Very recently the Griggs County Sentinel Courier carried in THOSE WERE THE DAYS feature, an article taken from the Courier June 7, 1900 which read:
"The People's Great Annual Picnic at Jessie on Friday the 15th of June, 1900 - The several committees ask the cooperation of friends to make this the greatest picnic ever held at Jessie - Program to begin at 11 AM Sack race, 3-legged race, smoking race, jumping, foot races, ladies bicycle race, men's bicycle race, farm boys race, horse race, green pony race, ball game, entertainment will conclude with music and dancing. The committee will try to solve the water problem by sinking an additional well on the grounds".
All was not fun and picnics - the original settlers of this Section were as hard working as people can get. The Arndt, Dusbabec, Fiebiger, Haagenson, Hovel, McCulloch, Pfeifer, Ressler, Retzlaff, Rogney, Thorn, Trost, Wild, and Zimprich families all lived within a two or three mile radius of what is now Jessie before the Northern Pacific Branch was built through the town. Ed Ressler tells of how Aunt Mollie Fiebiger would take a basket of eggs over her arm, walk from the farm to Cooperstown, and walk back with a basket of supplies. Ernestine Ressler remembers her Mother, Mrs. Frank J. Pfeifer, hitching up a one-horse cart and taking produce to town. Of course this was in the summer when the men and older children were busy with crops and hay - other times the man would take oxen or horses (a half day's drive to Cooperstown). Normally a woman's place was at home not in town.
In December 1899 Jessie was plotted by J. Henry Fitz. Then the fun began. Houses, big frame houses, sprung up on the corner of most blocks (if houses come can barns, chicken coops, and biffys be far behind?). Businesses were started by several (not usually homesteaders, but "outsiders".) It is believed a Laffin had the first store. It was built on the alley of Block 13 just off Grant Avenue, next to the blacksmith shop. He was followed by Hjort, Thinglestad, Bock, Drittenbuss, and Haugen. By 1908 some of the homesteaders got into the act - there was an Arndt Livery Stable, a Hovel Livery Barn, and Ressler's store added to the scene. We also had three elevators, a depot, and a lumberyard down by the tracks. A bank on Main Street, and a school on one hill and the Catholic Church on the westernmost hill. During the year 1910, nine automobiles were sold by the local agent.
They say a picture is worth thousands of words (even mine) so here are a few of Jessie taken in earlier years.
Good times were followed by hard times, and by the 1920's - certainly by the late 20's a good number of the business places had gone broke, or at least were not paying. As a few are torn down or ravaged by fire, Jessie lost ground - it also lost its Hotels, its bank, its telephone exchange, its blacksmith shop, and barber shop. The Reule's Confectionery became Dahl's Store.
During the 30's and early 40's Jack Ressler had sold his store to Graham McCulloch, who in turn sold it to Eddie Ressler. Louie Hovel had built a beer joint. Al Harminson had a garage, and did George Paintners. Urness meat market became Oscar Ronningen's Locker Plant. Ed Thorn moved a chicken coop to start a beer parlor, and later turned it into a grocery store and cream station, which he later sold to Olaf and Mary Johnson.
By the end of World War II, there were 2 elevators, depot, locker plant, Johnson's Store, Dahl's Store, Charlie's place, Jenson had a garage in the bank building, a hall had been built (The Hall above the Store which had seen many and many school Christmas programs, dances, movie showings, church suppers, had been condemned by general consent after Harry and Helga Bardahl Becherls wedding dance in 1942). In 1948, Dahls sold their store 'to Reynold Hovel. Al's garage became Charlie's place and Pearl and Math's, Bugs Bar, and finally in 1961 when the old Laffin store burned, Punch moved his store and cream station and Post Office into that building. The locker plant became Math and Pearl's and then Kubeck. When Kubeck could not sell it, he tore it down. Shorty Ostrand bought the bank building, converted it into Shorty's Tavern, and later sold it to Benny and Joyce Bendickson, who still operate it. Knutson had a garage for several years, then the building was torn down, and the Wildlife Club built a meeting place on that site. We lost both elevators to fires. We lost the Catholic Church by fire, but it was replaced with cinder block church. The school still stands, but is used only as Polls.
In the past few years, the number of inhabitants of Jessie has grown. As the older families were married and moved, and finally the old folks went to their reward, young families have moved into the houses left. Most of them work in Cooperstown, but the school buses from Cooperstown and Binford pick up their children to take them to school. Most of these youngest families are descendents of the original settlers, but some are friends who think a small town is a good town. Jessie meets both criteria.
Source: Griggs County History 1879 - 1976 Page 446