It's All Fun and Games

June 13th marked the launch of our summer 2019 series of free mini-camps and craft workshops at libraries throughout Scott County. This program, funded by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage (Legacy) Amendment, allows us to bring fun engaging history activities to the young people of Scott County during their summer vacation.

This year our theme is GAMES. Participants in our “I’m Game” craft program will learn a bit about how fun in the past differed from today, and then try their hand at making a kite, or a hoop and stick toy.

Older kids, up for a greater challenge, can register for a “Game On” mini-camp! There, they will get to make a hoop and stick toy, use scavenged materials to invent their own games, and try their hand at historic stilts, hoops and graces games outside.

The kids who participate in these programs are quick to share their knowledge about how the lives of kids in Scott County 150 years ago were different from their lives today. They mention technology, a lack of video games, and the fact that houses didn’t have air conditioning (leading kids to want to play outside more). It was also a bit harder to get the variety of amusements in 1869 that are available today. Towns certainly had shops, and it was possible to order things by mail, but the selection was a bit different, and it took quite a bit longer for your packages to arrive. Children were likely encouraged to create their own toys and games.

That being said, kids still had fun, and, just like today’s big ticket items, there were games and toys that kids across the United States (and other nations) enjoyed. Three of those games- stilts, hoops and graces- are available to try by participants in our mini-camps. We will also be bringing them along with the Scott County Library Readmobile, and to fairs and festivals around the county this summer. Below, see what children’s literature of the past said about these three popular pastimes:

“Up In The Air On Stilts”, from The American Boy’s Book of Sport: Outdoor Games For All Seasons by Daniel Carter Beard  Published 1896

“According to the newspapers, walking on stilts is the very latest fashionable amusement for the ‘new woman’ in London. It is safe to say that before long you boys will be called on to make stilts for your sisters. There can be little doubt that a time is coming when a book written for boys will be the one girls will read, or rather, every book will be written for young people will be addressed to both boys and girls. Just why girls should not walk on stilts or engage in any similar sport no one has yet given a satisfactory answer. Twenty five years ago the boys used to make stilts with very low blocks for their sisters and the girls would seldom use them, but insisted on using their brothers’ high blocked stilts.

One bright boy on Fourth Avenue, New York City, has made a pair of stilts out of old laths from the ruins of some dismantled house. Three laths nailed together form each stilt pole, and the blocks are made of a graduated lot of lath pieces nailed together. Now, if a small boy in the tenement district can make himself a good serviceable pair of stilts out of some old laths, there can be no doubt that the boys who read this book will be able to find the material and tools to build themselves beautiful gadabouts”

“The Game of Graces”,  Lydia Marie Child’s The Girls Own Book, published 1838

“This is a new game, common in Germany, but introduced to this country from France. It derives its name from the graceful attitudes which it occasions. Two sticks are held in the hands, across each other, like open scissors: the object is to throw and catch a small hoop upon these sticks. The hoop to be bound with silk, or ribbon, according to fancy. The game is played by two persons. The sticks are held straight, about four inches apart, when trying to catch the hoop; and when the hoop is thrown, they are crossed like a pair of scissors. In this country it is called The Graces or The Flying Circle.”

A side note- author Lydia Marie Child is fascinating in her own right! Learn more about here here. 

“The Hoop”, from The American Boy’s Book of Sport: Outdoor Games For All Seasons by Daniel Carter Beard  Published 1896

“Everybody knows how to roll the hoop in the usual way. There is no horse, however trained, that obeys the hands of the rider with such precision. There is no ship, with the best pilot, which so correctly follows the guidance of its rudder. Here is a hoop, ruled by a stick, which maneuvers and drives it over the ground in all directions- to the right, to the left, straight on, backward, forward, describing a curve, a broken line, a triangle or, in a word, all the series of geometrical figures. Many players can contest with their hoops, and challenge each other, to know who shall drive his hoop the longest time without getting out of breath, or who shall be the first to reach a goal agreed on. In this latter case, all the players taking part in the contest should stand together on the same line, and start at a given signal… The hoop is like the skipping rope, one of the best exercises for giving strength and suppleness to the limbs.” 

Are you interested in joining us for any of our historic games programs? See the full schedule below, and contact your local library to register for mini-camps! All programs are free of charge.

