You know you are a Minnesota Man if:
1. You wear a cap 12 hours a day, or longer. You wear it inside and outside but not to church.
Examine this picture taken today at Park Rapids, MN.
3. You keep your 4-wheeler with you at all times. Who knows what might come up. See above.
4. Your ice-fishing house (above) doubles as an RV during the summer. Practical, yes. Note the air conditioner on top of the ice-house.
5. Your blood runs purple, like the purple below.
What do they hang on the wall of a Minnesota sports bar? Let's take a look at Hany's of Benson.
Thanks for the pics Hany's. Your food is great too.
The word
“ski” is a Norwegian word which comes from the Old Norse word “skid”, a split
length of wood. And we know that skis have been used in Norway for more than
4,000 years. Rock carvings from Northern Norway confirm this.
There have been many famous skiers from Norway, but one stands above them all. Sondre Norheim was born in Telemark County, Norway. He became known as the "Father of Modern Skiing". I learned a lot about Sondre from his granddaughter Dorthy Lyon.
Anne Haugen Wagn of Telemark County, Norway and her friend Erik came to Atlanta to visit Dianne and I in the year 2003. Anne is on the Board of Telemark Historielag (Telemark History Club). She has written several history books. Together, we interviewed Dorthy Lyon about her grandfather.
Although Sondre was the best skier of his time, he was very poor so emigrated to the United States. The link below tells the tale.
To wrap up this story, I quote the phrase used by many immigrants from the mountains of Norway:
"Fjellene Minnes" translates to,
"The Mountains Remember".
Now we move from Ski Jumping to Cross Country Skiing. I found some references to this means of transportation during the pioneer days here in Pope County. As one who has cross country skied, I find these references incredible. Those were some tough guys.
Telemark
Skiing at Glenwood, Minnesota
Gene
Estensen
The area around Glenwood, Minnesota opened up to settlement around 1862, just before the Sioux Uprising. Indeed, the Uprising drove the setters out for a time. By 1868, Halvor Jorgenson Hjelstad, who was the first settler in Ben Wade Township, had come from Telemark, Norway. His nearest trading points were Alexandria, Sauk Centre, and St. Cloud, all some distance away. Swedes surrounded him and the closest Norwegian settlers were south of Lake Minnewaska, some distance away. Thus, on Sunday he would don his home-made skis to visit the Norwegian families Overson, Swenson, Simons, and Mickelson. An old settler described Hjelstad as "the most graceful skier of all, in those Pioneer Days, and Ed Benson says that as a boy, six or seven years old, he remembers this graceful skier as he returned from a visit with his Telemarken friends". He went on to describe the graceful skier; "When he approached the slope, leading to the little Chippewa River just west of Ed's home, Halvor would sashay gracefully down the slope of the river until he found a narrow place, then he would re-trace his ski marks and get a good start down the slope and jump across the narrowest place in the stream".
One time
when Hjelstad was hunting and trapping on skis and his dog started barking
loudly at a hole in the ground. As Hjelstad approached the hole, a big black
bear came out. Hjelstad, on his skis, with an ax in his hand killed the bear.
In 1868
Knute Simon lived on what became the Selnes farm. He made many trips to St.
Cloud during the winter. G. G. Torguson's father met Mr. Simon on skis between
Glenwood and Sauk Center. Knute was "carrying a one-hundred pound sack of
flour on his back and another bundle of groceries under his arm". Both men
met on skis. The distance from the Selnes farm to Sauk Center is about 30 miles.
Nels
Austvold told G. C. Torguson that his father, Bjorn Austvold, told of the first
winter he came to Pope County, which was the winter he stayed with Ole
Livdalen. He skied to Glenwood during a heavy snowstorm and someone stole his
skis, much to his dismay.
