8/9/2016:
Clementsville, North Dakota, located in Stutsman County, got its start as a railroad station established by the Midland Continental Railroad. Situated in Rose Township, the town was approximately seven miles north of Spiritwood and about a mile west of the Barnes County border. Clementsville was named for an English stockholder with the railroad. However, town never became very large. In 1917, the population was 57 residents, and three years later it hit 125. However, by 1940, only 16 people lived there, and by the end of 1941, the post office was closed. By the 1950s, the Valley City Times-Record noted that Clementsville “does not appear either on the official North Dakota map or in the postal directory, nor is it listed in the census."
Yet people continued to stay on the land, including Marilyn and Marlys Woychik, the twin daughters of John and Cecilia Woychik. The girls, born on February 1st, 1937, in Jamestown, would have composed 1/8 of Clementsville's population in 1940. Together with their parents, they would have made up a quarter of the town. These girls had a lot of talent, too. From the age of three, they were frequent singers at community programs.
On this date in 1952, the girls brought some limelight to the community. At the age of fifteen, they had gone to Chicago to audition for a television amateur hour. As a result, they appeared on WENR-TV. Marlys and Marilyn took first place that day.
At the time, the two girls were sophomores at St. John's Academy in Jamestown. Both would eventually marry and move away; yet they stayed involved with music.
Dakota Datebook by Sarah Walker
Sources:
"http://www.webfamilytree.com/North_Dakota_Place_Names/C/clementsville_%28stutsman_county%29.htm" http://www.webfamilytree.com/North_Dakota_Place_Names/C/clementsville_(stutsman_county).htm
"http://www.jamestownsun.com/content/marlys-aiken" http://www.jamestownsun.com/content/marlys-aiken
"http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/bostonglobe/obituary.aspx?pid=144054174" http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/bostonglobe/obituary.aspx?pid=144054174
"http://chicagotelevision.com/murphy.htm" http://chicagotelevision.com/murphy.htm
Valley City Times-Record, Wednesday, August 13, 1952