St. Vincent Union Industrial Association Fairs

In Minnesota fairs are older than the state itself, having "made their appearance ... in the early 1850's," just at the zenith of the golden age of such institutions in the United States. Compared with later exhibitions the early fairs were primitive indeed, yet they more than justified their existence. They gave the isolated pioneer farmer a chance to meet his fellows, to have a good time; and by showing him late developments in machinery, fine livestock, and new techniques in farming, they gave him an incentive to improve his own farming. - From a talk called, "Early Minnesota Agricultural Societies & Fairs," presented at the Minnesota Historical Society's annual convention, held July 26, 1941.

Walter John Strickland Traill

The first day of the St. Vincent Union Industrial Association Fair was favored with good weather.  

The native pony race was won by Jim, Shylock second, Kate third.  The trotting race was won by Julia, Dan second, Topsey third.  

The judges were Walter J.S. Traill, C.C. Law, and D. Livingstone (The St. Paul Daily Globe, October 10, 1889).

1918 Fair Results-War Gardens

1906 Fair Dates - Always late
Fall, for these local fairs . . .

...and these early fairs, are what were the seeds of our county fairs of today, including the Kittson County Fair in Hallock!

History of the Kittson County Bench & Bar

"The term was finished in two and a half days, and the balance of last day, awaiting the arrival of the train south, was spent fishing by the court and attorneys, after each catching his own frogs for bait. To the younger members of the bar it was rather an amusing circumstance to see Judge Stearns, then well up in years and of a very dignified and patriarchal appearance, lay aside his judicial dignity and pursue the diminutive amphibians with an agility which surprised them all."

And such were the salad days of early Kittson County law!

To learn more about it, read on...
_______________________

Bench and Bar of Kittson County
By Peter H. Konzen

Foreword by
Douglas A. Hedin, Editor
Minnesota Legal History Project (April 2008)

The article that follows is a highly personalized history of the bench and bar of Kittson County written by Peter Henry Konzen, a prominent attorney. After devoting two pages to early terms of the district court, Konzen announces that he will avoid “the monotony of legal routine” by describing two amusing trials—the prosecution of Kate Rafferty before Ozora P. Stearns, a legendary judge of northern Minnesota, in 1883, and a civil suit for damages for the killing of a dog, in which he represented the plaintiff, in 1888. Konzen’s client was awarded an amount somewhat less than he sought.

In the style of most county legal histories of this period (it was published in 1909), Konzen includes biographical sketches of eight lawyers who practiced in the county, the longest being of himself. Apparently finding the opportunity irresistible, he wrote, Mr. Konzen is recognized as one of the ablest and most prominent attorneys north of Crookston, and during his residence at Hallock has amassed a snug little fortune, besides building up a professional and business reputation of which he may well be proud. He has helped in an eminent degree to shape the destiny of his city, and when the history of Kittson shall be written he will appear as one of its most conspicuous figures.

There is an ironical footnote to this flattering self-portrait. Konzen died on July 15, 1935, twenty-six years after the publication of his article on the county bench and bar. His death was headlined on the front page of the Kittson County Enterprise on July 17, 1935. The newspaper described not only Konzen’s final days but also, under the subheading “Biography,” his youth, education and early years in the county. Almost all of that “biography” was taken verbatim from Konzen’s earlier self-portrait. Thus Peter Henry Konzen was placed in the unusual position of writing much of his own obituary.

Passes To His Eternal Reward

Peter Konzen, Pioneer and Highly

Respected Citizen Passes Away

After Long and Useful Service

to City and Community

Peter H. Konzen

Today Hallock mourns the passing of one of her most outstanding venerable citizens and townsmen. Peter H. Konzen, who died at his home in this city on Monday, July 15th at the age of 78 years, one month and 18 days—he has gone his reward. Hallock never had a finer citizen and more devoted father.

Quiet, unpretentious, wonderfully human and amazingly competent, he represented the best that a city can expect from its citizens. His more than half a century of life in our city was a precious gift to his fellows. He had done much good and was ready day or night to serve the needs of anyone who called on him. He never made any fuss about living—he just lived, which is a priceless legacy to those of us who are inclined to philosophize.

He was a man of quiet, retiring disposition and minded his own business, both with reference to himself and others. In his youth, he was of good physique, but of late years had suffered afflictions incidental to advanced years, which at times confined him to his bed and home. About a week before his death he again became afflicted and gradually and slowly sank, growing weaker and weaker, with but little pain until about three days before his death when he became overcome with chills. At the last, however, death came peacefully and quietly, and while apparently in sleep, his breath came slower and slower, until the last. All of his family were at his bedside excepting a daughter, Mrs. F. V. King, who in a race with death across the continent failed to arrive in time to see her father alive. During his final illness he was watched over by members of his family and friends and a special nurse.

