Life along the James River Valley
Interesting people settled along the river and contributed to the area's history
BY JOY POWERS

As we continue our journey up the Scenic Back Roads Project on County Road 63, leaving the LaMoure area and traveling to Grand Rapids, let’s go back to the late 1800’s and early 1900’s when the James River Valley was just being settled. People from all nationalities, people of all types, people moving west to make a new life and settle a new land arriving in the James River Valley.

Many of these people stand out; many of these people are a part of the history of the James River Valley; and many of these people have been forgotten. In this story let’s take a moment to remember several of these people.

Trapper John

Ralph Holen, Grand Rapids, remembers as a young boy when they’d head down to the James River in the winter to go ice-skating. There he’d be. His double wall tent pitched beside the river where he lived his entire life in the tent along the James River. If they were too noisy, he’d come out from his tent and he’d holler for them to be quiet! His name was John Liehs, but to most people, his name was Trapper John.

Trapper John, born on March 4, 1860, arriving in the USA in his early 20’s from Germany. He never talked about his family, any brothers or sisters nor did he talk about why he’d come to North Dakota. He was a gentle man who liked kids. He was just one of those ordinary nice guys. He wasn’t an outgoing person and he never accepted help from anyone, but many can remember visiting with him and the stories he’d tell.

Trapping was his life and how he made his living. He’d trap animals such as mink, muskrat, raccoon, beaver, fox, and weasels. Hides were worth a lot of money; fur coats were very popular. Norman (Bud) Tischer, LaMoure, remembers a time he went down to the James River to visit with Trapper John. Trapper John was just about to skin out a mink. Norman remembers how quickly Trapper John skinned it out, "It barely took him two minutes and it was a perfect job." Sloppy skinning jobs, of course, paid less money. Louis Keith (Buster) Johnson said, "He was real good at skinning animals out, I’d imagine he got more money for his hides than the normal person."

It was known to all, if you were coming to visit Trapper John before you entered his camp, you had to call out, "Are you home?" and identify yourself as you called him by name. If you didn’t reveal yourself or call out his name, he’d get angry. People weren’t afraid of him; in fact, he was well liked up and down the James River. Buster Johnson said he could remember going down to the river as a young boy to visit with Trapper John. They’d call for him from across the river and Trapper John would come out, get in his homemade flat-bottomed boat, and come across the river to get them.

The James River was his home. Trapping was his life, however, during harvest times he would hire out and work for the area farmers. Ralph could remember Trapper John coming out to their farm to help. He’d sharpen saws and do odd jobs for them, he’d help farmers shock grain and help with the thrashing. But the river remained his home. He’d often be invited for supper at a neighbor’s home, but Trapper John didn’t want to be a burden to anyone and usually declined. He lived in the double wall tent year round on the banks of the James River. He is remembered as being a very neat and tidy man, clean-shaven in the summers and a beard during the winters. He planted a garden every year and he ate oatmeal three times a day. His trapline ran from just south of Grand Rapids to Dickey, approximately 20 miles of riverbank. The post office would hold his mail and he’d go into town about once a week or so to get his mail and possibly stop into the pool hall to play a game of cards. Norman remembered seeing a "Grit" magazine lying around inside Trapper John’s tent on the times he’d been out visiting with him.

His tent contained the stove that he built himself using a tin shears and tin. He also made his own chimneys out of tin. He had a crude-looking bed made from cornhusks with horse blankets to keep warm. The bed was beside the wood stove so he could just reach over and toss more wood into the fire. His camp was always kept clean, even his bed was made every day.

He could move from spot to spot along the river quickly. He’d just toss everything into his homemade boat to move up and down the river. He fished for food, living off the land, yet occasionally he’d buy a chicken or two. Trapper John made his own chokecherry wine. Buster Johnson said, "He didn’t waste anything, he made use of everything." Trapper John smoked a pipe filled with Prince Albert tobacco. Some say he probably smoked to keep the mosquitoes away. In the spring when the river became flooded, he’d move to higher ground.

Ralph remembered back to a night when his father had a creamery board meeting late one night. It was about 1 a.m. when his father was driving home in his ’41 Chevy. He heard a thud and discovered he’d run over two animals. When he stopped the truck, he discovered two wolves. The next day they took the wolves down to Trapper John to skin out.

