Leaves, S’Mores, and More

Its that time of year again, a time when the trees change their colors, days get colder, and the nights get longer. Its fall in Scott County, though the recent weather might have some of us confused. Despite unseasonable weather fall is here, and for a few days now actually (the first day of fall is officially September 23rd). Fall is my favorite season of the year, it’s a season of bon-fires with friends, strolling down leaf covered sidewalks with my wife, and camping. My family always seemed to go camping later in the year than everyone else.

The weather lately has been warmer, muggier, and generally unfall-like. Still, I wanted to give everyone a glimpse of our past (and future) with a photo gallery of Scott County in Fall. Look forward to these images in a neighborhood near you, soon!

Written by Dave Nichols, Curator of Collections

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

The sun is shining and the snow is sparkling outside the Scott County Historical Society museum. After several days of fog, folks are out on the street enjoying the snow. A sunny day in winter is delightful, whether you are sledding outside or holed up inside where it is warm. Below, find a selection of seasonal photographs from the SCHS collections. Enjoy the winter!

Downtown Shakopee after a blizzard. C.J. Stunk (seen holding a shovel) and several other men are standing on a shoveled First Ave. Handwritten in pencil on the backside of the image is “Sunday March 12th – 1899. 10 am.

Photograph of downtown Shakopee after a March snowstorm. The photo shows First Avenue looking southeast. 1899.

Two men moving logs on North Meridian Street in Belle Plaine. 

Thomas O’Connor delivering mail in Belle Plaine. 1905

Men clearing snow from the roads in Shakopee. 1905.

Postcard of Pond’s Mill in Shakopee during the winter. The card is addressed to Miss Clara Logenfeif of Shakopee but is unused.  1908.

Winter street scene in New Prague, Minnesota, probably a market day. 1914.

The Coller family standing outside their downtown Shakopee home. Seen from left to right are Julius Coller, I, Coe Coller and Julius Coller, II, and their dog (name unknown). 1914.

Holiday decorations inside a Shakopee home. 1915

Women ice skating in Shakopee, most likely on the Minnesota river. 1920.

The exterior of 434 South Lewis Street in Shakopee after a snowstorm. 1927. 

Two children wearing winter coats in Belle Plaine. 1928.

 Harry Weldon playing guitar with his dog during winter. 1933.

Arthur Bohnsack with two of his children, Arlyn and June standing in front of their new Chevorlet. Taken in St. Patrick MN. 1940.

Ray and Loretta (Mamer) Robel of Prior Lake sitting in their living room on Christmas. 1950.

Snowy road after a blizzard in Shakopee. 1950.

Christmas card featuring the Pekarna boys. 1954.

LeRoy Lebens shoveling snow outside his Fifth Avenue home in Shakopee. 1955.

Two Shakopee High School students in winter finery. 1958.

Cat in the snow. Shakopee 1959.

Nevins family holiday decorations, 1960

Clark family Christmas photo. 1963

The Minnesota River outside Shakopee. 1965.

Johnson family Christmas photo. 1970

Downtown Shakopee block with piles of snow. Date unknown.

Enjoy the winter!

Compiled by Rose James, SCHS Program Manager

Pedaling Scott County’s Past

It finally feels like spring at the Scott County Historical Society. There’s a green tinge in the Stans Garden, and plans are underway for summer programs, festivals and fairs. I am particularly excited for a series of bike tours highlighting the environmental and social histories of Shakopee, Jordan and New Prague. In the process of preparing for these tours, I started digging into the two-wheeled history of Scott County

                Biking has always been an essential summer pastime of Scott County. On October 26, 1893 the Scott County Argus front page boasted an editorial entitled “Riding A Wheel”. It begins “As in everything, a young girl has the best time of it in learning to ride a bicycle”. The piece goes on to describe the trials a young woman might endure in mastering a bike,  but concludes with “It is better to depend on oneself than lean on the shifty arm of a man. For arms tire and become sorely aweary, but the will of a woman is the truest steel”. 

                A few years later the July 19th 1897 issue of the Argus published a scathing review of the public highway system written by the Farmers Union. It begins with “Not for many years has need for better country roads been felt so much”. It continues, “Road repairs may seem expensive under the most favorable of circumstances, but when the cost of cartage and the expense of future repairs are taken into account, the cost of road repairs now would probably be less expensive if choices are economically made”. The sentiment would not seem out of place today, except the farmers were not arguing for better roads for motorized vehicles. Instead, they wanted the country to expand highways for bikes.

                On June 19th, 1900, William Hinds extoled the virtues of a new bike path from the Twin Cites to Shakopee, explaining that “With a good cycle path from the cities to this point we will see from fifty to two hundred riders from the cities here on every pleasant Sunday or Saturday afternoon, and the business of many firms, hotels, refreshment shops, soda water fountains and cycle shops will be largely increased in consequence”. He also said that the “The short run, fifty miles for the round trip, will serve to make it very popular for those who ride for pure and simple pleasure”. Bikes were so popular that on July 7th, 1897 it was published in the Argus that the State Agricultural Society declared that September 11th would be “Bike Day” in Minnesota.

