by Ann Marie Martinson

 I am working on documents that have been salvaged from the arson fire that destroyed the Isanti County Historical Society in July 2011. 

 I take the lid off a cardboard box that is labeled “#54, People History”.  The box is stacked full of what looks like loosely wrapped packages in butcher’s paper.   Each individually wrapped package is a charred chunk of what were once obituaries and news clippings across the last three centuries.  The burned stack of pages is in alphabetical order.  Today I am working on the people and life stories with the last name starting with the letter ‘M.’ 

I gingerly open the package that holds a charred block of paper that is several inches thick.   I check each page for information that might fall off if handled.   Sometimes I can sand the burned edges of an entire block without losing vital information, sometimes not.  Each package has its unique fire brand on it.  No two are the same.                                                       

I read each papyrus like page, retrieving the information as best I can.  Sometimes the name of the person is burned off and reading the article/obituary will unveil the person in question.  The retrieval process can be slow and often takes investigative skills.  I do know that if enough of the article or obituary can be salvaged the origin of the document can be determined, and the mystery solved.  The information’s origin is critical for replacement. 

My eyes and mind linger on one particular name, Howard McCarty.  I recognize the name from living in Cambridge for years.  The American Legion Post bares this name.  I sit with this young man’s obituary in hand and wonder.  Who is Howard McCarty?  Is this the soldier who the Post is named for?  And then I think…why?   Inquiring minds…mine, want to know.

The wonder of a Historical Society is that there is often more information to make a further investigation. I go the file marked ‘American Legion’, and there I find attending information. 

I would like to share with you what I discovered about Howard Tillman McCarty.

I found in the American Legion folder, a four page article from November 1991. The article is actually an American Legion newsletter called the ‘Go-Getter.’  The newsletter is signed by Jack Maki with acknowledgments to: ECRL, Val Arrowsmith, Jim McCarty, Lyle Jeffries, Senator Dave Durenburger, and James Rostberg.   I retrieve the following information concerning McCarty:

Howard Tillman McCarty was born on January 14, 1896, at Gilmore, Sarpy County, Nebraska.  His family left Nebraska and settled on a farm in Spring Vale Township on February 25, 1913.  Howard worked on the family farm for the next five years.

McCarty left the farm on May 26, 1918 to begin his tour of duty in the Army at Camp Lewis, Washington.  August 1918 McCarty was sent as an infantry soldier to France.  On October 14, 1918, Pvt. Howard McCarty was one of the 42,800 soldiers killed in action, in the clash with the Germans for the Argonne Forest. 

McCarty’s body is buried in France along with thousands of American soldiers who fell in battle.  PVT Howard Tillman McCarty is buried in Plot E, Row 14, Grave 6, Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery, located east of the village of Romagne-Sous-Montfaucon (Meuse), France.  He is one of 14,246 of our military dead in Europe buried there. Most of them were casualties of the Meuse Argonne offensive.  WWI ended at 11am, in the eleventh month, on the 11th day, 1918.

The application for a charter to establish the American Legion Post in Cambridge was filed with department headquarters on October 14, 1919.  The charter was issued on August 10, 1920.  The article I found states that the names of the eighteen charter members are listed behind the framed charter which is on display at the American Legion club rooms.  

I continue to read more pages of information about the formation of the Post.  It appears that the charter members held the first meeting in France.  I found a paper with ‘The American Legion’ state headquarters stationary heading.  On it are written the names of the original charter members with several names with an asterisk noting they are surviving members. 

Below the names on the same page is a notation that states:

“I understand that Paul Dahlgren was in attendance at the caucus held in Paris, France- the real beginning of the American Legion.”

My thinking now shifts to Paris, France.  I wonder what these young men spoke of at this initial meeting across the globe from Cambridge, Minnesota in 1918.  It is a world and lifetime ago. 

The American Legion, Howard McCarty Post 290 is a present day monument to the men and women in uniform, serving our amazing country.  Howard McCarty is an emblem of service.  He was one of our own; young, strong and proud to serve…and his name stands as a banner. 

