Evacuated 2011 - Day 71 - Aug 31, 2011

Work continues on the house. Real Builders was in and measured for the beams to go in. They are ordered and should be going in soon, hopefully this week. They will also rebuild another load bearing wall and reposition a doorway in that wall.  We have connected with All Points Construction. Once the beams are in and walls are removed in the basement All Points will pour the concrete. Either just before or after it dries for a few days they will also power wash the basement and treat it with a mold inhibitor. All Points have some people from Idaho and some local. They appear to be very knowledgeable and have all the proper credentials. They are working on 5 or 6 houses in Eastwood Park. One is our neighbor to the north. All Points is rebuilding their basement and front porch. We will probably use them to replace our back door and after we have electric, to also replace the kitchen floor and install cabinets.
The quest for an electrician continues.......

Dance Regulations

1912 Dance Restrictions – From the Reporter on Nov. 13, 1912… For dancing the “bunny hug” and “grizzly” bear, which had been banned in many dance halls in the country, a young man was sentenced to 10 days in the Minot Jail. Officer C. Younkin, assigned to special police duty at the Riverside Dance Hall, preferred a charge of disorderly conduct against the youth. The latter’s partner in the dance floor, who got away from the officer, was being sought.

Paving Ordinance

An ordinance on the books in Minot – When Minot got its first paved streets, which consisted of wooden blocks, the city fathers prized them like a zealous housewife does a newly waxed floor. All precautions were taken to keep the paved streets pristine. – No garbage was to hauled on or across the streets unless absolutely necessary to remove it to or from an alley. The fine was $5 and up to 10 days in jail. By the way, in bad rain storms and it the streets flooded, the wooden paving blocks were known to float away. The picture below shows the wooden paving blocks on Central Avenue floating during the 1923 flood.

Evacuated 2011 - Day 69 - Aug 29, 2011

The main floor of the house is washed down. There is still a few nails to pull in the kitchen floor. The back dressing area needs to be done. A bit of lathe and plaster behind moldings need to come out in kitchen, back area and bathroom on main floor. Then the rest of the dining room wall will be stripped between the windows so we can add insulation. The front door has dried out enough so it will close and lock. The back door is still locked with a chain. If all goes as planned, a contractor friend of mine will stop over today to take the measurements for the two beams to be put in. Hopefully all will be done by this weekend and then we can get concrete in..
Still working on finding an electrician.... they are about as scarce as hair on top of my head. We will need an electrician before anything else can proceed. The search for an electrician continues..........

Einar Muus

Einar Muus – (from a Minot Daily article on Nov 20, 1936).  on May 15, 1897, Einar Muus arrived from Norway with his older brother Jacob.  Is first job was the Great Northern Railroad. In 1899, Einar went to work for Muus and Welo, a mercantile store in Velva that his brother John had part ownership in. 1900 was Einar’s “covered wagon year.” He used the wagon as a portable store, taking general merchandise to the farmers. At 19 he got a job as bookkeeper with T. P. Kulaas in the Kulaas Lumber company. The Minot School Board needed a secretay, so Kulaas, without consulting him, recommended Einar. He got the job. The Kulaas Lumber Company was on Central Avenue, in the middle of the block behind what is now the Taube Museum. Kalaas remained in the lumber business until 1904 when they sold out to the Bovey – Shute Lumber Company. In the spring of 1905, the Great Northern Lumber Company was formed with Einar Muus as the manager, in the same location on Central Avenue. In 1917 the entire stock of Bovey-Shute was purchased at 201 Central Avenue. The Great Northern Lumber Company continued until 1930. After the death of O.P. Nustad, the name changed to Muus Lumber with Einar as the sole owner. Pictured below is Einar Muus. The other picture shows the Great Northern Lumber Co. in the background. The horseman on the left is Jacob Muus. The stable would be about where the Clarence Parker parking lot is today.

