ALFRED AND ANNIE JOHANSEN ANDERSON

From 'Fanning the Embers', published 1971, Range Rider Reps, Miles City, Montana

By Annie Anderson

My parents, Mr. and Mrs. Christian Johansen, were born and grew up in Denmark. A few years after they were married they migrated to Ottawa, Canada, and that was where I was born Aug. 10, 1889, and grew to womanhood. I had one sister, Mary, and four brothers, Hans, Ernest, Chris and Charlie. In 1912 1 came to Montana to visit my sister Mrs. Hi Farnum and family. While in Montana I met a young cowboy, Alfred Anderson, and before the year's visit ended we became engaged. It so happened that Alfred's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Nels Anderson, also were born and grew up in Denmark but they migrated to the United States, and settled at Sadie, west of Miles City on the Yellowstone, later known as Calabar and then Sheffield. Grandpa Anderson was a sawyer and blacksmith. Alfred was born at Sadie May 10, 1888 and had one brother, Soren, and five sisters, Alma (Sorenson), Anna (Roberts), Anina (Pombert), still living at Hysham, Ellen (Greer) of Miles City and Dorothy, who died as a child. Soren died in 1926. Alfred and I were married Feb. 19,1916, and lived on the homestead that Alfred was proving up on. It was located on Powder River and Sutherland was our post office. We were blessed with three fine and lively sons, Clarence, Lawrence and Raymond. When they grew to school age we ran into problems. The school was seven miles down the river and on the opposite side from our place. There was no bridge to cross on so we had to ford the river, and Powder River could be very treacherous at times. The Ernest Sorenson place was close to school and they had moved to Miles City to send their daughter to High school so the boys and I moved down there. Alfred stayed on the homestead to look after the stock and do the other work. We tried to get home on weekends but often times it was impossible to cross the river safely and we had many frightening experiences in trying. Later on, the County put a hand cable across the river and we crossed on that and met Alfred on the other side. In 1926 we moved to Calabar to live on Grandpa Anderson's place. Here we would be close to a good school and the family could all be together. In April, 1930, our only daughter, Ellen Marie, was born and John, our youngest son, arrived in November, 1932. We struggled through the depression years with the drought, grasshoppers, Mormon crickets, scarcity of feed and water, low prices and so on, making the best of what little we had and being thankul for it. In 1937 we leased the Pope ranch above Garland on the Tongue River and lived there for five years. We bought the Horton Ranch, nine miles north of Ashland, in 1942. After five years of ill health Alfred passed away May 16, 1957. John and I sold out to the Mobley family in 1958 and John moved to a ranch at Shell, Wyo. I purchased a home at 510 South Merriam in Miles City and am still living here. Our children have blessed us with 11 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. Clarence married Mary Wyttenhove and they had two daughters; he is an engineer at Atlas Foundry in Tacoma. Lawrence married Theresa Patrick, lives in Miles City and they have two daughters. Raymond lives in California, has made a career of the Air Corps and has one son. Ellen married Julian Terrett Jr. They have two sons and a daughter and live at the Terrett Ranch in the Brandenberg community. John married Eleanor Harris and lives at Shell and has three sons.