Early settlers left their mark

Emma was born Aug. 8, 1845, 160 years ago in Sweden and eventually immigrated to Holland, Mich., where she met and married her Norwegian husband Hans.

They had three children, Anna E., Alfred and Mary Cecelia, all born and raised in Michigan.

The migration of this family to the Flathead Valley was to leave a mark on our historical development that persists to this day.

Anna was the first to move west. She and husband Wilsie "Bill" Cramer built and lived in a log cabin on Juniper Bay. Bill was a logger. He built the first saw mill on Flathead Lake in Polson.

A year later in 1895, when Emma was 50 years old, she, Hans, daughter Mary and son-in-law John H. Smith, came to join the oldest daughter and her husband.

Living on a small Civil War pension, the Andersons established a farm north of what is now Somers and sold cattle, chickens, vegetables and fruit to residents of the area.

The life of Emma Ander-son, despite her many contributions, was filled with tragedy. Hans, age 53, suffered from cancer and died three years after coming to Montana when he was gored by a bull.

Anna and Bill Cramer bore six children (one set of twins) between 1898 and 1906 and all the children died within ten months of age.

Death was attributed to tonsillitis, whooping cough or bronchitis. These six infants are buried in Bethel Cemetery next to their grandparents.

Mary Cecilia and Johnnie Smith had one daughter, Emma, who died at age nine (attributed to a heart attack) on Feb. 27, 1906.

Her mother Mary died in 1922 at the age of 50. After Mary's death her husband Johnnie continued to live with his mother-in-law but he suffered an incapacitating stroke.

He died July 27, 1933, from a grass fire near their home that he was unable to escape.

Emma and Han's son Alfred came to the Flathead after his parents with his wife and children.

Initially he lived in a large house his mother built on Juniper Bay, an artistic two-story house (the first in the area) designed and built by Caesar Haverlandt in 1902.

This house was later the home of Captain Angus MacDonell and remains there today. Another Haverlandt home was constructed in 1904 at what is now the corner of Highway 93 and Spring Creek Road.

Captain Anderson lived in this house and his daughter, Alma, was born there. This house is today part of the Osprey Nest Antiques complex. Alfred and his wife Carrie had five children, Alma, Edna, Pete, Herb and Cliff.

After the turn of the century Emma Anderson established herself as a leading public figure.

She was a religious person and established the first Sunday school in Lakeside making complicated arrangements to transport area children to Sunday school each week.

Emma was a charter member of the Lakeside Ladies' Club (now the Lakeside Community Club) and an active joiner of many local organizations.

She also apparently speculated with land purchase not only north of the eventual Somers area but also in the vicinity of Stone Croft on Juniper Bay and a 145-acre plot two miles above the highway on what became Spring Creek Road.

The latter property was originally owned by Chester Cramer who may have been related to Bill Cramer, Emma's son in law.

Emma bought the property in 1903 and in 1904 it was transferred to the ownership of her daughter, Anna Cramer.

The reason for the land speculation and its total extent is unknown, but Emma's son Alfred was an active home builder in the area, completing six or seven homes around the Lake.

Alfred dairy farmed initially in the Flathead Valley and built homes but then turned to his interests in steamship traffic on the Lake.

Earlier in Michigan he had been exposed to maritime activities and it became his life's work.

Alfred became Captain of the Klondike and later, the City of Polson and the Eva B. At one time (1910) in one of the most usual cargos on the Lake, Anderson transported a complete circus from Somers to Polson.

The trip included one elephant, one camel, monkeys, about 50 employees and all their equipment.

With his sons Alfred "Cap" Anderson was involved in the building of at least two ships, the Bigfork and the Skinkoots. The latter sailed on the lake until 1929. Alfred lived out his life in the Somers area.

Alfred's daughter Edna, with her husband Bill Culbert lived on Woods Bay. Their grand-daughter Georgia (Jo) Weaver still resides in Big Arm on the West Shore.

Emma Anderson, affectionately known as "Grandmother Anderson" by all who knew her, lived to be 87, dying on Jan. 16, 1932.

Her life was long and eventful. Despite her family tragedies, the personal contributions and those of her family to the Flathead Valley must be appreciated.

The author expresses his appreciation to Mrs. Dick (Jo) Weaver of Big Arm for her assistance with this article.