The Sauk Centre herald., 1940-05-16
The COmmOn-tater
-ByC Chuck Rathe
Main Street Bulletin Board
By Chuck Rathe

Main Street Bulletin Board
Vignette of history-He had worked for the rail-
road for only couple of days Then the call of the
vast harvest fields to the north and west claimed
his attention. He scurried out fast to be in the
vanguard of harvesers he forgot-to collect his two
days pay That half century ago when
the Northern Pacific railroad built through this
city. few years ago the man came back. He
stopped in the office of local attorney, and the
conversation swung to his early life He told of the
railroading experience More out of curiosity than
anything else, the lawyer wrote the railroad. .
Sure enough their records were perfect :. The man
got his check for two days pay!
Remember when four of Bill otto's cars in tran
sit dumped into the Great Lakes last fall in of
the worst storms? The had been riding the
deck. There's repercussions of that deal
law regulating lake traffic to ships only that carry
cars below decks is cumming up transportation and
dealers are pulling their hair waiting for
Catch is only few boats the whole system can
transport in the legal manner. -.
There's practice that's fast becoming CUSTOM
and weaving itself into the life of this and similar
communities. Warm weather brings it out Peo-
pie drive their up town early Saturday nights
to grab off parking places where they sit and
watch. The ebb and flow of Saturday night traffic
up and down the stem is worth that extra effort
too. This type of curb stone oggling has definitely
replaced the sidewalk stters who used to stretch be-
fore the windows of the places. It's come in too
to replace the old cracker barrel debates that used
to flourish Because today there are neither side
walk benches nor cracker barrels!
Alaska is fabulous land of riches whose fish
whose climate is much malgned, whose mosquitoes
are large. Art Hudson the supervisor. was
telling about the years he spent government
employee. He the third large island in the
Aleutian chain, some 500 miles from the mainland,
where the winds sweep from the Berng the Paci-
fic. There were some 125 Aleuts the island,
he said whose chief sources of livelihood trap
ping fox and fishing. . Some of those natives in
a few short months at trapping made several hun
dreds of dollars. 1t was never very cold there. I'VE
wore leather Jackets at tme," he said. Year round
temperatures didn't vary 40 degrees, but the
wind blew endessly. There's something about
Alaska, its rugged beauty, its natural abundance of
all types of game that is intriguing, he said Some
how you feel always you'd like to go back II could
poke my gun out of the window of the cabin" he
said, and shoot ducks" He told of entertaining
officers and crew of German ship that landed at
the island. 1t the ship sunk weeks
ago in the present oldest bit that
tragedy occurred the first day of his arrival He
stepped off the plane with cartons of cigarettes and
pipe tobacco. When he turned around, it gone.
He never heard of it it again. The store,
that stocked some tobacco, saved the day, for he
was on the island nearly two years!
Joyce Besser is six and first grader but she's
learned few things about the banking business.
A while back she to her mother, Mrs. Ed Bess-