Music, A Family Passion

After one month in my new role I am quickly learning that the mission and tradition of the Hormel Historic Home covers many areas but most specifically hospitality, music, and education.  Last Saturday I was fortunate to be a part of that mission by helping to host the first annual Harris Piano Competition.  This event was made possible by a financial gift from MarySue Hormel Harris who is the granddaughter of Ben Hormel, George’s youngest brother. 

I have gleaned from the little research I have been able to do that the Hormels were an incredibly musical family.  This interest in music was passed through the generations and MarySue is an accomplished pianist herself.  She generously supports the musical endeavors that the HHH sponsors and was thrilled that the Home would be sponsoring this contest. 

35 youth from Austin and the surrounding area shared their talent, and I was amazed by them all.  So much poise and composure was shown and I know that George and Lillian would have also been impressed.  The gorgeous grand piano that stands in the Hormel’s living room sounded glorious when played by such motivated and confident performers.  St. Olaf Lutheran Church and The Paramount shared their space and pianos with us as well so that we could have so many kids compete at the same time and I know those sites were also blessed with great performances.

Music was also a popular feature in the HHH during the time of the YWCA.  A February 9, 1928, article reports the festivities from a Membership Party held at the Y…

“In the afternoon Lorna Bluhm favored the company with two vocal solos, “Where Dreams Are Made” by Johnson, and “The Wind “ by Spross.   She was accompanied on the piano by Constance Becker.  William Alderson played two piano selections, “A Nocturne” by Slater and “To the Rising Sun” by Torjussen, and Mrs. Ray Pooler sang a vocal solo, “ Mignon”-d’Hardelo, accompanied by Mrs. Fred Rayman at the piano.  An evening program is also described in the article as was the social half hour following the program where the tables were decorated with “pink tapers in green candle holders with pink roses in a green glass bowl as a centerpiece”.

Although we didn’t adorn the House or the Paramount with candles and flowers we were entertained with wonderful music.  So the music mission is still very much alive at the HHH and will be continued for years to come.

Introduction of Holly Johnson

I know this article is meant to be a look into the past of our Austin, and I plan to hold to that pattern in the coming weeks.  However, for my first column I have decided to give you a little history on me-Holly Stover Johnson.

Although born in San Antonio, TX, I have been fortunate to live in several parts of the country.  At age 3 my parents moved my brother and I north and we settled in a small town called Neodesha, Kansas-go ahead, Google it.  I didn’t really appreciate life in the middle of “no where”, but I now look on small town life as an opportunity to really know people, to recognize the gifts in every individual, and to lift others up in true community.

My parents were small business owners in a place filled with many entrepreneurial-minded people.  I saw them work together to help a town in the middle of a wheat field thrive.  I saw a group of faithful energetic people work to offer arts programs, musical endeavors, and educational opportunities that have influenced my life greatly.

From Kansas I went to college in Boston and then in Indiana, and after graduating from Purdue I moved to another small town but this one was surrounded by corn fields-Austin, Minnesota.  After nearly 2 years I moved to Minneapolis to work for Hormel in a sales position.  I met my husband there and in 1998 we moved to Kansas City and then to Charlotte, NC.  We have now been back in Austin for 5 ½ years, and after all that moving, when people ask me where I am from, I am proud to say Austin, MN, Spamtown, USA.

So my journey has brought me here, to oversee the historic home of a small town business family.  Being surrounded by pictures of such an influential and giving family is humbling.  They started a business to benefit their family and ended up helping a whole town grow.  This beautiful facility has served many purposes during its 141 years of existence and all of them have benefitted Austin. And now I hope I can be a benefit to the organization by continuing the home’s tradition of hospitality, outreach and education while preserving and restoring the historical past.

