Sherburne History Center Blog

The letters from George Bostrom to his sister document the events of World War One in interesting detail. Only after the war is over, he writes about seeing action in the Argonne Forest. More importantly, in the chronolo0gical order of his letters, he describes his seven days of leave in December 1918. He provides an interesting contrast between life on the front lines versus the luxury hotel he stays in Chambray, France.  I am having just a dandy time at present , he wrote. Have been over here long enough to be granted a seven day pass and here I am at Chambray to enjoy it. And I sure am enjoying it. After being in the lines for nearly a month of real hardships. Laying in shell holes and digin’s, what we call them, lots of times wet thru and thru and cold and then sent to a place like this with every comfort you can think of.    He went on to describe the luxuries of the ever-present Y.M.C.A. The Y.M.C.A I must tell you about. There’s a Y. here in a very large bu...

A few weeks ago, we shared a few lines of letters from Pvt. George Bostrom to his sister.  Bostrom, originally from Elk River, served in the American Expeditionary Force in France during World War One.  Here is a second portion of a letter in 1918 sharing conditions in France in the last days of the war: Well Sister, I’m in the lines again and have been for some time.  I think we will move soon, possibly little further to the front because we are kind of in reserve here although we aren’t so very far from the front. Suits me alright tho because back here we would be an excellent target for the (Germans) if they had a mind to open up their big guns on us.  There has been some of their medium sized shells come our way at different times.  The other night they sent ove3r a few that made us wonder if they really had come with our names marked on them but I guess they must have misspelled them.  I shouldn’t joke that way.  It hurts me when I hear others t...

  An interesting collection arrived at the Sherburne History Center in recent weeks.   A wonderful collection of letters from George Bostrom to his family members living here in Sherburne County.   Particularly interesting, the bulk these letters came from France during World War One.   George’s letters document the different training camps and finally his stations “somewhere in France”.   The letters begin in 1918 and continue through 1920.   In letters to his family George documents everything from experiencing bombings at the front, to the price of chocolate.   Also interesting, he provides the exchange rate from American dollars to French francs.   From his letters we know, a 12-ounce chocolate bars cost anywhere from thirty cents to sixty cents. Letterhead from the Knights of Columbus.   George Bostrom used this, as well as letterhead  provided by the YMCA, to write letters home In a letter written the day before the Armistic...

National Donut Day originated by the Salvation Army in 1938.   A means to recognize all of their members that served donuts to soldiers during World War One.   The Salvation Army served more than donuts to soldiers.   According to Wikipedia, volunteers established huts near the front lines in France to serve baked goods to U. S. troops.   National Donut Day began as a fundraising event for the Salvation Army, and remains a source of income to this day.   In honor of National Donut Day, here at the Sherburne History Center we publish this photo of Bake Anderson and his Bakery in Elk River.   From a different time than the World War One volunteers; Bake Anderson provide culinary delights to a generation of Elk River.

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...

World War dominated the headlines a century ago.  In reviewing the news pages of January 1, 1918, comes the realization some things never change.  When the news coverage moves away from the death and destruction of world war, the economy and discussion of taxes takes up space in the newspapers.  Column from the Star News  reminding  county residents to pay their taxes The third headline seems most interesting: Heavy Penalty For Failure  In surveying the pages of the Sherburne County Star News for the first week in 1918, it comes as no surprise the war is a dominant topic of reporting.  Yet, the newspaper’s inside pages provide interesting commentary.  In addition to the war, the Star News reminded its readers to pay their income tax “before March 1, 1918.”  In the five years since the passage of the 16th Amendment to the Constitution, collecting income tax remained a new concept.  Yet, with the war continuing in Europe, p...

The cease fire to end World War One came on the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918.  When news arrived in Sherburne County, celebrations started early in the morning and continued throughout the day. A.E.F. troops in France, 1918 “The Union church bell began clanging out the good tidings to the sleeping public” the Sherburne County Star News reported.  “Soon the school bell joined in.  A freight engineer went through town with his whistle blowing drum beats.”  The paper went on to report the community anticipated the news.  “Without any further information Elk River knew that Germany had surrendered.”    With the news, a spontaneous celebration involved the entire city of Elk River.  A spontaneous parade developed, taking over the main streets throughout the city.  Businessmen closed their shops and joined the celebration.  “Old and young were included in the ranks of the paraders,” the newspap...

During World War One, the United States first recognized gold star families, families who lost a member during war time.  In Sherburne County, the only gold star family in the area of Big Lake came with the death of Arthur Embretson in 1918.  Serving aboard the U.S.S. Cyclops, Embretson was one of 306 sailors lost when the ship sank in March 1918.  Because of failed radio transmissions, the exact location of the ship was lost for many years.  The ship could have been captured or sunk as it sailed along the North Carolina coast.  The exact cause of the sinking remained inconclusive, although maritime experts believe the Cyclops had been overloaded and storms in the Atlantic Ocean caused the ship to founder or break apart.  The sinking of the Cyclops remains the single largest loss of life aboard a United states naval ship not directly involved in combat.     Before he enlisted in the navy in 1917, Arthur Bernard Embretson left a small mark...

