WILLIAM D. PACKARD, editor of the Rolette County Herald, published at Rolla, was born in Wright county, Iowa, March 28, 1861, a son of Cyrenius H. and Isabella (Pierce) Packard, the former a native of Vermont and the latter of New York. The father was a farmer by occupation and after his removal to the west engaged in carrying mail from St. Paul to McGregor, Iowa. In 1857 he established his home in Wright county, Iowa, where he purchased land and engaged in farming throughout his remaining days. He was killed, however, during the Civil war, having in 1861 enlisted for service as a member of Company A, Thirty-second Iowa Infantry, with which he remained for two years. He met death in battle in 1863, laying down his life as a sacrifice on the altar of his country.

William D. Packard was reared at the Soldiers’ Orphans Home and pursued his education in the schools of Cedar Falls, Iowa. He also spent one year in study in Davenport, and at the age of nineteen years, in Belmond, Iowa, he began learning the printer’s trade, which he has followed continuously since. For two years he was associated with his brother in the publication of the Eagle Grove Times at Eagle Grove, Iowa, and after selling his interest in that paper worked for others for several years. In 1891 he took charge of the Stephen (Minn.) Leader, which he published for a year and a half, and in 1894 he removed to Rolla, North Dakota, where he worked for W. J. Hoskins on the Turtle Mountain Star for ten years. In 1904 he became a resident of Crookston, Minnesota, and was there night editor on the Crookston Journal and Times for about a year. In 1906 he acquired the Rolette County Herald of Rolla and has since conducted the paper, making it a most interesting journal which has now gained a wide circulation and therefore is an excellent advertising medium. He publishes his paper according to the ideas of modern journalism and his alert and enterprising methods are bringing him success. In 1897 he homesteaded in Towner county North Dakota and proved up on his property in 1900 after which he traded it for his printing business.

In December 1883, Mr. Packard was married to Miss Mary Kitts, and to them were born seven children, of whom three are living: Richard, who is cashier of a bank of Menominee, Michigan; Helen, at home; and Laura, who is engaged in teaching school.  Those who have passed away are: William D., who was born in 1886 and died in February 1908, at the age of twenty-two years; Clifford, who died in December 1915, at the age of sixteen years; and two sons who died in infancy.

The parents are members of the Methodist church and Mr. Packard gives his political allegiance to the republican party. He is the present justice of the peace of Rolla, in which connection he discharges his duties with promptness and capability. Fraternally he is connected with the Yeomen lodge. His wife is the present county superintendent of schools of Rolette county, which position she has acceptably filled for the past four years, doing much to raise the standard of education during that period. Both are held in high esteem and have a circle of friends almost coextensive with the circle of their acquaintance.

ALFRED PLANTE, filling the office of postmaster at St. John, was born in Quebec, Canada, October 12, 1865, a son of Joseph and Calanire (Cinq-Mars) Plante, both of whom were natives of Quebec. The father was a merchant and business man on the island of Orleans, Quebec, and there passed away in 1875. The mother remained a resident of Canada for about nine years longer, and in 1884 came with her family to the United States, locating at St. John, Rolette county, where she passed away in 1891.

Alfred Plante completed his education in the Normal School of Quebec and was nineteen years of age when he came with the family to North Dakota, From that time forward he has been dependent upon his own resources. He began work as a clerk in the store of Fortune Martneau, with whom he remained for twelve years, proving a most capable, faithful and reliable representative of the house. In 1896 he was appointed postmaster of St.  John under President Cleveland and occupied that position for four years. Following the expiration of his term he entered the service of Hubert Brooks, a general merchant of St. John, for whom he worked for five years, and during that period carefully saved his earnings until his economy and industry had brought him sufficient capital to enable him to embark in business for himself. Accordingly in 1905 he engaged in merchandising in St. John and there remained for three years, after which he spent about four years in a similar business in Maza, Towner county. During the succeeding two years he managed the St. Anthony & Dakota lumber yards at St. John, covering the years 1913 and 1914.  On the 1st of January 1915, he was again appointed postmaster of St. John, in which position he is now serving, discharging the duties of the office promptly and capably.

