Joris Odin Wigen (1883-1958), Joris Odin Wigen Jr. (1917-1987)

From "Prairie Pioneers: A History of Adams County", 1975.

   A transplant to North Dakota from Minnesota, Joris Odin Wigen was for over forty years a figure of distinction in Adams County, first settling there in the mid-1910s. An attorney, banker, and civic leader, Wigen would be elected to terms as Mayor of Hettinger, state representative, state's attorney, and achieved his highest degree of political prominence when he was appointed as a state district court judge. Following retirement, he and his wife removed to Phoenix, Arizona, where he lost his life in a car accident in 1958. The son of Norwegian natives George and Anna (Eggan) Wigen, Joris Odin Wigen was born in Mower County, Minnesota on August 9, 1883.

  Wigen's formative years were spent in the county of his birth, where he attended rural schools. He enrolled at the Lutheran College at Jewell, Iowa, and continued his studies at the Redwing Seminary in Redwing, Minnesota. Wanting to pursue a career in law, he entered the University of Minnesota and earned his law degree in 1910. Admitted to the North Dakota bar in December 1910, he would remove to Bucyrus, North Dakota to establish his law practice, and briefly returned to Minnesota to marry on May 31, 1911, to Gea Sether (1884-1985). The couple were wed for nearly fifty years and had four children, Ada Dakota Mae (1912-2009), Sadie (1914-1977), Gea Evelyn (1915-2009), and Joris Odin Jr. (1917-1987).

  Within a few years of relocating to Bucyrus Joris Wigen had entered into the town's financial sector, purchasing the Bucyrus State Bank. He would serve as its president until 1917, and by July of the following year had moved to Hettinger, North Dakota, where he became affiliated with the Adams County State Bank. He made his first move into local politics in the 1920s, serving on the Hettinger city council for several years and from 1918-32 was treasurer of the Hettinger School Board.

A youthful Joris O. Wigen, from the 1911 University of Minnesota "Gopher" yearbook.

  Joris O. Wigen continued his political ascent in 1928 when he was elected to the North Dakota House of Representatives. He would serve two terms (1929-33), and during his last term held the additional role of mayor of Hettinger, his term extending from 1931-34. While serving as a legislator and as mayor, Wigen occupied a third post, that of collector of closed banks from 1931-1939.

  Wigen's long residency in Hettinger saw him attain further distinction as a civic leader, being a member of the Hettinger Civic Association from 1924-30, and president of the Chamber of Commerce and Lions Club. Wigen was active in local patriotic drives and in 1940 was director for the Finnish Relief Drive. During WWII he was a booster in "war finance activities", for which he earned two medals, and for thirty-five years served as treasurer for the Hettinger Lutheran Church. On the business front, Wigen was manager of the Adams County Abstract Company from 1937-44 and "was universally recognized as an avid golf enthusiast."  

   In the early 1940s, Wigen returned to politics with his service as state's attorney for Adams County and was the incumbent in that post when he was appointed by Governor Fred Aandahl as a judge for North Dakota's 6th judicial district in July 1946. He would win a full six-year term of his own on that court in 1948 and was reelected in 1954. He served until his retirement on New Years Day 1958, and soon after resettled in Phoenix, Arizona with his wife.

  Just months after his removal to Arizona, Wigen and his wife were involved in a two-car accident in Phoenix on their return from an evening church service. While Gea Wigen and the persons in the other vehicle survived with minor injuries, Wigen himself was fatally injured in the crash, dying on March 26, 1958. Following funeral arrangements, he was returned to North Dakota for burial at the Hauges Cemetery in Jackson County. Gea Wigen survived her husband by nearly thirty years and celebrated her 100th birthday in September 1984. She died on November 23rd of the following year, aged 101, and was interred at the same cemetery as her husband.

From the Arizona Republic, March 27, 1958.

From the 1981 North Dakota Blue Book.

  Public service continued in the Wigen family with Joris O. Wigen's youngest child and namesake, Joris Odin Wigen Jr. A resident of North Dakota for nearly his entire life, "Bud" Wigen served as a pilot during the Second World War and later established himself in the insurance business in Bismarck. In 1968 he was elected as North Dakota State Insurance Commissioner, an office he'd be reelected to on two further occasions. 

  Born on May 5, 1917, in Hettinger, Bud Wigen attended the public schools of that city and in 1939 graduated from St. Olaf's College in Northfield, Minnesota. A veteran of the U.S. Air Force, Wigen served in Europe during WWII as a pilot, and married on July 4, 1943, to Phyllis Vevle (1920-1997). The couple were wed for over forty years and had three children, Richard, Joan, and Ann. 

