Saturday, March 10, 2018

On This Date in Minnesota History: March 10

*March 10, 1913 – Governor Eberhart today signed the Nolan-Dwinnell bill, which prohibits fraudulent advertising in the state of Minnesota.

The governor had barely attached his signature to the measure, when copies of the law and letters of warnings from the vigilance committee of the Minnesota Advertising Forum, addressed to every advertiser in Minneapolis, were placed in the mails. It is the beginning of a statewide campaign to eliminate dishonest and deceptive advertising.

The vigilance committee is asking the cooperation of the public in its efforts to enforce the law, requesting that anyone who has evidence of dishonest advertising forward the details to the committee in care of the Civic and Commerce Association. This information is expected to contain the name of the advertiser, the publication in which the advertisement is inserted and should explain in detail just how and why the statements made were untrue, misleading or deceptive.

The new law primarily places the obligation on the advertiser for untrue statements, although the advertising agent can be held responsible in case of necessity.

The Minnesota law is being introduced in several state legislatures. The purpose is to make the law uniform across the country.

The Minneapolis Morning Tribune; “Governor Signs a Bill to Bar Fake Advertising. Minneapolis Advertising Forum Enters Upon a State-Wide Campaign. New Law Places Obligation for Untrue Statements on the Advertiser.”; March 11, 1913; p. 1.


Many of the deceptive ads offered cures for ills that cannot be cured, such as colds, rheumatism and even cancer. Here are just a few examples:



The Minneapolis Morning Tribune; March 11, 1910; p. 4.



The Minneapolis Morning Tribune; March 11, 1911; p. 2.



The Minneapolis Tribune; March 12, 1901; p. 5.
               __________________________________________________________

If you are interested in finding out more about your family history in Minnesota, I specialize in researching  genealogical and historical records in Minn. and western Wis., including:
census records,  birth records,  death certificates, obits, grave site photos, ship passenger lists, marriage records and declarations of intent/naturalization records.  I will visit locations to research local history and county records, as well as take photos. Quick turnaround on MNHS records. Both short searches and family history reports available.

                                                         


Discover your roots, and watch the branches of your family tree begin to grow.


Website:  TheMemoryQuilt.com > click on Family History

Contact me at:
pjefamilyresearch@gmail.com







Friday, March 9, 2018

On This Date in Minnesota History: March 9

March 9, 1915 – Rather than go to school this afternoon, Robert Meagher, age 7, and Henry Folz, Jr., age 10, played hooky and started for the lake with their roller skates.  They have not been seen since.

Each of the boy’s mother believed her son was spending the night across the street with his friend.

When Robert failed to appear to “get cleaned” up before going to school the following morning, Mrs. Meagher became alarmed and ran across to the Folz home. It was then discovered by both mothers that their sons were missing and the frantic parents hurried to Duluth police headquarters with their plea for assistance.

Police were afraid that the two children skated into a hole in the lake, as the ice has been cut up in several places by ice companies and the breweries, which are preparing for their summer business.

Capt. A. G. Fiskett place the entire force at work on the case that morning, and with every officer in the city of Duluth looking for the two missing lads, it was expected that the boys would be found soon, unless the drowning theory proved correct.

“Henry had been having a little trouble at school,” said Mrs. Folz. “His marks weren’t as good as he wanted them to be this last time and I don’t think he wanted to face the teacher yesterday afternoon, so he got Robert and they played hooky.”

Robert Meagher appeared at home about 4 p.m., according to his mother, and after getting his roller skates, he went out again, saying that he was going down to skate. Mrs. Meagher assumed he had just returned from school, but discovered the next morning that both boys had been absent.

The boys had been in the habit of skating on the ice with their roller skates, and both were adept. Henry Folz, father of one of the missing boys, appealed to Mayor Prince about 9 a.m., the city’s executive going with him to the office of the chief of police.

____________________

The story did have a happy ending. A day and a half of sightseeing was enough for Robert Meagher, 7, and his friend Henry Folz, 10, who after playing hooky Tuesday afternoon and then, fearing punishment, decided not to go home for a while. Henry Folz, Sr., father of one of the boys, found them at Lakeside the night of March 10.



