“A Visual Treat” / Julian Gordon Mitchell / oil on panel / 18 inches by 24 inches / unsigned and undated

Since beginning the Agincourt Project in the summer of 2006, well over a hundred people have come to play in the sandbox of history. What may be more exciting has been the even larger number of characters we’ve created to populate the place: quite literally hundreds of folks in various eras and every walk of life (and death) — even an admirable madam. It’s possible that I’ve waited too long to create this Biographical Dictionary of Agincourt citizens. Let’s hope that some of these names haven’t evaporated with my advancing age and declining memory.

There are three categories of Agincourt citizenry:

• Characters who are totally imaginary. They have been created to tell some part of the Agincourt story, or they may indeed have been forced into existence by some aspect of community intrigue. Here something should be said about total fiction and “any resemblance between them and any real person is entirely coincidental”. Yeah, sure.
• Characters who are real but have been conscripted into the Agincourt narrative. Some aspect of their actual lives has been helpful, even necessary, to carry the story forward. Many are unaware of their contribution to the project, however, especially those who were deceased before 2006. Otherwise, I’d have asked permission. To others who have not been asked, we crave the indulgence of their heirs and assigns. They have been gently used with respect. We are unlikely to profit financially from their contributions.
• Characters who are real and willing participants in the project. You know who you are, and thanks for coming to play in the sandbox of history with the rest of us; it’s a select group (i.e., self-selected). This project would be impoverished without the creativity of so many contributors.

Abbreviations here and elsewhere in the narrative include these:

• CC indicates representation (as artist or subject) in the Community Collection at the Tennant Memorial Gallery.
• HC connotes the awarding of Honorary Citizenship.
• NR indicates a property on the National Register of Historic Places or the owner of a NR property.

Entries here will be brief: NAME, DATES (if known), and a summary of their ASSOCIATION with the life and times of Agincourt, Fennimore County, and the Muskrat River eco-system of northwestern Iowa.

A BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF AGINCOURT, IOWA & VICINITY

• AASLAND, Leroy (born 1935) — Artist from Thief River Falls, MN; painted the Ruffini Brothers Circus (though he didn’t know it at the time). CC
• ADAMS, Benjamin Franklin / B. F. (died 1888) — Brick and stone mason who came to Agincourt to build the second county courthouse, but lost his life in a workplace accident. (see: Adams, Maud; Adams Restaurant)
• ADAMS, Douglas (1952–2001) — British author who I would classify as ironist, rather than humorist. Insights borrowed (appropriated? stolen?) from his trilogy of five books (beginning with The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) are peppered throughout this blog with grateful admiration and footnote credit.
• ADAMS, Maud / Mrs B. F. (née Baldwin) (18––19–) — Wife of brick and stone mason Benjamin Franklin Adams, Maud Adams (née Baldwin) was widowed when B. F. fell from scaffolding during construction of the second Fennimore county courthouse in 1888. Pregnant and without savings, Mrs Adams was encouraged to open a restaurant, her prowess in the baking of pies having become a local legend. Adams Restaurant continues in business at its original location, 9 SW Louisa Avenue. (see: Adams, B. F.; Adam’s Restaurant)
• AHAB (4th century pirate and saint) — Ahab was a fourth century Illyrian pirate and friend of Bishop Eusebius. Though not at the time a Christian, he was martyred while saving Eusebius’ life. Buried in what is today Croatia, his bones were brought to Azincourt, France by withdrawing Crusaders. [Yes, the French spell the village name differently.] That and the former Church of St Ahab in Agincourt, Iowa are the only two places of Christian worship dedicated to this obscure saint—who evaded elimination during the recent purge of doubtful worthies for that very reason. Should you wish the succor of Ahab, patron of pirates and obsessive-compulsives, his day in the church kalendar is January 17th.
• ALLEN, Oliver and Byron (active 1880–1910) — Father and son; owner-operator of Equus & Co., in partnership with James Campbell, ferrier.
• ALLISON Family — The Allisons (Henry, Cora, and son Samuel) lived in the 300 block of NW Fifth Street. Allison operated the grain elevator east of Broad Street.
• ALVSAKER, Torgeir (1875–1971) — Alvsaker was a Scandinavian architect who practiced briefly in Minnesota. How many churches he may have designed is unknown, but he did publish a book of prototypes appropriate for that branch of Lutheranism. We borrowed one for Agincourt. It was just easier and also gave a Scandinavian spin to the congregation’s history.
• ALY AHMED, Bakr M. (contemporary) — One morning at coffee in 2007, Prof Aly Ahmed asked what I was up to. [Don’t ever do that, by the way, because I’m likely to tell you.] The answer to that question conscripted him into the design of Agincourt’s Islamic Center, a building of 2004, situated west of the Methodist church. With Temple Emmanu-El, they share “the ecumenical parking lot”.
• ANHAUSER, Ernest “Red” (1924–2014) — Watchmaker, long-time employee at Salmagundi, and anarchist-atheist; he was also librarian at The Why (q.v.)
• ARBOGAST, Grace (active 1920–1950) — Proprietor of “Grace,” a dress shop on East James Street. Is there a significant difference between revenge and retribution? Sometimes you just have wait and see.
• ARBOGAST, Philip (contemporary) — Reporter for the Plantagenet, Arbogast usually covers government activity, city council and county commission meetings. Phil is the son of Ruth Arbogast and nephew of Grace Arbogast (q.v.).
• ARBOGAST, Ruth (née Florsheim) (active mid-century) — Sister-in-law of Grace (q.v.), Ruth Arbogast was the first “Keeper” of the Community Collection after 1950.
• ARCHER, Aidan ( – ) and Cordelia (née Parmalee) ( – ) and their children David (born xxxx) and Meredith (born xxxx) — Managed the Hearthstone Manufacturing plant established by his father-in-law David Parmalee. The Archers’ home at 108 NE Agincourt Avenue was designed by architect Lawrence Buck (q.v.).
• The ARCHERS — Agincourt’s Double-A baseball team, they play at Archer Stadium, adjacent to the Fennimore County Fairgrounds.
• The ARCHITECTS of AGINCOURT — Mostly factual, this link will take you to a page of architects who have contributed to Agincourt’s material culture. I put this here to avoid yet another button in the menu bar.
• ARGENTUILLE, Didier d’ (late 18th century) — French operatic composer, he wrote “Philidor”, an opéra comique performed during the 1895 opening season of The Auditorium. Argentuille’s libretto consists largely of philosophic banter and current events exchanged between François-André Philidor and Ben Franklin during a chess game (jeu d’échecs) played at the Parisian Café de la Régence in 1781. Shades of Steve Martin!
• ARMITAGE, Brian Havergal / a.k.a., Brother Crucible (active 1920s) — Founder of an itinerant group of monks who did construction work on churches. While in Agincourt, they did repair work in the spirit of ecumenism on both St Ahab and St Joseph-the-Carpenter.
• ARMITAGE, Mason (contemporary) — Plumber. He is unrelated to Brother Crucible (above) we think. (see: Shanks, Henry) Business partner in Four-By Construction.
• ARSENAL, Martin (contemporary) — I seem to have invented a character and not given him a job. At any rate, he donated a piece of art to the Community Collection. Where do you suppose this was going?
• ASAHI, Mio (contemporary) — Japanese artist represented in the Community Collection. CC
• ASPETTATI, Antonio Maria (1880–1949) — Italian artist of the early 20th century, one of his paintings (one of my personal favorites) is in the Community Collection. CC
• ATHERHOLT, Jerome (born 1955) — Artist and creator of video games. We genuinely hope that Mr Atherholt — designer of fictional worlds — won’t object to being included in one. CC
• BAGBY, Estelle and Walter — Proprietors of Bagby’s Resort (“The Last Resort”) on the west shore of Sturm und Drang; so named because it is farthest from the Station-Store.
• BAKER, James Francis, PhD (active 1960s) — Jim Baker taught English and journalism at Argo Community High School during my attendance [1959–1963]. I worked on the school newspaper under his guidance but make no claim to having absorbed genuine journalistic skills: I know the talk but can’t do the walk. Still, Howard Tabor has more than a bit of Jim Baker in him. And he’s grateful for it.
• BALTHUS, Walter / Wally (contemporary) — Teaches CADD at NIN.
• BARNES, Benoni D. E., Rev (active 1910–1920) — Minister at Asbury Methodist Episcopal church (now Asbury UMC and soon to be Federated Church) at the time of its construction in 1919-1920. (see: Liebbe Nourse & Rasmussen) Barnes’s initials — B, D, and E — compressed to his nickname “the Venerable Bede”. Unless you’re Anglican, that won’t mean much.
• BEDDOWES, Amos (1790?–1867) — Indian Agent and carpenter/builder, Beddowes was a Connecticut native; he designed and built the original Baptist church in Agincourt in the 1860s. Husband of Sac & Fox medicine woman She-Listens-to-the-Moon (Sissy Beddowes, q.v.). Their son John was Agincourt’s first casualty of the Civil War. The Beddowes cabin was relocated to Riverside Park, where it remains as the community’s oldest historic structure.
  
• BEDDOWES, Circe / Sissy / a.k.a., She-Listens-to-the-Moon  (1812–1900) — Sac & Fox medicine woman; wife of Amos Beddowes, de facto Indian Agent as well as a carpenter/builder. Mother of John and Mary. Sissy Beddowes conspired with Belle Miller, Martha Tennant, and Doc (i.e., Rudyard) Fahnstock in a virtual underground railroad for illegitimate births and their adoption. There is Balm in Gilead.
  