Evacuated 2011 - Day 66 - Aug 26, 2011

We have not been able to gget any of the flood services people to power wash the house. We are high on the list of the Southern Baptists, but some of their teams may be diverted to the east coast because of the hurricane. We have started the power washing ourselves. Last night we washed about 1/2 of the main floor. The plan is to finish the main floor tonight. Tom dropped off one of his big commercial power washers. This one has a heater on it if we need hot water. This weekend we will try to get the basement done. The Southern Baptists informed that if we do power wash it ourselves, I can go to their flood headquaters in Minot and they will give me a quart of the mold inhibitor that they use. We can then treat the house ourselves.
Next step will be to get the new support beams in and the concrete poured. After that we will rent 2 or 3 large dehumidifiers and get some fans to get the basement dry so we can proceed with wiring and reconstruction.
Then it is on to the garage to finish cleaning it out.
I have the remnants of newspapers from April 1932 that brother Mark found stuffed in an electrical box behind a wall in the entry. Future Minot Memories will be based on the articles in those scraps.

Coca Cola Girl

Aug. 2, 1938 - Jani Green Timlin was back in Minot after spending the last year under contract to Brown & Bigelow Advertising in St. Paul. She has posed for all the Coca Cola advertising, including a calendar. In 1937, a board comprised of leading theatrical personaliies, chose Jani as the “ all American Girl.” She is living in Minot with her parents. Her father, M. R. Timlin, is a representative in Minot of the Northwest Beverage Company. She has posed quite often for Earl Moran in New York who specializes in painting beautiful girls.

Buffalo Bones

Buffalo Bones Revived – At one time vast herds of bison roamed over the Mouse River and Des Lacs valleys. Sometimes when the herds would go down to the river to drink, the older, weaker animals became mired in the mud and remained there to die. The bones of the animals could be found in the water and often in the dry bed of a river or lake after the water receded. Picking buffalo bones off the prairie in the late 1800’s was a way for many homesteaders to provide themselves and families with many of the staples needed for living, things such as flout, coffee, bacon and other necessities. The bone industry was at its peak in the late 1800’s when thousands upon thousands of buffalo skeletons were hauled to Minot off the prairies and piled up next to the railroad tracks. At one time so many buffalo bones were piled next to the tracks in Minot, the railroad put in a spur line to get the rail cars closer to the pile for loading. The bones were then shipped to St Louis or Chicago. In 1937, buffalo bones were still worth money, about $10.00 a ton in Minot. The bones were used for various industrial purposes. In the early days the bones were used for fertilizer and in the process for refining sugar. Getting buffalo bones in 1937 was a bit more difficult. The more modern day bone pickers almost had to become miners. Sometimes it took a pick and a shovel to retrieve the bones.

Evacuated 2011 - Day 64 - Aug 24, 2011

We went to the house last night after work. Pat was able to get all the staples removed from the living room.... staples were in the pad below the carpet. I was able to get all nails removed from the base molding I removed from the main floor. Some of the base molding will have to be discarded. We saved as much as possible as it is quarter sawn oak.
We received our 1st estimate from an electrician and a heating and A/C contractor. Wiring estimate for basement and main floor just under $20,000. The Heating and air conditioning estimate for 2 furnaces and new A/C was about the same ,just under $20,000.
Today I am going to meet with a local builder about installing a beam where the load bearing wall is. Yesterday, a structural engineer was in and took measurements. He will give me  ideas on what to do also. Once that is done we are ready for concrete.
We are supposed to get a call today from the Southern Baptist power wash team about power washing the house.

Minot Post Office

In 1937 the Minot Post Office was 50 years old. Prior to its establishment in 1887, the post office for Ward County was located in Burlington. At that time the post office was a box carried by the Burlington Postmaster, Attorney James Johnson. Prior to the Minot Post Office, people up and down the river went to Burlington for their mail. In Minot in 1989 the Postmaster’s salary was $100 a month and his operating budget was $30 a month for rent and $10 a month for fuel. In 1903, rural mail deliveries were started out of the Minot post office and in 1904 city carrier service was started. The post office became first class in 1908, declining to second class in 1911 due to business reasons and back to first class in 1912 and has maintained that level since. The Post Office, now the Federal Building, was completed in 1915 at a cost of $150,000. The post office moved to its present location in the 1950’s. This location prior to the post office being built was a flat piece of land used by Minot High School as an athletic field.
A couple views of the construction process

 

