Category: Historical Messenger (Page 7 of 7)

A Frontierswoman Passes On

The dawn of the 20th century was a period of transition for Stillwater and Washington County as a whole. The lumber industry had begun its slow decline, new technologies such as the automobile were reaching the valley, and the first generation of settlers were passing away.

This article honors the first European woman to settle in the St. Croix River Valley – Lydia Carli. Her half-brother, Joseph R. Brown, had convinced her to move out to the Minnesotan frontier in 1841. Here she would remain for the next 64 years and in that time, Lydia Carli would have witnessed not only the founding of Stillwater, but it’s growth into a major industrial center.

“Death of Mrs. Lydia Ann Carli” – Stillwater Messenger – August 12, 1905

The relatives and friends of Mrs. Lydia Carli were startled Friday morning to hear that she had quietly passed away Thursday night.

Mrs. Carli is one of the oldest pioneer residents of this valley. She was born March 13, 1818, near Lancaster, PA. Her father was Rev. Samuel Brown, a Methodist minister of some note. An uncle, John Hart, on the maternal side was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.

She married Paul J. Carli in Chicago, in 1824 who was drowned at Afton, in this county, in 1845.

In 1846 she married Dr. Carli, her husband’s brother.

Mrs. Carli was the first white woman to set her foot on the shores of Lake St. Croix at Stillwater. Mrs. Carli has had a most eventful life and in all the ups and downs that has marked her intercourse with her relatives, friends and neighbors she has always borne a cheerful and happy disposition.

By her first husband she bore five children – Maria, Joseph, John, Lucetta and Rose. Rose and John died young.

By Dr. Carli she had seven children – all dying before their 23rd year but C. H. Carli, who still survives.

FEATURED ARTICLE

Bastien’s Band

by Anna Peterson

If you mention the last name of ‘Bastien’ to a jazz or classical musician in the Twin Cities, you may get a response referring to the bassist ‘Biddy’, or cellist and arranger ‘Vin’. You may hear about the Gene Krupa Band or the studio band at WCCO and you may even hear about piano lessons. There were many Bastien’s all siblings and all accomplishedmusicians; Vince, Annette, Gertrude, Biddy, Tony, Dave and Billy. For example, Biddy is 1 of 27 in the Twin Cities Jazz Hall of Fame. But where they came from, and who inspired the music within was their father, the second band director at Stillwater High School, William H. Bastien.

At a young age William Bastien knew he wanted to perform, he told his father, at the age of 11, that he wanted to be a concert violinist. His family didn’t agree and kicked him out of the house to live in a barn. From then on William started making money as a violinist in his town. A few years down the road he met a very talented prodigy pianist named Estelle. Her mother had died in childbirth and she had been passed down from relative to relative. They fell in love and decided it would be cheaper if they were to live together. They got married around 1910; William was 16 and Estelle 13 years old.

They later moved to Pine City, Minnesota where they would live until 1920, when William was offered a position in Buel, Minnesota as a bandmaster. The family stayed in Buel until 1930, when the money ran out for the bandmaster position. William moved his family once again to Minneapolis where he started school for a teaching certificate at Minneapolis College of Music (now McPhail School of Music). Once obtaining the degree he obtained a position teaching at Stillwater High School in 1933.

By 1936 the band had their largest enrollment ever. There were 36 members and were working their way to 45 by the end of the year. That same year, the band tied for 3rd place with Anoka High School at their district contest Bastien was the only director at the high school to direct both the orchestra and the band. And it was under the direction of him, and the newly founded choir by Miss Fairchild in 1938 that the music department was able to have its first annual department wide concert on April 5th, which included the band, orchestra and choir. A report of the concert from the Stillwater Arrow on April 26th, 1938 says this:

“A packed auditorium listened to selections by the band and orchestra… and by the choir. Several outstanding selections included on the varied program presented by the band and orchestra were: “The Big Bass Drum”; the clarinet trio composed of Jerry Davis, Helen Andrewson, and Frank Phalen; the French horn solo by Billy Bastien; and “Every Little Movement” played by the orchestra.”

