by Tesha M. Wiedemann
STAR Assistant Editor
Things continue to change at the Cambridge State Hospital. What was once a bustling community housing 2,008 patients at its peak now serves 27 clients, less than what it began with in 1925.
The facility has constantly battled the public perception of the “feeble-minded” and lack of sufficient funding and staff while trying to treat patients in methods popular over the years.
Ever since the first five males were transferred from the School for the Feeble-minded at Faribault, advances in medicine and psychiatric treatment have changed the way epileptics and developmentally disabled people are viewed.
Since the establishment in 1940 of the Mental Health Unit within the Department of Public Institution in St. Paul, which was headed by Dr. D.E. McBroom (on a leave of absence from his position as Superintendent at the CSH), the state has been moving away from institutionalization towards integrating the developmentally disabled within society.
The long path towards this integration will culminate this summer, when most of the buildings on the ground will be demolished, ending an era marked by shame and segregation.
Although many former residents shudder when they recall their years spent at the Cambridge State Hospital, this was an institution that has held a unique place within the community that shouldn’t be forgotten once the bricks are torn down.
The facility, once larger than the city it was part of, was the largest employer in east central Minnesota, and people both scorned it, praised it and needed it.
While John Stocking was administrator (1965-74), an article in the Scotsman noted that the annual payroll of the Cambridge State School and Hospital was $2,700,000. At that time only 30% of the employees lived in Cambridge; the other 70% lived in Princeton, Mora, Pine City, North Branch, Rush City, Isanti and Braham. Of that payroll amount, 70% was spent in the northern part of Isanti County, the southern part of Mille Lacs County and the southern part of Kanabec County. In addition, another $80,000 was spent annually in area business places for goods and services required by the mammoth institution.
The article observed, “With these figures in mind, the Cambridge State School and Hospital must be the largest, next to agriculture, source of revenue in East Central Minnesota.
“We are indeed fortunate that this institution is located in our area, providing nearly 600 jobs for East Central Minnesota people…”
Community unto itself
It truly was a community unto itself. The first building finished in 1925 by Askov Construction Company was a self-contained unit with its own kitchen, laundry, pump and well, heating plant, refrigeration, recreation rooms, and dormitories for both staff and patients.
The second building constructed at the site, the Main Building (more recently known as the Administration Building), was built out of a similar mindset, that of keeping the facility self-sufficient. At a cost of $225,000, the building was finished in 1927 and contained administrative offices, quarters for the superintendent and other employees (who were required to live on site until 1940), a hospital adequate for the whole institution when finished, wards for epileptic children, school and industrial rooms, recreation rooms, kitchens, dining room, pantry, cold storage and power plant.
The first women’s dorm, Cottage 2, was opened in August 1927 with room for 72 females. Male and female patients were kept strictly segregated. Odd-numbered buildings, located to the south of the Administrative Building, housed males, and those to the north (with even numbers), housed females. Men and women did fraternize during dances and other entertainment held at the facility, however.
The decade that followed was one of rapid growth as Cottages 5 and 6 were finished in June 1932, Cottages 3 and 4 in 1935, and Cottages 7 and 12 in 1934, bringing the total capacity of the institution up to 878. Between each building were tunnels, enabling staff and patients to move easily from one to another. In recent years, as the buildings have emptied, these tunnels have caused many security problems. The tunnels will be torn up as the buildings are demolished.
From the beginning, a farm was attached to CSH. The farm, which had a large dairy herd, pigs, chickens, and turkeys grew feed for the cattle, in addition to vegetables and fruit.
In addition to providing food for the institute, the farm also made money for the state. The profit between July 1925 until November 1930 was $6,115.58.
The farm provided jobs and work training for patients, who were primarily epileptics in the early years. Thirty to 40 patients worked on the farm in the summer, with an additional 150 working in the garden. Six to 10 boys were responsible for milking the cows by hand.
Farm buildings were located to the south of the cottages, and the fields filled the acreage in front of the facility. Also, 75 acres on the west side of the river were tilled, accessed by a 134-foot steel bridge which had been dismantled and moved down river from what is currently Cambridge City Park.
Mechanization changed farming. In the early days, most of the patients were epileptics, but more and more patients suffered from greater disabilities as the epileptics were moved back into the community, they found it difficult to handle the new machines. Also, it became harder across the board for small farms to thrive. And so, the farm began to lose money and was shut down in June of 1961. Oscar Lee Anderson, farm supervisor from 1935 to 1961 told Marcia Miller during a 1984 interview, “When the tractors were sold, the boys cried.”
The farm house was sold and moved two miles east of Grandy, and the main barn moved to Day.
While CSH patients were taught skills such as farming, gardening, shoe repairing, painting, carpentry, general maintenance, dairying (men), tailoring, plain sewing, mending, laundry work, baking, dishwashing and general housework (women), for 30 years the general attitude was that the patients would never be returned to normal society and must be taught what would make their lives happier and more useful in the institution.
Various medical experiments were conducted over the years, beginning with the first in 1928 when a group of patients was placed on a special ketogenic diet to evaluate the effect upon epilepsy. The experiment was conducted through the Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota. Later research evaluated various epileptic medications.
There have been some very dark spots in the facility’s history. In the 1960s a staff person was murdered in Cottage 5 when three residents tried to escape. When the man wouldn’t give up his keys, he was stabbed in the chest. The threesome did escape, but were caught shortly after. One was charged with murder. In the 1970s, one client killed another by strangulation.
Over the years residents enjoyed dances, picnics, summer festivals, movies, ball games, television, radio and music. In fact. many residents were involved in musical groups in the 1930s. In 1930 the music department presented two operettas. There was a 14-piece orchestra developed, which grew to two fine orchestras of 22 instruments apiece, in addition to a 21-piece brass band.
In 1966 a camping program for residents was started, which grew into a non-profit corporation, Camp New Hope, Inc., that purchased a 40-acre camp site on Glacier Lake north of McGregor in 1968.
State hospital residents involved in 4-H earned ribbons at the Isanti County Fair. In 1968, Linda Thompson was the first CSH resident to graduate from Cambridge Senior High School.
Until 1949 the institution was known as the Minnesota Colony for Epileptics; Minnesota was one of 11 states which had special facilities for epileptics. During that time the fundamental principles employees lived by were:
• Every patient sent to this institution is expected to receive the greatest possible benefit thereform, physically, morally and mentally.
• Under no circumstances is rudeness or harshness permitted. The spirit of kindness must everywhere prevail.
• Let the educational spirit predominate. Teach, teach and teach again. Most of the patients are eager to learn such things as they can understand. Teach how to put clothing on and fasten it up, to wash the faces and hands, comb the hair, lace their shoes, scrub the floor, sweep, set the table, shovel coal, wheel dirt, hoe corn or potatoes, carry feed for stock, etc.
The rule was kindness, but in reality staffing levels prevented adequate care. In 1934, for example, there were 866 patients to 119 employees. Staffing levels during World War II got worse, when the facility ran on a skeletal staff. At one time, the facility attempted to enlist the help of older, less disabled patients in feeding others, which was not very effective, according to longtime employee Roger W. Anderson of Cambridge. Another method tried was that of pairing older residents with younger ones, which did foster a sense of family.
Although the stigma attached to the facility was great, Anderson praises the people who staffed the institution throughout the years of its greatest changes. During the decades he worked at the CSH, Anderson says “there were some of the nicest staff out there who did what they could with what they had… There’s been a lot of caring people.” He pointed out, “It was always understaffed and underfunded. It was sad… it really was a warehouse because staffing was so low and patients needed so much assistance.”
He added that the stigma attached to the facility was created in part by the people who had family living there.
Conditions were improved in 1949 after the Legislature passed the Mental Health Act, calling for, among other things, that employees eat the same food as patients. Things improved again after the Welsh case rocked state hospitals across Minnesota in the 1970s. Along with the staffing improvements were physical plant improvements, Anderson observed.
