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SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, iSif-PEOPLE . .InSouthern Beadle County After 40 Yearsfield in High; esteem by the many people' of southern Beadle Comity whom he has served, James Scow July 5 began his 41st year as blacksmith in the little rural district of RayviHe.Belfcrd these 40 years lies a story of fine work and machinery/ some of which is Mr. Scow’s own planning. A master craftsman, inventor and worker, he has: witnessed a good number of changes. As the changes came, Scow acquired and invented var-parts of machinery and equipment for his own use in owner to serve the demanding jpittzEc. Inventor of a power mow-or/'Ae wants absolutely no publicity J»nd was reluctant to tell ■tool of his work during the past iotir decades, except the affirmation that he had thoroughly en-Invaluable Sarvic#Comments from residents of the vicinity and Scow’s patrons say tb*t' the country owes a lot to tfar blacksmith/ now W years old, far his invaluable service and efforts daring the years. On July ♦ this- year they gathered for a specfio celebration for his 40 years of continual work in the same location.Jim, as he is commonly known, has two-daughters: Mrs, Harley Rauch, Lake Preston and Mrs. Leon Cunningham, T a c o m a, Wash.With the mention of Scow and his blacksmith shop, comes a. bit of history on Rayville itself, obtained mostly from George Rhoads pioheAr homesteader of the dist-rict/'U.ow living just across the line in Sanborn County.flow consisting of but the blacksmith shop and telephone exchange office and two residences, besides a few other small buddings, \ Rayville is located about 12 miles south of Cavour, on the southernmost tip of Beadle County.Pioneering here from Iowa i the spring of 1883 was a group of seWers including George Bon-ney a?,d father; Alex and George Alley, Ed Dean, Charles Ray, for whcwn the settlement was named, now all believed dead and our historian, Mr. Rhoads.Mr. Rhoads says that it was in if882 that Charles Ray, then about 22, came to Beadle County and homesteaded at what was later to be named in his honor. A few years after his arrival here Ray was married to a girl fromBan-operates a grocery store ii croft.During the course of time a postoffice was also located at Ray viUe, first in charge of a Mr. Druary and later run by Mr. and Mrs. Rhoads until the introduction of rural free delivery.Farmers bought shares and the present telephone office, formerly known as the Farnsworth Exchange, located about one fourth of a mile from the present location was moved to RayvillO. Serving between 12 and 15 patrons the exchange has been operating for some 15 years. First managers were Mr. and Mrs. Victor Gilstrom and the present operator is Mrs. Robert Olson, who with her husband and family, re side in the tiny settlement.Iowa Just starting' a small black-tWPfshop, Ray, as times grew better, opened a general grocery store. In later years he was assisted by a son George who .was born on the homastead.Buys Business In 1901Coming from Moorehead, la., to Rayville in 19)6 Scow began, work for Ray in the blacksmith shop. In 1909 Scow purchased the business of Ray, constructing a building of his own! This was de-strbywl by fire in 1932, at which limevjg present blacksmith shop was constructed. Though he has had various assistants for the past four years Scow has run hfa business alone and is kept most busy serving his cutsomers to an estimated half distance radius in the four directions from the ^settlement: Forestburg to the sooth; Cavour to.the north; Carthage to the east and Alpena to ttrfTvest. Putting in long, irregular hears, Mr. Scow has found it neceary to refuse work at times ahff says he could handle much mbre were help obtainable.The elder Mr. Ray went to Texas for a couple years about 19*5 and left the grocery business in charge of his son. In 1917 hernetumed and a deal was completed whereby the, store . was sold to the Bevier Brothers, Guy and Lester, who lived on a nearby farm. Guy, now a desk*tw^at the police departmentHuron, says that business was really thriving. Selling toOld 8od ChurchIn a reminiscent way, Mr. Rhoads recalling events in the little rural district, tells of the old sod church erected there in the early days which was attended regularly by aii average 75 member congregation, This was used for four or five years, he says, before the erection of the present Pearl Methodist Church at a different site. He also -recalls the thrill of attending the early day’ literary society meetings when he said many came long distances to meet in the various sod homes.