We’re nearing the 1/3 mark with our Morrison County Influentials and I have to tell you, this is no easy feat. Sure, we have a long list of Influentials – that’s the easy part, although it won’t be so easy as we near the 100 mark. By that time the obvious choices will have already been listed and it will become much harder to decide who should be on the list and who should not. The really difficult part of creating this list is writing the mini-biographies we’re posting here. Blogging is typically an on-the-fly activity, but writing biographies, even skimpy ones, takes time, especially when trying to get the facts straight. Without further adieu, then, let’s get on with the biographies for last week’s Influentials and introduce you to five more.
36. Isabel Flood (1859-1941) – Isabel (Cox) Flood came to Swanville, MN, in 1884. She taught school in Swanville until 1918. She and her husband Edwin A. Flood ran a mercantile business. Isabel “was one of three women instrumental in bringing a Baptist minister to Swanville to conduct the first religious service held in the village.” (LF Herald, Nov. 7, 1941) Her greatest distinction, however, was earned through becoming the first elected female mayor in Morrison County. She served for three terms as Swanville’s mayor.
37. Paul Larson (1894-1983) – Boat manufacturer extraordinaire. Larson built his first boat out of scrap lumber when he was 11. By the time he was a teenager, he was building duck boats and fishing boats for his friends. Eventually, he opened Larson Boats and Crestliner, two large boat manufacturing facilities in Little Falls, MN. They are still in operation today, but under different ownership.
38. Clara Fuller – Following the death of her husband, Wheaton M. Fuller, who had been the editor of the Little Falls Daily Transcript for 27 years, Clara became editor of the paper and president of the Transcript Publishing Company, which her husband had founded. (Sounds like I need to add Wheaton Fuller to the list, doesn’t it?) What we know Clara for, more so than her role with the Transcript, is for a two-volume set of books called the “History of Morrison and Todd Counties, Minnesota,” which was published in 1915. These two volumes, one of general histories, the other of local biographies, are indespensible in providing an overall look at the history of Morrison County.
39. Jacob Kiewel (1846-1928) – Jacob Kiewel was known for beer. In 1893, he bought a small brewery in Little Falls from Rudolph Koch and renovated and expanded it. The brewery was a family affair and the family also owned a brewery in Crookston, Minnesota. Together, these businesses were incorporated under the name “Jacob Kiewel Brewing Company.” The Little Falls brewery produced White Rose Beer and the Crookston plant made White Seal Beer. During Prohibition, the Kiewels produced ice cream and dairy products at their breweries. After Jacob’s death in 1928, his sons took over the business, which operated in Little Falls until 1959.
40. Ellen Nichols – During the summer of 1855, Ellen was the first teacher in the first public school in Morrison County. The school was located in the village of Little Falls. Ellen and her husband C.S.K. Smith also had the distinction of being married in the first wedding ceremony known to have been held in Little Falls. The year was 1856.
Okay – five more, with one a bit of a freebie.
41. Wheaton M. Fuller
42. Major Ashley Cutler Morrill
43. Jenny Lind Brown Blanchard
44. Jonathan O. Simmons
45. Hans Henry Gosch