Sherburne History Center Blog

Strawberries and west Sherburne County seemed synonymous for a number of years.   At the highpoint, the Becker Strawberry Days Festival solidified the connection.   The lesser known memoirs of Sherburne County residents remain equally important to connecting the local strawberry crop and the county.   A brief paragraph in the published memories of Walter Gohman bear out this important connection: I remember vividly a strawberry feed.   There was a strawberry patch that went the full length of the garden.   The Gohman farm had some of the most fertile soil in Minnesota and the strawberry patch produced a large crop of luscious berries.   A big strawberry feed was in order.   In the morning when they separated the milk, a large pitcher of cream was saved.   The pitcher or cream was placed on ice in the ice house.   A long table was set up by placing planks on saw horses in from of the long porch.   We were each given a bowl and told to p...

Becker, Minnesota once claimed the title of “Strawberry Capital” of the Midwest.  All thanks to the work of Becker farmer Carroll “Strawberry” Johnson.  Born in December 1918, Carroll Johnson’s work in agriculture led to significant developments in farming, particularly for strawberry farms.  His work in marketing and promotion helped make Becker famous for its strawberries. Starting in 1936, the summer after his High School graduation Carroll Johnson planted a few strawberry plants and sold the produce door-to-door.  In the fall he attended the University of Minnesota, majoring in horticulture.  Each summer he would return to his family farm and increase acreage devoted to strawberry plants.    Overtime, Johnson continued selling to the local markets, eventually expanding as far as Fargo, North Dakota.  He also increased the size of his farm.  At its peak in the 1970s, the Johnson Berry Farm extended to over 150 acres.  Agr...