Bastien later had to abandon the orchestra because of lack of interest in students wanting to learn stringed instruments. Bastien himself was responsible for all of the private instrumental lessons each student would get each week at school. On average he would be giving sixty or seventy individual lessons each week, on various instruments.

By 1938 and 1939 the band had grown significantly. There were about 40 in the band, and 20 playing in the orchestra. With the creation of a concert choir in 1937, Stillwater’s music department had become quite large. Because of the growing numbers the band was constantly fundraising for new uniforms for the incoming students and replacing of the used uniforms.

Under the direction of Mr. Bastien, the band had improved significantly. In 1947 the band received their first ‘A’ rating at a district contest. They continued to the state regional contest to earn a ‘B’ rating. According to the ‘Kabekonian’, “when Mr. Bastien first began directing the band in 1933, of the thirty students to sign up for band, only three students could read music…. In the past two years the band has received an “A” and a “B” rating in the district contest and a “B” rating in the regional contest. This year the band also shows great promise for the 1949 contest.”

Unfortunately in January of 1949, Bastien’s son Patrick, who had just begun studies at the University of Minnesota, unexpectedly committed suicide. This left Director Bastien, his wife and family beside themselves and prompted the leave of Bastien from the Stillwater Schools. This leave was of shock to the students and provoked articles of gratitude on his leave in the Stillwater Arrow, and in the Gazette.

“There must be first of all an innate musicianship in the director himself. Then he must be able to transmit that quality to the players in the organization. He must keep the group under control at all times and yet retain the admiration and respect of the members of his group. From my observation, Mr. Bastien certainly qualifies in all these characteristics. To you Mr. Bastien, may you enjoy many more years in the fields of work, which is, I know, close to your heart. We are going to miss you.

Sincerely, Margaret L. Clark”

Last Eleven Men’s Club

The Last Man’s Club was organized in 1882 by the surviving members of Company B of the First Minnesota Volunteer Regiment. Company B was raised from Stillwater citizens in the earliest days of the American Civil War. They participated in some of the most well known battles of the conflict including First Bull-Run, Gettysburg and Antietam.

Those who were fortunate enough to survive the hostilities formed the Last Man’s Club to honor those who had died during the war and those who had been gradualling passing away as the years rolled on.

They entered an agreement to meet every year and to hold a bottle of wine in reserve for the Last Man to drink and toast his fallen comrades. This bottle of wine is now one of the most prized artifacts in WCHS’ collection and can be seen in person at the Warden’s House Museum.

The last meeting would occur in 1930 when Charles Lockwood became the sole survivor. As you can see below, it is worth noting that for whatever reason, Mr. Lockwood did not attend the 1911 meeting of the club.

“Last Man’s Banquet” – Stillwater Messenger – July 29, 1911

The 29th Annual Last Man’s Banquet was held at the Sawyer House last Saturday afternoon, with the usual exercises. There was a good feast for the old boys furnished by Mr. Ostrom. There were no formal addresses.

There were present Myron Shepard, president; Wm. M. May, vice president; Adam Marty, secretary; Samuel Bloomer, treasurer; A. C. Hospes, John S. Goff, William Kelly, F. L. McKusick of the Soldiers’ home, E. A. Stevens, Minneapolis, Samuel Johnson and Andrew Peterson, Saldier’s (sic) home; Oscar Van Kuster, Hudson, Wis.

Remembering the Days of the Log Jam

Sometimes the best history is found in the “Letter to the Editor” section. Back in 1940 an old lumberman wrote into the Pine Poker-Pioneer from Pine City. This letter was then sent to and printed in the Stillwater Post-Messenger. The gentleman describes his days working in the lumber camp of Stillwater Lumberman J.E. McGrath.

