History of Goodhue County, Minnesota, Part 65

Author: Curtiss-Wedge, Franklyn
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Chicago, H.C. Cooper
Number of Pages: 1264

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Laurel Lodge, No. 17, Knights of Pythias, was instituted Feb- ruary 13, 1878, by the Hon. A. Frederieks, grand chancellor. The following named gentlemen were the charter members: F. S. Field, E. W. Shenton, J. W. Swanstrom, W. H. Crary, J. W. Delano, R. Kreiger, J. D. Kellogg. J. F. Taake, A. Messer, A. J.

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Robertson, E. J. Garrison, R. A. Bigham, H. A. Charles, J. Me- Lean, A. A. Mathews, Il. Martens, M. L. Ecker, Galen Allen, Ilans Reinertson, A. F. Graves, George HI. Benton, L. R. Wellman, J. Webb, O. Whitman, Tams Bixby, B. B. Herbert. P. O. Fossum, A. J. Meacham, E. F. Grow. F. S. Webster, J. S. Wing. The first officers were: C. C., O. Whitman : V. C .. L. R. Wellman ; P., W. H. Crary; K. of R. & S., J. F. Taake: M. of F., J. W. Delano; M. of E., Tams Bixby; P. C., R. Kreiger; P. C., A. G. Robertson ; M. at A., G. II. Benton; I. G., F. S. Field; O. G .. II. A. Charles. The meetings are held Thursdays in I. O. O. F. Hall. The present officers are: C. C., O. P. Gard ; V. C., O. B. Arntson : K. of R. & S., S. H. Haynes ; M. of L., N. H. Peterson : M. of E., L. Penfold.

Red Wing Tent, No. 34, Knights of the Maccabees, was organ- ized March 30, 1895. Its eharter members were: C. B. Johnson, F. W. Dimmitt, E. C. Roberts. W. W. Erb, E. C. Erb, A. W. Jones, C. A. Phillips and S. W. Park. The first officers were: A. W. Jones, P. C .; E. C. Erb. C .; S. W. Park, L. C .; C. B. Johnson, R. K .; F. W. Dimmitt, F. K .; E. C. Roberts, C .; C. A. Phillips, M. at A. The present officers are : (., John M. Billow ; L. C., M. J. Mueller; R. and F. K., Charles B. Johnson. The meetings are held the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 222 Main street.

Red Wing Camp, No. 1846, Modern Woodmen of America, was organized September 19. 1890, and the first officers were: W. E. Tayler, V. C .; W. J. Eisenbrand, W. A .; George W. Crisler, clerk; C. G. Norquist. B .: Ilenry Phillips, E .; James Webb, W .; Gust Leback, S .; Dr. H. L. MeKinstry, physician. The meetings are held Tuesdays in Fraternal Hall. The present officers are: C., William Schilling; A., Arthur Arntson; clerk. James H. Doyle; banker, J. Henry Cross.

Barn Bluff Council, No. 1577, Royal Arcanum, was organized in August, 1894. with about twenty charter members. The first officers of the society were : F. W. Dimmitt, P. R. ; H. B. Lovgren, R .; E. K. Newton, V. R .: F. J. Jennings. O .; W. M. Cline, C .; C. S. Dana, chaplain; George Gorman, G. The meetings are held the first and third Mondays of each month in I. O. O. F. Hall. The present officers are : R., Peter Nelson : V. R., H. G. Tiedeman ; secretary, C. H. Phillips; C., F. W. Dimmitt; treasurer, Alfred ('hellson.

Red Wing Lodge, No. 57, I. O. O. F., was organized November 27, 1876, with about fifteen charter members. The first officers were: W. C. Williston, N. G .; C. L. Kellogg, V. G .: E. F. Grow, R. and P. secretary ; C. M. Lawrence, treasurer ; George Hudson, C .; W. H. White, W .; A. J. Robertson, I. G .; T. J. Clark. O. G .; D. C. Hill. R. S. to N. G .; E. P. Howell, L. S. to N. G .: W. S. Grow, L. S. S .; P. N. MeRostie, R. S. S .; J. C. Cook, R. S. to V. G. :

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A. A. Mathews, L. S. to V. G. It is now consolidated with the L'Etoile du Nord Lodge.

