Notes for Catherine Marie DUPREL

Notes for Catherine Marie DUPREL

Catherine completed her first eight years of school in Meade County Schools in South Dakota. She then attended the Black Hills Teachers College at Spearfish, South Dakota for two years. Catherine married Ralph Tennis in the valley Catholic church. Before Catherine married her first husband she taught school for two years. Catherine and Ralph started their married life on the John Smith ranch. (Mr. Smith was a former Meade County Sheriff). About one half mile south of the John Smith place, Ralph filed on his homestead and built a two room shack, which we lived in until he could prove up on the homestead. Later we purchased an irrigated ranch from "Swede" R.E. Anderson. This was about four miles south of Empire. We moved our two room claim shack & built on to it. We lived there until 1935. During this time we milked about twelve cows, raised pigs, calves, lots of sugar beets & garden vegetables. We spent many hours pulling weeds and hoeing. We also delivered cucumbers, tomatoes and other vegetables as far as Alkali and Hereford communities and some in Lead City. I drove a Model T truck and later we purchased an
Interational truck to peddle our produce. We were happy to make enough this way to pay our taxes and water right. This kind of grind was getting a bit depressing, so we decided to have an aution sale and try something else. Ray Bush was our auctioneer. We leased our land to Lundgrens. We purchased one half interest, with Rudy Conklin, in the Log Cabin Gas Station on Junction Avenue in Sturgis. There were only two cabins at this time. We lived in one of the cabins. A year later we purchased Sid Price's Cabin Camp of six cabins right next to the Log Cabins. Two years later we purchased the home east of the cabins. We built six more cabins so now we had fourteen cabins to rent and a nice home to live in. Later we purchased the Enders Apartment House and lots where the A & W Root Beer stand still remains. Now we had a little start and time for a bit of pleasure. We purchased 8 lots for our riding horses. We so enjoyed being a part of the Sturgis Riding Club. The club took first prize for twelve years at the Belle Fourche round up for being the "Outstanding Riding Club in the Northern Hills." Ralph was president of the club at the time of his death.

In February 1951, Meade County shop had a fire. Shortly after the fire was extinguished a county shop employe Charles Mathews, and Ralph passed away, apparently of heart attacks. I continued running the cabins and station for some time, alone. In all we had them eighteen years. Then on January 13, 1954 I married Dewey Tallman. When Dewey and I married I was still running the Log Cabin Motel and Dewey was a construction worker for a contractor, L.P. Larson of Belle Fourche. Dewey was also co operator with Carl Peterson of the Municipal Bar of Vale. We both sold our businesses and purchased the Half-Way House between Deadwood and Spearfish. We ran it for five years, we then leased it and purchased the Hills Drive Inn Theater from James O'Neal of Spearfish. As young children we both attended the Schaff School. I was eight years old and could't speak English when I started to school in 1911. Amelia and Lizzie Schaff translated for Florence and me. As a coincidence in about 1904 Dewey attended his first
year of school there, too. He was making his home with his granparents, George B. Barnes, at the time. They had the Gaither place rented. Later, much of the time Dewey made his home with his uncle, Ed Barnes and family. After this Dewey started doing construction work for Meade County and continued at that job for twenty five years. He is pictured with the Marion Bennett road crew in Southwest Meade County History Book. Dewey oened half or eight of the horses on that crew. Dewey and I are at home across the creek from the Half-Way house on highway 85, five miles from Deadwood. We enjoy our flowers, small garden, and peacocks, bridge, duplicate and all is a must with me. Dewey enjoys his games of pool and pan with some of his friends. I enjoy traveling and visiting my daughter, Norma Jean, and family. Ace and his family live at Whitewood.

Written by Catherine Tallman Duprel
Sturgis South Dakota (1968)

STURGIS TRIBUNE 6 JULY 1939

Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Tennis entertained the Merry Meeters club on Monday evening.

STURGIS TRIBUNE 30 DEC 1943

Sgt Alphonse Tennis, of the Marine Corps, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Tennis, of Sturgis is home on Furlough. He has been in the Pacific theater of operations.

SOURCE OF INFORMATION: Florence Duprel Yanzick Rapid City SD. 1974. Newspaper
Obit. Land of the Pioneers Meade county S.D.
RECORDS: Divorce Papers (Addision Adair) & Catherine Duprel. Death Record.
BORN: Sat MARRIED: Mon DIED: Wed. Age at death 68 years 9 months 3 days.