The Holdingford Area Historical Museum building has had a varied history itself.
Before it’s present use as museum starting in 2014 it was the
city’s Maintenance garage, before that
Holdingford school’s Ag shop and school bus repair shop. 1965 to 1975
Many people knew it as the Welna Produce Store, for a number of years starting in 1944.
Originally built in 1915 as a car dealership for Ford and Dodge cars, by Ben Schwieters.

Cool new addition to the Holdingford museum. A 1954 Rock-ola Jute Box model #1438

The Historical Society had a very pleasant surprise several weeks ago.

The City minutes from 1897 to 1930 which had been missing by best guess for about 80 years were

returned in very good condition.

We are in the process of digitizing them, for future research.

Through the efforts of many of the Historical society members.

The Museum made a giant step forward, creating displays so we were able to be open for

Holdingford Daze July 11 -12.  We had many people visit the museum.

At present the Museum is open by special arrangement

"The Ford in the River" is now Available

As said in the previous post The Holdingford Area Historical Society has reprinted a limited edition of  "The Ford in the River"  ,  the history of Holdingford written and published  by Father V. Yeserman in 1985
.


It is available locally at Headley Hardware Hank  or the Corner Pizza ,  Holdingford, Mn.

Also by mail  $25 per copy + $5.00 shipping & handling mail your name and phone number to JMC2619 at gmail.com

   Check or  money order only.

limited edition of "The Ford in the River"

The Holdingford Area Historical Society is reprinting a limited edition of  "The Ford in the River"  , the history of Holdingford written and published  by Father V. Yeserman in 1985

This would make a wonderful  Christmas gift, the book outlines the history  of accomplishments in the Holdingford area and would be a great  gift to pass onto our friends and relatives.

 $25 per copy

Reserve a copy at  Headley Hardware Hank , Holdingford, MN  or

e-mail your name and phone number to JMC2619 at gmail.com

Check or Cash no credit card.

Delivery date coming soon.

Support your local Historical Society ! 


This fall we were able to renovate the roof of our  future Museum  and are now raising funds to reinovate the interior.

History Plaques ready for Review

Click on the link to see the History Plaques that are ready for review.

Road Trip To Paynesville

The Holdingford Area Historical Society took a road trip to the Paynesville Area Historical Society's Museum.  We were very impressed with the work they have done on creating their museum.
It would be well worth your time to visit them.

Holdingford Historical Society finds a home

By Mike Kosik- Albany Enterprise




What started as a newly elected Holdingford city councilor's desire to get a record of past mayors and council members has bloomed into a full-fledged historical society.

"I started digging through the files for old minutes" of the city council, historical society member Mike Odden said.

As a result, one of the oldest buildings in Holdingford is being restored and will preserve the history of the area thanks to the efforts of the Holdingford Area Historical Society.

The building that most recently was used as the city's maintenance shop but has been turned over to the Holdingford Historical Society.

For a group that was formed about five years ago, they have taken on a big project. The first order of business is repairing the roof.

Bids were taken and the $16,000 project is scheduled for this fall.

Pretty soon a group of people interested in preserving the history of the Holdingford area met at the Corner Pizza and became the Holdingford Area Historical Society.

The society first looked at an old school house that was owned by Margaret Huls, a former teacher.

Huls, a society member, received the old school house with the stipulation that it would be preserved. Plans were to move the building, but issues regarding asbestos, the cost of moving the building and its condition squelched the idea.

At the time, Huls was a member of the Holding Township Historical Society.

What did pan out was the old Welna Produce building, located on the corner of Main Street and County Road 17.

The 80 by 40 foot building had also been used by the Holdingford School District for shop and agriculture classes before the city took it over, Odden said.

The building is still in good shape, but the roof leaks. Through various fundraisers, the society raised the money for the new roof.

After that plans are to section the building off for various displays.

One of those displays will be a one-room classroom, so the historical society will be able to use some of the old fixtures and items in the old school building that had been turned over to Huls.

The Welna building sits on an old railroad lease site. The railroad track is now the Lake Wobegon Trail, which is owned by the county.

"If the building is razed, nothing can go back there," historical society member Mark Koehn said.

Much of the exterior of the building will remain as is, but the interior displays will be a work in progress, said Sue Marstein, a city councilor and society member.

"It's going to be a 15-year project," historical society president Herman Ebnet said.

