Lyon County Museum

On the Porch

The History of Cookbooks

By Jennifer Andries

The display case in the front entry of the museum has been changed to feature a few of the cookbooks in the Lyon County Museum’s collection. The display case includes a few kitchen items as well.

A cookbook is a collection or recipes, instructions, and information about the preparation and serving of foods.  The printing press revolutionized the culinary arts by making cookbooks widely available.  The first known to have been printed, in 1485, was produced by an Italian, Bartolema Scappi.

One of the most successful and popular cookbooks of all time was produced in the United States in 1896, when Fannie Merritt Farmer’s The Boston Cooking School Cook Book was published.  Fannie Farmer was the first to standardize the methods and measurements of her recipes, which gave reliable results for home cooks.  A revised copy of her book, now entitled, The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, is still in print today.

Below are three recipes from one of the cookbooks on display.  The Marshall Ladies’ Treasured Recipes cookbook.  This cookbook was sponsored by the Federated Ladies Aid.  It was printed by Henle’s Job Printery in Marshall in 1938.  The binding was done by Modern Binding Company in Minneapolis.

Goulash by Mrs. Don Stearns

1 lb. ground beef; 1 large onion, cut fine; 1 green pepper, cut fine; 1 can kidney beans; 1 large can tomatoes; 1 can tomato soup; 1 can vegetable soup; salt and pepper to taste

Brown onion and green pepper and add hamburger.  Brown.  Add beans, tomatoes and soups.  Put in oven and bake about one hour.  Spaghetti may be added if desired.

Cabbage and Pineapple Salad by Mrs. Ernest Mellenthin

1 pkg. lemon jello; 1 pint warm water; 1 cup shredded cabbage; ½ tsp. salt; 4 tsp. vinegar; 1 c diced canned pineapple; 4 stuffed olives, sliced

Dissolve jello in warm water.  Chill until slightly thickened.  Combine cabbage, salt and vinegar; fold at once into slightly thickened jello.  Fold in pineapple and olives.  Turn into individual molds.  Chill until firm.  Unmold on crisp lettuce leaf.  Garnish with mayonnaise.  Serves 6.

Angel Food Dessert by Mrs. F.W. White

¾ Angel food cake, broken in pieces about the size of a walnut; ½ envelope Knox gelatin; 1 pt. whipping cream; ¾ cup sugar; 2 well beaten egg whites; ½ tsp. vanilla; small bottle maraschino cherries; nuts

Whip cream, add gelatin, cherries (with juice) nuts, sugar, cake.  Then fold in egg whites.  Let stand over night in ice box.  Then cut in squares to serve.  Commercial angel food may be used.

On the Porch

The Blizzard of 1909

By Jennifer Andries

110 years ago, a major snowstorm enveloped the region with blizzard conditions.  Several photographs, many of which were printed on postcards, were taken in the region to document the large amount of snow.  The museum has several postcards in its collection from the blizzard storm of 1909. 

Two snowstorms struck the region within a couple of weeks at the end of January and the beginning of February 1909. 

Marshall News Messenger, February 5, 1909

The Blizzard Storm.  One Exception, Worst in 28 Years.  All Train Service Blocked, Telephone and Telegraph Wires Down, Train Stormbound at Granite Two Days.

Great snow storms and blizzards were a fixed habit in the winter of 1880-81, Marshall was without train service for three straight months, and there was great loss of life and great hardship.  Since that time Nature has been more reasonable, and the next big blizzard storm was in 1888.  And last week appeared its next best counterpart, a genuine blizzard, which fortunately lasted but twenty-four hours, with another day of excessive cold and wind.

The storm came from the southwest, and the territory covered the country from the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic, and from the gulf states to the northern boundary.  It was more severe in the southern and eastern states, where there was much loss of life and great suffering.  Hereabouts we learn of but two severe casualties to humanity, a man named Patyn, from Grandview, who with his employer’s team were lost, and finding the buildings on the old Van Hee farm, fastened the team and crawled inside for shelter.  He was so badly frozen that he died.  The team remained hitched for nearly twenty-three hours, unblanketed, but were in no way injured. 

Over at Tyler, a man was badly frozen close to his own home, an account of which appears elsewhere.  The principal damage in this state was to train service and telephone and telegraph service.  Wires were down in all directions, and the service is still crippled.  In this vicinity train service was suspended on the Northwestern from Thursday till Monday, and on the Great Northern from Thursday at midnight till Saturday evening.                                                                                                                                                

Marshall News-Messenger, February 12, 1909:

Big Storm Number Two. A Three Days Blockade of Great Northern and Four Days on the Northwestern, Heavy Fall of Snow and High Winds.