L'Etoile du Nord Lodge, No. 23, I. O. O. F., was organized October 1, 1868, with charter members as follows: H. J. Mc- Giverin, Charles Brown, Michael Kappel, John Bryan, W. Eisen- brand, W. C. Williston and Henry Pomperin. The meetings are hield Fridays in I. O. O. F. Hall. The present officers are: N. G., 1. B. Harrison; V. G., Bert Wilkinson; secretary, G. H. Diepen- brock ; treasurer. M. Kappel.

Rebekah Lodge, No. 86, I. O. O. F., was organized January 18, 1893. The officers were: Noble grand, Lena Christ; viee grand, Mrs. Allyn; secretary, Mathilda Winter; treasurer, Margaret Schuetz. The present officers are: Noble grand, Freda Kruger; vice grand, ('aroline Olson : recording secretary, Clara Peterson ; financial secretary, Fern Haner; treasurer, Sadie Olson. The meetings are held the first and third Wednesdays of each month in I. O. O. F. Ilall. The present membership is seventy.

Red Wing Council, No. 33, Modern Samaritans, was organized August 17, 1900, by F. B. Chapman and C. E. Lovett, and the first officers were as follows: G. S., Dr. M. W. Smith; P. G. S., J. S. Wing; V. G. S., Robert Kjellstrom ; H. P .. W. J. Longeor; levite, J. E. Danielson ; F. S., C. W. Ives; S., A. J. Schunk; C. M., A. G. Hendel; J. M., Dr. Il. K. Horn; treasurer, E. C. Erb; centurion. T. O'Connell; watchman, John Cebulski; trustees, Charles Beek- man, L. J. Boynton. The meetings are held at the call of the good samaritan. The present officers are: G. M., H. Hindman; P. G., W. J. Longcor : secretary. C. E. Beckman ; treasurer. E. C. Erb.

Red Wing Lodge, No. 18, Ancient Order of United Workmen, was organized July 14, 1877, with the following charter members : D. C. Hill, W. A. Potter. J. D. Kellogg, F. A. Hill, G. E. Gates, L. D. Campbell. E. F. Grow, C. L. Kellogg, F. J. Clark, M. Herschler, O. M. Sprake, P. N. McRostie, W. E. Hawkins, O. G. Day, H. B. Woodley, J. F. Taake, Albert Dekay. The first officers were: D. C. Hill, P. M. W .; O. G. Day, M. W .; J. F. Taake, E .; O. M. Sprake, O .; M. Herschler, G .; F. A. Cole, R .; E. F. Grove, F .; T. G. Clark, R .: Albert Dekay. I. W .; W. A. Potter, O. W. The meetings are held Thursdays in the A. O. U. W. Hall. The present officers are : M. W., Arthur Arntson; R., George Harlow; F., Fred Davis.

HOSPITALS AND CHARITIES.

The Goodhue County Hospital was started May 1, 1884, in a building on the levee, about where the Red Wing Malting Com- pany plant is now located. The necessity for such an institution was at that time immediate, the county having no adequate pro- vision for its indigent ill, or for those strangers who met with

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THE RED WING CITY HOSPITAL

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sudden disaster, such as wrecks along the river-events which in those days were all too frequent. The opening of the hospital met with great favor, and several public-spirited physicians gave their services free for the first few months. However, after a time interest seemed to wane, and the county commissioners found the institution an expensive one, particularly as the alms- house in Burnside was being completed. Accordingly, when the hospital had dwindled to two or three patients, the hospital was turned over to the city; the transfer consisting largely of furni- ture and minor appliances, as the building was not owned by the county, but simply rented from the Luce family.