Evacuated 2011 - Day 63 - Aug 23, 2011

Yesterday, we took the day off from working on the house. Emptied the dehumidifiers in the morning and again on the way home last night. Today I will call a local contractor, friend who will stop by and give me some advice on the beam that needs to replace the load bearing wall that bears no loads. Also expecting a call from the Southern Baptist group about getting a power wash in the house. We are going to continue taking down lathe and plaster until after the wiring is done. The more that goes the better.
Tonight I will finish pulling nails out of the base trim molding so we can start the process of salvaging as much as we can. Most of it is 1x12 quarter sawn oak base molding with a 1x2 oak trim piece on top. It is dry and we will clean it with water and maybe denatured alcohal.
The kitchen layout is decided upon but will not order until the wiring is done and kitchen floor is repaired or replaced. Some of the hardwood flooring in the kitchen will be used to patch some small areas in the dining room and hallway that were damaged when walls were separating some of the past apartments. .............. All for now

Violin Maker

Violin Maker in Minot – in 1937 J. C. Jarrett was making violins that were diffetent form the conventional instrument. His Violin did not have a sound post as did most others. According to Jarrett,  a sound post is used to improve the tone in vioins in which the wood and design are not in perfect acoustical harmony with the strings. Jarrett felt his instrument is acoustically perfect in all its tones so no need for a sound post. The neck of the violin was an inch longer to facilitate the the playing of half tones above the open strings. The wood for the violin was rock maple imported from Europe. To determine the musical qualities of the wood, it is struck with a steel hammer before any work is done to it and while it is still in block shape. The wood had to have a silver, bell like tone to be used. The tones would determine the thickness of the pieces to be carved. The cost of material in 1937 was about $100 per violin. The estimated value of the completed violin was $2500.00.

Evacuated 2011 - Day 62 - Aug 22, 2011

I took the day off yesterday. Had to let the body rest for a day. I did not realize that I could have so many aches and pains in so many places all at the same time. We went and bought supplies and groceries for the farm. I will go by the house this morning and then again tonight on the way to the farm to empty the dehumidifiers. I may have to meet the engineer and an electrician today for estimates. I am thinking that in the long run it will be better to use a local electrician as I may have to rewire in stages. Some of the basement will not be able to be done until after the concrete is poured and new walls are built.
I was at a neighbors yesterday and checked out the beam he built and installed in his basement. We will do something similar but it will be longer than his. Ours will be about 24 feet.
The only lathe and plaster to finish is one side of the doorway into the main floor bathroom and the linen closet at the end of the hallway. Then the main floor will be done from the floor up four feet. As time goes on before rewiring we will take out more lathe and plaster. We will go higher in many if not all areas. Right now we are stripped down about a 18 inches above the water line and about a foot above the mold line.
By the way, if you are reading this, Happy Birthday to my twin daughters, Becky and Shyla........

Railroad Supplies

GN Railroad Supplies – during the year 1887, 16,406 train car loads of supplies were shipped to Minot from St. Paul. The supplies were for the completion of laying 636 miles of railway from Minot to Helena, Montana. Supplies included were 3,890 carloads of rail, 1,223 cars of timber, 458 cars of lumber, 8,018 cars of tiles and 947 cars of spikes. Between April 1 and November 19 world records were set for the greatest amount of track laid in any one day, week , month and year.

Evacuated 2011 - Day 60 - Aug 20, 2011

Yesterday was a good day in a couple of ways. Tom came back and we continued to take out more lathe and plaster. I picked up the floor jacks and installed 4 of them in the basement in key locations. I also removed the wall to the east of the furnaces to open that area up. I ran into Thor Nelson, a neighbor, who gave me the name of a structural engineer. It turns out the engineer used to live in the neighborhood and was a friend of Erik, our son, when they were in high school. Jay or one of the other engineers in their firm will be by on Monday or Tuesday to look at the basement wall problem. A listener called and had me call her son. He gave me the name of an electrician from Bemidji, Mn. who is in Minot working. He will also stop by on Monday or Tuesday to give us bid in rewiring as much of the house as we can.
We need to get power washed as I have a company coming on Thursday to clean all the duct work. They suggested power washing prior to the duct cleaning......

Shirley Room Cafe

Shirley Room & Embers Restaurant. – Both of these restaurants were located in the now empty Midwest Federal Building and both in the mid to late 60’s. I’m not sure if they were both in operation at the same time. The Shirley Room was located in the basement of the Midwest Federal Building. I believe they did a breakfast and lunch menu. In my younger years I did not like bread or sandwiches but in the Shirley Room I learned to love a grilled cheese, ham and tomato sandwich. The Embers Restaurant was located on the top floor of the Midwest Federal Building. I remember it as a bit of a fancier restaurant. I believe many of its clientele were area business men. I also remember by brothers and their friends, (at that time considered radical),  hanging out up there much to the consternation of the business men.

