Title: Nels Dokken Papers, 1910-1951

Predominant Dates:undated

ID: OGLMC1206

Primary Creator: Dokken, Nels (1901-1988)

Extent: 1.25 Linear Feet

Date Acquired: 06/00/1990

Subjects: Education, Grand Forks County, North Dakota - Education

Languages: English

The Nels Dokken Papers include correspondence between Nels Dokken and Gertrude Davis during their courtship from 1938 to 1946 when both were around forty years old. The letters also discussed food rationing and the purchase of war bonds during World War II. Nels talked about his church activities in the Ness Evangelical Lutheran Church, Mekinock, North Dakota. He also wrote about farming conditions and working on the railroad. The papers do not mention a great deal about Gertrude's teaching. The collection contains papers from 1938 to 1983 but the majority of the collection is the correspondence from 1938 to 1946.  The collection also includes Nels's school papers 1913-1915, records of the Mekinock school 1932-1941, Gertrude's teaching materials, business papers 1920-1983, and newspaper clippings 1930-1965.

419 photographs were separated and placed in the Photograph File Cabinets. The photographs are primarily of family members but do include several photographs of towns, schools, and churches in Grand Forks County. Other unidentified photographs remain with the collection.

Nels Dokken was born on August 9, 1901, in Antler, North Dakota, to Erik N. and Ester Johnson Dokken, the first boy born in Sherman Township. His father, Erik, was born in 1848 and immigrated to the United States in 1882. Ester Johnson was born in 1861 and came to the United States in 1888. The couple was married in 1896.

Dokken moved with his family to Mekinock, North Dakota, in 1903. He farmed there from 1916 to 1972, and also worked for the railroad beginning in the summer of 1942. He served as Mekinock school board clerk from 1938-1944. In 1943, Dokken was elected church superintendent of the Ness Evangelical Lutheran Church where he taught Sunday School for many years. In 1945 he built a house in Mekinock. On June 30, 1946, he married Gertrude Davis.

Gertrude Davis was the daughter of Simon and Hannah Davis. Her parents were married in 1894. She had one brother, Frank Davis. The family lived near Northwood, North Dakota, in Pleasant View Township. Simon Davis farmed along with his son.

Gertrude Davis attended Moorhead State Teachers College where she earned her teaching degree. She taught in Grand Forks County for over thirty years. She was the principal of the Mekinock school in 1938.

Nels and Gertrude were married in a triple ceremony in 1946. Gertrude's brother, Frank, married Signa Rike, and Signa's sister, Julia, married Earl Mallinger in the same ceremony.

Gertrude died in February 1972. In 1983, Dokken moved to Tufte Manor, Grand Forks, and then to the nursing home on October 7. He died on October 18, 1988.

Education
Grand Forks County, North Dakota - Education

Repository: Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections

Access Restrictions: Open for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections.

Acquisition Method: Purchased from the Valley Thrift Shoppe, Grand Forks, North Dakota; Acc.90-1710

Separated Materials: 419 photographs were separated and placed in the Photograph File Cabinets.  The photographs are primarily of family members but do include several photographs of towns, schools, and churches in Grand Forks County. Other unidentified photographs remain with the collection.

Preferred Citation: (Description of Item). Nels Dokken Papers.  OGLMC 1206, Box #, Folder #.  Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections, Chester Fritz Library, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks.

Finding Aid Revision History: Finding aid migrated to Archon in May 2014.

Other URL: http://library.und.edu/holdings.php?id=ODIN_ALEPH000783331