Sherburne History Center Blog

With the coming harvest season, I am reminded of the practices for preserving food during World War Two.  In 1943, with the war going full blast, every family tried to raise food in their own “victory gardens.”  The produce of these gardens seemed so abundant questions developed on how to best preserve the extra food.  In Elk River a unique program developed to provide canning services to any family in need of the service.  In June 1943, the Elk River newspaper announced the high school acquired a canning unit capable of processing 500 quarts per day.  With the aid of supervisors, anyone needing access to the canning unit might preserve any food grown in their victory gardens.  The unit canned in glass or tin cans.  If the family used tin cans, they would be charged two cents per can. “All are welcome to come in and can,” School Superintendent Robert Handke said.  He anticipated high demand for the unit, he encouraged residents to contact the ...

  Section of a letter written by H. C. Byson to his daughter Dawn with exciting details about POWs sighted in Elk River. Prisoners of War in Minnesota during World War Two often worked the lumber mills and the farms in the northern and central parts of the state.   Although not often seen in Sherburne County, POWs worked the potato harvest in Princeton in 1943, and possibly again in 1944.   At times, residents of Elk River and eastern Sherburne County witnessed these POWs being transported or working the potato fields. The casual sighting of POWs in Elk River, like other small towns in Minnesota, generated a certain amount of excitement witnessed in family letters such as the letter from H. C. Byson to his daughter Dawn Byson (later Moyer), in the summer of 1944.   Byson wrote to his daughter: Bruce came home this morning from downtown with those expressive eyes of his telling us an exciting story.   He and several other people watched German prisoners eat ...

As we explore the traditions and customs evident in the Christmas season an interesting question arises: how did Santa Claus carry on with the business of giving out toys during a crisis?  In the archives of the Sherburne History Center, we found evidence to suggest that although Santa Claus maintains a high level of diligence, his creativity and thoughtful nature allows him to achieve his tasks, still in one night!  A letter found in the archives of the Sherburne History Center further explains Santa’s workload.  Addressed to the Nelson sisters in Zimmerman, Minn, the letter, written during World War Two.  Although it is dated: “Not many days before Christmas.” With his busy schedule, Mrs. Santa Claus takes on the job of replying to Christmas letters.  “Santa works until nearly morning these nights and so he has me do all his writing for him,” she explained.  She went on to note that “he will have to use reindeers this year because of gas-rationing.”...

  Labor shortages, in World War Two the phrase commonly referred to necessary work in the factories and armament industry.   Often associated with Rosie the Riveter, the phrase suggested a shortage of workers to man the factories and build necessary war machines.   Yet, the phrase carried a tragic and not often considered meaning in Sherburne County.   Although the federal government exempted most farm workers from the draft and created programs to provide more farm workers, the area around Sherburne County witnessed a severe shortage of labor during the war years of 1943 to 1945.   These labor shortages in farming caused more than a few farm failures and forced auctions.             With the opening months of 1943, a new phase of the war developed.   The conclusion of the North Africa campaign signaled success for allied troops.   Plans for invasion of Italy continued.   And the offensive a...

  WAAC recruitment poster, 1943 During World War Two, young men receive a significant amount of attention in joining the service or being drafted to serve.   Rightly, we need to recognize their service to the country.   Yet, many young women also served in the military.   Their service also warrants recognition. There were a few opportunities for young women to serve the country during the war.   The government called upon women flyers to ferry aircraft to Britain that had been manufactured in the United States.   Nurses served an equally important role in the military.   And a multitude of administrative duties put the efforts of women enlistees to the task. The first of the women branches of service, other than nurses, organized as the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps.   Beginning in 1942, the Army recruited 150,000 women to serve in administrative duties and still later as mechanics stationed around the United States.   In February 1943, C...

  The anniversary of the atomic bombing of Japan arrived this week. It seems an appropriate time to recognize the impact of the war on Sherburne County. Unfortunately, and tragically, World War Two impacted everyone. Whether through rationing or military service, or a multitude of other means, every individual in Sherburne County, between 1940 and 1945, felt the war.    An oral history collected from Edmund Babcock makes an interesting point of this: “When my high school class had its fiftieth reunion, we invited every class member to get up and take the microphone and tell a little bit about what had happened in their life since graduation from high school. We invited a dear lady who was one of those teachers that everybody in the class knew and liked. She was getting to be an elderly person at that point. Her daughter, who happened to be a medical docto r, drove her out from Minneapolis and stayed with her through the whole evening. We had a reception the ne...

With the lack of a graduation ceremony in 2020, we thought it appropriate to look back at another class of Elk River grads.   Men and women who put their lives on hold as the United states prepared to enter World War Two.   In three years, the world upon the class of 1938 to sacrifice for the war.    And the graduating class from Elk River answered the call.  Look closely on this image you may be able to pick out Jack Bade (second row, fourth from the right) and Charles Nagle (fourth row, second from left), both veterans from Elk River that served during the war (and men we have featured in these blog pages).  Other men and women on this photo collection may also have service records worth noting.

