Ida Morlock

Ida Pauline Morlock was born on December 27, 1924, 10 miles northeast of Burnstad, ND. Her parents were Joseph and Carolina (Schrum) Elhard. Ida was the fourth of seven brothers and sisters who were Barbara, Irvin, Melvin, Rueben, Serena, Harvey and Larry, all previously deceased.

As a child, Ida attended Lehr High School and completed Fargo correspondence. Upon graduation she moved to Aberdeen, South Dakota and worked as a restaurant waitress. After that Ida taught school in Streeter and Ferdonia.

On May 15, 1946, Ida married Gerhardt Morlock, son of Christ and Fredrica Morlock of Streeter, ND. Ida and Gerhardt made their home on a farm in Lehr, then 10 miles south of Streeter at the Bell ranch where they farmed and ranched for 30 years. They retired and moved to Napoleon, followed by Ida moving to the Minneapolis area.

Ida and Gerhardt had five children, 13 grandchildren and 17 great grandchildren. They are:

William Morlock, Richmond VA, deceased. Children are Brian, married to Jane and children Brandon and Brooke all of Richmond, and Margo and husband Rikki, of Jacksonville, Florida.

Ron Morlock, Phoenix, AZ, married to Carol Geinger Morlock. Children are Corey and children Garrett, Elizabeth, Tristyn and Zandyr, and Nicole, all of Fargo.

Marlys Geinert, Bismarck, ND. Children are Lindsay of Denver, CO, Justin, Oman, married to Meg, children Jillian and Garrett, Levi of Minneapolis, married to Lisa and children Lily and Macy, Courtney of Denver, married to Jake and children Jackson and Otto, and Skyler of Minneapolis, married to Kori and children Theodore and Oliver.

Marcella Crowder, Richmond, VA. Children are Kristin, married to Blake, and child Trinity, and Thomas Crowder Jr. and children Hayley and Kaitlyn, all of Richmond, VA.

Bob Morlock, Minneapolis, MN, married to Nita Enzminger Morlock. Children are Tiffany married to Matthew and Trevor, all of Minneapolis.

The jobs Ida performed were school teacher, farm wife, Avon lady, waitress at Wentz Cafe and Napoleon Sales Barn, cook at Wentz Cafe, laundry lady at Camp Grassick in Dawson, and day care in Napoleon. While living on the farm, Ida raised a large garden and sold produce and pickles to people in the community. She was known as the cucumber lady.

Ida’s activities included membership in United Methodist Church, VFW in Jamestown, American Legion Auxiliary, Napoleon Wildlife Club (honorary member), lifetime member of Golden Age Club, First Community Credit Union, Good Neighbors Club, Jamestown Area Singles Club. She also served on the Democratic Party as the precinct committee woman, and as President of the Logan County Cancer Society.

Ida also enjoyed her collections. She had 900 sets of salt & pepper shakers, and started this collection when she got married. She got two sets for the wedding and collected from then on. Later in life, her children got her started on a Holstein collection to which many family members and friends contributed. She also collected dolls which decorated a bedroom in her home.

One of Ida’s hobbies was refunding. She collected food labels and redeemed them for cash. With the cash Ida purchased many items, including a typewriter, a gas grill, a recliner chair, clothes, toys, food, and also earned $500 per month. She attended two refunding conventions in Fargo. Ida went on two shopping sprees which were featured in the Napoleon Homestead, one where she bought $150 of groceries for free, using coupons and $9 of refunding checks to pay for them.

Ida enjoyed traveling. Places she visited include Russia, East Germany, West Germany, England, Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Finland, Jamaica, Canada, Guatemala, Bermuda, Bahamas, Grand Cayman, Mexico, Yucatan. She also traveled all over the US, including Hawaii, California, a road trip to Alaska and up to the arctic circle, many trips to Virginia and the east coast to visit Bill and Marcella, trips to Arizona to visit the North Dakota snow birds and her brothers, to California to visit relatives and son Bob, Las Vegas numerous times where Ida and Gerhardt had extended stays, Gulf of Mexico and Florida.

Ida lived a wonderful and beautiful life. Everyone who met her fell in love with her joy and kindness. Even in her last years at the Wellstead in Rogers, she was always very friendly, talkative, and loved to joke around. Her family was told numerous times by nurses and employees that Ida was their personal favorite. Ida remained very active, participating in activities including church, music, dancing and bingo. She loved when people said “Ida, Ida, sweet as apple cider”. Ida will live on in the hearts and memories of all of those she loved.