Lakeside/Lester Park Area of Duluth1


“We skated during the afternoon and then, when it got late,” explained young Meagher, “we were scared to go home, so we slept in the hay loft of the barn near our house. We got up awfully early and went down to the lake again and skated out a long ways. We got pretty hungry, you bet.”

The Duluth Herald; “Roller Skate on the Lake; Have Not Been Seen Since”; March 10, 1915; p. 9.

The Duluth Herald; “Found at Lakeside After Absence of Day and a Half.”; March 11, 1915; p. 13.

1http://www.js-realty.com/Blog/Archive?tag=Places%20to%20live%20in%20Duluth%20MN
               __________________________________________________________

If you are interested in finding out more about your family history in Minnesota, I specialize in researching  genealogical and historical records in Minn. and western Wis., including:
census records,  birth records,  death certificates, obits, grave site photos, ship passenger lists, marriage records and declarations of intent/naturalization records.  I will visit locations to research local history and county records, as well as take photos. Quick turnaround on MNHS records. Both short searches and family history reports available.

                                                        


Discover your roots, and watch the branches of your family tree begin to grow.


Website: 
TheMemoryQuilt.com > click on Family History

Contact me at:
pjefamilyresearch@gmail.com





Thursday, March 8, 2018

On This Date in Minnesota History: March 8

March 8, 1996 (1996-03-08) – Filmed primarily in Minnesota, the Coen brothers’ movie Fargo was released on this date.

The film won an Academy Award for Best Actress for Frances McDormand, an Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay  for Joel and Ethan Coen, a BAFTA David Lean Award for Direction  for Joel Coen, a Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Director for  Joel Coen, a New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Film, a National Board of Review for Best Actress  for Frances McDormand, a National Board of Review for Best Director for  Joel Coen, a Screen Actors Guild Awards for Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role for  Frances McDormand, a Writers Guild of America Award for Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen for Joel and Ethan Coen and an Independent Spirit Award for Best Film.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fargo_(film)




http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116282/mediaviewer/rm1705319936

               __________________________________________________________

If you are interested in finding out more about your family history in Minnesota, I specialize in researching  genealogical and historical records in Minn. and western Wis., including:
census records,  birth records,  death certificates, obits, grave site photos, ship passenger lists, marriage records and declarations of intent/naturalization records.  I will visit locations to research local history and county records, as well as take photos. Quick turnaround on MNHS records. Both short searches and family history reports available.

                                                         


Discover your roots, and watch the branches of your family tree begin to grow.


Website:  TheMemoryQuilt.com > click on Family History

Contact me at:
pjefamilyresearch@gmail.com





Wednesday, March 7, 2018

On This Date in Minnesota History: March 7

March 7, 1918 – Today H. E. Reynolds, federal fuel administrator for Beltrami County, called the hotel and restaurant together and laid the situation before them: there is an extreme scarcity of sugar in Bemidji, and in fact the state of Minnesota. It is said that North Dakota has also been hit hard.

Starting tomorrow, those who patronize Bemidji’s hotels and restaurants will receive a small envelope that contains a small quantity of sugar—one teaspoon full to be exact. This is to be the allotment of each patron for the meal and can be used as he or she likes until further notice.

The Bemidji Daily Pioneer; “Teaspoon of Sugar is Allotted Ration to Eating Public”; March 8, 1918; p. 1.

http://moziru.com/images/spoon-clipart-suger-12.jpg
               __________________________________________________________

If you are interested in finding out more about your family history in Minnesota, I specialize in researching  genealogical and historical records in Minn. and western Wis., including:
census records,  birth records,  death certificates, obits, grave site photos, ship passenger lists, marriage records and declarations of intent/naturalization records.  I will visit locations to research local history and county records, as well as take photos. Quick turnaround on MNHS records. Both short searches and family history reports available.

                                                        


Discover your roots, and watch the branches of your family tree begin to grow.