Evacuated 2011 - Day 59 - Aug 19, 2011

Work continues in the house. Wednesday, Jim Hatelid, a fellow city alderman, came over and helped Mark and I remove lathe and plaster behind molding. On Thursday, yesterday, Tom Hinzpeter showed up and we removed more and also much of the lather and plaster in the pantry. Today we will continue with that but first another wall will be removed in the basement. This wall will open the furnace room into a very large room that will give the furnace people and plumbers more room to work. The extra floor jacks I ordered are here so I will pick them up at Muus Lumber this morning.
I was told now that heating ducts can be cleaned and do not have to be replaced. I imagine this is to expedite people getting heat into the houses before it gets cold. I have a company from Grand Forks scheduled to do this on the 25th at noon. We need to get a power wash done first. Still waiting for the Southern Baptist team to come and I have a line on another company in town doing power washing.
I am still trying to get an engineer to look at the possiblilty of installing a beam in the center of the basement for more support and to open up the area. it seems like it could be done and there are concrete footings in place to use as a base.
The decision has been made on the kitchen layout.... will order after we get and electrician in and wiring is done. We still have to pick out a new back door to be installed by a carpenter.
The house itself is getting close to being done.... still have the garage to finish up.

Third St. Overpass

Third St. Viaduct – July 30, 1937 was the formal opening ceremony for the Third Street viaduct in northeast Minot. The viaduct was the overpass over the Mouse River and the Great Northern tracks. The overpass is 911 feet long and was built at a cost of $221,000. The opening ceremonies were hosted by City Manager Jay W Bliss on the south side of the structure. State Highway Commissioner, P.H. McGurren declared the overpass open and part of an improved highway system the state is putting into place. The dual picture below shows the completed overpass from a distance and some of the first vehicles to use the overpass.

WWI - World War 1

The End of the Great War – The first place to receive the news that The Great War ( WWI) had ended was the Minot Daily News. It was about 2:00 am Minot time. The editor received a message at his residence that the Armistice had been signed by Germany. By the time the whistles started to blow in the early morning hours, the Minot Daily News had thousands of “Extra’s” on the streets. The city went wild with delirium. One man tied a rope to a cowbell and ran through the streets. Make shift floats and parades were quickly assembled to celebrate the news. The City Auditor at the time, Hagenstein, and a group of patriots gave speeches, many interspersed with the song, “Hail, Hail, the Gang’s all here.” Many businesses closed as well as the Minot City offices. All had signs out stating. “Closed today to bury the Kaiser”.
Pictured below are men getting ready to board trains to leave for WWI.

Evacuated 2011 - Day 57 - Aug 17, 2011

Brother Mark is here and work is continuing in the basement. One half of the basement floors are concrete. The rest of the floors, (about 800 sq. ft), were wooden floors built on 2X10 floor joists that were on the ground. The floor joists have been deteriorating for years and the floors needed to come out. The big room in the basement where my shop was had layers of floors. On top were 2 plywood layers. Below that was a 1x4 floor that Chuck Barney and I pulled out and the bottom layer was a 1x12 floor on top of the 1/2 rotten floor joists. All has been romoved. Mark and I pulled out the last of it yesterday. We also found that the bottom plate on one of the support walls had rotted away. Not much support there so I ran to Muus and picked up a couple jack posts to make sure there was some support.
A friend came by and gave me the name of a small, local contractor who does concrete work..... I had called 7 others with no response from 6 of them. One said he could pour the basement floor next year. Pat and I met with Josh from Double J and he will be doing our floor, possibly within a month and at a better price than I was expecting to pay.... It will still run about $9-10,000 to have the floor put in. He has a contact who may be able to replace the support wall with a beam. This will really open up a large portion of the basement into one big room.
Josh also does landscaping. We will have him remove the top layer of our lawn to get rid of all the clay so we can start over again next year on that.
I am waiting for the Southern Baptist Team to come over and inspect for a Power wash in the basement and main floor. They will then treat the house with a mold inhibitor..... then reconstruction can begin..... We need an electrician.....

