The Sauk Centre herald., 1941-05-29
SAUK CENTRE HERALD, Sauk Centre MINI.

me for forty-five years it's been mine" We
| remember Ben well behind the counter of his res
| taurant the name of which-Gopher Prairie Inn
! perpetuated the from Sinclair Lewis book
longer than any other Sauk Centre institution. In
fact it the only establishment to adopt the name
! of the town from the book. Then few years
| ago Ben retired from the business and Gopher
| Prairie went into the limbo.
Thoughts While Strolling
Juke boxes have become big business. In every
roadside spot there's of those nickel enticers
all dolled up with flashing lights For the casual
dancer they the thing. The best of the dance
bands for flip of the wrist and a nickel. Just
what effect this advent of cheap casual dancing
has had the regular dance halls is something for
conjecture. But regular shops seem to be doing
all right and more seem to come. What it has done
though is to almost outlaw anything but the best
obtainabe bands. The homespun band is going the
way of the home talent play. People have heard
the best and want it in the flesh. Some few local
pickup bands make stands nightly but the number
decreases and it gets difficult for bookings.
For 25 years now the Glenwood Lakeside paw
ion has been in the running and its big appeal has
been the top bands in the northwest. The kids of
today still there just the kids did of quarter
of century ago. It's the Oldest in this section, but
there others nearby gaining in popularity .
These changes in the social habits of people are
interesting things. They are indicative, suppose,
Of certain weldefined trends in the way man lives.
For this much has happened. The regular dance
hall, properly managed, preserved much Of ballroom
behavior. Juke boxes and jitterbugging with its
derivatives have put ballroom ettiquet in class with
the hustle
Another thing has dipped strongly into social
habits of this people. For years the tradition
and it is fast becoming one-of drinking morning
and afternoon coffee has been catching It's
not particularly northern habit in this country but
comes from the lackadaisical fare of the old
south. Now up from the SOUTH stronger than
ever comes the cola drinking habit. We are told
there are than 200 various cola drinks only
half dozen or so of which have nfitrated to this
section. 1t has revolutionzed the soft drink
habits of a large cross section of people. Even
I can remember well when the pop business zoomed
high in the warm summer months and dropped to
nothingness in the winter. Cola drinking goes on
the year around. Truth is the cola firms riding
The crest Of which finds nearly everyone climb
ing aboard.
We were up to our old home town of Bertha
not long ago. In my minds eye I could see the house
lived in, a spacious vacant lot with numerous
trees where rolled tires or lolled in the ham,
mock Or fell out of it. In front was a hill
rising to the west broad expanse of gravel running
down as the roadway where, the first really
warm day, we up and down as fast as legs
could carry to tougher barred feet for the first
time. &. could see the old mill as a monster
of building :. The latest visit disillusionng.
found dwarfed yard, shrunk like fine
fabric in careless laundering The road was narrow,
and the hill hardly any size at ALL These things
dsheartening. wonder why it is that adult minds
look through the wrong end of telescope or perhaps
IT IS that adOeScent mlndS microscope tnem up .
These are troublous times in a colorful era.
Right under our noses a new way of life is taking
place. Things transpire in a moment now that took
historically long periods years ago. Now this
country is embroiled in one of the debates of its
history. Should it should it not intervene in the
present 1t has spread to Main Street
The sidewalks bristle in discussions the plight
of this nation and the world just they have when
they were board walks. This is alive and
alert; it has a consciousness about it. You feel
somehow the pregnancy of the moment. 1t
Col Roy Scott, of the PIT Coast Artillery, anti-air-
craft, at Camp Haan wrote to George OGara the
other day. Roy is still familiar figure in the life
of this town, peering from behind the postoffice
window. Roy wrote like this: 1T seems long
time since left Sauk Centre. Many changes
take place each day. and it is hard to realize that
this country is practically in war know back in
Sauk Centre the people don't realize it much as
they do out here. All of the citizens of California
certainly war-minded They realize the serious
three dams little sabotage would make this
whole country back to desert. We came out
here with fifty-eght officers and today have
twenty-sx. They have been sent to school and to
other organizations. Last Saturday the Colonel OF
the regiment and both battalion commanders were
sent to school for three months so you what
job it is to run regiment of eighteen hundred
with 26 officers. We don't know from day to
day where we will be. We slated to go to the
desert July 26th for firing but the big is that
we will be on maneuvers or somewhere else before
that" There is enough of the rural in every
Minnesotan to prompt this paragraph: "Ths Is a
funny country. They cutting their rye, wheat
and oats We have fruit of all kinds and vege-
tables and yesterday had sweet corn on the cob
for dinner" 1--WE were considered six weeks behind
the other regiments when arrived here and we
are considered caught up to them you can
see that we have had to do some tall training The
217th has very good reputation out here" . But
Roy did get time to go to Hollywood where he saw
Edgar Bergen and Charlie Mccarthy make their
broadcast.