Mr. and Mrs. M. H. Strandberg were married August 15, 1943, at the St. Petri Church of Rural Nome, North Dakota. They moved to Valley City where Merrill had accepted a job teaching biology in the Public High School.
They raised two boys; Lee, born in 1945, and Kenneth, born in 1951, who attended school in Valley City and also graduated from North Dakota State University.
The family joined Our Saviour's Church of Valley City.
Merrill was born in Aliceton township of Ransom County, North Dakota, in 1912, to Mr. and Mrs. P. A. Strandberg. He attended a country grade school and also graduated from Milnor High in 1931. He enrolled in the summer session of Valley City State College and then taught in a rural school east of Lisbon for the next five years. The following year he went to college and received a two year diploma, and then taught and coached in Binford, North Dakota; 6 man football, basketball and baseball.
The next two years were spent in college and Merrill received a B.A. degree in 1940 from the Valley City State College. In the fall he started teaching in a Consolidated school south of Enderlin, and stayed there three years.
In 1943, he started his career in Valley City Public School and stayed 33 years. During that time there have been many changes in the teaching profession. In 1961, he got his Master's degree from the University of North Dakota. Besides teaching biology, he also coached the C team of basketball and football. During the basketball season, Merrill refereed games at schools around Valley City for ten years.
Myrtle was born at Nome, North Dakota in 1917. Her parents were Mr. and Mrs. Sigvart Olson. She attended school in Nome and graduated from High School in 1934. She worked at the AAA, an agricultural program, for Barnes County for nine years. Later, when the boys were in school, time was spent working for Girl Scouts and at the present time, she works part time at the Valley City Public Library.
Lee lives in Oregon and Kenneth lives in Missouri at the present time, and both are graduate pharmacists, so the Strandbergs plan to visit and travel when Merrill retires.
Source: Barnes County History 1976 Page 239