Jack and Ella Heimes were born within a few hours of each other in November, 1889. Ella Elizabeth, the first child of Lee and Lettie Cowell, was born at Eckelson, November 19, 1889. John Theodore, the youngest son of Joseph and Catherine Heimes, was born at Valley City, November 20, 1889. Sometimes, in later years, Jack, teasing, would defer to Ella, saying, "After all, you are older than I."
Both grew up on their family's farms, and both, subsequently, attended the Valley City Normal School. Ella then taught at Fingal, Oriska and Carrington, while Jack went on to the University of North Dakota where he gained a reputation throughout the Northern states as an outstanding basketball player.
The Lee Cowells had moved from Eckelson to a farm just west of Valley City. From their stone house to the Heimes home was less than a mile. When Jack came home from the University, it seemed inevitable that the two should meet again, first a chance encounter at a dance. Ella would tell how they would meet midway between their two homes to plan for their November wedding.
They were married in the stone house in 1914-Jack; tall, dark-haired, fun-loving - Ella-, blue-eyed, pretty, capable. Two daughters arrived in quick succession: Kathryn Lucetta, July 28, 1915; and Margaret Ellen, August 10, 1916. A third daughter, Vera Louise, was born in 1922 and died at the age of five.
The family moved into Valley City before the children started school, and Jack and Ella began their long involvement in civic and social affairs. Ella was especially active in her church, the Eastern Star, and the D.A.R. She had a lovely voice, and in earlier years sang at various functions.
Jack served in a number of leadership capacities throughout his lifetime - in the State Legislature, the Barnes County
Board of Commissioners, the Barnes County Park Board, the State Water Commission, the North Dakota Winter Show and both the local and state Elks associations. Since he seemed to have had a special gift for enjoying life, and especially for enjoying people, these duties brought him much pleasure.
After the death of Mrs. Joseph Heimes, the family moved back to the Heimes' farm. Ella planned the renovation of the farm house, which, with its green shutters and green roof, became a landmark on old Highway 10. Both Jack and Ella enjoyed entertaining their relatives and friends there.
Ella died in 1963, and Jack, in 1970.
Their daughter, Margaret Lassen, is senior vice-president of Prudential Savings and Loan Association, with headquarters in Clayton, Missouri. She and her husband, Verne, now retired from Lincoln-Mercury, have three children: John and Harlan of Minneapolis and Kristen (Mrs. Don Fuson) who lives near St. Louis.
Kathryn Lewis, with a Ph.D. from the University of Southern California, is an administrator with the Torrance, California, school district. She and her husband, Don, a vice-president of Northrop Corporation in Beverly Hills, have two children: Liana, living in Boulder, Colorado, and Greg, now managing the Heimes "home" farm near Valley City, and another near Rogers.
Source: Barnes County History 1976 Page 99