Ship By Rail Club

Minot Ship By Rail Club – The Minot Ship By Rail Club was formed to promote the use of the railroad by the coal companies. The railroads and their employees shared in the prosperity of Minot. In 1932 to promote the railroad as the main means of transporting coal out of the area the Club came up with these statistics:
In 1931 the Railroads paid $193,269.47 in taxes to the Ward County Treasury

In 1931 the Railroads paid approximately $975,000.00 in wages to Minot residentsIn 1931 these Railroad employees paid about $150,000.00 in Ward County taxesIn 1931 there were over 2500 railroad employees and dependents living in Minot

Impressive statistics for the time

Minot City Council

14 Aldermen – in 1933 the City of Minot voters chose 14 Alderman to represent the cit instead of the Commission form of city government. The 14 Alderman represented seven wards in the city, two aldermen from each ward. The first Aldermen elected by ward are as follows: Ward 1 – Harry Cook and Edward Vincent, Ward 2 – Isaac Diamond and JE McKoane, Ward 3 – Albert Lowe and HA Kluver, Ward 4 – Nels Skiple and Chester Olsen, Ward 5 – Earl Campbell and JW Howe, Ward 6 – Roy L Aney and Robert Strom, Ward 7 – Frank W Olds and CH Parker. An interesting note or two. In the 2^nd Ward, McKoane edged out HH Westlie by six votes. Also, you may recognize the names of many of the elected Alderman as prominent men in the history of Minot

Evacuated 2011 - Day 55 - Aug 15, 2011

The weekend was most productive. On Friday morning, 3 people from the Samaritans Purse came to help for a few hours before they left town. They found out I was working by myself and offered a hand. Two ladies from Michigan and one young guy from North Carolina. By 11:00 am they had the kitchen walls done.
About 10:00 am John walked in and asked who the home owner was. I told him it was me and he said "we are here to help". He and 11 others were from a Mormon Church in Wyoming. The group was like a machine going through the house. By 7 pm the basement was empty, most of the floors and everything else. The main floor has all the sheetrock and lathe and plaster out up to the 4' mark. on the outside walls we went all the way to the ceiling as there is no insulation in the walls at all. There are still some nails to pull and bits of lathe, plaster and nails behind the window and door moldings. These people were great and helped immensely. In the kids playroom in the basement we had a surprise when the floor was removed. The wooden floor was built on floor joists setting in the dirt. Through the years, the floor joists and wood floor had started to rot away. So out it all came.
On Sunday, Chuck, a friend, came over to help me remove the floors in the back two rooms as the same situation was there. The back room was done in quick order. We pulled the floor off the big room where my shop was and found another floor below. That made 3 layers of flooring in this room. We started taking off the bottom layer to get to the floor joists but ran out of time. I still have that to finish. It looks like I will need to pour concrete to fix these 3 rooms. About 800 sq. ft. or 30 sq yards.... probably going to run about $10,000 to fix floors. More later.............

Milk Protest

From The Newpaper on January 15, 1934… Demonstrators entered two Minot grocery stores to protest the price of mile on their counters. Chain Grocery on 2^nd St NW was visited by approximately 50 people. Minot Food Market, also on 2^nd St, NW was visited by the same group. At the Chain Grocery store, the protesters dumped about 100 quarts of milk on the street. At Minot Food Market about 20 quarts of milk were dumped out in addition to a small amount of cream. The reason for the protest was these two stores were selling milk at a price lower than the group wanted. The average price for milk at that time was nine cents a quart. Chain Grocery was accused of selling milk four quarts for a quarter and at times seven cents a quart. Minot Food Market had a sign in the window stating “Free milk with the purchase of 50 cents of groceries. The group was representing the milkmen’s organization.

Super Grill

Super Grill  – Located somewhere in the area of 627 North Broadway…  Few people remember the Super Grill on North Broadway. The  Super Grill was located next to  the Super Value Store on North Broadway…. The Super Value Store eventually became Northwest Music until the building was torn down with the upgrades to North Broadway.  In the 60’s and early 70’s there was also a Super Value store on south Broadway with a cafeteria on the south side of the building. The café is now a used car lot (Coach & Four). The grocery store closed and became Northwest Sporting Goods and is now the Goodwill Store.