The funeral services were held from St. John’s Episcopal church Wednesday afternoon with Rev. S. J. Hedlund officiating. The cortege was the largest ever gathered in Hallock, which testified to the high esteem in which the deceased was held in the community. The active pallbearers were members of the Kittson County Bar Association of which the deceased, was a member. They were: A. D. Bornemann, Wm. L. Peterson, J. E. Sundberg, C. J. Hemmingson, John Matt Brendal, Lyman Brink. The honorary bearers were twenty pioneer citizens of the town. The district bar association also sent delegates to attend the funeral. These were: L. S. Miller, Martin O’Brien, Wm. P. Murphy, W. E. Rowe, F. A. Grady, Crookston; H. O. Chommie, C. M. Bishop, Theodore Quale, Thief River Falls; Judge B. B. Brett, W. O. Braggans, Oscar Knutson and Rasmus Hage, Warren.

The remains were laid to rest in the family lot at Greenwood cemetery, beside those of his wife who preceded him in death several years ago, and thus has passed away another of our old timers—they are passing away and soon only their memories will be left. May they all leave as pleasant recollections as does our friend and venerable townsman—God rest his gallant soul.

Biography

Peter H. Konzen was one of the pioneers of Kittson county, having located here in the spring of 1881, when a young man of 24 years. He was born on the 27th of May, 1857, in Chickasaw county, Iowa, on a farm now embracing the site of the village of Lowler. His parents emigrated from Germany in 1852 and the following year located on the farm upon which deceased was born. He was the third child of a family of five, all of whom have since passed away, excepting one, Mrs. Kate Buchholz living at Forest City, Ia. He was educated in the public schools of Lawler, afterwards attending an academy at Bradford in that county and completing his education at the University of Iowa City and at Boyleer’s Mercantile College at Keokuk, Iowa. His boyhood life was spent upon the farm until the age of 17 when he began teaching while completing his education.

In 1878 he began the study of law, first in the office of Judge H. H. Potter at New Hampton and afterwards under the direction of John R. Geeting, a gentlemen who later rose to considerable distinction as a criminal lawyer in the city of Chicago. Mr. Konzen first came to Minnesota in 1879 and entered the law office of a Mr. Parker at Sleepy Eye, where he remained until the fall of that year when he again returned to Iowa to enter the newspaper business, editing the Lowler Herald until the spring of 1881, when he sold out and returned to Minnesota and locating at Hallock, then a hamlet numbering not more than half a dozen buildings, where he opened a law office, and in the words of the immortal Horace Greely, “grew up with the country.”

In the fall of 1881 Mr. Konzen was elected superintendent of schools for Kittson County which position he held for several years, having been three times re-elected. He had since held various public offices, as County Attorney, president of the Kittson County Agriculture Society and in 1898 was the Republican nominee for member of the state legislature. Although defeated by the tide of populism at that time, he received a creditable vote and conducted a model campaign. In 1916 he was again the nominee for his party for member of the state legislature and this time was elected by a comfortable majority. Mr. Konzen was one of the most progressive and public-spirited citizens in Kittson county. He was for many years a member of the Hallock school board, and it was chiefly owing to his push and perseverance that this thriving little city can now boast of a high school second to none in the state. Mr. Konzen was elected mayor of Hallock in 1897 and held the office for a dozen or more consecutive years to the eminent satisfaction of her people. He had also served as a member of the state drainage board, probate judge and in his time had filled various town and village offices, so that he had helped in an eminent degree to shape the destiny of his beloved city and community.

During his early career in Hallock, he was associated in the law business with W. H. Alley, now deceased, and in 1901 Mr. Konzen and J. D. Henry formed a co-partnership for the purpose of conducting a real estate, loans, insurance and collection business in connection with the law business. Mr. Henry is not a lawyer but handled the insurance, loans, collection and real estate business of the firm and was very successful, especially in the sale of real estate. Konzen’s article appeared first on pages 944 to 951 of the second volume of History of the Red River Valley. It has been reformatted. Page breaks have been added. His spelling and punctuation have not been changed.

Bench and Bar of Kittson County

From:

IN
HISTORY
OF
THE RED RIVER
VALLEY
PAST AND PRESENT

Including an Account of the Counties, Cities, Towns
Villages of the Valley from the Time
of Their First Settlement and
Formation
BY VARIOUS WRITERS
IN TWO VOLUMES
VOLUME II
__________________

ILLUSTRATED
__________________

HERALD PRINTING COMPANY
GRAND FORKS
C. F. COOPER & COMPANY
CHICAGO
1909

Bench and Bar of Kittson County.
By P. H. Konzen.