• BEEN, Joshua (born 1974) — Artist CC
• BEHRENS, Peter (1866–1940) — Artist represented in the Community Collection. CC
• BELLOCQ, Girons and Sorrel (active 1900–1920) — The Bellocq family were part of Agincourt for about twenty-five years. They operated a small farm east of town on Crispin Creek, raised apples and chickens, delivering the eggs door-to-door. [There’s an evil character in “Indiana Jones” named Bellocq but I don’t think they’re related.]
• BEMAN, Solon Spencer (1853–1914) — Architect and co-designer with Bernard Maybeck of the Christian Science church in 1910. In addition to designing many Christian Science churches throughout the Midwest, Beman was also the architect/planner of Pullman, the company town of autocrat George Pullman in South Chicago. (see: Maybeck, Bernard)
• BENDIX, William and Maureen (née Florsheim; sister of Ruth Arbogast) (active 1950s) — Developed Riverside Addition and built the first home there, their own, in the 1950s. Bendix’s portrait is in the Community Collection. The Bendixes had one child, Estelle.
• BENEDETTI, Antonia / “Tony” (born 1972) — Great-granddaughter of Anton Kraus and current CEO of Kraus Bridge & Iron (a.k.a., KB Industries).
• BENSON, Raymond Leo (1924–2006) — Fahnstock native, Benson joined the Merchant Marine in 1942. He retired to Agincourt about 1980. Neighbor of Rosalie Oakes. [Benson is drawn from the crotchety character of a Fargo neighbor of mine.] 
• BERNARD, Benjamin / Ben (contemporary) — Computer specialist in the Department of Architecture & Landscape Architecture, NDSU. (see: Dalton, Ben)
• BERNHARD, Kurt Eugene (1917–1999) — Married to Grace Tabor (q.v.). Bernhard was previously the husband of Clothilde Sobieska, who died during the Nazi occupation of Paris.
• BISCHOF, Hazel (contemporary) — Don’t even ask for Hazel’s recipe for pork stuffing. It’s a secret.
• BISHOP KEMPER ACADEMY, A ladies academy operated by the Episcopal Church.
• BJÖRKMAN-GOLDSCHMIDT, Elsa (1888–1982) — Author, writer, humanitarian, visual artist. CC
• BLEACH, Julian ( – ) — Cashier at the State Bank of Fahnstock circa 1910-1915. There is a real Julian Bleach but that’s another story which has been called “a spiky, subversive riff on Heinrich Hoffmann’s ‘Struwwelpeter,’ a droll collection of grisly bedtime stories from the mid-19th century.”
• BLITZEN — See: Donner & Blitzen
• BLOOMQVIST, Merre / Meredith (active) — Included here on principle.
• BOROGOVE, Millie, Mimsy & Mitzi (born —-, —-, —-, respectively) — Though they dressed similarly and wore their hair alike (always “up”), the Borogove sisters were not triplets. [Sometimes misspelled “Borogroves”]
• BRAAKSMA, Maurits, family ( – ) — The Braaksma family were part of the original Dutch settlement at Grou.
• BRAAKSMA, Nicholas (contemporary) — Recent graduate of the Architecture Department at N.D.S.U., Nick designed Walden Retreat in the spirit of Dutch Modernism. Grace Braaksma makes a swell latté.
• BREEN, Walter and Maura (lived 1940s–1950s) — Mrs Breen was housekeeper and cook at the Catholic rectory. Walter served on the building committee for Christ the King; his occupation is still a mystery but I’ll work it out.
• BROOK, Stephen (born 1957) — British artist represented in the Community Collection. CC
• BROOKES, Hamish (active 1925–1960) — Owner/proprietor of Shelf Life, a used and rare book shop formerly at 114 North Broad Street, above Vandervort’s Bakery. [See: Band Books in the Gazetteer]
• BUCK, Lawrence  (1865–1929) — American architect, born New Orleans, Louisiana, but practiced principally in Chicago; designed the residences of Aidan & Cordelia Archer (q.v.) and Rose Kavana (q.v.), as well as other houses in Cedar Rapids and Dubuque. His Clark house was inspired by a design in the Ladies Home Journal. Other “copies” can be found in Wichita, KS, and Williston, ND and may have only a tangent relationship with Buck. Tangent lives are often the best.
• BURGETT, William S. / “Bill” (1917–1968) — Educator-Architect at the University of Oklahoma for twenty years. I worked with Bill for two of them and learned several important lessons in his third-year design studio, among them that “You earn your effects.” Bill also taught architectural history from the Renaissance to the present.
• BURKE, Gerald and Myra (1950s–1970s) — The Burkes were an AFS host family for Swedish high school student Beatrix Sundberg in the 1960s.
• BURNHAM, Anita Willets (1880–1957) — Artist; friend of Anson Tennant and, subsequently, the Tennant family. She was the daughter-in-law of architect/city planner Daniel Hudson Burnham but best known for her 1933 book ‘Round the World on a Penny drawn from her family’s international travels. CC
• BURROUGHS, Parson (dates uncertain) — Younger brother of Amity Burroughs Flynn. Since she and her husband Edmund FitzGerald Flynn were, as they say, without issue, Burroughs inherited what remained of their estate upon Amity’s death. (see: Flynn, Amity Rose)
• BYRNE, Francis Barry (1883–1967) — American architect, designer in 1950 of Christ the King Roman Catholic church in Agincourt. Byrne may have been the most independent of several young architects who emerged from the office of Frank Lloyd Wright. (see also: Farber, Emil/e; Iannelli, Alfonso; Kenyon, Richard)
• CABLE+COOMARASWAMY+BELL, Attorneys-at-Law — Law firm who acquired the former Agincourt Public Library at 8 East Agincourt Avenue as its offices. Among its partners are Martin Cable, Amanda Coomaraswamy, and M. Wayne Bell. Resemblance to anyone currently living is purely intentional.
• CACHEMAILLE, Marie-Hélène (1780–?) — Born on Jersey in the Channel Islands; mother of Gaudeamus Tennant, founder of the Tennant family in America. The name is borrowed from N. F. Cachemaille-Day, an English architect I admire, designer of some of the finest British churches of the ’30s and ’40s. His St Nicholas, Burnage, Manchester (1932) will knock your socks off.
• CAMPBELL, James (active 1880-1900) — Farrier and partner in Equus & Co. with the Campbell family.
• CAPSHAW, Mercedes / Mercy (dates uncertain) — Elementary school teacher. Capshaw spent two years as an exchange educator at a girls school in Poona, India, where she met artist Kay Nixon (CC).
• CARSTENS, Henry “Chip” (dates not yet settled) — Owner/operator of a carpentry and furniture-making shop in Agincourt.
• CERMAK Family — Owner-operators of a grocery and meat market on South Broad Street at May Avenue since 1948.
• CLARA, a cat — Animal companion of Mrs Agnes Schoenfeld / Schönfeld. Clara is associated with several para-normal events. Her “portrait” was painted by Jerome Atherholt (q.v.).
• CLARK Family (active 1910s) — I was ambivalent about whether the Clarks are red or purple (see Introduction above), since the name comes from a piece of art in the Community Collection, but we had to invent the rest. Mr and Mrs Clark built a home which may have been designed by architect Lawrence Buck (q.v.). But who were the Clarks? How did they know Chicago publisher Ralph Fletcher Seymour? Time will tell; she usually does. PS: The “Buck” house may be a bit much.
• COHEN, Moise (18??–19??) — French emigrant; not the earliest Jewish resident of Agincourt but a substantial contributor to community affairs. Cohen was managing partner of the Blenheim Hotel and one of the founders of Temple Emanu-El. He is interred at the Hebrew Burial Ground at the east edge of the city.
• COLT, Stockman Beekman (1863–1937) — American architect; a drawing by Colt was given to Anson Tennant on the occasion of his architectural practice. CC
• COMMUNITY COLLECTION — A public art collection which grew from the G.A.R. Show of 1912. See: Flynn, Amity Burroughs
• COOLEY, Benjamin Franklin, Rev (1835–1913) — Born in Granville, MA, Cooley became an ordained Episcopal priest; he served the local parish of St Joseph-the-Carpenter briefly during 1886. Cooley may have added stenciled ornamentation to the chancel ceiling during his short tenure.
• CORBITT, Michael (1944–2004) — An almost-classmate of Howard Tabor. Ask me about him some time.
• CORNOT, Gaston, Rev (dates not known) — Father Cornot was the parish priest at the church of Saint Ahab in Azincourt, France at the time of the Great War. [Not to be confused with the inventor of the Carnot engine.]
• CORVO, Baron — See: Rolfe, Frederick
• CRISPIN (martyred circa 286 CE) — Saint and martyr. Agincourt was founded on October 25th, 1857, the Feast Day of St Crispin and anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt in 1415.
• CRUCIBLE, Brother, OSF / a.k.a Brian Havergal Armitage (q.v.) (active 1920s) — Monk; itinerant carpenter-builder who, with two fellow monks, did restoration/renovation work for St Ahab Roman Catholic and St Joseph-the-Carpenter Episcopal churches during the 1920s. Armitage may be related to Mason Armitage of Armitage-Shanks, Bespoke Plumbers. Then again, maybe not.
• CRUTCHFIELD, David (contemporary) — Professor of Architecture at NDSU; he is adapting (or claims to be) the former 1909 interurban depot as headquarters of the local power company.
• CUIJPERS, Henk / Henry, MD (born —-) — Physician and surgeon at Luke, the Physician; renowned for his cancer-detecting dog Poppy.
• CULP, Forrest and Myrna (—; —) — Father and daughter; the Culps operated an early tourist court at the west end of Agincourt Avenue on the approach to the Muskrat River bridge. North of their motel, the Culps also owned an apple orchard on the west-facing slope toward the river. After WWI, their orchard eventually became part of Riverside Addition.
• CURTISS, Corwin (1836–1904) — Father of Martha C. C. Tennant; Curtiss was a farmer in rural Cerro Gordo county who passed on his carpentry skills to his grandson Anson Tennant. He was a distant cousin of Chicago architect Cecil Corwin.