Norman remembers another time he’d gone down to the river to visit with Trapper John. Trapper John had just caught about a half dozen fish that were still on the stringer in the river. As they talked, Trapper John walked over to get the fish to clean them, but the fish were gone. Norman let out a small snicker as Trapper John looked for the fish. "From that time on, I never snickered at anything around Trapper John," said Norman.

At one point in his life, Trapper John built a small wood house along the James River and lived in it for a few years. When he abandoned it, however, it was torn down eventually.

Trapper John was a loner, but his trapline and existence along the James River kept him in shape. As age crept up on him and animals were scarcer, he eventually gave up the trapping, but never left the James River. William Wielander, caretaker at the LaMoure County Park, checked on him daily.

Then one day in 1944, Welander crossed the James River in his boat to check on Trapper John. He discovered Trapper John had suffered a stroke and managed to get him to the hospital in Edgeley. It was only a matter of days when on July 27, 1944 that Trapper John died at the age of 84.

William Sheik

William Sheik was known as Grand Rapid’s drayman. He was a handyman and hauled freight from the train depot to the stores and he hauled coal. He’d chop ice in the winter to put up and haul it by a team of horses to places as far as Berlin. Sheik was well known for moving buildings, digging wells, and building barns. Ralph remembers as a young boy when his family decided to move their house to a spot approximately a half-mile away. Sheik used eight horses and a block and tackle along with a "dead man" (a post dug into the ground to hook the block and tackle to) to move the house. Sheik also had a small grader that he used to pull behind his horses to keep the streets of Grand Rapids smooth.

Sheik was known for his loud gruff voice and a great target for Halloween night. Buster Johnson remembered how they would play pranks on him because they knew how angry he’d get. His outhouse generally was tipped over and he’d come out of his house and with a loud voice and make lots of noise to chase them away. Jackie Cisinski, Berlin, doesn’t remember her great uncle Bill as having a gruff voice, but she said that to some it might have been, especially if he’d gotten angry.

Sheik was also the caretaker at Yoeman Hall where the basketball games and Christmas Programs were held each year in Grand Rapids. If someone came into the hall and left the door open, you could hear his loud gruff voice yell, "Shut the door! You born in a barn?"

Ralph said, "If there was anything to be done, Bill Sheik probably did it."

William Sheik died at the age of 75 on March 28, 1946.

Joe Wranovsky

Joe Wranovsky was the blacksmith for Grand Rapids. Wranovsky was a good man. He was known for shodding horses, plow shares, and his ironwork. When shoeing a horse, the shoes would be rough, but Joe would get hold of the hoof and take care of it.

Joe was known for his garden. He’d get up every morning at 4 a.m. to work out in his garden before the sun became too hot.

Joe’s home housed the central telephone office in Grand Rapids and Anna was the telephone operator. They had five children, two boys and three girls and they attended church every Sunday.

In his later years, Joe helped his son-in-law run the Standard Oil Service Station in Grand Rapids. Joe Wranovsky died on August 20, 1949 at the age of 78.

These are names most of us have never heard of; names some of us can remember, names that bring back memories and history; Trapper John, William Sheik, and Joe Wranovsky were all pioneers and a part of history in the James River Valley. Also remembered in the Grand Rapids area are John Bigger, a fur and turtle trapper who shipped them back to Pennsylvania in barrels; Nick Christ who moved here from Minnesota and farmed just west of Grand Rapids with his son later becoming the Sheriff of LaMoure County; Webster Cunningham, manager of the Cold Spring Land Co., who also served in the legislature; Nels Holen and Eric Johnson, who came from Minneapolis bringing their possessions and livestock here in a boxcar; Roy Morrell, who ran the pool hall and was the town barber; and Fred Wankel, who ran the Farmers Elevator for many years and his wife Bertha. These people and many others should not be forgotten, but live on forever with their stories and history being passed on and told for generations to come.

Travel with us in the next story of the Scenic Back Roads Series for the James River Valley as we go into Grand Rapids and then onto the LaMoure County Memorial Park.