RJ's Guide

RJ’s Guide to Minot’s Magic – this was a monthly publication with a circulation of over 15,000 copies – it was designed to give people, especially visitors to the city,  a guide as to locations of places to service your car, where to dine, things to see and places to shop. – it featured a map of Minot, calendar of events, and places to shop and sight-see …..The cover and a page from RJ"s Guide are pictured below...

First Western Bank 1967

First Western Bank  - in 1967 First Western bank was celebrating the grand opening of its new facility – not the one where they are now. In 1967 their new building was the one now occupied by Metropolitan Savings & Loan at 615 South Broadway …..  The Robertson Lumber Co. – at one time located at 200 1^st Avenue SE – after a fire they moved to the East Bypass into the building which is now the home of Bingo Rama …. 

The Big Home

1963 – Realtor ad in the newspaper for A hone called “The Executive”. This house featured 1960 square feet and nine rooms with a basement. The house had 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. The kitchen featured birch cabinets with a built-in oven and range top. Also an attached garage, hot water, heat and a sodded lawn. All specials were paid and the house was located close to Bel Air School. The price for the house and lot - $19,800.00 …… Point of interest in a later newspaper ad from 1963 surprise was expressed that in some new development areas, new homes were selling for as much as $35 to $40,000.00.

Big Jim's Lounge and El Tio's

El Tio’s Restaurant – in 1980 El Tio’s claimed to have the most complete, authentic Mexican dishes.—the décor was “True Mexican Tradition” – every dining table received a basket of chips and salsa….. Big Jim’s Lounge –1980 -  located at 913 Burdick Expressway West. The lounge was formerly know as Tony’s Tavern – Under the new ownership the lounge still featured A happy hour every day, ladies night on Wednesdays and chili or soup on Saturday. They also specialized in a “pound of beer” – served in a 16 ounce fruit jar. …..

 1980 - Grand Opening

Alhood Motors and More

Greengard Cranston – Grand opening of the new location at 18 South main St. on May 24 and 25, 1963  “Minot’s Style Center for Men” – Many prizes given away – larger selection of national name brands – Gate City Savings & Loan – new location at 3^rd Ave and 1^st St SW…..Import Motors  1963 – Highway 83 South – Volkswagen Dealer – VW Beatle only $1.02 per Pound …. Alhood Motors – 1967 - Dealer for Sunbeam Alpine sports cars – 3025 South Broadway  - Across Broadway from the Gas Stop ….. Country Lane  -- 1977 located inside the Town & Country Center – The store featured Bath and Bedroom accessories

Big Red Furniture -- Tumbleweed Toggery

Big Red Furniture Warehouse – on Third Street SE – Next to the railroad tracks – now AC Delco in June of 1963 they were having a bedding sale – Mattress and box spring set starting at $18.50 ….. Ben Franklin – Arrowhead Shopping Center – 1963 June specials – men’s athletic shirts 2 for 89 cents – 24 inch motorized grill with hood- $9.99 and folding lawn chairs only $3.77 each ….. Tumbleweed Toggery – western wear and tack – 1933 South Broadway – in the now Computech location….. Oak Park Westland – on the corner of 4^th Avenue and 16th Street NW – now the home of Ruud Insurance …..

Magic Mile Merchants

The Magic Mile Merchants (south Broadway) also had an association and had an insert in the newspaper featuring many of their members. Some of these were: King Leo’s Drive-In, (home of the 15 cent hamburger on the south end of town)…. Import Motors – Used vehicles and Volkswagon dealer…… Budget Furniture – 1545 South Broadway…..  Minot Woodworks – featured custom or pre-finished kitchens and Built in Appliances ….. Swenson’s Furniture – 1933 South Broadway ….. The Electronic Center – 1512 South Broadway – Sales of Radio, TV and Stereo ….. Kelly’s Bottle Shop, Kelly’s Tavern and Kelly’s T&C Liquor and the Hub Bar …… Self Service Furniture – and North America Trail-R-Ama – Campers of all Types…. Drawz Stoker – Heating systems.

