The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1920-04-08
FIRST GET THEROADS
Building a New Court House at This
Time an Unnecessary Proce-
dure in Comparison,
Good Roads Would Eventually Assist
in the Erection of an Appro-
pirate Court House.

ditions between the capital of the state
and the would-be capital of Mile Laos
county. This happened before the new
auto bus line was in operation over the
Scenic highway from -Milaca to Elk
River, so of necessity we got out our
little old Ford and hit the trail in the
modern and approved style. The road
was in fair shape at the start and one
could hit a good steady pace of 18 to
20 miles an hour from Milaca to
Princeton. Mile after mile Of this
stretch of the highway is in excellent
condition and only occasionally would
you have to slow down for a bad spot
or place badly rutted up. In some
Of the cuts and a few places the snow
had drifted badly during the winter
and left it's mark on Mile Laos coun-
tvs principal highway. Early driving
had rutted up these wet spots and
when the road dried up it was left in
a rough condition. Already the smain-
tenance crews were at work and
in a few days now the Scenic from
Princeton to Milaca will be in fine
shape. The next lap was from
Princeton to Zimmerman; here we en-
countered rougher going and badly
rutted roadbed. A great deal Of this
piece was last years work and the
first winter is always the hardest Oh
a new grade. One could also notice
the difference in the lack Of good sub
stantial top dressing OF gravel on this
stretch. The worst part of the whole
trip was from Zimmerman to Elk
River, and several times while going
over this stretch the jitney had to get
right down and haul in order to get
through at all, and few times we had
to back up from a real bad place, get
a good running start and tumble
through the best we could. We will
also be frank enought to state, without
attempting to knock the output Of the
Ford Motor Co. in any way, that in
one extra bad place we had to get out
and help push the car through by
hand.
Upon our arrival at Elk River we
inquired for the best road to the cities,
and were informed to keep to the east
side of the river. After getting out
of Elk River about mile we discov-
cred that the advice received was
good, for we got onto concrete road
way and our road troubles were prac-
tically over. Smoothly as bird we
sailed over this wonderful highway,
where your speed is for all practical
purposes only limited to the speed of
your car. Well, we felt so good to get
off the dirt road that we hit it up until
the speedometer began to play,
AThere's a long, long trail that's wind.
ing" when we realized that there was
a limit, even to Ford and concrete
road, and, throttling the car down a
little, we sped along at good safe
pace towards our destination. True
enough, this roadway is not finished
yet, and for mile or two between Elk
River and Anoka the concrete base has
not been put in, and the crews that put
the top dressing on are at work along
the line, but it looks as if this part of
the famous Jefferson highway would
be complete and accepted by the early
summer of 1920. &c..
We were also informed at Elk River
that another big contract had been let
in Sherburne county for that part of
the Jefferson highway from there to
Big Lake, and chances were now good
for the actual paving being put in to
st. Cloud, thus connecting the Granite
city and the Twin cities with seven
ty-five mile stretch of paved road.
Wonderful" you say? Yes, but not
For, as matter of fact,
it is coming into existence right before
our very eyes.
In making this trip the thought
comes into ones mind, "why
can't we have road like this right
to Mile Laos lake," The answer is
obvious, eve can" A road of this
type, branching off from the Jefferson
highway at Elk River, then following
the Scenic to Mile Laos lake, would
make a second Minnetonka out Of the
beautiful and picturesque Mile Laos
and would make the lake country the
most popular summer resort in Mime
sofa. just the right distance for a /
good auto trip, and after you once get
there nature has provided the rest
all man has to do is to cultivate it.
"'But it costs too much money! you
say? True, it does cost considerable.
All good things cost in proportion to