 I’m Game! Library Crafts:Best for young people aged 6-10 and their families 
Shakopee Library: June 13th, 10:30am-11:00am
Prior Lake Library: June 15th, 12:00pm-12:30pm
Jordan Library: June 20th, 10:30am-11:00am
New Prague Library: July 2nd, 10:30am-11:00am
Elko New Market Library: July 3rd, 2:00pm-2:30pm
Savage Library: July 12th, 10:30am-11:00am
Belle Plaine Library: July 16th, 10:30-11:00am

 Game On! Library Camps:Best for young people aged 8-12
Savage Library: June 13th, 2:00pm-3:00pm
New Prague Library: Jume 18th, 2:00pm-3:00pm
Belle Plaine Library: June 20th, 2:00pm-3:00pm
Prior Lake Library: July 2nd, 2:00pm-3:00pm
Shakopee Library: July 12th, 2:00pm-3:00pm
Jordan Library: July 16th, 2:00pm-3:00pm
Elko New Market Libray: July 17th, 2:00pm-3:00pm

Written by Rose James, SCHS Program Manger

Thoreau’s Journey along the Minnesota River

In the spring of 1861, Henry David Thoreau embarked on a trip to visit Minnesota. At the time he was suffering from advanced tuberculosis which he had contracted in 1835. His doctor recommended a change of climate, and the fresh air of the American West to help clear Thoreau’s lungs.

It was upon this recommendation headed west for an expected 3 month journey. He brought along 17 year old Horace Mann Jr, a young botanist, as his companion. The two traveled through Niagara Falls, Detroit and Chicago before traveling by boat to St. Paul.

Thoreau was not impressed with St. Paul, commenting in a letter “At St. Paul, they dig their building stone out of the cellar; but it is apparently poor stuff”, but he was fascinated by Lake Harriet.  Thoreau, Mann, and local geologist Dr. Charles Anderson spent a great deal of time on the lake’s shores, examining the water, woods and marshes of the area.  They also cataloged sightings catbird, goldfinch, oriole, tanager, horned lark, flicker and killdeer.

The nature and air were not the only draw that Minnesota held for Thoreau. In the mid to late 1800s, some European Americans in the United States experienced what can be described as a cultural morning for the American West. Today we associate that time period with popular tales of cowboys on the frontier, but at the time it seemed to prominent European American thinkers like opportunities for “exploration” were dwindling. With this came a desire to preserve the stories and culture of American Indians, ironic considering the  concurrent American government policy towards First Nations. With this in mind, Thoreau planned to follow the Minnesota River into the interior of the state and visit the Dakota Nation for himself.

On June 25th, 1861 Thoreau wrote the following letter describing his journey by steamboat along the Minnesota River:

Dear Sir,
After spending some three weeks in and about St. Paul, St. Anthony, and Minneapolis, we made an excursion in a steamer some 300 or more miles up the Minnesota River, to Redwood, or the Lower Sioux Agency, in order to see the plains and the Sioux, who were to receive their annual payment there. This is eminently the river of Minnesota, for she shares the Mississippi with Wisconsin, and it is of incalculable value to her. It flows through a very fertile country, destined to be famous for its wheat; but it is a remarkably winding stream, so the Redwood is only half as far from its mouth by land as by water. There was not a straight reach a mile in length as far as we went, generally you could not see a quarter of a mile of water, and the boat was steadily turning this way or that. At the greater bends, as the Traverse des Sioux, some of the passengers were landed and walked across to be taken in on the other side. Two or three times you could have thrown a stone across the neck of the isthmus while it was from one to three miles around it. It was a very novel kind of navigation to me.

The boat was perhaps the largest that had been up so high, and the water was rather low (it had been about 15 feet higher). In making a short turn, we repeatedly and designedly ran square into the steep and soft bank, taking in a cart-load of earth, this being more effectual than the rudder to fetch us about again; or the deeper water was so narrow and close to the shore, the we were obliged to run and break down at least 50 trees which overhung the water, when we did not cut them off, repeatedly losing part of our outworks, though the most exposed had been taken in. I could pluck almost any plant on the bank from the boat. We very frequently got aground and then drew ourselves along with a windlass and a cable fastened to a tree, or we swung round in the current, and completely blocked up and blockaded the river, one end of the boat resting on each shore. And yet we would haul ourselves round again with the windlass and cable in an hour or 2, though the boat was about 160 feet long and drew some 3 feet of water, or, often, water and sand. It was one consolation to know that in such a case we were all the while damming the river and so raising it.

