One of the old timers of Hannaford is Hans Kalland. He arrived here from Norway in August 1904, going to his uncle David Kalland who had sponsored him and sent money for his ticket. He worked on the Kalland farm until he had repaid his debt.
In 1906 he was employed by the Hannaford Dray Line, hauling freight from the railroad depot to the various stores with horses and dray wagon. He also worked at the Livery Stable where they had horses and buggies for rent. Traveling salesmen would come to town by train and it was his job to take them to other towns or farms wherever they had business to attend to. He was also called by ministers and doctors whenever they had errands in the country and spent many a night at farm homes while the doctor delivered a baby or attended to other sick people.
Hans was an adventurous young man and after a few years went to McLean County to file on a homestead. He stayed with a cousin there for a time but decided he did not like that part of the country so came back to Hannaford.
Then he went to Duluth, Minnesota where he secured a job as coachman for a rich widow.
He soon got tired of that kind of life and around 1918 he was employed as a motorman on the Street Cars of Duluth. This job he held for about five years.
In the spring of 1925 he came to visit his Aunt Anna Kalland and work for a neighbor during spring's work. He met a young woman during spring's work at Union Church. After spring's work was completed he returned to Duluth but he was bitten by the "love bug" and came back to Hannaford for harvest and threshing. He bought an old Dort car and during this time saw the young lady quite often. In November 1925 he was married to Josephine Watne of rural Dazey, in Union church east of Hannaford.
They rented several farms in Barnes and Griggs County until he retired from Doc. Hoffman's farm south of Walum in 1956 and moved into Hannaford. They were members of Union Church and celebrated their 40th anniversary there in 1965. He was in poor health for many years and died in 1969 at the age of 84 years
Hans was especially proud of his three children all who graduated from Hannaford High School. Bernice (married to Vern Martin) manager of Midwest Motor Express in Valley City has a Bachelor of Science degree from V. C. State College and is head librarian at the Public Library in Valley City and also teaches a course in remedial reading there. Irvin (married Shirly Vogt Anderson) has a mechanical Engineering degree from North Dakota State University, lives at Hudson, Wisconsin and works for 3 M Company in St. Paul. Joanne worked for several years at the Security State Bank of Hannaford, one year as a telephone operator at Jamestown and has spent the last 15 years as bookkeeper in the pharmacy at Fargo Clinic, in Fargo. There are ten grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Mrs. Kalland is a graduate of Dazey High School in 1918, and still lives in Hannaford as a companion to Mrs. Johnson.
Source: Griggs County History 1879 - 1976 Page 142