Earl L.
and Lillian M. Kipp
The Sundance Years
Earl Lloyd Kipp was born in Lester,
Iowa on August 3, 1896, the youngest of six children. In 1913
Earl moved to the Flandreau, South Dakota area with his parents, John
Wilbert and Susan (Bauman) Kipp. When President Woodrow Wilson outlined
his case to declare war on Germany on April 2, 1917 and declared war
on April 6, 1917, Earl like many young men at that time enlisted in
the U S Army. His enlistment was short lived however as he had
lied about his age and was discharged on July 31, 1917.
While Earl lived in Flandreau he met
Lillian Mae Nelson. Lily was born in Flandreau, South Dakota on July
6, 1899. She was the oldest of three children. They married
on Saturday,December
1, 1917, in Sioux Falls, SD. Soon afterward they relocated to
McAllen, Texas, with Earl’s parents, where they lived for about four
years. Lily’s parents, Anton Nickolai and Margaret May (Wilcox)
Nelson, and her sister Laura, relocated to Bay, Texas about the same
time. Bay, Texas is about 150 miles from McAllen. The 1920 census
records indicate that Earl was a farmer. The occupation of John Wilbert
Kipp was listed as “none”. Anton’s occupation was listed
in the 1920 census as a car repairman for the BM Railroad. The Kipp
family returned to South Dakota in the early 1920s as did Laura.
It is believed that Lily’s parents relocated to South Dakota briefly
before moving to Sundance, Wyoming. While living in Texas, Earl
and Lily became new parents with the birth of Clinton, and Adrian.
While living in Sioux
Falls, SD Earl worked in a meat packing plant and later worked for the
Chicago, Milwaukee & St Paul Railroad as a coach cleaner and car
repairman. During this time there were four new additions to the
family with the birth of Colleen, Wayne, Margaret, and Eugene. Earl,
Lily and the kids visited Lily’s folks in Sundance in late August
1926. The Sundance Times noted that Earl returned to Sioux Falls and
that Lily stayed a few more days to visit. Shortly thereafter, in the
fall of 1926 they relocated to Sundance, Wyoming as did Laura.
Since Earl worked for the railroad they received free passage from Sioux
Falls to Spearfish, SD. They then caught a ride with the mail
carrier to Sundance. The mail route was at that time operated
by Fred Schloredt. The family did not all come at once, but in
at least two separate groups. The Kipp children have different
memories, on who came to Sundance first and who came with who.
Laura started a Gift Shop soon after
arrival in Sundance. There are ads in the October and November
1926 issues of the Sundance Times saying she will “remodel your hat
up to comply with current styles”. In 1926 Laura became known
as Mrs. Bill Schloredt. The Schloredt family was among the earlier
settlers of Sundance.
When
they initially moved to Sundance the family stayed in the home currently
owned by Evelyn Sisson (2008). However, they soon moved into the
second floor of the Sundance Shoe and Harness Shop. The shop was
owned by Lily’s parents Anton and Margaret Nelson and was located
on the north side of Main Street between 2nd and 3rd
Street. In 1934 they purchased a house on the north end of 4th
Street for $200. By this time the family had grown by two more children,
Iris and Sandy, for a total of eight. Four more children were
born at their new home bringing the total to twelve. They were
Patricia, Tobylea, Earlene, and Michael. The house is estimated to
be about 788 square feet when purchased. Soon after purchase of
the home, two bedrooms were added to the back of the house to bring
the square footage to about 1,160. An old photo of house shows
how it appeared in the early 1890s. A 20 X 28 warehouse was
added to the property in the spring of 1946. It included a small
bedroom to provide additional sleeping quarters. The house on
4th Street remained under the ownership of the Kipp family
until 1973. All twelve children attended and graduated from Sundance
Schools.
While Lily was raising a rapidly growing
family, Earl worked in Sundance as a carpenter, painter, and on construction
of the road from Sundance to Beulah.
The 1930 census lists his occupation as a carpenter in the housing industry.
In 1932 he started to drive the Star Mail Route between Sundance and
Spearfish. The mail route still remains within the Kipp family.
With the mail route, Earl started to deliver cream from the local ranchers
to the creamery in Spearfish. Several ads appeared in the Sundance
Times at that time telling people to drop off their cream at the Shoe
Shop for the best price. He later added the delivery of bread
to local grocery stores. In 1934 he started a freight line, Kipp’s
Transfer, between Sundance and Deadwood, South Dakota. The
photo shows Gene on the hood of a 1934 Chevrolet truck.
He applied for a Certificate of Public Conveyance from the Interstate
Commerce Commission in 1938. The certificate was awarded on July
23, 1941. The freight line expanded over the years to serve communities
in Crook County including Hulett, Moorcroft, Oshoto, Devils Tower, and
Carlile. Kipp’s Transfer was the major means for transporting
items to the communities: groceries to meat, tires to toys, clothes
to liquor, and many other staples and necessities. Kipp’s Transfer
was sold to Gene and Vivian Kipp in 1968 and they continued to operate
it until 1972 when it was sold to Salt Creek Freightways.
Earl also leased the Commercial Theatre
building and purchased the equipment from the Commercial Club in 1943.
He operated the theatre on a continual basis until he closed it in 1963,
just months before his death. Earl also contracted with the school district
to transport students that lived on Highway 585 to and from school.
The first school bus was a 1942 Chevrolet Sedan. In later years
a Chevrolet Suburban was used. The seats in the suburban were
removed and replaced with two wooden benches that ran along the sides.
A Sept. 21, 1944 Sundance Times note said “Earl Kipp, bus driver for
District #27 had six passengers this year”. Transporting of students
started in the early 1940s and continued into the 1950s.
With twelve children, Earl and Lily
had a ready labor pool. All of the family worked in the theatre
selling tickets, running the projectors, janitorial duties, shoveling
snow, or whatever needed done. All the sons worked on the freight
line with Wayne driving truck in the early years. Gene drove for
over 30 years beginning in about 1946. Many of the Kipp kids carried
the mail. Lily also carried the mail and handled the paperwork
associated with the businesses. Adrian, Wayne, and Eugene, also
drove the school bus. Earl served on the Sundance City Council
from 1939-47. He was elected by a landslide margin in the 1939
election for city council by winning 67% of the vote. Through
an entrepreneur spirit and hard work Earl and Lily managed to survive
the depression, create several businesses, raise a large family and
become an integral and respected part of the community.
Information for this article
was provided by family members. Other sources include The Sundance
Times, Sundance, Wyoming, Rock Rapids Review, Rock Rapids, Iowa, Crook
County, Wyoming property records, Wyoming and South Dakota vital records,
Sundance City Council minutes, and
National Archives and Records Administration.
COPYRIGHT 2008 by E MICHAEL
KIPP
April 9, 2009