Website:  TheMemoryQuilt.com > click on Family History

Contact me at:
pjefamilyresearch@gmail.com





Tuesday, March 6, 2018

On This Date in Minnesota History: March 6


March 6, 2006 — “Baseball Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett, who helped lead the Minnesota Twins to World Series titles in 1987 and 1991, [died on this date] after suffering a stroke. He was 45.”

http://www.minnpost.com/politics-policy/2008/07/part-3-150-minnesota-moments-wed-just-soon-forget


Kirby Puckett

http://z.lee28.tripod.com/sbnsperspectives/id5.html

               __________________________________________________________

If you are interested in finding out more about your family history in Minnesota, I specialize in researching  genealogical and historical records in Minn. and western Wis., including:
census records,  birth records,  death certificates, obits, grave site photos, ship passenger lists, marriage records and declarations of intent/naturalization records.  I will visit locations to research local history and county records, as well as take photos. Quick turnaround on MNHS records. Both short searches and family history reports available.

                                                         


Discover your roots, and watch the branches of your family tree begin to grow.


Website:  TheMemoryQuilt.com > click on Family History

Contact me at:
pjefamilyresearch@gmail.com





Monday, March 5, 2018

On This Date in Minnesota History:March 5

March 5, 1922 – Five members of the Gunder Midby family of Sheldon, Houston County, Minn., met their death in the waters of East Beaver Creek shortly after 3 p.m. today. Mr. and Mrs. Midby and their four children, Ester, aged 6; Louella, 4 years; Genevieve, 2 years; and Arthur, 4 months old, together with Robert Wisland, who was driving the team, were returning from Beaver Ridge where Mrs. Midby and children had been visiting her mother, Mrs. Amund Lee.



Horse drawn Sleigh1

When they reached a point in the road between the saw mill and the old Messerall place where a swinging bridge was formerly used over the creek, they attempted to ford the creek. The sled struck a rock and the front bob parted from the rear on, the sled turning over with its occupants. Robert Wisland clung to the lines and was drawn safely to the other bank by the horses. After a struggle to save the two children he was holding in his arms, Mr. Midby, to save his own life, let go of the little ones who had been in and under the cold water for some time. They perished with Mrs. Midby and the other two children.

Rain and melting snow had swollen the creek considerably and the water at the point of the attempted crossing was approximately four feet deep with a swift current running.


Beaver Creek, Houston County, Minn.2



A search was started for the bodies but none were recovered until late this evening when Mrs. Midby and baby Arthur were found near the place of drowning. The search was resumed the following day, and during the afternoon another body was found. The fourth body was found Tuesday morning a mile down from the scene of the catastrophe. The fifth body, that of oldest daughter Ester, would not be found until Aug. 1924, even though her father continued to search for her regularly.

The Caledonia Argus; “Mother and Four Children Perish in Beaver Creek. Mrs. Gunder Midboe (sic) and Four Children Drowned Sunday Afternoon in Beaver Creek Four Miles Northwest of Caledonia—Sled Hits Rock and Overturns In Swollen Waters From Spring Freshet. Four Bodies are Recovered.”; March 10, 1922; p. 1.

1https://www.vaildaily.com/news/tis-the-season-for-family-friendly-fun-in-vail-and-beaver-creek/

2http://www.exploreminnesota.com/things-to-do/2859/beaver-creek-valley-state-park-activities
               __________________________________________________________

If you are interested in finding out more about your family history in Minnesota, I specialize in researching  genealogical and historical records in Minn. and western Wis., including:
census records,  birth records,  death certificates, obits, grave site photos, ship passenger lists, marriage records and declarations of intent/naturalization records.  I will visit locations to research local history and county records, as well as take photos. Quick turnaround on MNHS records. Both short searches and family history reports available.

                                                         


Discover your roots, and watch the branches of your family tree begin to grow.


Website: 
TheMemoryQuilt.com > click on Family History

Contact me at:
pjefamilyresearch@gmail.com





Sunday, March 4, 2018

On This Date in Minnesota History: March 4

March 4, 1914 – This evening police arrested Louis T. Johnson on a farm 17 miles from Russell, Lyon County, Minn., on a charge of attacking Mrs. Clarence E. MacRae and Leslie Almquist in a grocery store in northeast Minneapolis last Saturday afternoon. Mrs. MacRae was stabbed six times and a poker shoved down her throat. The Almquist boy was beaten and the poker also shoved down his throat.


