I was the second son of Jonas Dravland and Teresa Utgaard and was born, on the Berg farm, August 1, 1907. I was baptized at the Turtle Mountain Lutheran Church northwest of Carbury. When I was 14 years old we moved to the Hagen farm two miles north of Landa. Two years later we moved to the Albertson farm eight miles south of Landa. I attended school in Landa for two years and was confirmed at The Mouse River Lutheran church. This church was closed about 1990 except for ceremonial services. In 1926, when I was 19 years old we moved to the Ole Dravland homestead. I rented a quarter section of land in 1938. In 1942 I purchased the northwest quarter of section six in Pickering Township. In 1959 I bought the Ole Dravland homestead and a quarter section known as the Rosberg land, this made a total of 540 acres. I farmed this land until I retired in 1980. I served on the Board Of Directors of the Farmers Union Oil Co. in Souris for several years. I also served on the Pickering Township Board and was Chairman of The Bottineau County Township Officers Association for several years. When I was 67 years old I married for the first time to Genora Armentrout on October 12, 1974, We were married in the Methodist church in Dunseith, North Dakota. I not only acquired a lovely wife that day but also a very nice family. Genora had one son, Rodney and his wife Marlene and they had three children, Debbie, Brian and Brent. Genora died during heart surgery July 31, 1980, at a Fargo hospital. She was buried in the Riverside Cemetery west of Dunseith. I sold the farm to Vernon and Eunice Dravland in 1981. I married Luella Kolland in the fall of 1981. She had two daughters. Like all my brothers and sisters Ozzie had wisdom and intelligence far beyond his formal education. He had a rather extensive library on history and the arts and had a continuing subscription to National Geographic. He also read Atlantic Monthly and National Revue. Ozzie had a few sayings that were typical of him. "To have a good marriage, you have to start with a good woman." He should know. He had two good marriages with two good women. He was a very good mechanic and blacksmith.
He did most of his own repairs and made many tools in his shop. His shop did not appear to be well organized to the untrained eye, but as he said there was always hope in his shop. In some shops every tool had a special place to hang and every tool was in its place. But, as he said, if the tool wasn't where it was supposed to be there was no need to look further because it was lost.
But in my shop there is always hope! Like my friend John Gray (At The University of Lethbridge, Alberta), who had a very messy office and desk said, 'it takes a very organized mind to create order out of chaos. As an older brother Ozzie sometimes got impatient with his younger brothers. One summer when our cousin Morris Utgaard (Mothers brothers boy)stayed at the farm he told Sidney and Morris he would give them a penny for every gopher tail they killed in the hog pasture. This was about three acres just south of the barn. They grabbed all the traps they could find and some twine for snaring gophers and set out for the hunt.. In just a few hours they had 100 gopher tails and presented them to Ozzie. This was the dirty thirties and a dollar was a days wages for a man. Ozzie did not have the money to pay the boys and I believe mother got stuck for the tab.