Sherburne History Center Blog

Nationally, there have been recent discussions about immigration and citizenship.   On a local level, here at the Sherburne History Center, in recent weeks, we have been called upon several times to discuss immigration and ethnicity in the county.   With so much information about immigrants in my brain, I wanted to visit one of the truly unique and valuable oral histories we have collected about immigrants and Elk River.   Betty Belanger lived her entire life in Elk River.   She was born to Hungarian immigrants north of Elk River.   In the household, Hungarian was the language of choice until Betty started school at age six.   Although a brief excerpt of her longer oral history, Betty provides interesting insight into growing up in Elk River: I was born on the farm with a midwife who was a Hungarian immigrant.   She delivered a number of babies for the Hungarian moms in the neighborhood.   Her name was Theresa Toth.   I grew up ...

Betty Belanger’s was a historian.  She retired as a nurse from Cambridge Hospital.  Yet, her avocation involved documenting the lives and histories of Sherburne County and the Hungarian immigrant families around Elk River.  Her research culminated with From Dairy Farms to Gravel Pits: A History of Sherburne County’s Hungarian Community .  She documented the lives of the many Hungarian immigrants coming to Sherburne County.  The introduction noted without her work “the stories and struggles” of these early settlers “would have faded into the past, leaving behind few traces.”  Although the statement may seem overly dramatic, it is accurate.  Without Betty Belanger, much about the Hungarian settlement in Elk River would have died.   Betty Belanger avoided branding the first arrival, or the latest, most vital of events.  Instead her history carefully cataloged the challenges facing early Hungarian immigrants.  She explored the role ...