Every so often I strive to recognize Sherburne County men and women in military service.   Individuals who sacrificed for their country.   I want to acknowledge the life of Robert Darrow, a Lieutenant in the Army Air Corps, who died in combat in Italy in September 1943.   Robert Darrow, born in Elk River; for a short time, lived in Big Lake before returning to the city.   He graduated from Elk River High School in 1939.   He trained as a pilot at the North Dakota State School of Science.   He enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1941 and received his commission as Lieutenant in July 1942.   Bob Darrow received some recognition as an excellent pilot.   The Sherburne County Star News published a report of Darrow, during a training session in Louisiana, landing a crippled plane at high speed.   He kept the plane, with damaged wings, in the air for an hour to allow his crew to bail out.   To a man, the crew stayed with Darrow. ...

It has been a few months, but with the new year, I am resolved to post more information about the history of Sherburne County.   So, here goes:   With the anniversary of World War Two, we have all heard about the scrap drives and rationing programs.   Yet, exploring the scrap drives in more detail may enlighten us about the true value of this particular program.   Sherburne county promoted its first scrap drive in the summer of 1942.   Elk River Mayor M. C. Tesch provided some perspective on the value of scrap metal to the war effort.   He noted fifty pounds of scrap metal would help make artillery shells.   Cartridge cases originated from discarded doorknobs. And, 25 tons of steel made a tank.   In this first scrap dive, the city of Elk River urged the citizens to deliver 30,000 pounds of scrap for the war effort.   Although J. D. Flaherty, the chairman of the scrap drive committee, felt the city would surpass the goal, disa...

Victory Gardens seemed forever present beginning in 1942 and continuing into 1946 as World War Two impacted the civilian population of the United States. As a federal campaign declaring “food is fighting” the war, residents throughout Sherburne County took up the appeal to grow more food, and preserve more food, to help the war effort. Pamphlets distributed by private companies and the Federal govt. promoted the victory garden program  “Every member of a well-fed farm family consumes $25 to $30 worth of vegetables and fruits every year,” Department of Agriculture agents claimed.   “A half to three-quarter acre garden will supply the needs of a family of six.”   The remaining produce grown on farms and small gardens throughout the county, and throughout the country, could be used in large cities and communities lacking the acreage to garden. The surplus garden produce allowed the federal government to utilize commercially grown and canned vegetables for th...

Recently we published information concerning Elk River men stationed at Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941.   We noted the newspaper’s lack of information about Charles Nogle, reportedly stationed at Guam, possibly captured or killed.   New information, with help from Nogle’s descendant Sandra Koppendrayer, allows us to provide an update:   Actually stationed at Ewa Field, near Pearl Harbor, Marine Air Corps mechanic Charles Nogle witnessed and survived the attack on Hawaii.   A 1989 newspaper article published Nogle reminiscences about the day.   “At the time of the attack, I was a crew member on a DC-5 that out on the field.   We had two of them, and on December 7, one of the was in the overhaul hanger at Ford Island,” he said.   “Ironically, it was the only hanger building on Ford Island that was not hit, and that old bird never got a scratch on it.” Nogle explained at the time of the attack he was caught wearing nothing but a towel, preparing...

Although the United States did not enter World War Two until December 1941, the government instituted preparations for war as early as 1940.   The plans for war impacted Sherburne County as the army drafted a number of young men in the county.   The local newspaper, Sherburne County Star News reported the draft calls and also noted national efforts to get ready for war. 

Senior Class photo of Jack Bade, 1938. When I first arrived in Sherburne County I began to explore the history of the county through biography.  I was developing my list of “profiles in courage” in Sherburne county, a type of historical/biographical exploration.  Recently I was directed to the life of one man in Sherburne County that most assuredly should be on a list of “profiles in courage:”  Jack A. Bade was born in 1920 in Minneapolis.  His family moved to Elk River when he was still an infant.  He grew up in Elk River.  In high school he played football and basketball, and had the lead in the school play, Robin Hood.  After he graduated in 1938, he attended the University of Minnesota majoring in engineering.   For a time he worked at Honeywell Corporation before enlisting in the Army Air Corps.   He received his commission and flight wings at Luke Airfield on July 26, 1942.  He then joined the 44th fighter squadro...

Recruitment poster for WAVES in the United States Navy, circa 1944. Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Services, the WAVES of World War Two, became an elite group of 81,000 women enlisted in the United States Navy in 1944 and 1945.  Minnesota had its share of WAVES.  Even closer to home, Frances Beck of Sherburne County served as a WAVE in a military specialty so top secret she couldn’t speak of it until 50 years after the war.  Francis Beck served as a code breaker against the Japanese.  In the early 1940s Beck felt a passionate desire to serve.   She wanted to volunteer and do her part in the war effort, the navy, however, actively opposed women joining the service.  Finally, in 1944 Beck and 81,000 other women became WAVES.  “When I enlisted they said, “’Well you’re going to be in there until the war is over.’  I told them, ‘Well it can’t go on forever,” she recalled.  The duration of Beck’s service lasted slightly lo...

Newspapers serve as the first recorders of history.  Their content provides invaluable information.  A truly unique collection of newspapers published by the Becker Schools reside in the collections of the Sherburne History Center Library and Archives.  These papers provide unique insight into the community and the activities of the area.  Known simply as The Beacon , the collection of newspapers ranges from 1942 to 1944.  Publishing in the midst of the war, the reporters for the school paper took a very serious tone while they provided news of the schools and of the community.  An example of the serious tone of the paper, the front pages of the December 10, 1942 The Beacon reported the details of the draft registration scheduled for the week of December 18 to December 24, 1942.  The paper also reported on the scheduled blackout test on December 14.  “In Becker the fire bell will be rung at intervals of 5 seconds as a signal that the bla...