Early history of Kimball is filled with items of interest Reprinted from the Tri-County Messenger dated Thursday, October 1, 1936, V.H. Mason, Editor Part XI Beyond 1903, continued

In May 1906, C.D. Shoemaker was issued a permit to construct a brick building which still stands and is occupied by E.H. Dukerschein. In the same month the village purchased lots 6 and 7, Block 4, where the Hall now stands, and the livery barn was moved to the corner where the Binder Service Station now stands. The purchase price was $250. James Knower was first issued a dray license in February 1907. At the March elections, all officers were re-elected. W.P. West was engaged to care for the street lights at $6 per month. Saturday, August 28, 2010

Early history of Kimball is filled with items of interest Reprinted from the Tri-County Messenger dated Thursday, October 1, 1936, V.H. Mason, Editor - Part X

Beyond 1903, continued In January 1904, 500 feet of fire hose was purchased. Feb. 15, 1904, the Rural Free Delivery was inaugurated from the Kimball office with three routes. O.F. Hewitt being the carrier on No. 1, Guy Moss on No. 2, and J.B. Vincent on No. 3. The wages were $50 per month. Two fire extinguishers and five street lights were added to existing equipment in the fall of 1904, and Moses Boggs was hired to take care of the street lights at $3 per month. Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Early history of Kimball is filled with items of interest Reprinted from the Tri-County Messenger dated Thursday, October 1, 1936, V.H. Mason, Editor Part IX Beyond 1900, continued

The Kimball Kodak (newspaper) had its beginning in that year (1901) and the village contributed $30 to its founding. The March 1902 election showed L. Engel elected mayor, Mr. Engel had associated himself with Mr. Arms in the general merchandise business in Kimball, a business which he still continues to operate in a progressive manner, after purchasing the Arms' interest a few years after the partnership was formed. L.N. Petty was elected constable in that year. In 1902, we find the first cement walks ordered in, on the Kimball Main street, the same being built by N.H. Johnson. The building of cement walks made it necessary for the village to acquire some gravel property which they did by purchasing one-half acre from Mrs. Mary Bowen for the sum of $75. The plat being located in what is now the Roosevelt Park, south of the city well. Sunday, August 01, 2010

Early history of Kimball is filled with items of interest Reprinted from the Tri-County Messenger dated Thursday, October 1, 1936, V.H. Mason, Editor Part VIII

Beyond 1898, continued Oak planks for culverts and crossings were purchased at $14 per thousand from E.F. Mielke during the summer. Wm. Roice was ordered to dispose of his vicious bulldog. A new force pump for the town well was purchased for $75. Activities of the village were rather limited due probably to the general stalack times which followed the Spanish-American War. During this year, however, the German Evangelical Church was organized and the church was erected with Rev. Trumbauer the first minister. The building still stands, having been altered into a dwelling house by Dr. R.B. Ray and now owned by Ole Knaus, the congregation discontinuing services in 1919. Sunday, July 18, 2010

Early history of Kimball is filled with items of interest Reprinted from the Tri-County Messenger dated Thursday, October 1, 1936. V. H. Mason, Editor

Part VII Beyond 1896, continued There were no changes made in the officers at the 1897 election. However, soon after the election, both saloons were ordered to erect high, tight board fences around their back doors. Will Bowen was employed at $30 per month as night police. A committee was appointed to see about the control of Russian thistles in the village and the poll tax was reduced to one day's work. Friday, July 02, 2010

Early history of Kimball is filled with items of interest Reprinted from the Tri-County Messenger dated Thursday, October 1, 1936. V. H. Mason, Editor; Part VI Beyond 1891, continued

At the March election in 1894, Warren Salisbury was elected recorder. A transaction of interest about this time was an inquiry addressed to the Asbury Hospital of Minneapolis relative to the care of a patient. A reply to which disclosed that hospital care would cost $10 per week or $15 per week with a special nurse. Saturday, June 19, 2010