- Rhoads,now 87, was born ii Juanita County, Pa., 90 miles west: of Philadelphia, March 5, 1859. At the age of 19 he came west to the state of Iowa and and for four? years worked farm near Strawberry Point. Then for two years he farmed for himself : before coming to Beadle County in the spring of 1883. Four years later he was united in' marriage to a young woman from Iow:a, who died nine years ago. Mr. Rhoads has two daughters:' Mrs. (Agnes) Thomas Newman, Mrs. (Myrtle) Earl Dillon, both of the Rayville territory and two 'sons: Ralph, with whom he makes his home one mile west and one mile south of Rayville and George A. Rhoads, Corona.During his life here Mr. Rhoads recalls many events and tells of how he well remembers his first year of farming. With three old plug horses he broke up 65 acres of ground. This he did for two years, “back setting” ft the second fall. The third year spring came early and he seeded it to wheat. The .crop grew extremely high and was tremendously, thick, he said- Just about the time , it was-riipe. Mr. Rhoads went Into. Cavour and bought a binder. Together with an agent he took the machine to the farm to set it up. The two worked for three days putting it together, when on the last day,' just about the time it was finished being assembled, a black cloud came up in the west and northwest and the crop was hailed out. Included in the loss was the entire 65 acres of an estimated 45 bushels to the acre crop. That same year he had*rented land of a fellow to the south of him and broke up one acre of land for the use of two. This 20 acre crop was likewise hailed out. Though he has experienced numerous other crop failures and years: of depression, as well as years' ofc success and properityv Mr! Rhoads says that was one of? the best crops he has eyer seen.Recalling the days when a good many more cows were milked than at present; how they peddled butter and eggs, beef ana pork on the streets of Hutbh'r Rfr: Rhoads, who has watched the progress of farming with eagerness, says that he. considers the modern methods quite all right. And he further adds that he knows of no better farming country than Beadle, Sanborn and surrounding counties.With an estimated average, pop-Clyde Rose the Bevier Brothers.ulation of eight, the little south-moved to Huron and Lester, now lt;rrT1 Beadle County establishment,the police force in Turlock, Calif., left here in 1925.Though the exact dates of change of ownership are not known Mr. Rose sold .the store to Erwin Zell, who later sold it to a brother who operated it for period of over 10 years, before altering the Army some four iWee wears ago during the second world war. Since that time Rayville has been without a grocery store. Erwin Zell nowABSTRACTSANDFIRE INSURANCE | * laodfe County i Abstract Title Co.Nan Bank oi So. Dakota John Claymoz*Rayville, whose history and development is belived to be unrecorded; remains ^ vivid, in the minds of its remaining homesteaders and by tales handed down from the older generation to their children, many the present neighboring residents.F P B404« L P 9-89-46NOTICEBids will be received for the sale of the G. A. R and W. R. C. Building 26x35 on the State Fair Grounds in Huron South Dakota, up to October’ All ire to be sealed bids, accompanied by check for 10% of the bid and made payable to the Treasurer of the Department of South Dakota VV. B. C. Mail all bids to Mattie Koetzle. Chairman of the Building Committee, 2203 So. Euclid Ave., Sioux Falls, South Dakota. No other bids will be considered other than those in the hands of this committee on above date.The right is reserved to reject any or aU bids.Inspection of the building may be made by contacting VeraLs Anderberg. Telephone 3354 finediate posoession. The building win be open for inspection through fair week.No. 283 (Adv.)FEEDING LAMBS ON GAIN BASIS_____ _ L paying po amok peeEm though yon have the feed end the cash 0» - * ► fad poaalfrlr wllb *11 “j*A u. FT—I— .vs — ,vd mar tolhh to do ao. If i feed and at* Interested In feeding tamb* foe ao much par pound for the gain pul ett and sun provide the proper cere, wTMe_mr eaflma ad^tng^whe^feed pe heve'SStS. fftcere fer, afeogfee location ef residence end In Alao Breeding end Feed** Bwee -fee Sale* - • •Noel Cover
Newspaper Details
Huron Daily Huronite and Plainsman
Huron, South Dakota, US
Sun, Sep 01, 1946
Page 9
Full Page
Clipped by
Huron P.
SD, USA 17 Apr 2024
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