November 1972

The Beginning of Hope/A Look at the Past

Burns, Bert

The author first focuses on the nearness of second century for the Historical Society and its museum’s.  He then visits Dr. Anna Wiecking and relates some of her views on Mankato today and yesterday.

Museum, Carriage House, Shaubut, Beatty, How

March 1973

Hubbard Milling Company

Cords, Betty

Four photos and a sketch enhance a short article on this industry’s beginnings in Mankato during the years 1870 to 1880, including the use of the county’s first telephone.

Wise, Davis, Mankato Mill, Palmer, Pierson, City Hall, Mankato House

June 1973

Frank Cords Interview/Red Jacket Bridge

Girard, Helen

Girard’s two-part article begins with “sparkling stories” told to her by the 93 year-old former county sheriff, and then investigates the old structure which spanned the Le Sueur River between Mankato and Rapidan.

St. Clair, Opera house Dillinger, Williams, St. Joseph the Worker Church, Hillcrest, grist mill, Winnebago reservation, Burns, Sleepy Eye, Jones, Wiecking, Fraciscus, Worden

November 1973

Urban Renewal—A Fleeting Glance at Three 1890’s Facades on Front Street

Luomala, Nancy

Luomala views three downtown buildings which faced demolition due to the “projected Front Street Mall,” focusing on the decorative examples of Victorian edifices. At the time, all three were expected to face the wrecking ball. Only the building at 209 Front Street, currently Embers Restaurant, was eventually torn down

S&S Tavern, Huttl, Brown Mug, G&O Café, Anderson Block building, Mankato Mercantile, Meyer & Sons, Gerlach, Flaschenhar, Mankato Review

Spring 1974

In Memoriam: Anna Wiecking (1887-1973)

Several close friends and colleagues share their recollections of this renowned teacher, administrator, friend, and co-worker over a fifty-year period.

Sletten, Mankato State Teachers College, Larson, Wiecking, Linnell, Ross, Saturday review, Nelson, Burns, Burton, A.A.U.W., Crawford, Wigley

Summer 1974

Indian Lake

Keenen, Ben

A long-time resident of the area, Keenan reminisces in words and photos beginning in 1898. As a historian and poet, his fine recollections of school days and valley doings in the early days make for excellent reading.

True, Ski Haven, Red Jacket Valley, School District #72, Felton, LeSueur River, Red Jacket Flour Mill, Madsen, Sandon, Rapidan, Good Thunder, Yeager, Kern, Ulman, Mankato Saddle Club, Slettin

October 1976

Blue Earth County Fair at the Museum

Kress, Jeanne

Over the years, many of the fair’s prize-winning “fine arts,” including an 1887 painting of the Seppman Mill, have found their way into our museum. Kress incorporates a brief history of the fair with a look at some of its award winners which are now BECHS artifacts.

Seppman Mill, Garden City, Sibley Park, Fine Arts, Martin, Mankato Review, BECAA Diploma, Mills Stiles

January 1977

Past Times and Parking Lots (Reminiscences)

Scherer,

George W.

Scherer pens a highly informative article that should be invaluable to any researcher of Mankato especially the businesses that flourished from 1902 to 1958. The names of many local owners and managers of the period are part of this historical article.

Elks Lodge, Sugden, Cannon, Hubbard, Neitge, Smith, “Irish Catholic Church,” Manderfeld, Flachsenhaar, Mankato free Press, Gribel, Opera House, Snow, Jaehn, Peck, Hauck, Hodge, Ferguson, Bowen, Seidle, Jache, Schoyen, Lamm, Kartz, Schwanenberg, Ambrosch, Aamolt, Klugherz, Udelhofen, Harres-Smesrud, Young, Otto, McGraw, Brown, Clift House

January 1978

Norwegians in Blue Earth County

Kress, Jeanne

Scandinavian settlers began to appear in the 1850’s, with Norwegians far outnumbering the Swedes. Kress points out that “the Lutheran faith seems to have been the strongest unifying influence” in this ethnic group’s ability to prosper.

Andersen, Eastvold, Civil War, Dakota Uprising, Shelby and Sherling townships, Medo, Decoria, Rapidan, Lutheran, Lincoln township, Thoen, Bethany College, Lien, Brandlien, Madelia

April 1978

The Roaring Game (100 Years of Curling in Blue Earth County)

Kress, Jeanne

Local Scottish settlers brought their national game with them from Scotland and curling is a sport that continues to draw enthusiasts of all ages.

Caledonian Curling Club, Meyer, Lang, Mapleton, Carriage House, Good Thunder, Ellis, Oger, Beauford, Blue Earth County Enterprise, Robert Burns, Mankato Fair Association, Traylor, Lura Lake, Heather Curling Club, Sterling, Bass Lake, Vernon Center

July 1978

Minnie Schoyen Hubbard

Burns, Inella

Burns details the life and accomplishments of this world-famous “violinist, writer, teacher, lecturer and patron of the arts,” who brought so much to the “musical life of Blue Earth County in the early 20th century.”

R.D. Hubbard II, Schoyen, Mankato Daily Review, Jay Hubbard, Hubbard Mill, John, Andrews, Hub, Gerlach, Lamm, Carney, Sandon, Rodgers, Harmonia Band, Orpheus Club, Music Club, Saulpaugh, Opera House, Liedertafel Hall, Mapleton Opera House, Amboy Opera House, Women’s Club, Owen

October 1978

Century Farms-1978

Kress, Jeanne

A Minnesota State Fair Board project, begun in 1976, named five county farms of historical importance. Kress traces the beginnings of these farms from earliest settlement to date.

Centennial Farm Project, Bethke, Vernon Center, Lake Crystal, McCarthy, Howard, Jones, Morse, Tivoli, Wilder, Le Sueur River

October 1978

Red Jacket Bridge,

Part 1

Kress, Jeanne

Quotes from several Mankato newspapers spice up this interesting history (and possible future) of one of the county’s most famous landmarks.

Le Sueur River, Highway 66, CMSP Railroad, Burns, National Register, Berg, Mankato Free Press, Snow, Wells, Willard, Mankato Review, Good Thunder

January 1979

Red Jacket Bridge,

Part 2

Kress, Jeanne

Kress continues her exploration in words and photographs of this historic landmark currently in jeopardy.

(Note: It still stands as part of the area’s recreational trail today.)

Le Sueur River, Milwaukee Line, Mankato, Rapidan, Burns, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, National Register, Snow, Willard, Mankato Free Press, Mankato Review, Home Truss

April 1979

Hickory Street Revisited

Scherer, George & Kress, Jeanne

The authors continue their recollections--in words and photographs--of Mankato area people and places now long gone (see the January 1977 newsletter).

Meyer, Tollefson, Mankato Post, Traub, Blissenbach, Meixner, Neff, Imm, Elks Lodge, Noe, Kuebler, Ben Pay Hotel, Young Men’s Investment Building, Pay Candy Company, Eldridge Sculpture

October 1979

History of the Mankato Post

Scherer, George

& Kress, Jeanne

Scherer’s family were among the many who immigrated to this area from Germany in the early 1860’s, and his father, G.W. Scherer Sr., published the only local German-language newspaper in the late 1880’s.  G.W. Jr. and Jeanne Kress continue with the history of several early Mankato newspapers to the mid-1950’s.

Mankato Normal School, Williams, “Dutch Town,” Lime Township, Mankato Review, Ehler, Hughes, History of Blue Earth County, Traub, 1895 Atlas of Blue Earth County, Mankato News, Blissenbach, Meixner, Neff, Lake Crystal, Marschner, Leonard, Union News, Imm