Sherburne History Center Blog

  Union Church Bell currently housed at the  Sherburne History Center As we explore communication devices in Sherburne County, attention to the telephone and the telegraph remain important considerations.   Yet, before the telephone and telegraph, the county needed some technology to sound fire alarms and arouse the citizenry in the middle of the night.   Every small community wrestled with the question of how to sound an alarm.   Some communities used steam whistles from factories.   Others used the ever-present church bell. The leaders of Big Lake chose to utilize local church bells.   An example of the church bell warning system remains in the collections of the Sherburne History Center.   The church bell from the Union Church served for many years as part of the warning system for Big lake.   Some residents remember, “you could hear that bell for miles.”   With every fire, or other catastrophe, the Union Church bell rang out. Ins...

  With the end of the 2020 elections, an interesting letter in the archival collections of the Sherburne History Center warrants some discussion. As background information, the 19 th amendment granting women the right to vote in national elections passed in August 1920.   Prior to the approval of the 19 th Amendment, in Minnesota, women voted in some local elections.   Of particular interest, women voted in elections concerning local school boards.   This makes sense when we realize a responsibility of all women concerned the education of children.   This belief extends back into the 1800s. In a letter sent to concerned citizens of Clear Lake, Sherburne County, Assistant Attorney General Montreville J. Brown reaffirmed the right of women to vote in local school board issues.   His only caveat to this voting right being that women must be residents of the district in question and “they are of the age twenty-one years and upward and possess the qualific...

  As a follow-up to the recent report documenting the development of telephone technology in Sherburne County, a collection of documents highlighting the day-to-day operations of the telephone companies came to light.   The by-laws and expectations of users of the telephone company provide interesting insight.   The rules and bylaws from the Meadowvale Rural Telephone Company, and the Haven Rural Telephone Company provide details of construction as well as telephone etiquette for the 1910s and 1920s.   these documents provide some enlightening insight into early Sherburne County. The Meadowvale Rural Telephone Company organized in 1905 with a strict set of bylaws and rules of etiquette.   Article 2 of the bylaws set down strict penalties for failure to follow the rules of the company: “Should any members of this company neglect to keep their phone in order or willfully disobey the rules or bylaws or do anything to hinder the harmonious working of such lines, t...

  A new exhibit on the Sherburne History Center web page explores postcards and their popularity as a means of communication.   An equally interesting development in Sherburne County history is the adoption and use of the telephone.   Beginning in the early 1890s and continuing through the 1920s several small telephone companies organized in Sherburne County to offer this unique method of communication.   Delving into the early history of companies such as the Meadowvale Rural Telephone Company and the Haven Telephone Company, and the efforts of anonymous companies in Elk River provide an interesting appreciation of a rising telephone technology in the county.   Drawing of candlestick style telephone common in 1900 As early as 1893, the opportunity to reach out to friends in distant communities arrived in Elk River.   The Elk River Star News reported a telephone company installed a “hello line” at the Merchant Hotel.   A telephone at the hotel allowe...

  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...

  A few weeks ago, I wrote of artists from Minnesota.   I failed to mention perhaps the most significant artist in Minnesota history: Charles Monroe Schulz, (1922-2000).   A master illustrator and creator of the widely read and enjoyed comic strip of all time: Peanuts .   Schulz, born in Minneapolis, lived in the twin cities for nearly forty years.   The exceptions to this, was during his service in World War Two and a brief time spent in Colorado Springs, Colo. Ripley’s Believe it or Not published his first original illustration.   A 1937 drawing featuring the family dog, a hunting dog that ate unusual household items such as pins and tacks.   This illustration he signed as “Sparky” a family nickname for the young Schulz. Seventy years ago, October 2, 1950, seven newspapers published the first Peanuts comic strip.   The syndicated comic grew to the point 2600 newspapers in 75 countries carried the daily antics of the Peanuts gang.   ...

  Minnesota Artist Anton Gag (1859-1908), self portrait This past week, at the Sherburne History Center, the annual Sherburne Area Visual Arts Showcase exhibited work from several local artists.   With art history playing around in my mind, I wanted to take a moment and give mention to a couple of Minnesota visual artists.   I want to acknowledge there is a force within the state that inspires painters, illustrators, photographers, and other visual artists.   Here are four artists born or lived in Minnesota and played a significant impact on the national art world. Sarah Louise Judd (1802-1881) born in Farmington, Connecticut.   She came to Stillwater, Minnesota in 1845 as an educator.   She also produced daguerreotypes and later, other portrait images.   She is regarded as the first photographer in the state of Minnesota. Perhaps the best known of all Minnesota visual artists, Wanda Gag (1893-1946) trained under the tutelage of her father, artist ...