As a boy
Claiborne Daniel Wilson was born January 7, 1888, and grew up on a farm near Morrisburg and Dale City, Jackson Township, Iowa. He attended the rural Frog Pond School.
“Clabe was quite a hockey player when he was a young man,” wrote Leora in her memoir decades later, “and he never forgot how to ice skate.”
His grandparents, Sam and Emily Wilson, were pioneers in Coon Rapids, Iowa, in 1854. That’s thirty miles or so north of where their grandson grew up. (The Wilson family burial plot is up in the east side of the bur oak filled cemetery, from where you can see where the old farm was, just east of the cemetery, which is just east of the river.)
His grandfather died when Clabe was nine, so he likely ice skated up the river during his teenage years to visit his grandmother, Emily. Yes, a hockey player could skate that far on the Middle Raccoon River. I wonder if the river is where their hockey games were played.
Clabe’s uncle, Alonzo “Lon” Wilson’s farm was where Whiterock Conservancy is today. The river went through his land. I wonder whether Emily Wilson lived with her son Lon after she was widowed. Perhaps Clabe visited her there, along with his uncle’s family. Oh, I wish I knew their stories!
The ice storm of 1916
“After we were married,” Leora remembered, “we had a big ice storm the winter of 1916. We had some hogs at our place yet and Clabe would skate back and forth to feed them for a few days or until the ice broke up or melted.”
Winter of 1942
“One time, when we lived at the Minburn farm near the North ‘Coon’ River, we had a flood,” she wrote. “The ice broke up and filled some bogs along the river with water and froze over. Junior bought some skates and had never skated before, so his dad says, ‘Let me try them.’ He went right off, like always, and cut a ‘figure 8,’ etc. The boys, and I think Doris was there too, said, ‘Why, Dad, I didn’t know you could skate.’ It was a lot of fun. It must have been the winter of 1942 as Dale was home on leave from the service.”
I enjoyed learning about this side of the grandfather I never had a chance to know. I never learned to ice skate. Maybe he would have taught me how, or at least told me stories of the past–which I think would have been even better.
Very interesting! He was a good looking fellow too.
Thank you, Darlene. He was also shy. I think I would have liked him!
Learning about this aspect about your grandfather must have been fascinating. It brought back memories of my childhood. I wasn’t a great skater, but we used to play hockey on the frozen James River in North Dakota.
Near what town? That’s fun to know, Pete! When Leora was grade-school age, the Goff family tried living at Key West, MN a couple of years. She talked about the Red River of the North, which flows north, and flooded shortly after they moved back to Iowa. (That’s why there are canals that show up on early 1900s MN maps in that area.)
Jamestown, North Dakota, whose moniker was “Home of the World’s Largest Buffalo.” There was a herd of buffalo just outside of town at the time. (I’d be curious to know if they are still there.) The motto referred to a sculpture.
https://www.ndtourism.com/jamestown/attractions-entertainment/educational-attractions/worlds-largest-buffalo-monument
It’s even called the Buffalo City! And yes, you can see buffalo there: “If you are passing through for the day to tour the Frontier Village and view our live herd of buffalo, visit our historical sites, or joining us for a tournament at one of our sporting complexes, we are sure you will enjoy your visit.”
While living in Buffalo, NY, I was invited to go ice fishing on Erie. People drive their vehicles out on the ice. When the ice is thick with age and temperatures, they say it’s perfectly safe. Still, it was not for me. It gave me the creeps just thinking about Lake Erie under my feet.
People ice fish here as well. Not for me either, Alan. (Do you have you port?)
A lovely story, Joy. I can’t imagine a thirty-mile skate. How about the trip back?
During the Depression, they lived without a car for five years. He hiked into Dallas County to find work to do. They were used to it! John, do you suppose he stayed overnight before heading home?
I really enjoyed the story’s of Clabe’s ice skating! I ice skating in junior high and high school. I kept my skates until the basement in our current house flooded, and the skates mildewed.
I’d planned to try it the first time at a 4-H winter camp, but the river was too lumpy. I wonder whether Clabe encountered that. I guess he was used to it. Ooo, mildew.
In Enosburg, there was a vacant lot next to the high school gym, and every winter the village would flood it for skating and put up a shack with a big wood stove with benches so we could put on our skates and come in to warm up if we needed to. I was so thrilled when I learned to skate backwards!
I’m impressed! Mom could roller skate backwards.
I didn’t do so well on the roller skates.
This is a delightful story about your grandfather. I love the idea of using ice skates as an adventurous way to get around, especially when your only other choice is walking! I’ll bet his cheeks were good and rosy. 🙂
I’ll bet they were too! Thank you, Nancy.
The story of your hockey playing grandfather traveling on ice skates is fascinating, Joy.
Thanks, Tim!
😍
Wow – “Frog Pond School”?? There have to be some stories about that place. It’s amazing to me that I can see the Scar features in all these old photos of Clabe. He was my grandpa Alvin’s father, correct?
Clabe Wilson was Darlene’s father, married to Grandma Leora Wilson. I sent you a link to Frog Pond School on Facebook!
Such nice stories, Joy! I would love to see his smile!
Me too, Lori. Thank you!