We once ran fairly on to a concealed rock, with a shock that aroused all the passengers, and rested there, and the mate went below with a lamp expecting to find a hole, but he did not. Snags and sawyers were so common that I forgot to mention them. The sound of the boat rumbling was the ordinary music. However, as long as the boiler did not burst, we knew that no serious accident was likely to happen. Yet this was a singularly navigable river, more so than the Mississippi above the Falls, and it is owing to its very crookedness. Ditch it straight, and it would not only be very swift, but soon run out.

It was from 10-15 rods wide near the mouth and from 8 to 10 or 12 at Redwood. Through the current was swift, I did not see a ‘rip’ on it, and only 3 or 4 rocks. For 3 months in the year I am told that it can be navigated by small steamers about twice as far as we went, or to its source in Big Stone Lake, and a former Indian agent told me that at high water it was thought that such a steamer might pass into the Red River.

In short this river proved so very long and navigable, that I was reminded of the last letter or two in the Voyages of Baron la Hontan (written near the end of the 17th century, I think) in which he states that after reaching the Mississippi (by the Illinois or Wisconsin), the limit of previous exploration westward, he voyaged up it with his Indians, and at length turned up a great river coming in from the west which he called ‘la Riviere Longue’ and he relates various improbable things about the country and its inhabitants, so that this letter has been regarded as pure fiction – or more properly speaking a lie. But I am somewhat inclined now to reconsider the matter.

The Governor of Minnesota (Ramsey), the superintendent of the Ind. Affairs in this quarter, and the newly appointed Indian agent were on board; also a German band from St. Paul, a small cannon for salutes, and the money for the Indians. There were about 100 passengers chiefly from St. Paul, and more or less recently from the N. Eastern states; also half a dozen young educated Englishmen . . .

The last of the little settlements on the river, was New Ulm, about 100 miles this side of Redwood. It consists wholly of Germans. We left them 100 barrels of salt, which will be worth something more when the water is lowest, than at present. Redwood is a mere locality, scarcely an Indian village – where there is a store and some houses have been built for them. We were now fairly on the great plains, and looking south, and after walking that way 3 miles, could see no tree in that horizon. The buffalo was said to be feeding within 25 or 30 miles.

A regular council was held with the Indians, who had come in on their ponies; and speeches were made on both sides thro’ an interpreter, quite in the described mode; the Indians, as usual, having the advantage in point of truth and earnestness, and therefore of eloquence. The most prominent chief was named Little Crow. They were quite dissatisfied with the white man’s treatment of them and probably have reason to be so. This council was to be continued for 2 or 3 days – the payment to be made the 2nd day – and another payment to the other bands a little higher up the Yellow Medicine (a tributary of the Minnesota) a few days thereafter.

Yours Truly, Henry David Thoreau

Sadly, the trip did not have it’s desired restorative outcome. Thoreau passed away less than a year later, on May 6th, 1862. He did not live to see the outbreak of the US-Dakota war that the sympathies expressed in his letter hinted at to modern readers. His writings do provide an invaluable first-hand account of the difficulties of travel along the Minnesota River during the era of steamboats, and the complex relationship between European American and Dakota culture leading up to the  US-Dakota War.

Written by Rose James, SCHS Program Manager

Half the World at Rest

May 9th was the 74th anniversary of V-E Day, the end of hostilities on the European front of World War II. V-E Day recognizes the surrender of Nazi Forces to the Allied Forces, and despite the name, fighting stopped in several places around the world. World War II is unique in that it has two different victory days. While we often think of World War II in the context of Europe and the Pacific, it was also fought across Africa in many European colonies. So while we call it V-E Day, we should recognize that nearly half of the world saw the end of the war. Here at home in Scott County, like many places around the world, the Nazi surrender was the main headline. Men from Scott County were still stationed abroad, but this day signified a closing of a major chapter in the county. Its sons would be coming home, at least from Europe.

The front page of the New Prague Times echoes an important thought that was in the minds of many “How long before Japan surrenders?” When the Nazi’s surrendered, their allies in Japan continued to fight on and there was no sign that the fighting in the Pacific would end soon. V-J Day didn’t come until August, but the newspapers of the county show the relief that people felt to see at least half of the world at rest.

Jordan’s newspaper followed suit, acknowledging the victory in Europe and turning its gaze to Japan. It is a strange thing to consider that the war is over and yet still in full swing. America didn’t join the war until the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and it one could argue that Japanese victory was more important in many people’s eyes. While the victory overseas can in May, many in America were saving their cheers for V-J Day. As the Jordan paper said, “But War is Less Than Half Over.” a good indication that people in Scott County, the war was mostly with Japan.