Advertising War Savings Stamps in the Sherburne County Star News , 1918 Paying for war is often a challenge for the United States government.  In the 1800s, financing war meant the government borrowed money from rich financiers.  Only with World War One did the United States government appeal to the general public for aid in paying for war.  The Liberty Bonds sales appeared to be very successful and often viewed as patriotic tests.  In Sherburne County, local leaders actively promoted the bond subscription drives and claimed significant success. The government created four Liberty Bond programs in 1917 and 1918.  In 1919 the government also issued a fifth Victory Liberty Loan bond.  In total, Liberty Bonds raised $21.5 billion for the war effort.  With each bond program, Sherburne County received a quota of funding the county must raise.  The first Liberty Bond quota called for $130,000 from county patriots.  The Sherburne County...

Unidentified soldier from World War One SHC collections The United States declared war on Germany and its allies on 6 April 1917.  Men not yet enlisted in the National Guard were subject to the draft.  In Sherburne County, several hundred men entered the army as a result of the Federalization of the National Guard and the draft.  Although events in training camps were never typical, letters sent home, and later published in the Sherburne County Star News , give a sense of life in the camps. In a letter published in the Sherburne County Star News Theodore Coder described daily life in Camp Cody, New Mexico.  “We left Fort Snelling Oct. 10 and arrived at Deming, adjacent to Camp Cody, on Oct. 15,” he wrote.  “Had a delightful trip, or at least it was to me, but I did not fall in love with the country on first sight or have no deep affection for it yet.”   He went on to describe the hazards of camp life.  “The sand blows here like the snow ...

Shortly after the United States declared war in April 1917, citizens realized in addition to the necessary rations of U. S. soldiers, there existed the starvation of civilians throughout Europe.  The government created the U. S. Food Administration to encourage rationing and conserving food.  Under the direction of future President Herbert Hoover, the administration instituted a voluntary rationing program that included Meatless Tuesdays and Wheatless Wednesdays.  Through the year of war and into 1919, consumption of meat in the United States dropped more than 15 percent.  Exports of food to Europe increased significantly. Locally, the Sherburne County Star News promoted the rationing.  Referring to the Meatless Tuesdays and Wheatless Wednesdays, the paper opined, “If these measures are necessary to win the war, let us all munch corn meal and be thankful.”  The paper went on to suggest the rationing of bacon.  “Bacon is the soldiers’ real food fr...

Unidentified soldier World War One in the photo collections of The Sherburne History Center The Minnesota Home Guard organized in 1917 after the state National Guard joined the regular army to fight World War One in Europe.  With the creation of the Home Guard, Elk River, for the only time in its history, became the headquarters of a military organization. Although the Home Guard receives little attention in the histories of the Minnesota war effort, they provided some significant service to the communities of Sherburne County as well as aid to the state.  The creation of the Minnesota Home Guard originated by the Minnesota Commission of Public Safety.  The state organized twenty-three battalions, consisting of over 7,000 men.  The Elk River unit became known as Company C of the 12 th Battalion.  The first step in organizing Company C was the election officers.  County Attorney George H. Tyler received the rank of captain, while W. T. Parry and He...

Charles C. Nelson of Sherburne County, in uniform in service WWI From SHC photo collections: 1990.201.266 April marks the century anniversary of United States involvement in World War One.  On April 6, 1917 Congress declared war against Germany, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and their allies. In the coming year, no doubt, a number of historians will commemorate the war activities of the United States.  For Sherburne County, the war began earlier than April 1917.  As part of the Minnesota National guard, in 1916, young men from Sherburne County served as border guards in Texas and New Mexico.  The escapades of Pancho Villa along the Mexico-Texas border led to the stationing of National guardsmen all along the border.  General John “Black Jack” Pershing commanded Minnesota Guardsmen ordered into national service in July 1916.  Some historians maintain the United States eventually would enter the European war.  The work on the Mexico border served ...

As you research the history of Sherburne County, or Minnesota for that matter, a collection of documents you might want to consider viewing are the Public Safety Commission Alien Registration and Declaration of Holdings Forms, from 1918.  The records are held by the Minnesota Historical Society.  Microfilm copies of the Sherburne County records are available at SHC These records, the alien registration forms, contain a wealth of information.  They were collected in the early days of World War I.  The Public Safety Commission set out to identify and document the individuals and the property holdings of every alien living in Minnesota. The Commission was created by the State of Minnesota, a board of seven members: including the Governor, the State Attorney General and five members appointed by the Governor.  Early in 1918, the Commission issued “Proclamation and Order No. 25” designating the week of February 25 to March 1 as Alien Registration Days. ...