Also, as the facility was downsized it got more manageable. The population peak reached 2008 in 1962, shortly after new buildings Boswell and McBroom were opened. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the state embarked on its regionalization program, moving residents to facilities closer to their homes. The facility was renamed the Cambridge Regional Treatment Center (RTC). Between 1967 and 1973 the population at CSH dropped in half, from 1,400 to 700.
In July 1972, the first home-like units opened at CSH, Dellwood North and South, 16-bed cottages. Focus moved from institutionalization to rehabilitation.
The facility began to parcel off property, deeding 27 acres to the Cambridge-Isanti School District (where the bus garage and government center are currently). In 1967, all the property on the west side of the Rum River was transferred to the city for use as a park (West Park). In 1974, the Legislature authorized transferring eight acres to the Memorial Hospital. Property has also been transferred to the Department of Natural Resources.
From 1973 to 1974, CSH experienced a complete reorganization, moving from a medically-orientated facility to a program-orientated one. Each resident was involved in six hours of programming per day, five days a week.
The entire facility was completely restructured in 1996 as the Minnesota Extended Treatment Options program (METO) under the leadership of Mike Maus. As other state hospitals across the state – Faribault, Moose Lake, St. Peters, Fergus Falls, Brainerd – began closing their doors, there was a need for a specialized treatment program for those who had problems functioning outside the institution. The task force developed in the 1990s to close CSH realized that there was a need to serve people with mild retardation and behavorial problems. “METO was developed to fulfill that need,” Maus explained.
METO is fixing to put itself out of business, however, as it rehabilitates more and more individuals and sends them back out into society. Program participants decrease each year; however, the length of stay is also increasing and is now hovering around two years.
In addition, CSH offers community support services in order to head off problems before they start so that the developmentally disabled don’t need to leave the community, Maus said.
Maus pointed out that “the future of the program will continue to be in question” if they continue to do their jobs, that of rehabilitation.
The targeted staff to patient ratio is now 2.2 to 1, a marked difference from decades earlier. The typical patient is a male in his early 20s. However, it is probably the perception of clients which has changed the most in the past 75 years. “Clients come here and they leave. That is really important,” Maus said.
Recently, 80 acres have been sold to the city of Cambridge, which plans to develop the property in a mix of single family homes, townhouses and apartments, with space for a community center and parks and trails. This summer, Boswell, McBroom and Cottages 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 12 and 14 will be torn down, with the exception of the Main Building. Maus expects funding for the demolition of the Main Building to be available this fall. The former infirmatory has been renovated to provide offices for METO, and the auditorium has been remodeled and will stay. Berms will be installed to shield the new development from the state facility.
Creating something else out of this site which sits in the center of Cambridge makes sense to Maus. But for others, hearing of plans to bring the buildings down provokes sadness. It is the end of an era.
Thanks to Roger W. Anderson and Mike Maus for their recollections of the changes that have occurred at the Cambridge State Hospital. Anderson is currently working on a book about the facility. Anyone who would like to share a story about the institution is welcome to contact him at 763-689-3924 or reogerminnesota@starband.net.
This article is based on research compiled by Anderson, a report written by Marcia Miller in 1984, and a series of articles which ran in the Cambridge Star commemorating the facility’s 50th birthday.
* Article appeared in the 2003 Isanti County Traveler published by the STAR newspaper.
Showing posts with label STAR newspaper. Show all posts
Showing posts with label STAR newspaper. Show all posts
Thursday, January 18, 2018
Windcharger powers farm in Dalbo
by Tesha M. Wiedemann
STAR Assistant Editor
In 1948 a Buick Roadster pulled into the Waldemar and Jennie Lind farm off Isanti County Road 60, one mile north of Dalbo. The car carried a man selling Jacobs windchargers.
Enticed by electricity, the Linds purchased a Jacobs Windcharger Model 32 for $500.
The 72-foot-high windcharger powered the house and the barn, though not at the same time. And when the lights were on in the house, the family could only use the toaster. The Linds owned the only farm in the area with electric lights until 1950, when electric poles were installed in the Dalbo area.
Russell Carlson of Dalbo told current farm owners Elsie and Arnie Stromberg that the same salesman sold a windcharger to Archie Jenson west of Dalbo. He put the windcharger on top of his barn, but used his just months before electric poles ran through.
As the story goes, a fellow from Oklahoma set up the Lind’s 72-foot tower, section by section, in a couple days. Another man, possibly Martin Jopp, an electrician from Princeton, hauled the 1,000-pound generator up the tower with a crossbar – his way of handling heavy equipment, according to the Strombergs.
New wiring was installed to correspond with the electric poles, but the old 32-volt wiring remains in the barn.
In locating a windcharger, care was taken to position it 30 feet above all buildings with a clear, unobstructed sweep in all directions.
The primary difference between windchargers and windmills, according to Arnie, is the generator the windcharger uses, as well as the 16 cell 16x16x16 glass batteries it charged. The batteries were stored in a shed beneath the windcharger and careful instructions given regarding storage and care. The cells always needed to be filled to the water line. Only distilled or rain water from clean boards or clean snow kept in jars was usable as well water contained harmful minerals.
The Jacobs Wind Electric Company, Inc. of Minneapolis boasted it was “America’s Oldest Manufacturer of Wind Electric Plants”.
“The famous ‘Jacobs Master Mind Control’ gives the equalizing trickle charge each time it fills the battery, by letting the plant operate several hours after they are full, before shutting it off. This is the best battery protection system ever developed for light plants. Also it permits the plant to be left in continuous operation (except for cycling) when refrigerators, home freezers, or extra heavy loads are carried, as the Wind Electric carries most of the load direct from the big ‘lifetime’ generator, and automatically keeps the battery full, ready for a calm or low wind period,” stated early literature.
The Strombergs were “lucky enough” to purchase the 175-acre Lind farm in 1968. The farm was midway between both of their home places. The windcharger was still standing proudly above the other farm buildings, serving as a landmark and guiding people to their home. “We called it our lightning rod,” Elsie said. The tail always notified them as to what direction the wind was blowing.
The three blades Duane Lind remembers painting white when he was 10 had dwindled down to two, and the glass batteries were nowhere to be found by the time the Strombergs took over operating the farm.
Visitors who weren’t afraid of heights often climbed to the top of the tower to check out the view. Arnie, himself, made the trek several times.
On Oct. 10, 2002, the Strombergs returned home to find that the generator had fallen off its perch and was twisted in the copper wiring, hanging sadly. Fearing the windcharger would fall into the grain bin full of soybeans, Arnie began making plans to take the entire thing down.
“It must have been an awful noise,” Elsie noted.
The day after Thanksgiving, Arnie took out the bolts on one side of the charger, hooked up a cable to the John Deere tractor and pulled. The entire structure came down in less than five seconds. Although there were no tears shed, the moment, captured on film and video, is a bittersweet one for the Strombergs. They’d hoped their girls would be there to witness the event, but only one daughter made it before fears of how windy the day would be forced them to begin earlier than scheduled.
Arnie and his son-in-law Brad McKinnon dismantled the tower in three hours, surprised that the 54-year-old bolts twisted off easily. “They were galvanized,” Arnie noted.
The steel pieces are currently lying in the barn and the generator sits on a hayrack. The Strombergs plan to donate some of it to John Hullet of Princeton, who collects parts and equipment for Jacobs windchargers. Hullet has found many in Iowa.
The rope ladder was divvied up and given to each of the Stromberg’s three daughters, Dona, Lori and Noel, one of whom placed it in her garden. Elsie hopes to add a small windcharger to her front yard one day.
The Strombergs are proud of the place in history their windcharger held.
* Article appeared in the 2004 Isanti County Traveler, published by the STAR newspaper.
STAR Assistant Editor
In 1948 a Buick Roadster pulled into the Waldemar and Jennie Lind farm off Isanti County Road 60, one mile north of Dalbo. The car carried a man selling Jacobs windchargers.
Enticed by electricity, the Linds purchased a Jacobs Windcharger Model 32 for $500.
