Myrtrice Pauline Dilland

In 1944, Myrtrice (Wolla) & Palmer Dilland purchased the Peder C. Wolla original homestead farm from her uncle, Carl Wolla.

PALMER DILLAND FAMILY By Myrtrice Dilland

We were married June 7, 1939, at the John Wolla home with a few close friends and relatives in attendance. Olaf and Anna Dilland were Palmer's folks and John and Ida Wolla were my parents. Palmer's mother had passed away when he was six.

I taught school for several years before our marriage and one year afterward. Palmer worked with the CCC on road construction. This job appealed to him, so he built a small trailer home and we followed road construction until 1943 when we returned to the Tioga area.

In 1944 we took over the Jones Dairy Farm in Tioga and in March 1945 we purchased my grandfather's homestead from my uncle, Carl Wolla. Our home was the original homestead house that my father had help build in 1902. Uncle Carl had added a kitchen and an upstairs bedroom. It was comfortable but lacked modern conveniences which Palmer readily took care of in his spare time during the winters.

We were blessed with many good years of farming and acquired more land. On October 10, 1951, Amerada Petroleum Corporation struck oil on land in Pleasant Valley Township that we had purchased in 1949. The Federal Land Bank of St. Paul had owned the land at some time and reserved half the mineral rights before selling it. The oil was "kind of a bonus" for us which enabled us to buy more land, better machinery and a new house. It also enabled the children to go on to college. We built a home in Tioga where we lived winters while the children were in high school. Later we sold this home and built a new home on the farm.

Gerald is farming with his father. After returning from the service he bought land of his own. He married Sandra Koolmo and they moved into Grandfather's homestead house and live in the same farmyard with us.

John has a master's degree in business administration. He married Barbara Kinderman of Hopewell, Virginia, a special education teacher, and he is employed by a St. Paul bank. They have one son Erik. Raymond is a veterinarian in practice in Minot. He married Connie Jordahl and they have one daughter Lori. Joyce married Marlow Nelson of Powers Lake, a teacher and farmer. They have two sons, Paul and Mark.

We have lived in an exciting period of history—national as well as statewide. We watched the transition from horses to tractors, lamps to electricity, discovery in our area, wonders of aviation, the space age with the flight to the moon. It is with awe that we look to the future in anticipation of the wonders that our children and grandchildren will experience in their lifetime. From: “The Wonders of Williams, A History of Williams County, North Dakota” compiled & published by the Williams County Historical Society.

    Myrtrice Pauline (Wolla) Dilland was born February 6, 1916 on the family farm south of Tioga, North Dakota, the daughter  of  John  and  Ida  (Knutson) Wolla. She  was  baptized  and  confirmed  in  the  Lutheran faith. She attended  Wolla  School  in  West  Bank Township  and  the  Tioga  High  School. Following graduation from Minot State College she taught several years in the Wolla, Nylander and Stewart rural schools. On June 7, 1939  she was united in marriage to Palmer Dilland in her parent’s home.  During the early 1940s they lived out of state in a trailer home while Palmer worked on road construction.  In  1944  Palmer  and  Myrtrice  moved  back  to  Tioga  to run  the  Jones Dairy.  One year later they purchased and moved to the Carl Wolla farm south of Tioga where they raised their four children. Myrtrice was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church south of Tioga where she served as a Sunday school teacher and in missions for the Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church.  Along with members of Trinity’s quilting group she helped create hundreds of quilts for missions.  She also took time to make treasured gifts of quilts for her family.  In later years Myrtrice was also a member of the Tioga Senior Citizens and the Tioga Sons of Norway. Besides quilting Myrtrice also enjoyed sewing, gardening and working on photo albums of family and senior citizen trips.  To honor her ancestry she created and maintained a family heritage album. She loved the country where she enjoyed her walks and rides with Palmer and her family.  While Myrtrice devoted her life to serving and caring for her family, she was her family’s treasure.  Over the years she opened her home to many family gatherings and always provided homemade favorites such as buns, lefse, krumkake and spritz. Palmer and Myrtrice moved into the Tioga Independent Living in 1998. In 2002 they shared a room together in the Tioga Long Term Care until Palmer’s  passing  in  2008.    The  devotion  of  their  marriage  lasted  69 years. She  is  survived  by  three  sons,  Gary  (Sandi),  John  (Barbara),  Ray (Connie);  and  daughter,  Joyce  (Marlow  Nelson);  eight  grandchildren, Erik (Katy) Dilland, Steven (Samantha) Dilland, David (Angela)Dilland, Paul  (Malinda)  Nelson,  Mark  (Raquel)  Nelson,  Aaron (Lisa)  Nelson, Lori (Mark) Petty, and Amy (Gabriel) Iverson; nine great-grandchildren; two sisters, Ada Fretland and Jeanette Mortenson; two sisters-in-law, Bernice Wolla and Olive Davidson; as well as many nieces and nephews. Myrtrice was preceded in death by her husband, Palmer; her parents; two brothers, Arnold and Kermit; and two sisters, Delores and Evelyn.