Harold EVERSON

1896 - 1976  (79 years)

• Name	Harold EVERSON
  Birth	30 Apr 1896	Aitkin County, Minnesota
  Gender	Male
  Confirmation	11 Jun 1911	Deerwood Norwegian Lutheran Church, Deerwood, Crow Wing County, Minnesota
  	by Pastor M. L. Höstager
  MN Death Cert Checked	Y
  Minnesota Death Certificate	1976-MN-014379
  Occupation	Driller
  Social Security Number	236-03-1177 issued in West Virginia.
  Death	13 Apr 1976	Deerwood, Crow Wing County, Minnesota
  Burial	17 Apr 1976	Dorris Cemetery, Cedar Lake, Farm Island Twp, Aitkin County, Minnesota
  	Arrangements by Koop; funeral at Koop’s chapel. Clergyman was Erwin Schroeder. Casket bearers were Ron, Gerald, Bill, Jack Davis, Jerry Redfield, and Carl Landstrom.
  Notes	Called Harald Iverson in his confirmation book. Harold and Iver were professional drillers outside of Minnesota. Albin and John also did drilling. Harold registered for the WWI draft on June 5, 1917, in Ironton. He lists his occupation as drilling and his employer as Hill Mines Co., Ironton. He is single and claims no dependents. He does claim exemption from the draft on the basis of “bad wind.” He has never been in military service. He is described as tall and of stout build with dark blue eyes and light brown hair. In a postcard from Minneapolis dated October 18, 1926 or 1928, Harold writes to Iver: “Saw Longyear this A.M. They don’t need Jno at Ariz. now but will want him at some other job soon so get in touch with him. You may hear from them any day so be ready to go. They will have jobs in Ariz., New York, Michigan, and Sask. May go to Milwaukee tonite. Will write then.” From this, we may deduce that Harold was the first of the brothers to go into drilling and that the others’ entry into that profession was due to Harold’s initiative. In the 1930 census, Harold was still living at home as a farmer or laborer. John, who with Mabel and Elaine, was also living with the Andrew Eversons at the time, is shown as a drill operator, iron ore. In a public notice in the April 24, 1933, edition of the Brainerd newspaper, Harold Everson is reimbursed $450 “for damages to his land and expenses incurred by him due to the negligence of the Game and Fish Department.” The 1937-38 Brainerd city directory, which includes other communities in Crow Wing County, Harold is shown as having land in section 12 of Deerwood Twp but not owning it. In the 1939-40 city directory, he is shown as owning it. George also owns land in section 12. In the 1942-43 directory, Harold and George are shown as owning land in section 12 together. Neither George nor Harold are listed in the 1949 directory. In the 1940 census, for which his sister-in-law, Naomi J Everson, was the enumerator, Harold is listed with his parents in Deerwood Twp although with the indicator “ab” indicating he was absent. His occupation was technical instructor in the diamond core drilling industry. He was fully employed, working 40 hours per week. Naomi indicated that Harold had earned $390 in wages in 1939 for 13 weeks worked. In May of 1941, Harold was accepting mail in Eureka, Nevada. From a box of pictures and letters found after Harold died, we know that Harold had a long-running (from the ‘40s through at least the late ‘60s) relationship with a woman named Libby (Elizabeth) Saffel who lived in Grafton, West Virginia and, in her later years, lived in Baltimore. Her address in 1965 was 232 Stonecroft Rd, Baltimore. Harold apparently met Libby when he worked for a drilling company headquartered in Grafton, W. Va. He was in Pennsylvania in 1939. Also from these letters, we learn that Harold spent some time in England in the 1960s, probably on business for the Grafton company. On June 11, 1944, Harold and Albin signed nine-month contracts with the Callahan Construction Company of Minneapolis (later the Grafe-Callahan Construction Company of Dallas) to do drilling work in Great Britain for the Ministry of Works. Callahan called it the UK of Great Britain project. (The project had at least some military men working on it because one of Harold’s British friends from the job mentions in a 1946 letter that he was now a civilian.) It appears that Harold and Albin flew to England, departing on a British Airways “flying boat” out of Baltimore, on June 29th or 30th, 1944. Apparently in their first few months in England, Harold and Albin were stationed at Wigan, near Manchester and Liverpool in western England. At that time they