Finding aid, and Biographical information
File — Box: 1, Folder: 1
Scope and Contents
From the Collection:
The Otto Simonson Papers spans from 1930 to 1964. These are letters that Otto wrote to his son, Roy Simonson, over the span of thirty four years. These letters document the different happenings that were going on at the family farm at Agate, N.D. as well as special events. Included in this collection are memoirs that Roy had his father write in the early 1950s. There is also an article that Roy wrote in the early 2000s about the life and income that Otto had during his life. The two series in this collection are: Letters and Topical.
These letters and memoirs were published in to a book called Letters, Letter Segments, and Memoirs from a Farm, (Simonson, Roy W. Letters, Letter Segments, and Memoirs from a Farm. West Conshohocken: Infinity, 2005.) Most of the letters and memoirs were published into this book. The book is divided into three different parts. The first part is a collection of the letters, the second is segments that give Otto’s voice on a variety of topics, and the last part is the memoirs. Roy did edit the letters and memoirs, but it
Mss 345 Otto Simonson Papers Page 3 of 5
was “minimal, I have tried to preserve the style and flavor of the prose.” The memoirs were edited more than the letters by Roy Simonson but he made a big effort to keep the style the same.
The Letters Series is a collection of letters that Otto wrote to his son over the course of thirty-four years, starting when Roy was in school at NDAC. These letters were handwritten to Roy from Otto. In later years, Roy transcribed these letters to type. Both the handwritten and typed are in this collection. These letters cover a variety of topics that went on in Otto’s life. In the early years he talks about the different stories that he has about his youth in Minnesota and his early life in North Dakota. Most of the letters cover the different farming practices that Otto used in his time that he farmed. This ranged from farm prices to the different machinery that he used to plow and harvested his crops with. He covers the prices that were paid for his crops and what the government loan prices were on crops as well. Otto bought a lot of land in his life and he often shared what he paid for it and where in North Dakota he bought the land. During the 1930s and 1940s he wrote often of the different government programs that were in place to help farmers.
Otto would tell his son about the different activities that his family was doing. Otto lived close to his daughters and he would share how they are doing. We would tell Roy how much he enjoyed hunting and fishing. He would share stories of him going out and shooting ducks or catching fish in Canada. He would talk often of weather conditions in North Dakota. Spring was his favorite time of year because of the beautiful scenery. It also meant that he could start to plow up the field and he could get back to work. Otto loved Christmas, and he would always write a letter around Christmas to tell Roy about all the things that went on at his house.
Otto wrote about politics and world affairs often. In the beginning of these letters, Bill Langer was a very powerful political figure in North Dakota politics, and Otto was not a supporter of Langer. He wrote to Roy about the different things that he didn’t think was right about Langer and what he thought about politics. He would explain who he would want to win in presidential elections and why he thought they should win and what kind of job they would do as president. He criticized Roosevelt when he was president because he didn’t like some of the programs that he was putting in place. World War II came up in the letters a couple of times. Otto once told Roy in the late 1930s, before Germany invaded Poland, that he needs to start buying farm equipment before the metal becomes rationed. He would also reference World War I as well during his letters.
The Topical Series includes the memoirs, both handwritten and transcribed, and a study of production on a North Dakota farm. Otto wrote these memoirs because Roy encouraged him to get his experience of homesteading in North Dakota on paper. The first memoir, “From Flair to Combine”, describes the development of technology in harvesting and threshing small grains during Otto’s lifetime. It shows from all hand work to machines taking over most of the responsible. The second memoir, “the Farmers Club”, describes the Agate, N.D. informal farmers club for the entertainment and education of farm people. It was only active when the fields were not.
The third memoir, “The Agate Farmers Cooperative Elevator Company”, covers some of the activity but is centered on the establishment of a company followed by the purchase and operation of a grain elevator in Agate. The fourth memoir, “School Days”, records the experiences of Otto both as a pupil and as a teacher. He recalls in his letters that these school days are some of the fondest memories of his life. The fifth memoir, “Newspaper Lesson”, recounts when Otto was involved with a local paper. It was a failed venture and he thought it was more headache than it was worth. The final memoir, “Carl Nelson”, recalls Otto’s memory of Carl Nelson. Nelson was a friend of Otto’s. Otto thought that Carl was a good guy and he talked and they wrote back and forth often.
The study “Variable Production and Income on a North Dakota Farm” is a study that Roy did about Otto’s farm. Roy took all of the data that Otto told him and compiled it to form this study. He also took the income of the farm and the crop prices and included it in this study. Roy tried to get this study published in Agricultural Monthly, which at the time was published by NDSU. Letters are included in this file that indicates that this study never was published due that it needed more work done.
Portions of this Scope and Content taken from Letters, Letter Segments, and Memoirs from a Farm.
Dates
- 1930-1964.
Access
The collection is open under the rules and regulations of the Institute.
Extent
From the Collection: .6 Linear Feet (.6 linear ft.)
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Creator
- From the Collection: Simonson, Otto, 1875-1966. (Person)
- From the Collection: Simonson, Roy W. (Roy Walter) (Person)
Repository Details
Part of the Institute for Regional Studies Repository
Contact:
West Building N
3551 7th Avenue North
Fargo North Dakota 58102 United States
ndsu.archives@ndsu.edu
West Building N
3551 7th Avenue North
Fargo North Dakota 58102 United States
ndsu.archives@ndsu.edu