Calvin Fred Wagner

Calvin was the second of three children born in Mercer, McLean County, ND. He attended a rural school near Wing, ND and worked on local farms before enlisting in the US Army. While in the army, he served in Germany from 1951 to 1952.

Calvin purchased the Wing Truck Line which he operated for 17 years. He then continued to drive for interstate Brands in Bismarck (aka Sweetheart Bread) until he retired.

Stories of Calvin's growing As told by Calvin to daughter Roxanne: "In 1936 it was customary for the children to get up at 7:30 to have their breakfast and to start out for school by 8:00, so they would be at school by 9:00 in the morning... unless it was too cold or if the stove wouldn't smoke them out.

School would last seven months out of the year and in the winter months they would go by team and bobsled. Dad (John Wagner) would dress them warm and put them into the sled, face the team of horses toward the school and they would go until they reached the school. After the children got out, they would turn the team around, and the team would go home by themselves, After school the team would come back and pick them up! In the spring and fall they had to walk the 2.5 miles to school.

Usually the teacher stayed at the school in a little room that was built into the school (teacherage). The rest rooms were outdoors. All classes and all grades were in one big room and each grade had to wait their turn for their lessons. If you didn't behave yourself, you "got it" with a piece of wood out of the wood box. For their lunch, they usually carried jelly sandwiches and homemade sausage,

For recess they didn't have a bat, so they used a small fence post and an old ball that someone had brought from home."