AM 1240 WJON » history

Local Facebook Page 'St. Cloud Remembered' is Attracting A Lot of Attention [INTERVIEW]

Peter Kay — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 22:29:46 +0000

You may have seen those images of old St. Cloud landmarks, street corners and businesses popping up in your Facebook newsfeed a lot lately.

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First Legal MN Distillery Creates Spirits With Locally Grown Ingredients

Peter Kay — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 20:56:28 +0000

n what seems to be the next wave of liquor-based entrepreneurship, Minnesota's first legal distillery is up and running and producing a unique spirit; White Water Whiskey.

Panther Distillery in Osakis, is making history in Minne

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Grant-Funded Local Artist Depicts Historic St. Cloud in Watercolors [VIDEO]

Abby Faulkner — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 06:32:53 +0000

A local artist is breathing new life into downtown St. Cloud architecture with a roving watercolor exhibit.

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Freedom Rider Patten Brings Story to SCSU Community

Abby Faulkner — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 21:17:55 +0000

A member of the Civil Rights Movement's groundbreaking Freedom Riders addressed St. Cloud State University today.

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Historic Paramount Chandeliers Return After 20 Year Hiatus [AUDIO]

Abby Faulkner — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 05:01:21 +0000

Two pieces of St. Cloud history, gone for over 20 years, have returned. A pair of chandeliers, custom-made for the Paramount Theatre in 1921, were found and bought back by the theater.

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Who is 'The Dust Lady'?

Jen Jacobs — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 19:46:35 +0000

There were many indelible images burned into our memories on September 11, 2001. For me, this picture said it all. Who is the woman in this picture? What was she doing that day? Did she make it out alive?

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Tuskegee Airmen Exhibit Arrives in St. Cloud [AUDIO]

Abby Faulkner — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 19:44:25 +0000

A traveling film exhibit on the Tuskegee Airmen, America's first black military pilots and crews, has landed in St. Cloud.

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Who is That Firefighter?

Jen Jacobs — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 18:54:41 +0000

Who is the man that was photographed rushing up the stairs on September 11? Did he make it out in time?

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WJON Listeners Remember September 11, 2001 [AUDIO]

Bob Hughes — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 15:43:39 +0000

WJON listeners share their recollections on the attacks of September 11, 2001.

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Mayor's Historic St. Cloud Trolley Tours Are Back [VIDEO, AUDIO]

Abby Faulkner — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 22:15:54 +0000

St. Cloud is a city steeped in history, and passengers on Mayor Dave Kleis' Trolley Tour got an in-depth lesson on Tuesday morning.

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A Century Later, Clearwater Veteran Given Headstone [AUDIO]

Abby Faulkner — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 05:01:33 +0000

A Civil War Soldier hailing from central Minnesota has finally been honored with a headstone on his grave site.

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Be Charles Lindbergh for a day [VIDEO]

Abby Faulkner — Thu, 24 May 2012 05:01:34 +0000

Most of us will never fly a plane across the Atlantic Ocean - but now, you can IMAGINE TO at the Charles A Lindbergh State Historical Site in Little Falls.

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Here is a Hare-Raising Story!

Bob Hughes — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 15:26:54 +0000

The one and only Gary Crawford at the USDA takes a unique look at the Easter Bunny.

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New Stearns History Museum Exhibit Honors A Century of Girl Scouts [AUDIO]

Abby Faulkner — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 21:22:48 +0000

It's been a century since the Girl Scouts of America were founded, and the Stearns History Museum is recognizing this milestone with a new exhibit.

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20 Years Ago Today: The Halloween Blizzard of 1991

Jen Jacobs — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 16:24:11 +0000

Last week, Jim Maurice and I wrote up a couple of stories about that storm and we asked for your comments. Here are some funny memories and harrowing stories as we remember The Halloween Blizzard of 1991.

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Remembering the Halloween Blizzard of 1991

Jen Jacobs — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 15:48:34 +0000

It has been 20 years since the Halloween Blizzard of 1991 when the Upper Midwest saw a record breaking snowfall. And that’s hard to do up here. We’re taking a look back at the wind up, the snow storm and the aftermath.

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The History Behind Labor Day

Paula Kashtan — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 13:03:04 +0000

What’s not to love about Labor Day? A long weekend, BBQs and parades — really, no responsibilities except for having a great time and toasting the end of summer. But what exactly does Labor Day celebrate?

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Ghost Towns: Stearns County Towns that Disappeared from the Map — Our Top Five

Abby Faulkner — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 02:38:06 +0000

So a few weeks back, we explored a smattering of supernatural legends from St. Cloud State University. This time around, I wanted to take a different approach to the concept of haunted spaces, and turn focus to a bunch of real "ghosts" we unknowingly encounter every day - the dissolved, forgotten towns of central Minnesota.

Many of us probably get the same old timey, western-style mental image when we hear the phrase “ghost town” – sepia-toned montages of overgrown, decrepit buildings with punched out floors and collapsed roofs, flanked by cacti and maybe a tumbleweed or two. I’m sure those Hollywood-style colonies are out there somewhere – but really, you won’t find them here in central Minnesota. As a matter of fact, most of the structures in the towns on this map were extinct before the turn of the century.

Like a good ghost story, the forgotten towns of central Minnesota are full of mystery. It took this reporter a few hours of digging around in the spectacularly organized archives of the Stearns History Museum to find the essential maps, facts, dates and photos to prove these places really existed. Now, while I’m crazy about history, research and heavy-duty air conditioning on 90-degree days, I was slightly discouraged when I realized that the vast majority of these towns have one thing in common – hardly ANY documentation exists to describe exactly where they were, what they looked like or who lived there.

Another mystery I quickly uncovered - there's no good reason some of these towns flourished (if only for a while) and others failed almost immediately. These towns (pictured on the above map) were surveyed and settled by enterprising immigrants during the 1850s and 60s, itching to develop profitable commercial trade centers. Some were temporary outposts - they drifted into disrepair and vanished. Others were platted, named and never saw so much as a single building. A handful served as the foundations for towns we know and live in today. Take a close look at the map we've created.

The latter sums up the towns that made this list. May I present for your consideration - and in no particular order - 5 central Minnesota ghost towns that captured and haunted my imagination.

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Looking Back: D.B. Searle's St. Cloud Legacy [PHOTOS]

Dick Nelson — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 15:35:26 +0000

It's been many things over the years, but the stately Searle Building on St. Cloud's historic 5th Avenue remains open and is as full of life today as it was in the early 20th century. Dick Nelson talks with D.B. Searle's manager Matt Novak about the building over the years and the business in it today.

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