Ed Barsness,
son of pioneer and Civil War veteran (15th Wisconsin, the "Norwegian
Regiment") Erick Barsness told how his father used skis very often to get
a supply of groceries from St. Cloud, Alexandria, and Sauk Centre. One of his
best pals, Hans Urness, lived in Douglas County. They had been pals throughout
the Civil War "and it was no effort for either Hans or Erick to tie on
their skis on a Sunday morning and Erick would go to Douglas County or Hans
would come to Barsness".
Torguson
went on to mention the upcoming ski championship at Glenwood on February 18-19,
1939. He set the stage by describing the earlier championships. "When the
first ski championships were held at Glenwood, and other places in the state,
those who skied built their own hill and slide and were glad to have the
opportunity to do so. On the day of the tournament, and very often one or two
days before the tournament, all skiers were at the slide building a perfect
hill. Now the skiers of today do not seem to have that same ambition. They
expect NYA or Lester Serrin or Tuddy Kaldahl to build a perfect hill for them.
My admonition to these modern skiers is that they kindly get the spirit of the
old skier; go to the slide and help Lester and Tuddy; and use the members of
the Glenwood Ski Club to make a perfect slide for you to use".
Note from Gene:
I grew up in this area of Minnesota. My ancestors came from Telemark, Norway like so many listed above. My great grandparents are buried at nearby Cyrus. They were Østen Olsen Bøen (Austin Estensen) and Anne Tovsdatter Kaase (Anne Thompson).
I skied cross-country as an adult and I am impressed with the
distances that the pioneers skied. The distance from Glenwood to Alexandria
exceeds fifteen miles, as does the distance to Sauk Centre. However, it is three
times that distance to St. Cloud. Try that, then the return trip with 100 pounds of supplies strapped to your back.
Two sets of my great great grandparents came from this valley (Vestfjorddalen) at Rjukan, Tinn, Telemark, Norway:
Rjukan lies in the valley below Mt. Gausta (Gaustatoppen) the tallest mountain in Telemark. The mountain blocks the sun from reaching the valley below for several months of the year. There is a bridge over the Maana (Moan-a) River in Rjukan (ROO-kahn). When the sun finally reaches the bridge in Spring, a day of holiday is declared. No wonder they left there for a place listed on their emigration documents as "Amerika".
When you think of Glenwood you think about Lake Minnewaska, not Ski Jumping. Would you believe the first National Ski Championship was held at Glenwood?
I noticed the ski ridge at Barsness Park, then found some historical photos of ski jumping at Glenwood and Starbuck.
Why Glenwood? Remember, this area was settled by Scandinavians. In the early years they used skis for transportation and the ski sport evolved naturally. Here is the full story.
National Ski Championship at
Glenwood, Minnesota
Gene Estensen
The first
National Ski Championship was held at Glenwood, Minnesota in 1916. The
Association publication, SKI ANNUAL, contained the following announcements:
The National
Ski Association of America has reason to congratulate itself over the selection
of Glenwood as the National Ski Tournament city for 1916. A more ideal location
than that of Glenwood would be hard to find. The city itself is beautiful,
modern, and progressive, with a citizenship of which any city would be proud.
Coupled with this, its unrivalled advantages as a ski tournament town, where
the ski lover may indulge in his favorite sport under the most favorable
natural advantages and amid pleasing scenic beauty, as well as a population
whose appreciation of the sport is on a high intellectual plane, leaves nothing
to be desired. Glenwood has made good.
Nearly one
hundred skiers participated in the tournament, and twenty-five delegates
attended the convention. Former Governor Eberhardt of Minnesota attended the
tournament and convention and addressed the delegates in the behalf of St.
Paul. Former State Auditor Iverson and Lieut. Governor Theo. Frankson also
honored the tournament and convention with their presence.
Three motion
picture cameras had operators present and took films of all tournament
contestants as well as the cross-country run. Exhibitions of these in all parts
of the country, not to mention in foreign lands, will hardly serve to detract
from Glenwood's fame as a city of winter sports.