Jefferson Highway: North-South (1916-1926)

"We can talk good roads," he continued, "until we are blue in the face if there is not that great highway running between the hearts of the people of the country which binds them together in one common cause. The people hunger after comradeship these days, and, after all, the real test is that after this sacrifice that we are great enough to be conscious of one thing — to act as brothers. We must get away from that which tends to draw away one community from another. A road ought to be a binding tie between the communities through which it passes, and only when men pull apart is it that their problems cannot be solved." 

- Said at State Meeting in Little Falls, MN on October 9, 1917; Delegates and Commissioners from all the Counties along the Jefferson Highway participated in the Great Little Falls Convention

According to the Jefferson Highway Declaration, much of the Jefferson Highway north of Wadena all the way to the Canadian border, was paved only with gravel. This was due mainly to the rural nature of that geographical portion of the road together with the financing available thereof.

From the Warren Sheaf (September 5, 1917):

The Hallock newspapers are belaboring their constituencies and the County Commission for a favorable sentiment toward the appropriation of public money for the building and maintenance of the Jefferson Highway through almost inaccessible swamps and sand dunes in the southeastern part of Kittson county. Marshall county authorities saw the foolishness of routing the Jefferson road.in that part of their county, and have refused to do anything with it. Kittson and Pennington counties are asked to do this work for Marshall county.

The "Soo Line" Jefferson road boosters are determined to "work" Kittson county for a big appropriation to strew along this so called highway, which is only laid out and fit for travel in SPOTS. When next spring the KING'S HIGHWAY is completed from Galveston, Texas, to Winnipeg, Manitoba, the traveling public will forget the Jefferson road to absorb the appropriation of public money. Kittson county people will certainly not stand for any appropriations to be thrown away on the Jefferson road along the 'Soo'.

The above article taken from the Kennedy Star is indeed, misleading to the reader, who is not acquainted with the conditions as they really are. To think that a newspaper editor would try to make his readers believe, that there are sections in this county and in Marshall county, in which there are only sand dunes and swamps! What a poor advertisement this article would be for prospective settlers or tourists to read. The other day we drove over the highway in this county and along the road we found well stocked and equipped farms. Surely this does not bear out the Star's statement.

Sometime ago the Sheaf criticized the highway association because of the route chosen but that was because of the fact that it did not enter or benefit even one town in the county. Had the highway chosen a route passing through the towns in eastern Marshall county or through the towns of western Marshall county, it would have been better off, as far as securing the support of this county is concerned. Now that the route is chosen, we do not believe, the territory through which it passes should be advertised as sandy and swampy country, Just because of petty selfish reasons.

That the Jefferson Highway through Marshall and Kittson counties will ultimately be changed to follow the identical route of the scenic King-of-Trails, is possible, and desirable of course, on account of economy in construction and other advantages, but there is no need to speak slightingly of any portion of the two great counties. After all, Brother Estlund, we believe you will agree with us, when we say that the best form of criticism is that of a constructive nature, rather than a destructive method.

Commissioners of Kittson Report Progress
On "Pine to Palm" Projects

The following letter was received by the state convention from the County Commissioners of Kittson County:

"The members of this board find that their individual affairs will prevent their attendance at the Little Falls meeting on the 9th instant. Notice of the meeting came to our notice too late to permit the necessary arrangements being made.

"This county has about fifty-five miles of Jefferson Highway. Of this nineteen miles have been so constructed as to provide a very reliable all-weather summer road. Thirteen miles more, now under construction, will be completed this fall. The remainder of the Jefferson Highway is all graded up, according to state specifications, and is an excellent road, except in wet weather. It should be hard surfaced.

"We are now contemplating improvement next spring of sixteen miles — Federal aid specifications. We believe the Jefferson Highway Association has been, and is highly instrumental in arousing popular interest in permanent road work, and we sincerely regret our inability to be present at the Little Falls meeting."

REYNARD ANDERSON,
THOS. COLEMAN,
A. HANSON,
C. A. YOUNGGREN,
County Board, Kittson County, Minn.

The excerpt below, from the October 1917 issue of the Jefferson Highway Declaration, goes into further detail on the rivalry-laced insults in the Karlstad and Kennedy newspapers concerning the new Jefferson Highway routing in Kittson County...

Grand Theatre Memories

Projector from Grand Theatre
[Kittson County Museum Collection]

The Grand Theatre was Hallock's (MN) movie palace.  I was recently contacted by a gentleman who once worked for the man who owned it¹, as well as the local drive-in.  He had some interesting stories to share...

