeed and in the fall, Mr. Martin made arrangements to buy out his partners and continued the name and operation as a sole owner. In 1976, the business will commence its 25th year of operation. Its trucks are a familiar sight to the people of Valley City and Barnes County.
Source: Barnes County History 1976 Page 153