Asplund Garage –

In 1917 Albert Asplund started in the automobile repair business at 618 Second Street NW in Minot. During the year of 1918 he acquired the Pullman franchise and sold several cars. After a year of sales he dropped the franchise and went back to only repairing automobiles. His son, Wendell, always worked with his father. In 1941 they built a new building at 110-112 Second Street. Eventually they took on the Studebaker franchise. Later the Studebaker franchise was closed and Asplund’s became the first Toyota dealer in Minot

Minot Typewriter Co. –

 The Minot Typewriter Company was started in 1942 by George Osdoba. It was located at 106-A West Central Avenue. In 1944 Truman Graves joined the staff. When Osdoba retired in January 1961, Graves acquired sole ownership of the company. When the computer age started the days of the typewriter became nonexistent. I was just informed that one of George Osdoba's daughters still lives in Minot near the Arrowhead Shopping Center. Eventually a gentleman named Truman Graves gained ownership of Minot Typewriter. Graves was an avid and quite accomplished trap shooter.

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 …. 

Brannan Drapery Studio

Brannan Drapery Studio – Brannan Drapery Studio opened on May 1, 1957. Leo Brannan was the owner. Brannan Draperies specialized in custom made draperies, slipcovers and bedspreads. The offered their services for the home and also for office and professional buildings. Brannan Drapery Studio was located at 6 North Main Street.

Tempo – 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

Western Paint

Western Paint – Western Paint opened in 1960. They were located on First Street NE, just two blocks north of the Clarence Parker Hotel. Western Paint was the authorized dealer for Benjamin Moore Paints. They also did glass replacement on windows and mirrors handled carpet, linoleum and window treatments. This location just opened a few weeks ago as The Starving Rooster restaurant.

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

Western Paint - 1964

Minot Insurance Agency –

 Montgomery’s of Minot – In 1907 RE Barron and HW Montgomery formed a partnership to take over the insurance department of the Second National Bank. (The Second National Bank later became the 1st Nationa Bank in Minot). In 1908 they incorporated as The Minot Insurance Agency. Their office was in the Renwald Land Agency at Main Street and First Avenue SW. After a couple moves, in 1928 they finally located in the First National Bank Building on Central Avenue and Main Street. 

Olson Electric

EN Olson Electric Works – Olson Electric Works was founded on December 29, 1927  at 109 -111 First Street South East. Initially Olson Electric manufactured wind chargers and storage batteries for use on the farm. After REA’s (Rural Electric Cooperatives) became popular they switched to sales and servicing appliances and electric motors. They also repaired and did electric motor rebuilding. Olson Electric also carried a full line of appliance parts, and all parts needed for electric motor repair.

City BakeryInter

City Bakery in Minot began in 1914. In the beginning deliveries were made in horse drawn wagons by the owners, Stein Johnson and Frank Sampson. The nicest of the delivery wagons was enclosed and made in Philadelphia. There was one employee at the time, Salem Blomberg. Prior to closing, City Bakery was owned by Olger Barnsness. Their motto was “Fresh from the ovens daily”. City Bakery was located at 210 South Main Street. During the flood of 1969 the City Bakery vans were used at night to deliver food and beverages to volunteers working on the dikes.

Interior - City Bakery

Main Motors

Main Motors was located at the intersection of Main Street and 4^th Avenue. At one time Main Motors was owned by Missouri Valley Motors of Bismarck. On April 1, 1960, four people purchased the business and changed the name to Main Motors. Those four included Don Moe, Alvin Officer, Bert LaHart and Sam Marshall. In 1960 Moe and Officer bought out the other two and became the principal owners. In March of 1963 Main Motors was moved to a new location at 108 #rd St. and became Lahart-Moe Inc. The business was franchised through and sold all Chrysler products. Eventually Don Moe would buy out Lahart and move the business to 3615 South Broadway under the name of Don Moe Motors. Through other owners and name changes the business became Minot Chrysler Center and is now known as Minot Automotive Center, selling Chrysler and Toyota products. 

Main Motors - 1950's

Grow Clothing

Another business that was located on the north end of Main Street in the early 1900’s was Grow Clothing. They were across the street from the Dacotah Hotel ( about where the SOO Line Depot is now). In 1905 Grow Clothing was holding a gopher tail contest. The reason was to help the farmers reduce the gopher population that was damaging crops. The contest was open until July 3^rd with prizes being awarded on July 4^th. The winner received a $20.00 suit of clothes. Anyone turning in over 100 gopher tails was to receive a prize. In 1907 the business ran into hard times and in 1910 Grow Clothing was Purchased by the Cohn Clothing Co. In 1916 the store was purchased by MG Olson and became part of the Olson Men’s stores which had locations throughout the state.