• DALTON, Benjamin (contemporary) — Assistant to Ben Bernard in the computer lab of the department where I work, Mr Dalton cheerfully answers embarrassingly basic of questions. (see: Bernard, Ben)
• d’ARGENTUILLE — See: Argentuille
• DAVISON Family — James and Kesiah Davidson operated the Occidental Mill from 1860 until it was taken over my their sons Hiram, Isaac, and Jonah (1848–1929).
• DICKSON, Florence (active 1910–1920) — Ms Dickson was among the initial class of faculty at Northwest Iowa Normal.
• DIERDORF, Henry / Harry and family (1919–1929) — Henry/Harry, the 10-year-old son of Abner and Thelma Dierdorf of rural Nimby, disappeared on the way to his newspaper route early on a Sunday morning. Almost two months later his body was found in The Barrens. It remains one of Fennimore county’s few unsolved crimes.
• DIGGER, a dog (contemporary) — Canine companion of Howard Tabor and Rowan Oakes. “A book is man’s best friend outside of a dog, and inside of a dog it’s too dark to read.” — Jim Brewer, Cleveland, OH, though frequently attributed to Groucho Marx.
• DIXON, Florence (active 1910–1920) — See: Dickson
• DONALD, Demelza (1887–1963?) — British artist represented in the Community Collection. CC
• DONNER & BLITZSTEIN (contemporary) — Attorneys-at-Law (though Donner seems always to be “out to lunch”)
• DOWD, Chilton Fanning, Rev (1888–1959) — Priest at the Episcopal Church of St Joseph-the-Carpenter during the 1920s.
• DRESSEL, Mitch (born ca1987) — Mitch participated in the first Agincourt exhibit in the Fall of 2007.
• DUDLEY, Henry C. (1813–1894) — Architect of the original Episcopal church of Saint Joseph-the-Carpenter in 1878. (see: Proudfoot, Bird & Rawson)
• DUN, Finlay [1830–1897] — Renowned British veterinarian who authored American Farming and Food in 1881; passed through the valley on his way west to Dakota Territory [not the most direct route but what the hey]. Dun participated in the “night of the albino calf” episode.
• SS “EDMUND FITZGERALD” — Great Lakes freighter which sank in Lake Superior on 10 November 1975; subject of a ballad by Gordon Lightfoot and discretely referenced in the name of Agincourt’s ill-fortuned thirteenth mayor. I wasn’t sure where to alphabetize this.
• ELLIOTT, Cecil Dean (1923–2003) — Architect and Educator, chair of the architecture program at NDSU for twelve years. He died too soon, before this project began, but his stamp is everywhere. He is a posthumous honorary citizen of Agincourt. HC “Tenure just means they have to find a longer flight of steps to push you down.” — Cecil Elliott 
• ELMER, Rachael Robinson (1878–1919) — Book illustrator and graphic designer, she produced many postcard designs for the P. F. Volland Co. of Chicago. It’s possible that some of her work found its way to Agincourt by means other than the U.S. Postal Service.
• ESCHER ENGINEERING (contemporary) — Full range of engineering services.
• EVANS, Donald (1945–1977) — Designer of imaginary worlds. He would be alive today if it weren’t for the hotel fire. HC
• FAHNSTOCK, Elias (born 1832) — Father of both Rudyard and Willis (see: below)
• FAHNSTOCK, Emmett and Cora (née Scheibe) (—-/—-) — Howard’s neighbors at “The Franklin”, Emmett was the son of Willis. [Cora Scheibe was my neighbor in Bedford Park.]
• FAHNSTOCK, Rudyard Crowninshield, MD (1855– ) — Physician; doc-fon-stok to most of his patients. Set up his practice in the rural Fahnstock community founded by his father; later relocated to Agincourt, where he was one of the founding partners of Luke, the Physician.
• FAHNSTOCK, Willis Winthrop. (1853–1920) — Brother of pioneer physician Rudyard Fahnstock; the family’s financial resources permitted Willis to pursue a brief career in art. After a few years at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, he returned to the Fahnstock homestead at New Castle, Delaware. It would be really good to flesh out more of that family some time.
• FAHRENTHOLD, Ardis “Pippy” (active 1950s and 1960s) — Librarian at the Agincourt Public Library before its relocation and rebranding as the Fennimore County Library in 1970. She retired when the move was complete and then worked part time for the law firm that bought the old library. She is unrelated to the reprehensible Rep. Blake Farenthold (R–TX). (see: Cable+Coomaraswamy+Bell) While I was an undergraduate at the University of Oklahoma, Mrs Agnes Miller was the architecture librarian. I think there is a lot of her in Mrs Fahrenthold.
• FARBER, Emil / Emile (born —-) — Roman Catholic priest; served St Ahab’s / Christ-the-King during the 1940s and 1950s, despite his blindness. Friend of architect Francis Barry Byrne (q.v.). Born in the Alsace-Lorraine, Fr Farber’s given name goes both ways, like the territory of his youth: Emile for the French; Emil for the Germans.
• FARNHAM, Hester Tennant ( – ) — An aunt of Augustus Tennant, Hester Tennant Farnham lived in Elizabeth, New Jersey, but summered at Mantoloking on the Jersey Shore, where she attended Episcopal church service in a building designed by architect William Halsey Wood — with several interesting consequences. Her brothers and husband were among The Founders.
• FENTRESS, Barnet / Barney ( – ) — Friend and one-time suitor of the “Daughters of Flight” Ella Rose and Phyllis Tabor.
• FERREOLUS, Saint (died 212) — Ferreolus of Besançon (died 212), priest and martyr (with St. Ferrutio), feast day June 16. The interfaith chapel (a.k.a., “Chicken Chapel”) at Resort is popularly named for him.
• FERRIS, Frank (20th century) — WWII veteran Frank Ferris never lived in Agincourt; perhaps he never even visited. But his military uniform arrived here from an estate sale in Omaha.
• FIELDING, Grover (“Slick”) and Frances (“Franny”) — Residents of “The Franklin” apartments in the 1960s and 70s; imaginary characters based on two old Fargo friends, now deceased, Slick and Franny McCrea, my neighbors at The Monticello — which also served as a prototype for the Franklin.
• FIGG (B. D.) and PLUNKETT (Zadok) (active 1920s) — See: Plunkett & Figg
• FINNEY, Jasper (born 1979) — Director of Theatre Arts at Northwest Iowa Normal. CC
• FISHER, Dominic (active) — Landscape architect and faculty member at NDSU. Prof Fisher’s second-year students contributed their energies to aspects of the project.
• FITCH, James Marston (1909–2000) — Prof Fitch founded the program in Historic Preservation at Columbia University. His philosophy of preservation pervades the sense of community inherent in creating Agincourt. 
• FLETCHER, Frank Morley (1866–1950) — British artist who introduced the Japanese ukiyo-e print to England. CC
• FLYNN, Amity Rose (née Burroughs) (died 1928) — Wife of E. F. Flynn (see below — in more ways than one). Established the annual art exhibit in 1912 that initiated the Community Collection, she paled in the shadow of her vainglorious husband but blossomed following his death. Mrs Flynn was the thinly-veiled inspiration for Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn, a character in Meredith Wilson’s “Music Man”, when Wilson’s car broke down in Agincourt and we was trapped at Adams’ Restaurant for the weekend.
• FLYNN, Edmund FitzGerald, The Hon (1848-1895) — Entrepreneur, born in Boston, MA (so he claimed); elected 13th mayor of Agincourt in 1894, he died while in office the following year. Many people felt this was no bad thing. Flynn and his wife Amity Borroughs Flynn are interred in the only mausoleum at The Shades. If Flynn sounds familiar, consider his relationship with an ore boat at the bottom of Lake Superior.
• FODE, David (1968–2022) — Fode crafted the “Punch & Judy” window for the 2015 and 2018 exhibits. An enormously talented designer-craftsman, we were about to commission another piece when we learned of his passing.
• FOWLER, Orson Squire (1809–1887) — Fowler’s 1853 book The Octagon House: A Home for All eerily coincides with the founding of Agincourt. I think we might have had one at some time; we’ll look and get back to you.
• FRANK, a dog (died 1965) — Animal companion during Howard Tabor’s youth. Frank was a pup of Pearl, Fern Pirtle’s (q.v.) dog at the FFC Market.
• FRÖBEL, Friedrich Wilhelm Auguste (1782-1852) — German educator. Though Fröbel/Froebel died the year before Agincourt was founded, his long reach has had several consequences in northwestern Iowa.
• FROMM, Evangeline Grandbois / E. G. (1906–1959) — Anarchist and playwright; mother of Abel Kane (q.v.).
• GALVEZ y PAZ, Manuel Luis Jesus / a.k.a., Manny Galvez (born ca1885) — Craftsman and woodworker from Albuquerque, NM; built St Crispin’s Chapel, attached to St Joseph-the-Carpenter in 1915 from preliminary plans by Anson Tennant.
• GIBBS, Esme and Hamish (contemporary) — Owner-operators of “Hetty Pegler’s Public House”.
• GLADDEN, Monroe and Edith — Owners of Agincourt’s earliest art and frame shop. The Gladden Gallery operated at 105 North Broad Street from 1925 until the mid-1950s. CC
• GLEASON, Rennie (active 1930s and 1940s) — Theater director at Northwest Iowa Normal; founder of AREPO Theater Company in 1939. [Incidentally, Rennie Gleason’s given first name was Leonard, which he dropped early in life; Gleason’s mother Gwyneth was a cousin of actor Micheal Rennie.]
• GLENNIE, Martin and Adah — Martin was an accountant at the German-American Insurance Co., who died as the result of a freak accident in his photographic darkroom. Popularly, Mrs Glennie got the Scotch Verdict — “Not proven” — when speculation rose about her role in the alleged accident.
• GLORE, Mason (active) — Faculty member in the art department at NIN; teaches printmaking.
• GOODALL, Kenneth (1916–1964) and Rachel (1916–1999) — The Goodalls spent several summers at Sturm und Drang in the late 1940s and 1950s. Their portraits by Enedina Zambrini Pinti are preserved in the Community Collection. CC