made many friends, particularly with the barmaids at the Banks Arms pub in Wigan. Harold had a “little black book” in which he asked people to write their names and addresses. In that book, and in several of the letters, it’s clear that among Harold’s and Albin’s friends were several women (Peggy Adams, Blind Sally, Beatrice, Margaret, Jenny, and Jeannie) at “Bankses” and, later, at the New Inn near Bristol. By December of 1944, Harold and Albin were in Scotland: Albin in Cardenden, Fife, and Harold nearby at Dunfermline, Fife. Harold received an affectionate letter from Jenny: “Have you found a pub with plenty of Scotch? Also a nice little barmaid to keep you company? Give Al my love and tell him to keep his eye on you for me.” Albin writes to Harold in January of 1945 about the work and hard drilling and that he hasn’t had a letter from home in 3 weeks. Albin was already looking forward to going home in two months. He also mentions that he was “spending too much time at Jock Birds to save any money.” In a letter to “Darling Harold” from Jeanie on February 15th, she mentions that she has learned that she would not be able to go to the states unless she was married to an American and “that is impossible.” A letter from “little Jeannie” to “Harold Darling” on March 3, 1945, refers to the end of Harold’s and Albin’s stay: “You and Al finish your contracts on the 1st or 11th of March. I bet Al has been looking forward to seeing his wife and children soon.” And another letter from “little Jeannie” on March 20th talks of her concern that Harold had another girl. There was apparently some discussion at about this time of going home to visit but it didn’t happen because of safety concerns in crossing the ocean while the war went on. Harold had inquired about the terms of taking a leave from the contract. Safety may have been the major reason why Harold and Albin chose to renew their contracts and not come home in March of 1945. Money was the other reason. Harold was sending home around $500 per month as we can see from his bank statements. Harold had nearly $7000 in the Deerwood bank at the end of 1945. Harold’s decision to extend his stay must have been a disappointment to George. From his letters in early 1945, he was clearly looking forward to Harold’s return to give him some help with his mother who was becoming ill. George had sold off all of his livestock in the winter of 1944-45 and had gone to Minneapolis to find a carpenter job which he didn’t get. George even mentioned in his letters that Annie Everson would go to live with John Everson after George left home. By mid-1945, Harold was in Merthyrr Tydfil, Glamorgan in South Wales. An undated letter from one of his buddies that must have been from this time: “So you had the girl to Cardiff? Now I’ll bet that was some night, hey? Who was the most pooped out the next day, huh?” By September 13, 1945, according to the letter of that date from George to Harold, Albin was back and “drilling in Palisade.” So Albin must have gotten off a little early from his six-month extension. (According to his passport, Albin left England on July 11, 1945.) Harold continued on until his formal separation on November 29, 1945. His letter of recommendation from Grafe-Callahan described Harold as “an exceptionally good workman and {we} are very glad to recommend him.” Another note from the company at this time said, “Be in London office Friday A.M. November 30th, sail from Liverpool December 3rd for New York City.” There is an interesting letter from Albert Barrow of Toronto dated January 30, 1946, who was “Hal’s” cabin mate on the trip home and referred to their “awful trip” on the Empire Joy. Albert said in his letter that he got home to Toronto the day after Christmas. {The Empire Joy sailed from Newcastle, England, on December 10, 1945, and arrived in New York on Christmas Day. Albert and Harold are listed on the manifest.} “Little Jeannie” sent a letter to Harold in Aitkin in mid-January of 1946: “I suppose you have forgotten all about Jeannie. If you see Al, give him my love and tell him I hope his family had not grown since he got back. Jack my husband came home just after Christmas. He is now demobbed {demobilized?