Glass Slides of Huron

  Miss Louise French, a teacher of Latin and Fine Art at Huron College (Huron, South Dakota) for 25 years was also a photographer and specialized in making Lantern slides.  These slides are positive photographic images put onto a piece of glass and covered by a second piece of glass, bound on all sides with black paper tape. 

In past blogposts I have featured her photography from her many travels.  The following posts will be dedicated solely to her slides from Huron, which I have been able to date from 1928 to 1930.  

"Triangle Green, YM/YWCA Service"

Band Shell in Campbell Park

City Band

City Band

Illinois Avenue in Snow

Snow in March

Highway 14 Through Huron, South Dakota

 I grew up knowing this road as part of my Saturday morning "Flip the Loop" routine - see map below - over and over, all the while looking for other people we knew who were doing the same thing.  This was usually done with a carload of people.  Being the only one of my crowd with a car, my friends were all more than happy to give me $1 each to pay for gas.  Thanks to the cheap gas prices of 1975, it turned out to be a little bit of a money maker as well.  But with all the miles I drove on that road, I never once wondered how it came to be.

It began early in 1956, when the State Highway Department began planning a six-lane re-routing of Highway 14 through Huron (two lanes eastbound, two lanes westbound, and a two-lane service road).  A new 3 1/2 mile stretch of road would connect the "present" US 14 near Brewery Hill with the highway west of town at the fairgrounds without routing traffic through town.  At that time, westbound Highway 14 followed the river to 3rd street, then continued to Lincoln ave., then north to "Old Highway 14."  The new road would follow 4th St. NE. 

 The graphic below shows the old route and the proposed route on top, and the current Google Earth map of the highway.

The estimated cost of this project was $1.2 million, with Huron paying about $40,000, half the cost of acquiring the rights of way.  The other half would be paid b the Bureau of Public Roads.  The remainder of the cost would be paid by the state and federal governments. 

The original route was creating a great deal of traffic congestion along 3rd street; Market Road was initially considered to play at role but due to limitations Fourth Street N. was concluded to be a better option.

Businesses that were impacted by this construction were the Oasis Bar (368 Dakota N.), Durmy's Taxidermy (362 Dakota N.), an unnamed filling station, and Rosebud Oil Company (359 Illinois NW).  Several houses also needed to be moved.  Northside Memorial Park would be reduced in size "considerably."

Work commenced in April of 1958 and the west portion was open to traffic in October of that year.  Work on the other side would start in 1959.  The project was completed in 1961, with 5 miles of 4 lane highway.  Total cost of the work was $2.25 million.

Sources:

1955 Huron, South Dakota City Directory
1957 Huron, South Dakota City Directory
Google Earth
Huronite and Daily Plainsman, Huron, South Dakota, March 01, 1956
Huronite and Daily Plainsman, Huron, South Dakota, April 4, 1956
Huronite and Daily Plainsman, Huron, South Dakota, April 8, 1956
Huronite and Daily Plainsman, Huron, South Dakota, May 15, 1957
Huronite and Daily Plainsman, Huron, South Dakota, June 25, 1958
Huronite and Daily Plainsman, Huron, South Dakota, Oct. 9, 1958
Huron Daily Plainsman, Sept. 4, 1960
Huron Daily Plainsman, Dec. 31, 1961
Apple Maps

The Mystery Building on the Corner

  

I must have driven by this lot on the corner of 2nd street and Dakota avenue a million times in the years I lived in Huron, South Dakota.  I never really noticed what it was.  A gas station?  A car lot?  Who cares.   Further north on the block were a bunch of old dilapidated buildings, also garnering about as much interest.  It wasn't until some 40+ years later that I even gave it a second thought.

I was looking at some old postcards of those dilapidated buildings to the north when I noticed that there was actually *something* on that corner - a huge, very grandiose brick building!  Where did it come from, and where did it go?  These were two questions that I really wanted answered.

The Houghton Block, from the south.

