Rice Lake Town (part 2 of 2)

The Rice Lake Building and Loan As¬ sociation was organized in the spring of 1921. The first officers were: N. W. Heintz, president; T. W. Quinn, vice president; Oscar G. Jensen, secretary and treasurer. The directors: N. W. Heintz, T. W. Quinn, L. V. Pettit, D. L. Dawson, O. G. Sands, J. P. Schneider, A. M. Fengler and W. R. Swenson.

The Rice Lake Creamery and Cheese Co. was incorporated in 1896 with a capital of $4,000, and began operations in June, 1896. The officers were: Dr. T. A. Charron, president; secretary, J. E. Horsman; treasurer, P. M. Parker; manager, C. H. Jones. Harold Hansen was the buttermaker. The creamery had a daily capacity of 600 pounds of butter and 1,000 pounds of cheese.

Some eighteen years ago C. Gerland ac¬ quired the establishment. It is now the only creamery operated at Rice Lake. It is located at the foot of Messenger street, di¬ rectly opposite the Soo line railroad sta¬ tion. The building is 50 by 70 feet, two stories. The creamery equipment consists of four pasteurizing vats with a capacity of 400 gallons each, and two combined power churns and butter workers with a capacity of 1,000 each. In the busy season the creamery can operate from six to eight churnings a day. The company also does a large business in the manufacture of Ice cream. It likewise makes casein, a skimmed milk product. The concern is now known as the Rice Lake Creamery Co. The

The Rice Lake Day Oral School for the Deaf was organized in September, 1907, with an enrollment of four pupils. A month or so later two more children were enrolled, and the school closed with an enrollment of seven pupils - Mrs. C. EL West (formerly Miss Katherine Fulton) being the first teacher.

Owing to lack of room the school has been located in different buildings, occupy¬ ing at one time a room in the First Ward School, later In the County Training School, and finally on the second floor of the City Building on Main Street.

Since its organization fifty-seven pupils have attended the school - the majority of this number being non-resident pupils com¬ ing from the surrounding counties. Those eligible to the school are children between the ages of six and twenty years, that are totally deaf, hard of hearing, or hearing children with defective speech. The lat¬ ter are admitted until their speech defects are corrected, when they return to the hearing schools again.

In 1917 Sarah Droock, totally deaf, a resident of Rice Lake, graduated from the eighth grade making a very good record. The next year Sarah entered the local high school and attended classes with the hear¬ ing pupils - she made a very creditable showing for the year, being exempt from writing examinations in some cases, and re¬ ceiving a hundred in others.

The method of teaching employed is purely oral - by this is meant that the pupils read the lips and are taught to speak. The manual alphabet is not used at all, neither are conventional signs. The work consists of object lessons, and in the teaching of verbs, the action of the verb, after which the action is not referred to again.

The school is free to resident as well as non-resident pupils, tuition, board, and transportation being paid for by the state. Suitable boarding places are found for the children where they are well taken care of and are treated as one of the family.

There has been an enrollment of eight pupils during the present year, five of these coming from Hayward, Dresser Junctiop, Exeland and Bloomer. With an enrollment of ten or more pupils, the services of an assistant are required. There has been as high as fifteen pupils enrolled at one time.

The girls and boyB from the sixth grade are taking cooking and manual training with the hearing classes at the high school. (Written by Mrs. Charles Miller in June. 1921.)

The story of the annual exhibition of the Barron County Agricultural Society whose beautiful grounds are located in Rice Lake is told in the chapter on Modern Agricul¬ ture, in this volume.

the southern part of Oak Grove Township, was the first agricultural settlement in this part of the county. The pioneers of this settlement were John Le Brie Sr., John Le Brie, Jr., Charles Amans and Henry De¬ mers and Cyrille Demers, all natives of the Province of Quebec, Canada, and all of French blood. These men had gone from Canada, to Missouri, and were there en¬ gaged in lumbering and in railroad construc¬ tion work. One of the family, "Ed. LeBrle, had left the Missouri settlement early in 1868, had visited Menomonle, Wis., and en¬ tered the employ of Knapp, Stout ft Co, and had by them been sent to their camp at Rice Lake. He wrote to his relatives in Missouri, and as a result, five families came here in the tall of 1868, and here made their permanent home. John Le Brie Sr, and John Le Brie, Jr, located in Sec¬ tion 84, Township 36, Range 11 (Oak Grove); Cyrille Demers in Section 36, 36, 11; Charles Amans in Section 12, 36, 11 (Rice Lake) ; and Henry Demers in 8ectlon 2. 36, 11 (Rice Lake.) These families spent the winter of 1868-69 here.

The next spring, 1869, Aristide Mlreau, later rendered Mero, settled on railroad land in Section 33, Township 36, Range 11 (Oak Grove). Near him in Section 36, settled George Robarge, Louis Robarge .("Deaf Louis''), and Benjamin Demers. Others who joined the settlement and lo¬ cated in Township 36, Range 11 (Rice Lake) were: Oliver Demers, Section 1; Chester Fecto, Frank Le Brie and Prosper Corneau, Section 3; Alex Bergon and Trefie Grandbois, Section 4; Leon Leford and Aldolphe Leford, Section 8; Charles Michaud and Joseph LavalUer, Section 11, Alex Beaton and Andrew Amans, Section 12; Prosper Forest, Louis Boury, James Rol and Leon Roi, Section 18; John B. Demers. F. I. Domere, Julian Demers and Denis Renville. Section 24; and Joseph Roberge, Richard Beruby, James Donahue and Joseph Secord, Section 26.

Later comers of French-Canadlan birth to join their countrymen in Rice Lake Town¬ ship were: Toussaint Gibord and Toussalnt Prudhomme, Section 1; Camile Forest, Sec¬ tion 8; Joseph Pigeon, Section 12; Antonie Roi.. Edmond Roi and Firmln Deruseau, Section 13; David Demers, Alex Lambert and Hilaire Demers, Section 14; Louis Gagner and Peter Gagner, Section 22; and Leon Gauthrle, Section 35.

In the meantime in 1870, four bachelors, Michael Donnelly, Michael Dooker, Michael Rilley and James Russell, had started an Irish settlement in Oak Grove Township, north of the French settlement. Alone as they were, they found their diversion in visiting the French settlement. They were soon joined by Henry Burns, Joseph Burns, Michael Handlln and Peter Mayo.

Of the men in the French settlement. John LeBrle, Sr., John LeBrle, Jr., and George Robarge were the only ones who had horse teams. Some had oxen, some had mules. Nearly all the Knapp, Stout ft Co. teams were mules, and the settlers were enabled to purchase them. Second-hand

Stanfold postofflce was established in 1875 with Oliver Demars as postmaster. It was in Section 1, Rice Lake Township, north of the river, near the present site of Campla. The postmaster brought the mail from Prairie Farm once a week, making the trip there one day and back the next. After some four years, John Le Brie, Sr., became the mail carrier.

When the French settlers arrived, a road had been cut through by the Knapp, Stout ft Co. people to the logging camp at the Rice Lake dam. At that time travelers were able to ford the river below the dam, follow the west shore of the lake, cross Bear Creek in the western part of Section 4, and follow the ridge between the lake and the swamp. Along this route, John Le Brie, Sr., and John Le Brie, Jr., and Charles Emans, later cut a road. But when the log drives started, the river could no longer be forded at the dam, so the settlers to the north had to travel down the east side of the lake, and follow the road be¬ tween Rice Lake and Lake Montanls.