As we introduce ourselves to you, our readers of Cottage Grove and the surrounding area, we offer up you a historical section meant to improve in the weeks and months to come. As the Stillwater Messenger was for many years representative of Washington County (as well as Minnesota’s “birthplace”), we have made use of the abundant archive regarding it down at the Minnesota Digital Newspaper Archive to create this first history section for you, our valued readers, along with nearby material.

20 Years Ago October 19, 2000 HASTINGS STAR-GAZETTE Issues and Answers: A Life Ruined Be aware of deer on the road Garrett Schlosser, Minnesota State Patrol We was a farmer by trade. Hands, face, neck, even his stare, all weathered over time, by the difficult task of farming. A large man, who when standing next to me, towered over my Smokey Bear campaign cover.

She was a second-year college student. Her school ID card, still clinging to the visor of the Pontiac Bonneville. Books scattered throughout, her backpack lying in the ditch.

The crash had occurred on a two-lane roadway. A picked cornfield on one side, a pond on the other. The unusually cold weather had created a thin layer of ice on the surface of the water. I arrived on the scene only a couple of minutes after the call had come out…The farmer tells me what happened.

The college student and the farmer, traveling from opposite directions, are approaching each other. Two deer, one appearing to be chased by the other, run unto the road surface. The scene surprises the farmer. He slams on his brakes and he strikes the two deer. His truck begins to rotate into the oncoming path of the Pontiac. He tries to pull the steering wheel to his right, but try as he might, he cannot steer away. The truck strikes the car head-on, sending both truck and car toward the frozen waters…(deer rut is approaching, leading to bucks chasing does)…The impending crashes will occur at predictable locations: 190th east of Michael Avenue, Highway 55 near the railroad tracks, Highway 316 and the coulee, Highway 61 by King’s Cove and Ravenna Trail, to name a few.

It is my opinion that several of these car/deer crashes can be prevented. Certainly not all, but many. Motorists should have an awareness in the upcoming weeks, of the deer behavior. We should travel with caution in our rural area, reducing our speed during this breeding season, remembering to scan the sides of the road, and look ahead, at the far reaches of our headligthts, for the silhouette of the deer, or the glow of the eyes on the deer. We need to change our driving behavior during this time… 40 Years Ago HASTINGS STAR October 16, 1980 FREE. This issue is being sent to non-subscribers of the Star. We’re doing this for two reasons.

First of all we’d like to again give you a look at the Hastings Star and acquaint you with us and what we do every week in hopes that you will subscribe.

Secondly, in this issue you will find a 12 page Voter’s Guide. We thought it important that this guide reach as many residents of the… area as possible.

Give us a look over and decide for yourself if we’re the kind of local newspaper you would like to receive each week.

We’ll let this issue speak for itself…Hope you enjoy reading it.

Mike O’Connor, Publisher 56 Years Ago HASTINGS GAZETTE October 22, 1964 Absentee Ballots Must Reach P. O. By Election Day With election day approaching, those residents needing absentee ballots should pick them up in the next few days at the county auditor’s office.

The ballots must be obtained in time for the voter to mark them and drop them into the mail so they reach the post office on or before election day. To qualify for an absentee ballot, a person must have been a resident of the state for at least six months and of the precinct for 30 days.

Hospital patients, college students, invalids at home, and those who cannot vote at the polls because of a religious holiday are just a few of the many who may obtain a ballot and cast it in the Nov. 3 election.

Hamptonite Charges; ‘Liquor To Minor’ In Farmington Fatality Raymond…of Hampton was arraigned in Hastings municipal court this past week on a charge of selling liquor ( a pint of blackberry brandy) to a minor, George William McKeague, age 18, who was killed three weeks ago in a highway accident at Farmington.

The Hampton tavern and liquor store operator asked for a change of venue, and a transfer to the South St. Paul municipal court was granted. He posted the $230 bail.

A warrant for…arrest was issued Wednesday of last week following in investigation ordered by Farmington Mayor G. M. Gorgos.

100 Years Ago THE MIRROR Edited and Published Weekly by the Inmates of the Minnesota State Prison (in Stillwater) Our Motto: “It is never too late to mend.”

October 21, 1920 TRYING TOO HARD Perhaps you are one of those who defeat your own ends by straining after results.

Any activity which is commenced under conditions of compulsion or grave necessity is apt to produce worry and tension in one of nervous temperament. And this tension stands as an inhibition against success.

Probably you have, on occasion, tried to recall some name which seemed to just elude your memory in spite of all your efforts. The harder you tried to recall it the further it seemed to slip. And then, when you had given up and become quiet for a moment, or possibly when you awakened in the night or early morning, that elusive name would suddenly flash into your mind.

The mind must be free from strain and at ease to do its best. Directed thinking and effective planning cannot be accomplished under conditions of tension… The mind that is worried is held rigid by that worry and the attention is hypnotized by the ever present fear of failure…Physical health and the comfort and well-being of the body should be taken care of. The body should not be sacrificed to mental overwork. As a matter of face far less depends upon the amount of work that upon the way you work.—William E. Towne in Nautilus.

120 Years Ago BACKBONE St. Paul and Minneapolis October 1900 PROHIBITION TICKET.

For President, John G. Wooley.

Vice Pres. Henry B. Metcalf.

Governor, B. B. Haugan Lieut. Governor, C. B. Wilkinson.

Sec. of State, Frank W. Carlisle.

Treasurer, C. W. Dorseit.

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS.

Geo. F. Wells; Albert J. Kanne; Jas. A. McConkey; Andrew Rankin; E. S. Ellis; Chas. M. Way; Chas. C. Drew; P. J. Nelson; J. J. Rindahl October and November CLUB OFFER The price of Backbone is 25 cents. During October and November we will receive new annual subscriptions at the following remarkable rate: 5 copies $1.00 or 20 cents a copy….

Brief and Brainy.

It makes no difference to me whether the tide is rising or falling. Here I stand.—Rev. Wolcott Hamlin, Amherst, Mass.

Let every man vote as he prays.—Bishop Andrews, in addressing the young preachers of Columbia River M. E. Conference.