Part 1 of 2: Elderly residents of Pioneer Apartments in 1977. They discuss school memories from early 1900s including teachers, activities, and sports. They also discuss after school activities including their chores, outdoor games, winter sports, dances, picnics, and family life. Other topics include: boarding houses and boarders, the Pengilly Mine, and the Ojibwe families on Burntside Lake and Basswood Lake. Also discussed are the 1910 forest fire and the Vail Hotel fire. Part 2 of 2: Interview with former teacher Mrs. Evancho...? Teacher and principal at the 26-Zenith-Savoy location school which had two classrooms and two teachers. She taught grades 3-6. Mr. Burns, superintendent.
Interview with Frank and Stan Smuk. Frank and Stan were the sons of Yugoslav immigrant parents. The two men began work in the mines in 1941 and 1947 respectively. Stan worked with the mine credit union while Frank was a contract miner. They spoke of the pranks they pulled on other workers. Accidents were frequent. Rocks fell on workers and the tunnels collapsed. Even with broken bones men would go to work and be given light duty. The Smuk brothers did a lot of hunting and fishing. The whole family played the accordion. They also played on the city softball teams that competed against other towns. Frank belongs to the American Legion and the VFW. He had served in the Air Force during World War II. Stan was blind in one eye so was turned down for the army.
Interviews with Mary Mackie, Mary Berrini, and Beatrice Masnari. They discuss immigration. Mackie's and Berrini's parents emigrated from Italy seeking better lives and jobs. Masnari arrived in 1931 to join her husband who had come to Ely some years before. Italian was spoken at home, but they learned English at school. They lived in the Chandler Location where the housing costs were paid by the owners. They discuss their chores, including hauling water in boilers on sleds or wagons, carrying buckets of water using yokes, and pumping well water. Lake water was used for gardens and washing clothes. Drinking water was dipped from a pail. Bringing in wood and hauling out ashes, shoveling snow, scrubbing floors (three times a week). Sense of community: People got along well, helping each other out. Groups of men would hunt together and share game. Families shared garden produce and people would help each other building homes. In addition to gardens, families had chickens, ducks, geese, rabbits and cows. Many home remedies were used for illnesses. Making grappa (wine). Games and entertainment included Bocce ball, Briscola, and adult card game, movies, Duck on the Rock, making skimmers from barrel staves, rolling hoops, carnivals and circuses. Shops and peddlers: The Chocolate Shop, Mr. Bismark's candy store, grocery stores that delivered, Mr. Giacomo's ice cream cart, the door-to-door scissors sharpener who came to Ely once a year, the organ grinder and his monkey. They discuss their Christmas memories, when Italian traditions were observed with Italian foods. The Christmas tree was decorated with candy, popcorn, and candles. Christmas gifts included fruit, nuts, and candy.
In an oral history, Albert Bye describes his parents coming from Norway to Minnesota, his family life growing up starting with his birth in 1894, him being drafted during World War I, and his life as a young adult.
In an oral history, Alec Ruttger discusses how his parents started a resort in Crow Wing County, how he took it over and expanded it, and that his three brothers also got involved in the resort business. As a family, they built up the very well known Ruttger empire of resort locations.
This interview discusses the topic of immigration and Angela's parents, Rosalie and John, and their journey from Yugoslavia, circa 1890. Angela was born in Ely on August 17, 1900. She also discusses family life, Lincoln School, St. Anthony's Catholic Church, her marriage, mines, and life in early Ely.
Interview with Anna Camaish. Anna came to America with her mother in 1914. Her father had left Yugoslavia in 1906. The family came to Biwabik, Minnesota first where the father worked in the Bangor Mine. When it closed he worked in the Biwabik Mine and the Aurora Mine until they too played out. Then the family moved to Ely where he worked in the Pioneer Mine. Anna compares life in Yugoslavia with life in America and while they were poor in both countries, being poor in America was a lot better. People here helped each other. Not so in the old country. In Yugoslavia her mother would work weeding gardens for 15 cents a day and often the family went hungry. In America they had a pig, chickens, a cow, and rabbits. They sold eggs and milk, and raised vegetables. Anna remembers the Influenza Epidemic of 1918-1919 with all the schools closed. She compares the way women were treated in Yugoslavia to the way they were treated in America where it was the women and children first, not last. Anna met her husband Joe when working at the Chocolate Shop. She was 21 when they married. He was English and her mother felt inferior to him although he always treated her well. The Englishmen had all the top mining jobs.