I will now pass by the American Legion in Cambridge knowing who and what Howard McCarty was, and what he stood for… freedom… yours…and mine.  I Thank you Howard McCarty for your life and service.  I honor your name.

About the author:  Ann Marie Martinson has been volunteering for ICHS for several months and has soot embedded up to her elbows due to the fact that she has been trimming obits and general interest stories. During her work she did further investigation into Howard McCarty, whom the Legion Post #290 is named after. I hope you found it interesting and enjoyable.    

Robert’s Range Riders, Green Lake area, Isanti County, Minnesota c. 1940-50s. Robert Jensen, Sr. on bass, Robert “Bobby” Jensen, Jr., est. age 8, Richard “Ricky” Jensen, est., age 3. The other fellows are still “mystery men” and probably in their late 60’s to early 70’s. Anyone know them?

A phone call last week made me realize that history connects us in a variety of ways. Certainly it bridges generations over time, but it also connects us in the present day even though we may not even live near one another. I see this on Facebook, when Past Board President Roger Anderson posts older family photos of his siblings and other relatives. They make me smile, because I have similar photos from the same time frame. I see it when photos are posted of new babies, just starting their journey in life, yet already making history, and I see it when Past Board President Tesha Christensen posts updated photos of herself and daughter Josey as they explore their new neighborhood by bike.
 
I have always said that “history is created every day, by everyday people, doing everyday things.” Last December I ran a photo from the Carlson negatives of a band decked out in really classy western outfits. A call was received from Janet Swedeen Sundvall on Dec. 21 who said, “I used to play with that band when I was 16. The name of the band was Jensen’s Country Band, but I don’t remember the name of the band members other than Robert, Ricky, and Robert Jr.” I tucked away the note, until Dec. 28 when I received a call from Howard Erickson from Florida. He said “I received an issue in the mail of your article and the photo, and three in the photo are Bob, Ricky, and Bobby Jensen from the Green Lake area.” I added his note to Janet’s.
 
Then, a month or so later I received a call from the older boy in the photo, Robert “Bobby” Jensen, Jr. He is now retired and living in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. We had a long chat and he said that the name was Robert’s Range Riders. It was a part-time band, and over the years many local musicians played with the band, and that he too, did not remember the names of the others in the photo. The call I received April 2 was from Joyce Jensen, the 86-year old matriarch of the family from Hamilton, Montana. Joyce was so excited to have been sent a copy of my article (by her sister in Arizona) and this photo. She feels that Bobby was about 8 yrs old and Ricky about 3. She said the bass player was her husband, Robert who passed away in 2000. I told her about all of the people who had called, including her son Bobby, Janet and Howard from Florida. “Oh, Howard is my cousin. So that’s where he ended up.”
 
From Minnesota, this one photo has brought back memories and history to Springvale Township, Florida, Grand Rapids, Arizona, and Hamilton, Montana. What was a part-time venture, to make and share music, to spend time with family and friends, also created a snapshot in time and history that today brings together family and friends again from the four corners of our nation. Go figure!
 
Friday marks Week 41 since the fire. We are still salvaging freeze-dried documents and compiling replacement lists for the worst of the burned items. I have had positive results and replacement donations for a number of the items that have previously been published and plan to provide an updated list in my next update. In the meantime, if you would like to volunteer to assist us in trimming or scanning, please let me know. Here are other ways to support ICHS during our marathon journey in recovery and rebuilding.
 
Donations
• By US Mail to 1700 E. Rum River Drive S., Suite K, Cambridge, MN 55008
• At www.ichs.ws
• At Cambridge State Bank.

Contact Us
1.      Follow Us on Facebook
2.      Call us at 763-689-4229
3.      Email to ichs@izoom.net
4.      US Mail to the above address

We are open by appointment only at this time. Thank you to all for their support as we continue on our journey.
 
 
Kathleen J. McCully, Executive Director
Isanti County Historical Society

By Jack Puterbaugh
Isanti County resident, local historian

The Stanchfield Baptist Church has a most unique and interesting history.

The church was established in 1866, and many of the early members were from the Swedish village of Orsa (pronounced Or sha). What set these immigrants apart is that in Sweden they were Baptists.

