Paul Freise was born on the family farm four miles east of New Salem, attended the country school close to the nearby Sedalia railroad siding as well as the grade school in town, and then New Salem high school, where he graduated in 1919. During high school he occasionally rented a room in town during the winter. Like his sisters and brother, he did his share of farm work during those school years. For instance, he recalls pitching bundles at harvest time when he was 14. Since they did “mixed farming,” in addition to raising cash crops, he and Charlie milked cows all year long, gathered hay for them through the summer and hauled out manure in the winter. After his father died in 1912, he stayed out of school for a couple of years to help his older brother Charlie keep the farm going. Therefore he says he was 19 when he finished high school, in a class of about nine graduates. Though the farm at that point consisted of nearly a full section of 640 acres, that wouldn’t be enough to support both brothers as adults with families. So it was clear that Charlie, five years older, would be the farmer and Paul would do something else, probably requiring some schooling. His oldest sister Minnie, who had finished nurse’s training in 1912, encouraged him. Without that encouragement, he says, he may not have considered tackling medical school; in fact, she was still a nurse at Bismarck Hospital when he began his career there and, he says, again encouraged him to persevere.

He and a high school friend were two of the first graduates of New Salem high school to go on to college. But first, in 1918, during the fall of his senior year in high school, he had briefly joined the newly formed Student Army Training Corps, a government program for training future military officers. The program was only for high school graduates, but he had completed so many h.s. credits that he was allowed to join. So for some two months he studied in that program at Jamestown College until it was quickly disolved following the armistice in November 1918. There is a photo of him wearing that uniform with a SATC pin on his lapel. Because the New Salem area was settled by many immigrants from Germany, he says there was some support in the community for Germany during the First World War.

While home from college in 1923 he spent a pleasant, hard-working summer running his sister Tillie's farm following the death of her husband. That summer's final job was hauling a load of wheat each day to Judson, some fourteen miles away, with a team and a 50-bushel wagon. That was a considerable load for any team. Even though the horses were alternated every other day to rest, occasionally they could barely pull up that last long hill into Judson. This final load was hauled the day before the fall semester of medical school began. A train ride back to school ended those farming days forever.

Paul studied pre-medicine for two years at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, took the first two years of medical school there too, though the school did not offer a complete four-year medical school program or degree. He had to work his way through school; he managed a filing station and served as a technician at Deaconess Hospital, living initially in a dorm and then in a house shared with other medical students.

He then completed the final two years of medical training at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, first at their old medical campus on the near south side of Chicago (living in a med sorority in a once-grand mansion) and then through the opening of their new (and present) near north-side campus, finishing in 1925. After a year of internship at St. Mary's Hospital in Minneapolis he was granted the medical degree from Northwestern in 1926, as was the custom then.

Dr. Freise served as house physician at the Bismarck Hospital in 1926, then joined the Quain and Ramstead Clinic in Bismarck in 1927. For a while it was useful to him that he could speak German. And useful that he had grown up in the area, having some acquaintance through his sister with a few Bismarck doctors. Even doctors Quain and Ramstead knew him and had recommended a good Minneapolis hospital for his internship year. Later he did post-graduate study at the University of Minnesota and at Washington University in St. Louis. In 1975 he wrote a published history of the early days of the Q and R Clinic.

On May 31, 1928, Paul Freise married Alma Klusman, who was a graduate nurse from the Bismarck Hospital and later an obstetrics nurse there. It is a coincidence that Ms. Klusman’s father, a dairy farmer who lived north of New Salem, was born in the village of Buer in north Germany, only about 75 miles from Höxter where Dr. Freise's father came from. For a time they lived at 721 Eighth Street in Bismarck and then for the remainder of their lives at 831 Mandan Street in Bismarck.

Dr. Freise enjoyed a medical career spanning 50 years, all in Bismarck, specializing in obstetrics, though often following those babies through pediatric care and even into adulthood. In the early days there lots of challenges, including emergency deliveries during bad weather in remote rural areas accessible only by horse and buggy. If people couldn’t pay, especially during the Depression, they of course received care. Many of those good people later voluntarily paid their bills anyway, even when the statute of limitations would have excused them. In time he became a partner in the Quain and Ramstead Clinic and chief of staff at Bismarck Hospital. The Q&R Clinic was itself a significant Bismarck presence, perhaps the second regional clinic in the country formed after the model of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. From its begiinnings in 1902, it had grown to about 14 physicians when Dr. Freise joined in 1927.