Evacuated 2011 - Day 51 - Aug 11, 2011

Yesterday was a productive day. I ran into Mike Berg, (of B&B Drug fame), and he offered to come to the house to help. Since the rolloff dumpster had not been emptied, we decided to tear out the kitchen. By 3 pm it was gone. we trashed the base cabinets and saved the upper cabinets for future use in the garage or whenever I get another wood working shop. We then snapped a chalk line at 4 feet all around the main floor rooms. All sheetrock below that line will come out. I am going to run a saw around the walls at that height to make an even seam.
Today I am going to remove all the 1/12 solid oak base molding on the main floor. I am going to label them on the back so we can reuse most of them, hopefully in the same place they came from. Once that is doen I will try to finish off the little that is left to do in the basement. One set of base cabinets in the back room and some lathe and plaster. A lot of nails to remove in all the studs in the basement also. .... if I get all this done, I will call it a day.

Sammy's Pizza

Sammy’s Pizza on Central Ave. – The Sammy’s Pizza in the 60’s was located on West Central Avenue. About 2 doors east of Broadway. The booths were in the back. The pizza’s were made in the front of the place next to the windows. I recall dough being tossed in the air during the Pizza making process. Next door to the west in the early 60’s I have been told the corner spot was the Bus Depot. The Bus Depot moved and in the late 60’s this area became Poor Roger’s Surplus (I believe the name is correct.) The only thing I remember about the store is that it seemed to have a continuous “Going out of Business” sale going on…. Eventually Poor Roger’s Surplus did actually “go out of business”.

Evacuated -- Day 50 ... Aug 10, 2011

This post to the blog is also for tomorrow, Wed the 10th. I am posting it tonight as Wednesday morning I am taking Granddaughter#4, Madison, to her 7th grade orientation at Jim Hill Middle School.......
Tuesday was a very productive day. My plan was to get the kids playroom done in the basement.... removing sheetrock. About 2:30 in the afternoon, Nancy, one of the ladies I work with arrived to help. By 4 pm we had the kids room done and most of the big room where my shop was. As we were wrapping things up, the 10 people with a Catholic agency came over to our house. They had just finished gutting the house across the Street. I did know a couple of the people. As they had an hour left to work they all came to help in the basement. By 5pm, the basement was 99% done. Some sheetrock in one room to remove and a couple base cabinets. They also helped remove many of the large items that I could not do by myself. Dumpster #3 is full to the brim and the call for it to be picked up and emptied has gone out. Amazing haw much 10 people can get done in a short period of time compared to 1. Tomorrow afternoon I will finish the basement and start pulling nails on all the studs.
Then it is up to the main floor. The plan is to remove sheetrock only 4 foot up the walls. We had 30 inches of water on main floor so in most areas, that should do it. Also have to remove all kitchen cabinets.... We are getting closer to the end of demolishion
At 5 pm when we quit, there was a bus on 2nd Avenue next to our house. On the bus were many Minot City and State dignataries. Included in these were Senator Hoeven and Senator Conrad from Washington DC and their entourage. Senator Hoeven did take a quick tour of our house on the main floor. I had a brief conversation with him before he left. I told him we were counting on him to help make sure the flooding did not return. ............ More Tomorrow...

Mr Taco

This post to the blog is for tomorrow, Wed the 10th. I am posting it tonight as Wednesday morning I am taking Granddaughter#4, Madison, to her 7th grade orientation at Jim Hill Middle School.......
Mr Taco was on South Broadway where The Adult Bookstore (Risque’s) is now located. Mr. Taco  was owned by Sam Butts or Taco Sam as many called him. I may be wrong, but I believe the Taco Shop had the first, only and best tacos in Minot at the time, in the late 60’s. Mr. Taco also was the first shop to sell Grinders... Similar to a sub sandwach. Next door to Mr. Taco's  was another South Broadway “landmark”. Bennie’s Magic Mile Market  or as many referred to it … the Bubble Up Store. Bennie’s was just one of many neighborhood grocery stores in Minot at one time. Bennie’s Store is now and oil change shop. I believe B&D Market in northeast Minot is an off spring of Bennie’s on South Broadway.

