The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1920-03-02
and told the Sunrise folk that "the
LoWdens have q boy"

and told the Sunrise folk that "ths
Lowdens have a boy"
There was a ''norther" bowling down
from Medicine Hat. Fences and small
buildings were lost beneath drifts OF
snow and the trail soon became I'M
passable.
The medical and food supplies which
the farm hand started out after re-
NAMED undelivered for thirty hours,
but 1.-THE Lowden boy" suffered no Ill
effects.
School House Becomes Necessary.
AS the population of Sunrise village
and the surrounding territory in
creased the need of a schoolhouse be-
came urgent.
So Lorenzo Lowden. I. A. Par
menter and Theodore Voss. ST., built
the little .one-room schoolhouse that
stands today in Sunrise village, only
a stones throw from the Lowden
blacksmith shop. Like the shop, It 10
q relic Of the past.
Despite its boarded windows, it has
not been entirely abandoned. 1t IL
referred to by the villagers as the
"city hail." The men folk of Sunrise
meet there frequently to transact off,
cial business and discuss politics. On
the wall hangs a recent picture Of
Frank Lowden.
The old building has been moved q
hundred yards from its original site.
where now stands frame school Of
a more modern type.
Lorenzo Lowden determined that
Frank should start to school as early
as possible. The boy had just passed
his fourth birthday when he was taken
over to the little schoolhouse.
Even the youngest children knew
the seriousness Of school in those
days." said Henry Voss of Sunrise.
schoolmate Of Frank Lowden. $50
Frank was not slow in learning his
A, b, C's. Indeed, he was a very
bright boy. and reading and writing
came easy to him.
Frank Escapes Drowning.
"Frank used to be great boy for
games," continued Voss. HE liked to
run, jump and wrestle. he wouldn't
let any other kid Guido him. he was
particularly fond Of water and, like
the rest Of us. could hardly wait for
the ice to 90 out of the river In the
spring.
"Come on over and take q look At
the old swimming hole. Yes. the snow
is pretty deep now and its hard to
imagine going swimming, but there Ia
the place." he said, pointing to tho
ice-covered stream.
"And do you see right over there
in the center7 Well, that's where
Frank Lowden was nearly drowned.
"Trying to do what the older.
stronger boys did, Frank mounted the
springboard and plunged head drst
into ten feet Of water.
s.Theodore Voss, Jr., an older boy,
saw Franks head bob up. It went
down, bodied up q second time and
again disappeared. Theodore rushed
into the stream few feet down cur
rent and, diving beneath the water,
seized Frank BY the hair and pulled
him to shore. where he was quickly
revived"
The old swimming hole IS still there
and its popularity has never dimin.
ished.
Sunrise Fades; Lowdens Leave.
The boom that Sunrise village had
in the early sixties began to fade; the
traders were fewer, the prospects Of
rapid development Of the surrounding
country were none too good.
It was at this time that Lorenxo
L.owden sold his home and other inter-
ests in and about Sunrise and with his
family turned southwark.
Frank Lowden, 4 seven.year-old boy
who already had had q taste Of the
hardships of pioneering, one spring
morning walked out Of Sunrise behind
whitetopped prairie schooner drawn
BY q team Of oxen.
Some weeks later the Lowdens n
lived in Hardin county. Iowa, wheeo
young Lowden spent his yo1th.