Early history of Kimball is filled with items of interest Reprinted from the Tri-County Messenger dated Thursday, October 1, 1936. V. H. Mason, Editor Part V Beyond 1891, continued

In laying out the amount of land to be included in the incorporated village, it was considered necessary to include a sufficient amount for purposes of taxation to raise money needed for the operation of the village and as property values were low, they included in the incorporation the south one half of sections one, two, and three and the north one-quarter of sections 10, 11, and 12, thus making the limits three miles long and three-quarters of a mile north and south. Saturday, June 05, 2010

Early history of Kimball is filled with items of interest Part IV

Reprinted from the Tri-County Messenger dated Thursday, October 1, 1936. V. H. Mason, Editor Part IV Beyond 1889 The opening of the various business places necessitated more houses and building of homes which went forward rapidly. Among the first to build houses were the Lytles, C.W. Salisbury, Eliel Peck, John Nelson, and Joe Donohue Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Of Fame and Heroes (Part 2)

© Duane D. Stanley, 2010 We are doing a "reality check" of Longfellow's "Midnight Ride" poem. It is to remind us that the life of true heroes is not the same as those of TV blockbusters or even poetic heroes. While Longfellow was not writing screenplays for Hollywood, he was consciously creating a hero for his times. And Paul Revere's fame was its result. Saturday, May 08, 2010

Of Fame and Heroes

(© 2010. Duane D. Stanley) It is a special week. Well, it certainly was 235 years ago. On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-Five; Hardly a man is now alive Who remembers that famous day and year. You are not unusual if you can, from memory, add the words of the couplet that precedes these lines from the epic poem of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Now listen my children and you shall hear Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere. Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Early history of Kimball is filled with items of interest Reprinted from the Tri-County Messenger dated Thursday, October 1, 1936. V. H. Mason, Editor Part III

Study Club elects The Kimball Study Club was organized at the home of Mrs. E. Hilary Friday afternoon. Miss Noan Anderson of St. Cloud explained the work which is carried on through the Extension Service Department of Washington. The subject will be Home Management. The following officers were elected: president, Mrs. E. Hilary; secretary, Mrs. Bullivant; leaders, Mrs. W. Phillips and Mrs. Ed Olson; reporter, Mrs. L Gasser. Kimball P.T.A. held its first meeting Mr. Smuddle of St. Cloud Teachers College was the main speaker. The first P.T.A. meeting of the year for the Kimball schools was held in the new school auditorium on Wednesday evening. The organization voted not to join the national organization but to remain a local chapter as they have the past two years. Saturday, April 10, 2010

Early history of Kimball

Reprinted from the Tri-County Messenger dated Thursday, October 1, 1936. V. H. Mason, Editor Part II The arrival of surveyors locating the right-of-way for the Soo Line railroad in the early summer of 1886 was the cause of great excitement for the settlers. The entire grade of the railroad from Minneapolis to Glenwood was built that year. The building of the grade was let out to contractors in short stretches of about a mile. Three contractors were employed in the immediate vicinity. Grinols was camped near the John Adolph place; Perkins at the village, and Coleman near the Wm. Donohue place, east of town. Some of the men who still reside locally, who worked on the construction of the grade are: Homer Boggs, Henry Luedtke, Theodore Mielke, Robert Mackereth, and D.M. Brown. In an effort to procure the date of the arrival of the first train, we have been only partially successful, some saying August 1886, others believing that it was not until later in the fall. It is possible that the first train arrived from the west because of trouble in completing the trestle over the Clearwater River, east of town. Mack J. Kennedy was instrumental in securing a station at the location of the present village, and as mentioned earlier, associated himself with Washburn and Patten to plat the townsite. Sunday, March 28, 2010

