Posted: 4/9/03

Lost town of Garen remembered by few

(Editorís Note: The following Reflections column in a reprint for the archives of the newspaper It is reprinted here as part of the newspaperís coverage during its 100th year. This column and future Reflections columns are in tribute to writer elsie Vogel who died Feb. 7, 2003.)

By Elsie Vogel
Times Staff Correspondent

Standing at the Garen crossroads as I did on a lovely fall day, I noted the lack of sound other than cars traveling US-61. No more train whistles in the distance, no more trains coming to a stop at the Garen station. Silence replaced the mooing of cattle pens, and the sound of childrenís laughter at school recess in the far off distance had been hushed.

At present, there are a few fields of corn, a farm with a familiar red barn and a whirling windmill, homes scattered here and there and a commercial building (Universal Applicators Inc.). A bare road-bed path is the only reminder of silvery-colored railroad tracks that connected Garen to the cities north and south of here.

When Mike Daninger said, ìWhy donít you write about Garen?î I thought it was a good suggestion.

Garen: The community that disappeared

Today there are no visible signs or buildings left to pinpoint Garen, but to the farmers and residents that lived in that area, the memories are sharp.

If you will follow my directions and drive south from Forest Lake on US-61 to 190th Street (approximately four miles), you will arrive at the crossroads of what once was the town of Garen.

This was a farming community with farms on both sides of the railroad tracks. Some of the farmers in the area were Steve Pollreis, Earl Lord, Frank Garen, Sam Hehner, Frank Daninger, the Thons, Ted Corey, Palmers, Mathes, Berger Olson, Chester Hopkins, Anna Mays, Reiters, Axel Johnson and George Taylors, to name a few.

Old Highway 1, before it was changed to US-61, stood on the west side of the tracks. This was, of course, a gravel road.

Grass fire

From the spark of a train, Garen came into existence. Many grass fires were started from the trains that traveled between Duluth and the cities. If the fires were in the peat bogs, it seemed they would smolder and burn forever.

This particular train fire started in the vicinity of the Steve Pollreis farm and burned into the bog. This caused much distress for the farmers in the area, and the Northern Pacific Railroad Company finally sent a lawyer to settle with the people that were affected.

Raising cattle was a large part of the farmers income. The railroad made an agreement with the farmers to build a ìswitch lineî so the farmers could load their cattle into box cars to be shipped to South St. Paul. They also built cattle pens along the switch line.

Now there had to be a name for this station, and the railroad preferred a short name that had not been used any other place. They finally decided to name it after one of the farmers. One of them fit the bill.

Frank Garen, his wife Sarah Jane and sons Jack and George, owners of a 360-acre farm, were one of the farmers affected by the railroad. Railroad officials decided to call it Garen. Incidentally, this Irish family were the OíGarens when they lived in New York; they dropped the ìOî as many Irish families did at that time.

The railroad moved a boxcar next to the track and it became the train station, complete with the Garen signs. A wooden platform was built around it. The inside was furnished with a stove for heat in the winter. Local farm boys were known to play cards in there at night.

Mike Daninger remembers hearing the train whistles during the night as a youngster. He recalls the slow chug-chug of the freight trains as they pulled their heavy load up a grade that was called ìDutch Hill,î so named because of the German, Austrian and Bohemian population in this area.

North of the crossroads and 190th Street is supposed to be the highest grade in the whole state.

Garen School

I had a great visit with Grace (Garen) Stoltman and Mike Daninger, former students of the one-room school. They will share with you their recollections of living in Garen.

The school was typical of the early country schools. Teacher Margaret (Cable) Mathe and students kept the fire going in the big stove with a heat shield around it. There was the usual outside pump and dipper to drink from, and, of course, they had outside toilet facilities.

Hot lunch

A labor of love that impressed me was to learn about the thoughtfulness of the mothers on cold winter days. They took turns bringing a hot dish, soup, home baked beans or scalloped potatoes to add to cold lunches the children brought from home in their lunch pails. There also was an oil stove for cooking. Sometimes they had hot chocolate to drink, which at times was a little scorched.