In Sweden, until quite recent, the official State Church was Lutheran. In the mid-1800s not being a part of the State Church was frowned on. In fact, action was taken against many persons who differed from the official State Religion. They were called to appear before the Bishop to explain their errant ways.

M.A. Peterson—an early member of the Stanchfield Church, and while still in Sweden—served 28 days in jail as a result of his being a Baptist.

There is another early member of the Stanchfield Church who was prosecuted in Sweden for his religious beliefs. This person was Olaf Larsson Flack.

Flack was his army name—the use of an army name was quite common. Flack was born in 1816, and joined the Swedish Army in 1833. He was married in 1840, and they had three children.

Flack continued to serve in the Swedish Army, a time when he became a Baptist. Military Personnel were required to attend the Sunday Lutheran Church service. Flack refused to attend, and this resulted in his being court marshalled in 1859. It was claimed that he was “insane,” but after a full consideration of the charges he was acquitted and given an honorable discharge. In 1869 the Flack family emigrated to America where they settled on a farm in Maple Ridge Township.

Olaf Flack became an early member of the Stanchfield Baptist Church. Unfortunately, within a short few years after arriving in America he died after being stricken with small-pox.

Just remember, the freedom to practice your Religious Beliefs, is a very precious right.

This story originally appeared in the June 2, 2010 Isanti County News.

By Jack Puterbaugh
Isanti County resident, local historian


We are all urged to recycle. As a result we save newspapers, aluminum cans, plastic bottles and other items that can be used again.

However, did you ever give thought to the idea that a building could be recycled?

If you drive south on Main Street in Cambridge, there is a building that has a rather interesting history.

That building now sits on the Bow Ties used car lot. At an earlier time that building was located between the Scotsman/Isanti County News and the Bible Book Store.

Of course the Scotsman building was once a Chrysler Auto dealer, and the book store housed Viotti’s, a ladies dress shop. The building were looking at was once a Minneapolis Moline farm implement business.

After that use it became an early form of a fast food outlet, that featured the California Burger, a hamburger with a tomato slice and a bit of lettuce.

Somewhere along the way the building was moved to its present location on south Main Street where it was known as the “Doodle Bug,” a restaurant. When it was the “Doodle Bug” the sheriff suspected the owner was selling liquor without a license.

This was at a time when Isanti County was a dry county, and alcohol was not allowed to be sold. At the request of the sheriff, agents from the State Liquor Commissioner’s Office investigated to see if the sheriff’s suspicions were true.

Sorry to say the agents were never able to make an illegal buy. Now if your looking to buy a used car, the deal can be closed in a building that has been around for a long time and has served many purposes. So just remember newspapers aren’t the only items that can be recycled.

This story originally appeared in the May 26 Isanti County News.

By Jack Puterbaugh
Isanti County resident, local historian

In Cambridge in the south west corner of the intersection of Main Street and Hwy. 95 is the building that once housed the Lewis Department Store.

The founder and original owner of the store was Jack Lewis, one of the county’s more unique and colorful citizens.

He was born in Eastern Europe, and arrived in Cambridge in 1894 at the age of 19. Since he was Jewish he was indeed in a minority. However, this never stopped him doing what he chose to do.

Early on he was a farm to farm salesman, using a horse and buggy to peddle his merchandise in the mostly northern townships of the county.

Since most of the people in that part of the county were Swedes, the language of choice in almost all households was Swedish. Jack Lewis was wise—he learned to converse in Swedish, and in the process made lots of friends who would invite him in for a meal or to stay the night. In the early 1900s he opened a retail store in downtown Cambridge, and in 1910 he moved to the building on Main Street that became the Lewis Department Store. In its day this store may have been the largest department store between the Twin Cities and Duluth.

Jack Lewis was keenly attuned to his customers, and I remember him staying close to the entrance so that he could give a personal greeting to everyone who entered the store.

In addition to the store, Jack Lewis was active in the civic affairs of the city and community. Jack Lewis passed away suddenly in 1942, and the operation of the store was turned over to his daughter and son-in-law, Art and Evelyn Bornstein. The Bornsteins continued to operate the store until 1967.