In an oral history, Bill Van Essen talks about his family's restaurant, Van's Cafe, which was a Brainerd landmark. He also discusses other lone-gone Brainerd restaurants, and how eating out and the business community has evolved.
Interview with Bob Olson of Canoe Country Outfitters. Bob Olson started the business in 1950 when there were no restrictions on traveling in what was the Superior National Forest. In the 1960s the environmentalists were beginning to get laws passed restricting travel in what became the BWCA. In 1964 the Wilderness Bill was passed with partial bans on motors and no cans and bottles could be taken into the area. Ely became known as "Canoe Town" and it was advertised that way heavily at sports shows and in magazines. Resentment was beginning to grow and even in 1979 Bob was aware of the resentment shown by local people towards the tourists. He goes on to talk about outfitters losing business at the rate of 3-5% per year since 1970 due to the quota system and other restrictions. he estimated that by 1980 it would be 20-30%.
Interview with Ben Richards. Ben Richards was born in Dodgeville, Wisconsin and moved to Ely in 1916 when he was 21. He worked for the Todd Stanbow Mining Company and then in the Xenith Mine in 1928 as a superintendent. He would go underground three days a week to inspect the work. He had mostly Finnish and Slovak workers and was responsible for more than 400 men. He attended the Presbyterian church. The population of Ely was around 6,000, so there were many students attending school. The mines provided 90% of the funding for the schools. He loved working in the underground mine. The draft during World War II took most of the younger men so they had to hire men in their late 50s early 60s. He worked in the mines from 1916 to 1959. Ben noted that he didn't see much of a future for Ely without mining.
In an oral history, Burton Stanley tells of arriving in the Pequot Lakes area in 1900, riding on a logging train on a 50 below zero February day. He also talks about his work in the logging industry working with a team of horses, repairing early autos, harness making, and horseshoe making. He explains how he thinks that people were better off in the ""old days"" than they are in 1975, when this interview was recorded.
In an oral history, Carl Byers describes his early work as a lumberjack, working for the WPA during the depression, his dealings with Indians, and returning to the logging industry.
Interview with Cecil Kuitenen. He discusses his immigration from Finland in 1901 at 4 years old. Steerage class aboard the "RMS Umbria" through Ellis Island, New York. He also talks about Winton, Minnesota and sawmills, logging, jobs, boarding house, housing, schools, and Finn Hall including the plays, lectures, library, basket socials, apron socials, and the Winton church. He talks about mining at Section 30. He also speaks about his return visit to Finland and the social/political landscape of Europe. He relates his reasons for leaving Finland, Finnish/Swedish relations, Finnish/Russian relations, the Winter War. He also discusses the social/political aspect of Minnesota including U.S. citizenship, unions, socialists. Individuals mentioned: mill owners, Knox, Torinus brothers, Ely banker Mr. White, Sunday School teachers Mrs. Anderson, and Mrs. Johnson (Ruby Nichols Johnson).
In an oral history, Charles Warnberg, a former sheriff of Crow Wing County, talks about the the old jail/sheriff's residence, the state of law enforcement when he was in office, and some the crimes that were committed.
Interview with Checker Hillman. Checker Hillman was born in Two Harbors in 1911. His maternal grandmother was Irish. His maternal grandfather, William LaBeau (LeBeau), was French and he left home in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan as a young teenager. Family history claims a relative traveled the Great Lakes in "the big canoes," to Grand Portage and Fort William, possibly a voyageur. William and his wife traveled by wagon from Duluth to Tower, Minnesota where their son, William LaBeau, Jr., was born in 1883 - he was the first white child born north of Duluth. William (Sr.) worked for Bob Whiteside as a driller with a team of several men that traveled by canoe form Tower to the Ely area to explore for ore. William never worked as a miner, but he did work as a fireman, the chief of police in Ely, and a policeman for the Oliver Mine. Checker's father, who worked for the D & IRR, died of an unknown illness when Checker was very young. Checker, his two younger sisters, and his mother went to live with his maternal grandparents. Checker discusses early Ely. There was an influx of immigrants after iron ore was discovered in the Ely area, mostly Finnish and Slovenian with Cornish mine bosses. The adult immigrants segregated themselves, but their children later intermarried. Checker discusses mining. There were no unions in the early days. There were safety issues, i.e. workers wore soft hats, no hard-toed boots. The candles and later carbide lamps provided poor light. Conditions in the mines varied. For example, the Pioneer Mine had many mud slides due to the wet, soft, ground conditions. The Zenith Mine, which had harder ground, didn't have issues with mud slides. Techniques ranged from "drifing and slicing" at the Pioneer Mine to "cave" mining at the Zenith Mine. Augers could be used in softer ground (auger ground) instead of drilling with bits. Checker recounts two fatal accidents in the Zenith Mine. One man was killed when an overhead slab fell on him. Mines were like small communities with teams of men doing various jobs: drillers, tuggers, maintenance, electricians, and so on. Underground miners worked in two-man teams. Checker started working about age 15 or 16 at the Pioneer Mine stock pile for $2.50 for a 10-hour day. Older workers could make $3.50 per day. When he started working in the Xenith Mine in the late 1930s or early 1940s, there was no union. As the union began to organize he was reluctant to join because he had promised an uncle and the mine superintendent, Ben Richards, that he wouldn't. He was pressured by a union organizer, George Kochevar, to join, and did eventually - one of the last to sign up.
