Title
“KIT” DINSDALE AND THE HENNINGS
Creator
Florence Dinsdale McEwen (Mrs. Wm. L.)
Coverage
TOWNSHIP 139N RANGE 96W
Text
“KIT” DINSDALE AND THE HENNINGS
Christopher Moore Dinsdale came from England to the Dickinson, N.D. area in the late eighteen hundreds. “Kit” as he was known, was the oldest of 10 children, being born in I860, and his brother, Alex, the youngest of the children, was born in 1879.
After a few years Kit returned to England and brought his boyhood sweetheart, Margaret Whaley, to this country as his bride. He farmed and raised sheep in the area north of Gladstone. Two children were born while living here: Eleanor (Nellie), (Mrs. Otto F. Hennings), and Maysie, (Mrs. E. S. Porter).
The family moved to Dickinson to the home on the northeast corner of now West Third Street and Second Avenue, known later to this writer as the Otto Thress home. Mr. Dinsdale experienced a terrific financial loss in the sheep business due to an unexpected freeze in the Montana grazing area. In the days of dirt roads and streets, buckboard wagons drawn by horses, and shovels for street cleaning, he became city street commissioner.
The Dinsdale family moved to a new home in Dickinson on the northeast corner of West Second Street and Sixth Avenue later. The two girls attended the local schools. Nellie later became bookkeeper for the Reed Department store; Maysie went east to attend higher schooling and never made her home in Dickinson.
In 1924 Mr. and Mrs. Dinsdale moved to the west coast, finally making their home in Santa Cruz, Calif. They are deceased and buried in the Dickinson Cemetery.
Nellie and Otto Hennings were married in her parents’ home and continued to share the residence. The home was the place of much music as Otto played in the city band of the time. The walls of the home ballooned with notes flying from the instruments of the children. The family was a staunch member of the little Episcopal Church on Sims Street. Otto and Margaret, the daughter, sang in the choir. The three boys took part in the church services. Otto was teller in the First National Bank for many years. Both Nellie and Otto were active in fraternal affairs, received a 50 year recognition from the Dickinson Masonic Lodge. Nellie held a state office in the Eastern Star as Grand Martha.
Many students who attended Dickinson Teachers College will fondly remember Mrs. Hennings. She was their mother away from home while at school. A loving spirit and a heart of gold endeared her to those who took room and board in her home. This along with caring for her own four children and her husband gave her great satisfaction, although her days were made long with work. She cherished her membership in the PEO, a tireless and energetic worker in all her activities, also an avid conversationalist. A super cook and pie baker is attested to by the fact of the number of her cream pies that were sold at the Parker Grocery store. Mrs. “Dr.” Anderson supplied pies for the Anderson or “City Grocery Store.” (The two Andersons were not related.)
It was in the 1940's that Nellie and Otto made a permanent move to the California area of Santa Cruz and San Jose to be near her parents who were ailing. Their four children preceded them to the west coast to live and earn a livelihood: Williard Hennings, M.D., Tacoma, Wash.; Margaret Sloan (Mrs. Don), Portland, Oreg., deceased: Harold and Edward, also the father, Otto. At the present writing, Nellie is confined in a nursing home in Portland, Oreg. She is in her late eighties.
By Florence Dinsdale McEwen (Mrs. Wm. L.)
Christopher Moore Dinsdale came from England to the Dickinson, N.D. area in the late eighteen hundreds. “Kit” as he was known, was the oldest of 10 children, being born in I860, and his brother, Alex, the youngest of the children, was born in 1879.
After a few years Kit returned to England and brought his boyhood sweetheart, Margaret Whaley, to this country as his bride. He farmed and raised sheep in the area north of Gladstone. Two children were born while living here: Eleanor (Nellie), (Mrs. Otto F. Hennings), and Maysie, (Mrs. E. S. Porter).
The family moved to Dickinson to the home on the northeast corner of now West Third Street and Second Avenue, known later to this writer as the Otto Thress home. Mr. Dinsdale experienced a terrific financial loss in the sheep business due to an unexpected freeze in the Montana grazing area. In the days of dirt roads and streets, buckboard wagons drawn by horses, and shovels for street cleaning, he became city street commissioner.
The Dinsdale family moved to a new home in Dickinson on the northeast corner of West Second Street and Sixth Avenue later. The two girls attended the local schools. Nellie later became bookkeeper for the Reed Department store; Maysie went east to attend higher schooling and never made her home in Dickinson.
In 1924 Mr. and Mrs. Dinsdale moved to the west coast, finally making their home in Santa Cruz, Calif. They are deceased and buried in the Dickinson Cemetery.
Nellie and Otto Hennings were married in her parents’ home and continued to share the residence. The home was the place of much music as Otto played in the city band of the time. The walls of the home ballooned with notes flying from the instruments of the children. The family was a staunch member of the little Episcopal Church on Sims Street. Otto and Margaret, the daughter, sang in the choir. The three boys took part in the church services. Otto was teller in the First National Bank for many years. Both Nellie and Otto were active in fraternal affairs, received a 50 year recognition from the Dickinson Masonic Lodge. Nellie held a state office in the Eastern Star as Grand Martha.
Many students who attended Dickinson Teachers College will fondly remember Mrs. Hennings. She was their mother away from home while at school. A loving spirit and a heart of gold endeared her to those who took room and board in her home. This along with caring for her own four children and her husband gave her great satisfaction, although her days were made long with work. She cherished her membership in the PEO, a tireless and energetic worker in all her activities, also an avid conversationalist. A super cook and pie baker is attested to by the fact of the number of her cream pies that were sold at the Parker Grocery store. Mrs. “Dr.” Anderson supplied pies for the Anderson or “City Grocery Store.” (The two Andersons were not related.)
It was in the 1940's that Nellie and Otto made a permanent move to the California area of Santa Cruz and San Jose to be near her parents who were ailing. Their four children preceded them to the west coast to live and earn a livelihood: Williard Hennings, M.D., Tacoma, Wash.; Margaret Sloan (Mrs. Don), Portland, Oreg., deceased: Harold and Edward, also the father, Otto. At the present writing, Nellie is confined in a nursing home in Portland, Oreg. She is in her late eighties.
By Florence Dinsdale McEwen (Mrs. Wm. L.)