The Typesetter's Challenge

Sherburne County Star News, frontpage
January 11, 1900

An interesting column published in the Sherburne County Star News emphasizes the challenges of 1920s technology.  This brief statement generates some appreciation for the 21^st century ability to communicate: 

"The Star news admits that it occasionally make typographical errors and we are not ashamed of it,” the paper reported.  “Possibly the general public does not know it, but in an ordinary column there are 10,000 pieces of type.  There are 7 possible wrong positions for each letter, 70,000 chances to make errors and millions of possible transpositions.  In the sentence, “To be or not to be,” by transpositions alone 2,759,022 errors can be made.” 

The paper concluded their column with the defiant claim, “No paper is ever without errors and there never will be one.” 

Considering this, spell check on my word processing program makes me appreciate the computer technology more than ever.

Fred Corey: Another Local Profile in Courage

Inherent dangers exist in the timber industry.  A brief biography of Fred Cory illustrates some of these dangers.  His life also serves as an example of courage and hard work to overcome obstacles. 

Born in Otsego and living in Elk River, Fred Corey worked the first half of his working life in the timber industry.  In 1895 he received the appointment as a land inspector for the Minnesota State Auditor’s Office.  His job as timber cruiser demanded he inspect land in the Iron Range, identifying trees suitable for harvest as lumber.  “He is honest and competent and will perform the duties of the office in a faithful and conscientious manner,” the Elk River Star News speculated.  The job, though, led directly to an accident that left him disabled for the rest of his life. 

In March 1895, while cruising timber in the Iron Range, his compass failed him.  He became lost.  Shortly afterwards, a spring blizzard hit the area.  Corey became stranded overnight in freezing weather.  “It was a bitter cold night,” the newspaper reported.  “Twenty below zero, the snow being two feet deep,” Corey struggled to keep moving through the night.  Finally, able to walk out the next day, he found his camp despite suffering from frozen ears, hands and feet.   The Star News report summarized Corey’s condition and surgery.  “Several fingers were amputated and a portion of both feet,” the paper reported.  “Mr. Corey stood the operation well, and it is hoped his recovery will be speedy.” 

In spite of hard work, Fred Corey never recovered to full health.  He left the timber industry and received an appointment as the Elk River Postmaster.  He held the position for 17 years.  As a political appointment, his dedication and hard work counted for little, Woodrow Wilson replaced him as postmaster in 1915.  Beyond his disabilities, Fred Corey remained active in his retirement at the Union Church in Elk River and as a Mason.  Fred Corey an example of dedication to life and devotion to hard work, died February 1924.

Thieves Beat the High Cost of Living in 1920s Sherburne County

“Somebody,” the Sherburne County Star News in November 1919 reported, “has discovered a new way of reducing the high cost of living.”  Thieves victimized farmers in Sherburne County for several years by stealing anything they might be able to eat or sell. 

A thieving crime wave first appeared in 1919, Jim Brown a Livonia Township farmer reported a two-year-old steer butchered in his field.  The thieves took “everything along except the head the entrails,” the paper reported.  According to the reporter, Brown’s steer was the second Sherburne County theft by butcher that year.  The paper also recalled several sheep had been similarly stolen.  “It may be that an organized band of thieves are operating in this section,” the Star News suggested. 

Later in the 1920s, organized gangs of thieves again operated in the county.  For more than three years, 1921 to 1924, butter thieves targeted creameries owned by the Twin Cities Milk Producers Association.  In October 1921, the Star News reported the thieves hit the Elk River Creamery and made off with 445 pounds of butter.  Police speculated the thieves might have gotten away with more except some unknown disturbance frightened them away.  Earlier in the year the gang of thieves hit the Forest Lake Creamery.  There “they took away everything they could find including the butter in tubs as well as prints.” 

After diligent investigation, police closed down the ring.  Charles Blad, from St Paul was identified as the leader of the gang.  Police convinced him to plead guilty for a sentence in Stillwater prison of “an indeterminate term.”  

Police paused to catch their breath before they began investigating yet another crime ring in Sherburne County.  In December 1925 thieves victimized county chicken farmers.  “A series of raids, bearing all of the earmarks of the deeds of experienced professionals culminated with the theft of between 60 and 75 blooded Rhode Island Red Chickens,” the Star News reported.  The thieves, the paper speculated “are of the type who travel in automobiles, steal, and market their products in the Twin Cities.”  Police speculated the capture of the thieves would be difficult.  In response, the paper reported, “the farmers of western Sherburne County are setting their man traps and oiling up their shotguns.” 

For whatever reason the thefts stopped in Sherburne County.  Although never violent crime, the value of the property stolen from the farmers and citizens of Sherburne County was significant.

Sherburne County Fair: History of the Early Days

Promotional announcement for the
Sherburne County Fair in the
Star News 1915.

Sherburne County Fair, 2017, meets on July 20 to 23.  It seemed appropriate to look back at the early days of the fair and experience the Great Sherburne County Get-Together from 128 years ago.

The fair first met at the A. B. Carlson farm in 1889.  After the first year, the event moved to the Meadowvale School, the future site of the Sunbeam Grange Hall.  Later sites for the fair included the Houlton property near the Mississippi River and the current site near Highway 10. 

Until 1915 the county fair consisted of a one day meeting.  Farmers brought out samples of their best crop, while women displayed craft work, baked goods, and jams and jellies.  The day concluded with a potluck picnic.  October first and second, 1915 the fair staged a two day event.  Slowly, over time the Sherburne County Get-Together expanded to the four day event of today. 

Over the years, the Sherburne County Agricultural Society, the group responsible for staging the fair, suffered growing pains.  At least three times the group reorganized and redefined themselves.  The group organized in 1889, they reorganized in 1915, in 1945, and again in 1989. 

Scheduling the fair forever challenged the fair board.  The original fair met the end of September 1889.  By 1972, the dates of the fair crept into July when the county gathered on July 14 through 16.  Weather considerations, heat and rain, as well as the work schedules of farmers tested the planning capabilities of the fair board.  The event, today, remains in July.

Continuing through to today, the support for the fair appears throughout the county.  Perhaps the most ardent boosters of the fair include the Sherburne County Star News.  Under headlines in 1918, the newspaper announced, “Another Great Success Scored By The Sherburne County Fair.”  The reporter for the news went on to describe the fair as “a complete success from every viewpoint.  The exhibits were plentiful and of a high quality, while the attendance was most satisfactory.”  Other years, the newspaper promised “More Exhibits Than Ever,” and “Prospects Are That the Sherburne County Fair This Year Will Be a Hummer.”

In spite of the many challenges and needs to reorganize, the Sherburne Fair remains a central event in Elk River.  An event inviting county residents to the “Great Get-Together” that promises to be “another great success.”