In an oral history, Mrs. Burton (Clara) Stanley relates the tough times as a child, not being able to start school until 8 years old in 1903, and only going until the 4th grade because she then had to go to work. She also talks about what various things were like in the early part of the 20th century, her husband's place of business burning down, and wildlife that existed.
In an oral history, Ed Ruttger tells of his father, who came from Germany and was a machinist, got started in the resort business on Bay Lake near Deerwood, and his family's involvement.
In an oral history, Emery Dibble discusses several topics including moving to Crow Wing County via a covered wagon pulled by a team of oxen, a fire destroying all of his family's possessions, his mother having to work to support the family, his life growing up, and jobs he's had over the years.
In an oral history, Ernie Cate discusses his early family life near Brainerd, his elementary schooling, being in the service during World War I, and working with Indians in his business.
In an oral history, Mrs. Charlie (Esther) Jokela discusses various topics including growing up in a Finnish family near Brainerd, going to a country school, and life on the farm after she got married.
Interview with Frances Nelson. Frances Nelson tells her granddaughter what Ely was like in 1915. There were no sidewalks or cars but transportation was by horse and wagons. There was one grocery store. There were a lot of Finnish and Slovenians and many of them didn't speak English. Milk was 5 cents a quart. Her family used the wood for heat and cooking because they had no coal. They walked everywhere and carried their lunches to school. When World War I broke out there was a diphtheria epidemic and they were quarantined. Native Americans would come around and ask for work. She said her family was very poor with no changes of clothing. When World War II broke out all of her brothers were drafted. One brother came home with yellow jaundice. She felt people were healthier then though because there were no chemicals in their food.
In an oral history, Frank Gutz talks about moving to Pequot Lakes after his wife died during the flu epidemic of 1918 to keep his children from going into an orphanage. He also discusses what Peqout lakes was like during the 1920s and the Depression, his work as a painter, rationing during World War II, and various other things.
Interview with Frank Muvich. Frank's parents were born in Yugoslavia, but they met in Michigan where his father worked as a stevedore on the boats. He had a cousin in Michigan. His mother came to this country because others were immigrating and life was so hard there that she felt it had to be better in the United States. They arrived in Ely in the late 1880s where he worked at the Chandler Mine and later the Pioneer Mine. Conditions were terrible as the only tools used were the pick, shovel, and dynamite. There were nine children in the family with Frank being the eighth child. His younger sister died. Frank started working at 19 and was given his father position when he retired after 35 years. He was glad to have the position as it was 1936 and during the Great Depression. He became a contract miner but the Pioneer Mine didn't play fair with the contracts and cut the price if they felt the miners were earning too much. He joined the union on day 1. They met at Pink Hall where the company would position people to write down the names of the men attending the meetings. The company tried to organize their own union for their favorites but as it was illegal they had to disband. Frank talks about mine accidents, acid rain in the mine, and of his relief when the Pioneer Mine closed for good. He liked the crew, but he hated the work. Happy and relieved, Frank went to work for the EPA and felt he had been let out of prison.
Interview with Harlan and Bertha Krause. Note: This tape is very fuzzy and hard to understand. He talks about his parents moving from somewhere in South Dakota to Browns Valley, Minnesota in order to farm. His family came to Ely from Browns Valley in 1923 because they were sick of farming. His father was hired at the Pioneer Mine as a timberman to start with. Later he was a janitor in the shop buildings. He died in 1939. Harlan began working at the Pioneer Mine in 1926. He retired 41 years later when the Pioneer closed its doors. A religious man, he preached salvation wherever he could. When he was given the choice between joining the union or losing his job, he refused to join the union and he also kept his job. The same was true when he was offered group insurance through the mine. He refused the insurance even though it meant that the quota of insured men was too low for good rates. He felt his sustenance came from God, not the Oliver Mining Company.