Jim Tureson, who worked for Bill Krumholz:

Sitting here thinking about days gone by and remembered an incident at the Grand Theatre. It was 1956.  We were showing a horror movie called The Creeping Unknown where this big glob would catch and kill people. Well, my Dad decided to make it more interesting. He ran some wires from the projection room down to the seating area and attached a buzzer to two seats! The wires were attached to a battery and when he pushed the button the seats would start to vibrate and buzz! Needless to say, at the worst possible time in the movie when people were screaming, we would hit the buzzer and watch someone fly out of their seat! I know, that was bad and we made sure there wasn't an elderly person sitting there. Joe gave us permission to do it and enjoyed the reactions also!

Projector from Grand Theatre.
[Kittson County Museum Collection]

Jim Tureson shared another story:

I'll tell you another Grand Theatre treasure. My older brother Larry was a protectionist in high school also; he graduated in 1960. One of our pet peeves was when one person showed up to watch the second show, we weren't able to go home early. This particular night a gentleman came in just in time for the second show and Larry wasn't happy. So he ran the show. When it ended, he turned on the lights, closed the curtain and was going to lock up when he saw that man still sitting in the front row, thinking he had fallen asleep. He went up and shook his shoulder, only to find out he was dead! Freaked him out to say the least!! So Larry was the only one in our family to run an entire show for a dead man.

Highway 75 Drive-In; go-cart track can be seen between screen and parking area.

July 12th, 1962. Joe Carriere and I were at the drive-in where I was going to paint the big screen. We rigged up a one-man "swing" with ropes over the screen tied off on Joe's big Oldsmobile. It worked like a pulley system - as Joe drove forward I would go higher. It had rained the night before and the grass was wet. I needed to go up higher so Joe started pulling me up, but as he was going, he got hung up on the wet grass around the go-cart track. He goosed the Oldsmobile, tires spinning, and then suddenly he hit the cement track! He took off rather fast and I went from 15 feet off the ground to 35 feet in seconds. When he finally stopped, I had almost wet my pants, the paint can went flying, and I'm screaming at Joe!

The day the Grand burned down in 1975...

Of course, he thought it was funny as hell, while I had thought I was going to die!
















¹ - Joseph and Rebecca Carriere owned and operated the Grand Theatre in Hallock from 1947 to 1975 when it was destroyed by fire. They also opened the Hallock Drive-In Theater in 1954 and operated it until 1985. The 1995 tornado took it down...

Followup to GUESS WHO story

We can now confirm that the Guess Who played many times in Hallock, and we have it from the great Donny Hunt, who was a musician in his own right. Don was a music promoter who booked the Guess Who.

From a Facebook exchange...

Before Who: Deverons (1962) 

Michael Rustad: Donald, finally I have a chance to thank you for all of the ways you made growing up in Kittson County wonderful in the 1960's. What I remember is how lively and fun it was to be a teenager because of the dances you organized in Hallock. You were definitely formative for all of us and we all owe you a big debt! Thinking back, is it true that we had top bands from Winnipeg at the City Hall? Do you have any memory of whether the Guess Who played at Hallock? It is a memory I have but I may be wrong. Only you can confirm. We would love to have any information on the bands you organized! 

Donald Hunt: Thank you.  That makes those memories sweeter. Yes, they played there many times. And the Question Mark, the Mysterians, Shadows of Night, The Uglies...and many others. We did have fun. Jack Reese and I have been playing a little of the old Sabers and Ravalons music for fun. Maybe one more time next summer. It's good to hear from you.  

Early Guess Who (1966)

Michael Rustad: Don, glad to hear that you and Jack continue to rock on. It was amazing to have the Guess Who and those other groups you mentioned. My memory is that every dance was packed! I would also come home from college because your dances were superior to any promoter in Grand Forks. Rock on Don!

"Coming Soon!"

I plan on researching a lot of the images in the above set, and telling expanded stories about them, but that takes times - a LOT of time. Until then, I wanted to share these photos. Excuse the few duplicates, and also excuse the quality - some of these were second-generation scans, or photocopies. I haven't been able to get to some of the originals to get better quality images. I gather what I can, how I can, as I encounter local history. 

 

NOTE: Anyone reading this that has information on any of these images, PLEASE contact me either here via comments, or click on 'About Me' link in upper right-hand corner, and then click on the email link on the next page to contact me directly. Any information could be a valuable clue to uncovering even more local history!

Kittson County Poor Farm

Aerial Photo of the Kittson County Poor Farm

In the early 20th century, if you had nowhere to go, the choices were few. One of them was the "poor farm".
The Hallock Poor Farm was constructed in the early 1900s to meet the needs of just such individuals. Its construction and rules of operation were guided by state law, through each county’s board of commissioners.