The Red Wing City Hospital had its real beginning in 1890 when the county commissioners turned over to the city authori- ties the equipment and furniture of the county hospital mentioned above. The late Mrs. S. B. Foot. a large-hearted and charitable woman. originated the idea of forming an association of women to assume the business and management of a city hospital, and in this she was ably assisted by Mrs. W. C. Williston. The sym- pathy and co-operation of the women were enlisted and at a popu- lar meeting an organization was formed. Mrs. Foot was elected president and Mrs. Williston, chairman of the executive board. The city voted $1,000 and the women made a house to house canvas to secure funds for its maintenance and support. This organization was legally incorporated in 1891, and continued until 1896, when it assumed a larger form and a new constitution and by-laws were prepared. The board of officers was composed of eighteen trustees, nine men and nine women: President, E. H. Blodgett; vice president, Mrs. S. B. Foot; treasurer, Charles A. Betcher; secretary, H. L. Hjermstad. The executive board was elected by the association. This board, composed of women, was authorized to take the management of the hospital, finances, the nurses, etc.

It was now apparent that a commodions hospital and a suit- able location must be secured at once, and in 1898 the property known as the General Jennison place was purchased by popular subscription and transformed into a modern and well equipped hospital. The selection and securing of this magnificent location on a bluff overlooking the city and river is largely due to John H. Rich, who took an active interest in the matter, and labored earnestly for its snecess. Rooms were furnished in this original building by the Junior Aid Society of Christ church; the St. Joseph Society of St. Joseph's church; Trinity Society of Trinity church ; the W. R. C .; the Rebekah Lodge, and the W. C. T. U., the latter room being known as the Hobart memorial. Other rooms furnished by the association, for city and county patients. made a capacity of fifteen beds. The hospital is nonsectarian and

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undenominational, open to all physicians, and to every one in need of help along its lines. It does a large charity work, is free from debt and virtually self supporting. The object is to provide a home, proper medical aid and nursing for the sick and suffering of all classes.

In 1906 J. C. Pierce made a bequest of $10,000 to the hospital, and it was used to ereet the memorial wing which bears his name. Its perfectly appointed and equipped surgical operating room makes the Red Wing City Hospital a model of beauty and utility. occupying the finest location in this city. Several rooms in this large and fire-proof building were furnished by friends, mostly as memorials. and are known as the Lorana Park Foot, the Agnes Pratt, the A. W. Putnam, the Pauline Hall, the Har- riet Sheldon, the A. W. Swanson and the Langton rooms. Other rooms furnished by the hospital make a capacity of thirty-five beds. In 1905 the hospital was deeded to the city and thus be- came municipal, the controlling management remaining the same as before. in charge of the trustees of the association.

By the will of the late E. H. Blodgett, the hospital received a bequest valued at $12,000. Mr. Blodgett was the first president of the association, and held that office at the time of his death in 1909. He was deeply interested in the hospital and always so- licitous to increase its success and helpfulness. A part of this legacy will be used for this purpose, and the future of this insti- tution should be an object of gratification and pride to the citi- zens of Red Wing.

St. John's Hospital and Training School is described in the German chapter which appears in this work.

Charities. Many instances have occurred in the history of this town, when the abundant hospitality and kindness of its citizens towards the unfortunate strangers who have been from time to time thrown upon them, has been remarkably shown. A large number of persons were landed from a steamer in the sum- mer of 1854, at the levee, who were afflicted with the cholera, and they were as tenderly cared for by the citizens as if they had been near relatives. Dr. W. W. Sweney, always ready to lend his skill and time to relieve the afflicted. rendered good service on that occasion to the sick ones and told the healthful how to avoid the epidemic. Ont of seventeen cases. ten recovered and went to their destination in the country.