FW Roach Elevator

FW Roach Elevator – one of the first grain elevators was built and managed by FW Roach. The earliest information I have is a picture from the early 1900’s and the article in the Ward County Independent on Sept. 27, 1905 in which he stated … “When Marketing your grain, visit the Roach Elevator and I feel certain you will be satisfied with the treatment you receive. I can guarantee to give you price equal to any in the state. I am determined as one grain man to make Minot the best marketing point in the northwest. Remember the FW Roach Elevator near the Great Northern Track in Minot.”  Roach was also one of the earlier land developers in the Minot downtown area.

FW Roach Elevator about 1900

Memories of the Past #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.

 At the turn of the century this building was home to the Grand Forks Grocery Co. . In the early 1900’s it was purchased by some local men and became the Minot Grocery co. which eventually evolved into Nash Finch.

Minot Grocery Building

Memories of the Past #4

-  Rick's Jewelers on Main Street 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 Bader’s Women’s Wear and the 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 Drug, Minot Business College, Gaffaney’s and Northwest Sporting Goods on 1st Street (west of Main) is all parking lot!! In that same block there was also the  13 Club and McCurdy’s Café. Across the Street was Toivo’s Jewelers and The Legion Club just north of American State Bank.

Memories of the Past #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 – Sundowner Lounge 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. 

Covered Wagon Bar

Gordons Holiday Spot Menu

Memories of the Past #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. )The Bowling Alley was above Harry’s Tire)…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.)

Central Ave. Looking east from Broadway - 1940's

Memories of the Past #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, Carl’s 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 caramel 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. (This is now Apartments at the intersection of 3^rd Street and 14^th Avenue SE…. By Rosehill Cemetary).

Flat Iron Building - Central and Broadway

The Barrel becomes The Keg

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.

The Keg - Barrel - Part 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.

Note - The Keg in background

The Keg - Part 3 - Minot Gets A Barrel

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 -- Part 2 - Harry Muzzy

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.

Harry Muzzy - One of the Original Barrels

The Keg - Part 1

. The Barrel – (the Keg) Pt 1 –This will be a five part History of the Keg

 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

Raids in the 1930's

Liquor Raid – Destruction Device – at 32 Central Avenue East a device had been constructed so that liquor packed around it would be destroyed by fire when the current was on. The device consisted of a small wire coil in a concrete enclosure. Around the coil were shavings and other flammable material. Mixed in with this were the bottles of liquor. When the current was turned on it would ignite the material and heat the bottles enough for them to be destroyed thereby eliminating evidence. When agents barged into the room, they unplugged the device. The bottles had not heated up enough to explode and destroy the evidence.

Liquor Raid Evidence – A heavy door from one off the raided establishments was removed from its hinges and brought into the courtroom. It has “three thicknesses of lumber and 5 locks” . Officers were impressed by its durability. Also found were hundreds of empty liquor bottles, pretzels and small glasses. Slot machines were also found in some establishments and many Canadian product labels. This led the authorities to believe that the liquor was produced locally and falsely labeled as being Canadian

High Third Ladies

The ladies of Third Street were regular customers at many of the best clothing stores in Minot. They had their own shopping time. Years ago, all the stores in downtown Minot were open every Thursday evening until 9:00 pm. Since the stores were open later in the evening they would open later in the morning, on Thursdays. Many of the stores like S&L, Bader’s and others would open between 8:00 am and 10:00 am just for the Ladies of Third Street to shop. They would always pay in cash and were always done shopping by the time the stores opened for regular business. The Ladies of Third Street would spend a lot of money and did not disturb the regular shoppers and could shop in peace.

