Ads From 1963

Other Ads of Interest – November 1963 – Minot Federal Savings (Midwest Federal or the Big “M” Building) was new. During normal business hours daily tours were being offered with free refreshments and free brochures …. Arrowhead Shopping Center was advertising the fact that 2^nd Avenue was now paved all the way to the shopping center …. Prices on a local car dealer’s used car lot – 1958 Ford Fairlane - $285.00 .. 1959 Pontiac Catalina - $995.00 .. 1961 Ford Fairlane - $1065.00 …. Vince Lee’s Bottle Shop on 3^rd Street NE was advertising the right wine for any occasion …. Self Service Furniture had a full size crib and mattress for $29.95 (They were located on South Broadway across from Ryan Chevrolet) …  And White’s Dairy was advertising BEEP – A fruit flavored, dairy processed breakfast drink ….

Tempo - Automotive Specials - 1963

More Advertised specials – 1963 – For the automobile Tempo was offering a pair of 15 inch snow tires for $27.95 .. no more down and payments of $1.23 a week …. A 6/12 volt battery charger was $2.97 …. Gas line antifreeze – 14 cents a can …. Battery booster cables were only $1.07 ….  A wooden snow brush for 23 cents …. Tempo also had an ad running featuring winter footwear for the family …. Girl’s snow boots - $2.68 pr …. Women’s snow boots - $4.28 pr … Men’s four buckle overshoes - $4.58 pr …. Men’s insulated pac boots - $4.38 pr ….

Tempo Christmas Specials - 1963

In 1963 Tempo was featuring many toy and Christmas specials in their newspaper ad. Kids tricycles were on sale for $7.79 …. Regular size Christmas lights (replacement bulbs) 5 packages of 5 bulbs for 28 cents …. The Mouse Trap game - $4.22 …. A 34 inch red wagon - $7.47 …. Christmas Tree stand – 81 cents …. A cuddly Teddy Bear - $1.68 …. A basketball, hoop and air pump - $3.68 …. Rummy Royal card game - $1.78 …. Monopoly Game - $2.97 …. Santa was on hand to meet the kids in Santaville located inside the Tempo store. Tempo used the slogan – “Your Store with More at Lowest possible prices.”

Christmas 2011

As I reported earlier, we are back in the house and it is quite comfortable. We are still trying to find important everyday items. Some are in storage units, some are buried in all the stuff stored upstairs. We have not yet found our dishes. We have pots and pans, or at least most of them. Christmas dinner was held at our house with all relatives and one of our contractors attending. I made the usual potroast dinner with beef, pork and venison roasts. We ate with paper and plastic plates and plastic dinner ware.... it went well. A good time was had by all. Things are getting back to normal in the house. Outside is another matter. A lot of dirt and very few houses inhabited. Some Eastwood Park residents are in FEMA trailers. I am estimating that maybe a dozen of us are in our homes. That is out of 162 houses in Eastwood Park. In the next short while I am going to walk the neighborhood and get an actual count.

Jupiter Christmas Specials - 1963

The Jupiter Store in Minot was located at 8 South  Main Street. The building is now the home of Western Paint Home Center. In 1963 the newspaper ad featured these specials for the Christmas shopper. A boy’s or girl’s 26 inch bicycle for $29.88…. ¼ inch electric drill - $7.72 …. 6 big rolls of Christmas wrapping paper – 88 cents …. Sorry game - $2.27 …. Monopoly game - $2.99 …. Ladies Dusters - $1.88 …. Men’s thermal sox – 2 pr – 66 cents …. A 4 foot aluminum, Christmas tree - $2.87 …. A 6 foot tree for $4.68 ….  And an 18 ounce can of mixed nuts for 57 cents

S&L Ads - 1963

This is the entry for Friday the 23rd....... I was going through newspapers from 1963 and thought some of the Christmas ads were interesting....