} so I have to be a good girl and stay home the nights I am not working at the Bankses.” Her letter mentions Blind Sally. In a similar letter, dated January 20, 1946, Peggy Adams of Bristol writes that she is “glad to hear you arrived home safely but sorry to hear your mother was ill.” Her letter refers to the gang at the New Inn and to Beatrice. It’s possible that the New Inn was Harold’s home base while he was on the South Wales job. Ten days later, in a letter to Harold dated January 30, 1946, Peggy says that she received a letter from Beth Lowell in Aitkin asking for her measurements. The letter from Beth even included a measuring tape with instructions on how to take the measurements. A letter from Beth Lowell of Aitkin, dated February 18th, asks how much Harold cares to spend on his gift to Peggy Adams. Beth also comments: “When Albin told us of your accident, I went up to Crosby {to the hospital, perhaps?} the next Sunday (2 weeks ago) to see how you looked when you were sober only to find you had gone home the day before.” On March 26th, Harold sent Beth a check for $30. Beth Lowell appears to have been a local seamstress that Harold hired to make a blouse or dress for Harold’s friend Peggy back in England. A letter dated April 7, 1946, is from another English friend, John Anderson in Essex. After explaining that he wants to open a pub, he says, “I don’t suppose you hear anything from Beatrice now. She was a peculiar girl.” And a postscript: “The wife asked me to ask you if you have any spare candy.” Apparently Harold returned to drinking when he got back to the states. In late September of ‘46, he had a car accident, perhaps not the first since he had been home, involving a Walter Linderud and had to have his insurance agent, Joe Best, write a letter to the insurance company attesting that Harold was “not a habitual drinking man.” Also when he got back to the states, Harold subscribed to two or three services that provided names, addresses, and even descriptions of lonely women (mostly widows) apparently interested in finding a husband. He must have sent out several letters to names on these lists because there were nearly a dozen letters in response from these women, most with pictures of themselves. (Included in the material was a small photo of Harold of the type that he must have sent to them in his letter.) Harold worked at a variety of places in the period 1946-1948 because he received letters addressed to him in several places. He received mail at addresses in Zimmerman and Babbit. Most notable was an extended stay in Palmer, Missouri, during which he received several letters from the various lovelorn. He received an offer for a job in Honduras, to begin in August of 1946, but nothing more seems to have come of that. Harold was in Iron Mountain, Missouri, in June of 1947. He was described as “of Nashwauk” in an obituary for his mother. In the 1950 census, he is a driller for an iron mine. He lives in a rooming house in Crosby. The most intriguing issue with Harold was his long-running relationship with Elizabeth (Libby) Saffel in West Virginia. Elaine says: “I remember that Uncle Harold had a big picture of Libby on his dresser at Grandma's....she was a nice looking lady. I always wondered why he didn't get married to her.” Harold lived and worked in Tucson during all or parts of 1955, 1956, and 1957. In the summer of 1960, Harold was working for the Bear Creek Mining Company in Cooke City, Montana. This seeams to have been the Miners’ Ridge project in the Nothern Cascades of Washington. A photograph in the St. Cloud Times’s 27 Jun 1960 edition seems to show Harold with another miner holding a copper core. Harold had surgery for something on 11 Feb 1970 in Duluth. The informant for his death certificate was his brother John. John said that Harold was a driller in the mining industry and was never married. Harold died from a heart attack.
  Person ID	I46	Don Carlson's Tree
  Last Modified	15 Feb 2023

  
  

  Father	Anders (Andrew) EVERSON,   b. 15 Feb 1856, Kvernes, Averøy, Møre og Romsdal, Norway d. 15 Dec 1942, Crow Wing County, Minnesota (Age 86 years)
  Mother	Anna Gustava (Annie) Martinusdatter BYE,   b. 29 Sep 1871, Stiklestad, Verdal, Nord-Trøndelag, Norway d. 22 Mar 1949, Deerwood Twp, Crow Wing County, Minnesota (Age 77 years)
  Marriage	4 Mar 1892	Superior, Douglas County, Wisconsin
  Family ID	F32	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Elizabeth Addie (Libby) SAFFEL,   b. 1913, West Virginia
  Family ID	F34	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	2 Dec 2012

  
  

• Photos		Harold Everson, mid-40s Perhaps a passport picture.
  		Harold Everson