Voume 3, Issue 2, May 2022

2nd Street Exhibit - Introduction

Driving down Second Street in Chaska, you may feel like you are in another time. In sight will be brick buildings, some over 160 years old, that have been ravaged by fire and invaded by flood waters yet are still standing. For its annual exhibit, the Chaska History Center will honor our first “downtown district”. Stories and photos will tell the tales of the shoemaker, a butcher, a TV repairman, the “candy lady”, the newspapermen of the Chaska Herald and the buildings where they worked.

Hundreds of hours of research have been spent sifting through book, photos and the internet to provide windows into Chaska’s past that open up as visitors look through the displays. Infrastructure details explain how the town operated – behind the beautiful buildings and the people inside.

Topics include: the impact of the railroads and steamboats, how electricity came into place, how water was delivered, and how refuse was taken away. Natural gas provided lighting before electricity, and telephones weren’t always quickly available. The streets and sidewalks arrived and brought a look and a sense of the modern times. Religion was a major influence in the spiritual and social aspects of lives, and the building (and re-building) of churches was evidence of the commitment by the congregations. Similarly, the disasters of fire, flood and tornados that befell the citizens were taken in stride after the dust settled and river receded.

Present-day and vintage photos allow us to imagine the working lives and economies of business that rose and fell like the waters of the Minnesota River. Restaurants, hotels, auto garages, livery stables, general stores, and buildings that came to known by the name of their original owner, and the ever-present influence of the Herald newspaper are all showcased.

Two specific buildings and their histories follow this article – the Gehl Meat Market and the Deuhs-Baxter Building. These stories, the photos below, and more await in the Chaska History Center!

Gehl's Meat Market
112 West Second Street

By Sarah Carlson
Gehl's Market was founded by Charles Gehl in the late 1880s. Turkeys were their specialty, but the family farm in San Francisco Township supplied other livestock. The farmstead is now part of the Carver Rapids Unit in the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge.

Gehl’s regular ”Guess the Animal’s Weight” contests brought in much additional business. On one occasion, Al Engelhardt won a live pig by guessing its actual weight of 194 pounds and 8 ounces! The original meat market was a wood frame butcher shop that was destroyed by fire in 1900. The replacement brick structure had the butcher shop on the first floor and the living quarters for the Gehl family on the second.

Butchering was done at the back of the Gehl building. Charley Gehl owned a pig that almost lived for a full year old as his pet. Sadly, in 1898, it strayed away from the home and made its way to the Minnesota River and fell into the water and drowned. For Gehl, the butcher business was not without other problems. In 1951, the Herald reported that a two-year-old heifer escaped from Gehl’s market and “headed wildly” down the street. The heifer was probably curious about the new Chevrolet that was at the dealership down the street. Chief car salesperson Ed Borak attempted to lasso the heifer. The new Chevrolet was lassoed, but the heifer escaped. Eventually it was cornered in Postmaster Weller’s garage and it was led back to Gehl’s.

Gehl’s market reluctantly closed in August 1963 because a full-time butcher could not be found, although the meat locker remained open until it was taken over by Chaska Packing in January 1965.

Deuhs-Baxter Building
107-109 West Second Street

By Julie Wiese

The Deuhs-Baxter building is a combination of two structures with replicated old fronts. The replacement fronts were part of a 1988 economic development program to rehabilitate old buildings. The in-between building was erected many years after the original buildings went up. It is made of stucco and allows the strong, historic character of the two adjacent buildings to ‘show through.’

The smaller building (#107 on the left) started out in 1878 as Errin’s Bakery, but a wealthy immigrant from Holland named Gerhard Deuhs bought the building and set it up as a confectionary - selling candies. Success followed and he decided to branch out into groceries. In 1888, Gerhard built a two-story brick structure next door and set up a grocery business that would thrive in Chaska for over 100 years!