1963  S&L ads – In November of 1963 S&L Department Store on main street was running the following items in their newspaper ads. Women’s fleece lined snow boots - $3.99 a pair and Women’s high fashion leather boots only $8.95 a pair. The men good purchase a pair of zipper galoshes for $4.99 a pair or a pair of 4 buckle work overshoes for only $5.99 a pair. Women also had the opportunity to purchase holiday print dresses for$5.98 for cotton to $14.95 for wool. In 1963 a woman’s mohair sweater was only $12.95.  S&L at this locations was at one time the State Theater

Cox Bakery Specials - 1963

1963 Cox’s Bakery Specials – Cox’s Bakery was located on Main Street, north of Central Avenue on the west side. The unusual thing I noticed about their pre-Thanksgiving ad in the 1963 newspaper is that it did not list their phone number or address. Some of the specials they were advertising were: Luncheon Rolls – 5 dozen for $1.00. Hamburger buns – 4 dozen for $1.00 and assorted cookies – 5 dozen for $1.00.  One could purchase a ½ pound of peanut brittle candy for 39 cents. For your Thanksgiving Dinner, Cox’s Bakery also offered pumkin pies, mince meat pies,  Yule kage, fruit cake and decorated Thanksgiving Day cakes. Cox's Bakery would have been to the right of North Main Tavern

1963 – Thanksgiving Day Specials – Minot’s Piggly Wiggly Stores were featuring these specials for Thanksgiving in their newspaper ad….. Bridgeman Ice Cream ½ gallon – 69 cents…. Jello – 3 pkgs $1.00 …. Butter – 49 cents a pound…. Celery – 10 cents for a large stalk…. Powdered or brown sugar – Two 1 pound boxes for 25 cents…. And Quaker king size TV tray tables for 99 cents with each $5.00 purchase….. Big Dollar stamps were given with purchases and there were coupons available to get extra stamps with various items purchased or with certain dollar amounts spent. The Big Dollar Stamps were collected and then redeemed for merchandise out of catalogs or redemption centers…. In 1963 Piggly Wiggly had only two locations in Minot. Oak Park Shopping Center and Highway 2 East by the Fair Grounds. Pictured below is the Oak Park Piggly Wiggly in Mid 1960's

AM Foss Jewelry

 AM Foss Sr. started his career as a watch maker in Sacred Heart, Mn in 1915. He then operated a jewelry store in Great Falls, Mt from 1920 to 1927. He came to Minot  opened his jewelry store in 1928.  In 1962 the management of the store went to AM Foss, Jr.  Otto Ternes joined the staff of Foss Jewelry in 1953. He was from Strasburg, ND. Foss Jewelers carried a complete line of fine jewelry, watches, silverware and china. They were located on Minot's Man Street.

Evacuated - Day 180- Dec 19, 2011

We Are Back in our House!!!! We moved in on Sunday the 18th... almost 6 months to the day since we evacuated. There is still a lot to do but at least we are there and can work on it a little at a time. Still being done today is the final pouring of concrete to level the basement floor at the foot of the stairs. Also building a pad for the washer and dryer to sit on as the floor is uneven where they are located now. I have to get in touch with the electician. They are coming back to check on a couple outlets that have no power to them in the work room. I need them to hook up the fan-light combo in the bathroom downstairs and also the wall heater. It is a bit dark and cool when taking a shower. The new jacuzzi tub will be installed after the holidays when the plumbers get back. I am meeting Lyle's Moving today to get more furniture from storage to make things more like home. We are planning on having Christmas dinner at our house.
Now we begin bringing all the stuff down from upstairs and putting it away or getting rid of it.

Farmers Union Elevator

 Established in 1915 the grain marketing co-op grew continuously. In 1915 a annex was built and another in 1941. The Main structure and the receiving house were built in 1952. As business grew so did the need for another elevator. In 1976 another  elevator was built  with a capacity of 830,000 bushels. Total capacity of the three elevator was 1,512,000 bushels.    

                

Memory Notes from A Listener #5

Memory Notes from a listener  #5 -  On the corner of Central Avenue and 1st to the East of Main there is a big brick building (across from the parking lot now that used to be the hotel) there was a discount women’s store back in the early 60's, I don't remember the name of it. Then it was a Joseph’s hairstyling college for a good number of years. Now it sits empty. (I have been told that the building is in the midst of a long restoration and may one day be the hairstyling school in the future).