                In fact, in the Local and Personal page of a single issue of the Argus, June 17, 1987, the following messages were posted:

·         Miss Mabel Peck entertained Misses Purdy and Loftus of Minneapolis Sunday, the young ladies made the journey on their bicycles.

·         Misses Adelaide and Rosa Marks delight in the possession of a new bicycle of the Fleetwing make

·         D.W. Pettit made the trip to and from Minneapolis by bicycle Sunday

·         Bicycles for rent by the day or hour by EJ Gellenbeck

·         Misses Annie and Lizzie Ries now in possession of a Fleetwing bicycle bought of JC Marx. The Fleetwing is the companion wheel of the Envoy line

·         Mrs. D W Petit returned Monday by bicycle from a week’s visit to Minneapolis

Along the sides of that page are lines of advertisements, including two for different bicycles. It is clear that the introduction of bikes gave a new sense of freedom to residents of the area, especially women. Bikes were used to visit friends and family, travel into town, and opened up new possibilities for work and entertainment.

                Today, bicycles are still important to Scott County. Shakopee alone boasts 80 miles of bike trails. You can still take a Sunday bike ride to the twin cities along the Minnesota LRT, Cedar Lake Trail and the Minnesota Greenway. If you are interested in joining us for summer bike tours, tickets are available now for our May tour of Shakopee. You can find more information at our website or at https://bit.ly/2oMtC6

Written by Rose James, Program Manager, Scott County Historical Society

Harvesting Ice

Back in the days before refrigerators and freezers, harvesting ice was a major wintertime business in Scott County. In the month of January when the ice was “ripe,” men would go to work cutting blocks of it out of local lakes and the Minnesota River.

In the book As I Remember Scott County, Frances Brandl of Belle Plaine, whose brothers ran an ice harvesting business, details this process:

Cutting ice was a very hard, heavy job. First of all it was cold, very cold, during the month of January. At times it was also wet, should one slip and fall into the lake, which happened.

The ice was sawed with a long heavy saw with a wooden handle on one end. The ice blocks were sawed 18×36 inches. The depth varied with the winter. Blocks had to be sawed very straight on all sides or they would not pack tight in the ice houses. The ice was covered and packed tight with saw dust.

Farmers loaded ice onto horse-drawn sleds and hauled it back to their farms, while icemen went door-to-door in town selling blocks to families for their iceboxes. Harvested ice was also used by grocery stores, saloons, creameries, meat packers, and breweries. In fact, all of the breweries that existed in Scott County prior to Prohibition were located along the Minnesota River or another stream or creek to allow for easy access to ice, and the breweries all had ice storage facilities as well.

Ice harvested in the winter months was used throughout the spring and summer – the sawdust or straw it was packed in kept it from melting. In addition to preserving food, this ice made possible a favorite summertime treat: ice cream.

Below are photos from the SCHS’s collection of a 1905 ice harvest on the Minnesota River. These photos depict a complex operation that involved cutting blocks of ice by hand and then using a wooden pulley system and conveyor belt to move the ice.

Ice harvesting on the Minnesota River at Shakopee. In the background you can see a wooden pulley system and conveyor belt used for moving blocks of ice. 1905. From the SCHS Collections

Workmen cutting ice on the Minnesota River at Shakopee. They are standing on a wooden boardwalk placed over the frozen river. 1905. From the SCHS Collections.

Close-up of the wooden pulley system and conveyor belt used to move blocks of ice. 1905. From the SCHS Collections

Another view of the pulley system and conveyor belt. The ice visible in the foreground of the photo appears to have been scored. 1905. From the SCHS Collections

The front side of the wooden pulley system and conveyor belt. The wooden pulley system is constructed along the shore of the river. The front side shows areas divided by vertically placed pieces of wood. Blocks of ice available for purchase are stacked within each stall. The image is looking down into one stall, which contains blocks of ice, five workers and a wooden conveyor belt. 1905. From the SCHS Collections

Men standing on the narrow wooden boardwalk cutting blocks of ice by hand. 1905. From the SCHS Collections.

Snowy Scenes of Scott County: Winter Images from the LeRoy Lebens Collection

As a man who seemed to always have a camera on hand, LeRoy Lebens managed to catch great photos of life in Scott County, even in the cold depths of Minnesota winters. As we continue an inventorying of his collection here at the Scott County Historical Society, a number of his photos have stood out, showing the beauty and life of Scott County in winter. Despite our current frigid temperatures, I feel that these photos are a great way to celebrate winter. If you’re interested in finding out more about the Lebens Collection, please come visit us at the Scott County Historical Society.