The second big storm of snow and wind began Monday evening at about seven o’clock, and the snow fell with constantly increasing quantity and with the wind rising to the dignity of a  genuine blizzard until at midnight, when the storm gradually ceased.  The severity of the storm so closely following that of but two weeks previous, caused even the old settlers to sit up and become reminiscent, wondering if winter was getting ready to crawl into the lap of spring, as in days of yore.  Probably about fifteen inches of snow fell, but there were drifts from three to ten feet high.

The most serious damage was in the abandonment of all train service on the railroads leading out of Marshall.  After Monday’s day trains there was none till Thursday morning, when the plow and train came through from the south on the Great Northern, and late in the  afternoon trains went through in both directions.  On the Northwestern there were no trains from Monday afternoon till Thursday evening, and as we go to press the line is not open from the east.  Wednesday afternoon a plow came up from Tracy, and this side of Minneota went to pieces in a drift, the engine returning to Tracy. 

Thursday morning another plow came up from Tracy and went west, while another plow from Tracy came to Marshall and went out on the line to Evan.  A big gang of men with a rotary plow were working Thursday between Lamberton, bucking and shoveling snow.  A train pulled out from Tracy for Huron on Wednesday, was stuck in the snow at Burchard, and the  rotary plow was sent to its relief.  On the Great Northern the Monday night train from the cities was held up at Granite Falls till Tuesday morning, when it came south and got as far as Russell, where it was stalled at the station till Thursday morning.  The first train from the cities arrived in Marshall at 5’clock Thursday afternoon.

On the Porch

Lyon County Courthouse

By: Jennifer Andries

“Governor Marshall appointed a few county officers and vested them with power to begin county government.  It was proposed to organize in December 1869, but owing to the absence of two of the county commissioners it had to be postponed, and the machinery of county government was not set in motion until August 12, 1870.  At that time the first meeting of the Board of County Commissioners was held at the home of Luman Ticknor, in Upper Lynd.”

The above passage is from Arthur P. Rose’s 1912 book, “An Illustrated History of Lyon County, Minnesota”.  In this detailed history of the early settlement of Lyon County, Rose described the county and township organization along with the early political dynamics.  The first act of the newly formed board of county commissioners was the selection of the county seat.  The county seat was established in Upper Lynd, and it remained there for two years until the county business was transacted at Lower Lynd.  Lower Lynd remained the seat of government until it moved to Marshall in January of 1874, as the result of an election the year prior.

There were unsuccessful attempts in 1874 to levy a tax to build a courthouse, but a small building was constructed in Marshall in 1876.  It was not until 15 years later that interest in building a new courthouse was renewed.  Excavation work for the courthouse began in July on 1891, with a dedication set for January 15, 1892.  A fire on January 8 virtually destroyed the completed building.  A contract for rebuilding was set in March, and the building was accepted by the county commissioners in November of 1892.  Renovations and additions to the original structure occurred in 1939 and 1975.  The remaining original building was demolished in 1994.

On the Porch

The First National Bank of Marshall

By: Jennifer Andries

The First National Bank of Marshall opened its doors on September 8, 1891.  The original capital stock of $50,000 was owned by H.M. Langland, G.W. Pitts, M.W. Harden, R.M. Addison, C.F. Johnson, Olof Pehrson, F.E. Parsons, and Andrew Nelson.  These men also served in management of the bank as the first officers and directors.  At the end of the first year’s business, deposits totaled around $50,000.

The original building was located between 2^nd (now East College Drive) and 3^rd on the north side of Main Street.  In 1916, the original structure was replaced with a new building on the same site (currently home to Hunan Lion).  A grand opening reception for the new building was held on November 21, 1916.  According to the News-Messenger on November 24^th, two thousand invitations were sent out to Marshall area residents, and more than that number toured the new bank building on opening day.  Several thousand roses were presented to the guests.  The Marshall Orchestra played during the day and during the evening the Edison furnished the music. The lobby was decorated with many vases of cut flowers, which were presented to the bank by various business connections.

The contractor of the building was the Louis F. Dow Company of St. Paul.  H.J. Warnock was the architect.  The News-Messenger described details of the bank building in the November 24^th edition.  “The new building is of Bedford stone, massive in appearance and in keeping with the sound, conservative methods which characterize this institution.  There is not a piece of wood in the entire front, even the windows being incased in copper frames.  The interior is a work of art.  The floor is of tile, and the lobby partition, customer’s table and seats are made of the very finest grade of Alaska marble.”

First National Bank remained in this building until 1965.  In 1963-1964, the Producers’ Co-Op Creamery building on the corner of 4^th and Main Street along with the Central Hotel next to it were torn down for construction of a new First National Bank Building.  Construction of the new bank building took most of the year in 1964.  First National Bank would later change to First Northwestern Bank, and in 1983, to Norwest Banks.  Today, the building is home to Wells Fargo.