The answer to the first question goes all the way back to January of 1886.  C. D. Houghton and son, local hardware store proprietors, were piling sand in front of their hardware store in preparation to build this big block of 3 stores at this corner, hence the name it was commonly called, the "Houghton Block."  Each store in this block was two-story and had a 25' store front and was 80 feet deep, with cellars under all three, and "water and drainage" were included.  Houghton and Son would also be making all their own brick for the building, with trimmings of stone, and a metal roof.  

This fine building prompted proposed additional building to the north.  Joy Brothers planned to construct their own building next door, another two story building with stone trim.   And if Joy Brothers followed through with their plans, Jacob Schaller would build a slightly smaller two-story building just to the north of them.  However, looking at old postcards, either the plans were changed or never materialized, as only single story buildings were in these locations.

By September of that year, the Houghton block was being plastered and a sidewalk was being laid in front.  Drayman Stewart hauled the large, long-awaited pieces of plate glass from the train depot to the store.  The Chicago Clothing Company moved into the corner store shortly thereafter.  

The Houghton Block from the north.  Note the Unique Theater sign.  1908.

Over the years many different businesses occupied these three stores.  Houghton himself operated his hardware store from there, as well as a novelty store.  Clothing stores, furniture stores, saloons, restaurants, grocery stores, and even the short-lived "Unique Theater" in 1908.  Later in the life of the building car dealerships predominated, with a 550 gallon gasoline tank underground.  The final business to occupy the Houghton Block was Findley Tire Store from ~1947 until ~1959.  The building was vacant in 1960.

The majestic building met its demise around 1961. Unfortunately I was unable to find any newspaper accounts of it that might help narrow down the date; however, Norm Ambrosius opened a Skelly Service Station at that location in July of 1962.

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Sanborn Fire Maps - 1910, 1892, 1898, 1904, 1916.

Huron Daily Huronite - April 15, 1891; Jan. 29, 1886; 

Dakota Huronite, Jan. 29, 1886; Sept. 02, 1886; Sept. 08, 1961; Sept. 16, 1886; Sept. 23, 1886; Oct. 7, 1886; Nov. 4, 1886; April 07, 1887;  Nov. 21, 1889; May 08, 1890; Nov. 06, 1908; Oct. 31, 1908

Huron Weekly State Spirit - May 9, 1918

Huron Daily Plainsman- July 11, 1962; Aug. 12, 1962

Huron City Directories, 1911 - 1960

Huron Journal World - May 03, 1906

Various postcards

Google Earth

News from Huron in the 1890s

 The following is a transcript from an old letter I found in a box of papers and other ephemera.  It appears to be written by Eddie Kimball, son of Anna Kimball, to his friend Walter.

 Huron, S. D., March 8, 1890

Dear Friend Walter,

I received your letter last Aug. and have not answered it till now. I hope you will forgive me for neglecting it so long. I have been very busy at school and am obliged to study every night. For Prof. Rowe seems to try to think up things to give us plenty to do. Not long ago he said that we must do all of our written work with pen and ink. I am in the B Class in the High School. I still study Latin besides Geometry with Algebra.

As you asked me to tell about the boys I will try and say something about some of them. Lon Huntington is a member of the C class in the High School. He had been working in a grocery store for about two years before the commencement of this school year. Will Jones is in the D class and Ken McKinzie is a night office boy at the railroad office. He got tired of going to school. Harry Steel and Sanford Scuyler are the only members of the graduating class which I believe is your old class.

My father and mother staid [sic] at Duluth about a month and came home feeling a great deal better. As Papa did not feel well enough to ride over the prairie this winter, he gave up work the first of Dec. He intends to go somewhere for his health by the last of this month or the first of next. He has thought some of going to Airsonia [sic] or New Mexico. If so he will possibly come to Los Angeles. But he now thinks he will go to western North Carolina. We still own Pax but may sell him. I hope Papa won't.

Pierre got the capital, but Huron has not given up hope and will be in the race this fall. I expect we will leave the Great American Desert within a year or two; and if the capital comes our way next fall it will be a good time to sell. We have all had the grippe but mamma and she has been sick several times.

