(Learn more about the Bierman scrapbooks here.)
When we think of the “Do You Remember?” column in the Northfield News nowadays, we think of Maggie Lee. But the column predates her employment there, as Mrs. Bierman’s scrapbook of that name shows. (But if you are interested in Maggie, read some of her first columns from the News here.)
As is the case in newspapers around the country, “Do You Remember?” prior to Mrs. Bierman’s death in 1939 highlighted what was in the local news 25 or 50 years ago, or occasionally contained someone’s personal recollections. Because these columns rarely contained any headlines or text to highlight the subject of the recollection, having these few articles scanned and searchable makes them infinitely more helpful to today’s researcher.
The first 25 pages of this scrapbook are largely “Do You Remember?” columns, with some “Tales of the Town” thrown in — this column was written by Tergiverous Tim, a pen name for W. F. Schilling. But after that point, the volume becomes a mish-mash of articles on local history.
But buried inside is a collection of original photographs. Some we have a little information about:
- Hiram Scriver portrait
- Henry Wheeler portrait — this is the photograph showing Wheeler closest to his age at the time of the raid that Northfield Historical Society has seen
- Portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Kelley
- John S. Way portrait
- Old Engine No. 83, Northfield to Red Wing, an engine on tracks with an old depot in foreground — the original version of this photograph, with the caption adhered to the photograph
- Mrs. John Phillips portrait
Others we know less about:
- Nine women playing instruments in a band
- Outside and (presumably) inside the Moore boarding house
- Ladies seated at tables outside the Southworth home
- Portrait of an unidentified man
- And another unidentified man
- A portrait of six people and two donkeys in front of a log wall
- Simpson family portrait of 11 people
- Water-side photographs, Pages 1, 2, 3, 4
- Woman driving a horse outside All Saints Episcopal, unidentified home, All Saints church interior, and shop with Tin, Iron and Furnace Works sign
- Three men in front of a Case machinery shop, Ross Phillips at left and W. E. Hibbard at right, sign reflected in window says Ontario Store (is this in Northfield?)
- Four men with lines of hanging fish
- Ten women in dresses seated on the steps outside of a house
- Large crowd outdoors, most facing background, with horses and buggies in foreground, pole with flag at top in center, and short building in background with people standing on it. Possibly near depot.
- Some sort of community picnic
- Four women, whose last names are Collette, Orr, Whitford and Wickham, in 1895
Do you have information about these — who, when, where? Please share!