Paul and Alma lived for a time at 721 Eighth Street in Bismarck, then at 800 Mandan Street before designing and building a lovely home in about 1937 at 831 Mandan Street, where they resided the rest of their lives.

After retiring, Dr. Freise took part-time positions for the state Department of Health and as company doctor at the big refinery in Mandan, joking that he had finally “made it,” working for the two largest employers in the state. He died in a mercifully short time after suffering a massive stroke shortly before his 82nd birthday.

Of himself, Paul wrote in 1978:
Paul William Freise, the youngest child of Hermann and Bertha Freise, was born August 5, 1898, on the family farm. He went to country grade school and then to high school in New Salem, graduating in 1919. Like all the children, he did his share of farm work during those school years.

Later, while home from school the summer of 1923, he spent a pleasant, hard-working vacation running his sister Tillie’s farm following the death of her husband. That summer’s final job was hauling load of wheat each day to Judson, some fourteen miles away, with a team and 50-bushel wagon. That was a considerable load for any team. Even though the horses were alternated every other day for rest, occasionally they could barely pull up that last long hill into Judson. The final load was hauled the day before the fall semester of medical school resumed. A train ride back to school ended those farming days forever.

Paul studied pre-medicine for two years at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, took the first two years of medical school there too, and then completed the final two years of medical training at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, at the medical school campus in Chicago, where he finished all work in 1925. After a year of internship at St. Mary’s Hospital in Minneapolis, he was granted the medical degree from Northwestern in 1926, as was the custom then.

Dr. Freise served as house physician at the Bismarck Hospital in 1926, then joined the Quain and Ramstead Clinic in 1927. Later he did post-graduate study at the University of Minnesota and at Washington University in St. Louis.

On May 31, 1928, Paul Freise married Alma Klusman, who was a graduate nurse from the Bismarck Hospital. It is a coincidence that Mrs. Freise’s father, a dairy farmer who lived north of New Salem, was born in the village of Buer in north Germany, only about 75 miles from Höxter where Dr. Freise’s father came from.

Dr. Freise enjoyed a medical career spanning 50 years, all in Bismarck, specializing in obstetrics. During that time he was a partner in the Quain and Ramstead Clinic and chief of staff at Bismarck Hospital. Having recently marked their 50th wedding anniversary, he and his wife live at 831 Mandan Street in Bismarck.

To them were born two children, Robert Paul and Elsa Marie. On August 16, 1957, Robert married Wilma Goetz (b. January 11, 1935). He lives with his wife and three girls east of Bismarck. The daughters are Rebecca Jo (“Becky” born March 31, 1959), Kathryn Maria (October 15, 1962) and Kara Ruth (“Missy” born July 26, 1966). Robert is director of emergency medical services for the North Dakota state health department. On June 27, 1959, Elsa married Dr. John Windh, a college music teacher, and they live in Racine, Wisconsin, with their children, Rolf Timothy (December 7, 1964) and Maria Anne (January 30, 1967).


From the Bismarck Tribune of June 9, 1980:
“Dr. Paul W. Freise, 81, a Bismarck physician for half a century, and long prominent in medical and community affairs, died Sunday in a local hospital.

Services will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Trinity Lutheran Church. The family prefers memorials to Missouri Slope Lutheran Home or the Crippled Children’s School, Jamestown.

Dr. Freise came to Bismarck to practice medicine in 1926 and remained active as a member of Quain and Ramstad Clinic for 50 years, the first physician there to achieve that record.

In 1976, the year he retired, he was one of four physicians of the Sixth District Medical Society honored for their long years of practice in the community.

While he probably delivered more babies in the area than any other Bismarck physician, Dr. Freise never regarded himself as strictly a baby doctor.

At the time of his retirement, he said of his earlier years in medicine, “We did more general practice in those days.” And he saw medical practice in three phases -- before, during and after antibiotics. “It’s interesting to remember how you had to handle an illness before (antibiotics) came into the picture. Both the patients and the doctgors did surprisingly well,” he said.

