June 29, 2012 by Hubbard County Historical Museum Director
Recently I uncovered a whole album of newspaper clippings. The “Remember When”series is being scanned so that we will have a permanent record.
Robert Wadlow died a year after visiting Park Rapids. He was 22 in July of 1940 when he died from complications from a blister that developed on his leg from one of his leg braces. You can read more about him here. He was 8 feet 11.1 inches tall at the time of his death.
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June 21, 2012 by Hubbard County Historical Museum Director
Please join us on Monday June 25 at 7:30 PM for music on the lawn. Bring a lawn chair! Weather permitting..if it rains we will have the program in the basement meeting room of the new courthouse. Everyone is welcome! Refreshments will be served.
We will be having a short general meeting of the Historical Society at 7PM. You are invited to attend..right after the meeting the music will begin.
Bill Dahl will play the nyckelharpa and Mark Bridge will play the banjo and the mandolin.
This is a Nyckelharpa or a Swedish Key Fiddle.
Nyckelharpa has been played in Sweden for hundreds of years.
There are 16 strings, 4 of which are played with a short bow in the right hand. The remaining 12 strings vibrate sympathetically giving the instrument its unique sound. There are 37 keys in three rows that are played with the left hand. A tangent attached to each key touches the string when the key is pushed to change the pitch of the string.
There are thousands of nyckelharpa players in Sweden today, about 175 in the United States and 20 in the Twin Cities. Only one player is here in Hubbard County.
Bill Dahl playing the nyckelharpa.
I hope you will join us for “Music on the Courthouse Lawn!”
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June 15, 2012 by Hubbard County Historical Museum Director
I found this old photo tucked away in a box when we worked on the medical room downstairs.
Barbara Gilbert County Nurse 1932. Does anyone remember this gal?
I have not had a chance to research her..perhaps my readers have a story or two to share?
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Music on the Courthouse Lawn
The Hubbard County Historical Museum is proud to present “Music on the Courthouse Lawn” at 7:30 PM on Monday June 25 featuring Bill Dahl on the Nyckelharpa and Mark Bridge on the Banjo and the Mandolin. They will be entertaining us with some old time tunes and Scandinavian music. The Nyckelharpa is also known as a Swedish Key Fiddle. There are only 175 people in the United States that play the Nykelharpa, 20 of which live in Minnesota, 1 who lives in Hubbard County.
The entertainment will begin right after the 7PM meeting of the Historical Society in the courthouse basement meeting room that is handicap accessible. Please bring a lawn chair! In case of rain the music will be moved indoors, Everyone is welcome. Refreshments will be served. I hope you will join us!
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June 9, 2012 by Hubbard County Historical Museum Director
The quest for more information about the old school house at the fairgrounds continues.
This is some of the information we have:
It was moved in the 1970’s.
It was called the Colgrove School and it was located in Becker County.
One of the teachers we would like more information about is Mrs. Roberts or perhaps she was known as Esther Marie McCarren. So she could have been known a Miss McCarren before she was married. Both names are on her teaching certificate. She had brothers named Don and Walter, and sisters named Elizabeth and Martha, her mothers maiden name was McLaughlin.
If you have any information to add or have any old photos of the school please contact the Hubbard County Historical Museum at 732 5237.
Katie is planning to have the school house open this year during the Shell Prairie Fair July 5-8, 2012.
Some of the memories that have been shared already..from last years blog about the school.
From Judy:
Yes, I remember that school. It was a one-room school located on Hwy # 34 about 1.5 miles west of the Becker/Hubbard County line. About 20 students attended, from first grade to 7th or 8th grade, I believe.
I went there until my 5th grade. My favorite teacher was Miss Buehner. She taught me to read.
I don’t know when it was moved to the Hubbard County Fairground location where it sits now.
From Dorothy:
Yes, I remember this school building! It was known as District #88 of Becker County and also called the Colgrove School. I don’t recall the exact year it was moved to the Hubbard County Fairgrounds, I’m guessing it has probably been 30 plus years ago.
But, I’ll never forget attending there for my first through fourth grade school years. Our feet did the walking as there were no school buses transporting us to and from school, no indoor bathroom facilities (just an outdoor biffy for the gals and an outdoor biffy for the guys along the tree line approximately 100 ft from the back of the school building), no double pane window glass to keep the cold out, (so ‘ol jack frost created many unique designs on the windows).
The building faced toward the south along State Highway 34. A large wood/coal burning stove in the back of the room (northwest corner) was the only heat source during the cold and snowy winter months. Part way through the morning we would have to get our lunch pails from the coat closet in the front of the building and arrange them around the wood/coal burning stove, so our sandwiches would be partially thawed out by lunch time. The water fountain in the back of the building had to be filled by pumping water from the outside well into a pail and dumping it into the big porcelain container. The water fountain container probably held about 5 gallons of water. The desks in the front of the room were small for the first grade students to use and larger desks toward the back of the one room school building for the older students. We would keep our books, paper, pencils, etc. on the metal shelf that was attached to the bottom of our wood desk top. One teacher taught all elementary grades, calling each grade level to the table in the front of the room when it was their class time.