Evacuated 2011 - Day 49 - Aug 9, 2011

The basement is empty of stuff except for a few large, heavy items I cannot get out by myself. The third roll off dumpster will be filled by tonight. I have started removing the sheetrock in the basement. I started at the bottom of the stairs and am working to the right around the basement. The laundry room is done and today I will be moing into the bedroom and then into the large room I used as my shop. I am finding a lot of interesting things. Most of the basement appears to be insulated with one or two layers of 1/2 inch beadboard.... almost no "R" value in that. I have found water lines and darin pipes that I had no idea they were there nor do I know what they are for.. A lot of the wiring is old so it will be good to get the house rewired and up to today's standards.
We met with Darla from Muus Lumber last night and saw the first look at our new kitchen. So far it looks good. We will be getting cabinets made from 1/4 sawn oak to match our woodwork and have picked out a tentative counter top. Darla may have to come back to look at the soffit above cabinets as we want to install cabinets to the ceiling in that area.
I am also on the list for the Mormon Church to come and assist in sheetrock demo. They will call the day before they come. Any and all help is welcomed.

Tempo

The Tempo Store was on the north end of the Arrowhead Shopping Center, where Marketplace Food is now. It was a department store of sorts and as I recall was competitively priced. Tempo and Red Owl at one time were owned by the same parent company. During my time as Assistant Mgr at Arrowhead Red Owl, we would send new stock clerks on a quest for the aisle stretcher to make room for freight. When it could not be found in the Red Owl Store, we would send them to Tempo to look for it.
I went into Tempo in the mid 60’s to purchase a stereo system for my 1965 Mustang. I debated on getting a 4 track or going all out for an 8 track. The 8 track won as I decided to be on the cutting edge of technology. While there I was also witness to a new invention Tempo had just started selling. It could make popcorn in a matter for minutes… the new invention was a Microwave oven.

Evacuated 2011 - Day 48 - Aug 8, 2011

Except for a few large objects, the basement is finally cleaned out of "stuff". Also, the bathroom needs to be done.... vanity, shower, jacuzzi tub and toilet. Now it is time to start removing sheetrock amd nails or screws. I removed small amounts of sheetrock in some areas of the basement. In some walls the only insulation was a layer of 1/2 inch bead board.... not much "R" value there. It should be much warmer when we get it done and have the second furnace in. The 3rd roll off dumpster is about 2/3 full. by Tuesday night it will be ready to be dumped again.
The floor in the basement is 3/4 inch plywood. In some areas it is flat , in other areas it is warped. or at least the top layer.... not sure yet if the walls are built on top of the plywood. It could cause a delima if we pull up the floor.
More later....

Mitchll's Hardware

Mitchell’s Hardware was on the corner of Central Avenue and 3^rd Street South East, where Val’s Cyclery is now  located. Prior to Mitchell’s this locations was the home for Oppen’s Grocery Store. Oppen’s had a lunch counter or cafeteria in the store. I believe this was known as the Central Avenue Café. For a while Mitchell’s Hardware also maintained the Central Avenue Café even though it was a hardware store.  One of Mitchell Hardware’s claim to fame was a talking Myna bird named Mack.  Mack had the reputation of uttering four letter words, especially the s--- word, so many younger shoppers were not allowed to hang out around him. After Mitchell’s and before Val’s Cyclery, this location was the home of Ben’s Appliances.

Evacuated - Day 47 -- Aug 7, 2011

Sunday morning and we are getting ready to head into town to work on house. The basement is close to being emptied of stuff..... starting to fill our 3rd roll off dumpster. Will finish removing items... some I need help with as they are too heavy for 1 person. We still have to get the bathroom apart... jacuzzi tub and all.... then off comes the sheetrock in basement and main floor. Kitchen cabinets are out  next. Saving the upper cabinets for future shop or garage.... disposing of the base cabinets. New kitchen layouts shoud be ready to view in a day or two..... Pat and Grandaughters are heading to the cabin by Detroit Lakes on Thursday morning for 5 days.... I am staying behind to continue with the house.
Not sure what is happening with houses with collapsed basements. Next door neighbor has north side collpased and 4 or 5 floor joists are cracked. His south basement wall is starting to bow our. Hope the house stays up... it is leaning away from us.
Neighbor across the alley to the west of us had his south wall cave in.... a few days ago the north wall of the basement also caved in.... this house may not be saved.
It seems as though yellow caution tape means structural damage and unsafe... Red caution tape means hazzardous waste.... asbestos or something similar. we had a house a block away that has been red taped and people in hazmat suits are cleaning up area.
The Mad Max trucks have been through the neighborhood and a lot of the debris is gone. I call them the Mad Max trucks because to me they look like something out of the Mad Maz movies.
I am still waiting for the Southern Baptist mud out teams to arrive. I received a call from the Mormon church offering help. I will probably take them up on the offer as soo far it has been me by myself with help from Pat. I am getting pooped out.

