Sherburne History Center Blog

Weather extremes, the newspapers documented in 1936, wreaked havoc in Sherburne County communities.   Floods and high water in April and a ten-week drouth in August the weather played a significant role in life during a bad year in the 1930s economic depression. The headlines of the Sherburne County Star News, in April 1936, reported high water marks on the Elk River.   Camp Cozy suffered the greatest catastrophe.   The newspaper reported flooding and ice flows destroyed footbridges crossing the Elk River.   High water destroyed cabins along the river.   Yet, these reports seemed only a precursor to the weather extremes of later in the year.   In the summer months, heat waves burned crops and killed people in the upper Midwest.   The St Paul newspapers in the summer 1936 reported 100 people dying from heat.   Newspapers noted the heat allowed men to fry eggs on the city pavement.   The heat in Sherburne County seemed lower, yet sti...

World War Adjusted Compensation, billion dollar words that generated 20 years of controversy and bloodshed in the United States.   Although Sherburne witnessed no violent protest, the law passed in 1924 impacted Elk River and the county for a generation.   In 1924, Congress pass legislation awarding veterans of the World War a bonus for their service.   Veterans received promises of bonds to be paid after 20 years maturity.   President Calvin Coolidge opposed the legislation, arguing “patriotism bought and paid for is not patriotism.”   Despite his veto, Congress passed the World War Adjusted Compensation Act, promising veterans money in twenty years.   The arrival of the economic depression in the 1930s, unemployed and homeless veterans asked for their money earlier than promised.   In 1932, Bonus Army protests in Washington, D.C. led to riots and the deaths of two veterans.   In 1936, Congress passed a new legislation promising the ve...