The Northern Wyoming Herald

Lakeview Coming Producing Class

This long hoped for realization is coming to pass these days and the virgin soil is yielding to the plow and this season its rich loam will be called to pay its toll to the energy and perseverance of man in the development of the wilds into habitable places where life and love may function.

George Pfrangle and Ruby Howe Pfrangle are perhaps the real pioneers of the second set of farmers. With Fordson and disc he is pulverizing 100 acres into a seed bed for wheat.

Edwin Ballinger of Golden, Colo., became convinced of the merits of the project and is located there with his family. The maximum amount of plowing will be done by him this year in an effort to get his first crop.

El. Jernberg who helped "break out" Ima Flat has extended his interests and is turning over the Lakeview sage brush and cactus for a bumper crop.

James Ewalt has leased the Nova Brown place and will farm 100 acres of wheat land. Mr. Ewalt is one of the successful farmers of the South fork and has utmost confidence in the Lakeview prospects. He has lived alongside the canal for a number of years and feels assured of ample water supply.

The Lakeview like many irrigation projects has had its troubles. It can be said, however, that the difficulties have not risen through fraud and deceit, as integrity has marked the progress of the development of the project from the start. Local people have had hold of the land of recent years, and being men who have made personal success of their work, in the development of ranches of their own, they have turned their practical attention to the building of the Lakeview ditch.

A soapy, slippery hill has whittled down the bank roll several times. Just as the water was ready to flow a full head out would slide a young mountain beneath and leave the ditch line dangling in mid air. Determined to remedy the difficulty for all time the hill has been completely flumed. Fred Gail, said to be one of the best ditch men of the west, has had charge and from the solid foundations of the rocks below he has built up a superstructure which he believes will hold a full head of water.

The plan of the company is to run only sufficient water for the lands to be developed this year and not overload the ditch. Each year the head will be increased until all the land is watered.