At that time the store was sold to John Carlson of Braham. The name remained the same when John Carlson owned the store until 1976, when it was again sold and the new owner decided to change the name.

For over 75 years the Lewis Department Store was a most important part of Downtown Cambridge. Is it not somewhat ironic that Jack Lewis started out his career in Isanti County by using a horse and buggy, and that the current occupant of the building is a Tack Store?

This story originally appeared in the April 16, 2010 Isanti County News.

By Jack Puterbaugh
Isanti County resident, local historian

This used to be the time of year when farmers were eager to start getting the fields ready for the years crops.

Unlike today, the crops that were planted were not just corn and soy beans. Rather, it was corn, rye, oats, and in some cases potatoes or navy beans.

The machinery used to get the fields prepared for planting was equipment that was horse drawn. With four horses, a two bottom plow that included a seat for the operator was used. Along with the plow, there were horse drawn planters and disks.

Farm tractors had been around for a long time but they were not widely used by the county’s farmers.

There was one made by the Ford Motor Company, called the Fordson, but it was not very useful. In the late 1930s as agriculture became more mechanized, some farmers made their own tractors. These machines were called “Puddle-Jumpers.”

They were built on a truck chassis, and had two transmissions in line, that permitted  the machine to go at a very low speed. At about the same time, two brothers from Weber, Reuben and Carl Krueger, started a “revolution” in farming by selling the John Deere B tractor.

The “B” had a two cylinder engine that emitted a distinctive “put-put” sound as they chug-chugged their way pulling a two bottom plow. The same type of plow that required four horses.

There was also a two row corn planter, the John Deere 290, that worked well with the “B,” as well as disks and harrows.

The starter on the “B” was referred to as an Armstrong Type. That meant you had to spin the fly-wheel by hand to start it. I have no idea how many John Deere “B’s” the Kruegers sold, but it must have been in the hundreds.

However, they played a most important role in the mechanization of agriculture in Isanti county.

In 1946 the Krueger brothers moved into Cambridge, where the business was later known as Isanti County Equipment.

So today when you see a mammoth sized tractor pulling a twelve bottom plow, just remember it represents a more modest beginning.

This story originally appeared in the March 31, 2010 Isanti County News.

By Jack Puterbaugh
Isanti County resident, local historian

As I viewed the picture of Hannah Dahlman on the front page of the March 17 Isanti County News, I was reminded that Braham has always been formidable when it comes to basketball.

At an earlier time when Braham did not field a football team all the attention was focused on the basketball team. There was a special rivalry between Braham and Cambridge when it came to basketball. Even though Cambridge was much larger, that didn’t mean Cambridge would always beat Braham. Quite the contrary.

The success that Braham was able to pull off, was due to a couple of things. One, was the Braham coach—Len Froyen. Froyen arrived in Braham during the early 1930s fresh out of Augsburg College.

He never left, spending his entire educational career in Braham. As an aside, during his stay in Braham he once owned a Duck Pin bowling alley in town. Duck Pin bowling has ten pins instead of nine, and the ball is about the size of a large grapefruit. The coach always motivated his players to be the best there was, and he usually succeeded.

The second reason for Braham’s prowess on the court was the size of the gym where the game was played. The Braham gym was quite small to say the least. The visiting team always complained that this gave the Home Team a special advantage. Whether this was true, is of course open to speculation.

Nevertheless, when Braham and Cambridge met on the basketball court there was always great anticipation about the outcome.

Despite the obvious, Braham would often come out on top. For example, the 1942 CHS Year Book, the Nugget, contains the following note, “January 21-Braham won-we wont discuss that.”

The Cambridge coach was also a most colorful person. His name was Rube Johnson, and he had played basketball at Carleton College. In addition to coaching basketball Rube is also remembered for his recitation of “Casey at the Bat.” Thus it was, basketball in the past. Enjoy this year’s State Tournaments.

This story was first printed in the Isanti County News on Wednesday, March 24, 2010.