While fundraising will be an on-going activity, the historical society hopes to secure grants.

To that end, it needs to affiliate with the Stearns County History Museum and the Minnesota Historical Society. While neither organization provides funding or other assistance, it is a necessary step to get grant money.

But the historical society has initiated several fundraisers, and has done fairly well.

One of them is Minnesota 13 t-shirts. Minnesota 13 was the name given to the moonshine produced in Stearns County during Prohibition.

The Holdingford area was one of the hotbeds of moonshining and Minnesota 13 had the reputation of being a high quality, albeit elicit liquor.

The historical society also sells bottled water and has set up collection jars throughout the community.

The sale of CDs containing news stories from the Holdingford Advertiser is another fundraiser. Stories from issues of the Advertiser going back to the 1900s are on the CDs.

The Advertiser was the precursor to the Holdingford Herald, which published until 1972.

"It's been doing very well for us," Marstein said about the CDs.

The historical society hopes to tie in their building with the covered bridge over the Lake Wobegon Trail and the trail itself. A gift shop is one possibility.

While the historical society has many artifacts now, they are continuing to look for more, particularly old photos.

"People with old photos can donate them to the historical society," said member Jan Klug, or they can just drop them off and get them returned.

"If people have old photos they can give them to Mike (Odden) who will make copies and give the photos back," Ebnet said.

The Holdingford Area Historical Society is a not for profit organization and donations are tax deductible. Those who wish to donate can send their donation to Holdingford Area Historical Society, c/o Sue Marstein, Box 69, Holdingford, MN. 56304, or drop it off at the Stearns Bank in Holdingford.

Holdingford Holiday Events

Holdingford Holiday Events

Come home for the holidays!

2010 Holdingford Area Holiday Home Tour

The 2010 Holiday Home Tour will be held Saturday, December 4^th from 1-5 PM and

Sunday, December 5^th from 1-4 PM.    The following families will be welcoming guests into their homes which they have decorated for Christmas:

                  Dale & Kathy Bruns, Arlie & Marcy Lawrenz, Lee & Dana Paulzine, and

                  Idella Schneider-Two Rivers Guest House.   

As a special bonus tour (open to all--no ticket required), view the newly constructed

Community Country Church across from the Holdingford school and the St. Mary’s Parish House.

Those participating will enjoy refreshments at the Lake Wobegon Coffee Shop located on Main Street.  Also, ten local businesses have partnered with the Holdingford Area Historical Society (HAHS) and are offering holiday coupons for each ticket purchased. 

All proceeds go to the Historical Society and the future history museum.

Tickets may be purchased for $10 in advance or $12 on tour days at Holdingford Corner Pizza & Antiques, Holdingford Gas & Grocery, Headley Hardware Hank, Albany Country Floral & Gifts, and Paul & Kathy’s Grocery in Upsala.

Tree Lighting Ceremony

All are invited to attend!

The Holdingford Garden Club, “Pedals to Petals” will host the annual tree lighting ceremony on Friday, December 3, 2010. The ceremony will start at 6:30 PM in the Triangle Garden located at the intersection of River and Main Street.  Mayor Ernie Schmit will preside over the event, accompanied by local carolers as they ring in the new holiday season.

Free hot chocolate and cider will be served.

Annual Santa Breakfast

For All Ages!

A pancake and sausage breakfast with Santa Claus will be held on Sunday, December 5^th,

from 9AM-12:30PM at the Holdingford City Center on Main Street.
Sponsored by the Holdingford Women of Today

Legacies of Faith:Churches of Stearns County book Signing

 On November 2d John Roscoe presented the book Legacies of Faith:Churches of Stearns County to the Holdingford Area Historical society meeting.  It is a beautiful  full color, 232-page book with 180 color pictures by photographer Doug Ohman.

Below is excerpt from Article By Michael Jacobson, in Paynesville Press newspaper   9/9/09

Their new book - "Legacies of Faith" - traces the history of Stearns County, the founding of its 49 Catholic parishes, and the building and architecture of its 52 Catholic churches.  "We praise them for their architecture and their immigrant history.  What's remarkable is that throughout the United States, churches are disappearing.  But Stearns County is defying that demographic," said John, a retired English teacher in Albany who lives in Sartell.

 "When people drive by them, they take them for granted," agreed Bob, who studied architecture at the University of Minnesota and works in residential design, emphasizing historic preservation.  "They become commonplace.  And for people outside the county, they don't know they're here."

