Many years ago if you would have traveled through this community you would have found a vast wilderness.  The land was covered with brush and owned by the government.

There is no evidence that Indians ever made their homes here.  They may have passed through this region from time to time on hunting trips.

It wasn't until about the time of the Civil War that people came this way.  They settled in about the southwest corner of the school district because there were springs and a creek there where they could get water.  Their names were August Kaatz, Same Welke, and Fred Martin.  Their homes were built of logs.  These former settlers are all dead now.  New homes are built in place of the old ones; but the three farms are still centered around the creek.

Another early settler was Carl Strasburg who purchased the tract of land when he returned from the Civil War.

The settlers of this community were of German descent.  Some have come directly from Germany.  They chose as their occupation, farming, which is still the chief occupation today.

These early settlers were much inconvenienced compared to us.  Their first roads would be like trails compared to our roads.  The first road was from Ernest Dehnke to Arnold Zimmerman, past the church, to town.  The road has been changed, part of it no longer exists and the rest of it is not a main route of travel.

There were few public buildings in our community in the early days.  The church which still stands was the first one to be built.  People from Bears Grass had to come here to church.  Before the church was built services were conducted in the schoolhouse.

We are in the third schoolhouse that has been built in our community.  The first school was built back of our present school on the old road.  The second was a two room building.  The present school was built in 1927.

There was no mail service.  The mail had to be gotten from Fall Creek.  Fall Creek at that time was no village.  It was not built until after the railroad went through.

The early farm had little farm equipment.  The grain was cut with a cradle.  The women spun yarn on the spinning wheel.  The butter was churned at home and pressed into molds.

There have been a number of changes and improvements made in the present day.  The roads have been tarred.  The R. E. A. and the Northern States Power Company have improved the homes with electricity.  The mail is being delivered at convenient places.  The milk is being picked up at the farms by trucks.

Within the last two years a parochial school has been erected.  This school has bus service.

Everyone has a chance to attend high school.  The Fall Creek High School bus goes near most of the homes.

In conclusion, we take off our hats to the forefathers who settled here.  The good start that they made has influenced the community so that today we can say we are living in a prosperous farming community.

This story was related to us by a former resident of the district.  It it is actually true, we do not know.

She said the people were quite superstitious in the early days.  Often at night they would see a light shining in the marsh north of the school.  Many of the people believed it was ghosts.  Years later when people investigated they found it to be petrified wood.

This information was gathered by the Eighth Grade of Fall Creek Valley School.