In 1891 Mr. Plante was united in marriage to Miss Flora Brooks, of Grand Forks, North Dakota, by whom he has six children, as follows: Anna, the wife of Peter Rausch, of Raleigh, North Dakota; Rena, who is a teacher in the schools of Brisbane, North Dakota; Beatrice, who is a public school teacher at St. John; Arcelia, who serves as assistant postmaster; and Alfred and Wendell, who are students in the graded schools.  The parents are members of the Catholic church and Mr. Plante is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America. Politically he is a democrat and has always taken an active interest in affairs of the village. For several years he served as a member of the school board, and he does everything in his power to advance public interests, his influence ever being on the side of material, intellectual, social and moral progress in the district in which he lives.

R. E. ROGNAS, a merchant of Rolla, has been identified with the commercial interests of that town since 1895 and has contributed much to the business development of Rolette county. He was born in Norway in February 1870, and is a son of Halvor and Annie (Skjelle) Rognas, both of whom were natives of Norway. The father, a tanner by trade, is now living retired at Christiania, Norway, but the mother died December 27, 1882.

R. E. Rognas spent the days of his boyhood and youth in his native country to the age of fifteen years, when, in 1885, he crossed the Atlantic to the new world and made his way to Jackson, Minnesota, where he resided for a year and a half. On the expiration of that period he went to Minneapolis, where he made his home for eight years, and in 1895 he took up his abode in Rolla, where he purchased an interest in the general store of T. T.  Shell, thus forming the firm of Shell & Rognas. They continued together for six and a half years, at the end of which time Mr. Rognas purchased his partner’s interest and has carried on the business independently, building up a good trade in this connection. He also organized another store at Devils Lake, which he still conducts under the name of the New York Cash Store. In 1911 he admitted L. Lorenz to a partnership under the firm style of Rognas & Lorenz. He likewise has farming interests in Rolette and Towner counties, owning six and a half quarter sections.

In 1895 Mr. Rognas was united in marriage to Miss Jennie Loken and to them have been born three children, Hazel, Minerva and Rand. Mr. Rognas is a republican in his political views, while his religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Presbyterian church.  He is also identified with the Masonic fraternity, having taken the degrees of lodge, chapter and commandery, while of the Mystic Shrine he is also a representative. His life is an exemplification of the beneficent spirit of that order and the sterling traits of character which he has displayed have won for him the confidence, goodwill and high regard of those with whom he has been associated.

W. N. SHAVER, hotel proprietor at St. John and one of the pioneers of Rolette county, was born in County Stormont, Ontario, Canada, January 6, 1847. His parents. Nicholas and Margaret (Morgan) Shaver, were both natives of Ontario and were of Irish and German extraction. They spent their entire lives in their native province and there reared a family of thirteen children, all of whom are still living as far as is known. The father was a farmer by occupation and thus provided for the support of the members of his household.

W. N. Shaver acquired a district school education and in early boyhood became a wage earner, working as chore boy and farm hand in the neighborhood in which he was reared.  In 1877 he became identified with the grain trade and for twelve years was engaged in buying grain at Lucan, Ontario, and for two years in London, Ontario. In 1892 he came across the border and established his home in St. John, North Dakota, where for seven years he was the representative of the St. Anthony & Dakota Elevator Company. In the meantime he had purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land about four miles south of St. John and in the spring of 1903 he removed to his farm, whereon throughout the following four years he engaged in the cultivation of his land. He left the plow, however, in the fall of 1905 and returned to St. John, where he purchased the La Fayette Hotel and with the able assistance of his wife he has since conducted that hostelry, which under its present management has become one of the best hotels in Rolette county. They have built up a large business and many of the traveling men visiting this section of the country look forward with pleasurable anticipation to their stay at the La Fayette.

In 1880 Mr. Shaver was united in marriage to Miss Mary J. Kitt, of Lucan, Ontario, and to them was born a son, Russell N., a brakeman in the railway service between Brandon and St. John. The wife and mother passed away September 19, 1881, and on the 18^th of March, 1885, Mr. Shaver wedded Miss Rachel McRoberts, of Lucan, Ontario, and to them were born five children: Agnes May, deceased; Margaret Ray, the wife of R. D. Van Camp, of Minot; Ethel Mary, deceased; Irene Mabel, at home; and Charles Wesley, who has departed this life.