The 72-foot-high windcharger powered the house and the barn, though not at the same time. And when the lights were on in the house, the family could only use the toaster. The Linds owned the only farm in the area with electric lights until 1950, when electric poles were installed in the Dalbo area.
Russell Carlson of Dalbo told current farm owners Elsie and Arnie Stromberg that the same salesman sold a windcharger to Archie Jenson west of Dalbo. He put the windcharger on top of his barn, but used his just months before electric poles ran through.
As the story goes, a fellow from Oklahoma set up the Lind’s 72-foot tower, section by section, in a couple days. Another man, possibly Martin Jopp, an electrician from Princeton, hauled the 1,000-pound generator up the tower with a crossbar – his way of handling heavy equipment, according to the Strombergs.
New wiring was installed to correspond with the electric poles, but the old 32-volt wiring remains in the barn.
In locating a windcharger, care was taken to position it 30 feet above all buildings with a clear, unobstructed sweep in all directions.
The primary difference between windchargers and windmills, according to Arnie, is the generator the windcharger uses, as well as the 16 cell 16x16x16 glass batteries it charged. The batteries were stored in a shed beneath the windcharger and careful instructions given regarding storage and care. The cells always needed to be filled to the water line. Only distilled or rain water from clean boards or clean snow kept in jars was usable as well water contained harmful minerals.
The Jacobs Wind Electric Company, Inc. of Minneapolis boasted it was “America’s Oldest Manufacturer of Wind Electric Plants”.
“The famous ‘Jacobs Master Mind Control’ gives the equalizing trickle charge each time it fills the battery, by letting the plant operate several hours after they are full, before shutting it off. This is the best battery protection system ever developed for light plants. Also it permits the plant to be left in continuous operation (except for cycling) when refrigerators, home freezers, or extra heavy loads are carried, as the Wind Electric carries most of the load direct from the big ‘lifetime’ generator, and automatically keeps the battery full, ready for a calm or low wind period,” stated early literature.
The Strombergs were “lucky enough” to purchase the 175-acre Lind farm in 1968. The farm was midway between both of their home places. The windcharger was still standing proudly above the other farm buildings, serving as a landmark and guiding people to their home. “We called it our lightning rod,” Elsie said. The tail always notified them as to what direction the wind was blowing.
The three blades Duane Lind remembers painting white when he was 10 had dwindled down to two, and the glass batteries were nowhere to be found by the time the Strombergs took over operating the farm.
Visitors who weren’t afraid of heights often climbed to the top of the tower to check out the view. Arnie, himself, made the trek several times.
On Oct. 10, 2002, the Strombergs returned home to find that the generator had fallen off its perch and was twisted in the copper wiring, hanging sadly. Fearing the windcharger would fall into the grain bin full of soybeans, Arnie began making plans to take the entire thing down.
“It must have been an awful noise,” Elsie noted.
The day after Thanksgiving, Arnie took out the bolts on one side of the charger, hooked up a cable to the John Deere tractor and pulled. The entire structure came down in less than five seconds. Although there were no tears shed, the moment, captured on film and video, is a bittersweet one for the Strombergs. They’d hoped their girls would be there to witness the event, but only one daughter made it before fears of how windy the day would be forced them to begin earlier than scheduled.
Arnie and his son-in-law Brad McKinnon dismantled the tower in three hours, surprised that the 54-year-old bolts twisted off easily. “They were galvanized,” Arnie noted.
The steel pieces are currently lying in the barn and the generator sits on a hayrack. The Strombergs plan to donate some of it to John Hullet of Princeton, who collects parts and equipment for Jacobs windchargers. Hullet has found many in Iowa.
The rope ladder was divvied up and given to each of the Stromberg’s three daughters, Dona, Lori and Noel, one of whom placed it in her garden. Elsie hopes to add a small windcharger to her front yard one day.
The Strombergs are proud of the place in history their windcharger held.
* Article appeared in the 2004 Isanti County Traveler, published by the STAR newspaper.
Mystery along the dirt road
Recording and restoring cemeteries was one of first projects undertaken by newly formed Isanti County Historical Society in 1970s.
by Tesha M. Christensen
STAR Assistant Editor
The small burial plot is tucked south off of Old Grandy Road in Stanchfield Township, and you’ll miss it unless you’re paying close attention. A tiny area is mowed and an indescript sign informs passersby that yes, this is Elm Park Cemetery.
Mystery yet shrouds the cemetery, also called the Socialist Cemetery or the “non-believers cemetery”. There is little on file at the Isanti County Historical Society but a few handwritten notes. One attempts to list those buried there in the absence of a formal cemetery plat. “1. Berg baby - stillborn - parents - Andrew Berg and wife. Confirmed by George Berg, brother of the stillborn baby.” “2. Gust Ruden - (possibly buried there. Mrs. George Ruden.” There are eight listed in this fashion.
Another note – this one typewritten – is stamped confidential and is the compilation of five interviews made by Randolph Johnson and Bob Duoos in 1974.
The reason for this secrecy surmised Marilyn McGriff in her 1996 pamphlet “A Guide to Swedish Sites in Kanabec and Isanti Counties” is due to the political beliefs those buried there held. “Today, the cemetery stands abandoned, but it serves as a reminder of former political activities that were outside the mainstream of American life.”
In 1974, the Isanti County Historian reported the socialists in the Elm Park community were active from the turn of the century to the first World War. They built a hall which was used not only for meetings, but community dances and other events.
The Historian story spurred Albert Forsberg of Braham, then in his 80s, to contact the historical society to recall his memories. He attended many dances at the socialist hall. The philosophy of the socialists was “share and share alike”, Forsberg said.
The hall was moved one-fourth mile from its original site to the Elmer Beckman farm where it was attached to the farmhouse and served as part of the home.
The cemetery was carved out of property once owned by Louis Long. Although it is not believed he is buried there, it is thought his wife and father are.
Markers at the cemetery are small cement stones measuring 10 by 4 by 2 inches, nearly hidden in the vegetation. Some are propped up against trees. They form a union with the woods that have grown up amongst them.
The newest gravestone is closest to the road, engraved with the names of Charles F. (1917-1999) and Iva B. (1925-1992) Schwartz.
According to the Historian, “The Socialist Society died out when the founder’s children chose to embrace capitalism as a way of life. Stories related to to Johnson and Duoos suggest it was the wish of the original socialists that they be buried in the Socialist Cemetery, but the children did not subscribe to the political philosophy of their parents and chose to bury their parents in church cemeteries.”
* This article appeared in the 2005 Isanti County Traveler published by the STAR newspaper.
by Tesha M. Christensen
STAR Assistant Editor
The small burial plot is tucked south off of Old Grandy Road in Stanchfield Township, and you’ll miss it unless you’re paying close attention. A tiny area is mowed and an indescript sign informs passersby that yes, this is Elm Park Cemetery.
Mystery yet shrouds the cemetery, also called the Socialist Cemetery or the “non-believers cemetery”. There is little on file at the Isanti County Historical Society but a few handwritten notes. One attempts to list those buried there in the absence of a formal cemetery plat. “1. Berg baby - stillborn - parents - Andrew Berg and wife. Confirmed by George Berg, brother of the stillborn baby.” “2. Gust Ruden - (possibly buried there. Mrs. George Ruden.” There are eight listed in this fashion.
Another note – this one typewritten – is stamped confidential and is the compilation of five interviews made by Randolph Johnson and Bob Duoos in 1974.
The reason for this secrecy surmised Marilyn McGriff in her 1996 pamphlet “A Guide to Swedish Sites in Kanabec and Isanti Counties” is due to the political beliefs those buried there held. “Today, the cemetery stands abandoned, but it serves as a reminder of former political activities that were outside the mainstream of American life.”
In 1974, the Isanti County Historian reported the socialists in the Elm Park community were active from the turn of the century to the first World War. They built a hall which was used not only for meetings, but community dances and other events.
