On Trial in Becker

In a trial in Becker in 1895, an interesting bit of local law proceedings were reported in the Sherburne County Star News: Thomas Parento accused Fred Specovious of stealing hay valued at eight dollars.  After two hours of testimony and five hours of jury deliberation, no conclusion was reached.  We had a “hung jury.”  The local magistrate, Judge Shephardson suggested that if the two parties could settle on the matter, jury costs would be reduced.  At this point, the court costs amounted to $20.  A cost of more than twice the value of the missing hay.  Parento and Specovious agreed to drop the case and split a $7 fee for court costs.

I am not sure if this reveals the wisdom of the court, or the two farmers saw the economic advantages to a settlement.   Regardless of the underlying “moral of the story,” the report does highlight the pragmatic approach often displayed in the court room in small towns in the Midwest.

An Interesting Bit of Boosterism in Elk Rive

“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, but they recognize the fact that land at present prices is an excellent investment and they want some of it.”

In another column, the newspaper asks and answers: “What better place is there on earth to secure a home than right here adjacent to Elk River?” The column goes on to list so many advantages of: “an intelligent community of nice people, goo schools, religious influences, good markets, convenience to large cities, and beautiful surroundings.” 

 Promoting Elk River and efforts to increase the population are not unusual or unique to the city.  Small communities throughout the state of Minnesota are working to attract new settlers.  In 1895, Elk River is a small community with about 1300 people.  The entire county, however, is just beginning a growth spurt.  The county population in 1890 is about 5900, by 1900 the county has grown to 7200, and by 1910 the population is at 8100.  The promotion and boosterism is slowly paying off.

Letters at SHC Document the Alaska Gold Rush

An interesting collection in the Archives of the Sherburne History Center consists, in part, of letters from Clarence McNeil to his wife Laura Keasling, the third daughter of George Keasling. 

Clarence McNeil grew up in Livonia Township in the 1870s and 1880s.  He was born in Lake City, Minnesota.  His family moved to Sherburne County when he was only 15 months.  He was an intelligent young man, after his education in the public schools, he trained to be a civil engineer.  All of this led up to his travel to Alaska in 1898.  McNeil found himself in the midst of the Klondike Gold Rush.  Some of his letters describe the excitement and hard work in Alaska.

On March 7, 1898, he wrote to his wife both exciting news and details of struggle and hard work. 

“…by the way I am no ordinary Engineer anymore.  I am now Chief Eng. Of the Chilcoot Railway and Transportation Co.  What do you think of that(?) …Herb and Lester are hauling freight with the dog teams from the summit down to Lake Lindeman.  They get 3 cents a lbs and haul nearly a ton a day when the weather will admit of it. …I am feeling pretty well but I am rapidly losing flesh.  I am 25 lbs. lighter than I was when I left for Alaska.” 

Lake Lindeman was the headwaters of the Yukon River.  From this point gold rushers would follow the river into the gold fields of the Klondike.

Shortly after this letter was written, Clarence McNeil was killed in an avalanche in the Chilcoot Pass. According to reports, he died April 2, 1898.  His letters in the collection (1996.023) of the Sherburne History Center provide interesting insight into his young life and hazardous work as a civil engineer.  The photo included here is Clarence McNeil in about 1893.

More from these letters will be posted in coming months.  Be sure to check back often.

Hello Again

If anyone is out there, I realize it has been almost three years since I last posted.  Well, I have made it a goal to publish more in the coming year, 2015.  So stay tuned.  I hope to post information at least once a week in the coming year.

 In the meantime, here is a photo from our collection.  I am sending it because the baseball season is about to start and that makes life more complete!  This photo of the Big Lake Baseball team is dated around 1915.

The Big Lake Ice House

A couple of interesting news articles appeared in the Big Lake Wave newspaper  in 1913 and 1914:

November 28, 1913: "The Big Lake ice house now has a capacity of twenty thousand tons of ice, a large addition having been built."

It was rumored that the ice on Big Lake was so pure, restaurants as far as the East Coast advertised this special ice for cubes in drinks.

March 6, 1914: "The NP Road is shipping Big Lake ice to Pasto, Wash.  This speaks well for the water but how long will the lake stand the present drain?"

Boosterism Generates Some Interesting Reading

When newspapers get involved in the city booster business their words and activities generate some very interesting headlines.  Such was the case when a correspondent for the Saint Cloud Journal Press began observing the negative condition in Clear Lake.  

In January of 1902, the correspondent wrote:

“… the street lamps have not been lighted for several months and in their present condition are of no use whatever.  The roads in the village are in a pitiful state of repair and the streets are filled with old machinery and other unsightly junk.”

Quick to reply, the editors of the Sherburne County Times defended the town:

“…the street lamps are also all right and apparently satisfactory to every one except this correspondent.  As to the obstructions in the streets, this is purely fiction.”

A week later, the Times editors continued their defense in writing:

“We don’t know who this correspondent is, but one would infer, from the fault he finds with the street lamps, sidewalks, machinery, etc., that he must have wandered around, some dark night, in a fit of temporary aberration, got onto a vacant lot and got tangled up in one of the aforesaid harvesters.”

Boosterism is truly an interesting form of newspaper reporting that provides great entertainment even 100 years after the fact.

The Census Enumerators

While surfing through microfilm pages of the Sherburne County Times newspapers, I encountered two interesting articles, published in two consecutive weeks.

The first reported:

“Miss Emily J. Mosford has been appointed census enumerator for this district which comprises the towns of Clear Lake and Haven, also the village of Clear Lake.

            The work of taking the census of the country will begin on the 15th of April.  It is a government census and the aim of the department is to make it as thorough and complete as possible.  Don’t hesitate to answer the questions the enumerator ask you; they are for statistical use only, and, more over the federal government require that you answer them, severe penalties being imposed upon all who refuse to do so.  So, make it pleasant as you can for the enumerator and thereby give your locality a good showing.”

This article appeared on 31 March 1910.  In the next issue, 7 April 1910, the full list of enumerators for the county appeared:

            “Following are the enumerators for this county:

                        Baldwin and Blue Hill, H B Pratt

                        Becker town and village, Edwin Winterborne

                        Big Lake town and village, John Nordin

                        Clear Lake town and village and Haven exclusive

of E. St. Cloud, Emily J Mosford

                        Elk River town, Elk River village, Burns F. Plummer

                        Livonia and Orrock, Melvin C. Enger

                        Palmer and Santiago, S T Packard”

This is all interesting, I don’t know that I have ever seen a local newspaper publish the names of the enumerators as part of the campaign to promote participation in the census.