Mr. Shaver has taken out his naturalization papers and has become a champion of republic can principles, giving his support to that party at the polls. He belongs to the Independent Order of Foresters and both he and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church. In business affairs his course has been marked by steady progress owing to his close application and indefatigable energy, qualities which always win success when intelligently directed.

JAMES SMITH, Long years of successful activity in business have enabled James Smith to put aside arduous cares and responsibilities and now lives retired, deriving a substantial income from property Interests. He was born in Vermont, November 10, 1844, and has therefore passed the seventy-second milestone on life’s journey. His parents, Thomas and Ellen (Lynch) Smith, were natives of Ireland and in 1840 came to America, settling in Vermont, where the father worked at his trade, that of milling, until 1849, when he removed westward to Wisconsin.  He had previously served as a soldier in the Mexican war under General Winfield Scott. On going to Wisconsin he took up government land upon which not a furrow had been turned nor an improvement made and with characteristic energy began its development, continuing its cultivation until 1856. He then removed to Minnesota and settled at Dutch Charlie’s Creek, where he remained for two years, at which time the whole settlement left that district and went to Nicollet county, Minnesota, where Mr. Smith resided until 1860. At that date he became a resident of Renville county, Minnesota, where he was killed by the Indians on the 18^th of August 1862. His widow long survived and passed away in 1890.

James Smith was reared and educated upon the western frontier of Minnesota and in 1861, in response to the country’s call for military aid, he enlisted as a member of Company E, Second Minnesota Infantry, with which he served for four years and seven days.  He was wounded in the elbow but not seriously injured, and he remained at the front until the close of hostilities, making an excellent record by his loyalty and his bravery upon southern battlefields as he followed the stars and stripes. With the close of the war he returned to Renville county, where he engaged in farming for nineteen years. He raised wheat throughout that period but barely made a living, finding it impossible to lay by anything. He then removed to St. John, Rolette county, North Dakota, in June 1889, and filed on forty acres of land which he improved. Later he bought eighty acres more and continued the cultivation of that tract until 1898, when he established his home in St. John and was appointed postmaster of the town, acting in that capacity continuously for sixteen years, when he was relieved, as the democratic administration came into power. He is the owner of three hundred and twenty acres of land in Montana and still owns his homestead in Rolette county, comprising one hundred and twenty acres adjoining the corporation limits of St. John.

On the 13th of January 1874, Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Miss Annie L. Tompkins, by whom he had ten children, as follows: Esther L., who is the wife of Morris Rice, of St. Paul, Minnesota; Elsie, who gave her hand in marriage to Jay Gregory and resides at Carpenter, North Dakota; Walter, living in Madoc, Montana; Henry and George, both at home; Winnie, the wife of Clarence Hanson, who resides on a farm near Minot, Lila, who is the wife of Fred Grosith and also makes her home near Minot, North Dakota; Emily, who passed away at the age of eighteen years; Ruth, who died when thirteen years old; and Phillip T., who died on a claim in Montana at the age of twenty-four years. In religious faith the mother is a Catholic.

Politically Mr. Smith is a republican and he has served as county commissioner in Rolette county for three years and also as a member of the school board for three years.  He maintains pleasant relations with his old military comrades through his membership in the Grand Army of the Republic and delights in meeting with them whenever opportunity offers. He has always been as true and loyal in matters of citizenship through days of peace as in times of war and is a respected and honored resident of Rolette county.

WILLIAM F. THIELE, cashier of the Rolette State Bank since 1913, was born in Chicago, Illinois, September 8, 1887, a son of Henry and Frieda (Bettge) Thiele, who are natives of Germany. The father came to America in early life and settled in Proviso, a suburb of Chicago. He was a contractor and builder and afterward in government employ spent some time in Alabama, building locks in a river. He and his wife are now residents of South Bend, Indiana.

