Charley Trager was born in Iowa and raised in Illinois. He came to North Dakota with his wife Jennie and settled on the Southwest ΒΌ of Section 30, Skandia Township.
Charley did not have a large farming operation but he had one field that he always referred to as the "Garden of. Eden."
The neighborhood boys were interested in Charley's background as he had once been a policeman in a fair sized town in Illinois and his Billy Club and revolver, with a picture of him in his uniform hung on the wall of the living room.
In his prime he was a well-built man of some three hundred pounds, so that the picture of him in uniform had a certain fascination for the boys.
The Tragers celebrated their silver' wedding anniversary in 1934 so we must assume that they were married in 1909. It is possible that the Tragers came to Skandia township sometime before 1912.
Charley's background also included work as a butcher and he and George Aandahl teamed up to do hog and beef butchering for themselves and their neighbors.
The Charley Trager Dam that diverts spring run-off from Stony Run into the lakes in Sections 33 and 34 was the idea of Charley and he was the prime promoter of this scheme. Present day duck hunters should thank his memory.
Source: Barnes County History 1976 Page 252