Playground equipment for recess time consisted of 2 swings and one teeter totter. If it was too cold to have recess outside, the teacher would have us push all the desks to the sides of the room and she would put the record on the phonograph and we would dance to the music of “Turkey in the Straw”! (I know, I’m dating myself, but that’s just fine with me). There was nothing modern or electronic for us to learn with, but we were taught the basics of readin’, ‘ritin’ and ‘rithmetic, and for that humble beginning – I’m grateful!
From Gina:
Hi: Some of the students names when I was in first grade were, Joe harvala, Diane Harvala, Ellen Manninga, Gina Snelling, David Pritchard,Veronica Shepersky,Wester Harvala, . I know there were more kids but right now thats what I remember. I think Larry Kueber lived on the school property for a while.
From Del:
Concerning that picture of the white wooden school house you published. There were two between Park Rapids and Osage. This looks like the one that was on the next property west of the Wm Colgrove farm. I’ll check around to be sure. There’s a house on that property today.
Some of the students there, were, McCarren, Smith, Loucks, Condit, Braden, Cook. Herb, Harold, and Ray Prichards kids.
This building had a huge wood burner in the back, so during the winter, I was hired to build fire, and preheat the school, before teacher arrived. I believe that I only missed one morning. She never filed a complaint.
Teachers were, Deloros McCarron, Mrs Himark, Hermany Schmider
From Dorothy..in reply to Gina:
Hi Gina, yes Lucille Stearns was definitely one of our teachers, as well as Evelyn Buehner, Harriet Davis, Virginia Heimark, and there were a couple of others, whose names I’m not recalling at present. And I do remember your family attending that little one room school too. Feel free to jot down some of your memories of our elementary years. I think the school actually was closed down around 1958. We then began riding the bus to the old (two room) school in Osage for 5th grade, where Mrs. Tillie Zeller was our teacher. Mr. Martin Cox taught the 6th grade in the adjoining room. At noon we would walk the couple of blocks to the north where the NEW Osage School was located (built in 1957), and enjoyed having a WARM noon meal prepared by Mrs. Arvilla Nilson.I’m trying to recall the ladies name who assisted her in the kitchen. Arvilla’s husband, Carl, was the janitor for the 2 school buildings. (It would be fun to compile a list of family names who attended that little one room school). We might have to get our heads together! What are your thoughts?
From Judy to Gina and Dorothy:
Hi Gina and Dorothy,
Dorothy, again, I am impressed with your accurate memories! Miss Buehner was our first teacher, if I remember correctly. Did she stay for 2 years? I remember Mrs. Stearns (who just recently passed away) was my third grade teacher, and Mrs. Davis my fourth grade teacher. Yours, too, right?
I also remember eating hot lunches prepared by Arvila Nilson. Arvila and Carl were two really nice people and she was a wonderful cook. I remember the single-file lunch line and the cafeteria. I don’t recall who Arvila’s assistant was. Perhaps someone else will.
I do recall the new elementary school’s first principal was Mr. Oscar Vaadeilyn — that’s not the correct spelling, though.
Gina, what was your maiden name? (Mine was Pritchard). Our neighbors, the Lehrkes and the Mattsons also attended that school. Do you remember any of the other kids?
I believe one or more of the “ex-students” lives adjacent to the site of the school and one built a house on the school grounds after it had been moved to the Fair Grounds.
Thanks for reading:)
Category area history, Schools | Tags: | 2 Comments
June 2, 2012 by Hubbard County Historical Museum Director
During the month of May 133 local first and second grade students toured the Museum. Now that school is out perhaps some of those students will bring their parents into the museum!
We have expanded our “hands on” displays. Children naturally like to touch and do things. Here at the museum they can sit in a school desk, they can use a slate pencil or a dipping pen. They can touch furs of local wildlife and they can press a piece of paper with a seal. They can use a scale that weighs ounces and touch the keys of an old typewriter. They can peer into a stereoscope and imagine what entertainment would have been 100 years ago. They can dig for artifacts and they can go on a treasure hunt.
The museum still has a “look but don’t touch” policy on many displays. We hope that by having some “hands on” displays we can encourage children and parents to interact and have a wonderful museum experience.
We are open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10:30 AM to 4:30 PM. We are closed on Sundays and Mondays.
We DO NOT charge admission, we encourage donations and memberships!
We have plans for a few more “hands on” displays..something is always new at the museum!
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