• GREGSTON, Meghan (contemporary) — A chance google search by Meghan opened the opportunity to expand the Tennant family tree is a wondrous new direction. Thanks, Meghan!
• GRIMALDI, Stephen Francis Xavier (OHC), Rev (active 1900–1920) — Episcopal priest (Order of the Holy Cross) and rector at Saint Joseph-the-Carpenter circa 1900–1920.
• GRUCHALLA, Richard (active) — Ceramist who crafted, with Carrin Rosetti, the new baptismal basin for St Joseph-the-Carpenter.
• HAEUSER HEIL Studio — See: Fode, David
• HAGEN, Daron Aric (born 1961) — American composer; wrote “Agincourt Fanfare” for the 2007 exhibit and “We Few” for 2015. Hagen is Agincourt’s official Composer-in-Residence. Few people have shaped this community more distinctly than Maestro Hagen. HC
• HAI Yun (active 1950s) — A refugee from China during the Communist takeover, Hai came to Agincourt, sponsored by the Episcopal church. She taught Chinese at the College and painted landscapes and still lives in vibrant Modernist colors. CC
• HAND, Trueman (active 1940s and 1950s) — Handyman and jack of many trades, all done with courteous precision; known as “Handy” to most, but “Mr Hand” to me.
• HANSON, Jeff (contemporary) — One of the supervisors of our departmental woodworking shop, Jeff and his cohort Kevin Weis have offered invaluable technical advice and guidance to several Agincourt-related projects — and helped maintain all my digits.
• HEATH, MacKinley (—-) (a.k.a., “MacHeath”) — Custodian at First Presbyterian Church and “The Franklin” apartments.
• HEGGEMAN & PEETS (active 1920s) — Authors of The American Virtuvius, Werner Heggeman and Elbert Peets had indirect influence on city planning in Agincourt. See also: ROBINSON, Charles Mulford.
• HERZOG, Denise (active) — Psychologist with a private practice in Agincourt.
• HITCHCOCK, Malcolm John (1929–1998) — British artist represented in the Community Collection. CC
• HLETKO, Mary (1913–1974) — Teacher; Miss Hletko is, in fact, based on my own first grade teacher at W. W. Walker Elementary School in Bedford Park, IL. Thank you, Miss Hletko, for laying a solid foundation.
• HOLT, Harold Russell / Hal (1920–2008) and Muriel (1923–?) — Civil Engineer; retired from his profession to become director of the Fennimore County Historical Society. His greatest legacy was creation of the Living History Farm on the old Vakkerdahl farmstead. Muriel taught piano and was a member of the symphony. Hal’s grandfather Malcolm Holt is involved in the narrative, too. PS: Don’t miss Part 2.
• HRADEK, Leopold / Leo (active 1900–1930s) — Owner of a shoe repair shop on South Broad Street. With Frank Steele, Hradek was a co-founder of The Why, Agincourt’s atheist–agnostic-freethinking society.
• HUTT, Henry (1875–1950) — An American illustrator, born in Chicago, of German immigrant parents. CC
• HUYGENS Family (active 1920s–1950s) — Farming family from rural Grou.
• IANNELLI, Alfonso (1888–1965) — Italian-American artist, Iannelli frequently collaborated with Barry Byrne and Frank Lloyd Wright. He was influential in the design of Asbury United Methodist church circa 1920 and may have crafted its windows. (see: Liebbe Nourse & Rasmussen)
• IANNELLI, Margaret (1893-1967) — Wife and collaborator of Alfonso, a small watercolor is in the Community Collection. CC
• ITO Tadao / Ted  (忠雄伊藤) (born 1903) — Japanese-American / Nisei; evaded the internment camps and worked instead at The Blenheim (hotel). The community conspired to protect Ito, telling all strangers that he was Sac & Fox. And they believed it!
• IVAN, a dog (living in 2017) — Mixed-breed dog of Rowan Oakes and his husband Howard Tabor.
• JAMIROQUAI & DUNE (contemporary) — Advertising agency.
• JELLICOE, Frances / “Fran” (dates not established) — Ms Jellicoe was librarian and keeper of the clipping file at The Plantagenet for more than forty years.
• JIMSON, Gulliver / Gulley (active 1918-1982) — Jimson is the most colorful character in The Horse’s Mouth, a 1944 novel by Anglo-Irish author Joyce Cary. An unsigned painting of feet in the Community Collection is thought to be a study for his heroic mural “The Raising of Lazarus.” CC
• JOACHIM & PERLMUTTER, respectively “Hans und Franz” (active 1910s) — Sioux City architects; designed the Wasserman Block in 1910, subsequently renovated by Anson Tennant.
• JOHNSON, Jeremiah James (born 1980) — NDSU architecture graduate and architect with the Cuningham Group, Architects in Minneapolis, MN; he continues to generate graphic design and other invaluable insights and contributions to the project. He is my friend.
• JOHNSON, Steven / a.k.a., Total Steve (born 1967) — Paper conservator and picture framer, Steve has treated many of the pieces in the Community Collection.
• KANE, Abel (born —-) — Son of E. G. Fromm (q.v.) and an unspecified sperm donor (though we have our suspicions).
• KAVANA, Rose Marian / also Kavanagh, Kavanaugh (1867–1956) — Principal of Charles Darwin Elementary School. Miss Kavana is a composite of several teachers from my own elementary school experience. Actually, there was a real RMK, a teacher who lived in Oak Park, IL in a house designed by Lawrence Buck no less. Coïncidence? I think not.
• KAYN, Hilde Band (1894–1950) — European-born artist educated largely in the U.S., about whom we’ve been able to learn very little. CC
• KELLER, Wolfgang / Wolf and Elsa / Ilsa (active 1915) — Owned and operated a wine and liquor store (Keller’s Cellar) on North Broad Street as well as a working man’s hotel and boarding house near the train depot.
• KENYON, Richard Wolcott (born 1944) — Architect from Avon, CT, and long time friend of both RHLMR and the project. Kenyon designed Agincourt’s Christ the King Roman Catholic church in the mid-century style of Francis Barry Byrne (q.v.). HC
• KERKOVIUS, Ruth (1921–2007) — Latvian-American artist represented by five works in the Community Collection. CC
• KLIEN, Neil (died 1961) — Palindromic sexton (gravedigger) at The Shades. Coincidentally, I actually have a cousin named Neil Klien who I’d completely forgotten.
• KLOTZ-DÜRRENBACH, Theodor (1890–1959) — Viennese artist whose woodcuts are represented in the Community Collection. CC
• KNOX, Susan Ricker (1874–1959) — New Hampshire artist who painted the portrait of Dr Wilhelm Reinhardt (q.v.), first President of Northwest Iowa Normal. CC
• KOCH Family (ca1910–1930) — Thus far, Hobart Koch (pronounced “cook”) has unidentified parents and siblings.
• KÖLB, Reinhold, PhD ( – ) — Psychologist and psychotherapist; younger brother of Edith Kölb Wasserman and founder of Walden Retreat, a private hospital on Thoreau Avenue SE. (see: Richard Kolotkin)
• KOLOTKIN, Richard A., PhD (born 1950) — Retired faculty member at a smallish normal school and psychotherapist; oblique participant in this creative fiction (i.e., lie) and source of psychological perspective and insight. Don’t ask him about the project; he’s ethically prohibited from replying. If the initials “R.K.” appear elsewhere (there are several), you might find Dr Kolotkin woven into the story.
• KÖPMAN, Nina (born 1890) — Ms Köpman was born at or near Göteborg, Sweden, and emigrated to the United States in 1905 at the age of fifteen. She first came to Rockford, IL, where a cousin worked in the Rockford Watch Factory, and then relocated to Agincourt as a domestic in the Aidan Archer household. Her story was eerily similar to that of the grandmother of a former student of mine.
• KRAUS, Anton (1875–  ?  ) — Born in Thuringia, emigrated to Agincourt where he established a forge and iron foundry which subsequently grew to become Kraus Bridge & Iron / KBIndustries. (see: Benedetti, Antonia).
• KRAUS, Anton, Jr. / “Tony” ( – ) — Son of Anton Kraus (q.v.). Grandfather of Antonia Benedetti (q.v.).
• KROHN, Martin, Jr. ( – ) — Barber.
• KROHN, Martin, Sr. ( – ) — Fennimore county sheriff during 1908-1918.
• KROPOTKIN (active ca1905) — Kropotkin [Кропоткин] materialized about 1905 and disappeared soon after; we never knew his given name. While in the area, he sharpened knives and tools, hawking his services door-to-door from a wagon. There’s been some speculation that he was a Russian anarchist, in hiding during the years between the two revolutions. Agincourt has sheltered many in its time.
• KÜGLER, Rudolf (1921–2013; German) — Represented in the Community Collection by two fine lithographs. CC
• LaFARGE, Catherine / Mrs James (née Tabor) (born 1943) — Married to James LaFarge and manufacturer with him of “Alouette” maple syrup in Vermont; sister of Howard Tabor.
• LAWTON, Virginia (died 2009) — Mrs Lawton was my seventh grade science teacher at Otis P. Graves Junior High School in Argo, Illinois. Her cameo role in Agincourt springs from my deep respect for what she gave her students — me, too.
• LEER, Mary Ellen / Marielle / “Rooster”— Ms Leer is a character based on someone I knew who became part of a tragic episode recorded in “Agincourt After Dark.” “Leer”, incidentally, in German means “empty”.
• LEIDEN, Gerald / Gerry, PhD (born 1968) — Professor of Music at Northwest Iowa Normal College and choir director at Saint Joseph-the-Carpenter Episcopal church. Leiden initiated the “Lessons and Carols” as a new holiday tradition in 2002. Leiden’s largest commission is “Shananditti”, an oratorio drawn from the decimation of a First Nation tribe in Newfoundland — and written in the musical spirit of Leoš Janáček. I don’t think Gerry would mind me saying that.
• LIEBBE, NOURSE & RASMUSSEN, architects (active ca1900–ca1930) — Des Moines architects of Agincourt’s Asbury Methodist Episcopal church in 1919. Evidently, someone from Amsterdam was working in their office at the time.
  