William F. Thiele was reared and educated in Nebraska, where his parents resided for a number of years. In 1906 he became a clerk in a store in North Dakota, spending six months in that connection. He then went to Seattle and was employed in the general offices of the Pacific Coast Condensed Milk Company for a year. In 1908 he returned to North Dakota, settling at Bisbee, where he entered the Citizens State Bank as assistant cashier, a position which he occupied for a year. He later spent six months in the Towner County Bank at Perth, North Dakota, and was assistant cashier in the Rolette County Bank at Saint John for two and one-half years. On the expiration of that period he accepted the assistant cashier ship of the Rolette State Bank and in 1913 was advanced to the position of cashier, in which capacity he has since continued. The officers are Theodore Albrecht.  president, and William F. Thiele vice president and cashier. The bank is capitalized for fifteen thousand dollars and has a surplus of three thousand dollars, while its deposits amount to one hundred and ninety thousand dollars. The bank was organized in 1905 by David H.  Beecher, of Grand Forks, North Dakota. In addition to his banking interests Mr. Thiele is the owner of eight hundred and eighty acres of improved land in Rolette county and in this connection is contributing much to the agricultural development of the district.

In September 1915, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Thiele and Miss Cora L. Dubay.  He is a member of the Presbyterian church, while his wife is of the Catholic faith. In Masonic circles he is prominent, having attained high rank in the order, while with the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine he has crossed the sands of the desert. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party and he is never found remiss in the duties of citizenship.

ALEXANDER R. THOMPSON, postmaster of Rolla, was born in Essex county, Ontario, Canada, October 9, 1856, a son of Robert and Susan (Neill) Thompson, who were natives of Ireland.  The father came to America at an early day, about 1852. His family numbered nine children, but Alexander R. is the only one born on this side the Atlantic. After living for a short time in Holyoke, Massachusetts, Mr. Thompson removed with his family to Ontario, where he worked at the stone mason’s trade throughout his remaining days, his death there occurring in 1863. His widow long survived him and passed away in 1901.

Alexander R. Thompson was educated in the schools of Ontario and there spent his youthful days to the age of sixteen years, after which he remained for brief periods in Chicago, St. Paul and Detroit, being employed in brass foundries. He learned the brass molder’s trade but in 1884 entered upon a very different business connection, for in that year he removed to Rolette county, North Dakota, then a part of Dakota territory, and settled on a homestead near Dunseith. This he improved and cultivated for two years.  He afterward homesteaded fifteen miles south of his first place, settling on the second tract in 1896. In 1902 he was elected county treasurer and removed to Rolla, occupying that position for four years and afterward serving as deputy treasurer for a similar length of time. On the 19th of March 1915, he was appointed postmaster of Rolla, which position he is now filling. He was elected and served for one term as a county commissioner and has also been a member of the school board. Aside from his official duties he has business interests which return to him a good income. He is the owner of a farm of four hundred and eighty acres, which his son is operating, in addition to his homestead property, and he is a stockholder in the Farmers Elevator Company of Fonda and the Farmers Elevator Company of Overly.

On the 12th of January 1886, Mr. Thompson was united in marriage to Miss Ella O’Neill and to them were born twelve children, namely: Irene S.; William D.; Nellie R.; Laura E.; Vera and Vida, twins; Agnes E.; Milton N.; Lincoln A.; Bessie R.; Roberta; and Bernice, who is deceased. The wife and mother passed away January 15, 1907, after an illness of three days. The living children are all at home and theirs is a happy household.  Mr. Thompson belongs to the Masonic order and to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.  He has always given his political support to the democratic party, while his religious faith is that of the Episcopal church. His has been an active and useful life fraught with good results and bringing to him substantial returns for his labor.

DR. BERNARD D. VERRET, was born in Quebec, Canada, February 16, 1876, a son of A. H.  and Bridget (Donnelly) Verret, who were natives of Quebec and Ireland respectively. The father served as auditor of the province of Quebec and continued to hold that position until the time of his death in January 1913. His widow still survives.

Dr. Verret was reared in Quebec, where he pursued his education. He was a student at Laval University and was graduated from that institution in 1900 on the completion of a medical course and he also pursued a ten years’ classical course in the Seminary of Quebec. He became connected with St. Joseph’s Hospital at St. Paul, Minnesota, where he took post graduate work for a year, after which he located for practice at Fargo, North Dakota, where he remained for a year. On the expiration of that period he removed to St. John, Rolette county, where he opened an office and practiced for a year and a half, while since 1904 he has been located at Rolla, where he now enjoys an extensive and important practice. He served for three years under contract as physician for the Indians on the Turtle Mountain reservation, and he has been health physician of Rolla. He also served on the board of the Dunseith Sanitarium at Dunseith, North Dakota, for a year.