Interview with Harold Nelson. Harold volunteered for the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) during the Great Depression. He was stationed in Isabella and decided to stay there after his tour was done. The CCC men were paid $30 a month but $25 was sent to their families. When the CCC camps shut down he was left with out work but managed to get some work with the AAWPS and then worked for the Evergreen Mine for three years. When it closed he worked for the Zenith Mine and then the Sibley Mine where he stayed until World War II ended. Eventually he was hired at the Pioneer Mine where he worked for 20 years until he retired.
In an oral history, Henry Mattson tells about his father coming from Sweden to homestead near Brainerd about 1896. He also talks about things he remembers from his childhood up to World War I like life on the farm, his schooling, and cutting wood to sell. He also speaks of things concerning the 1920s and 1930s and how he help to build the telephone lines in the area.
In an oral history, Herb Anderson describes his family coming to Crow Wing County from Sweden experiences he had as a youngster, encounters his famly had with Indians, his parents starting a resort, and general information about the area in the early part of the 20th century.
In an oral history, Herbert Frank Thiesse tells about how life was growing up on a dairy farm during the Depression years and what the family did to survive.
Note: This tape does not begin at the beginning but jumps into the subject mid-sentence. Isabel speaks of being on the school board and the problems faced when the Superintendent was a Catholic and many on the board were Lutherans. She said that a man she had admired and thought most upright and decent remarked when a majority of the board were Lutherans that now they could "get" the superintendent. Women, for the most part, did not run for public office. Their husbands would not like having their wives in the public like that. In thinking it over she was proud that she had run for school board and served her term but wouldn't do it again. Talking about Ely's future (in the 1980s), she saw Ely as stuck with tourism now that the mines were closed. However more restrictions were being placed on tourism as well making it difficult to make a living as a resort-owner, too. In the mid-1950s, drilling companies were busy drilling along Highway 1 for precious metals, gold in particular. Now even those explorations were gone as the government put more restrictions on land usage. She speaks of declining populations citing how whole neighborhoods that once teemed with children now house old, single women. One thing, she said, is that as you get old you don't lie awake thinking of the things you shouldn't have done, but instead you think of the things you should have done. The children suffer, she said, when women try to have it all and their marriages pay the price as well.
In an oral history, Mrs. Ed (Jessie) Berg describes her family coming to Crow Wing County, her experiences as a teacher starting in 1903, her husband's work, and her thoughts on various historical events.
Interview with Julia Purdy. Julia was born in 1890 and taught school in Tower until she met and married her husband John. Most of her interview is on her husband and his job on the D & IR Railroad where he worked from 1905-1914. As his lungs weren't strong he wintered in California or Colorado where he worked as a switchman for various railroads. He as also the constable and town clerk for the Town of Morse. Julia then held that position for 25 years and she also worked as janitor a the DM&IR depot. When tourism was being developed they began a bait service and rented fishing boats on Shagawa. John died of TV at Nopemming in 1948.
Interview with Lee Brownell. Lee Brownell was born in Wisconsin. His mother was from Wisconsin. His father was from Michigan. Lee's father came to Tower in 1886, and later arrived in Ely in 1888. His father was a supervisor for the Forest Service in Ely until 1919 and then transferred to Colorado. When he came back from Colorado he quit the Forest Service and opened a meat market. Lee discusses his work as a miner, including the Pioneer Mine in Ely.
In an oral history, Lucille Shaw, a life-long resident of Brainerd, relates how she contracted polio as a child (which she recovered from) and her teachers would come to her home so she could get her education. She also tells about starting a successful book store business, and buying a house which she paid for by having renters in the upstairs. She speaks of her family history, life during the Depression, and old businesses of Brianerd.
In an oral history, Mabel Foss talks about her husband and her running a restaurant, coming to Brainerd in 1929 and running a grocery store, and her church.
Interview with Marion Columbo. Marion Columbo speaks on Ely history and promotes her two books, "Roaring Stony Days" and "The History of Incredible Ely." She speaks at length about Ely schools and the quality of its education.
Interview with Mary Anderson. Mary Anderson was born on Burntside Lake. Her mother was an Objiwe (sometimes called Chippewa) who was born on the Indian Reservation near Tower, Minnesota, the Bois Forte Indian Reservation. Her father, who was French and Irish, was born in Norway, Michigan. When her father was 14 his family moved to Tower. Mary said her parents each had to learn the other's language. Mary explained about how her father's family never accepted his Native American wife.
