History Plaques ready for Review

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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.

Tidbits From the Past

 Tom Long , had been looking at some old newspapers and was kind enough to share the information he gleaned with us.
Thanks Tom

July 21, 1910 - Sitting Bull Jr. and a small band of his braves, and one
medicine man came in off the reservation one night this week and treated the
citizens to a ghost dance.
March 2, 1911 - Henry Sandkamp has purchased the Merchants Hotel with
furniture. The price was $6100.
June 22, 1911 - "Real Estate Deal" - Henry Sandkamp bought the old drugstore
wing adjacent to the Merchants Hotel from Val Herman last Monday morning.
The price of the property has not been given out, but is understood to be
about $3500 to $4000. The property is a two story brick veneered building
with a full stone basement and also includes a piece of ground in the angle
between the hotel and the addition just transferred. Mr. Sandkamp has now a
handsome and valuable piece of property as there is in town.
May 15, 1913 - "New Telephone Service" - Holdingford has now the most
complete and prompt service that can be procured. The Northwestern Telephone
Company has begun a continuous day and night service with Miss Mary Abeln as
chief operator and Miss Lizzie Sandkamp as assistant. Holdingford has wanted
this service for many years and will now take pride in at last securing the
best there is to be had. Nothing slow about this town!
October 29, 1914 - "Attention" A meeting of the citizens of Holdingford will
be held in the Scenic Opera House, Saturday evening Oct. 31st, 1914, at 7:30
to consider the matter of electric lights. A representative from
Minneapolis, and others, will be on hand to give information on the subject.
Everyone is invited to attend.
December 10, 1914 - "Lights Coming" - It takes a time keeper and a card
index to keep up with Holdingford.
We are going to have electric lights after all. They are almost ready. The
building is up and the machinery will be installed at once. The poles have
been set and the wire strung and today we print the franchise and the
contract whereby the village gets street lights. About the middle of January
next, Holdingford will be shining like a jewel.
January 14, 1915 - The electric light plant was first started up last Friday
evening and light furnished in the corner saloon for a while. Saturday
evening the lights were turned on the streets. It certainly looked good. The
lights will not be turned on regularly for a few days yet.
June 10, 1915 - Val Herman has traded his lot back of the Merchants Hotel to
Henry Sandkamp for a lot opposite the depot near Mr. Stewart's residence.
This last lot he has sold to the Standard Oil Company which is now putting
in two storage tanks for kerosene and gasoline. Mr. Herman will now have
charge of the station here and will run a tank team to deliver oil to nearby
stations.
February 3, 1916 - Nemec Theatre, St. Cloud - One week starting February 6,
Sunday matinee - Elliot and Sherman present twice daily - "The Worlds
Mightiest Spectacle", D.W. Griffith's "The Birth of a Nation". Good Horses,
18,000 People, 5,000 Scenes, Cost $500,000, Symphony Orchestra of 30.
Daily Matinees, 25c, 50c, 75c, 1.00
Evening "	50c, 75c, 1.00, 1.50
November 29, 1917 - "Thanksgiving Midnight Supper" - A big Thanksgiving
mid-night supper will be served The Merchants Hotel beginning at 11:00 p.m.
Price 75c per couple. Everyone is cordially invited to come and enjoy a
good, square meal.
December 27, 1917 - The Merchants Hotel has put on fire escape ladders on
the east and south side of the building to comply with the state
regulations. Winkler Brothers won the contract, and their valuable employ,
Stephen Gruidl made the iron fire escapes here, which is a creditable piece
of work.
February 28, 1918 - "Holdingford Lightless" - The mass meeting held here
last Monday evening by Mr. Fred Speechly, secretary of the Holdingford Light
Company. was not very well attended, and according to all probabilities,
Holdingford will not only have Wheatless, Meatless, Heatless, Snowless, days
but most of all "Lightless nights" and the people of this community are
wondering what the "whatnextless" will mean.
May 27, 1920 - "Aeroplane creates sensation in Holdingford on Monday" -
Cyril Stodolka, the Royalton aviator, accompanied by Alvin Orth, arrived on
the Frank Meier field at five-thirty Monday afternoon with 65-horse Curtis.
He came over in about 8 minutes against the wind. The news of his coming was
circulated around earlier in the day, and a large crowd of spectators were
awaiting his arrival.

