Sherburne History Center Blog

Electricity in Sherburne County generates a variety of unique stories about living and growing up in the county.   Providing electricity to the entire county stretched, in time, for over forty years.   Electrical power first arrived in Elk River in 1917.   In other areas, isolated farms, in the county, electricity came available in the 1950s.   Stories of electricity and the times before electrical power provide a unique perspective on life in Sherburne County.   The edited oral history of Angela Goenner. of Clear Lake, is one of these unique stories.   Born in Nebraksa, Angela (Eikmeier) Goenner found her way to Minnesota as a child.   Her parents operated a general store in Stearns County before moving to Sherburne County.   Angela married Ernest Goenner in 1933.   She lived on the family farm, in Clear lake, until her death in 2001.   She remembers her family getting electricity in 1948. I can remember a lot about what it wa...

We found these two advertisements side-by-side in the Elk River Star News.   It struck us as interesting that it highlights the challenges of jobs versus new technologies.  The ad ran in May 1, 1930 issue of the newspaper.