All the churches in Stearns County are still actively used, are in excellent condition, and have vibrant congregations.

The book - costing $19.95 - is being sold at various locations in the county, including the Stearns History Museum in St. Cloud and at Ben Around Books in Paynesville.  The book can also be ordered online at www.legaciesoffaith.net.

RIDING THE RAIL TO HOLDINGFORD

Coming up in July 10-11 is Holdingford Daze , the theme this year is
RIDING THE RAIL TO HOLDINGFORD. Based on the one hundred years since the Soo Line Railroad was officially opened on September 8th 1909. It had been built in 1907 and used but not officially opened.
A couple of special events are Friday evening 6:00-8:00 pm & Saturday all day, the Mn Central Railroad Club HO Scale Model Train Display will be at the City Center.
Friday night from 6:00-10:00 pm will be the First Holdingford Classic/Antique Car Show (on Main Street)

Tags: Holdingford small cities history Minnesota History Stearns County History Soo Line Railroad

Holdingford Daze-Historical Society Booth

Holdingford Daze was a very good day, we got to talk to a lot of people and we sold our "Mn13 non-alcoholic water", "Mn 13" t-shirts, sweatshirts but the highlight of the day was Special guest Elaine Davis author of "Minnesota 13" she was gracious enough to donate the proceeds of her book sales that day which totaled $544, to the Holdingford Area Historical Society, with the money to go toward restoration of the old city maintenance building to be used as a history museum. It's one of the oldest buildings in town. Very cool !!

Historical Society Birthday Party

Our birthday cake was eaten by the 40 people that came to the meeting.

A few of the people looking at some of the exhibits on display. More pictures will be coming by people with steady hands.
Tags: Holdingford small cities history Minnesota History Stearns County History

Historical Birthday Party

We want to let everyone know and invite the public to Our First Birthday Party !

The Holdingford Area Historical Society is celebrating its first birthday at its April 7th meeting. 7:00 pm. City Center, We will have a birthday cake and ice cream along with displays of local interest.

Tags: Holdingford small cities history Minnesota History Stearns County History

More on the Minnesota 13 Shirts

In case you missed it, the Mn 13 shirts we designed and had made are a fund raiser for the Holdingford Area Historical Society. Buy one or two or a dozen for the family, we are trying to raise funds to move a one room school house into town. They are for sale at the Corner Pizza and Antiques and the Municipal Liquor Store in Holdingford. Even some St. John's students found Holdingford and enjoyed their visit and pizza at the The Corner Pizza & Antiques. Verified by this youtube video they have proclaimed it the best pizza they had ever had in a antique store.

Tags: Holdingford small cities history Minnesota History Stearns County History Minnesota 13 shirts

Minnesota 13 Shirts

Well guess what. For a fund raiser The Historical society has decided to sell t-shirts and sweat shirts, hooded and regular. They can be had in 4 different colors, if ordered or what is available. Colors are light blue, natural, white, and ash. Your choice of these designs. They should be at the Corner pizza next week. So stop in and get one. And another for a Christmas present.

Tags: Holdingford small cities history Minnesota History Stearns County History Minnesota 13

Christmas Pizza

December 3d 7:00pm Historical Meeting will be a Christmas pizza and cookie party. We are having shirts made as a fundraiser for the historical society. Hopefully they will be done by then. See you there.Tags: Holdingford small cities history Minnesota History Stearns County History

Meeting With Minnesota 13 Author

We had a standing room only crowd at our historical society meeting with Author Elaine Davis (admittedly it's not a real large place).
There were many people there for the first time to listen to her discuss the book and ask questions. It went very well, with Ms. Davis talking about and showing some of her research on the book. A lot of folks were buying more than one copy to give as gifts. So she was busy for quite some time signing books. If you want a signed copy, Bev at the Corner Pizza and Antiques has a few . Get them while you can.

Tags: Holdingford small cities history Minnesota History Stearns County History Minnesota 13 Elaine Davis

Historical Society Parade Float

Some pics of our Historical Society float in the city parade. I think the folks who worked on it did one heck of a job. Some people though this was the school house we wanted to move into town. No, it was not. Actually it was originally a smoke house and was converted like this, by Dale Skroch one of our members, just for the parade.
Tags: Holdingford small cities history Minnesota History Stearns County History