The last occasion when the cholera patients were left at this port was in 1868. Dr. C. N. Hewitt, at that time secretary of the State Board of Health, had become a resident of Red Wing. Ile immediately visited them at the levee and rendered them the proper medical aid. At the expense of the city and under the direction of the city marshal. a house was provided on the island

MRS. S. B. FOOT

THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY

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opposite, furnished with cots, where all were taken and tenderly cared for by those who loved to do unto others as they would be done by. The dead were properly interred and the epidemie spread no further.

When the call came for aid to the sufferers by the great fire in Chicago, this city and immediate vicinity responded by send- ing one carload of flour. two carloads of potatoes and a cash collection of over $1,000.

A few years later when a call came for aid from the citizens of our own state who had lost all their erops by the ravages of the grasshoppers, a similar response was cheerfully given by the peopel of this city. In this case the gifts were made at dif- ferent times and through different channels, and the aggregate cannot now be known.

During the Civil War the charity of the people of Red Wing and Goodhue county became proverbial. In more modern times, collections have been taken for all the popular causes, and the Goodhue county response to all worthy calls has been most lib- eral. Flood, fire and cyclone unfortunates in various parts of this country, famine sufferers in India and Russia, earthquake victims in San Francisco, and various missionary efforts and church charities all have reason to thank the generosity of Good- hue county people, while the large-heartedness of many private citizens has relieved much individual distress not known to the community at large.

CHAPTER XXXIL.

RED WING INDUSTRIES.

Busy Manufacturing Plants that Furnish the Foundation for Red Wing's Prosperity-Pottery and Sewer Pipe Making-Malt- ing Houses-Shoes and Shoe Pacs-Hats-Furniture-Iron Works-Advertising Novelties-Lighting Facilities-Milling Concerns-Lime Burning-Linseed Products-Sand-Tele- phones-Job Printing-Utilizing the Forests-Brick Making -Other Concerns-Edited by Jens K. Grondahl.

In the course of a generation the city of Red Wing has changed from the largest primary wheat market of the world to the most important manufacturing city of its size in the Union. The transition has come about through changing conditions, which have gradually closed the old avenues of prosperity and opened new ones. In the early history of Red Wing wheat often eame a three days' journey to find a market. the nearest compet- ing point, to the south, being MeGregor, Iowa. The wealth of golden grain which for years poured into the city made Red Wing the busiest place in the Northwest, and laid the founda- tion for many modest fortunes. But any community which de- pends upon resources which can be diverted or exhausted must in time face the serious problem of maintaining its position. not to mention further progress. Railroads have constantly reduced the natural territory of the agricultural town and the depletion of forests the lumber towns. Red Wing. partaking of the charae- teristics of both, has not been the exception. Time came when the tremendous wheat area tributary to Red Wing had been reduced to its own immediate surroundings, and when the traf- fic in wood and lumber diminished to small proportions. The city stopped in its growth, even went backward a few steps for three or four years, and the future looked dubious, indeed. Many buildings were vacant, public improvements lagged, and people were moving to other towns. Fortunately for Red Wing, there were forces at work, and had been for some years. modestly and hopefully, in spite of many discouragements, shaping for her a destiny of which the most sanguine had never dreamed. Men of

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brains and energy took hold of the clay deposits within easy reach of the city, to which carlier experiments had pointed the way, and turned them into products of incomparable excellence. Uultimate success, the cost of which has scarcely been reckoned by later beneficiaries who were not with the pioneers in their first efforts, not only made Red Wing famous but served as a stimu- lant to investments in kindred and other lines of manufacturing. The tide had turned. Red Wing was not only regaining her for- mer position, but going beyond it. Prosperity brought more op- timism, and more men invested more money and expended more energy in projects regarding whose outcome they never enter- tained a doubt. Failures came at times but. nothing daunted, the Red Wing spirit struck out along new lines. Fires devastated the milling district and laid elay working establishments in ashes. but bigger plants with brighter prospects rose, phoenix- like. from the ruins.