Grandma is just recovering, she had the grippe worse than any of us. Hope you have not suffered in the great floods that I have read about in the papers. We have had an unusual mild winter. Please tell how your father and mother are when you write again. Mother says she wishes your mother would write to her. We all send love to you all. I must close as it is supper time.

Your friend,

Eddie Kimball.

Dear Walter,
            Please tell May to write to me as soon as she can.
Anna Kimball

J. J. Newberry Store

On the corner of Third Street and Dakota Avenue, the busiest intersection in town, sat J. J. Newberry's Department Store.  In many ways, it was the hub of downtown - it offered a little something for everyone.  Below is the only picture I have of the store, sitting prominently on it's corner perch, probably sometime in the 1940s.

Newberry's store came to Huron in December 1929, the 285th store in the U.S. and just the 3rd in South Dakota.  Almost 60 sales staff were employed in 26 different departments.  The cost of the items ranged from 5 cents to $1.  I would love to have such a store available now - where you could purchase a variety of things without breaking the bank, have some lunch, socialize over a cold coke, or just browse in a comfortable environment.

I can still see the wide staircase leading to the basement, where the toy department was, and still feel the thrill.  We didn't go there often, but it always paid off when we did.  There was a lunch counter where my little brother learned to drink out of a straw - but not before he blew through that straw as hard as he could and soaked the waiter and everyone around with splattered Coke.  And the cafeteria!  Where you could just walk the line and pick what you wanted, and there it was, immediately!  Later, when I was in Junior High, we would frequently walk there and sit in the cafeteria, boldly smoking cigarettes and drinking Coke, watching people go by through the huge glass windows in the front and side of the store.  I remember nearly spitting Coke myself when one of my cohorts exclaimed, "Look at the boobs on that old lady!" and looked up to see it was a relative of mine walking across the street.  I never did say anything...

I don't remember exactly when Newberry's closed, but I believe the building is still there, and the space has been converted to some other use.  It will always be Newberry's to me, and hold some of the best memories.

Dr. J. Bruce Annis, Huron Chiropractor

I love looking at the small details in old photos.  I scan them at 600 dpi, and take a close look at the little things one would ordinarily miss.  Last night, I came across a large scan of the I.O.O.F. Building in Huron, South Dakota that I didn't realize I had.  The item is of interest to me, as my great grandfather owned the Bell Bakery located in that building (ground floor, right hand side), and this is the best view I have of his store at the time he owned it.

There's a grocery on the ground floor next to the bakery, which I will be writing about in the future, and on the second floor there is an engineer, a dentist, and I presume the office of Dr. J. Bruce Annis, Chiropractor. His sign hangs between the two ground floor businesses, near the doorway to the building, just under the I.O.O.F. in the center.  The photo dates to somewhere between 1914 and 1920; Dr. Annis' office was in another location in 1913, and the grocery store's location was taken over by the Lyric Theater, construction of which started in 1920.

J. Bruce Annis was born in 1879 in Grant Center, Michigan to Hiram C. Annis and his wife Eva McCrea.  The father was came from Canada, crossing the border in 1875.  In 1883, Hiram took on a homestead in Altoona township, Beadle County, South Dakota.  They had two sons; Neil was the publisher of the Hitchcock News-Leader, and J. Bruce became a chiropractor.  Hiram died in 1926, and his wife in 1931.

 Dr. Annis, then 34, married 19 year old Ella Schutt, daughter of Charles F. & Otillia (Spring) Schutt at Davenport, Iowa on April 2, 1913.  His practice was initially located at 640 3rd St., and sometime between 1913 and 1916 moved to the I.O.O.F. Building.  At one time he partnered with Mellbye, and at another time with Stout, but for the most part was in business independently.  Toward the later years of his practice, Dr. Annis moved the business to the K.of P. building; he worked at least into 1948.   His wife was a homemaker in her earlier years, then worked as a hairdresser and finally as a saleswoman at Habichts Department store.  The couple did not appear to have any children.