  After his return from service Wigen was affiliated with an insurance company as an adjuster, and later operated an insurance company of his own in Bismarck for eleven years. The succeeding years saw him active in several civic organizations in Bismarck, including the Kiwanis Club(serving as its secretary), the Chamber of Commerce Executive Committee, and was secretary of the Missouri Slope Lutheran Home. 

  In 1968 Wigen announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for North Dakota State Insurance Commissioner and was elected that November. He would be elected to another four-year term in 1972, and in 1976 was defeated by Democrat Byron Knutson. Knutson, in turn, would be defeated by a returning Wigen in November 1980 and would serve from 1981 until 1985, being succeeded by Earl Pomeroy.

  Following his last term as commissioner Wigen and his wife removed to Sun City, Arizona, where he died on May 2, 1987, three days shy of his 70th birthday. He was later returned to North Dakota for interment at the Sunset Memorial Gardens in Bismarck.

From the Mouse River Journal, October 22, 1980.

Romanus Rudolphus Bour (1860-1931), Romanus James Downey (1896-1947)

From the Ohio Manual of Legislative Practice, 1914.

   A leading county official and citizen residing in Tiffin, Ohio at the turn of the 19th century, Romanus Rudolphus Bour served several years as Seneca County auditor prior to his election to two consecutive terms as a state representative. A lifelong resident of Tiffin, Romanus R. Bour was born in that city on January 19, 1860, the son of John and Elizabeth (Swope) Bour. A student at the St. Mary's Parochial School in that city,  Bour went on to attend the Tiffin High School and for two years enrolled at the Heidelberg College in Tiffin. 

  Bour briefly followed a teaching career and joined his father in the former's business in Tiffin before taking a clerkship in the Seneca County auditor's office in 1882. The next year saw Bour enter into the role of deputy county auditor, which he would fill for many years afterward. In May 1884 he married to Ida Matilda Strauss (1864-1938), with who he had seven children: Emery George (1887-89), James Norton (born 1889), Bertha (born 1892) Charles R. (born 1894), Elmer William (1896-1974), Margaret Louisa (1900-1998), and Paul Herbert (1902-1973). 

  In 1903 Romanus Bour was elected as Seneca County auditor and would serve two terms, leaving office in 1909. In 1910 he announced his candidacy for the Ohio House of Representatives and was elected "by an 857 majority" that November. The 1911-13 session saw him sit on the committees on Mines and Mining, the Soldiers and Sailors Home, and Taxation and Revenues. He would win a second term in 1912 and during the 1913-15 term chaired the committee on Public Buildings and Lands.

  After leaving the legislature Bour continued prominence in Tiffin, being named as teller for the Commercial National Bank in that city. A longstanding member of the Knights of Pythias and the Knights of Columbus, Bour died of a heart attack at his home in Tiffin on February 9, 1931, aged 71. He was survived by his wife Ida and children and was interred at the St. Mary's Cemetery in Tiffin. In addendum to this article, Bour's middle name is variously spelled as both Rudolph and Rudolphus by genealogical webpages, such as Ancestry.com, MyHeritage and FamilySearch.

   

Romanus Bour, from Tiffin's Seventy-Fifth Anniversary, 1897.

From the Bismarck Tribune, June 9, 1941.

  Another "Romanus" that made an impact through public service was Romanus James Downey of  North Dakota. A one-term member of the state house of representatives from Ramsey County, Downey would later be tapped to serve as State Commissioner of Veterans Affairs. He served in that capacity until his death a decade later, losing his life in a bizarre "elevator mishap" at a Fargo hotel. Born in Barnesville, Minnesota on August 6, 1896, Romanus James Downey was the son of Thomas W. and Sarah A. Downey.

  Removing with his family to Devil's Lake, North Dakota in 1909, Downey attended the local high school and later enrolled at the University of North Dakota. He would put his studies on hold to enlist in WWI, and served overseas with Co. D, 2nd North Dakota Infantry from 1917-1919. Following his return to Devil's Lake in the last-named year, Downey recommenced with his studies and later relocated to Washington, D.C., where he was a student at the Georgetown Law School. His time in the nation's capital saw him enter government service for the first time when he took a clerkship in a "senate committee that was investigating the Teapot Dome scandal."

  Earning his law degree in 1924, Downey established himself in practice in Devil's Lake and in 1934 was elected as a Democrat to the North Dakota House of Representatives. He served in the session of 1935-37, and in August 1937 was named by then-Governor William Langer as State Commissioner of Veteran's Affairs, with Langer himself referring to Downey as "the most qualified candidate". His decade long tenure in that post also saw Downey flirt with a congressional bid, and in November 1940 was an unsuccessful Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, polling over 63,000 votes.

