Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1927-05-26
BY JOHN x. WEST

When the Northern Pacific began
running their trains into the city of
Winnipeg, l called upon Mr.. Charles
S. Fee, their General Passenger and
Ticket Agent, at st. Paul, to ascertain
If there were not ways in which we
could work together to our mutual ad.
vantage in securing business for the
Detroit Lakes.
My inquiry met with a prompt and
hearty response from Mr.. Fee. He at
once made rate of ten dollars from
Winnipeg to Detroit Lakes and re.
turn. This ticket included a two,
days stay at our Hotel Minnesota, for
which the railway company paid the
hotel four dollars, and a trip on our
Shoreham boat, for which the boat
received fifty cents. This liberal tick
ct Melted the railway five dollars fifty
cents for a five hundred sixty mile
ride.
Detroit Lakes Chosen
Mr.. Fee also gave me a letter to
Maj. Swinford the General Manager
for his company at Winnipeg. With
this letter and a liberal supply of H.
Illustrated pamphlets describing our
locality and it's accommodation lost
no time in visiting that splendid Mani.
toba city. Maj. Swinford I found to be
most interesting and popular char.
acter. His home had been at Fort
Garry, (now known as Winnipeg)
since 1872 when he reached there as
an officer in the English army by the
way of Hudson's Bay.
Soon after his arrival he resigned
his army commission to take charge
OF the transportation system of the
Hudon Bay Company, a wide-reaching
aggregation of canoes, dog sleds and
fieet-footed Indians covering half the
continent.
This important position he later re.
signed to become Manitoba manager
for the Northern Pacific Railway Co.
His selection was wise one by the
railway and a fortunate one for De-
troit Lakes. He was a most friendly
man, seemed to know everybody north
OF the United States boundary and
everyone had glad hand for him.
800 Journey Here First Year
Without delay on presentation of
my letter he placed my little booklets
IN market basket and we made a
tour of the business district. The
friendly reception accorded us every
where, even in the busiest of places,
surprised me. It was, of course, due
to SWinford's unlimited popularity. In
the evening We visited the club, talked
Detroit Lakes and heard much about
"our future king, Edward, then Prince
OF Wales, for Victoria was then still
Queen Of England.
Three hundred of our ten dollar De-
troit Lake tickets were sold that first
season making the beginning of our
Winnipeg business. Before that an
occasional visitor from the Province
of Manitoba had favored us, but none
had bought property about our lakes.
Now Winnipeg people form a large
and most important part of our sum.
mer colony to accommodate whom the
800" Railway run special Detroit
Lake sleeper during the summer
months, Notwithstanding the fact
that many come and go in their motor
cars. IT..
That which attracts and satisfies our
Winnipeg friends in like manner af-
fects people from the regions to the
east, south and west. We are in the
center of this. continent on an elevat-
ed table land. freckled with a multi.
tude of tree fringed gems of lakes
whose waters flow three ways to the
sea and in SO doing drop 1900 feet.
Our energizing atmosphere is a real
health promoter. We have perhaps
$500 summer homes, number of sum-
mer hotels, an 1S-hole golf course.
paved streets, metropolitan stores,
Babcock state roads, and hundreds of
undeveloped beauty spots.