“To the Editor of The Pine Poker:

Last Fourth of July, I was a visitor at Pine City. Pine City being my old home town, these visits always revive old and pleasant memories. While there this last trip I read The Pine Poker-Pioneer, the issue carrying the tragic story of James E. McGrath of Stillwater.

After having read the article in your paper, telling the story of Mr. McGrath becoming lost in the woods and the subsequent search, and finding him dead, I began a some 40 odd years ago, back to reminiscence of a period of time, a period when stalwart pioneers were blazing trails through the forest to their 40 or 80 acres of wild timber land, there to hew their existence and livelihood out of the timber, and then to till the soil. Back to a time when telephones were not heard of in the rural districts and messages were carried by means of walking miles through whatever kind of weather we happened to have. Back to the time when the old kerosene lamp and lantern were the only means of illumination.

That was back during the time when Snake river was filled with pine logs on their way to the great sawmills, there to be made into lumber to build a future Minnesota.

Every spring, as soon as the ice was gone, the logs used to begin coming down the river, greatly hampering the fishing for the boys, when they had an opportunity to go to the river and we a line. We often spoke our minds about the logs interfering with our fishing, hoping that the logs would go into a jam, somewhere up river, thereby leaving the river clear of obstacles so that we might go on fishing uninterrupted.

And then one morning in late July, 1901, we discovered a great jam. A log such as had never been seen in the Snake River. The river was filled from bank to bank, 14 feet high and reaching from what we used to call the Big Bend, back about three-quarters of a mile. The log drivers worked all that day trying to unlock the key logs that had to be removed before the jam would break, but with little or no success. This log jam was the talk of the settlers, and everyone wondered how the jam could be broken.

Late in the evening of that day, we were just finishing up our chores and going into the house, when a tall dark man walked into our yard and spoke to my father. The man had come up from the river about a quarter of a mile away. He told my father that his name was James E. McGrath, and that he was the owner of the logs in the river, including the great log jam.

He asked my father to take him up to Chengwatana dam. He said that he had been working all day long with his men at the log jam, but had come to the conclusion that the only way to break the jam was by using dynamite, together with an avalanche of water, rushing from the dam. He was on his way to the dam to have the dam closed, and wait unit the dynamite could be planted, and then have the water turned on again to assist the logs on down the river when the dynamite had exploded and thus broken the jam.

Mr. McGrath told my father that he would give him $1 if he would take him up to the dam, about six miles up the river. A dollar in those days looked as large as a $10 bill does today, so we hitched up our team of horses to a lumber wagon, this being the only style of vehicle my dad owned in those days, and proceeded to give Mr. McGrath a ride to the dam. I went along with my dad and enjoyed the trip immensely. Mr. McGrath carried on a conversation relative to his logging holdings up at the source of the Snake River, telling about the many logging camps he was operating during the winter months. He told us also that he had his home in Stillwater, where he also owned and operated sawmills.

During the ride to the dam, I asked Mr. McGrath if there would be a chance for me to get a job in one of his logging camps the following winter. He assured both father and myself that at any time I wanted a job in the camps or in any of his mills, I was to write him at Stillwater, and he would personally see to it that I would be given some job. This with the result that I went to the “woods” the following November, and worked as a Cook-ee in what was then the George Glendenning camp. This winter was followed by four more that I worked for old “Jim McGraw,” as he was called, making it five winters in all.

Well, the great log jam was broken, and became history. Great improvements have taken place since that day so long ago. Today you would hardly believe that such a change could be possible. Now the farmers think nothing of running into Pine City and back home again before breakfast, where in the old days it was an all-day journey to go to town.

Sincerely yours,

John P. Ekberg

Minneapolis, Minnesota

You Can’t Outrun the Telegraph

I find that repetition and continuity are great tools to help get a particular point across. And if there’s one recurring theme that keeps popping up in these ‘Old News’ sections, it is this: Life a hundred years ago is a lot more modern than we typically imagine.

Keeping this idea in mind, read the following article which details the demise of a burglar at the hands of a shrinking world and improved technology.

