County Historical Society tour of Haley and Cadyville
by Betty Olson
It was a little chilly as we gathered at the old Vessey School for the 2008
historical tour of the Haley – Cadyville area. The tour had been postponed for a
week because the two inches of rain that fell the Saturday before drowned out
plans to tour over unpaved roads. Even with the postponement, about forty people
came to learn the history of the area from people who grew up there or had
ancestors who did.
Several in the crowd who either attended school at Vessey or had kids who did,
told stories of former teachers, community events at the school, and childhood
escapades. Next, the tour drove south to the old Vessey Cemetery where the
Vessey Catholic Church used to be. Mike Green told us that the Vessey Church and
the Vessey Hall were both moved to just north of Ralph and combined to form the
present St. Isodore’s Catholic Church.
The Cadyville School and the site of old Cadyville were the next stops on the
tour. From Cadyville we went on to Neil and Rosalie Krinke’s ranch to visit
Billy Lindros’ house they moved to their ranch and restored.
The tour stopped for lunch at Haley and LaVelle and Ilabelle Nelson set up
tables and chairs in a large shed for us to eat in next to the Haley Bank,
established in 1906. Junior Seifert, Odell Sabe, Jodi Green, Leonard Nygaard,
Bud Hetland, Rosalie and Neil Krinke, Eileen Belakjon, and Evaline Gruber told
stories of mail routes, old trails, various community events, tragedies and
celebrations.
LaVelle Nelson posted old pictures of Cadyville, Haley and pioneer residents on
the wall for us to view that included a picture of a marker Odell Sabe installed
in his pasture to mark the E6 Trail that came through Haley, crossed the North
Grand River at the Gay crossing east of the Haley bridge and continued south to
the E6 Ranch headquarters at the mouth of Jones Creek, just west of the old
Claude Olson ranch northwest of the Slim Buttes.
After lunch the crowd moved to view the inside of the historic Haley Store, now
belonging to LaVelle and Ilabelle Nelson. After spending time looking at the
interesting historical items in the Haley Store, the tour traveled over the hill
to the north to the Haley Catholic Cemetery and ended the day at the historic
Haley Cemetery east of Haley.