The Historian story spurred Albert Forsberg of Braham, then in his 80s, to contact the historical society to recall his memories. He attended many dances at the socialist hall. The philosophy of the socialists was “share and share alike”, Forsberg said.
The hall was moved one-fourth mile from its original site to the Elmer Beckman farm where it was attached to the farmhouse and served as part of the home.
The cemetery was carved out of property once owned by Louis Long. Although it is not believed he is buried there, it is thought his wife and father are.
Markers at the cemetery are small cement stones measuring 10 by 4 by 2 inches, nearly hidden in the vegetation. Some are propped up against trees. They form a union with the woods that have grown up amongst them.
The newest gravestone is closest to the road, engraved with the names of Charles F. (1917-1999) and Iva B. (1925-1992) Schwartz.
According to the Historian, “The Socialist Society died out when the founder’s children chose to embrace capitalism as a way of life. Stories related to to Johnson and Duoos suggest it was the wish of the original socialists that they be buried in the Socialist Cemetery, but the children did not subscribe to the political philosophy of their parents and chose to bury their parents in church cemeteries.”
* This article appeared in the 2005 Isanti County Traveler published by the STAR newspaper.
Romance of the rail: See the St. Croix River Valley the way it was meant to be seen. Then, send a postcard about your excursion right from the train.
*Note - This article appeared in the 2006 Chisago County Traveler published by the STAR newspaper.
by Tesha M. Christensen
STAR Assistant Editor
Spend a few hours seeing the countryside at a slower pace when you take a ride on the Osceola & St. Croix Valley train.
The experience begins as you step aboard, traversing the same path as others before. As the engines roar to life, sit back in your seat and relax. The vintage train travels through some of the most spectacular scenery in Minnesota, following the St. Croix River valley.
Along the way, glimpse herons patiently waiting for a fishy meal, and watch whitetail deer leaping through fields. If you time it right, you can peer out the windows and observe a sunset. If you keep your eyes open, you may spy an osprey, eagle, beer, turkey, turtle or even a fox.
The tracks follow the Sandstone bluffs on a path carved out in the 1800s by horse and buggy. Along the route is the Cedar River Draw Bridge, which opened up in years for steam boats chugging up and down the St. Croix.
As the wheels clackity-clack, wander to the rear car to discover how the train once carried mail from town to town. Watch volunteer catch mail on the fly and mail your own postcard.
A trip back in time
“It’s a trip back in time and away from the city,” reflected Pat Kytola, site administrator for the Osceola & St. Croix Valley train. “You’re so close, but you’re just out in nature.”
Friendly volunteer conductors are eager to answer questions about the history of the train and the area. They’ve been trained to meet Federal Railway Administration operating and safety standards, but that’s not what drives these volunteers. They’re passionate about train travel.
“You can’t find a better way of travel,” believes Kytola. “And our line is so spectacular. … It’s a good time for families.”
The last passenger trains wound through the Osceola depot in 1961. Fifteen years ago, the Osceola Historical Society and Minnesota Transportation Museum collaborated to bring back the romance of the rails. The line has always and continues to be used by freight trains.
The cars that make up the Osceola & St. Croix Valley train are of varying vintages, ranging from the 1920s to the 1950s. Passengers are encouraged to roam while they ride to see how train travel changed through the years.
Catch one of the trips scheduled regularly between April and October 29 on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. Make it a date with your significant other to rekindle the romance. Or, bring your children along to see a real life “Thomas the Train” in action. (Don’t miss the “Thomas” table in the depot.)
Regular and special excursions
The 20-mile Osceola to Marine on the St. Croix excursion is 90 minutes long; board at either 11 a.m. or 2:30 p.m. Cost for adults is $15, for seniors $13, for children $7 and for families $40.
Or, make the shorter 10-mile, 50-minute jaunt from Osceola to Dresser. The train leaves at 1 p.m. Cost is $10 for adults, $9 for seniors, $5 for children and $25 for families.
First class service comes with a snack and beverage aboard the A-11 open platform observation card on select days.
Special events are planned periodically. The next William O’Brien Naturalist trips are slated for July 2 and Sept. 3. Or, call for more information on the next National Park Ranger Guided trip and hear a park ranger speak about the natural beauty of the St. Croix Riverway.
Dinner/Pizza trains are scheduled for July 8 and 22, Aug. 5 and 19, and Sept. 9 and 23. For the early morning risers, take a brunch train available July 16 and 30, Aug. 13 and 27, Sept. 17 and Oct. 15. Box lunch Saturdays are planned for July 1 and 15, Aug. 12 and 26, and Sept. 2 and 16.
Bluegrass lovers will be sure to catch the Bluegrass Train on Sept. 16 when the Blue Drifters entertain all day.
This fall, carve out a day to ride the pumpkin train Oct. 21-22: riders get out at a pumpkin patch, take a hayride, pick a pumpkin and eat a delicious snack. Don’t want that much activity but still want to enjoy the gorgeous scenery? Take a leaf viewing trip on Oct. 7, 8, 14 or 15.
Book a St. Croix Valley Getaway for that special someone at any time throughout the season. For $249 per couple, enjoy your choice of brunch or dinner for two, and two of the following: Chateau St. Croix winery tour, Eric’s Bike Shop & Canoe rental, overnight stay for two at St. Croix Falls Holiday Inn Express or River Valley Inn and Suites, and meal at Adventures Restaurant or Village Pizzeria.
Bring a group along
To bring a group along to celebrate any special occasion – whether it be a birthday, anniversary, graduation, retirement or wedding – call 651-228-0263. “Our motto is, if you can think of it, we will try to make it special,” stated Kytola.
For more information on the St. Croix Valley train rides browse www.trainride.org or call 715-755-3570.
See the St. Croix Valley the way it was meant to be seen.
SIDEBAR
Something for everyone
FOR THE LEAF VIEWERS
Oct. 7, 8, 14, 14, 12:45 and 4:15 p.m.
FOR THE BLUEGRASS FANS
Bluegrass Train, Sept. 16, 11a.m. to 4 p.m., $35 all day, or reg. fare plus $5, pre-ordered box lunch/beverage available $8
FOR THE LOVERS
St. Croix Getaway, $249 per couple, your choice of brunch or dinner for two, and two of the following: Chateau St. Croix winery tour, Eric’s Bike Shop & Canoe rental, overnight stay for two at St. Croix Falls Holiday Inn Express or River Valley Inn and Suites, and meal at Adventures Restaurant or Village Pizzeria.
FOR THE NATURALISTS
• William O’Brien Naturalist Trip, July 2, Sept. 3
• National Park Ranger Guided Trips, dates to be announced
FOR THE KIDS
Pumpkin Train, Oct. 21-22, 10:15 a.m. and 1:45 p.m., three-hour event, Adults $20, Children $12, four and under $5, ride on decorated cars, take a hayride, pick a pumpkin and get a treat
Reservations recommended; call 715-755-3570 or browse www.trainride.org
by Tesha M. Christensen
STAR Assistant Editor
Spend a few hours seeing the countryside at a slower pace when you take a ride on the Osceola & St. Croix Valley train.
The experience begins as you step aboard, traversing the same path as others before. As the engines roar to life, sit back in your seat and relax. The vintage train travels through some of the most spectacular scenery in Minnesota, following the St. Croix River valley.
Along the way, glimpse herons patiently waiting for a fishy meal, and watch whitetail deer leaping through fields. If you time it right, you can peer out the windows and observe a sunset. If you keep your eyes open, you may spy an osprey, eagle, beer, turkey, turtle or even a fox.
The tracks follow the Sandstone bluffs on a path carved out in the 1800s by horse and buggy. Along the route is the Cedar River Draw Bridge, which opened up in years for steam boats chugging up and down the St. Croix.
As the wheels clackity-clack, wander to the rear car to discover how the train once carried mail from town to town. Watch volunteer catch mail on the fly and mail your own postcard.
A trip back in time
“It’s a trip back in time and away from the city,” reflected Pat Kytola, site administrator for the Osceola & St. Croix Valley train. “You’re so close, but you’re just out in nature.”
