The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1928-06-07
History of Sank Centre
CONTINUED from Page Two)


great transcontinental railways,
and by reason of it's junction facil-
tiles, unusually easy of access from
all parts of the state of Minnesota.
The cities which have sprung up
in such a wonderful manner all
over our western country in the
last fifty years have been, gener-
ally speaking, what their citizens
have made them. And in this
matter of public spirit Sank
Centre has not been wanting. She
quickly turned her attention to
civic improvements. AS early as
1884 a system of waterworks was
established. The power was furn-
ished by the mill dam. Thus
source of ample fire protection was
secured, and the process of beauti-
flying the city by the planting and
preservation of trees and lawns
was begun. AS a result, there was
organized a fire department which
has proved its efficiency upon
so many occasions that it is doubt
full if there is a volunteer organi-
cation anywhere in the state with
a better record. In 1889, under
the mayorship of M. Hogan, sys-
tenn of public sewerage was inaug-
urated. This at first was limited
principally to the business portion
of the community, but in 1908,
during the term of office of j. A.
Dubois, it was extended to all
parts of the city.
The women of Sank Centre did
not await the privilege of the fran
chise to take a hand in the city's
affairs. Through their various
societies, such as the Gradatim
Club, the Women's Needle Art
Circle, have ever been an active
force in civic betterment. By their
efforts, and due to their keener
eye for the beautiful, many an
unsightly corner, the catch-all for
tin cans and other rubbish, has
been made attractive and resplend-
ent by the substitution of the
graceful shrub and delicate flower.
To the energetic workers in the
Gradatim Club is due the credit
of the establishment of the Rest
Room at Sank Centre, complete in
all its appointing and supervised
by a matron 10 whose care is
committed the baby of the farmers
wife while she is attending to her
shopping. The Rest Room in Sank
Centre was the first of it's kind. A
noted sociologist of Chicago, in
writing several years ago upon this
subject, divided the honor equally
between Sank Centre and a small
city in Illinois.
y Il y
The conversion of a most DESC
late and unattractive strip of
ground, lying at the foot of Sank
Lake and just off of Main street,
into a beautiful public park, is
fine example Of what can be &C
complished when the right public
spirit is back of the enterprise.
Upon this spot in the early days
George Gruber had erected
brewery that was afterwards
destroyed by fire, leaving nothing
but hiieous ruin and a collection
of unproductive sand dunes covered
with thistles and burrs. In the
remarkable transformation that
was brought about, the initiative
in the movement was furnished by
the late Willis Howe, then a resi-
dent of Sank Centre, later of the
Kelly-Howe-Thompson Company
of Duluth. In 1897 the property
in question was in the possession
of the BONNER estate of Melrose.
Through the generosity of Solomon
Pendergast it was secured and held
in trust for the city. In the fol-
lowing year, under the mayorship
of Mr.. Howe, it became a part of
the public domain, and the services
of a landscape artist were pro-
cured, by whom it was plated. In
a low-lying, marshy district ai-
jacent to the lake, lagoon was
formed, from the bottom of which
the rich sedimentary deposit was
transferred to the fruitless sand.
By the application of intelligent
human effort the barren waste was
made glad, and today on this spot
luxuriant elms are growing as if
in their native loan. The foliage,
the fountain. the flowers and the
beautiful body of water stretching
out before it make it a public rest
ing-place in which the citizens of
Sank Centre can be allowed to
have a justifiable pride, since it is
the work greatly of their own
hands and not a free gift to them
on the part of a bountiful nature.
Quite early in the history and
when certain localities were being
designated as the sites for state
institutions, Sank Centre had ell
deavored to secure for herself such
a favorable selection, but she had
been unsuccessful, other commune
ties, either by reason of superior
advantages or more powerful poll
tical influence, bearing away the
prize. In 1910, however, much to
the surprise of most of her people,
the coveted boon was attained, by
the action of the State Board of
Control in choosing Sank Centre
as the site of the proposed State
Home School for Girls. Thus she
suddenly, as it were, found in her
midst not only one of the most
prominent of our state institutions,
but one whose salient features