The Irish standard., 1897-05-22
The THRIVING CITY Of sRAlnEaD,
ON. THE LINE OF THE NORTHERN
e. PACIFIC, PICTURED BRIEFLY.
SOME OF THE CHANGES NOTED.
THE. SPIRIT OF : ADVANCEMENT
= KEPT WELL TO THE FORE.
=: ,

WV Va SAAS "AN~Ay ssAs va SA0S>A "" AAs So
Minnesota a quarter Of century ago
or more was Brainerd, about 130 miles
northwest Of Minneapolis, on the line
of the Northern Pacific railroad. It
was a frontier town." where law and
order was held in abeyance-in fact 1t
was something not overly popular with
the average citizen Of that time-and
the advertising it thus received was not
such as that which comes to law abid-
ing community. The good citizen"
was in the minority and his rights vera
sometimes trampled upon with impun-
ity. as**it were. All this, however, has
long since changed and.sthe Brainerd
Of today stands I'M the front rank as
one Of the most prosperous and pro-
gressive~ cities I'm the commonwealth.
Loyal. law-abidlng and enterprising: are
her people. This is evidenced on every
hand from the number of churches and
magnificent school buildings that dot
every portion of the clty-no uncer-
tain tribute in itself to its Inhabitants.
The population Of Brainerd at the
present time numbers in the neighbor-
hood of 5000, and it's growth is Of a
steady, healthy nature. The milling in
terests Of the Brainerd Lumber COM
pany are a marvel in that line, about
$500 per day being paid out to the vari-
GUS employees during season which
lasts about seven months. The mills
were built in 1893 and are among the
best in the state. A Touring mill is
among the manufacturing institutions
cellent water power. In this brief
sketch it may also be noted that Brain
erd is the. county seat of Grow Wing
county. Lands are being taken up rap
idly, and farming is already an extern
sive industry. -.---
There are three newspapers in Brain
erd, the Journal, Dispatch and Tribune.
The first named is ably edited by H. G.
Stivers,; and 1T is but just to say that
the Journal is doing we'll its share in
the ,up-building and. general advance
ment of the city and county in which it
is published Mr.. Stivers is also en-
gagged in :, other: enterprises and has
served his district in the legislature.
The Catholic population of Brainord
is quite large. Rev. Father Lynch is
pastor Of St. Francis church, which is
neat. commodious edifice. Father
Lynch, who came here from Hinckley
some years ago, deserves unstinted
credit for the work which he has ac-
complished while here, and he is held
in great respect by both Pedestrians
and Catholics alike. There are num-
Der Of societies in connection with the
church, amongst them being the A. O.
H., st. Joseph's Benevolent, c. NJ B.
A.. Holy Rosary and Scdality. J..
McGinnis is county president of the A.
o. H. and ]. J. Cummings is president
of the division. The order is flourish
ing here and has membership of about
100. with every indication Of further III
crease. Mr.. McGinnis was at one time
a railroad man, but for many years has
been engaged in the clothing business.
He has been very successful and is a
broad-gauged, al1-around citizen. He
has faith in Brainerd; says so wherever
he goes, and Brainerd is gamer there
by. D. M. Clark is another of Brain
erd's splendid business men. He has,
perhaps, the finest hardware store in the
city. Anything from penknife to a
threshing machine can be purchased
there. It is safe to say that Dan Clark
is one of the best known men in the
county. He has host of friends and
he deserves them-every one.
AS our time is somewhat limited this
letter must therefore be brought to a
close. At another time, perhaps. and un-
der more favorable circumstances, we
will endeavor to cover more fully Brain
erd and it's interests in an all-around
manner.