Dr. Annis died in Beadle county on March 28, 1954.  His wife died in Rapid City in 1972.

Sources:
"Frame by Frame in Huron."   Wm. Lampe.
Huron City Directories: 1913, 1916, 1918, 1920, 1924, 1926, 1928, 1930, 1931-32, 1934, 1936, 1945, 1948.
United States Federal Censuses: 1920, 1930, 1940.
Social Security Death Index, entry for Ella Annis.
The Huronite and the Daily Plainsman, Friday, July 9, 1948.
The Huronite and the Daily Plainsman, Thursday, July 10, 1952
The Huronite and the Daily Plainsman, Wednesday, November 3, 1948
The Evening Huronite, Tuesday, July 27, 1948
The Evening Huronite, Tuesday, June 9, 1931
The Evening, Huronite, Thursday, June 11, 1931
South Dakota State Archives, Cemetery Records Search
Iowa, County Marriages, 1838-1934 (FamilySearch.org)

Armour Packing Company

The old Armour packing plant had been situated on the top of the hill - or maybe the enormous building just seemed to be on a hill - just outside of town for as long as I could remember.  It was always somewhat of a mystery with the fence around it and seemingly limited access.  Once, as a young child, my dad took some visiting relatives on a tour through the plant, and we got to get a sneak peek inside of that huge, stinky, and slightly scary old building.  All I really remember was hearing my dad's description of how they would "stick" (electrocute) the hogs to send them to the fate for which they were born - our Easter ham, or breakfast bacon.  I was totally creeped out.

My family's association with Armour & Company began in the early 1950s, when my widowed grandfather left the farm to work at the plant - it put food on the table for his tribe of kids, but to economize, he lived in a box car near the plant during the week.  He eventually remarried and gave up the farm, but Armours was a part of his life for many more years, until his retirement.  Several of his sons took jobs at the plant as well.  

I doubt the work at the plant was easy.  As a matter of fact, I'm sure it was not.  I remember many times hearing the sounds of my mother cooking breakfast at 4 a.m., and hearing my dad wolf it down before heading out the door to work.  I recall his sore muscles, and his tales of working in the freezer, and other temporary assignments he'd get that he didn't particularly care for.  But it was a job, and a darned good one.

The packing plant seemed to be the one bastion of security in the town - the financial benefits it brought to the community ($8 million in the 1970s*) supported numerous other businesses, and could be counted on to pay many a mortgage, not to mention provide some luxuries to the families who depended on it.  Rumors of closings came and went, but the plant persevered.

Eventually, though, the inevitable happened.  The plant was sold to Swift Independent Packing Company in the 1980s, and then to Dakota Pork, and then - the doors closed.  The building was torn down, and an era ended.  Time marches on.  But the sight of that huge building at the top of the hill remains in my memory.

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* According to the book "Huron Revisited."

Wordless Wednesday - Downtown Huron, 1940, Bell Bakery Truck

Wordless Wednesday - At The Lake

Voorhees Hall–There and Gone

I’m not sure of the exact date on the above postcard of Huron College (Huron, South Dakota), but would guess it to be ~1910.  I grew up looking at this wonderful old building, Voorhees Hall, and during a few times in my childhood, had occasion to enter this grand structure, always captivated by the beautiful architecture.  Eventually, I went to school there myself.  Within those old walls you could almost feel the history, and going up to the huge lecture room on the third floor you could feel the presence of one hundred years’ worth of scholars, filling their minds with worldly knowledge.

So this was a particularly sad time for me when a friend sent the photo below.  Voorhees Hall is no more – razed to make way for a swimming pool.  


It’s going to take a very long time before seeing this sight doesn’t hurt…

Photo courtesy of Michael Bonnes

Miss Birks

I don’t think about junior high without thinking of Miss Birks.  The big old school building, pictured above, was referred to in postcards as the “new high school” but by the time I worked my way up the educational ladder, a newer “new high school” had been built, and the large, historic old building had been turned over to the junior high crowd.  Even back then, I loved the old architecture of the building, although the sheer size of it scared me half to death, as did Miss Birks.