Third Street Residents

Bck from Vacation

To all who follow this blog....
I was not here the past week as I was burning up (so to speak) on of the two weeks of vacation I have to use by the end of the year or I lose them. This year I am going to try to get all my weeks used ... something that has not happened in a long time.
Suffice it to say the weather cooperated and I was able to get many projects finished around the house before the snowy and colder weather set in...
I did get the house decorated for Christmas, at least the outside of the house. I did not get as much finishing work done on the clocks I am making but I did get a couple new Christmas Items ready for staining.
Now..... back to business as usual... below are a few of my completed projects

Third Street Leadership

This individual controlled what happened on Third Street. Because of his control over the Third Street area, things were rather peaceful. The area pretty much was self policed. One of the local, well know individuals on Third Street, we will refer to him as Jim, had an altercation with the “Mayor” and slapped him. The “Mayor of Third Street” looked at Jim and told him he had until evening to get out of town. Jim left town and went to Winnipeg. Jim did not return until the “Mayor” died.. This occurred on a hunting trip. The “Mayor” and a number of his cronies were out hunting and drinking. The practice was to have someone sitting on the front fenders of the car as they drove along looking for game. They group was driving down a corn field looking for pheasants. When they got to the end they noticed the “Mayor” was not on the front of the car. He was lying in the field. They had run over him breaking both legs. His friends took him to town and to the hospital. He died within 2 days due to an infection. After that, Jim was able to safely return to Minot.

Raids on High Third Street

Back in the 50’s, as the story goes, there was a raid on one of the houses on Third Street. One of the women in the house was found hiding inside a kitchen cupboard. She had crawled in and shut the door, hoping to avoid being found. This was a bit unusual as most of the time the establishments in Third Street had advance warning of pending raids by the Police Dept. When the Police Dept was located on 1^st Avenue in downtown Minot, it was in the same building as the fire dept. and City Hall. Some of the firemen would watch for unusual activity in the Police Dept and if it was a raid on Third Street, they would call and warn the Third Street businesses. Usually no one of importance was caught in the raids, however many prominent people in Minot would frequent many of the establishments. Because they establishments were usually warned when the raids were about to happen some speculate there was really no need for escape tunnels. 

Some of the Ladies of Third Street - 1930's

High Stake Card Games

It is well known that many of the High Rollers of the day would often hold high stake poker games. Many a car was lost and many won over a deck of cards. One of the Bootleggers always claimed the Cadillac’s or other cars he won from a well known auto dealer, always ran better than any he had purchased. He claimed that he won as many cars as he had lost. This same Bootlegger had at one time won a house on Third Street in a poker game. He also lost it in a poker game. Before he lost it in another poker game he hired someone to clean the house so he could turn around and sell it. As the cleaning person was clearing out a closet in the basement, she fell through the closet floor into a sub basement below the actual basement. One can only speculate what the lowest level was used for.

Illegal Booze Pipeline

Courthouse to Leland Hotel Booze Line—This is from a listener who used to have a water well drilling company in the area:  Apparently at one time there was an underground pipeline that ran from the Ward County Courthouse to the Leland Hotel in Downtown Minot. It seems that when the court would prosecute booze runners during the prohibition days, the judge would dump all the illegal alcohol down a drain. Some enterprising individuals reportedly ran a pipe from that drain, under downtown Minot to the Leland Hotel. The alcohol was collected, processed and served to the guests of the Leland. Apparently many contractors over the years would hit the illicit pipeline when doing underground work in the area. The pipe was always patched and repaired, until they realized that it was not a water line and was no longer in use.  At one time there were a number of contractors who were aware of this booze pipeline

Bogus Cashiers Checks

One of the most sensational incidents was when a group of runners came up with the idea of buying a large amount of Canadian liquor and paying for it with cashier’s checks drawn on banks that had closed. The runners made sure they stayed south of the Canadian border as the Canadians who sold them the liquor were literally out gunning for them. As one of the group, a runner from Minot said, “They gave us bad whiskey so we gave them bad checks.”

Wasting Whiskey

In a report to a federal grand jury in Fargo on October 6, 1920, Judge Charles Amidon  reported that there are automobiles loaded with liquor in convoys that have men armed with rifles and sawed off shotguns. He was encouraging the jurors to enforce the law.

On October 25, 1920 a story was printed about $40,000.00 worth of confiscated whiskey being destroyed in Minot. “The fumes of the strong liquor became so dense at one time that some of the officials became nauseated.”

Price for a Whiskey Run

The “whiskey sixes” would run to Canada and back in the late spring through the fall, until the snow came.  A Whiskey Six was the name given to the big, high powered automobiles used by the booze runners in the days of Prohibition. The favored automobile was the Buick.  Minot was a local point for the Whiskey Runners in the era of 1919 to 1921.  The price paid to the runners for running from their start to Canada and back varied. The amount ranged from $100.00 to $500.00 per trip. A lot of money was made in a very short time if you wanted to take the risk. In the days of Prohibition even $100.00 was a lot of money. 