In addition to his professional activities he has become interested in farming and other business, being now a stockholder in the Farmers Telephone Company of Rolla and the owner of three quarter sections of land in Rolette county.  In religious faith Dr. Verret is a Roman Catholic. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and in his fraternal connections he is a Yeoman and a Modern Woodman.  He holds to high professional standards and is continually seeking out new methods which will promote his efficiency in the work of checking the ravages of disease. His ability is widely recognized and his efforts are being attended with excellent results.

HON. C. I. F. WAGNER, cashier of the Farmers & Merchants Bank of Rolla, was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, in December 1861, a son of the Rev. John M. and Sarah F. (Voorhees) Wagner, the former a native of Germany and the latter of New Jersey.  In his boyhood days John M. Wagner crossed the Atlantic to America, settling in New Brunswick, New Jersey, where he was educated for the ministry of the Dutch Reformed church. He devoted his entire life to that holy calling and during his last twenty-five years engaged in preaching in Brooklyn. The marriage ceremonies which he performed and the funeral services which he attended exceeded the days of the year. He was a very popular minister, loved and honored by all who knew him. He passed away in November 1894, and his wife died one week later.

C. I. F. Wagner was a pupil in Wright’s Business College of Brooklyn, New York, after attending the public schools and for a year he was employed in a wholesale commission house in New York. In 1882 he arrived in the territory of Dakota, settling at Grand Harbor, near Devils Lake, although there was no town there at the time. It was Mr.  Wagner and F. Eugene Farrell who in 1883 established the first newspaper in the district, the Devils Lake Globe, which paper they conducted until 1884, when they removed to Dunseith, North Dakota, a new town which had just been founded. Two years afterward Mr. Wagner bought out his partner and continued the publication of the paper until 1896, when he was elected register of deeds of Rolette county and entered upon the duties of that position, in which he was continued for eight years. In 1904 he was again called to office, being elected to represent his district in the state legislature, and in 1906 he was made the representative of his district in the state senate. His public career has ever been characterized by loyalty to duty, capability in office and strict adherence to high ideals of citizenship.

In 1903 Mr. Wagner, in company with C. R. Gailfus organized the Rolette County Abstract Company and within a year they had made money enough to erect the present bank building. Mr. Wagner continued in the abstract business until 1907, when he returned to Dunseith, where he established a hardware store which he conducted for three years.  At the end of that time he took charge of the Dunseith State Bank, of which he was manager for three years, after which he was offered the position of cashier of the Farmers & Merchants Bank of Rolla in 1913. He has since served in that capacity and his ability has contributed much to the upbuilding and success of the institution. He also owns six hundred and forty acres of land in Rolette county and likewise has landed interests in Canada and in Florida.

Mr. Wagner has been married twice. On the 1st of May 1886, he wedded Leah Nore De Esterre and they became the parents of seven children, namely: Martin, Norman L., Charles, Leah C, Fred, James and Lucille. The son Charles is now fighting with the French army in the great European war. The wife and mother passed away in November, 1903, and in March 1906, Mr. Wagner was united in marriage to Miss Algie V. Stewart.  Mr. Wagner has always been a republican in his political views and aside from filling the offices already mentioned he served as the first coroner of Rolette county and is the present public administrator. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity and to the Eastern Star, while his religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Presbyterian church.  His activities have been of a nature that have contributed to the material upbuilding of the state, to the attainment of better conditions in citizenship and to the upholding of higher individual standards.

DR. JAMES P. WIDMEYER, a physician and surgeon practicing at Rolla, opened an office in that city immediately after completing a professional course of study in Chicago, Illinois.  He was born in Ontario, Canada, December 9, 1868, a son of Charles and Barbara (Winkler) Widmeyer, the former a native of Germany and the latter of Ontario, Canada. When a young man Charles Widmeyer left the fatherland and sailed for the new world. For several years he was engaged in agricultural pursuits but subsequently turned his attention to the hotel business in Ayton, Ontario, where his remaining days were passed. He there died during the boyhood of Dr. Widmeyer and the mother afterward removed with her family to Manitoba. The later years of her life, however, were spent in Towner county, North Dakota, where she took up her abode about 1887, there passing away in 1889.