It was built and began operations in 1909, and closed in 1937¹. Kittson County's Poor Farm had a capacity for 12 at a time, as of December 1913. The farm's land and buildings were valued at $7,900.00.²
To be more specific, the county poor farm provided a home for the homeless, needy, and sick, young or old. It was on an 80-acre tract located northwest of Hallock along the north side of the Two River. Mr. and Mrs. Erick Norland were the first managers. The residents of the farm who were able to work had a job or chore to do. The farm tried to be self-sufficient. Chores were plentiful as there were gardens, animals, and grain fields to be cared for, housework and cooking to be done, firewood to gather, and nursing care for the bedridden. Other managers were the Mons Andersons, Carl Carlsons, and Theodore Bengtsons.³

My own cousins lived there during the 1920s.  My cousin Jackie (Jones) Mananga-Zimmer is the daughter of one of them.  She recently shared with me about that difficult time for her family...

Mike Rustad: County Fair Memories

Ah, the perceptions of youth!  In this reminiscence, Mike Rustad takes us back to the Kittson County Fair of a generation ago.  If you're like me, it will resonate strongly with your own memories of that time and place...

I looked forward to the the Kittson County Fair each summer. I enjoyed the rides as well as the carnival. My brother Tony and I collected pop bottles to save for the Fair. We would frequently have 4-H exhibits at the Fair. I remember once we were on a Tilt-a-Whirl (or similar ride) and Tony got sick on the ride. The operator of the ride was a crude man with a number of tattoos including something like "Born Loser." In any case, he would not let us leave until we cleaned up the ride. Since Tony was in no condition to help, it was left up to me. As farm boys, we were somewhat intimidated by the carnival workers. It was quite common for the carnival games to be rigged. I think that we would lose only a $1 or so on these games but they were cheap tuition. I think that the Fair illustrated the seedy side of society as well as the best.

The Fair was like the Tale of Two Cities: the best of times and the worst of times. One of the worst moments was experienced by my Mother. In an essay she wrote for the Scribe Tribe¹, she recounted how she placed her glasses case dutifully beside the hole.The case was cylinder shape and began rolling toward the hole because apparently the toilet was not level. In her haste to grab it, the clasp came open. Her glasses and keys went down the the dark smelly abyss. She was embarrassed but decided to take action. She found the Fair Manager and asked him for a flashlight and a shovel. The Manager asked her what she wanted them for. She was stopped numerous times by friends asking what she was doing with the shovel and flashlight. She dragged the odorous privy for a long time without success. For years after the episode, she was asked about how she got home without her glasses and car keys. For my Mother, this was the worst of times. 

The Fair was also the best of times. The lights of the rides were beautiful. For many years the Fair was not complete without a tremendous thunder storm and sometimes funnel clouds in the area. Later, a tornado destroyed the Fair Grandstand only a short time after it was filled to capacity. The severe weather conditions and the lights brought an indescribable excitement to the Fair. The 4-H exhibit hall was a favorite place. I always took time to look at every exhibit. I always wondered how I could never get beyond a red ribbon for my vegetables and insect collection. There were a number of local merchants who had exhibits. One of the highlights of the Fair was when the car dealer would give away a car and also bicycles. I never won but the anticipation of winning such a prize was greater than Publisher's Clearing House. 

My favorite place to eat at the fair was the Larson Family Stand which made the best hamburgers and generally had the best food at the Fair. Joyce Baldwin from Humboldt was a Larson and so many of the Baldwin kids helped out at the "Larson" food stand. Each of the 4-H clubs had special exhibits which depicted our activities for the year. I belonged to the "Stick-To-It" Club which was one of the oldest Kittson County Clubs. We had very good adult supervision. The Gatheridges, Baldwins, Bahrs, Wieses, Diamonds, Clows and many other families were active in the club. I remember that the older kids in the club were very helpful to the younger ones in exhibiting their products. Dennis Diamond was one of those older kids who was always helpful to Scott Clow and I who also showed sheep. Another memory I have is a 4-H parade through Hallock. A very pretty young lady asked me to help control her very large and unruly 4-H calf. I managed to keep the calf from stampeding through the streets of Hallock, but still received only a white ribbon. I can still remember the smell of those hamburgers at the Larson family stand. I hope that other former Kittson County residents will contribute their memories of the Fair and of their "Wonder Years." 