Russell, Lyon County, Minn.1


Johnson, after stoutly maintaining that he knew nothing about the case, had broken down and admitted that he had attacked the woman and the boy and that his sole purpose was to rob the cash drawer for cash to meet the immediate needs of himself and his bride whom he had married the night before he made the attack.

It was on two meager clues, a newspaper from which a marriage license had been cut out and a remark that Johnson is said to have made to Mrs. MacRae to the effect that his name was Johnson and that he had been married the night before, which Minneapolis detectives Irving and Ohmann built up a network around the suspect.

The man who brutally attacked Mrs. MacRae as she was getting a few cents of apples for him, had been loitering in the store for nearly an hour. Mrs. MacRae thought he was there to seek shelter from the cold and windstorm of last Saturday. While he was apparently “killing time,” he made remarks, once saying that his name was Johnson and that he had been married on Friday night. These facts came back to Mrs. MacRae after she had recovered from the effects of the attack sufficiently to her story to the police.

The stranger had been reading a newspaper and just before he leaped upon Mrs. MacRae had cut a two-line notice of the issuance of a marriage license to Louis T. Johnson, 22, and Bertha Stumo, 23, from the paper. Detectives Irving and Ohmann recovered this paper after Mrs. MacRae told her story, and the first real clue was obtained.



Marriage Licenses2


Methodically, the detectives, aided by Peter S. Neilson, clerk of the court, checked over the Johnsons to whom marriage licenses had been granted within the week previous to the day of the assault. The deduction eliminated all but Louis T. Johnson. But the detectives were “stumped” because the address given was Billings, Mont., and there was no record of where he was staying in Minneapolis.


Back to Mrs. MacRae went the detectives. They talked over the clue as far as they had gone. Mrs. MacRae began to recall other things. She remembered that the stranger had asked her if a family named Strand lived in the vicinity. Mrs. MacRae mentioned such a family but the man said that was not the one.

He mentioned one family that formerly lived in South Minneapolis. Mrs. MacRae told him where they lived. This bit of information opened a new line of deduction for the detectives. A little more plodding and the family in question was located. From them Irving and Oh gleaned the fact that a Johnson had been married Friday night. They also got the address of the girl.

An interview with the girl elicited the fact that she had not seen her husband since Saturday. According to the police, the girl said she met Johnson in Billings, Mont., where he was a railroad fireman. She came east to her home here and later, Johnson, who was offered the management of C. Willard’s farm, 17 miles from Russell, proposed to her. He was accepted and came here to marry her; then the couple planned to settle at the Willard farm.



Mr. and Mrs. Louis T. Johnson3

The police believed that Johnson had gone to the farm. Early this morning the chief’s automobile was pressed into service and the detectives were able to reach Willmar, when they gave up the chase in the auto and took the train to Russell. They reached the farm late this evening.

When they arrested Johnson he proclaimed his innocence. Cross examination broke him down, however, and according to the police, he admitted that he attacked Mrs. MacRae.

Johnson’s lack of money is the motive ascribed by the police. They say that the young man told them he was without funds to care for his bride and that in desperation he came up with the idea of robbing the MacRae’s grocery store.

The Minneapolis Morning Tribune; “Slender Clues Lead to Assault Suspect. Newspaper Clipping Helps Find Alleged Assailant of Mrs. MacRae. Louis T. Johnson, Arrested in Lyon County, Minn., Said to Have Confessed. Stabbed Woman, Beat Boy, and Robbed Till, He Says, for Sake of Bride.”; March 5, 1914; pp. 1 & 2.

1https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell,_Minnesota#/media/File:Lyon_County_Minnesota_Incorporated_and_Unincorporated_areas_Russell_Highlighted.svg

2The Minneapolis Morning Tribune; February 28, 1914; p. 19.

3The Minneapolis Morning Tribune; March 6, 1914; p. 1.


NE Minneapolis Grocery Store Owner and Boy Customer Stabbed and Stove Poker Thrust Down Their Throats; Both Survive; see Feb. 28, 2018 blog.