Two Musical Legends from Scott County’s Past.

Music has a knack for bringing people together. It can connect immigrants to families across the globe, connect different generations, and create a cozy gathering during cold winters. Highlighted below are the stories of two men who were prominent musical leaders in Scott County communities- J.W. Komarek and Al Hagie.

J. W. Komarek

J.W. Komarek was born in Chicago on July 25th, 1871, but his family relocated to New Prague soon after his birth. Komarek showed an early aptitude for music, and as a youth received lessons from prominent local musician John Sery. At age 14 Komarek moved to Minneapolis and was employed by a painting contractor with the hope of learning the trade. After a few years in the city, he returned to New Prague and started up a business painting commercial and residential buildings. Soon after he was wed to John Sery’s daughter Mary.

J. W. Komarek. Photo from the New Prague Times, May 3, 1945

In 1893, Komarek founded the Bohemian Brass Band of New Prague. Brass bands were very popular in the late 1800s. They played at town gatherings, parades and festivals and were even used to advertise products. These bands were a source of civic pride, and traveled throughout the region representing their community at fairs and musical competitions.

Like many other brass bands of the time,  Bohemian Brass Band featured drums, trumpet and cornet. Komarek’s group also added a local flair with the fiddle and bohemian bagpipes that nodded to the Czech ancestry of many of New Prague’s residents.

Over time, Komarek’s musical work took precedence over painting, and he moved full time into his role as a music teacher and band leader. He recalled as one of his proudest moments when he was presented with a recording of music played for him by some of his students- a rare treat in the early 1900s.

The prominence of Komarek’s musical career eventually pushed him into public service. He was elected council-man at large and later served as New Prague’s Mayor. After retirement, Komarek was a trustee of New Prague Community Hospital

W. Komarek passed away in May of  1945. He was survived by his 5 children, including two step-children from his second marriage to Anna Remes. On the day of his funeral, the town of New Prague decreed that all business should be closed from 1:30-3pm, allowing all community members to attend the service.

The Bohemian Brass band lives on through a mural that still graces Main Street in downtown New Prague.

Al Hagie

John Nicolin was a prominent member of one of Jordan’s most prominent families. The Nicolin house is still well known for it’s wealth and majesty, and  in the late 1800s John Nicolin owned numerous area business, including the musical Nicolin Opera House.  The story goes that Nicolin had a desire for more musical talent in the Jordan community and, in a testament to his local power, plucked Al Hagie from a group of traveling musicians and convinced him to stay.

Al Hagie and the Jordon Cornet Band. Hagie is a short man in white shirt and suspenders to the right of the frame. He his standing next to his young son. Photo from the SCHS collections.

In fact, Hagie had spent great deal of time in Jordan before finally settling in the town in his mid-twenties. Albert Hagie was born in Switzerland in 1862. His family immigrated to the United States when Hagie was 8, settling in St. Joesph Illinois. Al’s father was employed as a taylor and passed the trade on to his son. Al Hagie was also known in his youth as a talented musician, and by his early teens was skilled in several instruments, most prominently the cornet and the violin.

At 16, Hagie accepted employment with the Davern and Hopper shows as a musician. For the next 10 years he traveled with the troupe throughout the Midwest.  This journeying included long stays in Jordan, Minnesota. Hagie was said to have attended every 4th of July celebration in Jordan for all of those 10 years, and, later, every Scott County Fair after it’s beginning in 1914. During these visits, Hagie met Theresa Meyer of Jordan. She, and the insistence by Nicolin that Hagie lead a Cornet band in Jordan, convinced him to settle down. Al Hagie and Theresa Meyer were married on April 29, 1892. The Jordan Cornet Band was officially formed the same year.

Along with his skill as a bandleader, Al Hagie followed in his footsteps and started a taylor shop of his own. For nearly 4 decades he plied his trade. He was described as “a careful and thorough taylor, taking great pride in his work”.

His time with the band was not without stories. The Jordan Cornet Band would travel between local communities for performances and competitions. In the summer the journeys were undertaken by wagon, and in winter the band traveled in horse drawn sleighs. On one particularly icy winter day, the sleigh overturned, spilling band members and instruments into the drifts. Their trip was delayed as the men had to find and dig their trumpets, cornets and drums out of the snow.

