Vacation

Minot Memories will be on Vacation from August 1 until August 18….

I will be at our lake cabin in Minnesota. 

If internet connections allow, I will post from the lake

Puppy Dog

 One story of how Puppy Dog Coulee was named . Puppy Dog referred to a watering hole or pond in the coulee just a bit south and east of where the Highway patrol office is now. This would be just off 6^th Street Southeast. The pond in the 30’s, was deep enough that his horse had to swim across when he was riding. In the drought years it always had water, the watering hole never dried up. Supposedly the Indians named it Puppy Dog but he did not know why. At the turn of the century they would make camp at this spot and had about a mile walk into Minot. I am still looking for any information on how Puppy Dog Coulee got its name.

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. 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.

Minot Made Potato Chips

 In 1933, a Minot native who lived in the northwest part of town figured out how to beat the depression. T.J. McIlhargey worked for the Great Northern Railroad for eighteen years. Since he was unemployed, he and his wife started making potato chips in the basement of their home. He sold the potato chips under the “Green Hill” label to over 40 retail establishments in Minot. In time he not only sold the potato chips, but he expanded into selling donuts also. They would process 2 to 3 bushels of potatoes a day, yielding up to 13 pounds of chips. The plan was to expand into other area communities with the chip and donut business.

Boston Store

Herman Gordon arrived in Minot in 1905 and opened a small tailor shop in town. His first shop was on First Street South West. Later he moved to Main Street and opened the Boston Store. Eventually, The Boston Store moved to First Street Southwest, just south of what is now the Federal Building. Herman was ten years old and still living in Russia when he “ went on the bench”. The term used at that time applied to learning the tailor’s trade. He learned from his father. After coming to America in 1902, he worked for three years as a tailor in Petrosky, Michigan before moving to Minot. Herman and his wife, Helen, lived at 613 East Central Avenue, or in what is now know as Eastwood Park.

Milk Protest - 1934

From 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

Chain Food Store - North Second Street (North Broadway)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

JB Reed - Moving and Storage

JB Reed Transfer and Storage was one of the oldest operator of moving trucks in Minot. They got their first truck, a Winton, in 1911. The crank on this vehicle was on the side. After the driver cranked it and got it started, he would most likely have to run after and catch up to the moving truck. Eventually Reed Transfer went to using GMC and International trucks. Before that, some of the trucks they had were a Republic, an Overland and a Maxwell. In 1933 , Reed Transfer became the agents for Aero-Mayflower Moving out of Indianapolis. Cliff Reed was also a lover of fine cars. In 1934 when President Roosevelt was in Devils Lake, he was chauffeured by Cliff Reed in his Sport Model Buick. He was and his car also chauffeured the Mexican ambassador to the United States in 1935 when he was visiting Minot.

 

Schaefer Barn

As told by Dan Schaefer…. Lumber loaded in Minot for barn built on W A Schaefer farm, Sitting on the wagon far right front is my grandfather. The farm is 7 miles southwest of Minot. My grandfather, farmed my dad, W J Schaefer farmed and I farmed. My Dad and I grew up on this farmstead and I still live there.W A Schaefer moved from Iowa in 1908 and bought the farmstead from a homesteader named Babst. When I would talk to people from my father’s generation and tell them where I live and farm, I would often hear the stories about the many barn dances they had attended in that barn. It is a very large barn, with a big hay mow. The 3 cupolas on the roof were attached to wooden vertical air shafts for ventilation to the main floor of barn. The barn was used for housing horses and cows in the horse drawn farming days. Loose hay was pulled up into the hay mow from wagons on the ground via a pulley and brought into the hay mow on a rail running at the top just under the roof. Hay was pulled in and moved into the hay mow and then dropped inside. The hay mow would be filled with loose hay, then pitch forked to main floor via holes in hay mow floor. Later in mechanized farming times small square bales were moved into the hay mow via electric chain bale elevators. The bales were stacked high inside by another electric elevator. Half of the main floor of the barn was converted for milking cows in early 1960's.

Iron Lung Arrives

In 1939 the Minot Junior Association of Commerce, headed  by Les Maupin, conducted a fundraising drive to raise money to purchase an Iron Lung or mechanical respirator for the City of Minot. The respirator, a Drinker-Collins type was fitted with a mechanical and manual operating equipment. Rules and regulations for the operating of the Iron Lung in emergency cases were adopted by the Minot City Council. The Iron Lung was presented to the city at a special ceremony held in the Minot High School Auditorium on August 16, 1939.