At Gerhard’s death in 1900, his daughter Elizabeth, and her daughter Nellie took over the business. They made their living quarters in the rear of the adjoining buildings, which was common in those times. Nellie was a force to be reckoned with in town, becoming the chairwoman of the Carver County Republican Party, a member of the Women’s Civic League, a candidate for mayor, and a founder of the League of Women Voters. Elizabeth was known to everyone in town as “Mootie”, but to the kids in town, she was known as the lady with the ice cream and the penny candy. A kid-friendly store for sure- that was Mrs. Baxter’s Grocery. Nellie Baxter and her mom, Elizabeth, converted their living room to an ice cream parlor. They set up two comfy chairs and invited kids in to read the Sunday funnies, no purchases necessary.

Nellie never married or had children, so the store was passed on to her nephew at her death in 1947. Leonard (“Spen”) Lano and his bride from Holland, Margaret, took over the store and continued this old-fashioned, neighborhood store, with assistance from his son, Henry and his wife, Flora. It wasn’t until December 1990, that the store finally closed its doors. It had one brief claim to national fame when the store was included as the locale for the CBS film, A Stranger Within.

Cub Scouts Visit

Cub Scouts and leaders from Chaska’s Pack 301 visited the History Center in January and February earlier this year. They were hosted by Lisa Oberski, Jeanette McGillicuddy, and Julie Wiese. The all-girl Den was from 3^rd and 4^th grades. They were shown the different sections of the History Center and its displays. Shannon Schwartz was one of the leaders of the Webelos and Bear Scouts. She indicated that one of their requirements is to visit a place of local historical interest, and they chose the History Center.

In the related photo, Jeanette McGillicuddy is pictured showing a page from an old edition of the Herald. Apparently, the girls were intrigued by the advertisements and the price of rutabagas. They weren’t concerned about the cost, but rather “What’s a rutabaga?”

Similarly, at the time of the visit, the display about “Digging For Treasure” was being set up (featured in our Feb. 2022 edition.). Looking past the historical significance of bottles and other artifacts, the scouts’ big question was “What’s an outhouse?” Unfortunately, no one recorded the answer they received from their guide!

Chaska History Center Intern: Daniel Scharfenberg

By Sarah Carlson

Beginning May 16, the Chaska History Center will be fortunate to have Daniel Scharfenberg working with us. Daniel will be interning as part of his graduate studies program in History from University of Nebraska at Kearney.

A Chanhassen High School graduate of 2016, Daniel’s interest in history and social sciences led him to ask what motivates people to make choices and how do individual choices interact with the social, political and international conflicts that history records.

Daniel had the opportunity to intern during the summer of 2019 at the Carver County Historical Society working with Jeremy Murray and the Sell military collection. His additional responsibilities included working at the Carver County Fair where the Chaska exhibit focused on the brick-making roots of our community and researching the Gehl-Mittelsted farm and house. The Gehl Mittelsted farmstead is part of the Minnesota Valley Wildlife Refuge and has been placed on the Minnesota’s Ten Most Endangered Historic sites.

As part of his graduate work, Daniel is required to complete 300 hours of volunteer time working in areas of historic significance and will be working under the supervision of CHS Director Lisa Oberski. His work at our Center will focus on selecting images to match the text of the book-in-progress Chaska History 1950-2000. Utilizing the negatives provided by the Chaska Hearld (we have over 103,000 negatives!) and accessioned photos files, Daniel will ensure each photo selected will tell a story of Chaska history.

Working part time at Home Depot to offset his graduate degree expenses, Daniel has found time to delve into the work of genealogy for his family and others. He acknowledged that tracing ancestry can be a huge time cost, but it can lead to forming connections to personal history. His recent research work has provided connections to the Plymouth Colony residents who arrived on the Mayflower.

Daniel’s interest in history (“it’s all that I do”) has allowed him to perform both public and private research for individuals and organizations. He is interested in meeting more Chaska residents and exploring the rich history of Chaska from its beginnings in the 1850’s to today.

Customer Assistance

By Barb VanEyll

For several Friday afternoons in March a gentleman from Minnetonka came into the History Center looking for information on his family – Sohns / Veit that had resided outside of Chaska. He had been to the Carver County History Center but their newspapers were on microfiche and not conducive to looking at for long periods of time. He found out the Chaska History Center had the actual newspapers to view. While History Center volunteer Barb VanEyll went to the newspaper index, he looked through the Chaska book “Preshistory to 1950” and found several mentions of his family.