It was well known that Al Hagie and his band were favorites of John Nicolin. Like any prominent family, there were those who were frustrated with what they saw as John Nicolin’s hold on the town of Jordan. Once, a competing band was formed for a town festival, just to provide and alternative for Hagie’s group and thereby spite Nicolin. The legend is that the second band only had time to learn a single song, but they played it on repeat all day long in an act of protest.

Hagie led the Jordan Cornet Band for nearly four decades, from 1892 until his death in November of 1930. In his obituary, Al Hagie was remembered as having “loved the simple life. There was no vain show, n ostentation about him”. He was also described as “a bluff, hearty, convivial, optimistic, forthright man”. During his funeral celebrations, 30 band-men from the Jordan Cornet Band, and brass bands from surrounding communities gathered to honor his musical career, playing marches and dirges throughout the event. The service ended with a rendition of “Abide by Me” played at Al Hagie’s grave-site.

Written by Rose James, SCHS Program Manager

How to Make a Brick

Looking around Shakopee, you see many buildings made of an iconic reddish brick. These structures were made from bricks manufactured at Schroeder Brickyard. The Schroeder Brick and Lime Manufacturing Company was founded in 1876 by Herman Schroeder, a German immigrant. The business stayed in the family until it ceased operation in 1941. Shakopee and neighboring communities were adding buildings rapidly in the late 1800s. This coupled with the fact that shipping heavy brick was a costly endeavor guaranteed a steady demand for locally made bricks.

Canvas advertisement for Schroeder Brick Manufacturing. From the SCHS collections.

The Schroeder Brickyard was located just east of downtown Shakopee along the Minnesota River. The location possessed all the components needed for a successful brick-making operation- a large accessible supply of high quality clay, wood to fuel the kilns and steam engines, a willing workforce, and close proximity to a growing community. 

Brick-making was an outdoor activity, and was limited to warmer months of the year. When the temperature dropped below freezing, the bricks could not dry properly before firing. During the icy winters the workers at the brickyard were forced to find other employment, or were left without work during the hardest time of the year. Production at Schroeder Brickyard was labor intensive. Bricks were created using a five step process, and a mixture of human, equine and steam power.

Workers at Becker Brickworks in Belle Plaine, 1895. Photo from the SCHS collections.

1) Mining (Winning) the Clay
Workers excavated clay using shovels, buckets and a horse-drawn scraper. Large clay and sand deposits were essential for an successful brickyard. The clay and sands of the Minnesota River Valley were deposited here over 10,000 years ago during glaciation of the region. During glacial runoff, the heavy clay was left behind in depressions called kettle holes. 

2) Preparation of the Clay
Sometimes the clay was “weathered” or aged for a year before it was used. The seasonal process of freezing and thawing helped break up the clay, and rain washed salt and other impurities from the clay. After the weathering process, the clay was mixed with sand and water in a large circular open pit using a huge horse-driven wheel. The type of clay found in the area determined the color of the brick. 

3) Molding of the Bricks
Bricks were traditionally formed by hand by packing clay into wooden molds. By the 1870, brick-making machines had become more common. The machine used by the Schroeder Brickyard at its opening used steam to pack brick molds with tempered clay.

Photo of a Shakopee Brick, taken 1967. Photo from the SCHS collections.

This technology increased production from one to eighty bricks per minute. About one out of every 100 bricks that came from Schroeder Brickyard was stamped with the iconic “Shakopee”. 

4) Drying the Bricks
After the bricks were formed, they were stacked under roofed, open drying sheds for one to two weeks. Proper drying was needed to ensure a uniform shape and strength. There were ten rows of sheds on the Schroeder site able to hold approximately 100,000 bricks. The structure of the sheds provided both air circulation and rain protection. 

Ruins of a kiln, possibly for lime, at Schroeder Brickworks taken in 1967. Photo from the SCHS collections.

5) Firing the Bricks
A simple roofed updraft kiln was used to fire the bricks. Freshly dried bricks were  carefully stacked in the kiln so that small perpendicular tunnels ran through the rows of bricks. Fires were then set in these tunnel openings, curing the bricks as heat rose up through the stacks. Temperatures between 1600 degrees and 2000 degrees Fahrenheit needed to be maintained for seven to ten days to properly fire the bricks. Constantly tending the fires that heated these kilns was a tedious job. 

Today, we have a variety of bricks from the Schroeder brickyards, and other brick factories around the county in the SCHS collections. The processes and labor of brick making has changed throughout the years, but you can still see thousands of the iconic red Schroeder bricks making up the walls of Shakopee buildings. 

Written by Rose James, SCHS Program Manager