Central Office and Neighborhood

Central Office and Neighborhood. An Authentic Settlers' Community Celebrating Rural America. , 1. Telephone service for the Manfred area started in 1908 as a part of the Manfred-Fram Telephone Company. The Central Office was built in 1909 to house the switchboard. Operators were Clara Le Grand and Olive Torkelson 1908-1909; Fred Johnson, Harold Skogmo, Tillie Opdahl, and Emma Larson 1910-1912; B.W. Baldwin and Helga Hauge 1913-1914; Gertrude Le Grand 1915-1917; Anna Dovre 1918-1922; Marie Hovey 1923-1952, with Mildred Boese Soiseth assisting in the late 1930s; and Violet Boese Kittelson 1952-1954. With the closing of Manfred's exchange, residents could choose phone service through either Fessenden or Harvey. The telephone lines were in poor condition at that time, so the members rebuilt their lines, assisted by Bell Telephone Company. In 1962, Bell Telephone bought out the local telephone groups. North Dakota Telephone Company (NDTC) became the service provider in 1993. , Residents of the houses to the north and west of the Central Office were: , 2. Olaf and Thea Tansem (built in 1899), Steiner and Bergitte Aasand, Nennie and Alpha Johnson, and Edwin and Celia Olstad. , 3. Swan and Sophie Willborg (built in 1900), Olaf and Nina Roble, Torstein Roble. In 1928, this house was moved to Harvey. , 4. W. Roy and Sadie Owen (built in 1917), Anton and Emma Aasand, P.B. and Anna Anderson. In 1945, Manfred Farmers Union Elevator Company purchased this house as its elevator managers' residence for which it served until the early 2000s. , 5. This house was built in 1946 by Rudolph, and Martha Hieb, using materials from the first house built here by Christ and Anna Roble; Ole and Clara Gladheim, Walter and Mayme Larson. , 6. Bertha Melby installed a modular home here in 1965. The house was later moved to a nearby farm.