Early history of Kimball is filled with items of interest

Reprinted from the Tri-County Messenger dated Thursday, October 1, 1936. V. H. Mason, Editor Part I Records of Stearns County disclose that the land upon which the original townsite of Kimball was platted was transferred from the government by patent. That part lying south of a line from the Methodist parsonage to a point in front of the Mrs. S. J. Phillips, Sr., residence, was transferred to Henry P. Welsh on April 10, 1861 and that part lying north of such line being transferred to Nicholas B. Matthews July 20, 1869. After a few transfers, title passed to Mack J. Kennedy, W.D. Washburn and Michael L. Patten, and they dedicated the plat of the townsite to the public April 4, 1887. Maine Prairie Township of which Kimball was a part, organized June 1860. Saturday, March 13, 2010

Kimball has a new ice rink thanks to the extra efforts of the Jacobs brothers

The following text was originally printed in the Tuesday, Dec. 31, 1985, and Thursday, Jan. 20, 2005, issues of the Tri-County News. If it were not for the interest and promotion of the Jacobs brothers, there would be no skating rink in Kimball today. They had long been interested in providing a rink and developing hockey players in the community. Their dream became a reality through a great deal of work. The rink is being well used by many young people. The Jacobs boys have continued their work instructing would-be hockey players. One end of the rink is used by those playing hockey and the other by figure skaters. Friday, February 26, 2010

Did you know ... ?

Reprinted from Oct. 19, 2000, Tri-County News; originally from the Tri-County Messenger, Oct. 1, 1936. James M. Kimball, for whom the village of Kimball was named, was one of the very earliest settlers in Maine Prairie Township. His homestead was the quarter section lying one-half mile north of the village, bordering on the St. Cloud Highway 15. Mr. Kimball had secured a "patent" for the land from the United States Government June 1, 1861. In 1907, the land passed to his son James D. Kimball, who owned it the rest of his life. Wednesday, February 10, 2010

When the stage went to Kimball

(A repeat from Dec. 28, 2000, the year the Kimball Area Historical Society was founded). In a 1949 appearance before the Kimball P.T.A., Mr Granville Smith, then president of the Stearns County Historical Society, called for some information about the Halfway House on old Highway 15, opposite school 37 and the "Blue Moon," where the county road crosses to Pleasant Lake. The upshot of this request has been a couple of greatly appreciated letters from Mr. James Knower of Kimball, last driver on the stage coach line that linked St. Cloud with points south. Excerpts may be of particular interest to present-day postal employees. "The house you referred to is the original Halfway House. It got its name from being the half-way stopping place between Maine Prairie and St. Cloud for refreshments and drinks. It was managed by a Mr. Krear and served as a country store for the neighboring farmers. "In my stage coach days, we always stopped there to water our horses. My operation of the stage between Fair Haven and St. Cloud was approximately between the years 1900 and 1903 when the stage was discontinued because of the establishment of Rural Free Delivery of mail. Friday, January 29, 2010

Aged Kimball couple plans no retirement

Still have cows, horses, chickens ***************************** Text from St. Cloud Times, around 1960. Reprinted from the Nov. 29, 2001, Tri-County News. ***************************** Mr. and Mrs. Christ Flint aren't planning an early retirement. Flint, who is 84, and his wife, 81, have farmed on their 200-acre farm five miles northwest of Kimball for the past 49 years, and they have no intention of leaving now. Although most of the land is rented out on a share basis, the Flints still have 25 head of cattle, three horses, chickens, and they maintain a garden in the summer months. Up until this fall, the two did all the chores alone. When they first moved from Albert Lea in 1901, the farm near Kimball consisted of forest, brush and an old log cabin. That didn't deter them though, from clearing land for crops and from erecting fence posts for stock. Live in log cabin They lived in the log cabin for five years until the day they noticed the ceiling beams crumbling. When that day arrived, they decided to build a new home - which they completed in 1911. Friday, January 15, 2010

