Memories Cooperstown ND Main Street

Lorrie Skupien Currie

I am Lorrie Skupien Currie, the twin sister of Larry Skupien and older sister of Susan. Our parents were Joe and Sigrid Skupien (former Sigrid Bendickson, who grew up in Cooperstown). We traveled to Cooperstown, North Dakota every summer from the 1940's on, for two weeks our entire childhood, because our grandparents, Ben and Sanna Bendickson, lived there. They originally had a farm on the outskirts of Cooperstown and then they eventually moved into town, sometime in the 1950's. Their first house in town was directly behind Tim Lien's gas station. Later they moved to Lenham Street, eventually next door to Einar Overby's. We also had cousins in Cooperstown, Sharon, Bob and Terry Bendickson. Terry now owns the Bendickson farm.

I was closest in age to Kathy Overby, so over the years, we became quite close, even though we only saw each other two weeks every July.

All three of us kids loved visiting North Dakota. Some of the most memorable things I will mention probably go back to the 50's and 60's--even before our Overby connection. As with Larry's memories, these are not in any order or time frame, just as they pop into my head.

Here goes:

*The best part of staying in Cooperstown was sleeping out on the screened in- porch at Grandpa and Grandma's house on those warm summer nights and waking up to the cooing sound of morning doves. Every summer, the same sounds!

*Kathy, do you remember talking to each other through the screen windows when you slept out on your screen porch, as well?

*Grandpa always took us to the very top of the Courthouse so we could look out the round windows all around town. We signed our names up there many times! As a Deputy Sheriff for several years, Grandpa always had funny stories to tell us about the "prisoners" he had to lock up in the Courthouse prison.

*Grandpa always took us out to the farm to see the wheat crops. I remember lots of chickens and sheep, too.

*Saturday nights in town was a big deal! Our folks got all dressed up and walked uptown to have a few drinks at the local bars. Cars would be lined up and down the wide main street. People would be milling all around, in and out of the shops, visiting with each other.

*I remember certain stores in town: Almklov's Drug Store, Red Owl Food Store, Overby's Market, a clothing store way at the end of town past Almklov's, the Strand Theater, Stone's Cafe, "The Hole", The Oasis, the Ben Franklin type 5 and 10 Cent Store, some sort of Meat Storage Locker, the Library, and the Sons of Norway Hall. (Some of these stores came later in the 60's).

*Way back when, the Ben Franklin type dime store (it was next to what eventually was Overby's Market) had penny candy----lots and lots of different kinds of penny candy! As you walked in the door, straight ahead was this huge table with every kind of penny candy imaginable! With a couple of dimes, you came out with a bag full of sweets! (Lick-a Maid, Pixie Straws, Licorice, Snaps, Jaw Breakers, Wax Lips and Bottles, and those candy Buttons on sheets of paper, remember?)

*During the hot summer, when we walked passed the shops uptown, as you crossed the opening that led downstairs to our uncle's bar, "The Hole", I clearly remember the unpleasant smell of smoke, dampness and stale beer as it drifted up.

*We usually went fishing at Lake Ashtabula, as well as Red Willow Lake. Red Willow Lake had a great big roller skating pavilion. That was fun! Our Retzlaff relatives owned a cabin on the lake.

*Across the street diagonally from Grandpa and Grandma's house on the corner was the "Old People's Home", a rather stately old building with a huge porch that went all around the building. As young kids, we were sort of afraid of the people sitting in their rockers outside, so we used to always cross the street to avoid walking right past them.

*This goes way back, but there was a siren that blasted, I believe, at 9:00 each night. That was the time younger kids were supposed to be home. We used to think we would get arrested if we weren't back by Grandpa and Grandma's on time.

* The Cooperstown Pool was great! Here was a small town like Cooperstown with this awesome pool. We had tons of fun there. We didn't like it when buses used to bring in kids from Bible Camps nearby because we wouldn't have the pool to ourselves. On our way back from the pool, we passed the old grade school playground. We always had to swing and go on the "teeter-totter", no matter how old we were!

*Stone's Cafe had the best ice cream around. Of course, there was the Dairy Dream (was it called Skips?) Anyway, great chicken which we often picked up for dinner.