Sherburne History Center Blog

In examining the history of the Elk River business district, one grocery store continuously receives mention: George’s Fairway Market.  Exploring the brief history of the Fairway Market provides an interesting perspective on the personality of Elk River and the business philosophies of community leaders. In an oral history at the Sherburne History Center, George Dietz remembered the early years of operating the Fairway Market.   Dietz grew up in the retail business.   “My dad belonged to the Minnesota Food Retailer Association,” he remembered.   While moving to several retail operations early in his career, he gained his greatest experience at National Tea.   “I ended up being the produce manager at Excelsior,” he said. The Fairway Market featuring its low prices In August 1953, Dietz bought the Fairway Market in Elk River.   “Ann’s dad was in business in Victoria.   He was on the Board of Directors of Fairway.   There was no way I cou...

Discussing Sherburne County History, the Brown Hotel, in Big lake, is often mentioned as an outstanding example of fine food and hospitality.   In Elk River, the Blanchett Hotel and the Riverside Inn maintained reputations as hotels serving delicious food and cordial surroundings.   Yet, an equally auspicious, but overlooked, hostelry entertained and housed visitors in Clear Lake for 47 years.   The Clear Lake House, an inn offering hospitality to travelers and long-term guests, anchored a section of the Clear Lake business district near the railroad depot.   The history of the inn on the west side of the county warrants attention. Clear Lake House, circa 1900 Built in 1880 by C. W. Potter, the hotel replaced a railway eatery that had burned down a year earlier.   The hotel offered a restaurant for railroad passengers and train crews.   It also provided travelers a brief respite from long rail journeys through Minnesota.   Potter ran the hote...

A goal with this blog is to review the history of Sherburne County and try to create some perspective on the events in the past.   With the current COVID-19 pandemic hitting the world, it seemed a good time to review a pandemic from 100 years ago: In rural Minnesota, during the late 1800s, death by disease seemed accepted as part of life.   Families experienced high mortality rates on infants and the aged.   Individuals living past five years old promised a better chance of experiencing old age.   This all changed with the Influenza Epidemic of 1918 to 1920.   For almost two years, waves of influenza circled the world, infecting an estimated 500 million people and killing anywhere between 17 and 50 million.   On the local level, the disease took hold, yet in actual numbers, the death rate seems quite small.   The county leaders took quick action to prevent the spread of influenza and this way prevented a higher death toll.   Samples of ...