Barn Cafe

This café was located inside the Clarence Parker Hotel in downtown Minot. Both the Clarence Parker and the Leland Parker Hotel had café’s in their hey day. The Clarence Parker Hotel actually began as an office building. George Valker, Sr. started construction on the office building in 1920. It was never finished and was left vacant for about 20 years., except for birds roosting in the incomplete top stories, hence it was known as the “Sparrow Hotel”. After WWII, Clarence Parker completed the construction and created the Clarence Parker Hotel.

Evacuated 2011 - Day 45 - Aug 5, 2011

45 days out of our house and counting. The basement is almost cleared of all the stuff that we did not have time to get out. Not the best way to do spring cleaning as a lot of things went that should have been saved. The second construction dumpster will be full tonite and then I will start on number three. When all items are cleared out then the sheetrock walls and ceiling demolishion will begin. Both in the basement and on the man floor. Darla from Muus Lumber will have some kitchen plans for us to look at by early next week. All for now.... Have some radio work to do before I head to the house.

Arvid's Red Carpet Restaurant

This restaurant was a buffet line boasting more food than one could imagine. It was on West Central Avenue and 1^st St . It was located in the basement of what is now the Brady Martz accounting office. Arvid’s Red Carpet featured a Large red canopy over the entrance and red carpet going down the stairs to the restaurant. For the time, some say it was pretty fancy, boasting white linen on the tables.

Toot & Tell'em

Toot & Tell’em – This apparently was located on the bottom of North Hill on North Broadway. The premise of the drive-inn was to pull up and “toot” the horn, then “tell-em” what you wanted when they came out to take the order.  I believe this was at the same location as the Twist Inn. I’m not sure which came first.

Evacuated 2011 - Day 42 - Aug 2, 2011

Things are progressing in the basement cleanout. 2 1/2 rooms to clean out the remains and then off comes the sheetrock. Most of the ceiling is down, the flood took care of that. It will be easy getting it off the walls. When basement is done then the upstairs walls will be stripped of sheetrock and cupboards. It is a slow process. I am on vacation from the radio station. I drop Pat and Dacotah off so she can continue to work while I go down and clean out the house. We have filled one consturction dumpster so far, working on the second. It will be great when the "Mud Out" team arrives to help. they will help finish the cleanup and sheetrock removal, then power wash and treat with mold chemicals and then we need to dry it out.
It is good that the house will be rewired as I am seeing a lot of old style wiring now that the ceiling is down in the basement. We will be making a few modifications when we put the basement back together.
The "Mad Max" trucks, (I refer to the big trucks cleaning the boulevards as this as they look like something out of the Mad Max movies), have been through the neighborhood once and did a good job of cleaning up the debris. Still no word from neighbors on the fate of the houses with collapsed basements......

Oppen's Grocery

At one time there was an Oppen’s Grocery Store o Central Avenue, where Val’s Cyclery is now. The one I remember best was on Valley Street , where the Work Shop laundry facility is now located. As a kid spending my summers on my Grandparent’s farm on top of Speedway Hill, I remember shopping at the Valley Street Oppen’s every Friday after selling eggs to Trinity Hospital. Now there was also an Oppen’s Grocery on South Broadway where the Goodwill  Store is now located. When the South Broadway store opened, the cafeteria was on the north side of the store. I have a picture showing this. Later, this store became South Hill Super Value and the cafeteria was moved to an addition on the south side of the store, now the home of Coach & Four auto sales.

Jay's Mens Store

This was located on the west side of Main Street in the 60’s. It was in the middle of the block between 1^st Avenue and 2^nd Avenue.  Jay’s Clothing Store was owned by Jay Obedin. His oldest son Elliot pretty much ran the store. Jay’s was a full line men’s clothing store with two levels, the main floor and the basement.