Color TV Arrives

Discussing this the other day  – September 1964 – KMOT-TV in Minot was expanding . They were introducing color TV to the area. KMOT was also expanding its coverage area by 32% and increasing their power by 500%. The evening would start with a kick-off pre-color show at 6:15 pm followed by “The Virginian” at 6:30 pm. All shows that evening were broadcast in color with the exception of the 10 pm news.  In the beginning there was to be 40 hours of color programming per week. 

King Fish Sandwich

King Leo’s – late May, 1963 King Leo’s introduced the King Fish sandwich …. A delicious, nutritious, boneless fish sandwich with tangy, tasty tarter sauce for only 29 cents – King Leo’s also had super thick milk shakes for only 20 cents and crispy, golden french-fries – 12 cents --- located on Highway 83 South (South Broadway) – now the home of Arby’s …. Instant service and plenty of free parking. 

Auto Banking comes to Minot

TV Auto Banker – 1^st National Bank – in early June, 1963 Minot was introduced to the newest, easiest and most convenient form of banking… The TV Auto Banker – featuring pneumatic tubes to deliver your transactions from your vehicle to the teller in the building – the teller and the customer could communicate by way of cameras and screens … with a push of a button the door opened, a tube was available to place your transactions in and delivered to the teller … all pretty normal now but cutting edge in 1963 … The Drive-Thru location was on 1^st Street West – just north of Central Avenue behind what is now known as Brady Marts. The last business in this location was Brays DriveThru Cleaners.

 

Cutie Burger - Flying Saucer Style

Big Boy Drive Inn – Highway 83 South – (across the avenue from the Gas Stop) – Home of Kentucky Fried Chicken – Finger Lickin’ good chicken - Single order chicken dinner - $1.25 – a barrel of chicken - $4.95 …. But do you remember the Flying Saucer Sandwiches – I worked here in 1965 for a few months for the whopping wage of 80 cents an hour. (of course gas was only 25 cents a gallon) – I made many of these sandwiches (cutie burger flying saucer style was the most popular) …. A special device that  put the meat and filling between two pieces of bread, clamped down, trimmed the edges off, toasted the sandwich while it sealed it shut and when done it did look like a flying saucer. 

Movie Theaters from the Past

 Strand Theater -  In the early days the Strand Theater located at 102 North Main Street was home for silent movies in Minot. At one time the Strand actually featured a piano player and a small orchestra pit that provided the music for the “Silent Movies’.  Later, Saturday afternoon matinees were a western preceded by a serial feature, The price of admission was about 10 cents.  State Theater – located at 206 South Main Street at one time was the fanciest theater in Minot. After it closed the building became the home of the S&L Department Store. The Orpheum Theater – This was probably one of the oldest theaters in Minot. It was located on North Main, just south of the Soo Line Depot. Rumor has it that is was like going to a dungeon and reportedly one could occasionally feel rats running across your feet. 

Jimmy Hoffa Invited to Minot

I thought this was an interesting bit of information. The front page of the newspaper on July 26, 1963 had an article about a speaker invited for a Labor Day event. That person was James (Jimmy) Hoffa – considered to be the blunt spoken, controversial boss of the world’s largest labor union. The business agent for the Minot Teamsters Union sent a telegram inviting Hoffa to be the speaker at the September 2^nd event.  He was optimistic that he would attend if his schedule permitted…. As far as I know he did not attend but I may be mistaken about that…..

Hugh Nelson Motors

Minot Glass Company – 217 South Main …. Union National Bank – At that time still in their location on Main and Central – Now the Taube Museum …. Minot Federal Savings and Loan ….. City Market – quality meats and groceries – Tyler Haugeberg proprietor …. Swenson Furniture – Highway 83 South (now CompuTech Computers) …. Harry R Cook and Sons – 9^th Street and Burdick Expressway – (now home of Big Boy Toys) …. Hugh Nelson Motors – 8^th Ave and 2^nd St. NW ( now the Home of Westlie’s Tire Center ….. Harry’s Variety Store – 329 2^nd St NW ( North Broadway – across from what is now Watne Realty .

