The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1941-07-03
O'Gara
Pioneer City
70 Years Young Last
Saturday-Says He
Will Not Retire

George O'Gara didn't intend to
stay in Sank Centre. It was Be.
midi he was headed for, boom
town of the north woods. But he
made the mistake of stopping here
overnight.
That overnight stay has stretch
ed into forty-one years and George
doesn't think it was a mistake.
George and Mrs. OGara have rear
ed family of ten in this town.
Wouldn't want to leave now for
anything" is the way he puts 1t
now.
He saw three fights that first
night in his wanderings about this
gawky, growing town. 1T was
wild in those days." he remininsced
Monday. He was just 20 then; a
Victorian era was getting kicked
around the corner by a newborn
infant, Twentieth Century.
Forty-one years and a whole
way of life from that night,
George OGara, observing his
sVtNk anniversary, IOOh-
ed Saturday up and down
business street hardly today
reminiscent of that street he
first saw, took a ride i'm the
motor boat with son, Donald,
and came back vigorously pro-
claiming the wonders of Sank
Lake. mo sir, we don't know
what we have here"
Today one Of the veteran auto
mobile dealers in the city-he's
been in the game on this street
since 1913-George O'Gara looks
upon a business scene far different
from the one he saw in 1900.
Wasn't an automobile here then,
Of course" he said. It's changed
more than that. The only man
still in business at the same stand
Is Gunther Hillerud. Second old
est dealer in town, George is out
stripped only by Otto Brothers.
He and AL Salmond opened the
Palmer House garage in 1913 and
since then George has sold-well,
the list ran out at Is kinds of auto
mobiles. They started selling
Henry Ford's new flivvers.
He worked as a laborer unload
ing the brick for the library build
ing then under construction, at a
ITS per day rate for r. L. Nc
Cormick, then drayman. He went
railroading; he brought the first
moving picture protector to the
city. You name the business;
George was probably in it,
But Georges first love was the
restaurant business. He started
out in 1908 in the game and hung
in it until only a few years ago.
He had restaurants up town, but
his prize was the luncheon room
near the depot. That lunchroom
spanned an era, when the auto
mobile began coming into it's
cocky own and rail travel felt the
first pangs Of this conquest. So
George, with considerable business,
acumen, turned to this new game.
It was this same foresight that
had launched this lunchroom.
George began to notice noon stops
of the trains and customers COM
ing way down town to eat. So with
Mrs. OGara's help he began ped
ding baskets Of sandwiches and
coffee to the station. From that
grew the lunchroom.
He had the only soda fountain
and ice cream dispensary in the
town. Think fellow would make
barrel of money, wouldn't your"
he said. But ice cream and sodas
weren't stock in the diet of that
day. people thought ice cream
was awful stuff to put in your
stomach"
It was while he was gathering
up the beginnings of this restaur-
ant era of his that he met DOLBY"
as he calls the late Irv Dobbs. The
friendship between these two Is one
Of the treasures George holds to-
day. It lowered in this curious
fashion. George went to buy a
counter from Irv in his second
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