Friendly volunteer conductors are eager to answer questions about the history of the train and the area. They’ve been trained to meet Federal Railway Administration operating and safety standards, but that’s not what drives these volunteers. They’re passionate about train travel.
“You can’t find a better way of travel,” believes Kytola. “And our line is so spectacular. … It’s a good time for families.”
The last passenger trains wound through the Osceola depot in 1961. Fifteen years ago, the Osceola Historical Society and Minnesota Transportation Museum collaborated to bring back the romance of the rails. The line has always and continues to be used by freight trains.
The cars that make up the Osceola & St. Croix Valley train are of varying vintages, ranging from the 1920s to the 1950s. Passengers are encouraged to roam while they ride to see how train travel changed through the years.
Catch one of the trips scheduled regularly between April and October 29 on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. Make it a date with your significant other to rekindle the romance. Or, bring your children along to see a real life “Thomas the Train” in action. (Don’t miss the “Thomas” table in the depot.)
Regular and special excursions
The 20-mile Osceola to Marine on the St. Croix excursion is 90 minutes long; board at either 11 a.m. or 2:30 p.m. Cost for adults is $15, for seniors $13, for children $7 and for families $40.
Or, make the shorter 10-mile, 50-minute jaunt from Osceola to Dresser. The train leaves at 1 p.m. Cost is $10 for adults, $9 for seniors, $5 for children and $25 for families.
First class service comes with a snack and beverage aboard the A-11 open platform observation card on select days.
Special events are planned periodically. The next William O’Brien Naturalist trips are slated for July 2 and Sept. 3. Or, call for more information on the next National Park Ranger Guided trip and hear a park ranger speak about the natural beauty of the St. Croix Riverway.
Dinner/Pizza trains are scheduled for July 8 and 22, Aug. 5 and 19, and Sept. 9 and 23. For the early morning risers, take a brunch train available July 16 and 30, Aug. 13 and 27, Sept. 17 and Oct. 15. Box lunch Saturdays are planned for July 1 and 15, Aug. 12 and 26, and Sept. 2 and 16.
Bluegrass lovers will be sure to catch the Bluegrass Train on Sept. 16 when the Blue Drifters entertain all day.
This fall, carve out a day to ride the pumpkin train Oct. 21-22: riders get out at a pumpkin patch, take a hayride, pick a pumpkin and eat a delicious snack. Don’t want that much activity but still want to enjoy the gorgeous scenery? Take a leaf viewing trip on Oct. 7, 8, 14 or 15.
Book a St. Croix Valley Getaway for that special someone at any time throughout the season. For $249 per couple, enjoy your choice of brunch or dinner for two, and two of the following: Chateau St. Croix winery tour, Eric’s Bike Shop & Canoe rental, overnight stay for two at St. Croix Falls Holiday Inn Express or River Valley Inn and Suites, and meal at Adventures Restaurant or Village Pizzeria.
Bring a group along
To bring a group along to celebrate any special occasion – whether it be a birthday, anniversary, graduation, retirement or wedding – call 651-228-0263. “Our motto is, if you can think of it, we will try to make it special,” stated Kytola.
For more information on the St. Croix Valley train rides browse www.trainride.org or call 715-755-3570.
See the St. Croix Valley the way it was meant to be seen.
SIDEBAR
Something for everyone
FOR THE LEAF VIEWERS
Oct. 7, 8, 14, 14, 12:45 and 4:15 p.m.
FOR THE BLUEGRASS FANS
Bluegrass Train, Sept. 16, 11a.m. to 4 p.m., $35 all day, or reg. fare plus $5, pre-ordered box lunch/beverage available $8
FOR THE LOVERS
St. Croix Getaway, $249 per couple, your choice of brunch or dinner for two, and two of the following: Chateau St. Croix winery tour, Eric’s Bike Shop & Canoe rental, overnight stay for two at St. Croix Falls Holiday Inn Express or River Valley Inn and Suites, and meal at Adventures Restaurant or Village Pizzeria.
FOR THE NATURALISTS
• William O’Brien Naturalist Trip, July 2, Sept. 3
• National Park Ranger Guided Trips, dates to be announced
FOR THE KIDS
Pumpkin Train, Oct. 21-22, 10:15 a.m. and 1:45 p.m., three-hour event, Adults $20, Children $12, four and under $5, ride on decorated cars, take a hayride, pick a pumpkin and get a treat
Reservations recommended; call 715-755-3570 or browse www.trainride.org
Chisago County 4-H grows from 78 youth in 1923 to over 1600 in 1999
* Note - This article appeared in the 2003 Chisago County Traveler published by the STAR newspaper.
by Tesha M. Wiedemann
Special Sections Editor
Last year, 4-H celebrated its 100th birthday. Here in Chisago County, 4-H has been a part of people’s lives since the 1920s.
In 1923, there were 78 boys and girls creating tomato, bread and corn projects. In 1999, over 1,600 youth in 15 clubs participated in 4-H, according to Extension Educator Barb Piehl.
“Learning responsibility, accepting the challenge, and meeting the requirements of their projects made them the responsible adults they are today,” stated long-time 4-H participant and leader Esther Schmidt. “These people make America a better place in which to live.”
Schmidt was a Chisago County 4-H agent during the 1940s and 1950s. At that time, Chisago County was covered by farms with few housing developments. Chisago County’s roots echo that of the nation’s, beginning with corn and grain projects for boys and extending from there into other produce, livestock, and home and health projects for not just boys, but girls, as well.
“4-H is a youth development program conducted jointly by the Department of Agriculture, the National 4-H Council, the state land grant university and county government,” wrote former Chisago County 4-H member Amy Lindahl in a school paper. “Concern over the drift of farm youth to the cities facilitated the growth of rural education programs.”
She pointed out that the term 4-H club was first seen in a federal document in 1918 in a bulletin written by Gertrude L. Warren. Between 1907 and 1908, O. H. Benson introduced the first draft of the three-leaf clover, signifying head, heart and hands. Three years later, O. B. Martin suggested that a four leaf clover be used instead, adding health to the list. The 4-H emblem was patented in 1924 when the first 4-H clubs were officially formed. throughout the country.
“Changes have altered the face of 4-H from its beginning purpose,” Lindahl noted. “With the drift of the rural population to the city, 4-H has evolved into the urban setting. The early mission of 4-H was to create more interest in agriculture… Through the change in membership, the 4-H motto has become ‘To make the best better’… The mission of 4-H is to assist youth in acquiring knowledge, developing life skills and forming attitudes that will enable them to become self-directing, productive and contributing members of society.”
In 1924, 35 boys and nine girls were involved in dairy calf, pig, dairy and general livestock judging and bread making in Chisago County. As the numbers continued to increase, Chisago County decided to organize various clubs in 1934. Eleven clubs were formed that year: the Harris Boys Club, the Harris Girls Club, Sunnyside Club (District 40), Stark Club, District 61, Deadon Hustlers, District 60, District 27, Franconia, Almelund Club and Sunrise Club.
Of those, the Almelund All Stars (once called Up & At Its) and the Harris Golden Gophers (formerly Harris Boys and Harris Girls clubs) are still in existence today. Other clubs that are still active are Club of the Dalles in Taylors Falls (1936), Game Birds in Stacy (1939), Panola Rockets in Lindstrom (1942), North Star in Rush City (1945), Excelsior in Lindstrom (1946), Happy Hikers in North Branch (1946), Height Seekers in Chisago City (1952), Chargers in North Branch (1970), Wolves in Wyoming (1977), Sunshine in Center City (1978), Northern Lights in North Branch (1981), Explorers in Rush City (1987) and LIFT in Wyoming (1997).
The first Chisago County 4-H officers elected were Raymond Wikelius of Lindstrom as president, Leonard Noren of Chisago City as vice president, Verna Broecker of Lindstrom as secretary-treasurer and Esther Howard of North Branch as reporter.