Seventieth birthday of the Kingston newspaper

Taken from The Kingston Progress, first edition, Vol. 1, No.1, dated Dec. 12, 1939. Edward C. Rucks, Editor. Early settlers Most of the first settlers located south of the river and at the village of Kingston which was established on the south banks of the Crow River. The first to settle is believed to have been Mark Cates, in the spring of 1856, who was shortly followed by J.B. Salisbury, A.B. Whitney, Benjamin and Josiah Dorman, John Fitzgerald, Patric Flynn, A.C. Madox, Harry Cyrus, and Warren Averill, Elmar Harper, William Higgins, John G. Kennison, Joseph Weymer, Morris Powers, Wellington Cates, B.P. Whitney, Oliver Patch, Solomon Gray, John K. Perkins, John Lowell, Byley Lyford, John Martin, Uriah Palmer, Enoch Eastman, Rufus Eastman, Robert Niles, Nelson Niles, Scott Hutchinson and others. In 1857 Orrin Whitney, S.B. Hutchins, Benjamin Ruggles and E.H. Whitney were the most prominent. In 1858 F.V. Decoster, George Scribner, A.H. Carvill, Jefferson Carvill, and John Doyle. Organization of township Enough settlers having located here to organize the town, which was organized on April 5, 1855, the following took part in its organization: A.P. Whitney, J.B. Salisbury, Orrin Whitney, Ben Ruggles, Mark Cates, E.H. Whitney, Joseph Weymer, Joseph Dorman, S.B. Hutchins and some others. First birth Will Cates, born July 6, 1856. First death Morris Powers, 1857, who is burried on the farm now owned by the Fitzgeralds. First marriage Joseph Weymer and Miss Mary Dorman, August 1857. First school in county The first school teacher was James A. Austin, who taught in the Enoch Eastman cabin. The first school house was built in 1861 in the village of Kingston. This building, however was sold to a farmer a few miles from Kingston where it now stands, and another larger building was built where it now stands. At one time, two years of high school was taught here. Saturday, January 02, 2010

I'll be home by Christmas

By Elizabeth Cooper Mike From the pen of the late Elizabeth Cooper Mike, Kimball Historical Society member, in her book "The Girl From Stickney Hill, Kimball Prairie, Minnesota" (Reprinted with permission of the author.) As the old familiar Christmas music floated through the windy snow-swept streets of downtown St. Paul, a sharp longing for my family, mingled with the excitement of the season, carried my eager feet along to my first shopping spree away from home. I was a first-year University of Minnesota student attending on a small scholarship, a part-time University-related job, and a very small Methodist Wesley Foundation loan. It was 1936. I was 18 years old, almost 19. And I had eight and one-half dollars to spend, part of which I had saved by skipping the five-cent, very thick, "eat with a spoon" chocolate malted milk at the drug store, where I boarded the street car in Minneapolis every day for the 10-mile ride back to my grandmother's brown bag lunch. Everyone I knew ate on campus. So I went without eating from 7 in the morning until 5 or 6 at night. Thursday, December 17, 2009

Meet your neighbor: The Benders

By Robin Hasslen, from the Tri-County News, April 7, 1977. Someone asked me recently if I exaggerate the good points of the people about whom I write in this column. I replied that I had never had to do any type of fabricating. None of us is perfect and for that reason we see each other's less than desirable (according to our standards anyway) traits and concentrate on them to the detriment of the real worth of the individual. In these columns I am attempting to bring to light the wealth of this community in terms of experiences, lifestyles, beliefs, activities, relationships, responsibilities and resources of its members. Kimball is becoming a more and more exciting place to live as I look into the very meaningfulness of existence of its residents. The Benders are certainly no exception to the rule of how I measure human worth. Friday, December 04, 2009

History Matters: The fudge and the sword, Part 1

By Elizabeth Cooper Mike From the pen of the late Elizabeth Cooper Mike, Kimball Historical Society member, in her book "The Girl From Stickney Hill, Kimball Prairie, Minnesota" (Reprinted with permission of the author.) A wild October wind swooped around the house, rattling doors and windows, and making the old cedar tree outside the big window at the south side of the house moan and groan as it whipped its branches this way and that. Home alone and unaware that it was the night of Halloween, we kids sat huddled snug and warm on the floor behind the old black pot bellied stove in the front room eating from a big cake pan of freshly made fudge. Thursday, November 05, 2009