If the weather was good, the children, of course, walked to school, but on snowy, blustery days, parents usually brought the children in horse-drawn bob sleds with the children snuggled down in the hay.

Because of the distance children had to go to school, there were three schools in the area: The Garen school was District 72 South, the Lathrop school was District 72 North and west of the tracks was North school.

Farmers Club

The school building also was used as a community center. It was a place for dances, programs and other social activities for the whole family. Gas lanterns, at one time, hung from the ceiling, but that was finally outlawed.

Grab your partner and letís dance

What fun they had at the dances! School desks and seats were mounted on cleats, and in no time, the school room could be changed into a dance hall by pushing the desks to the wall. This also was the place to pile coats and caps.

Guests danced the schottische to the lively polka music. The circle-two step mixed everybody up, and they soon welcomed a slow waltz. Mrs. Butterfield and Tillie Hopkins were piano players accompanying accordion or concertina music. Gus Erickson, Wyoming, furnished music many times. If they didnít have live music, they used a phonograph.

Programs

There always was a program at Christmas time and sometimes a program with local talented children furnishing the entertainment was featured. It might have been Grace (Garen) Stoltzman singing or the audience enjoying Joe Morley reciting poems such as this one...

Cremation of Sam Magee

ìWhen Sam had died, his friend had promised to cremate him. When Sam was in the furnace for some time, his friend looked in at him, and there sat Sam Magee. ìPlease shut that door and donít let in the wind and cold, by gee, this is the warmest place Iíve been since I left Tennessee.î

Performers were certain to receive a big hand from an appreciative audience. A delicious lunch was served, ending another social night at the Farmers Club.

Going to the store

West of the railroad tracks in the 1920s, C.I. Olson ran a little grocery store similar to the convenience store of today. He sold bread, pop, lunch meat, candy and so on. The next owners were Mr. and Mrs. Stubbs.

We all have those little unforgettable children memories. Verona (Lord) LaBelle remembers walking about a mile on hot summer days to Stubbs store to buy a nickel ice-cream cone or a bag of candy.

This also was a place for people in the area to informally meet their neighbors, giving them a chance to exchange views about the weather, crops and maybe hear a little gossip, too. The last store owners were the Carlsons.

Farm help

Men on parole from Stillwater prison worked on the farms when needed. Grace said, ìThey were the good guys in jail for non-violent crimes.î

Local town boys who grew up to be business and professional men also worked in the fields picking potatoes in the fall. Some of those boys were Ray Houle, Kenneth Poirier and Erwin Berg.

Changes coming

In about 1934, children attending the three schools were bused to school in Forest Lake. Eventually, there would be a new use for the now vacant Garen schoolhouse.

Toni home permanent wave

Ladies will remember the new vogue of using ìhome permanents.î The Toni Company created a very new and popular brand of permanent wave solution. Beauty operators feared this would ruin their business as ladies hurried to try this new hair treatment.

The Toni company leased the school building and started to produce the permanent wave solution that would soon cause the neighbors to literally hold their noses and close their windows if the wind was in the right direction. The chemical odor was horrible.

One night there was a fire of unknown origin at the plant. It was fortunate a 200-gallon tank of ether on the north side of the building didnít explode. A reflector stood between the ether and the building. This was the last use and end of the Garen schoolhouse.

Coreyís swamp

Coreyís swamp is another familiar name in that area. During drought years, farmers used this area for making hay. Cattle roamed the area for feed. Coreyís swamp also was the place local fellows will remember hunting deer, partridge and other wild game. The soil in some areas was good for raising carrots and onions. Harold Waldo and Oscar Johnson had an area for this, and local boys, such as Wink Moen and Harold Klees, weeded the fields for the going rate of 10 cents an hour.

Tavern on the corner

During the 1930s and ë40s roadside taverns sprang up like mushrooms. Garen had one, too. Grace and Clarence Siebert built the ìHalf Way Inn.î It also was called the ìHappy Landingî during its existence. There were several owners, and I have no further information on its demise.

I hope I brought back a little bit of Americana for older residents and maybe delight our new comers with a bit of local history about a community that started from the spark from a train.

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