Sherburne History Center Blog

Elk River Base Ball Club, circa 1900 April is fast approaching, that mean spring training ends and Major League Baseball begins.  Although Sherburne County has never fielded a professional or semi-professional ball club, baseball was taken very seriously in the county.  Just a sampling of news reports in 1895 reveals several of the baseball clubs in Sherburne County and the serious nature of the sport.  In June of 1895, with the start of the local season, the Sherburne County Star News presented a brief history of the rivalries in the area.  Elk River and Monticello ball clubs long remained top of the list of serious rivals.  “In olden times there used to be some battles royal between the base ballists of these two towns,” the newspaper reported.  “”Monday reminded us a little of those old times, the chief difference being that Elk River was defeated this time which didn’t used to be the case.”  In this particular “battle royal” Elk River fel...

1910 through 1930 was a transition period for Sherburne County as can be seen with both automobiles and horse drawn wagons in this photograph.  Only very gradually did pavement replace dirt and gravel on the roads of the county. With road construction season arriving, I wonder about the times of road construction before the big trucks and monstrous land movers.  I wonder about the construction of Highway 10 through Sherburne County.  Why did it happen?  How did it happen? When we explore the actual construction the true impact of Highway 10 becomes apparent. Construction of Highway 10 in Elk River used “one of the biggest and latest improved concrete mixers and pavers in the state and it has the capacity of paving 600 feet a day,” the Sherburne County Star News reported.  Although small compared to modern equipment, the newspaper claimed the machines inspired crowds to gather each day and observe the work.  Credit for Highway 10 and the benefi...

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...

Betty Belanger’s was a historian.  She retired as a nurse from Cambridge Hospital.  Yet, her avocation involved documenting the lives and histories of Sherburne County and the Hungarian immigrant families around Elk River.  Her research culminated with From Dairy Farms to Gravel Pits: A History of Sherburne County’s Hungarian Community .  She documented the lives of the many Hungarian immigrants coming to Sherburne County.  The introduction noted without her work “the stories and struggles” of these early settlers “would have faded into the past, leaving behind few traces.”  Although the statement may seem overly dramatic, it is accurate.  Without Betty Belanger, much about the Hungarian settlement in Elk River would have died.   Betty Belanger avoided branding the first arrival, or the latest, most vital of events.  Instead her history carefully cataloged the challenges facing early Hungarian immigrants.  She explored the role ...

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 ...

Sheriff Chester J. Goenner served in office from 1952 to 1981 Photo from the SHC collections 1990.201.220              Every so often we write of an individual significant to the history of Sherburne County.  Another name to add to the list of movers and shakers in Sherburne Ccounty is Sheriff Chet Goenner--ed. note.   “History will record that Sheriff Goenner solved all of the murders and bank robberies during his years in office.” The quote from the Sherburne County Star News, summarized the career of Sherburne County’s long serving sheriff. Chester Goenner served as County Sheriff from 1952 until 1981.  In the time, he earned a reputation of commanding respect and using all of his resources to get the job done. Goenner was first appointed to the position of County Sheriff in 1952, after the death of Nial Nuemann.  Before that appointment, he served as the county deputy sheriff for 18 years.  Prior to that ...