Born Aug. 5, 1898 at Sedalia, Dr. Freise grew up at New Salem and graduated from high school there. He was a graduate of the University of North Dakota and Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill. He did postgraduate work at the University of Minnesota and Washington University, St. Louis, Mo., and interned at St. Mary’s Hospital, Minneapolis. During his years at Quain and Ramstad, he served as a partner and chairman of the board of directors.

Dr. Freise married Alma Klusman, May 31, 1928 at Bismarck. He is survived by his wife at 831 N. Mandan St.; one son, Robert P., Bismarck; one daughter, Mrs. John (Elsa) Windh, Racine, Wis.; five grandchildren and two sisters, Mrs. Gertrude Beck, Grangeville, Iadho, and Mrs. Ottilda Mathias, Vallejo, Calif.

During his many years as a member of the Bismarck medical community, Dr. Freise served as chief of staff of Bismarck Hospital, from 1950 to 1962; as president of the Sixth District Medical Society, and chairman of the Bismarck Medical Foundation.

He was a charter member of the American Academy of Obstetrics and Gynecology, a member of the state society and a life member of the Central Association of Obstetrics and Gynecology. He was an instructor in his field at Bismarck Hospital School of Nursing, served as medical director of the Amoco Refinery, Mandan, and the Crippled Children’s Service of the state Social Services Board.

Dr. Freise also served on the board of trustees of Trinity Lutheran Church, was a member of the first board of directors of Missouri Slope Lutheran Home and was medical director for that institution. He was a charter member of the Bismarck Horse Club and a member of the Bismarck Elks, Bismarck Masonic bodies and El Zagal Shrine.

Reviewal will be at Boelter Funeral Home only.”

From the funeral bulletin:
“Paul W. Freise, M.D., 81, 831 North Mandan Street, Bismarck, North Dakota, passed away Sunday, June 8, 1980 at a local hospital.

He was born August 5, 1898, at Sedalia, North Dakota, to Herman and Bertha Freise. He grew up in the New Salem community and graduated from New Salem High School. He was a graduate of the University of North Dakota and Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois. He did postgraduate work at the University of Minnesota and Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, and he interned at St. Mary’s Hospital, Minneapolis, Minnesota. He did his residency training at Bismarck Hospital in 1927-1928 and has resided in Bismarck since that time.

Dr. Freise was a specialist in obstetrics and gynecology and was an instructor iin his field at the Bismarck Hospital School of Nursing. He was the first physician to have achieved 50 years of active practice at Quain and Ramstad Clinic.

He was a charter member of the Bismarck Horse Club, a member of Bismarck Elks, Bismarck Masonic Bodies, and El Zagel Shrine.

He was married to Alma Klusman on May 31, 1928, at Bismarck.”

Casketbearers at his funeral were Walter Neuens; Carter Pendergast, Jr.; P. Roy Gregware, M.D.; C. H. Montz, M.D.; Juel Skytland; and Bernard Okland. Honorary casketbearers were all Quain and Ramstad physicians. Interment was at Sunset Memorial Gardens in Bismarck.

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At 831 Mandan Street:
In early summer of 2003, an attractive sign appeared on the lawn of the Paul Freise house at 831 Mandan Street in Bismarck. It said that the house had been placed on the National Register of Historic Places. In August of 2018, while in Bismarck for the burials of Robert and Wilma at the North Dakota Veterans’ Cemetery south of Mandan, we noticed the owner watering plants in the yard and stopped. She invited us to return in a few hours to see the ways she and her husband had restored the house to its original state. For Elsa, John, Rolf and Kathy, it was a marvelous trip down memory lane.

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On his brief service in the Students Army Training Corps:
FREISE, PAUL WILLIAM. Army number 4,558,756; registrant, Morton county; born, New Salem, N. Dak., Aug. 5, 1898, of German parents; occupation, student; inducted at Jamestown on Oct. 31, 1918; sent to Jamestown College; served in Students Army Training Corps, to discharge. Discharged at Jamestown, N. Dak., on Dec. 10, 1918, as a Private