Pioneer's life traced through memories...
BY JOY POWERS

Elmer Jacobsen was a man of solitude, a man that lived alone, and a man that lived from the land. Elmer attended the North Dakota College of Agriculture and Forestry (now known as NDSU) in the early days of its existence. He graduated with a degree in Engineering with the third graduating class from this college.

Elmer entered the U.S. Marines during World War I where he was wounded with a muscle injury. During World War II, Elmer joined the Army to serve our country. After being discharged from the military, Elmer returned to his home in Dickey, North Dakota.

Shortly thereafter, he moved out into the James River Valley, into the hills to live. Elmer moved into an old house that had running water from the springs pumped through the house, a feature not many homes in that day had. Then one day he decided to take a camping trip down near Bonehill Creek. He loved it there and there he stayed.

He began the work of digging a cave to live in. He dug his main cave into the side of a clay-based hill. After the cave was dug, he built a huge fire inside and let it burn, baking the clay walls to harden and stabilize them. He dug a total of three caves in that area. The main cave was approximately 2 miles south of Dickey along Bone Hill Creek, another he used for emergencies was located in the Wilkes Coulee where he could stay if he became too cold walking back and forth into town, and the third one was located further south. Here he lived for nearly a year.

It was then he began the construction of a double-wall tent. He hand cut and built the framework for the tent from the Burr Oak trees in the valley. The inner wall was made from canvas with another outer wall made from canvas over the inner wall with a Texas-style fence surrounding it. The tent was very well built and with a box wood stove for heat, an army cot for a bed, and a small garden Elmer lived in peace and solitude.

Elmer is remembered for planting many trees from the acorns he found there. When the deer began to eat them off, he covered the trees with chicken wire for protection. Beavers caused the small trees much damage, and it wasn’t unusual to hear Elmer complain of the beavers.

This was the time of the Sears and Roebuck Company’s popularity. Elmer ordered nearly all of his supplies and needs through the mail order catalog. Elmer’s hobby and fascination were telescopes, lenses, and chemistry. He ordered the supplies to build his own telescopes from Sears. His lanterns and Coleman cook stove all came from Sears.

Gary Meiklejohn remembered their family picnics down near his Bone Hill Creek every 4th of July. As they would gather and begin to eat, someone always fixed a plate of food for Elmer and took it over to him. Elmer would thank them graciously and disappear back into his tent. The next 4th of July when the plate of food was prepared for him, he’d meet them and hand back the plate from the year before graciously accepting the new plate of food. Elmer wasn’t one to go visiting but often welcomed family and friends to his tent for visits.