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Page 65 text:
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home-talent play. One of these plays. The Last Loaf, given in 1914, in- cluded the following characters: James Green, Karl Beaty, Art Erick- son, Ray Beaty, Karl Erickson, Josie Olson, Lillie Erickson, and Mildred Crane. School notes were given every week in the local paper and in the Decem- ber 9, 1915 issue, was found the follow- ing article: An innocent mouse ran across the floor when the pupils were either whispering or studying in the assembly. It just made the Freshman girls jump. Merlyn eyed him coming along the wall and slugged him with a giant pencil and the poor thing de- parted from this world forever. We take it that it was Merlyn Shannon who did this heroic deed, because Merlyn always was one to protect the girls. At a council meeting in May 1916, the village council decided to take electric power from the Fergus Falls Power Company. The plant was bought by the city so that there would be no misunderstanding between the village and the power company. In 1917 war broke out and many of the local young men enlisted in the army or navy. More and more men went at every call until there were very few left. When the news of the Armistice reached Clinton there was a great celebration with a big parade led by the Long Island band and a program held at the park consisting of music, songs, and speeches. In February, 1920, Clinton organized a band and the following officers were elected: President, Carl Olson, vice president, Courtney Krookg sec- retary, Laye Englundg and treasurer, Clarence Condit. R. M. Beaty was ap- pointed leader and conductor of the band. The annual county fair held Sep- tember 1920, had its record crowd of 7.500 people. During the year 1922 the village council had tile placed on main street and the people planted flowers in them, In 1923 a 325,000 fire occurred in Clinton, and four buildings were razed. The fire started during a terrible blizzard and it was impossible to get it extinguished. In the period from 1920 to 1940 there were few changes in our com- munity. The one thing which probably changed Clinton more than anything else, was the drouth which reached this vicinity in 1933 and continued until 1936. The lawns, fields. and pas- tures were like barren roads covered with Russian thistles. Large groves of trees perished. Not until this time did we really appreciate grass and green foliage. All feed had to be ship- ped in, and it was a common sight to see a farmer taking home a couple bales of hay for his cattle. We Wish to pay tribute to the farmers and to the people of Clinton who, despite all obstacles, kept on and never gave up. Clinton has experienced a great many fires in its time, but probably the worst ones occurred in 1937 and 1939. In 1937, the Odd Fellows build- ing burned. The fire was caused by a movie machine which -caught fire. The fire spread quickly and the hall was a complete loss. Then in 1939 our schoolhouse, a S100,000 building, was almost completely destroyed. The old part of the building, built in 1913, was burned completely and the new addition to the building was damaged by fire, water and smoke. The school is now being rebuilt and will be ready for the next fall term. For the remain- der of the 1939 school term school was held in various buildings around town. This last year school has been held in the Masonic Hall, and the rooms above the Ross Hardware Store. The music room is located in the Mickelson building. Clinton and the surrounding terri- tory has grown to be a thriving com- munity. The present Council consists of: Mayor, Dr. J. L. Fjeldeg Clerk, Ed- ward Gustafson, Alex Ringness. Her- man Anderson. and Ralph Moore. The following business places are now found here: one drug store, three restaurants, two hardware stores two pool halls, one beauty parlor. three barber shops, one state bank. one bakery, four garages, one creamery, two blacksmith shops, one liquor store, one physician, one dentist. one butch- er shop, three grocery stores, a de- partment store, one 1'eal-estate office, a post office, a hotel, two lumber yards, several produces, a radio shop, feed mill. several insurance agencies, a public library, three churches, four elevators, a local newspaper, an effi- cient fire department, a tailor agency, the Milwaukee railroad, a jail and five filling stations. Clinton is centrally located. not only in the geographical heart of Big Stone county. but in the heart of the richest agricultural land in western Minne- sota. Clinton has grown considerably since its incorporation in 1890, and great things are expected to come from this community in the future.
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Page 64 text:
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where Ralph's pool hall is now, was built in 1885. The Miller Elevator was started in 1895 when F. M. Beaty be- gan buying grain. Our cemetery northwest of town was staked out in 1895. The town continued growing, and in 1900 it was quite a prosperous com- munity. The wheat shipments exceed- ed 600,000 bushels while livestock of over 525,000 in value was shipped out. Clinton contained the following: a hospital, four elevators, a bank, a lo- cal newspa.per, three general stores, a drug store, two hardware stores, two furniture stores, a plow factory, two lumber yards, four churches, four sa- loons, two meat markets, two feed mills, two harness shops, two livery stables, two hotels, two restaurants, five dealers in farm machinery. two physicians, two photograph galleries and a barber shop. In addition, there were several secret societies and a system of Waterworks affording fine water and fire protection, numerous fine residences, substantial business blocks, and a population of about 600 people. 1900 was the memorable occa- sion when the first gas wagon came to Clinton. The 1302's and succeeding years brought many new businesses and new business men to Clinton, all of whom contributed to the prosperity of Clinton. Recreation was beginning to be provided for the people of Clin- ton in the form of bowling and roller skating. On September 25, 1902, there was a bowling contest between the bowlers of Clinton and Graceville and the Clinton bowlers won by a large margin. It seems that the younger genera- tion was inclined to mischief in the earlier days too. for one day it was discovered that the M. E. Church was turned into a barroom by some cul- prits. Of course. the law brought ac- tion against them and the wrong doers were punished. In the local paper for January 1, 1903, the following announcement ap- peared: The water main has sprung a leak and the tank has to be emptied. The inhabitants will come to the pump house at the sound of the fire- bell three times a day to get water. Clinton, at this time, proved to be a resourceful town because, though it was without modern conveniences, it could cope with difficult situations. About this time, the Clinton local paper, run by Barney and Hill, was sold to Wilford Burt. It then became the Clinton Advocate. In 1906 a large fire destroyed the Potter saloon and several other build- ings were badly damaged. Arrangements for the first county fair were made in 1907. The fair was a suc-cess and so Clinton is still the place where the annual county fair is held. . On the 27th of June, 1908, the vil- lage of Clinton was visited by a de- structive tornado whjch laid waste about one-half of the town. Seven people were killed, some fifty others were wounded and about S100,000 worth of property was destroyed. That part of the town on the west side of the tracks was hit worse than the east side. Thirty-three houses were destroyed and twenty-five practically ruined. The depot was wrecked, and the two elevators were blown across the tracks. As is common in every tor- nado, a great many freak things were seen. The strong wind drove straws through telephone poles and forks were driven through the walls of houses. About two years ago, a stove containing loaves of half-baked bread was uncovered in the slough west of town. The stove had been blown from a house during the storm and had been dropped there. These are some of the experiences that the people of the village will never forget. During the years from 1910 to 1920 many changes were made in our vil- lage to make it a better place to live in. In September, 1910 the village condemned plank sidewalks and order- ed cement walks to be made. It seems that there had been several casualties caused by the old plank sidewalks in which men had either broken or hurt their legs. About this time there were many clubs and organizations being organ- ized. The Reading Circle was becom- ing active and the Odd Fellows were building a new hall where they could take care of the interests of their or- ganization. This hall, built in 1911, is the same one in which movies were held so many years. When the build- ing burned in 1937, it was a great loss to the community and the surround- ing country. ln 1913 it was agreed upon by the voters of Clinton that a new school- house should be built because the old one was inadequate for the many pupils who were then attending school. One of the most important clubs in the village in 1913 was the Honk Club. Every man who sold his car became a member of this club. Hiram Hewitt and Wiley Ross were two of the most active members. One of the regular features held at the Odd Fellows building was the
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