Hans Martinius Anderson and Milla Randena Ihlen were married December 1902, at Ihlen, Minnesota. My father had made his living up to the time of marriage drilling water wells. They farmed several years two miles north of Ihlen, Minnesota, where three children were born. They then moved to Sheldon, North Dakota, where they rented a farm south of Sheldon. His only brother and family had already migrated to Sheldon and liked farming there so it was natural that his brother would follow.

In the fall of 1908, they left Sheldon with two wagon loads of their possessions to live on an open prairie farm between Napoleon and Kintyre, North Dakota, where they, had contracted to buy some land. This was mostly a cattle farm so there was a lot of milking cows and haying. Times were hard and it was here where the three oldest children started school. Three more children were born here. Mother and Dad were of Norwegian descent and talked this language in the home.

In the fall of 1912, a farm containing a section of farm land, East of Section 22 and West of Section 23-146-63 was contracted for with Harry M. Anderson (no relation) who wanted to leave the cold climate and live in California. He had homesteaded his quarter of land and lived in a small shack, along with a brother, until he married, after which the first group of buildings were built thereon. They had one son, Wayne. The original school house was located less than a half mile away on this land but was later moved to a location one mile south from where the school house originally had been.

The Harry M. Andersons were to live on the farm until the spring of 1913, when they would have a sale. However, it was arranged to have the new owners live in an empty house a couple of miles east of them so just before Christmas of 1912, Milla Anderson and children (seven) arrived in Glenfield via Sanborn and Hannaford from Bismarck, and my father got on the train on the Soo Line with the cattle and machinery he had acquired. This line went to Drake, North Dakota, where it was transferred to the Great Northern Railroad Co., which took him to Juanita, North Dakota.  He shipped his threshing outfit on the railway via Sanborn, Cooperstown and McHenry, where it was unloaded.

In 1913, another daughter was born, so seven girls had to share the one large bedroom upstairs, with no closet! In 1918, a son was born so the two boys shared the other smaller room and that one had a closet!

Times were hard but crops were better and time flew by because the family had good times and were happy. Before the Depression hit my father rented extra land and always ran a threshing rig with a cook car. My mother had help from the daughters cooking for a large crew. There would be a long run each fall threshing his own and many other farmers' crops.

The Depression was very hard to go through. By this time of course, education was a must and my father served his duty as director on the Campbell School District board and also as an officer on the Rolling Prairie Township board. By the time the Depression came there were several teachers in the family who helped with some of the "extra expenses" as they taught in Foster County.

In 1931, my father died. In 1934, my youngest brother, who was 16, was killed in a car accident, and six months later, in 1935, my mother died.

My oldest brother, Lester, was then married so he farmed for many years, later moving to a farm in southeastern Foster County. The land was then owned by B. N. Richardson who lived in Iowa for many years and many renters lived on this farm until it was bought by Mr. and Mrs. Adolph Balvitsch. It is now owned by their son, Frank Balvitsch.

The original barn burned in the early 1940s, so all buildings are new except the house which has been remodeled and modernized.

Source:  Glenfield History 1886 €“ 1987 Page 155