Traffic Signals come to Minot

A suspended stop and go signal was ordered for the City of Minot in August of 1939.  Some years before a post type signal was tried in Minot. It was located at the intersection of Main Street and Central Avenue. The use of this signal was discontinued as most drivers ignored it and a number of drivers ran into it. The installation of the signal light was an experiment at the intersection of 2^nd Street and 4^th Avenue Northwest, (now known as Broadway and 4^th Avenue), at the north end of the overpass. The signal weighed about 115 pounds and was equipped with red, yellow and green lights. It was timed with 30 second intervals on the north-south lanes and 20 second intervals on the east-west lanes. The signal went into operation on September 16, 1939. Motorists were given time to get used to the signal. Violators were not arrested on the first day. The signal was in operation 7 days a week, (yes, Sundays included), from 7 am to 1 am. The experiment proved to be successful as signals were also ordered for: Central Avenue and Second Street West, Central Avenue and Main Street, Central Avenue and Third Street East, Main Street and First Avenue and Main Street and Fourth Avenue, (Burdick Expressway.) By the end of 1939, these additional signals were installed and operating.

Nelson Motors

Nelson Motors was located at 614 Second St NW. The business began as “Ted and Markies” repair shop. In 1940 they entered in the new car field. The owners were Mark Nelson and Ted Hugh. The business was known as Hugh-Nelson Motors. In 1960 Nelson and sons bought out the interest of Ted Hugh. The Rambler was the vehicle line the carried. Eventually the name was changed to Nelson Motors and the car line became American Motors. One of the popular vehicles in the late 60’s was the Javelin and the AMC. Both were sports cars and were meant to rival the Mustangs and Camaros.

Gold Recovery Plant - 2nd attempt

Aug 26, 1938 – A gold recovery plant has been established east of Minot near the Mouse River by the Herman Hanson Syndicate. Soil travels up a conveyor belt to a circular drum. There it is washed and whirled. The coarse gravel is discarded and the finer material, carrying the gold content passes across a vibrating screen, which sifts the material even finer. Water pumped from the river, washes the screened material down into sluices where a series of riffles and special cloths trap the gold. The concentrate is then pit through a special electro-amalgamated process, which extracts the gold dust. Between 2,000 and 3,000 cubic yards of material will run through the plant daily.

Gold Mining in Denbigh

in 1932, three men from Minot, Joseph Gleske, Robert Hill and Christ Enger, employed by the Willard – Wallace Company were extracting gold from the sand hills at Denbigh. The special machine was made in Denver. Gravel enters the machine at the front. After a series of screens and filters, it  removed larger sized pieces. The fine sand that was left entered “flotation” cells at the rear of the machine where it was agitated in water that had certain oils and chemicals added. Froth would rise to the top of the cells and was brushed into containers by small which scraped the surface of the mixture. They hope was to recover 90 cents of gold per yard of material at a cost of 15 cents per yard. Apparently it was not too successful as it did not last very long and is not around today.

KCJB - The "New" Minot Radio Station

 KCJB arrived on the scene with several new personalities and shows. Two of these were Dean Thurrow, and Cis Hadley. Cis went out to neighboring towns grocery stores for remote broadcasts. One of these was from the HiLo Groceries at Van Hook. Of course the show was called "Hello from HiLo" .  Many remember being at the remote shows and also listening to the shows to see if your neighbors might be interviewed on the radio.
Another Minot Memory would be when KCJB TV went “On Air”. The first year they were at the state fair they did closed circuit from several locations on the fair grounds. The broadcasts were not very  clear, having a lot of “snow” on the scene. This led to the famous statement of one fair attendee watching the dairy cattle judging in a different building. His statement to his wife was “lets go over to the dairy barn,  its hot here but looks like it’s snowing over there"  “Live”  TV at its best

AM Radio - 1390

KLPM was referred to as “Old Minot’ Radio. One of the on air personalities was Les Maupin. One of his radio shows was called Tello-Test. This was a program where random people were called to answer a question to win a prize. When dialing the phone number, over the radio it was 8 – 3 – 8 – 1 – 4 – 5 - ??? the listeners would not know the complete number until the last digit was dialed.
Saturday morning the station had a program called Birthday Train for kids. Parents would send in information on the child’s age and birthday for an announcement on the radio. The radio station would wish the children Happy Birthday and give them clues as to where their presents were hidden at home.