The newspaper index referred to an article in the Valley Herald dated November 13, 1862, entitled “Danced Himself to Death”. The article provides a unique picture of life in Chaska.

A man named Joseph Bower and his wife attended a party at the Joseph Veit farm about a mile outside of Chaska. Mr. Bower left the dance floor and abundantly drank the available beer and claimed “he would live while he did live and he was bound to have a good time.” After a while, he went back to the dancing but soon he was on the floor. Thinking he was only drunk, the crowd danced around and over him. When Mr. Bower failed to move, the crowd discovered he was not in good health and carried him off the floor. He died soon after. The Herald article closes with advice for the drinkers among its readers.

Our customer Mr. Sohns had a good laugh after reading this article and said he was going to use in in his family history.

Chaska: A Minnesota River City Quiz #5

Book Cover of Chaska: A Minnesot River City

Here is Quiz #5 - questions about Chaska: A Minnesota River City, Prehistory to 1950. These questions are taken from the material in the chapters covering 1900 through 1919.

In January 1900, what referendum passed 194 to 44 that funded a $7,000 bond in Chaska?
What was Chaska’s population in 1900?
What religious denomination provided a “buffer” between Catholics attending Guardian Angels and Lutherans attending St. John’s church?
What historical landmark is recognizable in the photo of 4^th Street on page 267?
In 1917, what US legislation was authored by Minnesota Representative Andrew Volstead?
In 1910, what was the monthly salary for a County Commissioner?
When did the County Courthouse install indoor plumbing and toilets?
In 1917, the United States started a military draft. Of 320 Carver County men eligible then, how many were drafted?
Within one month of organizing, how many members had joined the local chapter of the American Red Cross?
What local veteran’s organization held its first official meeting in Chaska in September 1919?

Chaska: A Minnesota River City Quiz #4 Answers

Here is Quiz #4 - questions about Chaska: A Minnesota River City, Prehistory to 1950. These questions are taken from the material in the chapters covering 1870 through 1899.

In 1877, the village of Chaska had at least 15 Saloons. What was the cost of an annual liquor license?
Answer: $25. Page117.
What was the name of an early Chaska brewery in business from 1873 to 1895? Answer: Union Brewery. Page 118.
What feature of the National Hotel almost claimed the life of Mattie Iltis in 1875? Answer: He fell into its water cistern. Page 125.
In what year did train service begin in Chaska?
Answer: 1872. Page 137.
According to folklore, who played poker with sheriff F.E. Dutoit in the summer of 1876?
Answer: Jesse James. Page 146.
In 1877, for what unique purpose did Paul Seeger use sheet metal and coal tar? Answer: Controlling grasshoppers. Page 151.
What shocking crime was committed in Mt. Pleasant Cemetery the night of Dec. 29, 1884?
Answer: Grave robbing. Page 171.
To avoid performing annual street repair for two days, how much would a replacement laborer be paid?
Answer: $3.20. Page 178.
In 1877, what sport was played between teams from Chaska and Watertown in which Chaska was beaten 62-27? Answer: Baseball. Page 189.
How many children were in the 1st graduating class of Chaska High School in 1899?
Answer: Four. Page 202.
What was the 1^st year Chaska could have telephone contact with Minneapolis? Answer: 1893. Page 210.
What culinary event occurred at the Degan + Siegle grocery store in February 1896?
Answer: VanCamp Packing House gave away samples of “Pork and Beans in Tomato Sauce.” Page 219.
What DID claim the life of Mattie (Mathias) Iltis in 1898? (See question #3.) Answer: Malaria, infected while in Cuba during the Spanish-American War. Page 242.
How did over 70 women help during the Spanish-American War?
Answer: they formed a chapter of the Red Cross. Page 243.
In the 1890s, what key manufacturing component did Charles Klein learn about while managing a brickyard?
Answer: Wood for the drying kilns – its availability and cost. Page 251.