I passed Miss Birks in the hallways many more times than I could count.  She always seemed to have a stern look about her, but then, after years of dealing with youngsters of that age and hormonal status, you’d better be tough.  At one particular point in time, I recall going through a bit of a crisis, and although I don’t recollect exactly what the problem was, it was serious enough that I considered talking to Miss Birks, who was by then the guidance counselor.  However, about that time I’d pass her in the hall again, and her aura of authoritarianism quickly changed my mind.

Over the years, when I’d see old photos of that beautiful school building, I’d think briefly of Miss Birks, but I hadn’t given her much in depth consideration until tonight, while browsing through an old 1926 Huron High School Tiger yearbook, and, much to my surprise, there she was in the graduating class!  Next to her photo, the question was asked, “Will her voice resound thru the ages as it has the halls of H. H. S.?”   What?  Miss Birks was noisy in the halls?  Really!?  I wish I’d known that 40 years ago!  And what a prophetic question!  Yes, as it turned out, her voice would resound through those halls for a very long time to come.

Miss Marie Birks, 1926

I was hoping to find a quick obituary online for Miss Birks to fill in the years.  Well, I didn’t find one.  I did, however, find that her name was mentioned in the local newspaper more times than I could count – and like the young girl who was involved in so many high school activities, as a grown woman her level of community involvement was high.  She had spent the bulk of her life living in the family home on Montana street, from before she was 10 months old until at least 1992, the last year for which I have a city directory.  Her mother passed away sometime between 1940 and 1953, which was the year her father died.  After that Miss Birks continued on in the home alone.

She was first-generation American born – her father came from England in 1883, and her mother a few years later, from Denmark.  Her father was most noted for his work as Beadle County Treasurer as well as a long-time real estate agent. 

She retired from the Huron Public School district with 39 years to her credit, according to the local newspaper.

Miss Birks was 96 years old when she passed away at the Huron Nursing Home in May of 2005.  As the children were closing another year of school, she closed the book of her life.

And yes, I eventually did get desperate enough to talk to her about my catastrophic situation, whatever it was.  She was one of the nicest, most empathetic and caring teachers I’ve known.  She helped me resolve my situation, encouraged me, and afterward remembered me with a smile every time we passed in the hall.  While Miss Birks is gone, as is the old school building, I won’t forget either one of them.

A few sources -

Social Security Death Index
1926 HHS Tiger Yearbook
1910, 1920, 1930 Federal Census
Numerous Huron City Directories
Numerous old Huron Daily Plainsman, Dakota Huronite, and other local newspaper articles

© Karen Seeman, 2011

Graphics courtesy of JOD

An Historical, and Personally Memorable, Site in Huron, South Dakota

No place in the world says “home”  to me like the Third Street Bridge area over the James River, in Huron, South Dakota.  Over my years in Huron, it became a place I frequented.  As a high school art student, I’d go there to sketch.  I’d go fishing with friends there in the summers, and snowmobiling in the winter.  I considered a dare to walk across the spillway one summer when the water was low, and numerous dares to zip across the trestle and hope a train didn’t have the same idea at the same time.  I took my kids to eat our McDonald’s lunch there, and watch the trains go by.  And sometimes, I’d go there just to peacefully contemplate life, and ponder the mystery and the tragedy of the lives lost in those waters over the years.

One of the earlier versions of the bridge is shown in the above postcard.  Unfortunately, years ago when I scanned it, I did not scan the back, and do not know the date this photo was taken.  However, the book “Huron Revisited” has a similar photo, dated at 1922, and notes that the river was at flood stage.  Note the adventurous souls in the rowboat.  Perhaps that was their version of crossing the spillway or trestle…

Above: A more recent photo of the railroad bridge, and the automobile bridge in the background.  
On my increasingly rare trips home, driving into town and seeing the river, the bridge, and the trestle, and all of the familiar sights that follow, warms my heart and soul like nothing else.