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Bennie
Morris Kaeding. Bennie was born at Penn, Ramsey
County, North Dakota on 12 July 1902. Bennie was born on
the family farm north of Penn, where he grew up. When his
oldest brother, Edgar, married, he and his other brothers
bought the Frank Gessner farm, one and a half miles south
of Penn. This was on November 1, 1927. Bennie was
involved in his community as an officer of the Penn
School Board for 12 years, on the St. Paul's Church board
for more than 25 years a 4-H leader for 2 years and
manager of the Penn Telephone Company for 17 years.
Bennie and Olga raised their 5 children on the farm and
sent 4 of them to college. During the years the children
were growing, the family traveled throughout the United
States, almost always camping in a tent during the trips.
Altogether, the family visited 34 states and visited
Canada and Mexico during these years. Bennie also bought
the Jim Doyle and the Kaiser farms. In June, 1959, the
family house burned to the ground. With the help of all
of the neighbors, all of the contents of the house were
saved. A few days after the fire, the neighbors returned
for a plowing bee and worked the summer fallow. Bennie
began immediately rebuilding and by Christmas a new house
was ready to move in. Altogether, Bennie raised 42 crops
before he retired in the fall of 1967. After his
retirement, he built a new home in Devils Lake and
another house in Penn as a hobby. Bennie died June 28,
1995 in Devils Lake, North Dakota. |