Evacuated - Day 176- Dec 15, 2011

We have food in the refrigerator and microwaved some frozen dinners last night for supper as we worked on the house. The Counter tops are here for the basement laundry room and workroom. They should be installed today. The plumbers were there most of the afternoon. the toilets are in and working on the main floor and basement. The utility sink in the workroom is functioning and the faucet is on the sink. Today the kitchen sink should be hooked up and the vanity in the basement. The electicians are to return to day to give us power and lights in the laundry room, workroom and downstairs bathroom.
We are planning on moving in this weekend......

Memory Notes from A Listener #4

I was in Rick's Jewelers and that used to be Sharks Men's Store. The American Cafe still has the same front but is Abacadabra balloons now.  I think, after looking around, that Fiancee was Baders and Buttrey's store was a couple of doors south. There was also Taube's somewhere on Main street. I noticed "The Fair" sign is still on Ellisons front overhang.

What used to be  B&B, Minot Business College, Gaffeneys and Northwest Sporting Goods on 1st Street (west of Main) is all parking lot!!  Picture below is taken on 1st Avenue looking west from about the alley. You can see part of the B&B Drug sign on the left.

Memory Notes from A Listener #3

North Main Tavern located in the same block as the First National Bank, north of Central Avenue on the west side of Main St. The Covered Wagon was located a door or two up from the American Cafe on the east side Main St, south of Central Avenue. These were the first bars to have the dancing "go go girls" in Minot. Shortly thereafter Gordon's Holiday Spot and the 13 Club on 1^st St. got them. Gordon's is now Hibachi restaurant. Trails West Bottle shop was I think the Sundowner and then SideKicks. Back in the middle 60's Gordon's Holiday Spot lounge-bar the band "The Evans Sisters and Carl" played. It was a pretty popular night spot at the time.

Memory Notes from A Listener #2

On First Street,  mid block between Central Avenue and 1^st Avenue was Minot Bowling Lanes (it was upstairs also) owned by Fred George .  Harry's Tire Service was next door.  This Bowling alley at one time had human pin setters, they used to hire high school kids to do it.  (The people who ran the Bowling Alley lived in an apartment on the top floor of the building. Not sure when it closed but then in the mid-60's it was a place to take your slot car as it had a big track for racing slot cars. 
Also, just west of Woolworths on Central Avenue was the Singer Store and a Drug Store and I don't remember the name of that one. (There was also a women’s hat shop on the same block of Central Avenue, between 1^st Street Southwest and Main St.)

Evacuated - Day 173 - Dec 12, 2011

House Update:
The Jacuzzi tub is in the basement.... tomorrow they will place the deck to mount it and then tile the area around the tub... also the 3 feet above the tub in the same color tile but 6 inch squares with a glass inset. Electricians will come later on Wednesday or Thursday to power up the Laundry room, Basement bathroom and workroom. Plumbers need to get their stuff done by Friday... as they are heading back to Idaho for the holidays.... Tuesday I will take Dacotah out to the farm early as we have Madison's last basketball game. We will sneak over to Menards to look at medicine cabinets.... one for Main floor bathroom and one for area above my sink.... possible one for basement if the one we had is too large.
I need to get into storage quanset at farm during daylight hours ( no power or lights) to find furniture we want to move in this weekend. If it all comes together we may move home sunday or early next week.... hope to be in before Xmas,.

Memory Notes from A Listener #1

Carl's Music Shop was at one time The Minot Accordion Shop and it was located where I Keating is.  He sold Accordions and Guitars mainly and also gave music lessons for the accordion.  (In the mid sixties, Carls Music Shop was located in the Flat Iron Building on Central Avenue).

 On the East side of First Street there was B&B drug with a cafeteria below it and it had the most luscious carmel rolls in the morning!!  On street side,  one door down and up the stairs was the Minot Business College.  In the mid-60's Minot Business College moved up on South Hill to what used to be a convent.  Not sure when it closed It was owned by Lloyd Hansen. The convent was a Catholic High School for girls and also aBoarding School for Girls run by the Sacred Heart Academy. (This is now Apartments at the intersection of 3^rd Street and 14^th Avenue SE…. By Rosehill Cemetary).