The
following were winners at this first National Tournament:
Class A
1. Henry Hall, Steamboat
Springs, Colorado.
2. Ragnar Ostvedt,
Chicago, Illinois.
3. Carl Hall, Steamboat
Springs, Colorado.
4. Torleif Knutson, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
5. Axel Hendrickson, Duluth, Minnesota.
6. Bert Hanson, Colerain, Minnesota. (Tie)
7. Sigard Overby, Hudson,
Wisconsin. (Tie)
8. Oscar Gunderson,
Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. (Tie)
9. Lars Haugan, Chippewa
Falls, Wisconsin.
10. Barney Riley, Blair,
Wisconsin.
Class B
1. Andeas Olson, Iola,
Wisconsin.
2. Gilbert Haugan, Mt.
Horeb, Wisconsin.
3. Gunnar Overland,
Glenwood, Minnesota.
4. Earl Sunderson,
Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin.
5. L. A. Heily,
Northfield, Minnesota.
6. Kristen Jellum, Chicago,
Illinois.
7. Fred Godfrey, Chippewa
Falls, Wisconsin.
8. Arne Sletner, Chicago,
Illinois.
9. Adolph Fagerlund,
Northfield, Minnesota.
10. E. Syverson, Fergus Falls, Minnesota.
11. Eugene Sather,
Glenwood, Minnesota.
12. Albert Palm, Red Wing,
Minnesota.
Longest standing jump -
Andreas Olson.
Class C. -
Boys
1. Oliver Kaldahl,
Glenwood, Minnesota.
2. Phillip Peterson,
Glenwood, Minnesota.
3. Carl Norquist,
Glenwood, Minnesota.
4. George Fox, Glenwood, Minnesota.
5. Glen Bennett, Glenwood, Minnesota.
6. Arnold Roll, Glenwood,
Minnesota.
7. Dick McCauley,
Glenwood, Minnesota.
8. Ernst Dahl, Starbuck, Minnesota.
9. Olger Brosvig, Glenwood, Minnesota.
10. Mannie Kaldahl,
Glenwood, Minnesota.
Longest standing jump -
Earnest Kaldahl, 102 feet.
Thanks to the
skiers, visitors, and banquet guests are due to:
T. O.
Ofsthun, G. C. Torguson, G. C. Wellan, E. E. Kaldahl, Theo. Aune, Julius
Haugan, Michael Wollan, Sverge Overraine, Corny Wollan, and others who made our
visit a pleasant one and the tournament a success.
My home town of Hancock, Minnesota is just a speck on what is called the Great Plains. If you sit back and think about it you realize each of us is a very small cog in a very large wheel.
Great forces have been at work. The glaciers retreated and left the rich soil of the Great Plains. The prairie grasses on the plains became the home of the bison and the Sioux. The Sioux Uprising of 1862 led to the Sioux being pushed out toward Montana. They did get some revenge in 1876 along the Little Big Horn River.
The Great Northern Railroad of James J. Hill and others would transform the plains at it pushed through all the way from St. Paul to Seattle. The railroad got 40 million acres of rich farmland along the railroad from the government in order to finance the railroad. They set up marketing operations overseas to sell these lands. Immigrants from Norway, Sweden, and Germany would populate the plains with small farms and small towns like Hancock would pop up to serve the farmers. Some immigrants from France came down from Canada to establish Clontarf near Hancock. Some came from Switzerland and settled near Hancock and Morris, the Switzers.
Small towns like Hancock built large grain elevators to support the local farmers. That grain was then transported by the railroad to St. Paul where large companies like Cargill, General Mills, and Pillsbury would form to process the corn and grain coming in from the small farms out on the prairie.
In my lifetime, the small farms were swept up into the giant farms of today. Gains in farming technology would allow just two percent of the American population, the farmers, to feed the world. My grand parents Johnson owned a farm implement serving the local farmers. My grand parents Estensen owned an oil company which supplied gas and oil to the local farmers. Dianne grew up on one of those small farms of this region. Her dad planted corn.