During Schmidt’s 15-year tenure as a 4-H agent in the county, there were 23 clubs and 600 participants. “The 4-H program then, as now, strived for life enrichment for all youth,” Schmidt observed.
Members constantly gave demonstrations related to their special projects during monthly meetings and at both the county and state fairs. In the beginning years, 4-H clubs were school clubs. They were first active only during summer months, ending after the autumn fairs and starting again in the spring. While Schmidt was involved, the Meadow Larks were east of North Branch three miles, Willow Grove Club south of Rush City, the North Stars in Rush City and the Happy Hikers in North Branch.
Clothing had to be homemade, and cakes were made from scratch to exact specifications, remembers Schmidt. She recalls demonstration days at North Branch High School where pies and bread were on display and girls who had made their own clothes modeled them. There were 4-H Summer Club Tours at members’ homes. “Every day was interesting, no matter what,” she noted.
“Forestry was one of the big projects,” Schmidt added, as was the International Firm Youth Program. Several individuals from Greece (Anastatia Katsiksas), Iraq, Jordon (Essa Eberham), Korea (Jong Bin Lee) and Israel (Dr. Esther Gordan) visited Chisago County, staying in citizens’ homes. In turn, Chisago County residents Allen Croone went to Greece and Norma Gustafson to Denmark. Schmidt remembers that Croone later returned to Greece to teach.
Schmidt laughed remembering how the poor boy from Jordan was flabbergasted by the attention directed his way by girls. “I still get letters from them all,” Schmidt noted.
Judging was very strict in those days. “T.A. Erickson, the organizer of 4-H in Minnesota, established the integrity of 4-H,” remarked Schmidt.
Schmidt pointed out that the 4-H exhibits drew people to the county fair. A new building was constructed during her time as a 4-H agent so that 4-H members didn’t have to sleep in the barn with their animals. The dormitory occupied the top floor, and exhibits were housed in the main level.
Schmidt retired from 4-H in 1960, and was given a big goodbye party. She then obtained her master’s degree and began teaching at the community college in Cambridge. Looking back, she remembers constructing that new building at the fairgrounds in Rush City, 90 girls in the County Dress Revue in homemade garments and 4-H Summer Club trips in cars with no air conditioners. “How great for me that after 40 years, I am privileged to meet former member leaders and friends… Ah! It was the great life.” To those former members and leaders, Schmidt says, “Thanks for the great memories and keep up the good work.”
Many former members and leaders shared memories with the Chisago County Extension Office during the 2002 fair.
Karen Kennedy, a former Chisago County adult leader and childhood 4-H member in Meeker County, observed, “I have watched as competitors put aside competition to embrace each other and offer friendship. I have seen 4-Hers teaching each other, sharing their possessions and taking the ‘new kid’ under their wing. I have observed youth develop into mature young men and women. I am so proud of them and grateful to have known them.”
Joann Ploetz remembers winning a trip to the state fair when she was 10 by doing a ‘silent’ bread demonstration as a member of the Willow Grove 4-H Club in Rush City. Her children, too, became active 4-H members, and she was a leader and founder of the Northern Lights club. “4-H has been a part of my life and part of my children’s lives and we all owe so much to 4-H for what it has offered our family. Many of the skills that my children are known for can be traced back to their participation in 4-H…
“I do believe that at least one of my veins is green!”
Carolyn and Glen Holmstrom and Tim and Jenny Holt credit 4-H for their romances. “Without the help of 4-H we might never have met!” remarked the Holts, who were members of the same 4-H club as children. The Holmstroms met through 4-H at age nine.
“4-H has changed since my children were members, but I’ve noticed that the children haven’t,” noted Alice Waletzko, whose children belonged to the Almelund All Stars. “They still enjoy showing off their projects at the county fair – and a blue ribbon is still exciting!”
by Tesha M. Wiedemann
Special Sections Editor
Last year, 4-H celebrated its 100th birthday. Here in Chisago County, 4-H has been a part of people’s lives since the 1920s.
In 1923, there were 78 boys and girls creating tomato, bread and corn projects. In 1999, over 1,600 youth in 15 clubs participated in 4-H, according to Extension Educator Barb Piehl.
“Learning responsibility, accepting the challenge, and meeting the requirements of their projects made them the responsible adults they are today,” stated long-time 4-H participant and leader Esther Schmidt. “These people make America a better place in which to live.”
Schmidt was a Chisago County 4-H agent during the 1940s and 1950s. At that time, Chisago County was covered by farms with few housing developments. Chisago County’s roots echo that of the nation’s, beginning with corn and grain projects for boys and extending from there into other produce, livestock, and home and health projects for not just boys, but girls, as well.
“4-H is a youth development program conducted jointly by the Department of Agriculture, the National 4-H Council, the state land grant university and county government,” wrote former Chisago County 4-H member Amy Lindahl in a school paper. “Concern over the drift of farm youth to the cities facilitated the growth of rural education programs.”
She pointed out that the term 4-H club was first seen in a federal document in 1918 in a bulletin written by Gertrude L. Warren. Between 1907 and 1908, O. H. Benson introduced the first draft of the three-leaf clover, signifying head, heart and hands. Three years later, O. B. Martin suggested that a four leaf clover be used instead, adding health to the list. The 4-H emblem was patented in 1924 when the first 4-H clubs were officially formed. throughout the country.
“Changes have altered the face of 4-H from its beginning purpose,” Lindahl noted. “With the drift of the rural population to the city, 4-H has evolved into the urban setting. The early mission of 4-H was to create more interest in agriculture… Through the change in membership, the 4-H motto has become ‘To make the best better’… The mission of 4-H is to assist youth in acquiring knowledge, developing life skills and forming attitudes that will enable them to become self-directing, productive and contributing members of society.”
In 1924, 35 boys and nine girls were involved in dairy calf, pig, dairy and general livestock judging and bread making in Chisago County. As the numbers continued to increase, Chisago County decided to organize various clubs in 1934. Eleven clubs were formed that year: the Harris Boys Club, the Harris Girls Club, Sunnyside Club (District 40), Stark Club, District 61, Deadon Hustlers, District 60, District 27, Franconia, Almelund Club and Sunrise Club.
Of those, the Almelund All Stars (once called Up & At Its) and the Harris Golden Gophers (formerly Harris Boys and Harris Girls clubs) are still in existence today. Other clubs that are still active are Club of the Dalles in Taylors Falls (1936), Game Birds in Stacy (1939), Panola Rockets in Lindstrom (1942), North Star in Rush City (1945), Excelsior in Lindstrom (1946), Happy Hikers in North Branch (1946), Height Seekers in Chisago City (1952), Chargers in North Branch (1970), Wolves in Wyoming (1977), Sunshine in Center City (1978), Northern Lights in North Branch (1981), Explorers in Rush City (1987) and LIFT in Wyoming (1997).
The first Chisago County 4-H officers elected were Raymond Wikelius of Lindstrom as president, Leonard Noren of Chisago City as vice president, Verna Broecker of Lindstrom as secretary-treasurer and Esther Howard of North Branch as reporter.
During Schmidt’s 15-year tenure as a 4-H agent in the county, there were 23 clubs and 600 participants. “The 4-H program then, as now, strived for life enrichment for all youth,” Schmidt observed.
Members constantly gave demonstrations related to their special projects during monthly meetings and at both the county and state fairs. In the beginning years, 4-H clubs were school clubs. They were first active only during summer months, ending after the autumn fairs and starting again in the spring. While Schmidt was involved, the Meadow Larks were east of North Branch three miles, Willow Grove Club south of Rush City, the North Stars in Rush City and the Happy Hikers in North Branch.
Clothing had to be homemade, and cakes were made from scratch to exact specifications, remembers Schmidt. She recalls demonstration days at North Branch High School where pies and bread were on display and girls who had made their own clothes modeled them. There were 4-H Summer Club Tours at members’ homes. “Every day was interesting, no matter what,” she noted.
