Sherburne History Center Blog

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 ...

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...

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.  ...

Every so often we acknowledge leaders of Sherburne County.  No real criteria exists for selecting these profiles of greatness.  We simply select individuals we believe played an important role in the history of Sherburne County.  With this column, we look at the life of newspaper editor and politician Arthur N. Dare.  Arthur Dare--1850 to 1923 Born in Onondaga County, New York on May 25, 1850 Arthur N. Dare lived an early life packed with adventure.  Living in New York until age 18, he traveled with his family to Wisconsin, and from there, at age 20, he landed in Minneapolis.  While in the cities, he studied for four years as a printer.  In the early 1870s he signed on as a sailor on a whaling ship to see the world.  After a quick journey into the South Pacific, he returned to Minnesota and settled in Elk River.  In 1878 he purchased half ownership in the Elk River newspaper.  In less than a year he had purchased the other half ...

Entertainment and technology took a great stride forward in Elk River in 1913 when motion pictures and movie theaters illuminated the city.  In that year two theaters, “The Elk Theater” and “Blanchett’s”, presented silent movies in Elk River.  By 1915, a third theater, the “Royal Theater,” opened its doors.  These years marked the beginning of a new age in entertainment in Elk River. In November of 1913, the Elk Theater advertised the silent short movie “Return of Crime,” dramatic crime and punishment movie featuring the young British actress Barbara Tennant.  By 1914, the Elk presented full length silent movies such as “The Last Days of Pompeii.”  Admission prices to the hour long movie was 15 and 25 cents, the matinee appeared to be a less expensive ticket than the evening showing.  Newspaper advertisement in the Star News, December 2, 1915, just a week after the grand opening of the Royal Theater Meanwhile, the Sherburne County Star News rep...

As a former newspaper reporter, I know firsthand the long hours and challenges demanded by the job of collecting news.  Local news columns from the Sherburne County Star News reveal the difficulties and dangers of the occupation of newspaper correspondent. Early in 1897 the newspaper published appeals for news and reports from around the county.  “We would be glad to have anyone residing in town or county send in news items,” the editors wrote.  “It is not necessary that the items be startling ones, for instance a murder, or a house burning up with all its inmates,” the paper published.  “Any little pleasant social occurrence is always interesting: an entertainment you may have given; a trip you are taking; a friend who is visiting you; … as well as the stand-bys; births, deaths, and marriages.”  Both the editors and the correspondents often found news detecting difficult.  In a local news column from Becker published on January 1, 1897, the Star ...

The Klondike strain of Gold Fever infected Sherburne County in 1897.  The Sherburne County Star News noted the particular disease in August and began offering best advice for those afflicted with the virus and those contemplating an adventure into the Alaska gold fields.                In the summer months of 1897, the newspaper advised it was already too late to begin the trek to the Klondike.  Adventurous Sherburnites might reach Alaska when the goldfields would be snowed covered.  The paper calculated eight months to reach Juneau, the jumping off point for the Klondike goldfields.  The newspaper suggested adventurers time their journey so that they reach Alaska in the summer months and make the final trek to the interior during the easier summer months.              “Those who penetrate into the ice and snow must be rugged and hardy...

Commentary on the news coverage in Becker, published in the Sherburne County Star News , 6 August 1896: Miss Grace, looking over our shoulder, remarked, “I know why all your items don’t appear.  The editor can’t read your writing.” An interesting explanation in the columns of the Sherburne County Times 23 March, 1899.  I am not sure if this is the writing of a frustrated editor, or a need to fill space. Newspaper men are blamed for a lot of things they can’t help, such as partiality in mentioning visitors, giving news about some folks and leaving others out, etc.  The newspaper man cannot help this.  He simple prints the news he can find.  Some people inform him about such things and others do not.—Ed.  An interesting perspective to contemplate as we search for news of our ancestors in the newspapers.  Maybe our kin are simply not that informative.

The following two announcements reinforce the idea of “trust but verify” in family history. They also suggest why family history research can be so much fun yet so challenging. The two announcements were published in the Sherburne County Star News on 6 February and 13 February 1896 in the “Becker News” column on page 5.  Even the most intrepid of news reporters and correspondents can get the facts wrong.  So, in family history we have the responsibility to “trust but verify.” 6 February 1896   13 February 1896 And special thanks to my colleague, Phyllis Scroggins, who found these two announcements and brought them to my attention.  While reading the microfilm newspapers, Phyllis manages to find the most interesting information.

“One trouble with Elk River,” exclaimed one of our citizens, “is that we are too quiet, we don’t blow enough about the town and its advantages.”   The Sherburne County Star News published this comment on 12 September 1895.  It served to introduce a number of columns promoting the value of land and living in Elk River.  The publication in the pages of the local newspaper is an interesting bit of boosterism. The articles something akin to “preaching to the choir.”  Although, the newspaper will reach areas outside of Elk River, the bulk of the membership already knows about the “value of land” in the area.   Yet, the paper goes on to promote Elk River land and living: “Many of our business men are possessing themselves of small tracts of land convenient to town, as they are offered for sale,” the paper reported.  “This does not mean, necessarily, that they contemplate abandoning the business they are engaged in and go to farming for a living, b...