¹ - The Scribe Tribe began as a continuing education course in 1966.  The writing class morphed into a club with meetings in homes. These were more than social events - everyone in the club felt a great social pressure to produce writing. It was Dotty Boatz who first suggested that a writing course taught at Humboldt-St. Vincent High School continue on as a club and she was one of the most active members. The Scribe Tribe proved to be a huge success, and Gloria Swanson and Virginia Ott ended up writing a very interesting book on Fred Jones, who was an innovative handyman and inventor who lived in Hallock for many years. The title of the book was Man With a Million Ideas: Fred Jones, Genius/Inventor.

Early Hallock "Bird's Eye View" Map

[Click to Enlarge and See Details]

This postcard shows a depiction of Hallock by an unknown artist, date also unknown.  From the lack of buildings, as well as the presence of the Hotel Hallock¹, it is definitely an early rendition of the town.

It is fascinating to see more of the original layout, helping the viewer to see how the town developed.  It also leads to questions such as, why does the town have a mostly classic grid layout, yet there is one road on the north side of town coming at an angle?

The main street of the town is Atlantic Avenue.  If you look at the image enlarged, you'll see in the middle of that street, right after the 'Ave', a depiction of a wagon heading north.  Just above that, to the east, is a large, two-story building.  Could this be the same building that Bakken's Boots occupies today?  If so, it would make it one of the oldest buildings still in existence in Hallock.

In the image, to the far east on Hallock Avenue, is an
impressive, possibly brick building - the old Courthouse? 

In the middle of the town, between Pacific and Atlantic, is the railway depot.

¹ - The Hotel Hallock was quite the swanky sportsman's retreat. Mr. Hallock built it to have running water/bathrooms on every floor, speaking tubes, a barbershop, gun rooms, kennel rooms for the guests' hunting dogs, etc.

Profile: A.H. Anderson

Who was the man who photographed the 1897 Red River flood in St. Vincent?  The man who took the famous "High Water" series photographs?

His name was Andrew H. Anderson.

He was a farmer who happened to have an eye for photography. He apprenticed in Fergus Falls, Fosston, and Grand Forks before he began a photography business in Hallock in the1890s. 

He eventually sold his interest in his photography business to then partner William Hartvig so he could focus on farming.  But he returned to photography when he bought the studio of G. G. Shaker in Hallock in 1936.  

Born in 1867, he lived a long life in our area, passing away in 1960.  He chronicled many events and families in Kittson County!

Then & Now: Downtown Hallock

Blended 1910/2012 shot of downtown Hallock, looking west...
[Photo Montage by Megan Sugden]

In this blended shot, on the right is what was once known as
the Farmer's Store;  sadly, it was torn down in recent years...
[Photo Montage by Megan Sugden]

Market Day

Postcard:  Late 1800s Market Day in Hallock
(Photographer:  William Kelson - Minnesota Historical Society)
[Click to see large version of image...]

Honoring the Past in Art

Hallock, 2010 - Beau Bakken creates mural on side of
his parents' business based on an old photograph...

Hallock, 1910 - Note the building on right, midway down
with same balcony on it as recreated in the 2010 mural...

Hallock, 1911 - A year later, this photograph is a nice, clear shot
of the same street; on left, far down is building with balcony...

Farmer's Store

Farmer's Store in Hallock (1910).  Note tea chest on left...
[Photo Credit:  Minnesota Historical Society] 

My Mom and I often shopped at the old Farmer's store in downtown Hallock in the 1960's and 1970's.  Even then, it was somewhat of a general store, having a dry goods area where we would sometimes buy fabric and notions for sewing projects.  It still had the wood floors, and the high tin ceiling...

The Kittson County Farmers Co-operative Mercantile Company of Hallock, Minnesota, was incorporated in 1904. The intent of the farmers who organized the company was to cooperatively own and operate “a general mercantile, trading, shipping, forwarding, and commission business; [to engage in] buying, selling, exchanging, and dealing in all kinds of farm produce, supplies, implements, machinery, and other articles of merchandise incidental or necessary in operating and conducting a general store; [and] to buy and sell as much real estate as is reasonably necessary in conducting its business.” The “Farmers Store,” as it was commonly known, began by purchasing the inventory, frame building, and adjacent lots of a general merchandise store owned by C.J. McCollom. 

In 1914 the store needed larger quarters, and a second public corporation, the Farmers Building Company, was formed to finance and manage a new building.  A two-story, brick structure was built in 1915 on the site of the original store.  The Kittson County Farmers Co-operative Mercantile Company rented space in the building from the Farmers Building Company, as did other businesses and individuals.¹ 

In 1956 the Kittson County Farmers Co-operative Mercantile Company and the Farmers Building Company merged to become the Farmers Store of Hallock, Inc., a privately owned corporation. 