• LILLEGAARD, Sarah (contemporary) — Sarah and her classmate Pi Saengporm at NDSU built models of two houses “designed” by Chicago architect Lawrence Buck.
• LIPINSKY, Salvatore / Sal ( – ) — Chicago mobster and benefactor of an orphanage hereabouts.
• LISLE, Ada (dates uncertain) — Miss Lisle is patterned after Robina Lyle, the public health nurse in my grade school, a beloved character from my past preserved in the Agincourt story.
• LLOYD, Burton / Burt ( – ) — Manager of the Northwest Iowa Traction Company. Husband of Molly Tennant and brother-in-law of Anson.
• LLOYD, Margaret (1867–1912) — As an art student in Liverpool circa 1910-1912, Margaret Lloyd received numerous awards. One of her designs was published in The International Studio: a stencil depiction of a Punch & Judy show. That small illustration was the inspiration for a stained glass window installed in Agincourt’s first kindergarten. [See: David Fode]
• LUND, Per-Edvard-Anders (1900–1977) — Swedish concert pianist prior to his arrival at Northwest Iowa College to head its Music Conservatory. Lund’s portrait is in the Community Collection. [Look for his stuffed animal.]
• LYMPANY, Moura / a.k.a., Mary Gertrude Johnstone (1916–2005) — British artist and concert pianist. Lympany’s recording of the Prokofiev Piano Concerto #1 is the best performance of any I’ve heard. I have it in vinyl. Too bad the turntable is on the fritz. CC
• MACHEN, Arthur (1863–1947) — Welsh author whose fictional work The Bowmen was a source for Agincourt imagery.
• MAINWARING, Janice, Staff Sergeant (dates unsettled) — Head of the Domestic Arts division at the Fennimore County Fair during the 1940s and 1950s; laid out the Victory Gardens along the north bank of Crispin Creek. Sgt. Mainwaring was in the Quartermaster Corps during WWII.
• MANNHEIMER, Eugene M., Rabbi (1880–1952) — Reform Jewish Rabbi from Temple B’nai Jeshurun in Des Moines. Rabbi Mannheimer provided early services for the community in Agincourt and helped with the founding of Temple Emmanu-El.
• MANNING, Francis / Frances, Rev (18– – ) — Founding priest of Saint Ahab Roman Catholic parish during the 1860s. Rev Manning was a great friend of Martha Tennant, who knew how to keep a secret.
• MARSH, Anthemia (active 1940s) — Marsh and her cousin Franny Fielding were involved with both sales and alterations at “Grace,” the couturier dress shop of Grace Arbogast.
• MARTENS, Steven C. (contemporary) — Professor Emeritus of Architecture at NDSU; designed Agincourt’s 1938 WPA-inspired city hall.
• MARTIN, Elena Prochazka (1888-?) — Artist at Omaha, NE; painted the wedding portrait of Claire Ball Tennant (Mrs John Michael Oliphant; 1897-1983; q.v.) in 1919. Martin studied at the Art Institute of Chicago. CC
• MAYBECK, Bernard ( 1862–1957) — Architect and co-designer of Agincourt’s Church of Christ, Scientist in 1910. The Christian Science church in Berkeley, California is one of Maybeck’s signature works. (see: Beman, S.S.)
• McCORD (Dominguez), Heather (active) — An exceptionally organized and tolerant person, Ms McCord has contributed in ways she cannot imagine.
• McCREA, Fred / “Slick” (1898–1973) and Frances / “Franny” (1891–1983) — Former neighbors and friends in the 1970s; look for them elsewhere in the story line as the Fieldings.
• McGINNIS, Marshall (1896–1918) — Born in rural Fahnstock, McGinnis graduated from Agincourt high school where he showed a propensity for woodworking. He was the community’s first casualty in WWI.
• McGOWAN, Ellis and Edith (active 1910–1930) — Cashier at the Farmers, Mechanics & Merchants Bank — the F+M+M. The McGowan grandchildren gave a piece of art to the Community Collection in their memory. CC
• McKENNA, Siobhán (Montplaisir) (1889-1948) — Artist represented in the Community Collection. CC
• MEIER, Gideon / Gidon ( – ) — Businessman and community leader, Meier operated an engraving plant. He was one of the founders of Temple Emanu-El.
• MEIER, John, & Sons — Contractors and builders, 1900-1920; includes John, John Jr, Henry, Rolf, father-in-law Jacob Weise, son-in-law Michael Schütz.
• MENDELSOHN, Erich (1887–1953) — German-American architect, Mendelsohn designed Temple Emanu-El in 1953, one of this last buildings.
• MENDLESOHN, Farah, PhD (born 1968) — British academic and founder of the Historical Fictions Research Network; Dr Mendlesohn is an honorary citizen of Agincourt, though she may not know it. She has recently published a biography of science fiction writer Robert Heinlein. HC
• MERTZ, Mandel (contemporary) — NDSU Architecture graduate and now apprentice architect; participated in the first Agincourt exhibit, designing a barn which had been a station on the Underground Railroad.
• MESSENGER, Holborn (1893–1954) — Agincourt insurance agent, Messenger also coached speech and debate at Northwest Iowa Normal. CC
• MESSENGER, Ivan (1895–1983) — American artist. CC
• MEULENAERE, F. J. (dates uncertain) — This painter of a seascape appears to have been a ship’s captain. Imagine that! Busman’s holiday. CC
• MEYER, Christopher (contemporary) — Student of architecture and fourth-generation ironmonger, Christopher fashioned a wrought iron wreath for Agincourt’s 1915 public library.
• MILLER, Annabelle / “Belle” (née Schert) (born 1860) — Tobacconist; proprietor of “Mrs Miller’s Enterprise”, Agincourt’s first purpose-built house of ill repute. (see: Schert, Armand, her brother)
• MILLER, Cassius Hyde (died 1896) — Tobacconist. His unexpected passing put Mrs Miller in a difficult position.
• MINARIK, Francis Xavier / “Fran” (dates unknown) — Proprietor of a meat market on North Broad Street during the 1920s and 1930s before his relocation to Omaha.
• MISSBACH, Marilla Thurston (1925–1996) — A friend of the project in principal, if not in fact. She became the first posthumous honorary citizen of Agincourt. Marilla stepped in as a surrogate sister when my parents divorced in the early 1950s. She knew far more than she would reveal. HC
• MITCHELL, Julian Gordon (born 1968) — British artist. Mitchell’s surreal canvases seem entirely appropriate for the Community Collection. CC
• MOMETA, Ann E. (née Gustafson) (active 1920s-1940s) — Mometa was the official Fennimore county meteorologist during 1925-1939, the second female graduate of the Meteorology Program at St Cloud State College in Minnesota. She was the spouse of attorney Idris Mometa.
• MOMETA, Idris (active 1920s-1940s) — Attorney with C+C+B Attorneys-at-Law; Mometa was of Indonesian ancestry.
• MOONY, Robert James Enraght (1879-1946) — Irish artist who spent the majority of his productive life in England. CC
• MOORE, Henry Humphrey (1844-1926) — Artist represented in the Community Collection. CC
• MOORE–PARK, Carton (1877-1956) — Artist represented in the Community Collection, Moore-Park was an illustrator of children’s books. CC
• MORENO, Jacob Levy (1889–1974) — Austrian psychologist and creator of Drama Therapy; Reinhold Kölb (q.v.), his friend and disciple, adapted the therapeutic strategy for puppet theatre.
• MOTTE, Chester T. (active 1880–1910) — Chester Motte (of the firm of Motte & Bailey, purveyors of lumber and coal) built the earliest surviving house on West Agincourt Avenue in 1887, a “Shingle Style” affair at #418. [By the way, don’t look up “motte” in the Urban Dictionary. Then don’t say I didn’t warn you.]
• MUNK, Heironymus (contemporary) — Acoustic jazz guitarist who has performed at the Yellow Brick Road House.
• MUNRO, Elinore / Elie — Amateur archaeologist of the Etruscans, telephone operator, and single parent; mother of Larth Munro.
• NEEDLE & HAYSTACK Co. (active 1900–1920) — Needle & Haystack (not their real names) published the Agincourt city directory for several years.
• NELSON, Justin (active) — Railroad aficionado who showed me the difference between the C&NW and the CMStP&P, thereby saving considerable embarrassment.
• NIEMANN, Edmund E. (1909–2005) — American artist represented in the Community Collection. CC
• NIXON, Kay (1895–1988) — British artist known for her rendition of animals. A painting by Nixon is in the Community Collection. CC
• NORTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY, College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture / now the School of Design, Architecture & Art (participated during 2006–2018) — One reason for this blog was my fading recollection of more than fifty students of the Architecture Program at NDSU who have participated in both seminars and studios. Fifteen of them were the reason for the 2007 exhibit and several contributed in 2015, fewer in 2018. It may be the well has run dry.
• NORTHWEST IOWA NORMAL SCHOOL / N.I.N. — Founded in 1909 to occupy the abandoned buildings of the former county orphanage. It has become Northwest Iowa College.
• NOWATSKI, Brad (contemporary) — Proprietor of Nowatski Electric and silent partner in The Periodic Table with his wife Rosemary Plicka. Business partner in Four-By construction.
• NUTT, Mariko Yoshioka (born 1930) — Artist represented in the Community Collection; these pieces came from the collection of Maureen and Bill Bendix, through the courtesy of their daughter. CC
• OAKES, Rosalie / “Posey” (died 2005) — Mother of Rowan Oakes and neighbor of Ray Benson. Posey is based on my mother-in-law Rosalie Vandervort.
• OAKES, Rowan (born 1951) — Retired high school history teacher; husband of Howard Tabor.
• OKKEMA Family — Farming family in rural Grou; producers of cheese and pork.
• OLD ’88 — A turtle (See: Holt, Hal; Stokes, Diane)
• OLIPHANT, John Michael (–) — Husband of Claire Ball Tennant; founded the Mutual Building Association with Gordon Thursby (q.v.).
• OLLEY, Owen Ronald (born 1923) — British nonagenarian artist known for the authenticity of his representation of war. Three of his “war” paintings are part of the Community Collection. CC
• OLSCHLAGER, Gordon (active) — Designed the third Fennimore County courthouse as a vehicle for telling a quintessential American story, one with a sad start but a happy end.
• ORACLE LAND Co. — Owners of the Original Townsite. Of the five “Founders”, only Pliny Tennant (q.v.) never actually visited the place. The others — Pliny’s brothers Horace and Virgil, their banker Morris Hirsch, and brother-in-law Ellis Farnham — had a more direct connection with their investment.
• O’ROURKE, James Paul / Tiernan  (1933–2011) — Director of the Rourke Art Museum in Moorhead, Minnesota, site of the first Agincourt exhibition in 2007. Sometime friend of RHLMR. The second exhibit also took place at the Rourke and closed on 25 October 2015, 600th anniversary of the actual Battle of Agincourt. We hope Jim would have approved. HC
• OYEN, Odin J. (1865–1926) — Interior decorator from LaCrosse, Wisconsin; Oyen’s murals were installed in the Fennimore County courthouse about twelve years after its construction. CC
• PANDORA LOCK & KEY — Locksmiths in Agincourt; established 1974. Their motto: “Are you sure you want that open?”
• PARK, Forrest Bedford (contemporary) — Forrest Bedford Park is the current mayor of Agincourt. He avoids his first given name, saying “…it makes me feel like a former World’s Fair in St Louis”, whereas Bedford Park is a suburb of Chicago. Some days you just can’t win.
• PARKS, Alec (died 1995) and Margaret — English visitors to Agincourt in the Spring of 1990. Alec and Margaret are known hereabouts as “the English People.” Alec and I became friends during a correspondence concerning local history in East Sussex. He and Margaret subsequently came for a two week visit and stayed in our hearts. They are remembered as #7 in the Ghosts of Christmas Past. Honorary Citizens.
• PARMELEE, David (dates unknown) — David Parmelee was the very real father-in-law of the very imaginary Aidan Archer (q.v.); he lived in a Lawrence Buck-designed house at Rockford, IL, and introduced Buck to the Agincourt community.
• PARSONS, Uriah (active 1900-1930) — The Parsons farmstead was situated on the south bank of Crispin Creek and the east side of Broad Street. It was subsequently developed for single-family housing in the 1960s. See: Plunkett & Figg.
• PAUL, Michael / Mike (born 1956) — Artist in Sioux Falls, SD. CC
• PEETS, Elbert — See: Heggeman & Peets
• PERLMUTTER, Franz — See: Joachim & Perlmutter
• PHERSON, Cliff (1917–1979) — Owner/operator of a gasoline station and garage at Broad and May streets. If Cliff sounds a lot like my dad, it wouldn’t surprise me.
• PIPER, Veronica Elizabeth (1895–1967) — Veronica Piper taught 5th grade mathematics at Charles Darwin Elementary school, where she would have known Howard Tabor and Howard’s father before him. For an hour each day, he answered to the name “Warren”. The real Miss Piper actually taught both my father and me. I credit her with showing me how to think.
• PIRTLE, Fern (active 1950–1960s) — Proprietress of the FFC Market in Mesopotamia.
• PLATT, John Edgar (1886–1967) — Artist thrice represented in the Community Collection. CC
• PLIČKA, Rosemary (active) — Owner of The Periodic Table, a restaurant in the Wasserman Block. Married to Brad Nowatski (q.v.), an electrician and building contractor.
• PLINY’S PURSE — Technically not a person, Pliny’s Purse is a charitable fund named for Pliny Tennant, middle brother of the Tennant founders of Agincourt. Pliny disappeared into the gold fields of California, ignorant of the legacy established in his name.
• PLUNKETT (Zadok) and FIGG (B. D.) — Messrs Figg and Plunkett were Evangelists who conducted a ten-day rally in Agincourt during July 1926. Their ramshackle wood tabernacle was erected on the Parsons farm south of Crispin Creek near the Broad Street bridge, walking distance from town and near Crispin Creek, site of numerous baptisms (the River Jordan being inconvenient).