“Forestry was one of the big projects,” Schmidt added, as was the International Firm Youth Program. Several individuals from Greece (Anastatia Katsiksas), Iraq, Jordon (Essa Eberham), Korea (Jong Bin Lee) and Israel (Dr. Esther Gordan) visited Chisago County, staying in citizens’ homes. In turn, Chisago County residents Allen Croone went to Greece and Norma Gustafson to Denmark. Schmidt remembers that Croone later returned to Greece to teach.
Schmidt laughed remembering how the poor boy from Jordan was flabbergasted by the attention directed his way by girls. “I still get letters from them all,” Schmidt noted.
Judging was very strict in those days. “T.A. Erickson, the organizer of 4-H in Minnesota, established the integrity of 4-H,” remarked Schmidt.
Schmidt pointed out that the 4-H exhibits drew people to the county fair. A new building was constructed during her time as a 4-H agent so that 4-H members didn’t have to sleep in the barn with their animals. The dormitory occupied the top floor, and exhibits were housed in the main level.
Schmidt retired from 4-H in 1960, and was given a big goodbye party. She then obtained her master’s degree and began teaching at the community college in Cambridge. Looking back, she remembers constructing that new building at the fairgrounds in Rush City, 90 girls in the County Dress Revue in homemade garments and 4-H Summer Club trips in cars with no air conditioners. “How great for me that after 40 years, I am privileged to meet former member leaders and friends… Ah! It was the great life.” To those former members and leaders, Schmidt says, “Thanks for the great memories and keep up the good work.”
Many former members and leaders shared memories with the Chisago County Extension Office during the 2002 fair.
Karen Kennedy, a former Chisago County adult leader and childhood 4-H member in Meeker County, observed, “I have watched as competitors put aside competition to embrace each other and offer friendship. I have seen 4-Hers teaching each other, sharing their possessions and taking the ‘new kid’ under their wing. I have observed youth develop into mature young men and women. I am so proud of them and grateful to have known them.”
Joann Ploetz remembers winning a trip to the state fair when she was 10 by doing a ‘silent’ bread demonstration as a member of the Willow Grove 4-H Club in Rush City. Her children, too, became active 4-H members, and she was a leader and founder of the Northern Lights club. “4-H has been a part of my life and part of my children’s lives and we all owe so much to 4-H for what it has offered our family. Many of the skills that my children are known for can be traced back to their participation in 4-H…
“I do believe that at least one of my veins is green!”
Carolyn and Glen Holmstrom and Tim and Jenny Holt credit 4-H for their romances. “Without the help of 4-H we might never have met!” remarked the Holts, who were members of the same 4-H club as children. The Holmstroms met through 4-H at age nine.
“4-H has changed since my children were members, but I’ve noticed that the children haven’t,” noted Alice Waletzko, whose children belonged to the Almelund All Stars. “They still enjoy showing off their projects at the county fair – and a blue ribbon is still exciting!”
When was the first Chisago County Fair held?
* Note - This article appeared in the 2003 Chisago County Traveler published by the STAR newspaper.
by Tesha M. Wiedemann
Special Sections Editor
Speculation abounds concerning exactly when the first Chisago County Fair was held.
According to the recently published “A History of Chisago County 1851 to 2001”, the first county fair was held in Rush City in September of 1872. However, local historian Max Malmquist, who has delved deeply into the history of North Branch while preparing to write a book, disagrees.
He points to a 1875 Chisago County (Rush City) Post article which refers to the fair in 1875 as the fourth annual fair held in North Branch Sept. 29 to 30. This is the earliest newspaper article regarding the fair, as the Rush City Post wasn’t established until 1875.
Several hundred people attended this fourth fair, which was entirely supported by local businessmen, “Yankee businessmen,” Malmquist emphasized. “The fairs were really a Yankee business venture instituted not only for celebration and fun, but with high hopes that people coming to the fair would spend money at local businesses. The fair was also an opportunity for people to buy and sell goods, including livestock.”
Malmquist continued, “One cannot appreciate the dominance of Yankees in running and participating in fair events until the names are reviewed. The officers for the agricultural society who organized the fair in 1875 were E.C. Ingalls, Dr. Wm. Bently, J. G. Ryder and J.C.A. Pickett. The winners of the horse races were Bates, Pingrey, McCutcheon and Ryan, and the winners of the baby contests were (all Mrs.) Robie, Wilcox, Brown, Wooleat, Smith, McClure, Starkweather and Chase.”
Malmquist explained that the Irish, English and Scottish Easterners who first settled in the area were businessmen who were “more culturally elite” than the poor Germans and Swedes who followed them.
Another force driving the fairs was a love of horse races. The Post mentions two French breeding stallions owned locally and purchased for $2,500 apiece, the current-day equivalent of $2 to $3 million. One of the pricey stallions was owned by Elliot Alex McCutcheon, North Branch Mayor, businessman and future owner of the first fairground property. People would come from as far away as St. Paul up to 12 days in advance of the fair in order to train their horses in preparation for the races. Horse races were also held on the Fourth of July and were later held bi-monthly.
Initially, the fair was organized by the Chisago and Pine Counties Agricultural Society. Isanti County residents were also invited to participate in early fairs. The ag society issued over 100 shares of stock, held regular meetings of stockholders, and assessed stockholders for money to build and repair fair buildings and to offer money premiums as fair prizes for contests and displays. Chisago County tax dollars did not fund the fair until the 1890s, and state agricultural society funds were not used until the mid 1880s.
Each fair adult attendee in 1875 was charged 50¢ and each child 15¢. The ag society took in $359.57 in receipts that year. The fair was typically three days in either September or October, although it was stretched to four days because of rain in 1881.
For the half-mile race in 1875, a $30 purse was available, divided into $15, $10 and $5 prizes, and for the mile there was a $40 purse. In 1881, there were four entries in the 100-yard little girls’ foot race. Miss ‘Lady’ House walked away with the 25¢ per entry purse.
In the 1870s there was no road stretching between Stacy and North Branch and North Branch and Rush City. However, the railroad was in place and the fairgrounds was located south of the station, where the present-day North Branch Municipal Golf Course is. In fact, the quarter-mile oval race track is visible today across the first and ninth golf course fairways.
Between 1875 and 1880, a 1,000-seat amphitheatre was constructed just inside the oval track, in addition to several other buildings used to house exhibits and merchandise. One year there were nine beer stands, Malmquist pointed out.
In addition to horse races, fair attendees could choose to participate in foot races and baby contests, see who could climb a greased pole fastest, and exhibit farm produce, livestock and crafts.
In 1884, a baseball field was built on the fairgrounds in North Branch, within site of the amphitheater, and baseball games were scheduled during the annual fair. McCutcheon became one of the leading players on the team.
In the summer of 1882, a strong wind storm damaged both the fair building and the amphitheater, but both were rebuilt in time for the September fair.
Much of the historical confusion circulating the fair stems from the fact that the event was moved several times in an attempt to earn more money. After losing money during the first five fairs, the agricultural society decided to hold the 1877 fair in Taylors Falls. Again suffering financially, the society voted to hold the next two fairs in Rush City, one of the largest towns in the county. It was moved back to North Branch from 1880 to 1886.
Adding to the confusion, the Post documents that additional fairs were held some years in both Rush City and Taylors Falls, Malmquist pointed out. “Rush City held its first fair in 1877 and tried to form its own society called the Rush City Agricultural Society.” Taylors Falls also held ancillary fairs, even creating the St. Croix Valley Agricultural Society. These additional fairs were not very successful. “There was a great deal of jealousy between the businessmen of each town,” Malmquist observed.
By 1887, most of the agricultural society members called Rush City their home, and when Rush City Post editor H.B. Robie quit the newspaper business and was elected ag society president, the fight to move the fair from North Branch to Rush City was won. There were several reasons for the move, in addition to the fact that Robie’s brother was a prominent businessman in Rush City.