Evacuated Day 172 - Dec 11, 2011

Sunday today.... The tile is done in the basement bathroom... it and the shower will be grouted tomorrow. The center of the basement hallway is poured, leveled and stamped to match the other rooms. (Dacotah did walk through the fresh concrete so a repair job was in order.) The new furniture for the den is delivered and installed. All the appliances were delivered from respective storage units. The washer, dryer, freezer and spare refridge are in the basement backroom.... still cutting tile in the laundry room. they will be placed this week.
The micreowave and refidgerator on the main floor are in place and functioning. The stove will be.... need a 3 prong outlet instead of a 4 prong. The plumbers will start mounting all remaining fixtures starting tomorrow. Kitchen sink, main floor toilet, sink and clawfoot tub, downstairs vanity. utility sink in workshop and downstairs shower. We may be moving some furniture in this week. Phones are almost ready and cable TV is hooked up.
We may be moving in next weekend!!!!!!!!

Evacuated - Day 170 - Dec 9, 2011

As of today, the basement bathroom shower stall is 98% complete. I ordered the shower doors yesterday as Menards can not find the two that are supposed to be in stock. We are going to tile the floor of the bathroom with the same tile that is in the shower stall. All fixtures are here and ready to be installed.
Today the furniture for the den will arrive in the morning. At 1:00 I am meeting a local transport company to get our kitchen appliances from the storage unit and the washer, dryer, freezer and spare fridge from the farm and move them to the house.
The last of the flooring (carpet in back area) shoul be installed this weekend.

The Keg #5

The Barrel  Pt 5 --  After the war, when gas rationing disappeared, the Minot Barrel grew in popularity. Ruth Sethen bought the Barrel from Muzzy and added a dining room and painted the Barrel White. In 1949, Ruth sold the Barrel to her brother Robert Sethen. He operated it until 1955 when he sold it to Rodney Lovdahl, one of his employees. Lovedahl changed the name to the Keg and operated it from 1955 to 1968. The Keg was severely damaged by the Flood of 1969 and was finally demolished in 1971. The other Barrel root beer stands met the same fate. They deteriorated and were eventually destroyed. The only Barrel still in operation is in Grand Forks and it is known as the Kegs. It consists of the original Grand Forks Barrel and the one from Wadena which was moved to Grand Forks. It did survive the Grand Forks Flood of 1997.
I was informed by one of my listeners that The Keg from Minot was moved to the Brooks Ranch after the '69 flood in the and used as a milk house. Over the years it deteriorated and is no longer there.

The Keg #4

The Barrel  Pt 4 – Harry Muzzy ended up building 8 Barrel root beer stands. Three in North Dakota…. Minot, Devils Lake and Grand Forks.  One in Montana …. Great Falls.  Four in Minnesota…. Crookston, Dilworth, Detroit Lakes and Wadena.  The Muzzy’s hired local couples to supervise the root beer stand and they supervised the chain from their home in Crookston. Harry Muzzy visited each Barrel monthly and did all the repair work himself. Cecile Kerns managed the Minot Barrel and became known as the “Hamburger Queen”. After closing her stand in the summer, the Hamburger Queen and helpers would go out dancing to the sounds on the big bands in the area. When the carhops and cooks came in the music would stop and the band would play “Roll out the Barrel” in their honor.

The Keg #3

The Barrel  Pt 3 – Harry Muzzy built the second barrel in Minot, next to the Minot City Ballpark and across the street from the city zoo. He used 117 pieces of 1 inch by 6 inch tongue and groove lumber sixteen feet long to form the outer shell of the structure. Local lumber yards had to shape and bevel the wood in order to fit in the top and bottom hoops. It was during the time of the Depression and lumber yards and carpenters were happy to have the work. When completed Muzzy began selling soft drinks, ham sandwiches and hot dogs with sauerkraut to Minot residents. The root beer logo was Triple XXX. The logo stood out prominently on the front of the Barrel root beer stand. This logo and the novel shape attracted and kept customers.