  On April 22. 1947 the 50-year-old Downey was staying at the Gardner Hotel in Fargo, North Dakota when he entered into an elevator to ride to his room on the fourth floor. He was "stricken by either a dizzy spell or a heart attack and fell against a floor while it was being passed by the elevator." Downey died of a crushed skull received from the accident and was survived by his wife Frederica (1897-1973). Both were later interred at the Holy Cross Cemetery in Fargo.

From the Bismarck Tribune, April 23, 1947.

Nordahl Winslow Nicholsen (1876-1964)

Portrait from the 1942 North Dakota Blue Book.

  The North Dakota legislature can boast of a number of strangely named political figures, and following the write-up on Sophus Vernon Trom, another oddly named state representative is accorded his due, Nordahl Winslow Nicholsen of Mohall. Even more obscure than the man who preceded him here, nearly every period source mentioning Nicholsen records him by his initials, including his brief biography in the 1942 North Dakota Blue Book. However, a search through the 1920 and 1930 North Dakota census revealed his first name to be Nordahl, and a World War I draft registration card (presumably filled out by the man himself) yielded his full name. Needless to say, it is an unusual one!

  A native of Minnesota, Nordahl W. Nicholsen was born in Austin on April 24, 1876, and was a student in the public schools of that state. By 1900 he had left Minnesota to homestead in Bottineau County, North Dakota, and after settling in Renville township erected a sod house (pictured below) in which he would reside until removing to the neighboring town of Mohall, which had been founded in 1901. Nicholsen married to Rebecca (Rebekka) Bengstad (1875-1973) in the early 1900s and would later have three children, Clara Berdine (1903-1987), Dora (1905-1992) and Neivus L. (1906-1969). 

Nicholsen's sod house, from "Commemorating Mohall's 75th Anniversary", 1976.

  Following his removal to Mohall, Nicholsen quickly established roots in the still young town, and in addition to farming operated a hardware implement business for a number of years. A longstanding member of the Lutheran Brethren Church, Nicholsen held both the presidency and vice presidency of that church's board in Mohall, and in June 1917 was a delegate from Mohall to the 17th annual Lutheran Brethren Convention in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

  In April 1915 Nicholsen was elected to the first of two terms on the Mohall city council and later served two terms as president of the city park board. In November 1940 he was elected as Mohall's representative to the North Dakota state legislature and during his one term in office sat on the committees on Elections and Election Privileges, and Mines and Mining.

  Information regarding Nicholsen's life following his term in the legislature remains scant, excepting notice of his managing the hardware department of the Page Brothers store in Mohall. Nicholsen died in Bottineau County on March 7, 1964, at age 87 and was interred at the Mohall Cemetery.

Sophus Vernon Trom (1901-1987)

Portrait from the 1961 North Dakota Blue Book.

  We continue our stay in North Dakota for a look at the life of another obscure state representative, Sophus Vernon Trom of Casselton. A mayor of that city in addition to his service in state government, Trom was a lifelong resident of North Dakota, being born in Kindred on June 26, 1901, the son of Olaf Knutson and Olava (Johnson) Trom. He attended public schools, as well as the North Dakota State School of Science, and in September 1923 wed Martha Geneva Stenberg (1904-1990). The couple's six-decade-long marriage saw the births of four children, Omer (1927-1980) Joanne (1930-2008), Paul (1936-2011), and Sonja (born 1942).

   Following his settlement in Casselton, Trom would serve as chief of the city's fire department and in the early 1950s was elected as the mayor of that city, holding office until at least 1956. Trom was later elected as Casselton city auditor in the late 1950s, continuing in that capacity well into the 1970s. First elected to the North Dakota House of Representatives in November 1958, Trom served two terms (1959-63) and in his last year in office was selected as president of the Municipal Finance Officers Association of America and Canada for a one year term.

  Little information exists on Trom's life after 1964, except notice of his continued service as Casselton city auditor and his being a Republican presidential elector for North Dakota in 1976. Sophus V. Trom died in Cass County, North Dakota on December 1, 1987, at age 86. He was survived by his wife and children and was subsequently interred at the Casselton Cemetery.

Trom during his time as Casselton mayor.

Tollef Jorgenson Flamer (1854-1929)

Portrait from the North Dakota Magazine, Vol. I. February 1907.