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

St. Hedwig’s Church Centenial Holdingford, Mn

St. Hedwig’s Church  of Holdingford is Celebrating 100 Years ! on September 12, 2010

below is the schedule for the day.
9:00-10:30 AM
FREE Shuttle from Holdingford High
School Parking Lot (every 15 minutes)
10:00 AM
Rendition of Hymns of the Past 100 Years
& Performed by Church Choir
10:30 AM
Celebration Mass with Bishop Kinney
Past & Present Parish Priests Co-Celebrate
12:00-2:30 PM
Chicken & Ham Dinner (Free Will Offering)
Proceeds Will be Donated to;
The Five Parish Youth Group, Helping Hands
Outreach, Holdingford Area Historical Society,
Holdingford Food Shelf and Homa Bay
(St. Hedwig’s Sister Parish)

12:00-6:00 PM (Shuttle Continues)
Activities
Live Music, Silent Auction, Bingo, Guided
and Self-Guided Church Tours, Children’s
Rides &  Games
Stands
Country Store, Memorabilia, Garden
Harvest, Crafts & Quilts
Booths
Polish Specialty Foods, Beer, Popcorn,
Cotton Candy, Drinks, Hamburger &
Polish Sausage
Historical Church Artifacts and Images on
Display in the Religious Education Center

Their limited edition Centennial Book (Harvesting a Heritage of Charity)The book has the history of the church, Interesting articles on certain functions within the church, Family memories (especially showcasing families that were here when the original church was built), biographies of past priests, lots of photos and of course it finishes out with a section of favorite recipes. It costs $18.95 and is available at Helping Hands, Headley Hardware and also can be ordered  at  320-746-2426.

Senator Joe McCarthy +Baseball+Holdingford

In a Life Magazine Oct 18, 1968 article, Senator Joe McCarthy talks about his time playing in the  Great Soo League.  See if you can find where he talks about the pink hats and pink sweaters, worn by one of the teams.

The Henry Sandkamp Family

We recently had the pleasure of meeting another individual, one Tom Long from Maitland, Florida who has traced his great grandfather's family back to the early 1900's when they were active members in the village of Holdingford. He has researched the "Advertiser" newspaper for information on his ancestors.

Enjoy reading the following narrative of the lives and times of the great-grandparents of Tom Long, Henry and Katherine Sandkamp, and their family as reported by the Holdingford, Minnesota weekly “Advertiser” newspaper from 1908 to 1921.
The Sandkamp Family History

Tom is the newest member of the Holdingford Area Historical Society, you can join  also :)

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.

Holdingford's Soldiers Shrine

Holdingford's Soldiers Shrine: Anniversary quietly passes by
by Roberta Olson
(Created: Tuesday, September 15, 2009 10:16 AM CDT

The massive Soldiers Shrine is 42 feet long, 18 feet wide, and 22 feet high. It features statues, and flags. The statues were completely refinished in July of 2009.

An anniversary in Holdingford quietly passed by on Sunday, Sept. 6.

It was the 67th anniversary of the day the Soldiers Shrine was dedicated in 1942.

As the Parish of St. Hedwig prepares for its centennial in 2010, a new realization of the history of the parish, and of the World War II shrine, is being experienced.

The shrine in Holdingford, located across the street from the St. Hedwig's on a corner lot, was the very first shrine built in the United States to honor those who served in the U. S. Armed Forces, at home and abroad.

Five thousand people attended the ceremonies, held in the middle of World War II. Among the dignitaries were Governor Harold Stassen, Charles Brenny, mayor of Holdingford; Frederick Schilplin, publisher of the St. Cloud Daily Times; Rev. Gilbert Winkelman, OSB, dean of the School of Architecture at St. John's University; Dr. E. J. Schmitz, master of ceremonies, and The Rev. Fr. John Kromolicki, pastor of St. Hedwig's.

The shrine measures 42 feet long, 18 feet wide, and 22 feet high. Four carved angels with trumpets stand in procession, followed by a large statue of Christ. In July of 2009, in preparation for next year's centennial, the statues were refurbished by Linda Mader. The shrine's altars had been refurbished in 2007. Beautiful flower gardens have been planted around the shrine, and are at peak bloom now.

At one time plaques with names of more than 100 soldiers were embedded into the walls of the shrine. Today they are no longer visible. The four crosses on the shrine are in memory of four young men from Holdingford who died during the war. They are Elmer Kerestes, Pearl Harbor; Walter R. Mattson, St. Lo, France; Walter Krystosek, Anzio Beach, Italy; and Joseph Troxil, U. S. Navy who died at sea.

The original dedication

Gov. Stassen praised the countless volunteers who made Fr. Kromolicki's vision a reality. "The nation must hold true to the basic rights and precepts given them by God or a just peace would be but a vain hope," he said.

Fred Schilplin commented, "This beautiful community's Soldiers' Shrine is the expression of his love and the love of all the people of Holdingford, Stearns County and central Minnesota for the defenders of democracy everywhere." He said "The shrine will stand through the years as a loving patriotic tribute and a physical emblem of the faith of a whole community."

Rev. Gilbert Winkelman, OSB, dean of the School of Architecture at St. John's University, designed the shrine. It was constructed by Edward Feia, his son, Donald, and many parish volunteers. Many area farmers donated more than 540 loads of fieldstone for the construction.

St. Hedwig's Church is a member of the Five Parish Catholic Community. Fr. Mark Stang is the pastor, with Fr. Gregory Ombok serving as interim pastor. The five parishes include St. Hedwig's and St. Mary's of Holdingford; Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Opole; St. Columbkill's in St. Wendel; and Immaculate Conception in St. Anna.

St. Hedwig Church's Centennial celebration has been set for Sept. 12, 2010.