• POGEMILLER, Harry (contemporary) — Bartender at The Roost on Highway 7. Renowned for his photographic memory; be careful what you say under the influence. Harry’s probably listening. And doesn’t need to write it down.
• POPPY, a dog — Discovered by Dr. Henk Cuijpers (q.v.) to have cancer-detecting abilities through her sense of smell. Poppy was instrumental in the Dierdorf kidnapping of 1929.
• PRIKLEIGH, Edith and Ivor (active 1890–1920) — Mother and son, proprietors of the Station-Store. Ivor operated a water taxi and delivered mail through WWI. Under a different spelling, she is a character played by Andrea Martin in the SCTV series.
• PROUDFOOT, BIRD & RAWSON (active 1890–1910) — Des Moines architectural firm; remodeled and enlarged St Joseph-the-Carpenter Episcopal church in 1898. (see: Dudley, Henry) There are elements here of PB&R’s Episcopal church at Harlan, Iowa. [PB&R: Sounds like a sandwich.]
• PUKAL, Evan James (active) — Graduate Research Assistant during the Spring semester 2021. His official title is “Scribe”. Evan’s skills will bring Agincourt to a computer screen near you — soon. Evan also participated in the Fall 2020 Agincourt Studio.
• PYNE, Joseph, Sheriff (active 1930s) — Fennimore County sheriff during the Great Depression. (see: Ruffini Brothers Circus)
• RAMSAY, Ronald H. L. M. / a.k.a., RHLMR (born 1945) — Curator of the Agincourt Project and founder/editor of this blog. There are those who claim that he, too, is a work of fiction. Ramsay is reflected here as “Whitey” among the Ghosts of Christmas Past. Ramsay’s DNA is everywhere throughout the project despite his inclination toward invisibility (and his complete inability to achieve it). “Pay no attention to the man behind the computer screen!” Ramsay has taken to heart Cecil Elliott’s observation, that “Architecture is actually a lot better than it looks”, a philosophy which underpins virtually everything here. His Native American name, by the way, is Sleeps-With-Books.
• RAMSEY, Clara Frances (née Markiewicz; born 1891) — The Curator’s grandmother. HC
• RAMSEY, Dale (née Sims) — Second wife of Roy C. Ramsey, and, yes, while they were married they were Roy and Dale. If you have to ask, you’re much too young.
• RAMSEY, Margery Ann (née Miller) — First wife of Roy C. Ramsey (see below). Enough said.
• RAMSEY, Roy Clifford (1917–1979) — The Curator’s father. Not nearly enough said. He appears as the proprietor of Cliff’s Garage, Cliff Pherson, who is also Ghost #01. HC
• RAMSEY, Roy Lanier (1882–1951) — The Curator’s grandfather. He died when I was six, so Gramps is barely a shadow in the Agincourt story. His father carved a walking stick (cane) which I use now and then — when the sciatica kicks in.
• REINHARDT, Wilhelm August Karl Ernst, PhD (1874–1959) — Born in Hildesheim, Germany, and a graduate of Göttingen University, Reinhardt emigrated to the United States about 1904 and taught at Washington University before accepting the first presidency of the new Northwest Iowa Normal School in 1915. CC
• REMENICK, Seymour (1923–1999) — Philadelphia area artist represented in the Community Collection. CC
• REMÉNYI, Ede / Eduard (1828/1830–1898) — Concert violinist Reményi was born Eduard Hoffmann but chose the more exotic surname from his native Hungary. A refugee from the 1848 political revolution in his homeland, he fled to America and remained here for the majority of his professional career. Reményi performed at the 1895 grand opening of The Auditorium. He died in 1898 during a concert in San Francisco. Really.
• RILEY, Mary (dates uncertain)— Waitress at Adams Restaurant (q.v.) circa 1905-1915.
• ROBINSON, Charles Mulford (1869–1917) — Journalist-turned-city-planner, Robinson spoke at the invitation of the Commercial Club to promote the “City Beautiful” movement. His influence prompted the “Boulevard” portion of North Broad Street.
• ROEBUCK, Robert Clauson / Bob (born 1963) — Professor of History at Northwest Iowa College (NIN); occasional contributor to the Daily Plantagenet.
• ROELOFS-LYNCH, Mark (born 1983) — In the first Agincourt-based studio, Mark designed (is still designing) the Presbyterian church, an Italianate building facing the Square.
• ROLFE, Frederick William Serafino Austin Lewis Mary / a.k.a., Baron Corvo (1860-1913) — Namesake for an eponymous literary festival at NIN in his centennial year.
• ROSE, C. D. (born late ’60s) — We weren’t at all sure how to categorize C. D. Rose, author of The Biographical Dictionary of Literary Failure and Who’s Who When Everyone Is Someone Else, [hence his color coding] but it’s certain he warrants honorary citizenship. Whether he would accept it is another matter altogether. HC
• ROSETTI, Carrin (active) — Ceramist who crafted, with Richard Gruchalla, the new baptismal basin at St Joseph-the-Carpenter.
• ROWAN & BECK (contemporary) —  Certified Public Accountants.
• RUFFINI Brothers Circus (active 1930s) — Traveling carnival which entertained Fennimore county during the 1930s. Their circus carousel has been restored on The Commons. A painting of the Ruffini Bros. Circus in the Community Collection.
• RUTTER, Brad ( – ) — Craftsman who fabricated the door to Anson Tennant’s architectural office, but don’t tell him we told you. (see: Salyards, Dan)
• RUTTER, Jonathan Taylor (born 19–) — Artist living in Moorhead, MN, Rutter has painted the portrait of Martha Tennant and is at work on other pieces, including the Orthodox icon St Ahab, saint and martyr. CC
• RUZICKA-LAUTENSCHLÄGER, Hans (1862–1933) — Artist represented in the Community Collection. CC
• RYLANCE, Meriel (née Franke) (xxxx) — Represented in the Community Collection by a portrait. CC
• RYLANDS, Enriqueta Augustina (née Tennant) (1843–1908) — Born in Havana, Enriqueta Tennant seems to have been a distant cousin of the founder of Agincourt’s branch of the Tennant family in America. She is better known as the wife of John Rylands; together they founded the Rylands Library in Manchester, U.K. And what a wonderful coincidence that she was born in Havana!
• SAENGPORM, Pi / Ploiphan (contemporary) — Pi and her classmate Sarah Lillegaard at NDSU built models of two houses “designed” by Chicago architect Lawrence Buck.
• de SAINTE CROIX, Gautier (dates uncertain) — Artist who painted the icon of Saint Ahab which now hangs in the chapel bearing his name at Christ the King church. Sainte Croix lives on Jersey in the Channel Island. How he came to be commissioned is a mystery. [G. deSte. Croix was a real person, born in the Channel Islands; we’ve “borrowed” him just for that wonderful name.]
• SALYARDS, Daniel Monaghan (born 1985) — NDSU architecture graduate; stained glass craftsman who designed and fabricated the window from Anson Tennant’s office door. Friend. (see: Rutter, Brad)
• SAWYER Family — Bought out the Motte & Bailey Lumber Yard in 1910 and operated it through the Depression.
• SCHERT, Armand (born 1866) — Drayman and keeper of a house of ill repute. (see: Miller, Annabelle)
• SCHOENFELD / SCHÖNFELD, Agnes (dates not known) — Mrs Schoenfeld’s cat Clara is connected with several paranormal incidents hereabouts.
• SCHOLL, Sophia Magdalena (1921–1943) — A German student and anti-Nazi political activist, active within the White Rose non-violent resistance group in Nazi Germany, executed on 22 February 1943. The Fennimore County Library is named in her honor.
• SCHUBARTH, Niles Bierregaard (1818–1889) — Nineteenth century Norwegian-born landscape gardener/architect who may have designed The Shades (q.v.).
• SCHÜTZ Family — Several generations of Schützes have been builders in the area and also active in parish life of Christ the King.
• SCHWABEROW, Micah (1948–2022) — Contemporary woodcut artist represented by two pieces in the Community Collection. CC
• SCHWARTZ, Lawrence /  Larry (active) — Reference Librarian extraordinaire and internet resource without peer.
• SHANKS, Henry / “Hank” (contemporary) — Plumber. (see: Armitage, Mason)
• SHELLABARGER, Fred David (1918–2002) — “Shell” taught architectural history at the University of Oklahoma. He tried to teach me both history and design; you be the judge. It was as a draughtsman at Fred’s office that I met Richard Kenyon (q.v.; a.k.a., Crazy Richard), friend and contributor to the project and of mine for more than fifty years. It was a privilege to have known Shell.
• SHE-LISTENS-TO-THE-MOON — See: Beddowes, Circe
• SIBLEY, Ellen Jean (1926–) — Artist; daughter of Hobart and Dorothy (Dot) Sibley who farmed north of Fahnstock. Ms Sibley won an award for her painting “Farmer and Two Hens” at the 1941 Fennimore County Fair. CC
• SILSBEE, Joseph Lyman (1848–1913) — Chicago architect and friend of James and Martha Tennant; designed their home at 108 Second Street NE.
• SIMINI, Roberta, Professor (active) — Professor Simini is a member of the faculty at the University of Bari in Italy and an honorary citizen of Agincourt. As the niece of Enedina Zambrini Pinti (q.v.), Dr Simini provided valuable biographical information about her aunt, whose very real art is part of the Community Collection.
• SIMMONS, William A., Jr (1879–1968) — Stock and bond broker and financial consultant. I knew him as Willie. I hope to meet him again in that great brokerage house in the sky.
• SINCLAIR, Folke (1877–1956) — Swedish artist represented in the Community Collection. Sounds Scottish, if you ask me.
• SIXTY-SIX / “66” (1950s) — A legendary dog of no particular breed.
• SMITH, George (born 1998) — Woodworker extraordinaire who crafted Rose Kavana’s table and chairs (a work in progress).
• SMITS, Jeroen / a.k.a., Jerome (active 1910–1930) — A cousin of the van der Rijn family, Smits emigrated to Agincourt circa 1910 to work at the Kraus Foundry. It is possible he had some architectural experience in Amsterdam, because several credible designs issued from KBI during the years 1910-1930. The line betwixt architecture and engineering was less finely drawn a hundred years ago.
• SOBIESKA, Clotilde (died 1943) — First wife of Kurt Bernhard. (q.v.) Bernhard’s second wife was Mary-Grace Tabor, Howard Tabor’s aunt. Mme Sobieska is interred at Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, where anonymous placement of flowers continues on a weekly basis. She was loved.
• SOUSA, John Philip (1854–1932) — The March King wrote “March to Agincourt” for the city’s 50th anniversary in 1907. [I’m just kidding about the march.]
• SPAT, Gabriel / a.k.a., Schlomo Patlagen (1890–1967) — Born in Chișinău, capital of Moldova, Spat painted in Paris during the years between the wars. He painted a portrait of the Sobieski family. CC
• SPAULDING-GRAFF, ffiona (dates not certain) — Author and friend of Phyllis Tabor.
• SPOFFORD, Emma (born 1965) — While a student at Northwest Iowa Normal College, Ms Spofford was part of a student tour to the United Kingdom. During her leisure, she found an undervalued painting in the Portobello Road Flea Market and gave it to the Community Collection. CC
• SQUIRES, Eli (active 1900–1920) — A photograph of Squires and an unidentified companion shows them inspecting the banks of Crispin Creek. We have no idea what they’re up to.
• STEELE, Frank and Susan (active 1910–1930) — Two of their children, Jack and Miles, died in the influenza pandemic of 1918. [Ask me about Frank Irons some time. In this case you won’t be sorry.]
• STEELE, William L. (1875–1949) — Steele was a Sioux City architect who should logically have done work in Agincourt — but didn’t, that we know of. His finest work is the Woodbury County Courthouse in Sioux City. He is unrelated to Frank Steele (above).
• STERNBERG, Minerva (—-) — Retired English teacher from NINS.
• STEUBEN, Lawrence (born 1954) — Chief of Agincourt’s municipal Department of Building Inspection.
• STEWART, John Ivor (1936–2017) — British artist. CC
• SULLIVAN, Louis Henry (1856–1924) — Chicago architect and “Founder of the Feast”. Sullivan’s small-town banks in Midwestern communities — there are eight of them — raised the question that is the foundation of this project: “Why had Sullivan never received a Carnegie library commission, and what would it look like if he had?” Anson Tennant worked briefly in Sullivan’s Chicago office during 1912.
• SULLIVAN, Adelaide / Ada / Addie / “Sully” (born 1885) — Miss Sullivan was Agincourt’s resident photographer post 1900, with a studio above Van Kannel’s Sanitary Drug at the southwest corner of Broad and James. She has no relationship with Louis Sullivan above.
• ŠVEC, Miloš (dates unknown) — During 1943-1945, Czech author and political dissident Miloš Švec took refuge as an adjunct faculty member at Northwest Iowa Normal School [NINS].
• SZOLNAY, Sandor (1880–1968) — Hungarian-born tailor employed in the Men’s Department of de Bijenkorf Department Store.
• TABOR, Benjamin Franklin (1881– ) and Lucy Corwin (née Tennant) (1889– ) — Parents of Ella Rose, Phyllis, Dwight, Warren and Mary Grace.
• TABOR, Ella Rose and Phyllis (twins; born 1912) — “The Daughters of Flight”; Fennimore county’s pioneer aviatrices. Ella Rose disappeared mysteriously during the Japanese invasion of China in the 1930s; Phyllis passed quietly in 2012 at the age of 100.
• TABOR, Howard Alan / Anson / A (born 1945; funny, so was I) — Journalist/writer for The Daily Plantagenet, Tabor is a member of the extended Tennant family and a chronicler of what passes for local history in metropolitan Agincourt. Tabor changed his middle name to honor his great-uncle architect Anson Tennant. He is married to Rowan Oakes (q.v.).
• TABOR, Mary Grace (1920–2012) — Founded Agincourt’s Montessori school circa 1951. (see: Bernhard, Kurt Eugene)
• TABOR, Warren (died 1995) and Ruth Ellen (née McBride; died 1998) — Businessman and twin with Dwight Tabor; father of Catherine Tabor LaFarge (q.v.) and Howard Tabor. 
• TAYLOR RUTTER, Jonathan — See: RUTTER, Jonathan Taylor
• TENNANT, Anson Curtiss (1890–1915/1968) — “Patient Zero”; the man with two death dates.
  
