Einar Hovi came to America in 1902 from Norway and worked around Audubon, Minnesota Later in North Dakota he worked for Arndt Njaa and others for several years. From 1912 to 1917 Einar Hovi and JOHN LOBERG rented the E1/2 of Section 1, Bartley Township and S1/2 of Section 36 of Bald Hill Township.
Einar went to Norway in 1911, visited his parents, and met his future wife, Hilda. She was sent for and arrived in October 1916. They were married at the farm, which Einar had now purchased. They lived there until 1942 when they moved to Fargo, North Dakota. Their children, Tina and Eilif went to school in Hannaford. Every day we were taken by horse and buggy or sleigh the 2 1/2 miles to school and picked up, until cars were more in use. County roads were not ploughed in the winter, so we would cut across fields in a special coup (enclosed) on runners that Dad had built.
One Christmas there was a blizzard and we were looking and hoping for a special package. Our mailman, HARRY RICHARDSON, with a similar coup and horses had made the complete route and it was dark. Mother put a GAS lamp in the window and Dad walked to the mailbox to check for the fourth time to see if the mailman had gone. He had, and our packages were there!
Dad prided himself on having one of the nicest landscaped farms in the county. He was also very proud of plowing with six horses the straightest furrows in the country.
Mother worked hard raising chickens and turkeys, churning butter to sell and eat. The products also helped buy clothes and food and sent us to school. We had a gas driven engine in the basement that hooked up to our washing machine, butter churn and also meat grinder at the time of butchering. Butchering involved days of work - cutting beef and pork into roasts, stew, grinding - much was canned and processed in the oven for hours. Hams, bacon, dried beef were taken to town to the butcher shop to be smoked. What wasn't canned, smoked, eaten, or brought to the minister, was kept in containers outside frozen in the winter, as there were no freezers and refrigerators.
Source: Griggs County History 1879 - 1976 Page 224