Some young people stay here. Some, like Dianne and I, left for the Twin Cities and on to Germany, and Atlanta, and Hudson, Florida. It is when you return for a visit that you see the result of the great changes sweeping the plains. But the one constant is the corn fields.
Some of the best farmland on earth runs through Hancock. A look at a map of the corn belt shows us the range of that great crop land, running from the Red River Valley, down through the southern half of Minnesota and into Iowa and Illinois.
Yes, I grew up in the corn belt. Yes, there is corn everywhere around here, as far as the eye can see.
There is a certain amount of sadness in the story of Hancock during my lifetime. It is a story of change. The huge grain elevators track-side at Hancock held the grain of countless small farms. Those small farms are gone now, replaced by giant corporate farms. Agricultural Business is the big employer today. Riverview Farms, located between Hancock and Morris has over 1,000 employees at its various dairy farms. They milk 80 to 100 cows at a time at enormous facilities containing 4000+ milk cows. They have spread to five states now, all from one farm near Hancock. Yes, some of the children of the small farmers of my day are now running these corporate farms.
Want to see 80 cows milked at one time? Each cow has a computer chip and a life cycle. View the inputs and outputs of these giant farms near Hancock. Please take the time to watch in wonder at these short videos on Riverview Farms. I grew up with some of the owners.
What about main street Hancock? It is a victim of progress.
The bank where my mother worked is gone, closed.
The two hardware stores are gone. Glenwood has a nice ACE Hardware however. Go figure.
The two grocery stores are gone.
The Veterinary Clinic is gone.
The Medical Clinic is gone.
The liquor store is gone.
The VFW Club is gone. Dad managed that as Quartermaster for some 30 years, gratis.
Main street looks naked now.
Dad's Post Office is still there.
What is powerful in the Hancock of today is the school system. With Open Enrollment, the students flock in from long distances. Good schools require good teachers who own homes. Thus, Hancock has a lot of nice homes.
As an 18 year old, I went off to work at Hancock Concrete Products. It was a big outfit then, and really large now. Lots of good jobs for Hancock, then and now. I made cement tiles. Hard work.
Hancock Concrete Products is now a division of Superior Industries, another local company grown big. Superior is a multi-million dollar company known all over the work for its material handling and aggregate processing equipment.
My childhood in small town America was simple. I went off to grade school a long time ago. First day. Note the caps and the school in the background. All Minnesota men wear caps all day. Don't believe it? Come check it out. They all drive pickup trucks too. At least it seems like it.
Then, and now.
I grew up on ice skates. The town rink was near our home. Now the rink is a parking lot. "Take paradise and put up a parking lot".
Back to homes for a minute.
The home of my Estensen grand parents is still standing. The screen porch is different now as is the bar-b-q pit of large size in the back yard. Wow. The memories of get-together picnics in that back yard.
Here we go up the side walk between our homes, off to school. Larry and I dressed up on the Fridays when we had football games. Nice ties, no belt! The lady at the Hancock Record said I looked like Elvis. What do you think?
Driving around Hancock brings back a flood of memories. I can't drive down a farm road without remembering hunting pheasants with with Dad and Grandfather. Dad always liked to stop at Lake Emily to "check on the ducks and geese". I think it was his favorite quiet spot. We went back there and found it to be little changed. The dirt road is still there. Dianne caught me reflecting about when my dad stood in this very spot.
Growth of the Ag-business, school system, and concrete products contrast with the demise of downtown Hancock. Lot's of change there. Lot's of memories as I drive the country roads.
And it all started for me at Hancock when Osten (Austin) and Anne settled onto their farm on Long Lake near Hancock.
Hancock is now, as it was then, a nice place to grow up.
Please go back and view the videos on Riverview Farms. Amazing. I plan to take a tour soon and will provide an update.