Source: Minnesota State University Moorhead Archives

¹ - After posting this, a reader mentioned that a great aunt lived in an apartment over the store for several years...

A Prohibition Communion

A "Rye Communion" was held in Christ Church during Prohibition!

I stumbled across a mention of St. Vincent in a Google Books snippet recently. I tracked down a second-hand copy of the book, which wasn't easy since it's pretty obscure. The title? God's Dodger: The Story of a Front Line Chaplain, by G.W. Stephen Brodsky.

The main scope of the book (written in autobiographic, first-person style) is about a man named Russell Oliver "Rusty" Wilkes. Wilkes was a Canadian officer during WWII, a chaplain (among many other roles) which is what the book is mainly about. He was a hero of sorts, but that is another story. The part of the book I was drawn to was the lead-up - his earlier life as a student, young husband, and new minister. One of the areas he was sent to, was where I grew up. In fact, he ministered to my own family (my grandparents and my mother, then a young girl...) at Christ Church.

The colorful story below is told with the warmth and humor that the perspective of time gives us all of such awkward occasions!

In the spring of 1932...I took up new duties at the town of Emerson, Manitoba, on the Manitoba-Minnesota border. The parish included Dominion City, Ridgeville, and St. Vincent, Minnesota. This was prairie wheat country, and here we experienced the worst of the infamous '20's drought and the awful poverty it brought at the peak of the Depression...[There was a ] scarcity of water in summer. Our basement cistern was cracked and empty, and a sweaty session of pumping proved only that the well was dry. Everybody was in the same fix, and the town's water was carefully rationed. Water came in a tank car a couple of times a week from somewhere west of Emerson, and every morning townsfolk would line up at the railway station with their pails while Emerson's lone constable unlocked a padlock on the town pump.

My usual Sunday routine was to drive to Dominion City in time for a late morning service, then to Ridgeville by mid-afternoon, and back to Emerson in time for evening service. Once a month I'd leave the folk of Ridgeville wallowing in a moral slough, and head across the border for St. Vincent in Minnesota, where the Episcopal Church observed Anglican rites.

These were prohibition days, and I suppose I could have made a tidy profit exporting other kinds of spirit.  But, discretion being the better part of piety, I left my stock of communion wine in St. Vincent in care of the verger. The verger and organist Henry Young was a slightly built elderly gentleman of great devotion and impeccable morals. He would bring the wine faithfully to every service and return it to his home afterwards. One Sunday as I prepared the cruets for communion my nose caught the pungently unmistakable bouquet of 100 proof rye whiskey. I tiptoed from the vestry, across the church to where Henry was at the organ warming up the congregation with a rousing dirge.  He was smiling beatifically, his eyes closed in reverential rapture.  I murmured in his ear, "Henry, would you join me in the vestry, please." Henry came in still smiling vaguely, and stood swaying unsteadily.

When I told him he'd turned wine into whiskey, the smile vanished and his eyes bugged in spirituous indignation. He drew himself up to his full five-foot-three. "My dear Reverend Sir," he burst out, "I have NEVER had whiskey in my home. THAT, sir, is your communion wine." He turned on his heel and stalked out, his dignity marred only slightly as he tripped on the raised door sill and shot back into the church. Consecrate as I might, I didn't have a divine knack for turning whiskey back into wine. But there was nothing for it, so we had a rye communion. There was an occasional grimace of surprise among the kneeling celebrants, and even a smile or two. But nobody commented afterwards except Ethel, who didn't admire my novel approach to the sacrament.

Another interesting aspect to the excerpt above is its opening paragraph. I always wondered how the Depression manifested itself in my hometown area. Whenever I asked my Mom, she didn't have much to say about it. Granted, she was just a kid at the time, but I always figured that people here felt the effects in some measure. Turns out they did.

Analysis of 6th & Atlantic

Downtown Hallock nearly a century ago...
[Click to see large version and see details]

Right/South side of street: Taft's Cafe, Bank, Dentist, The Womans Shop

Ad in back of 1943 Uof M
Crookston 'Aggie' yearbook

Left/North side of street: Billiard Parlor, Harness/Auto Dealer, Hallock Land Co. (land office turned real estate office?), Hotel Hallock, garage, church

At crossing, mid-street: "Keep to the Right" sign

On left, a men climbs a ladder to do some work, perhaps remove a window

Below him a pedestrian is about to step up onto the modern sidewalks (although streets still appear to be dirt, no gravel or paving)

Further back, another pedestrian hurries across to avoid the approaching automobile, caught in a blur by the photographer.

Electrical cables overhead, and street lights.  Haphazard parking indicates early automobile age was somewhat casual on the rules - looks like somewhere between parallel and diagonal!

