The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1924-06-10
FLASHER MEN
BEGAN SMALL
IN DAIRYING
History of Circuit Is De-
scribed by Prof. Sheppard
of Agricultural College
SHOWS MUCH PROGRESS

Flasher, \. d., June l0.-"Thc his
tory Of the members Of the Flasher
Breeding circuit show that each of
them had modest beginnings but
have pioneered their way into ii
success in farming combined with
the dairy industry declares j. II.
Shepherd, head of tn" animal nus
bandry department Of the North
Dakota Agricultural college.
Most Of the foundation stock for
the Flasher circuit was secured from
the farmers Of the New Salem cir
cult, Mr.. Shepherd says, but the
Flasher members have since pur-
chased high class sires and have
made excellent showings at the Man
dan fairs. Although the Fla shsr
circuit is organized similarly To the
one at New Salem, the Flasher CO.
operators are not of Il single nation
ality as are those at New Salem.
They do not have the natural basis
of nationality to hold them together
but they do have the common good
in dairying and this has served to
be bond enough, Mr.. Shepherd says.
Lurcd From City
william Vogel, one of the eight
charter members had once been Il
workman in the Pullman car shops
in Chicago but the lure of the land
had brought him out to the North
Dakota prairies. On arriving at the
claim in 1905, he bought n COW and
chickens and built Il sod shack
which still stands.
He later learned that the Gallo
way female in which he had first
invested did not Belong to heavy
milking breed and that the Hereford
grades that he picked up later were
adapted to beef production rather
than to milking.
mine years ago Mr. Vogel bought
DAIRY SIRE and five cows. The
bull and two cows were full blood
Holsteins, the other two COWS grade
Holsteins.
From the very start Mr.. and Mrs.
Vogel adopted stringent measures
of economy and CROPPED for light in
the farming business. They built
and occupied a sod house, used
sod barn and sod poultry house, the
cost Of which, aside from hard
work, was very little. Despite their
rigid economy, the end of the first
year found them 500 in debt.
"Their cows have largely paid for
their present set of farm buildings
and farm, and the latter has cx-
banded into an 800-acre tract. Their
seven grown children, with the eX-
ception of one, are still with them
on the farm and each child has a
financial interest in what he pro-
duces.
1.-THE Vogel farm now carries from
90 to "a cows and markets around
80 gallons of milk per day.
Lew Ravens is another charter
member of the Flasher circuit" ac-
cording to Mr.. Shepherd. LEV
filed on his homestead in 1908. His
old homestead shack, the second one
stands near the present farm home
81 submitted my standard ques-
ton to Mr. Ravens: Why did you
come here?' His reply was: Land
was too high where lived in Ne
braska. | came here to establish il
farm home
"He then told me of working on a
neighboring ranch at $50 per month
until some fields on his claim were
under cultivation and of working
during harvest and threshing to add
to his slender funds with which to
develop his present farm home.
I'm the late fall of 1905 IL prairie
fire destroyed all of the Haven
homestead improvements that fire
could burn-buildings hay and grain
feed.
1.-TWO years later, in 1907, Lew
Ravens got under way again, bought