The Red Wing spirit conquered over innumerable difficulties which would have overwhelmed men of less ability and weaker determination. As a monument to what Red Wing had ac- complished up to that time and as an advertisement to the world of what the city had to offer, stood the remarkable exhibits at the Minnesota State Fair in September, 1907. The entire build- ing, which had previously been devoted to Minnesota and the Northwest, and then hardly ever half filled with real manufac- turing exhibits, was used to the last square foot of its vast floor space by live exhibits of Red Wing manufacturing industries ex- clusively. It was the feature of the big fair, the pride of the state and the wonderment of the people of Red Wing themselves, who had not fully realized the extent and variety of the local industries. Clay was turned into pottery, useful and ornamental. before the eyes of the interested multitudes; shoes and other footwear was made by deft hands and modern machinery; men's hats, stiff and soft, of highest quality and nobbiest patterns, en- listed great interest ; pleasure launches and marine engines grew before the gaze of the on-lookers; picture calendars as handsome as those "made in Germany" issued from the latest triumphs in printing machinery; furniture fit for a king projected its beautiful designs and polished surfaces into the favor of critical admirers; sand lime brick of great strength and remarkable beauty received merited attention ; patent wheat flour, long recog- nized as the highest perfection of the miller's art the world over, manifested its quality in appetizing loaves of snow white bread. Soft drinks and malt beverages, malted barley from the large local establishments, barrels and vats for milling and malting. printing and publishing in its varied departments, tobacco and cigars from the leaf to the finished article-these and other fea-

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tures, backed by a publicity department which distributed tons of literature and souvenirs, served to open the eyes of our own people and the world at large to the magnitude and importance of our own institutions. Since the days of that triumph im- portant industries have been added, and Red Wing's future never looked brighter than today. Prospective additions to railway facilities, already quite ample, the improvement of the Missis- sippi river which is sure to come, with resultant reduction in freight charges. the bringing into the city of thousands of horse- power of electrical energy from Wisconsin waterfalls before this book is off the press, are among the signs of future progress.

Let us not forget in passing that the prosperity brought about by successful industries has to a great extent fostered that spirit of civic pride which has made Red Wing as desirable for homes as for factories.' The schools, churches and parks. the sanitary conditions, the marked municipal improvements of whatever na- ture, the protection and preservation of beautiful nature, the cleanliness and tidiness of the city as a whole-all this has been largely prompted by the same motives and the same men and the money of the men who made Red Wing an industrial center. And as belonging to those men must be included those ostensibly in other lines of endeavor who have invested their earnings in Red Wing industrial stocks-jobbers, merchants, professional men, the wage carners-everybody has caught the contagion of public spirit made possible by prosperous enterprises.

The following sketches give some facts and figures with re- gard to the individual establishments, past and present. They constitute simply a terse record without attempt at embellish- ment. They will be of interest, perhaps more to the coming gener- ation than the present. particularly the future historian. although by no means without value to those who are now active in these enterprises, and to all who would read a story of industrial en- deavor. Already there is an element of history in these sketches, because in some instances the founders of these enterprises have passed away, and in nearly all important changes in ownership and management have taken place. If. in the haste of compiling the facts, omissions have been made and errors have crept in it would not be surprising. and least of all to the writer of these introductory remarks, who has simply edited the sketches as written up from information submitted with more or less care by a large number of men to the publishers of this work. It is safe to say, however. that as a whole. this is by far the most correct and withal the most comprehensive account of Red Wing's in- dustries that has appeared up to the present time. In some in- stances biographical matter, when closely interwoven with the history of the industries. has been given space in this chapter

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and in other cases references to industrial development has been treated in the departments devoted to biographies, the histories of the nationalities, etc., in which instances the editors may have found it expedient to omit the same from this chapter .- Jens K. Grondahl.