  One term North Dakota representative Tollef Jorgenson Flamer is another new odd name found via a recent cull through that state's legislative annals, and I was extremely surprised to have found a picture of him in a February 1907 edition of the North Dakota Magazine (where his name is misspelled as "I.J. Flamer"). While his name may have been misspelled, mention of his being a hotel owner and native of Norway confirmed his identity, and a further biography of him (via W.B. Hennessy's 1910 History of North Dakota) detailed his first name and legislative service.

  Born in Norway on April 16, 1854, Tollef Jorgenson Flamer was the son of Jorgen and Agatha (name also given as Anna) Flamer. His early education occurred in the country of his birth and in 1872 left Norway for a new life in the United States. Following the boat trip to America, Flamer migrated to Red Wing, Minnesota, where he engaged in farming through the late 1870s. In 1880 he removed to North Dakota, and after settling in Fargo farmed and worked as a grain buyer in the employ of the Pillsbury and Hulbert Elevator Co. Flamer later purchased additional farmland near Moorhead in Clay County, which he would "farm at long range" for a number of years afterward.

  In 1883 Flamer entered the business life of Fargo when he erected what would become known as the "Flamer House." Originally constructed as a store, Flamer and his family would move into the establishment following the original client's abandonment and soon began work on adding a restaurant and boarding house to the existing structure. The hotel later added a west wing and early in its existence was utilized by Fargo physicians "for surgical procedures" in the years prior to the construction of Fargo hospitals. The Flamer House continued as a cafe and boarding house until its destruction in 1959, being torn down during an urban renewal project.

   Tollef J. Flamer married in 1884 to Olina "Lena" Erickson (1859-1947), with whom he had five children, Augusta Bertine (1884-1904), Henry (1883-1908), Pearl (1888-1983) George (1890-1966) and Erma (born ca. 1904). In addition to his hotel business, Flamer was remarked as having had 

 "A number of other interests which take a good deal of his time, and has not only built up a snug fortune, but also a long list of friends.

    As an avowed non-office holder, Flamer repeatedly cast aside calls for him to run for political office and continued along this route until 1906, when "public sentiment practically compelled his acceptance of the nomination for the lower house in the state legislature." In November of that year, he was elected as one of three Republican representatives from the 9th legislative district and during the 1907-09 session sat on the committees on Charitable Institutions, Immigration, Labor, Public Debt, and Corporations Other Than Municipal.
  The remainder of Flamer's life following his legislative service remains a mystery, other than his continued affiliation with the aforementioned Flamer House. He died in Cass County on August 28, 1929, aged 75 and was survived by his wife Lena, who died in 1947. Both were interred at the Riverside Cemetery in Fargo. 

Cordie McCord Helferich (1894-1979)

Portrait from "Hebron's Heritage", 1960.

  A recent cull through the annals of the North Dakota legislature has yielded several new odd names, among them Cordie McCord Helferich, a one-term state representative as well as a past mayor of the town of Hebron. While little information could be found on Helferich's life, the 1960 history of Hebron (entitled Hebron's Heritage) helped significantly when it came to compiling this article! 

  A native of Delmar, Iowa, Cordie McCord Helferich was born in that town on May 7, 1894, one of six children born to Charles Wallace and Amanda (Juel) Helferich. Little is known of Helferich's early life, excepting notice of his marriage in Fergus Falls, Minnesota in November 1916 to Dorothy Schultz (1895-1974). The couple's near six-decade marriage would produce two sons, Harold Eugene (1924-1999) and Raymond (1928-1997). Helferich's Minnesota residency would see him managing the Faith Creamery near Twin Valley, and in 1921 took charge of a creamery in the city of Mahnomen.

   Following his resettlement in Hebron, North Dakota in 1928, Cordie Helferich was elected to the Hebron town council in 1932, continuing to serve well into the late 1950s. In 1947 he purchased the Sax Motor Company of Hebron, later changing its name to the Auto Implement Co. In the succeeding years it would operate as a "franchise to sell Chevrolet, Oldsmobile and John Deere products", and Helferich would be joined in this business by his wife and son, Harold. 

  In 1950 Helferich was elected to the North Dakota House of Representatives from Morton County. Nothing could be found on his service in the legislature, excepting the length of his term, 1951-53. In the early 1950s, he was elected as a member of the board of directors for the Hebron Hospital corporation. Helferich would return to political life in the mid-1950s when he became acting mayor of Hebron, due to the resignation of then-mayor Ernest Wolter, who had removed to Oregon. Helferich would subsequently be elected to a full term of his own as mayor in 1958, his total length of service being unknown at this time.

  Widowed in 1974, Cordie M. Helferich died in Mandan, North Dakota on March 7, 1979, at age 84. He was interred alongside his wife Dorothy at the St. John's Cemetery in Hebron.