Anderson

The spring of 1909 brought many opportunities for homesteaders from all over the world. This included Fred and Hulda Anderson from Minnesota. The movement for Fred and Hulda had happened when Theo Bergstorm and brother Henry Bergstorm and Albert Fost left for Baker, Montana from their hometown of Murdock, Minnesota. Eventually the word got back to the Frank Lake Community and the homestead fever spread rapidly throughout. Shortly after word got back, Fred and Elmer Anderson, Alfred Berg, Sabin Berg, Oscar Swanson, Ella and Matilda Roget, and Hattie Bergstorm left to file a claim for land.Shortly after they left, August Berg, Edgar Nelson, Alex Lindquist, Alex Bergdall, and Ole Roget followed their footsteps.

The following fall of 1909 Fred, Elmer, and Alfred Berg shipped out a carload of livestock and machinery to start the farming process the following spring. Fred’s homesite was pretty close to the Ekalaka Trail, conveniently this is where the stagecoach dropped off mail for the community. Fred took advantage of this and later on established a post office at his home, deciding to name it Willard (happens to be his middle name). The post office still remains, although it was moved ½ mile nearer to Willard Community Hall. Fred, along with the post office, also operated a General Merchandise Store until he moved back to Minnesota during the spring of 1928. Mrs. Anderson loved to entertain guests. In February 1919, she invited a local boy, Roy Corey who had just returned from WWI, to dinner. The Fallon County Times reported that Mrs. Anderson was a “mother to all the boys and it is needless to say Roy was given a motherly welcome and enjoyed his visit immensely.”Fred and Hulda had four children named Pauline (born in Minneapolis), Alvera, Eleanor (both born in Rockford), and Willard (born in Minneapolis). Fred’s wife, Hulda, passed away May, 1951 and Fred passed on March 2, 1961.