Dr. Widmeyer at the usual age became a public school pupil, pursuing his studies in Rolla and in the preparatory department of the North Dakota State University. In 1893 he took up the study of medicine, entering the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Chicago, now the medical department of the Illinois State University. He was graduated from that institution with the class of 1896 and by thorough training was well qualified for the onerous and responsible duties that were soon to devolve upon him. He made his way direct to Rolla, where he has now been in continuous practice for the past twenty years, during which period he has built up an enviable reputation as a most efficient physician. He is today one of the best known practitioners of the northern part of the state and is continually demonstrating his ability to successfully cope with the intricate problems which one continually confronts in the effort to restore health and prolong life. He reads broadly and thinks deeply and readily adapts the knowledge that he has acquired to specific needs. He is careful in the diagnosis of his cases and has won a substantial measure of success.

On the 26th of October 1897, Dr. Widmeyer was united in marriage to Miss Roxie G.  Brown, of Rolla, by whom he has two children, namely: Lionel J., a student in the North Dakota State University; and David Lloyd, who is a junior in the Rolla high school. Dr.  Widmeyer is a Mason, belonging to Rolla Lodge, No. 66, and he also has membership in Devils Lake Lodge, No. 1216, B. P. 0. E. His wife is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. In politics the Doctor is a republican and has long taken an active and helpful interest in everything pertaining to civic betterment. He is a member of the present school board and for six years he served as mayor of Rolla, giving to the city a businesslike administration that was also characterized by needed reform and improvement. Along professional lines he is connected with the Devils Lake District Medical Society, the North Dakota State Medical Society and the American Medical Association, and thus he keeps in touch with the trend of progressive, modern thought along professional lines.

ELMER J. WRIGHT, a hardware merchant of St. John, was born in Hornellsville, Steuben County, New York, February 11, 1867, a son of Gilbert and Sarah (Thomas) Wright, the former a native of Steuben county, New York, and the latter of Pennsylvania. The father was a farmer by occupation and also followed carpentering throughout his entire life, always remaining a resident of New York. He served for three years in the One Hundred and Seventh New York Volunteer Infantry during the Civil war, enlisting in 1862, and on one occasion he was wounded in the face, his jaw being broken. He has now reached the age of seventy-nine years, while his wife is seventy-five years of age.

Elmer J. Wright was reared in his native county and supplemented his public school education by study in the Alfred University of Allegany county, New York. He learned the carpenter’s trade of his father and afterward pursued a civil engineering course in college. Taking up the profession of teaching, he was thus engaged for eleven years, spending eight years in that connection in New York and three years in Cass county, North Dakota. He came to this state in 1896 and settled in Cass county, where he continued to make his home until 1900, when he removed to Rolette county. Upon the opening of the reservation he filed on land which he improved and cultivated for seven years. He then sold his property and went to St. John, where he has since engaged in surveying. He is now county surveyor of Rolette county, having occupied the position continuously for the past fourteen years, having been reelected at each biennial period without specially seeking the office or making effort to win the election. In the spring of 1916 he purchased a. half interest in a hardware business, becoming a partner of Fred Lewis under the firm style of Lewis & Wright. They carry an extensive stock of goods and enjoy a large patronage, theirs being the only store of the kind in the town.

In November 1898, Mr. Wright was united in marriage to Miss Eliza Solberg, a daughter of John and Matilda (Larson) Solberg. who were natives of Norway. They came to America at an early day soon after the Civil war, and the father worked in sawmills in Wisconsin. After his removal to North Dakota he worked at the carpenter’s trade. He also homesteaded land in this state and he now resides at St. John with Mr. and Mrs. Wright, his wife having passed away on the 20th of June 1903. Mr. and Mrs. Wright have become the parents of three children: Fern E., who was born October 4, 1899; Nina L., born May 24, 1902; and Floyd K. born July 2, 1908.

Mr. Wright holds membership with the Modern Brotherhood of America and for six years was secretary of the local organization. His religious belief is that of the Presbyterian church, while in his political faith he is a republican. He is now president of the town board of St. John and for four years was assessor, while he has also been a member of the school board. He still has farming interests in the county and he is connected with many of those forces which are working for the upbuilding and substantial development of the district. His worth as a citizen is widely acknowledged and his reliability in business is above question.