Interview with Mary Marsnik. Mary Marsnik was born in Ely in 1906. Her parents were married in Austria/Hungary and their first two children died and were buried there. Her father came to Soudan, Minnesota in 1900 and worked in the mine there. He meant to go back to get his wife but instead moved to Ely where he worked in the Pioneer Mine. His wife came in 1905 reluctantly and she never liked it here. She remembers her father coming home and changing clothes in a shed in the yard. His knees would be all dirty and bleeding as all his work was done on his knees as the drifts were so low. Mary would take hot water and a towel and bathe her fathers' knees. He was paid $1.50 a day. Later, the pay was raised to $2.00 a day. There were nine children in her family. As the oldest she had a lot to do and could bake bread by the time she was nine. They had a garden plot where Vermilion College is today. Mary married at 15. Five years later she was a widow with three children and a fourth on the way. Two years later she remarried and had nine more children. All finished school and four graduated college in the same year! In 1976 she was named Mother of the Year in Ely and the following year she was runner up Mother of the Year for the State of Minnesota.
She came from Yugoslavia by ship to visit her brother, aunt and uncle, arriving in New York on February 16, 1913. She came to Ely by train and decided to stay. She met her husband in Yugoslavia. They were married in Ely by Father Buh. They had six children. Her husband as an underground miner earning $2.40 a day. She as a teacher in Yugoslavia but not in Ely. She spoke English and taught others English and helped with citizenship applications. Shipman Hospital. Dr. Shipman, Sutherland, and Ayres. 1918 Influenza Epidemic. The hospital couldn't handle all the patients so some were housed at the Community Center. The dead were taken immediately to the mortuary above the James Laing store and buried right away. Her brother was one of the first victims. one day there were so many deaths that the Catholic church suspended its tradition of ringing the church bells when a parishioner died. Depression. Job losses. Prohibition, making moonshine. Ely Ely, Camp Street, Sheridan Street, stores, wooden sidewalks. Fourth of July she marched in the parade with Lodge #2. There were four lodges. There were Lodge flags, bands, and dancing at Sandy Point.
In an oral history, Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Dropping talks about various topics including his family moving to the Jenkins area in 1901, his life growing up on a farm, her career as a teacher, and life during the Depression years.
In an oral history, Mrs. Annie Bragstadt describes her family life in Norway, the journey from there to Minnesota in 1903, and her life as a young adult, before and after her marriage in 1914.
In an oral history, Mrs. Christine Rowland (nee Olson) discusses her family history and her memories and involvement with her church in Brainerd, of which she has been a member for 82 years.
Interview with Mrs. John Ostlund (nee Ellen Reko, born 1913 in Winton, Minnesota. In the interview Ellen discusses her parents- Finnish immigrants, William and Hilma Reko; father worked in the mine. He walked to work along the railroad tracks or rode a bicycle. Activities: Games- King of the Hill, Kick the Can, Hide and Seek, Run Sheep Run. Depression era picnics with crackers, butter and sugar lumps. Skating and bonfires on the frozen (glare ice) river; skating on Fall Lake using clamp-on skates, playing Crack the Whip. Rowboats and launches. Camping on the weekends, Winton power dam, site for fishing and picnicking on Fall Lake; Learning to swim at the sandy point across the lake from the power dam. Swimming in petticoats and underwear, no swim suits. Riding a flat car to Cedar Lake to pick blueberries. Waling to Section 30 to pick raspberries and have lunch. Waling to Ely in groups to go to the movies. Ticket price 15 cents. Silent movies. She remembers All Quiet on the Western Front. Favorite actors- Joan Crawford, Clara Bow, Rudolph Valentino, Gilbert Roland, Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford. Bobsled parties with teachers. Winton sites: Bob Bedford's livery stable with carriages, sleighs with velvet tapestry. He had one of the early cars in the area. The ice cream parlor located whter the old post office was. A saloon located withe the playground is today. John (or Jeff) St. Marie owned a touring car and gave rides to local children.
In an oral history, Mrs. Emily Cline describes her family coming to Crow Wing County in 1896, her life as a youngster in the Pequot Lakes area, and job working at a resort during the Depression, where she met several Hollywood movie stars.
In an oral history, Mrs. William Dickson discusses her family coming to Crow Wing County in the late 1800s, her early schooling, her German-born father's feelings about World War I, and the Depression years.