 Hugh Nelson Motors

Showroom - Hugh Nelson Motors

B52’s Coming to Minot –

The headlines in the Minot Daily News on October 31, 1958 we: 15 B52’s to be based in Minot. The article goes on to state that 15 giant B52 bombers and 10 KC135 aerial tankers will be stationed at the Minot Air force Base. The total number of planes was expected to be about 60 including interceptors, bombers, tankers and auxiliary planes. The base was expected to combine both SAC, Strategic Air Command and ADC, Air Defense Command. 

Hanger Construction for B52's

Tower Construction

North Hill Merchants

North Hill Merchants Association – A double page newspaper ad promoting the development of North Hill sponsored by the North Hill Merchants association. The ad included a map of with the 26 North Hill Businesses involved and a map of the neighborhood. The Hill Top Bottle Shop was under construction. Harry’s Tire Service had a warehouse, Henry’s Drive In was open, Poor Rog’s Surplus and the Starlite Club were there. The Westland 83 Truck Stop was 1 mile north of the Airport and there were two gas stations…. North Hill Texaco and Jerry’s Standard Service. National Car Rentals could be found at Jerry’s Standard.  The ad also proclaimed that north hill now had “fine paved streets in every direction”.

Minot Gets Color TV

September 1964 – KMOT-TV in Minot was expanding . They were introducing color TV to the area. KMOT was also expanding its coverage area by 32% and increasing their power by 500%. The evening would start with a kick-off pre-color show at 6:15 pm followed by “The Virginian” at 6:30 pm. All shows that evening were broadcast in color with the exception of the 10 pm news.  In the beginning there was to be 40 hours of color programming per week. 

Harry's Tire Service

Grand Opening 1970 –The New Harry’s Tire Service opened on August of 1970 at 811 South Broadway. Prior to this Harry's Tire was in Downtown Minot on 1st Street SW between Central and 1st Avenue. The ten day event featured reduced prices on tires and services as well as gifts and refreshments. Some of the grand opening specials included over 1000 eight track tapes for only $5.49 each, ET Mag wheels only $32.50 each, reverse chrome wheels for $16.95 each and blackwall tires as slow as $10.45 each …. This location is now the home of Affinity Credit Union

More Busineses from the PAst

Today’s Male – Men’s store on Main St – located in the lower level of B&B Drug ….. Prairie Toy works – On Main Street – 120 South Main – wooden toys and cloth kites – toys for boys and girls ….. Mac’s Saddle Shop – 2 ½ miles east of the Experiment Station of Highway 83 South ….. Ted Schweigert Mazda – 1430 South Broadway – Now Prairie Federal Savings & Loan.—

Wanusee"s Bottle Shop

American State Bank – in 1970 American State Bank installed a new sign in its parking lot on South Broadway. It was one of the few signs of the day that had an electronic reader board. ….. Minot Paint & Glass – Grand opening  in their new location at 2021 Fourth Ave NW…. (now the Home of the American Red Cross) …. Hiller Music – located next to the Skatium on 20^th Ave SW.- dealer for Yamaha Pianos and organs …. Wanusee’s Bottle Shop – the “Off Broadway” bottle shop – 111 Eleventh Ave SW …..

The Dutch Mill

September 1964 – Sherwin Linton and the Fender Benders were the stars of the stage at The Dutch Mill…. The Dutch Mill became Friday’s and is now known as The Rocking Horse. Sherwin Linton recorded a song called White Lightning. His show featured Comedy and dancing. Sherwin Linton lately has been one of the headliners in the Copenhagen Hall stage at the Norsk Hostfest . He does a great Johnny Cash impersonation
Sometime in the 1970's the Dutch Mill became The Beggar Club and the Friday's and now known as the Rockin' Horse

 An ad in the newspaper in September 1964 for Henry’s Drive-In boasted they were the “Home of the Bigger, Better Fifteen Cent Hamburger.” Apparently Henry’s also featured family dinners…. A chicken dinner – 82 cents…. Shrimp dinner – 83 cents and a Steak dinner – 74 cents. Every dinner included a generous portion of French fries, onion rings and a roll. Henry’s Drive-Inn was locate at the intersection of Highway 83 North (North Broadway) and 21^st Avenue. On the other end of town was King Leo’s Drive-In. , home of the 15 cent hamburger on South Broadway. , home of the 15 cent hamburger on South Broadway. In 1969 Henry's became The Lantern