• TENNANT, Augustus James / “Jim” (1861–1919) — Husband of Martha Corwin Curtiss Tennant and father of four: Lucy, Anson, Molly and Claire; brother of Sophie and Phoebe.
• TENNANT, Gaudeamus ( – ) — Bastard, Founder of the Feast, father of three (Horace, Pliny, and Virgil), and grandfather of Horace’s three children Augustus James, Sophia Iphigeneia, and Phoebe Jocasta. In case you didn’t know, “Gaudeamus” means “We are grateful.”
• TENNANT, Martha Corwin (née Curtiss) (1868–1948) — Daughter of Corwin Curtiss and native of Mason City, Iowa. Widowed, she became Mother Martha Mary, SSM, and operated a hospice. In 1937 she was reunited with her son Anson.
• TENNANT, Phoebe Jocasta (    –    ) — Sister of Sophia (q.v.) and of Augustus James.
• TENNANT, Pliny, Virgil and Horace, brothers (born 1832, 1834, 1835 respectively) — Three sons of Gaudeamus Tennant (q.v.). (see: PLINY’S PURSE)
• TENNANT, Sophia Iphigeneia (    –    ) — Sister of Phoebe (q.v.) and of Augustus James.
• THOUGHT FARM, The (contemporary) — A loosely organized group of creative malcontents who have organized several of Agincourt’s more exotic exhibits and their related events. They were behind the Corvo Festival of 2013, for example, celebrating the centennial of Frederick Rolfe, and are currently at work acknowledging the 100th anniversary of Surrealism, Dada, and the Futurists. (see: Flash Mob; “Manifestos are for Sissies”)
• THURSBY, Gordon (—-) and Nadine (—-) — Twelfth mayor of Agincourt [1891-1894], Thursby’s “day job” managing the Home Loan Association connected him with banking and insurance, contractors and material suppliers. Nadine Thursby taught at Charles Darwin elementary school and the family attended Asbury Methodist Episcopal church. Gordon’s bases were covered — until Edmund FitzGerald Flynn came to town, that is. Substance is often trumped by Flash.
• THYSELL, Charles / Charlie (1950–2020) — Though he did not know it, Charlie had been Agincourt’s unofficial poet laureate for several years. We’d like to think he would approve. Stop by any time, Charlie; we’ll leave the light on for you.
• TIERNEY, James Edward / Seamus (1933–2011) — Theater director and founder of the Prairie Playhouse, Tierney is a faintly disguised character from real life who many Agincourt readers will recognize as a cranky, eccentric gallery director in Moorhead, MN.
• TUCKER, Kenneth and Evelyn — Ken is the second character in a two-part saga recorded in “Agincourt After Dark.” Read it with caution—and a couple fingers of good bourbon.
• TURNER, Coleman (born ca1920) — When Fern Pirtle’s husband died in 1941, his brother Coleman moved here for a year or two to help her make the adjustment.
• UCHIDA, Masayasu (born 1922) — Japanese artist whose work is represented in the Community Collection. CC
• URNESS, Cindy / Mrs Mark Barnhouse (born —-) — Professor of Architecture at NDSU; conceived The Women’s Club (still in gestation for lo these many years) at Second Street and James Avenue NW.
• URRUTIA, Graxi  (ca1900–?) — Nurse at the convent hospital in Donostiako (San Sebastian), in Spain’s Basque Country, she attended Anson Tennant during his recovery following the Lusitania sinking; they subsequently married and she bore three children, Aitor, Alize and Mikel. Since Tennant suffered form amnesia at the time, the children bear the Urrutia surname of their mother. “Urrutia”, by the way, means “stranger” in Basque.
• URUSHIBARA, Yoshijiro (1888–1953) — Japanese artist credited with introducing woodblock printing to Western artists. CC 
• UTZ, Henry and Matilda (active 1910-1920) — Operators of a Delicatessen.
• VAKKERDAHL Family — Owned and operated Vakkerdahl Farms and the Beautiful Valley Creamery until it was given to the Fennimore County Historical Society in the 1970s.
• VAN DER RIJN Family — Owners of Agincourt’s home-grown department store, de Bijenkorf (thanks to Mark Roelofs-Lynch).
• VAN KANNEL, Theo, Gretje, and Bart — Pharmacist at Agincourt Sanitary Drug; nephew of Theophilus Van Kannel (q.v.). The Van Kannel’s son Bart enlisted in WWI.
• VAN KANNEL, Theophilus (1841–1919) — Inventor of the revolving door, patented on 07 August 1888; uncle of Theo Van Kannel. Agincourt’s first (and possibly only) revolving door was installed in the FM&M Bank in 1908.
• van ‘t HOFF, Adriaan Johannes (1893–1939 — Artist represented in the Community Collection. CC
• VANDERVORT, Peter (born 1951) — Costume designer who built Mollie Tennant’s wedding dress for the exhibit of 2007; for 2015, he built the “Centennial Quilt.” Vandervort is the husband of R.H.L.M. Ramsay and therefore a saint. HC
• VANDERVORT, Piet (1851–?) — Established Vandervort’s Bakery at 114 North Broad Street in the 1880s.
• VARENHORST, Candace Clark (Rev) (active) — Current senior pastor at Asbury United Methodist church.
• VLAHAKIS, Anthony (1926–2008) — Artist, represented in the Community Collection. Vlahakis may have been acquainted with Kurt Bernhard in Paris. CC
• WALTON, William, Sir (1902–1983) — From his retirement home on the island of Ischia, Sir William composed a suite (drawn from his film score for “Henry V”) for the Agincourt Centennial in 1957.
• WANGLER, Andrew (born 1993) — Andrew lent us a member of his family, Wendelin Wangler (q.v.), to be a building contractor in Agincourt.
• WANGLER, Wendelin (1876-1949) — Born at Odessa, in the Ukraine and emigrated in 1911; contractor and builder.
• WASSERMAN, Carl/Karl (1900–1972) — Long time professor of art at Northwest Iowa Normal. CC
• WASSERMAN, Edith (née Kölb) ( – ) — Wife of Franz Wasserman, mother of Carl and sister of Dr Reinhold Kölb (q.v.).
• WASSERMAN, Franz ( – ) — Owner/operator of Wasserman’s Hardware. The business closed in the 1990s, though the building, designed by Joachim & Perlmutter (q.v.) and remodeled by Anson Tennant, survives as a restaurant and a bed-and-breakfast.
• WATANABE Seitei (1851–1918) — Among the first Japanese artists to visit the West (both Europe and America). CC
• WEIS, Kevin (contemporary) — One of the supervisors of our departmental woodworking shop, Kevin and his cohort Jeff Hanson have offered invaluable technical advice and guidance to several Agincourt-related projects — and helped maintain all my digits.
• WEISE, Edward (1899–1958) — Omaha high school principal. CC
• WEISE, Ellen, PhD (born 1950) — NINS faculty member in English, she is the daughter of Edward Weise. Professor Weise is Keeper of the Community Collection.
• WELO, Larry (born 1951) — American artist represented in the Community Collection. We tried to engage him more directly but were unsuccessful. CC
• WENTWORTH, Forrest (Active 1920s) — Artist; painted the portrait of Martha Tennant in the Community Collection. CC [See: Rutter, Jonathan]
• WERGER, Art (born 1955) — American artist represented in the Community Collection. CC
• WOOD, William Halsey (1855–1897) — Architect famous as one of four semi-finalists in the architectural competition for New York City’s Cathedral of St John the Divine. In 1888 Wood designed the second Fennimore County courthouse (1888-1889), which served until struck by lightening in 1966. Wood touched the community in several other ways, all of them unknown to him — and all of them invented.
• YERGENS, Milton Stewart (1949–2022) — Architect/graphic designer in Fargo, ND; designed (among many other things) the Tri-County Aerodrome, Agincourt’s first airport located near Fahnstock. Yergens also conceived Tabor Agribusiness and its spinoff Air Tabor. CC HC
• YOKOI Tomoë (born 1942) — Artist, born Nagoya, Japan, and educated in France and New York City. CC
• YOSHIDA Hiroshi (1876-1950) — Founder of a family of artists who worked primarily in woodcut. CC
• YOSHIDA Hodaka (1926-1995) — Japanese woodcut artist. CC
• YOSHIDA Toshi (1911–1995) — Japanese woodcut artist. CC
• ZABACH, Florian and Marian (active 1960s) — I wasn’t sure how to color the ZaBach’s. I was searching for some mid-century residents of Agincourt and for no reason whatsoever Florian ZaBach popped into my head. He’s real, though his wife Marian is invented. They were around long enough to have collected some art.
• ZAMBRINI PINTI, Enedina (1883–1984) — Italian artist. Painted the portraits of Kenneth and Rachel Goodall (q.v.). (see also: Simini, Roberta) CC

