Bosque County: Land and People (A History of Bosque County, Texas) Page: 33
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community. Fifteen years ago the club moved
into its new building which was built by the
men and women of the community and paid
for by cake sales, rummage sales, cookbook
sales, etc. The ladies have a meeting once a
month and the men and women have a dinner
and game night once a month. The clubhouse
is also used for family reunions and other
social get-togethers.
There are three restaurants offering a
variety of foods. They are Cliffview Corral,
Whitney Lodge and Restaurant and Tyra's.
We have three grocery stores which supply
the needs of the residents and do a great
business on the week ends. They are Mar-
tin's, Cheyne's and A.J.'s.
Mr. and Mrs. Howard Walters own the
Home Center which furnishes the local
people with their needs in the way of
gardening, hardware, paints, etc.
A large floor covering business, Salvage
Carpets, has recently moved into an 8,000 sq.
ft. building. The business is owned by Jo Ann
and Tommie Rush. He has been furnishing
carpets to Laguna Park residents for ten
years. They buy direct from the mills in
Northern Georgia and at the present have 225
rolls of carpet from which to select.
In 1970, Sprayberry Handbags, Inc., re-
ceived the Governor's Industrial Expansion
Award. It is an award to the achievement of
small businesses in the State of Texas.
Sprayberry's opened the business in 1964.
They manufactured bags sold throughout the
country and also have a retail store for other
goods and for the handbags.
Laguna Park has two automotive repair
businesses, Jay's and Turner's. Turner's,
owned by Larry Turner, has been here since
May, 1968. Jay's moved here recently from
Fort Worth.
Par Gas has a large business located at
Laguna Park. Here you may buy propane and
all appliances which use gas.
In Laguna Park you can get gift items at
Cynthia's, upholstery at J.D. and Essie
Mathis', Pizza at Pizza Junction, liguor and
wines at Pareya's and Laguna Park Liquors.
You can buy and sell property through the
various real estate companies, you may send
your child to South Shore Day Care Center,
you may get jewelry designed and repaired by
Robert Hord, you may have a clock built from
scratch or repaired. If so, see Putnam Watch
and Clock Repair and Gift Shop. In other
words, Laguna Park has much that you may
need in the way of service and goods.
What was Laguna Park like before the dam
was built? Most of the land was owned by
these families: Byrum, Greenwade, Sosbee
and Wilkerson. The land was used for
farming and ranching. The streams, Big
Rocky and Little Rocky, were clear and
beautiful. Electricity did not come to the
families until in the 1940's so life was
primitive by today's standards. The Wilker-
son family came to this area in 1919 and
depended on horses and mules for transpor-
tation. They rode horses to school at Walling
Bend. It was a one-room school where one
teacher taught eight grades. It stood where
Murt's launching ramp is now located. Hunt-
ing, fishing and trapping was enjoyed by the
male population and swimming in the clear,
cool water was enjoyed by all the family.
One old timer said it this way, "Then came
the dam-everything changed. People were
everywhere and we love people and prosper-
ity, but it would be nice to see it back like itused to be."
by Mrs. Edwin Stell
NORSE COMMUNITY
- Norse Picnic -
Thursday, August 27,1903
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COME ONE, COME ALL.
Norse Picnic - annual affair for many yearsJ.K. Rystad Family
The Norse Community, located west of
Clifton in southwest Bosque County is a
community rich in history.
This Norwegian settlement began in 1854
when a group of eighteen people, some with
children, came to Bosque County. The
county was created by the Texas legislatureC8
Our Savior's Lutheran Church (1869-1985)
on February 3, 1854. The state offered free
land to attract settlers. Immigrants were
encouraged by Cleng Peerson, Ole Canute-
son, and others, to come to the Bosque area.
They were impressed with the fertile land,
good water and abundant wood for fuel and
building. The hills and valleys reminded
them of Norway.
The settlement was made up of people
coming from the east Texas settlements,
some directly from Norway and other from
northern states. Fear of Indians and wild
animals kept some people from coming
sooner.
The early settlers were Mr. and Mrs. Ole
Canuteson, Mr. and Mrs. Ole Pierson, Mr.
and Mrs. Hendrik Dahl, Mr. and Mrs. Jens
Ringness, Mr. and Mrs. Berge Rogstad
(actually, he was single and she was a widow
upon their arrival; they were the first Norwe-
gian couple to marry in the county), Mr. and
Mrs. Canute Canuteson, Mr. and Mrs. Jens
Jenson, Mr. and Mrs. Carl Questad, Ole
Weem and Andrias Bretta. Ole Canuteson
was the first Norwegian to own land in the
county. Andrias Bretta, accidently killed
while hunting, was the first Norwegian to die
in the county. The first Norwegian baby born
in the county was John Rogstad, son of the
Berge Rogstads.
The settlers built homes of logs or stones.
The stone houses were more substantial but
took a long time to build, it being necessary,
to cut, shape and carry the stones. Men had
"fencing bees" to help each other build
fences.
Clothing was made by the pioneer women.
A home was not complete without a spinning
wheel. Wool had to be washed and carded to
be ready for the wheel. The raw material was
spun into thread that was wound on spools.
The thread was made into cloth on looms.
The cloth was cut and sewn by hand, results
being clothes for the family.
Immigrants continued coming; by 1860,
102 Norwegians were in the county. There
was no immigrating from 1860-1865 because
of the War Between the States. By 1880
Norwegians numbered 1,000; little free land
was left, so those arriving had to buy it.
The settlers had left Norway for a number
of reasons-economics, politics, and religion.
Imagine the emotional farewells as people
33
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Bosque County History Book Committee. Bosque County: Land and People (A History of Bosque County, Texas), book, 1985; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth91038/m1/49/?q=campbell: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Denton Public Library.