Since the early eighties the manufacture of stoneware has been the most important of Red Wing's industries, and bids fair to soon place the city far ahead of its rivals in the race for the distinction of being the principal stoneware producing point in the country. Clay has been used in this county since the earliest known times by the Indians, in the manufacture of rough pot- tery, but the modern growth of the industry dates from the rude and crude efforts of one Je Pohl. Pohl, who before coming to this county had seen the results obtained from subjecting clay to a high degree of heat, owned a small farm in the northern part of Goodlme township on the ground now occupied by the clay excavations. To while away the dreary months of the pioneer winters, Pohl determined to experiment with the clay underlying his farm. Consequently he dug some of the earth which he deemed best suited to his purpose, and with a turf-covered kiln, baked some erudely fashioned pots which he sold to the women of the neighborhood for flower pots. For some reason, Pohl did not continue the industry, and so far as is known, no specimens of his work are at the present time in existence. During the seventies, clay from the Goodhue beds was used in connection with material from Hay Creek, for the manufacture of terra- cotta and ornamental work by William Philleo, Philander Spragne. David Hallem and Lyman J. Boynton. The business did not prove profitable, owing doubtless to the small scale upon which it was conducted. Mr. Hallem began making pottery and was on the fair road to snecess when the manufacturers of Akron, Ohio. seeing a rival and desiring to crush opposition, cut the price of their own wares in two, in order to induce the Red Wing merchants to continue handling the Ohio product instead of taking up the local article. The Red Wing merchants. evi- dently not understanding the importance of the industry they were retarding. consulted their pocketbooks rather than local progress, and contracted for the Ohio product. This left Mr. Hallem without business, and he was forced to discontinue his enterprise. In 1877, however, with the starting of the present pottery business, he sold out to the new concern, and made for them their first set of moulds and their first kilns. Thus the clay working industries were first placed on a really substantial footing, but there were many difficulties, mechanical, chemical

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and financial, to overcome before they attained the success of which they can boast today.

The Red Wing Union Stoneware Company has an invested capital of $500,000, employs about 250 people, and makes an annual shipment of something like 45,000 tons. It is a consoli- dation of the Red Wing Stoneware and the Minnesota Stoneware companies, and operates the plants erected by those two com- panies before consolidation, on West Main street, situated near the Mississippi river and on the lines of the C. M. & St. Paul and the Great Western. The officers of the company are: President, E. S. Hoyt; vice president, O. M. Hall; secretary, A. A. Page; treasurer, T. R. Bjorngaard.

The Red Wing Stoneware Company had its real beginning on February 8. 1877, when a meeting of citizens was held in the city council rooms to consider the subject of the organization of a company for the manufacture of stoneware in the city of Red Wing. A decision favorable to such an enterprise having been reached, a committee consisting of B. B. Herbert, F. W. Hoyt and E. W. Brooks was appointed to prepare articles of incorporation; and C. C. Webster and B. B. Herbert were ap- pointed a committee to solicit subscriptions to stock. On Febru- ary 9, articles of incorporation were signed, fixing the capital stock of the new company at $10,000, divided into share of $50 each. A meeting of subscribers to the capital stock was called on February 10. and Peter Daniels. E. W. Brooks, C. C. Webster. F. W. Hoyt, Charles Brink. B. B. Herbert and D. C. Hill were chosen the first board of directors. On February 21 the board met and perfected an organization by the election of the follow- ing officers: President. P. Daniels; treasurer, C. C. Webster; secretary. B. B. Herbert. On September 31 Mr. Webster re- signed his office as treasurer and A. J. Meacham was elected in his place. The first six months after the organization of the company was devoted to experimenting upon the manufacture of stoneware with a small kiln and works purchased from D. Hallem. Early in August, of the same year, the board com- menced grading for the foundation of the present works of the company, and on January 1. 1878, the buildings, kilns and ma- chinery were ready for the manufacture of stoneware on an extensive scale.

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History of Goodhue County, Minnesota, Part 65

Author: Curtiss-Wedge, Franklyn Publication date: 1909 Publisher: Chicago, H.C. Cooper Number of Pages: 1264

Author: Curtiss-Wedge, Franklyn
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Chicago, H.C. Cooper
Number of Pages: 1264