Now that you know a little (ok, a lot) about me I hope you will stop by for a tour, or to introduce yourselves and share some of your memories

Woolworth's Store a Landmark in Downtown Austin

The Woolworth’s store on Austin’s Main Street lives on in the memories of many residents. The first store opened in 1937. Twenty-six years later a major remodeling project was carried out. Some of the details from an article in the Austin Daily Herald on September 6, 1963:
“Austin’s new Woolworth Store will be open for business about the middle of October, C. W. Wilson, store manager said today...
Wilson, who has been assigned temporarily to the firm’s store in Albert Lea, returned to managerial duties in Austin this week. He said that Del Aharam, St. Cloud, previously assigned to the Milwaukee store, has moved here and will begin work as assistant manager.
Two former employees, Mrs. Inga Larson, stock clerk, and Mrs. Marion Waldron, bookkeeper, came back to work here this week...
The old Woolworth store was closed Jan. 26 and the building torn down. The new, modern, fireproof structure will have two selling floors, a lunch counter, and a floor for offices, stockrooms and public restrooms.
Wilson left here Feb. 4 and has been working in Albert Lea, except for a period in June when he assisted in opening a new Woolworth store in Fergus Falls.
“That store was very similar to our new one in Austin, and I gained a lot of valuable experience there,” he said...
Wilson said that he was especially proud of the new 48-seat lunch counter. He said only two other Woolworth stores in a six-state area would feature such modern equipment.”


George Hirsh Builds on Corner of Main & Water in 1901

Last week we explored the old Medical Building which housed Drs. Leck and Morrow in the 1930s and 40s. Before erecting their own building, the physicians were tenants in the Hirsch building, on the corner of Main Street and what was then Water Street (now 4th Avenue). There was even an operating room on the second floor.
George Hirsch came to Austin and opened a clothing store on the south end of Main Street, what is now Hastings Shoe, in 1887. Hirsh immigrated to the U.S. from Germany in 1873. He worked in several states, then set up a store in Council Grove, Kansas. After a fire destroyed it, Hirsh came to Austin on the recommendation of a wholesaler.
In 1901, Hirsh built the store that still stands, now occupied by Brick Furniture. The second floor and basement were rented over the years by a variety of concerns including Kinney and Detwiler, architects, Brown Brothers Barbershop, S.A. Emerson, plumber, Dr. Abe Mackoff, dentist, Albertson and Albertson, osteopathic physicians, J.W. Mann, insurance, A. J. Coon, barber and the Austin Rotary Club.
Hirsh's clothing business was taken over by his son, Alex Hirsh in 1927. In 1967, Jack Keenan purchased the business from Alex.

Old Medical Building Built on Site of Former Steamboat Landing

In 2009, consultants Bolton & Menk, Inc. researched the history of the Old Medical Building at 605 Main Street in downtown Austin. Their report is on file at the Mower County Historical Society and has some interesting details. Researchers drew heavily on articles in the Austin Daily Herald from 1928 and 1929.
"The Medical Building was constructed during the year of 1928. It is located near the current intersection of Main Street and 1st Drive NW (previously Lansing Avenue). The building was funded and designed by Dr. Clifford C. Leck who was a prominent physician in Austin, Minnesota since at least 1902. Dr. Leck had received his medical degree from the University of Minnesota in 1900.
The building was built in a vacant lot on the north end of Main Street, in between the Manhattan Oil Station and the Wagner Construction Company office. It is also the former location of a steamboat landing which took day passengers to Columbia Park located up the Cedar River. The steamboat could carry as many as 75 people in one trip. The steamboat was in operation until at least 30 years before excavation began, roughly 1898. When the location was no longer used as a landing, it was a convenient dumping ground for household, farm, and construction waste. The location was easily accessible for people to dump their farm manure...
The first floor primarily housed the medical offices of Dr. Leck and Dr. James Morrow. Other offices on the first floor were reserved for a dentist and two optometrists. Four private apartments were constructed on the second floor, with modern amenities including an electric refrigerator and closet beds...
The Medical Building had many amenities including a laboratory, an x-ray machine, a fluoroscope, a minor surgical room, and a large reception room complete with a fireplace."