Opera House Barber Shop

 Edward Henjum, a barber in Minot, owned the Leland Barbershop. During its busy days, the Leland Barbershop employed as many as five barbers and grossed over $15,000 annually. This was big money back in the 1920’s. Before starting out on his own, Edward Henjum worked at the Opera. The Opera was a barbershop located in the basement of the Jacobson Opera House. The Opera was a big barbershop. It boasted nine barber chairs. A Turkish bath parlor was run in conjunction with the barber shop. Besides the nine barbers, The Opera employed a cashier and two porters.... The Barber shop was not rebuilt after the 1923 fire that destroyed the building

Scandinavian & Windsor Hotel

The Windsor Hotel was on the corner of 1^st St and 1^st Ave. SE. This is where the old YMCA was located. The Scandinavian Hotel was on the east side of the block on First Avenue, just east of the Blue Rider Bar. The original Soo Line Depot was across the street, on Third Street SE. When the early settlers arrived at the Soo Line Depot, they would see they Scandinavian Hotel. Most if not all of the Scandinavian languages were spoken here. Many of the early pioneers in the northwestern part of the state arrived at the Soo Line depot and may have stayed at the Scandinavian Hotel. Eventually the Scandinavain Hotel was demolished to make room for an expansion on the Windsor Hotel.

 Windsor Hotel - early 1900's

 Windsor Hotel - 1949

Scandinavian Hotel - early 1900's

Westland Oil Fire - Buildings Destroyed

Buildings were destroyed in the explosion and fire at the Westland Oil Company in February, 1947 that house five businesses. Those buildings were home to Mandan Creamery and Produce Company, Westland Oil Company Service and Bulk Station, Riverside Café, Minot Farmers Co-operative Grain Association  and Tavern and Becwar and Cedarstrom Texaco Company. Also businesses extensively damaged were Bridgeman Creamery, Monagin Power Equipment, Farmers Union Co-op store and Lowe’s Grocery….

Westland Oil Fire

This major fire occurred in July, 1947.  Reports from one eye witness who worked at the nearby Mandan Creamery claimed that “pink gas” was flowing from one tank like a waterfall. As soon as she saw that she got in her car and drove away as quickly as possible. She had gone about a block or two when the explosion occurred throwing her car to the side of the road but she kept on driving.  Four men were killed in the explosion. Two were in the Mandan Creamery which was completely destroyed in the blast. One was a Minot fireman and the other an employee of Charlebois Blacksmith Shop.

July 7, 2014: Hotels/Motels of the past:

See if you remember any of these:

Gelking Motel – 1524 S Broadway

Walsh Motel – 17^th Ave –Hwy 83 South

Pat’s Motel – Hwy 52 Southeast

Gordon’s Holiday Spot – 1901 S Broadway

Clarence Parker – 1^st St and 1^st Ave SE

Leland Parker – Main Street and Central Ave

Paradise Motel - 20^th Ave and Broadway

Sterling Motel – 20^th Ave & Broadway

Roosevelt Hotel – Broadway and 1^st Ave.

Ho Hum Motel – Burdick Exp & Bypass West

Home Motel –Hwy 2 & 52 West

 

Four Lane Highways

The news story on August 25, 1964 announced that the four lane highway to the Minot Air Force Base was now open. The story said that the opening of the four lane to the base should all but eliminate the traffic congestion between the base and Minot. With section to the base open, residents then had 16.5 mile of  four lane highway from the base to just south of Minot. Work was in progress on the 15 mile stretch of highway from south of Minot to the junction on Highway 23. …. It is difficult to imagine Highway 83 as anything other than a four lane highway

Frontier Airlines

 In late March, 1959, Frontier Airlines was going to begin service to Minot. The week before on Sunday, March 23, Frontier Airlines held and “Air Fair” at the Minot International Airport. Eighteen, special 25 minute flights started at 9:30 in the morning and were given all day long. The plane used was a 24 passenger, twin engine DC-3 airplane. 432 people went on the flight. For many it was first time they had ever been off the ground. They were able to view the city, the airport and the Air Force Base from an altitude of 3000 feet. More than 5,000 people attended the event and Frontier Airline Stewardesses presented a carnation to the first 500 ladies. People could register for a free trip for two to Denver at many Minot businesses.

1940's - Most Significant Headlines

1940 – Sawyer ran a a band of Gypsies out of town ---

1940  - Unemployment checks averaged $9.68

1943 – The Waverly Hotel burned down ---

1943 -  North Dakota Speed limit lowered to 35 mph

1945 – Construction began on the Empire Theater

1945 -  Thomas Funeral Home moved to its Present location

1946 – Minot City Council approved parking meters ---

1946 -  Propane gas came to Minot

1947 – More than 1400 rats killed at Minot Dump in one day --- 

1947 -  Westland Oil Fire

1948 – New Clarence Parker Hotel opened

1949 – Parking meters abolished in Minot