The Keg #2

The Barrel Pt. 2 – The Barrel was part of a chain of barrel shaped root beer stands built by Harry Muzzy and his wife Martha in the 1930’s. Muzzy grew up in Minot, worked as an engineer for the Great Northern Railway until 1920. He moved to Crookston, Minnesota and owned a successful cigar store. He had the opportunity to start a root beer stand in Great Falls, Mt. Aware of the success of the A&W Root Beer stands in California, he thought they would be a success along Highway 2 in the northern part of the country. He built the Great Falls stand in the shape of a 2 story barrel. It was a huge success both as a root beer stand and also as a tourist attraction. Muzzy and his wife lived on the second story of the Great Falls barrel.

Evacuated - Day 166 - Dec 5, 2011

We worked at the house again over the weekend. The tile setters are working on the basemant shower. The floor is in place. The tile is in place in the den and the kitchen. The small closet in the den is all that is left to finish in that area. The carpet will be in place later this week in the hallwat and dressing area off the main floor Bedroom. The baseboard is installed in the den so we can have the new furniture delivered for that room this week.
Electricians will be back to finish odds and ends on the main floor. They will also get  the water heater wired so it will work. I forgot to tell them that we moved it across the room due to the furnace install. They have to run a new wire for the water heater. Todd stopped by to look at what we need to terminate all the phone lines. Cable TV is scheduled for Tuesday. Counter top should be here Tuesday or Wednesday.Plumbers are getting main floor bathroom done today. Hopefully by this weekend we will be moving appliances back into the house.

The Keg #1

This will be the first in a five part history of The Keg that was once in Minot.
 The Barrel – (the Keg) Pt 1 – The Barrel root beer stand was built in 1931 in Minot. It was during the great depression, a time of dust storms, drought, heat waves and crop failures. A nickel bought a root beer and a dime bought a toasted ham sandwich. Food was delivered to the vehicles by young carhops. The smiles were free. Some believe the word “carhop” was coined because the waitresses had to hop p on the running boards of the cars to deliver the food. Others say it was a derivative of  the word “bellhop” and adapted to the cars.. … Most drive-ins instructed the carhops not to stand on the running boards because it was improper and overly familiar behavior. . The first carhops were not teenage girls, but were adult women who found the tips were excellent even back in the 30’s

Evacuated - Day 163 - Dec 2, 2011

We seem to be moving along at a brisk pace. We have a toilet in the house that is fuctioning. They basement stool is in and will be pulled out when we tile the floor in the bathroom. The electricians were in yesterday afternoon and have most of the outlets and switches working on the main floor. The water heater is in but I forgot to tell the electricians that we moved it to a different spot so they need to run a wire to it.... no hot water until Monday. When electricians get done Monday we could bring in our appliances if flooring is in. The basement bathroom is about 1/2 sheetrocked, the laundry room is ready for painting.
Main floor bathroom should get tub, sink and toilet installed today. Maybe 2 functioning toilets in the house.
Gary was laying the floor tile in the den on the main floor. If he finishes that room I will install base boards and have the new desk and bookshelves delivered. Bedroom furniture can move into bedroom so we can start cleaning floor in dining room.....Getting closer

Purity Dairy

 Letter from a listener …. My dad worked for Purity Dairy for over 15 years. He told me it was first located on the corner across the street from the Barley Pop. I believe he said it was in the late 1950’s. Then they were located on the frontage road on south hill. I believe the bypass is there now, and if my memory serves me correctly there was two frontage roads across from each other. One where Denny’s is and then the other side of the highway where purity dairy was located. I remember as a young kid I used to help my dad in the purity dairy truck delivering milk all over Minot.

Henry's Pool Hall

Henry’s Pool Hall – bands would play on the weekends. One long time resident of Third Street told me that when the bands would play on a busy weekend night the horn players would have handkerchiefs in their hands to hold on to the instruments. My source said the  horns would get so hot that you could not touch them. Also the windows of the Parrot Inn on many a Sunday morning would be all boarded up due to fights. The windows would all be blown out the night before.