You may have noticed that many of Agincourt’s citizens and collaborators are long lived, which suggests something salubrious about the context.

HONORARY CITIZENSHIP in Agincourt is bestowed by the City Council on recommendation of an anonymous committee. To date the list of is relatively short.

• BLOOMQVIST, Meredith / Merre (contemporary) — Moorhead resident and Friend of the Arts
• ELLIOTT, Cecil Dean (1923–2003) — Friend, educator, architect, curmudgeon, mensch (not necessarily in that order)
• HAGEN, Daron Aric (1961–present) — Agincourt’s official Composer-in-Residence. His music has been the spirit of the project; not all “material culture” is material.
• MENDLESOHN, Farah (born 1968) — Founder of the Historical Fiction Research Network.
• MISSBACH, Marilla Thurston (1925–1996) — Friend of the Curator. Her advice: “Grow where you’re planted.”
• O’ROURKE, James Tiernan (1933–2011) — Friend of the project and host of its first exhibit.
• RAMSEY, Clara Frances (née Markiewicz; born 1891) — The Curate’s grandmother and in several unforeseen ways founder of the feast.
• RAMSEY, Roy Clifford (1917–1980) — The Curate’s father. I am my father’s son.
• ROSE, C. D. (born late ’60s) — Author of inspirational fiction.
• SIMINI, Roberta, Dr (active) — Faculty at the University of Bari in Italy. She is the niece of Enedina Zambrini Pinti and a friend of the Project — though she may not understand why.
• VANDERVORT, Peter Mark (born 1951) — Husband of the project’s curator.
• WHITE, Betty (born 1922) — Just because. Who wouldn’t want Ms White as a neighbor!  Fun Fact: Did you know she was born in Oak Park, IL?
• WOOD, William Halsey III (born 1931) — Grandson of architect William Halsey Wood. Bill and I are linked through WHW.
• YERGENS, Milton S., (1949–2022) — Agincourt would exist solely between my ears without the enthusiasm, creativity, and support of Milt. I had thought it was over but that’s just wrong, so long as he is perched on my shoulder.

The invention of Agincourt, Iowa was accidental. Yet it has become one of the happiest episodes of my unreasonably long life. I could not have “discovered” this place without the cumulative guidance of many real people included in this list, nor the constructive contributions of those rare folks who did not run from the prospect of engagement with the creative processes evidenced here. Why, then, do I regret my ability to entice more participation? I shouldn’t complain.