Can You See It?

Much has been said about the leisure activities, or lack of them, in Tenney over the years. In a prairie town of two square blocks, one might think it would be difficult to scare up any fun. But in the process of doing research for The Tenney Quilt, whether it be reading the newspapers of the time or talking with people who lived in Tenney during these years, the 1920s in Tenney were anything but boring. Keep in mind, also, that the population of Tenney peaked just after the turn of the century. In the 1920s, though it had already started its decline, Tenney still had 80 people or so, many of whom were children. The town’s energy was very different than it was even in the 30s, 40s and 50s.

The town hall was the site for many people to gather, whether it was for a school program, roller skating, a Friday night dance, election activities, a wedding reception, a pie social, a sing along, or a Royal Neighbors Masquerade Ball. Church events became community events—special services, choir concerts, Christmas programs, and ice cream socials where homemade ice cream was made out on the church lawn and the children got to lick the dashers. Kids played outside all day long in those days, thinking nothing of hiking across a field or two to get to their friend’s home in the surrounding countryside. Groups of young men and women would hike to Tintah or Fairmount to see a movie, or would find someone with wheels and go as a group to Wahpeton or Breckenridge to see a movie or a play.

There was a lighted, fenced tennis court right in town that was sometimes busy “from dawn to dusk,” according to a newspaper entry by Gertie Kapitan in 1928. The Pithey pasture, just across the railroad tracks, served as the town baseball field in the early years. The town even had a traveling horseshoe team that traveled from one town to another to compete. The high school-aged boys played basketball in the town hall, against teams such as Doran, Tintah, and Campbell. All of these provided great spectating opportunities for Tenney’s young and old.

Hunting, fishing, and trapping served not only as leisure activities, but often as a means of providing for a family. Jack rabbits, prairie chickens, ducks and geese, prairie dogs, hawks, weasels, and fox were prevalent in Wilkin County at the time. In 1928 Gene Shaffer, Jack Richardson, George Dopp and Louis Wittman went on an extended deer hunting trip to northern Minnesota. Hunting expeditions were even made to Wyoming and Montana. There were horse pulling competitions, running races and fist fights that never failed to gather a crowd. Special picnics and day trips were sometimes taken to Ten Mile Lake, Stocker Lake, or Shady Dell Resort.

In 1928 a community orchestra was formed, and a young people’s choir was trying to get organized. House parties of various sorts were held often, at a time when visiting neighbors was simply part of one’s daily life. The young people would gather at one of their homes to play cards, most commonly 500, Bunco, or Rook. The woman of the house often made a lunch at midnight, and the young people would make their way home late at night on the safe streets of Tenney. Bridal showers were community events for the womenfolk, and newly married couples were given a chivari. There were community Christmas parties and 4th of July parades.

Saturday nights were especially busy in Tenney. Folks came in to town from the surrounding countryside. Women gathered at the Larson Store to buy groceries and visit while the men gathered at Cliff’s Tavern for card playing, pool, and a glass or two of beer. Children played games in the streets and begged their parents for a nickel to buy ice cream at Cliff’s.

So yes, as the years went by and the young families moved out of Tenney, it is true that Tenney’s streets became much quieter. That is why it is fun to close our eyes and imagine a Tenney teeming with life and energy and the voices of children. Can you see it?