Ernie Comes to Town

I was recently contacted by reader Cleo Bee Jones, who shared that back in 1936, a piece about her uncles from St. Vincent was featured in his "Hoosier Vagabond" column by the well-known reporter, Ernie Pyle. She asked if I'd like to see it, and I said boy, would I!

Tales of Two Towns in the Northwest: Brothers by Wholesale in Minnesota, and Nocturnal Disturbances in Dakota

by Ernie Pyle of the Washington Daily News
August 25, 1936

Pembina, N.D. - I am crazy about the towns of Pembina and St. Vincent.  Because of a couple of events that happened last night.  They are virtually the same town, except that St. Vincent is in Minnesota and Pembina is in North Dakota.  They're both just a stroll from the Canadian border.

Each town is about as big as a pinhead; the Red River (of the North) runs between them.  That's one trouble with this country - there are too many Red Rivers.  I have crossed a dozen, and I don't know yet which one the song was written about. But let's get on with what happened last night...

Setting the Record Straight

This appeared on the editorial pages of the Winnipeg Free Press recently...

In your editorial Radicals always in our midst (March 16), I was surprised to read in your editorial that in 1871 "the Irish rebel John J. O'Neill met Métis leaders in Manitoba to enlist support for an invasion of Canada in an effort to weaken British oppression in Ireland." I would respond: what Métis leaders?

I have researched this issue extensively. William O'Donoghue had recruited four Fenian leaders to come to Manitoba. The Fenian Brotherhood did not officially sanction this trip, but provided funds for 300 muskets. They had about 30 men with them when they crossed the Manitoba border and ransacked the HBC post at Emerson, which was called "Fort Pembina."

Mike's Memories: Town Ball

After the First World War, Manitoba became a preferred destination for barnstorming  ball teams from the United States. All professionals, these American teams would roll through towns and villages throughout the province playing local amateur and semi-pro squads and often, the barnstormers got themselves whupped.

From:  Home Run

My earliest memories were going to baseball games on hot summer evenings. My home town of Humboldt, Minnesota had first rate baseball teams in the 1920s and 1930s. The entire town would follow the town ball team.

The early teams featured the Diamond brothers: Levi, Herb, and Ikey. Lomas Matthews was another legendary track star and baseball player who hailed from Humboldt. Happy Chandler, later to become the baseball commissioner and Senator from Kentucky played one summer for Humboldt.

Another early legendary player from the Humboldt team was Cal Farley who, like most of the other ball players on the 1910 team, was also interested in track and wrestling and went on to form Cal Farley's Boys Ranch in Texas. The U.S. Government honored him by printing a U.S. stamp named for him. The 1920 team also shows many of the players.

During the late 1940s and early 1950s, Humboldt had an excellent travelling team.

My Dad played first base and my Uncle Burton Turner was a pitcher. Burton's father, Ernest Turner, was a legendary pitcher. Many of the stories of early Humboldt baseball are well documented on this web site.

Who was the greatest player in Kittson County History? Some might say Ernie Turner, Happy Chandler, the Diamond boys, or Clarence Beck. [Note from Trish:  And don't forget Eli Gooselaw...] We don't have videos and it is impossible to compare players across generations. My candidate for player of the Millennium for the County is Humboldt's own native son, Scott Matthew.

Girlie Shows

"Step right up!  See beautiful, exotic women..."

When researching this fascinating subject, I found reference to girlie shows at the Pembina County Fairs of the past, as well as an ad for one at the Kittson County Fair (see image below...)

In the early to mid 20th century - long before the advent of television and the Internet - freak shows and girlie shows were escape for residents of isolated rural areas.  It may have even provided a release valve for lonely souls as they struggled to make human connections.  Whatever they may have been - and whatever the public at large may have thought of them - they were a colorful and complex part of our area's entertainment past...

Recently the Minnesota Federation of Fairs passed a resolution urging member fairs to bar midway strip and girlie shows. Sparked by objections of some youth leaders who objected to a few shows which worked strong, the resolution is certain to serve as a brake on such shows. However, midway revues of objectionable nature will continue to play Minnesota annuals.

From:  Billboard Feb 5, 1949

Established fairs were beginning to dispense with girlie shows, concentrating on rides and games…at smaller fairs and vagabond carnivals in remote areas, however, dancers could get away with more provocative displays, and cooch shows continued with unabated vigor. Into the 1950’s, a few state fairs still offered shows that at least appeared to have lascivious themes.

From:  The American State Fair by By Derek Nelson

"Girl" and "Grind" shows advertised for Kittson County Fair
From:  Billboard, February 2, 1957 [Click to enlarge...]