Torsdagen den 21 juli 2022 Hyllning till Milton Davidson

 

Milton P. Davidson  Oct 26, 1920--July 19, 2004   Newfolden, Minnesota

        Milton Perry Davidson was born in his grandmother’s house in Holt Township, Marshall County, Minnesota in the fall of 1920. His parents were Hilmer and Anna Davidson. 

Milton's father, Hilmer at his water well drilling rig.

    Milton married Marion Johnson in 1946, purchasing Marion’s folk’s homestead, east of Newfolden in 1950. The couple farmed and raised a family of two boys and two girls: Ronnie, Shelvie, Sharon, and Jeff. Milton worked road construction for a local company operating a dragline. He helped build MN. State Hwy 59, from Newfolden to Thief River Falls. He continued to work construction until 1962 when he bought his own water well drilling machine and started his own business. He continued drilling wells until his son Jeff took over the business in 1990.

    Milton was always interested in planes and flying. In 1950, he bought an Aeronica Chief and got his pilot’s license in 1951. He introduced the Davidson family to flying and helped many of the Davidson pilots to get their license. In addition to flying, Milton loved snowmobiling, four-wheeling, fishing at Red Lake, music, reading, traveling, history, and politics and spending time working at his grandmother’s farm. His greatest love was his family and friends. Over the course of 14 years, 1968-1982, he and Marion traveled to all 50 states; in 1993 they visited Norway, Sweden; in 2001, Hungary, and Poland.

    Milton was a mainstay at the Davidson-Palm family deer hunting camps in Palmville Township each November. He didn’t hunt anymore, but would spend the afternoon in camp visiting with all the family, then fly home before dark and often return the next day. Milton was simply a great guy.

    I talked to Milton at deer camp in 1997. We talked about the dance halls and barn dances of the early days. Milton told me about the band Martin was in. Milton said Martin was ‘good to paint,’ and had painted a nighthawk on a branch on the face of the drum, below the branch he had painted: “The Holt Nighthawks.”

    “The Nighthawk’s last gig was at High Landing and they were all paid $5 apiece and $12 apiece on the 4th of July. Members of the band were Helmer Davidson on violin, Martin Davidson on trombone; their sister Hazel played the piano but only knew the chords; Pearl Johnson on piano too; Ella (Peterson) Loven was an artist at the piano, she really knew how to play; Percy Sorter on drums, and Melvin Sorter on trumpet.”  

     We talked about Dutch Henry, a wanted outlaw from Montana who was murdered four miles west of the Palmville Schoolhouse District 44 West, in 1905. Milton said that my great uncle ‘Petrus Palm’ knew Dutch Henry while he was in Palmville that winter (although Dutch Henry used the alias 'John Stewart instead because he had a bounty on his head in the Dakotas.) 

    We talked about Milton's brother Robert’s hunting trip to Saskatchewan with Martin and Swanky Swankinson in 1945, a story we published in Volume 15 Issue 2 of THE RAVEN in 2017.

    Our conversation went on about my Grandpa Willie Palm and how he had been close friends with Martin, whose farm adjoined Willie’s on the south. We talked about Martin meeting Mable Lohre and them getting married in 1930; Mable died with cancer in 1933. Martin married, Irene Palm, Willie and Annie Palm’s youngest daughter, in 1936.

    It was late afternoon, when we heard a plane come in low over the trees. ”Grandpa! Grandpa!” little Chelsey and Kaylee Davidson, daughters of Kevin and Patti Davidson shouted, and rushed to the windows to look at the sky.

    Soon from the south, landed the red and white Piper Cub of their grandpa Ronnie Davidson's, (Milton's son) and pandemonium erupted as he came through the door, smiling. He hugged each of the two girls as they jumped him. He swung each off the floor, their two hands gripped by his one hand as like a big low swing, and dropped them gently onto the couch that sat across the south end of the trailer near the windows. Then it was all laughter, smiles, and lots of boisterous visiting. 

    I thought how special it is for children to know both their grandparents and great grandparents. I knew Grandma Palm (Annie) my mother's mother; she died when I was seventeen. My grandfather, Willie, had walked on in 1937, before I was born, as well as had both of my dad's parents. All my great grandparents were gone before my time.

    Getting to know Milton, the few times we had occasion to sit down and visit at length was always interesting; he had quite the life. At his funeral his grandson Paul Haukebo, a brilliant speaker and family mimic, gave his grandfather Milton, a heartwarming eulogy that had everyone at his service both laughing and crying. 

Paul was a tough act to follow, I could only offer this:

    "About supper time on July 19, the evening Milton died, Joe and I were traveling north of Park Rapids, MN when I saw the dark shadow of a small plane pass low over the treetops toward us, its rapid shadow following the contour of the landscape, rising and falling amid the differing heights of dark green trees, plunging into and across hayfields, leaping from one golden round bale to another in its path, before it leapt back into the sky at the point where the sunlight met my eye. Leaning low under the sun visors of our car, I watched its path cross ours in a kaleidoscope of shadow and light, then disappear."