We celebrate this, the fifth issue of the local Cottage Grove Journal with newspapers and content localized as much as possible to Washington County, Minnesota, a trend that we plan to continue as our archive of historical material grows. This week, we bring you the Washington County Journal from 1893 and the Washington County Post of 1920, just two of many newspapers to chronicle the county and its southern half (primarily through the pre-Facebook ‘locals’ updates) in the olden days.

In recognition that no community can ever be a true island to itself, however, we also bring you historical news from the nearby communities of Hastings, Minnesota and Prescott, Wisconsin as well. The latter community is where the “Journal” received its historical origin, in 1855.

Photo by Jeff Moren/Star Gazette.

SNOW DUMPED IN HASTINGS Seven-year-old Chandler Timmreck, foreground, spent most of Monday morning hauling his Tonka truck, while 5-year-old Bailey Platson, background, did the same at the corner of Fourth and…Streets. Approximately 5 inches of snow has fallen in Hastings in the past week.

Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Scott Dally – a baby girl was born July 10, 1980 at the Mounds Park hospital in St. Paul. She was baptized Sunday at the United Methodist Church…a dinner was served for relatives.

56 Years Ago HASTINGS GAZETTE November 12, 1964 DAD, MOM, SON EACH BAG A BIG BUCK UP NORTH Mr. and Mrs. Greg Wagner and son Bob of Miesville came home Monday night with three big bucks—one apiece, bagged one-a-day over the three days they were hunting on the Canadian border near International Falls.

Two of the bucks are 12-pointers and the third has 10 points.

Although hunting in some parts of the north woods has been very good, the Wagners were especially elated by their success because most of the hunters around them weren’t having the same luck.

“Some parties of up to seven and nine people were going home without a single deer,” according to Greg.

100 Years Ago WASHINGTON COUNTY POST March 11, 1920, Volume 1, Number 1 Arthur S. Kinney, managing- editor Motto: “A Servant of the People” The People’s Paper For some time past the people of Washington County have felt the need of an honest and fearless newspaper, one that is not dominated by the corrupt politicians; a paper backed and controlled by the people of the county; a paper that will tell the truth no matter where the ax falls; a paper that will stand up and fight for the cause of the organized farmer and labor; a paper that will defend the principles of true Americanism, free speech and free press.

With these points in view the farmers went out among their neighbors to organize the Washington County Publishing Company for the purpose of publishing this paper.

Naturally they met with a few minor obstacles, but the farmers with the grim determination and stick-toitivness of their forefathers in settling this country overcame these petty obstacles of the kept press and peanut politicians, and today you have in your possession the first issue of the Washington County Post, the people’s paper.

EDITORIAL POLICY The politics of this paper will be nonpartisan and we are going to help fight the political battle of the farmer and the working people. By working people we do not mean only the men and women who manage to eke out an existence by the sweat of their brow but also, the small business man and others who are earning an honest living. Our fight is against the kept press, Big Business, and the politicians who are merely the tools of “Big Bizz.”

We believe that the farmers and wage-earners should have a voice in the legislative matters of our State and Nation by sending men recruited from their own ranks to represent them.

LOCAL NEWS updates NEWPORT AND RED ROCK.

Plans for opening a road connecting Glenn and Hastings road are before the village council.

The Ladies’ Aid will meet this week with Mrs. Fordyce.

Eighth grade state examinations will be held March 18th and 19th in the advanced room at the Newport school house.

The Farmers Terminal State bank at Red Rock is doing splendid business.

Boy Scouts will have a surprise party at the home of Carlton Moran, Friday evening March nineteenth, having their regular business meeting at the same time.

WOODBURY NEWS Henry Goers celebrated his 61st birthday last Sunday.

Roy Markgrof made a business trip to St. Paul last week.

The severe snow storm of last Wednesday and Thursday has made traveling very difficult and in a number of places, especially crossroads, almost impassible.

Ray Markgrof made a few trips to Lake Elmo last Thursday after some loads of machinery.

Fred Stabenow made a trip to St. Paul Monday with a load of potatoes which have a very fancy price now.

LIFE: a poem Life is a blend of the good and the bad, A bit of the glad and a bit of the sad, A pinch of contentment, a time of unrest, A dash of the worst and a lot of the best; A little of disaster and plenty of pluck, And who would live long must be willing to know, Winter and summer and sunshine and snow.

—no attribution Also 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.”

November 11, 1920 “Life is a quarry, out of which we are to mould and chisel and complete a character.”— Goethe “We cannot be very useful when we are miserable, when we have soured on life, because unhappiness dulls the faculties and takes the edge off our ambition.”

WHY WE FOUGHT in Europe: …We got into the war to save our own souls, to save ourselves from the appalling spiritual consequences of a vast duty put aside in a tremendous world crisis. We went in to save our own national existence, not because we feared the Germans would ever destroy us—for that fear was never prevalent in this country— but because we knew that a selfish country, deaf to its obligations to mankind, could never amount to anything worth being… 127 Years Ago WASHINGTON COUNTY JOURNAL March 3, 1893 Vol. 1, No 1, Nelson and Nedmeier, Publishers Motto: “Independent and Impartial” THE WEEK’S NEWS.

Friday, Feb. 23 Fire at St. Paul destroyed the Styce library, valued at $20,000.

The Beaupre Mercantile company of St. Paul, has made an assignment.

Senator John Day of Minneapolis, was been elected commander of the Minnesota G.A.R.

The New York and New England railway has been absorbed by the Reading.

Additional LOCALS.

—A good story is told in which a prominent down river logger, who made Stillwater his headquarters during the last two seasons is interested. It appears that a slight difference existed between this gentleman and a Stillwater firm, and the firm filed a lien on a raft of his logs lying in the St. Croix at this point. A few weeks ago the down river man came here to straighten matters out satisfactorily, and imagine his surprise when he ascertained that a shanty had been built upon his logs. His first conclusion was that the sheriff had placed a watchman in charge of the logs, and his anger was at a high pitch when he entered the office of the Stillwater firm to protest against stock added expense. The bookkeeper, who is quite a joker, was the only person present when he arrived…Most of the fishermen reside in Stillwater while others are strangers who have no other abiding place than their rude shanty or hut on the lake. If the bill introduced at this session of the legislature to prevent spearing fish on the St. Croix becomes a law, it will result in the breaking up of this little industry, and the men so engaged will have to seek other vocations or will be compelled to remove their scenes of labor to a more favorable point.

From Statehood 162 Years Ago THE STILLWATER MESSENGER June 15, 1858 Volume 2, Number 39, Van Vorhes & Easton, Publishers Motto: “Be Just and Fear Not.—Let al the ends thou aim’st at, be thy Country’s thy God’s, and Truth’s.”

A Decided Improvement The hard times have had the tendency this spring to cause many waste places to be put under cultivation, and as a result, we notice fields lying between St. Paul and St. Anthony, and St. Paul and Stillwater, where but a few months since was nothing but the virgin soil held by speculators, now fences and planted and having an appearance of civilization. Persons who own these tracts of land find that it is unprofitable to let them lay idle, and pay the taxes on them, more particularly as there is little to no demand for real estate, so they have come to their senses, and have gone to work bravely in developing the soil, which they ought to have done years ago. We are glad to note these decided evidences of sanity on the part of our real estate dealers, and hope we shall be able to chronicle similar instances in other parts of our State.—Times