A Newspaper Narrative

During the November 4th issue of the Historical Messenger, I discussed how historians have to be able glean information from in-between the written lines of historical documentation. The example I used was that although nowhere in the newspaper specifically discussed the weather, by reading reports of a man slipping while shoveling snow and lumber mills closing due to ice on the river – you would be able to imply that the St. Croix Valley was having a pretty cold transition from fall to winter.

Reading between the lines is not necessary in today’s Old News.

On the same page of the above mentioned reports, a story of two missing young men began on November 4th, 1905 and would appear in the Stillwater Messenger as the investigation developed over the next four weeks.

The first story that appeared November 4th reported that, 20 year old Allan Fagley and 19 year old Philip Dodson had used a “frail” “canvas boat” to venture out onto Lake Elmo to hunt ducks. During the night of October 28th, a “farmer living on the other side of the lake” heard “shots and cries for help”. By the next day, the locally famous dead body recoverer John Jeremy had begun searching for the missing youths.

By November 11th, there had been little progress made in the investigation. Fagley and Dodson were still missing and presumed drowned. Their concerned and desperate parents had resorted to throwing dynamite in the lake in attempts to dislodge their bodies. The editor of the Stillwater Messenger lamented the use of this method, “because it has killed tons of fish and will make that favorite resort barren of fish life for a good many years to come.”

Finally a clue surfaced and was reported on 109 years ago today.

Held for a Reward – Stillwater Messenger – November 18, 1905

A foolish story has gained credence that the bodies of Allan Fagley and Philip Dodson, who were drowned while hunting at Lake Elmo, have been recovered and secreted in hopes that a larger reward will be offered for them.

Evidence, it is said, pointing to this theory is in the hands of the St. Paul police.

A shovel, bearing marks of little use and of recent purchase, was found by the searchers for the bodies near the shore of the lake.

Marks on the shovel, of it’s make, have given the authorities some grounds upon which to work and an effort is now being made to locate the store in which it was purchased.

Country Searched

The Country around Lake Elmo has been carefully gone over in hopes that some evidence leading to the solution of the hiding theory might be found.

One of the opinions of the detectives who have worked some on the case is that the bodies were buried in the lake near the shore in order that all evidences of their whereabouts would be covered up.

H.W. Fagley, father of Allen Fagley, says that he does not believe the bodies have been hidden, but admitted that a shovel which had been used very little had been found in the lake.

The theory that the boys met with foul play and that the upturned boat was only a blind to cover up the deed is given little credence by Mr. Fagley.

But this mysterious shovel was nothing more than a red herring. The pair had not been murdered, nor were their bodies being held for ransom.

On November 28th, the Stillwater Messenger confirmed a lack of foul play in the pair’s deaths. John Jeremy, “using a dragging rig, freely interspersed with heavy iron hooks, discovered the body of Philip Dodson, on Wednesday near the spot that Allan Fagley was found in the day before.” Their families were finally able to have proper funerals for the unfortunate friends.

Sliding Into Winter

by Brent Peterson

Stillwater has always been a great city for sledding. The many hills in town make for quite an assortment of options for the kids. Back in 1886, the first year of the St. Paul Winter Carnival and the ever-popular toboggan slides; Stillwater built its own toboggan slide, which was enjoyed by most of the city during the winter months.

In the January 20, 1886 Stillwater Gazette, Stillwater City Alderman Kilty asked that a hill be designated for a toboggan slide in Stillwater. He stated that “members of the [toboggan] club had requested me to ask that south second street be set apart for the purpose of a splendid slide that could be cheaply made by making use of the stairs, already in existence, to reach the top after a slide.” The matter was referred to Chief of Police Matt Shortall and David Bronson with the power to act accordingly.

The proposed toboggan slide was first to be located on South Second Street, on the eastside of the steps. It would be about 100 feet long, with an angle of 45 degrees. With those dimensions the toboggan slide would give a person a slide of nearly 500 feet, going nearly to Chestnut Street.

The slide eventually was placed on South Sixth Street. It was 800 feet long and 15,000 feet of lumber was used in its construction.

While the toboggan slide was under construction, there were two toboggan clubs formed in Stillwater. The first, led by photographer Lawrence Wiklund and Dr. Donald, was called the Stillwater Toboggan Club and the other was called the

Netaska Toboggan Club. The Netaska club also had a ladies club associated with it.

Toboggans could be purchased for $4 from the Northwestern Manufacturing and Car Company. There were also special toboggan suits for men and women. The suits for the ladies caught the eye of many men in town and the paper commented that, “a toboggan suit has a surprising effect on a young lady’s appearance. If some of them could wear their suits all the time there would be more weddings and less old maids as well as bachelors.”

The grand opening of Stillwater’s toboggan slide took place on Saturday night, January 30th. Many people turned out, and Mr. and Mrs. David Bronson, whose house was located across from the slide, illuminated their residence with Chinese lanterns in honor of the formal opening of the slide.

It was estimated that a speed of 60 mph was reached for the tobogganers as they went down the slide. There was a curve in the slide in which several sledders could not handle, and they continued “straight ahead bounding into the air like a fiery steed.”

The Stillwater Toboggan slide attracted many people. There were even out of town groups that came in just to use the slide. With all of that activity, there were bound to be accidents, and in one report, a “tobogganer lost part of his ear while going down caused by the thing [his toboggan] tipping over.”

The Gazette kept its readers informed on what was going on at the slide. On February 26th, the paper reported: “Tobogganing is still continued on the Stillwater slide to some extent, no accidents have been reported recently.” On March 9th, the paper said that the “toboggan slide still attracts a fair sized crowd nightly.”

As spring began to approach, and Mother Nature warmed the air and melted the snow, the toboggan season came to a slushy end. On March 25, 1886, the paper reported that the “toboggan slide is now a sweet memory of the past.”