Sherburne History Center Blog

Libraries—“Elk River Should Have One” read the headline from the 1902 Sherburne County Star News newspaper.  Although a subscription based library existed in Elk River since the early 1870s, publicly funded, free libraries were a product of the 1900s.   In the editorial published by the Star News , the paper explained that a lending library was available from the Minnesota State Library Commission for a minimal price.  For a fee of only one dollar, any community with at least ten taxpayers, could access fifty books.  More books were available for fifty cents per 25 books.  The community to keep the books and loan them out for six months.  The program served not only communities that could now support a free public library, it also aided established libraries that “cannot have frequent accessions of new books.”  This was something new to Sherburne County—a publicly funded, yet free lending library.   The Minnesota State legislature commis...

Betty Belanger begins her book, From Dairy Farms to Gravel Mines with a very telling quote.  Elizabeth Ekker Rotz said, “this isn’t America, this is miseryca.”  These six words summarize the challenges, difficulties, and problems faced by immigrants coming to America.  In her study of Hungarians in Sherburne County, Betty highlights the local challenges to immigrants.  Although her work is specific to the Hungarian community, it highlights the prejudices and challenges that every immigrant is forced to face.  She reported: for a long time dental care was not available to immigrants in Elk River.  The only dentist in town refused to see Hungarian patients.  In addition young Hungarian girls were derisively referred to as “gypsies”.   Betty also reported at volunteer, social events, Hungarian women were often given the dirty and heavy work in the kitchens and on clean-up duty.    The prejudice spilled over to significantly i...