Heavy Loads of Illegal Whiskey

The runners carried heavy loads in the “whiskey sixes”. Where the roads were good, the cars could travel along at speeds as fast a 50 to 60 miles per hour. The runners would travel in a line, or group with the lead car posing as a tourist to flush out the lawmen. The lead car would stall on the road, warning the runners that the law was ahead so they could make their get-away. Another trick used by the runners was to have a woman companion and at times a woman driving the car. The thought being that the lawmen would hesitate to shoot at a car occupied by a woman. It was generally considered by their appearance that these women companions were not home loving housewives.

Whiskey Runners

 The Whiskey runners made a lot of money and made it in a hurry. They were flashy dressers, sporting big diamonds, silk shirts, fancy ties and suits. They were also big tippers. One night in Minot a group of them lined up and peppered a bass drum in a Minot dancehall orchestra with silver dollars. The group was trying to break the head of the drum. They eventually ruined the drum but the orchestra was not upset as they got to keep all the silver dollars.

Booze Running Cars - Whiskey Six

A Whiskey Six was the name given to the big, high powered automobiles used by the booze runners in the days of Prohibition. The favored automobile was the Buick.  Minot was a local point for the Whiskey Runners in the era of 1919 to 1921. The whiskey running was at its peak during this time. Minot was the last major stop before Canada. The whiskey runners at times would travel in packs with a pilot car ahead to warn the if any lawmen were waiting up ahead. On some days, a whole city block would be lined with “whiskey sixes” waiting for dusk to make their run for the booze. They seldom returned to Minot after getting the load as the main destination was points like St Paul, Minneapolis, Sioux City and Omaha.

Piggly Wiggly on Main Street

The first Piggly Wiggly Store opened in the mid 40’s at 213 South Main Street. In 1957, at a cost of $300,000, Piggly Wiggly opened a new store by the Fairgounds. Piggly Wiggly East was one of the largest grocery stores in the state at that time. In 1961 another store opened in the Oak Park Center. The store on Main Street closed in 1960 and shortly after a third store was opened in the Town & County Center. In 1982 the Oak Park store moved to the Arrowhead Shopping Center. At one time Piggly Wiggly employed over 250 people. I worked at the Town & Country store in 1966-67. 

 Piggly Wiggly on Main St.

East Piggly Wiggly

1967 Largest Shopping Center in Midwest

O n September 16, 1967 plans were disclosed about a new shopping center that was a “certainty” to be developed at the base on north hill on Broadway I  Minot – Crestview Development claimed the Center was “an absolute certainty. It’s just the details. There’s no way in the world it can be stopped”. The Center was to be the largest between Minneapolis and Portland and was to include two major department stores, a major drug store, 750 seat theater, and a 50 X 300 foot convention center. For whatever reason it was never built. The location is now the home to the Hampton Inn Hotel on North Broadway. 

Booze Smuggling Hearses

Rowan Funeral Home – This information was given to me by Les Maupin back in 1986 while researching Minot for the Centennial.  Rowans’s Funeral Home was on the corner of Main Street and 2^nd Avenue, where Rueb’s Camera and Cards was located. Apparently the owners were affiliated with some aspect of the booze running in the days of Prohibition. I was told that the viewing rooms of Rowan’s Funeral during this time were home to many high stake poker games. Maupin was not sure if they ever actually held any funerals during this time. During Prohibition, the alcohol was brought in in one and two gallon metal containers. Rowan’s Funeral Home would fill a casket, or two, with these cans of booze and load them into the hearse. They had at least one if not more. The hearse would then deliver the booze throughout the country under the guise of transporting a body in a casket. Driving prudently and obeying the speed limits they successfully delivered the product. After all, who would stop and search a casket in a hearse?

Dumping whiskey down the drain

High Speed Auto Chases

Minot was also the home of many high speed automobile chases in connection with the bootlegging activities. One national magazine was quoted as saying “Minot has more high performance vehicles per capita than any other city in America”. These powerful cars, Buicks at the time, were the favored car of the bootleggers. One high speed chase resulted in the arrest of the proprietor of the Last Chance Barbershop on Central Avenue. In a shootout, whiskey-runner Avery Erickson was fatally shot by Officer F.S. Fahler, who later died from wounds received in the same encounter. In 1921 when state prohibition forces opened their northwest regional headquarters in Minot, they announced that their cars would be equipped with Browning machine guns. The office was closed a few years later.