First, the land that the ag society was using in North Branch was owned by Issac Bernheimer of New York City, who refused to sell the land and rented it on an annual basis to the ag society. Ag society members felt that constructing buildings on property that wasn’t either owned by the society or on a long-term lease was risky.
Also, the population in Rush City, Rusheba and Nessel was significantly larger than that of North Branch.
And so, the ag society approved jacking up the six or seven existing buildings in North Branch, sliding them to the railroad track and moving them to Rush City, where the society obtained a 10-year lease on land from the village, the land where the fair is still held today.
“There was great sadness and anger among many people in North Branch when the fair and its buildings were moved to Rush City,” noted Malmquist. In fact, North Branch businessmen tried to get a court injunction to stop the move. “It created ill will between the two cities,” Malmquist said.
In 1891, the Chisago and Pine Counties Agricultural Society disbanded and the Chisago County Agricultural Society took over control of the fair in Rush City. Malmquist surmises that the population in Pine County, which had originally been a part of Chisago County, got large enough to support a separate fair. Some historians point to 1891 as the first Chisago County Fair.
Prior to locating at the corner of Fourth Street (Highway 361) and Fairfield, the fair was briefly held in two other places in Rush City, south of County Road 7 at the Anderson property and southeast of town near where the roller rink is now, according to historian Carl Heinrich.
In addition to horse races and exhibits, airplane rides were given over the horse track in the 1930s and helicopter rides in the 1950s.
Thanks to Max Malmquist of North Branch for contributing to this article. Malmquist is currently writing, “North Branch Regional History: Connections, Reflections and Heritage,” from which much of this story is based.
by Tesha M. Wiedemann
Special Sections Editor
Speculation abounds concerning exactly when the first Chisago County Fair was held.
According to the recently published “A History of Chisago County 1851 to 2001”, the first county fair was held in Rush City in September of 1872. However, local historian Max Malmquist, who has delved deeply into the history of North Branch while preparing to write a book, disagrees.
He points to a 1875 Chisago County (Rush City) Post article which refers to the fair in 1875 as the fourth annual fair held in North Branch Sept. 29 to 30. This is the earliest newspaper article regarding the fair, as the Rush City Post wasn’t established until 1875.
Several hundred people attended this fourth fair, which was entirely supported by local businessmen, “Yankee businessmen,” Malmquist emphasized. “The fairs were really a Yankee business venture instituted not only for celebration and fun, but with high hopes that people coming to the fair would spend money at local businesses. The fair was also an opportunity for people to buy and sell goods, including livestock.”
Malmquist continued, “One cannot appreciate the dominance of Yankees in running and participating in fair events until the names are reviewed. The officers for the agricultural society who organized the fair in 1875 were E.C. Ingalls, Dr. Wm. Bently, J. G. Ryder and J.C.A. Pickett. The winners of the horse races were Bates, Pingrey, McCutcheon and Ryan, and the winners of the baby contests were (all Mrs.) Robie, Wilcox, Brown, Wooleat, Smith, McClure, Starkweather and Chase.”
Malmquist explained that the Irish, English and Scottish Easterners who first settled in the area were businessmen who were “more culturally elite” than the poor Germans and Swedes who followed them.
Another force driving the fairs was a love of horse races. The Post mentions two French breeding stallions owned locally and purchased for $2,500 apiece, the current-day equivalent of $2 to $3 million. One of the pricey stallions was owned by Elliot Alex McCutcheon, North Branch Mayor, businessman and future owner of the first fairground property. People would come from as far away as St. Paul up to 12 days in advance of the fair in order to train their horses in preparation for the races. Horse races were also held on the Fourth of July and were later held bi-monthly.
Initially, the fair was organized by the Chisago and Pine Counties Agricultural Society. Isanti County residents were also invited to participate in early fairs. The ag society issued over 100 shares of stock, held regular meetings of stockholders, and assessed stockholders for money to build and repair fair buildings and to offer money premiums as fair prizes for contests and displays. Chisago County tax dollars did not fund the fair until the 1890s, and state agricultural society funds were not used until the mid 1880s.
Each fair adult attendee in 1875 was charged 50¢ and each child 15¢. The ag society took in $359.57 in receipts that year. The fair was typically three days in either September or October, although it was stretched to four days because of rain in 1881.
For the half-mile race in 1875, a $30 purse was available, divided into $15, $10 and $5 prizes, and for the mile there was a $40 purse. In 1881, there were four entries in the 100-yard little girls’ foot race. Miss ‘Lady’ House walked away with the 25¢ per entry purse.
In the 1870s there was no road stretching between Stacy and North Branch and North Branch and Rush City. However, the railroad was in place and the fairgrounds was located south of the station, where the present-day North Branch Municipal Golf Course is. In fact, the quarter-mile oval race track is visible today across the first and ninth golf course fairways.
Between 1875 and 1880, a 1,000-seat amphitheatre was constructed just inside the oval track, in addition to several other buildings used to house exhibits and merchandise. One year there were nine beer stands, Malmquist pointed out.
In addition to horse races, fair attendees could choose to participate in foot races and baby contests, see who could climb a greased pole fastest, and exhibit farm produce, livestock and crafts.
In 1884, a baseball field was built on the fairgrounds in North Branch, within site of the amphitheater, and baseball games were scheduled during the annual fair. McCutcheon became one of the leading players on the team.
In the summer of 1882, a strong wind storm damaged both the fair building and the amphitheater, but both were rebuilt in time for the September fair.
Much of the historical confusion circulating the fair stems from the fact that the event was moved several times in an attempt to earn more money. After losing money during the first five fairs, the agricultural society decided to hold the 1877 fair in Taylors Falls. Again suffering financially, the society voted to hold the next two fairs in Rush City, one of the largest towns in the county. It was moved back to North Branch from 1880 to 1886.
Adding to the confusion, the Post documents that additional fairs were held some years in both Rush City and Taylors Falls, Malmquist pointed out. “Rush City held its first fair in 1877 and tried to form its own society called the Rush City Agricultural Society.” Taylors Falls also held ancillary fairs, even creating the St. Croix Valley Agricultural Society. These additional fairs were not very successful. “There was a great deal of jealousy between the businessmen of each town,” Malmquist observed.
By 1887, most of the agricultural society members called Rush City their home, and when Rush City Post editor H.B. Robie quit the newspaper business and was elected ag society president, the fight to move the fair from North Branch to Rush City was won. There were several reasons for the move, in addition to the fact that Robie’s brother was a prominent businessman in Rush City.
First, the land that the ag society was using in North Branch was owned by Issac Bernheimer of New York City, who refused to sell the land and rented it on an annual basis to the ag society. Ag society members felt that constructing buildings on property that wasn’t either owned by the society or on a long-term lease was risky.
Also, the population in Rush City, Rusheba and Nessel was significantly larger than that of North Branch.
And so, the ag society approved jacking up the six or seven existing buildings in North Branch, sliding them to the railroad track and moving them to Rush City, where the society obtained a 10-year lease on land from the village, the land where the fair is still held today.
“There was great sadness and anger among many people in North Branch when the fair and its buildings were moved to Rush City,” noted Malmquist. In fact, North Branch businessmen tried to get a court injunction to stop the move. “It created ill will between the two cities,” Malmquist said.
In 1891, the Chisago and Pine Counties Agricultural Society disbanded and the Chisago County Agricultural Society took over control of the fair in Rush City. Malmquist surmises that the population in Pine County, which had originally been a part of Chisago County, got large enough to support a separate fair. Some historians point to 1891 as the first Chisago County Fair.
Prior to locating at the corner of Fourth Street (Highway 361) and Fairfield, the fair was briefly held in two other places in Rush City, south of County Road 7 at the Anderson property and southeast of town near where the roller rink is now, according to historian Carl Heinrich.
In addition to horse races and exhibits, airplane rides were given over the horse track in the 1930s and helicopter rides in the 1950s.
Thanks to Max Malmquist of North Branch for contributing to this article. Malmquist is currently writing, “North Branch Regional History: Connections, Reflections and Heritage,” from which much of this story is based.
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