By Jack Puterbaugh
Isanti County resident, local historian

So far this has been a fairly harsh winter. At least when you are in the house to keep warm, all you have to do is set the thermostat to a comfortable temperature. If you heat with natural gas the thermostat is your only concern.

However, if you heat with propane or fuel oil it is important to keep the tank filled. The convenience of the way we keep ourselves warm today is in contrast with a by-gone day.

If you look around the basement of an older house, you will probably find a small room near the heating plant that is  probably used for storage. That room was known as the “coal bin.”

It was a placed that was used for the storage of coal that was used to heat the house. The furnace had to be stoked by hand several times a day. If you lived in town that was the way you heated the house. People who lived on a farm probably had a different system. In the winter there were the usual chores of taking care of the animals, but since there were no field chores a lot of time was spent cutting wood for the kitchen range and heating stove. The wood was from the wood lot(s) that almost every farm had. The dead trees were the first ones to be cut down.

They were trimmed and cut into logs that were 10 to 12 feet in length. Since this was a time before the advent of the chain saw the saws used were moved back and forth by hand. There were one man and two man cross cut saws.

After the trunk and limbs had been cut to the proper length they were hauled to the farm yard by a horse-drawn bob-sled where they were stacked to await being cut into chunks that were some twelve to fifteen inches.

Toward the end of winter, a community saw-rig and shared labor would cut the stacked wood into chunks. The saw-rig was usually a thirty inch saw blade that was belt driven by a converted automobile engine.

There would be a person who stood on each side of the saw blade. Several persons would pick up a log to be sawed, and it would be passed through the saw blade. The person who held the piece that had been cut would throw it over his shoulder to a pile that formed.

As I recall the process, I tend to shudder and marvel that more persons weren’t seriously injured or killed, since the saw blade did not have a protective shield and the ground was still icy and slippery.

Anyway, after the logs had been cut into chunks of the proper length they had to be split, by hand, into smaller sizes. The smaller chunks were used in the kitchen range, while the larger ones were used in the heating stove that occupied a place in the living room. One of my after school chores was to fill the “wood box.” It was often said that when wood was used for heating purposes it heated you twice, once when you cut it, and once when you burned it.

Come to think of it, setting the thermostat is a lot easier.

This story was originally printed in the Isanti County News on Feb. 10, 2010.

By Jack Puterbaugh
Isanti County resident, local historian

Whenever I roam about the countryside I slow down when a farmyard is passed.

My interest in doing this is to see the condition of the barn. Since the disappearance of animals from farms, the barn is no longer used as it once was.

Many of them have fallen down or show signs of not being used. I find that rather sad! The size of the barn on your farm used to indicate how successful a farmer you were. The bigger the barn the better you were considered as a farmer.

One of the more unique barns in the county is the “Round Barn” found on the Linden farm some five miles south-east of Cambridge. This barn is listed on the Register of Historic Buildings.

At one time the typical farm in Isanti County was 80 to 120 acres.

The acreage was usually divided into a farmstead that contained a house where the farm family lived, a barn that housed cattle and horses, a pig-pen, a chicken coop, a granary to store the grain produced on the farm, and possibly a machine shed; the remaining acreage was divided into fields and pasture.

The dairy herd usually numbered some eight to 12 milk cows, a bull, and the calves from the milk cows. The cows provided a steady source of income. The milk they produced was sent off to a nearby creamery, and the amount of your “cream check” was based on the butterfat content of the milk.

At one time there were several creameries in the county, but none of them are left. The only remnant is the Creamery Café in Isanti. A few pigs were fed until they were ready to be shipped off to South Saint Paul. Of course one was butchered on the site, so the family would have pork. A few laying hens along with a rooster were also part of the farm yard. 

The excess production of the hens was taken to town and traded off for groceries. A few fryers were also raised, and they provided a tasty Sunday dinner.

All in all life on the farm was quite peaceful and serene, and rather self-sustaining. Thus the barn was a most important farm building, and I find it sad to see them slowly disappear. But, then one can’t stand in the way of progress.

This story was originally published in the Isanti County News on Feb. 3, 2010.