Prohibition Poster

Run Booze Get a Free Car

 There is a story out there about a well known Booze Runner and free cars. The story says that this individual would offer a free car to anyone who could make three successful runs from Canada to Minot without getting high jacked or stopped by the law. The car was to have been a Buick, reportedly they were the fastest and most powerful vehicle at the time. In fact an entry in a national magazine claims that during the days of prohibition, Minot had more high performance cars per capita than any other city. Back to the free Buick. The problem for any takers on the offer was that if someone made two successful runs, this individual would make sure the third run failed. Since he knew the route and times, he would send his own men out to highjack the shipment so he would not have to give away a Buick.

One of Many Prohibition Posters

Vehicle Turn Around

 A scenario for at least one of the Revenuer’s in Minot: When his car arrived at their destination there was a “turn around” in the garage . The “Turn Around” was a very large motor driven turn table. Upon driving into the garage, the car would drive onto the “turn around” and the vehicle was turned around so it was facing the same direction it had entered from. This way it could make for a hasty exit without having to back out of the garage. It could just drive straight out, often in hot pursuit of a bootlegger. In my investigations there is a house close to Downtown Minot that has the turn around in the garage. Not sure if it is functional or not.

Still and Booze captured in the 1920's

When the booze running car or cars got to their destination in Minot, a number of scenarios were possible. Some of the garages had special elevators. When the car entered with the booze, it would drive into a special elevator. This would either raise the car up to the floor above or lower it to the floor below. If followed by officers, they would enter the building and find no vehicle. By the time they would conduct a search, the booze would have been unloaded and stashed safely or moved to another location.

Prohibition Poster

Booze Running Decoys

Triple cars  – The booze runners would travel in groups of three. Three vehicles, one with the alcohol and two decoy vehicles. The Choice of vehicle back in those days was the Buick. The alcohol was stored in a metal tank under the back seat. All the cars had a tank so all were weighted equally. The two decoy cars were loaded down with bricks. The reason for the equal weight was to leave the same track on dirt, muddy roads or grass when sneaking across the border. If the two decoy cars were not weighted down, the police could follow the car with the deeper tracks. The three cars would travel in line. The Booze car generally drove the speed limit, while the decoy cars would be speeding. If they were chased  by the law, the two decoy cars would split and go in different directions. If the decoy cars were caught the worst they would get was a speeding ticket. With the law enforcement people busy with the decoy cars, the booze car was free to travel on to Minot or wherever their destination was.

Dee Dee's Bar & Grill

The Grill was located at 316 third St. SW… The Grill was a part of the area known  as “High Third” although it did not have the reputation of some of the other businesses on Third St.  Dee Dee Govan operated The Grill for many years. He acquired the property from “Ma” Butler, a legend on Third Street and the subject of another article. Dee Dee served pretty good food  and at times would offer coffee laced with liquor, if so desired. After the decline of Third St. The Grill was home to Dee Dee’s Hot Tamales. He made them, packaged them and sold them out of  The Grill.  I was offered a job by Dee Dee selling the Hot Tamales when I was driving truck for Coca Cola Bottling back in the late 60’s. 

The Grill

High Third Street

There were a number of businesses that flourished on Minot’s High Third Street. Third Street over the years was the home to Bars, Restaurants, Hotels and houses that participated in illegal activities that ranged from illegal alcohol sales during Prohibition, after hour alcohol sales, high stake card games  and prostitution. Some of those Third Street Businesses were: The Avalon, The Coffee Bar, Metrol Café (Saul’s Barbecue), Famous Pit Barbecue (Twilight Inn & Kay’s Café), The Grill, and later after Third Street was shut down, The Flame in Radio City. Business was brisk until 1960 when the Jaycee’s mounted a successful campaign to close down the area

The Avalon

The Coffee Bar

Liquor Depot

The Canadian Liquor companies would rent a portion of the railroad depot warehouse in Bienfait. The liquor was stored in a closed off room. They would have a manager in town who would sell what was desired to the bootleggers, not to bars, just to the bootleggers. The depot is still in Bienfait, although it has been moved to different location and is now a museum. However, the original depot was purchased by and moved to a local farmstead about a mile outside of town.  The railroad tracks still go through the town. The route out of town goes south to Ross Percy in the Souris Valley, then to Sherwood, splitting off to Columbus and Portal.