“A Clever Catch” – Stillwater Messenger – July 15, 1905

Chief of Police Roland F. Barnes made a clever haul of a young sneak thief last Wednesday. Tuesday evening he received a telegram from Pine City stating that a house had been burglarized there during the afternoon, while the Morris & Rowe circus was there, and that a watch and chain, some rings and a small amount of money had been taken. The owner had reason to believe that the culprit had followed the circus to Stillwater and when the train arrived here Wednesday morning a young man alighted and immediately started for a jewelry store where he offered to sell a watch. A description of the fellow was given to Mr. Barnes and in a few minutes the fellow was arrested. The watch and chain were found on his person and the man admitted that he was the burglar. He gave his name as John Anderson. And says he lives at Osawotamie, Kan. He is about 20 years of age. The fellow was locked up and will be taken to Pine City for a hearing.

Deutsch-Bier in Stillwater

by Brent Peterson

In the Schulenberg Addition to the north end of Stillwater, commonly known as “Dutchtown,” there was a man named Gerhard Knips who began a brewery in late 1858 or early 1859. This part of Stillwater had the largest German settlement in the city and it would only make sense that they would bring their brand of beverage to the area.

Knips, who was born in Germany around 1830, with his wife Matilda and young son Robert, constructed a three-story building at a cost of $1,000. They came from St. Louis, and it was here that he began the “St. Croix Brewing Company.”

In the Stillwater Messenger of January 2, 1866, there was described a fire at Knips’ Brewery. The fire started in the early evening. The two upper stories were “constructed of wood and occupied as a residence.” This portion of the building was completely engulfed in flames, “but through the exertions of our citizens the most valuable portion of the building, cellars, and most of the stock were saved. Loss $1,500.” For the citizens of Dutchtown, their beer was saved!

In an article in the Stillwater Gazette on December 13, 1870, the paper commented on Knips’ recent improvements to the brewery. “He has made large excavations under the bluff in the rear of his brewery, about 40 feet in length,” said the report. The reporter also commented on the expense of these improvements, saying “he has expended this season about $1,000 in the way of repairs and improvements.”

However, in the end these rennovations proved to be temporary solutions. Seven years later, the Gazette reported that Knips was getting out of the brewing business. “We understand” the reporter said, “that the Knips brewery has been leased to Messrs. Fred Maisch, D. Millbrook and Jos. Honar – the latter a practical brewer of good repute. The new firm will take possession of the works to-morrow, Feb. 1. We wish the success.”

The new enterprise did not work out, and just a few years later, the brewery buildings were sold to Seymour, Sabin & Company. At the peek of production, the Knips brewery produced 450 barrels of beer annually, compared to Joseph Wolf’s peek of 25,000 barrels per year.

The Knips family moved away from Stillwater in the late 1870s to Nobles County, Minnesota. On March 18, 1879, the organizational meeting for Leota Township in Nobles County was held at the Gerhard Knips home. Their daughter, Clara, was one of the first graduates from Stillwater High School in 1876. She later became a schoolteacher at the Lincoln School in Stillwater. Also staying in Stillwater was their son Emil, who worked for the Stillwater Mills.

Peter Newhouse later purchased the brewery building. Newhouse made some general repairs and added a 60 X 40 woodshed in the spring of 1913. He later made the building into a boarding house in which as many as 16 families lived there during the First World War when the Twin City Forge and Foundry Company brought in a lot of people to work in the munitions plant. When the state decided to widen Highway 95 in 1935, the building was torn down that November. The back wall was used as a retaining wall for the bluffs, and it was on that wall that a plaque dedicated to the Tamarack House was placed.

Today the roadside rest is all that is left of the once busy brewery that helped a thirsty German emigrant get through a tough day at the sawmill. The plaque that adorns the wall of the brewery honors the Tamarack House, but there should be a similar plaque to honor the emigrants that came and helped make Stillwater the lumber capitol of the world.