Sherburne History Center Blog

After last week’s blog about George Dietz and the Fairway Market in Elk River, new information came to our attention.   We felt we needed to share, to add a bit more information and appreciation for George Dietz and his contributions to the community.   First, a bit of background information.   The oral history mentioned his work in markets in the Chaska area.   It also hinted about service in World War Two.   The unmentioned details include Dietz’s service record.   He spent 30 months in the army, fighting in Europe.   He was wounded twice, once during the Anzio beach landing, and the second time during the invasion of Southern France.   After the war, and after some time working in markets near the Twin Cities, on August 26, 1953 he opened his store in Elk river.   “Completely remodeled with a self-service cold meat department, new frozen food and new center gondolas,” the Star News reported about the store opening. ...

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...

The 1915 Bank of Elk River Building located on Jackson Street.  Although not visible, a side entrance to  the bank led to the basement lounge for farm families and ladies Recent efforts to map the Elk River business district provided some interesting results, not the least of these is the development of a ladies’ lounge in the Bank of Elk River basement.   Researching the lounge, shows the businessmen of Elk River very attuned to early 1900s marketing and customer service ideas.   Their efforts to recruit entire families shows an appreciation for a close-knit community. Fire destroyed the business district of Elk River in April 1915.   The Bank of Elk River immediately developed plans for a new bank building. With the new construction on Jackson Street, the bank also introduced the idea of providing a “rest room for farmers wives and families.”   The idea being to provide “a place for farmers wives and families a place to rest and visit with one a...

After publishing William Greupner’s oral history, a news article the Sherburne County Star News published came to light, providing more details about the business history of Herman Greupner and Greupner Shoes.   The article, published April 5, 1934, provides new insight into the business history of Greupner Shoes, it also gives information regarding the layout of Elk River’s business district. 1894 map of Elk River business district.  Looking closely Greupner's Shoe Store most likely in the bottom edge of the map, along State Street. When Herman Greupner arrived in Elk River, in 1884, he opened his first shop next door to “the Henry Wheaton general store on the north side of the railroad tracks.”   The newspaper reported, in 1885, “W. H. Houlton built a new shop for Mr. Greupner on Princeton Street,” (today Jackson Street) still north of the railroad tracks. “When my business increased,” the paper quoted Mr. Greupner, “making dress shoes for the best people...

Recently we have been exploring county landmarks with the use of oral histories in the collections of the Sherburne History Center.   Greupner Shoes developed into a business institution in Elk River.   Established in the 1880s, and remaining in the city for more than eighty years, the small shop that served Elk River and Sherburne County became a significant icon in the county history.   William Greupner remembers the store and his father: Greupner's Shoe Shop before the 1895 fire From the collections of SHC My dad, Herman Greupner, came to Elk River from Germany in 1883.   He had two sisters and a brother in Germany.   He was in the army over there.   He was in the army for three years.   And then he was in the reserve.   He really shouldn’t have left, I guess, because in the reserve you aren’t supposed to leave the country.   He did anyhow because he thought, he told us so many times, he thought silver dollars were hanging from t...