An Irishman in Scott County

Happy St. Patrick’s Day from the Scott County Historical Society! Today we had the pleasure of visiting ProAct-New Options in Shakopee to share a little Scott County Irish history and help them celebrate the holiday. We would also like to celebrate with a blog post by profiling one of Scott County’s  early Irish citizens.

The 1800s were a rough time for Irish farmers. Few families actually owned their land, instead owing money and crops to British landlords. In the case that a family did own their plot, a law of subdivision was in place requiring that all land was required to be divided equally between living sons at the time of a parent’s death. This led to increasingly small plots, often insufficient for a family to earn a living. Many Irish farmers eked out their lives in abject poverty.

The response to these conditions was potatoes. Potatoes packed a lot of calories into a small package, required minimal upkeep, could be grown in small areas, and could be stored throughout the winter. Growing potatoes allowed a family with limited time and resources a hearty food source. By 1840, roughly half the population of Ireland lived almost entirely on potatoes.

Unfortunately, this extensive cultivation of a single crop left Ireland’s potatoes vulnerable to Phytophthora infestans, commonly known as “blight”. In 1844, Irish newspapers began mentioning concern due to a disease that had attacked potatoes in the United States and elsewhere in Europe. By 1846, three-quarters of the potato harvest was lost to blight. Ireland’s level of dependence on the potato was such that by 1849, the potato blight left over 1 million people dead from starvation, or related illnesses.

The response of the English government to the famine was lackluster, and many Irish began looking for a way out. Thus began a period of mass migration from Ireland to the United States. It is estimated that between 1820 and 1930 around 4.5 million Irish arrived in America.

Jeremiah Hayes

One of these Irish immigrants was Jeremiah Hayes. He was born around 1830 on a farm on the outskirts of the village of Milltown, in County Kerry Ireland, 30 years after Ireland officially became a British state. In January. He recalled his childhood in Ireland in an article published by the Belle Plaine Herald on January 14th, 1926, noting a storm that had hit his family’s farm when he was “a pretty small lad”

“I remember that wind all right. There has never been anything like it since. It would blow the hair right off your head. I can remember my father and mother propping the door, and a terrible time they had of it too. No one was killed in  in our neighborhood, but a good many cows and pigs were lost, and there was a lot of property damage”

Hayes also recalled living through the potato famine

“The potato crop had been good in ’45, but the next year when the crop failed and the pits containing last year’s harvest were opened, the walls of the pits caved in and it was found that dry rot had ruined them. They didn’t have any relief organizations in those days. Little aid could be obtained from England and from famine and disease people died like flies”

Hayes held on through the potato famine, and grew to adulthood. Along the way he met and married Ellen Hayes and the two tried to make a living on the family farm. In 1860 he decided that his prospects on the farm were “none too bright” and he decided to come to the United States.

Following two cousins, Hayes settled in Faxton, then a flourishing village not far from Belle Plaine. Jeremiah Hayes described life in Faxton:

“There were great times in that community in those days. They worked hard but they enjoyed themselves. There were several saloons and most of the stores had a whiskey barrel where drinks could be bought for five cents. There were dances in which Irish jigs were features, and sometimes there were fights. The boys were full of life and fun and naturally a little rough at times, but beyond a few black eyes and bruised noses little damage was done”

For three years, Jeremiah worked digging drainage ditches and saved his money. Eventually, he was able to bring his wife from Ireland to join him in the United States. The two settled on a small farm in St. John’s parish.

Jeremiah Hayes took pride in what he saw his is rough-and-tumble Irish roots. A huge fan of boxing, Hayes told the Belle Plaine Herald on January 24th, 1926 that “There was always a lot of good Irish names to be found among the boys at the prize ring”, and said of his youth “You see, they boys fought it out and shook hands afterwards. There was no long arguments and no sidestepping like we have nowadays. A man had to be able to stand up and take care of himself and it was the making of lots of them”.

Ellen Hayes passed away in 1891 from consumption. Jeremiah Continued to farm until 1921, when he moved in with his daughter in Belle Plaine. In his old age, Jeremiah Hayes was known for his jigging ability. He performed at American Legion meetings, and for the Twin City Auto Show, with favorite tunes including the Fisherman’s Hornpipe, Liverpool Hornpipe, and the Scottish Reel. He did not think much of Jazz, what he called “modern music”.

In his old age, Jeremiah Hayes left some advice behind for future generations on the pages of the Belle Plaine Herald “Young folks have too good of a time nowadays. A little hard work would do ‘em good”.

Hayes passed away on August 27, 1927 in Belle Plaine. Though his story, like all stories, is unique, he represents one of the largest mass-migrations of refugees in American history. Today, we celebrate those stories on St. Patrick’s day.

Written by Rose James, SCHS Program Manager

By the Edge of a Whittler’s Knife

The Scott County Historical Society recently received a donation of folk art created during World War II in Shakopee. The art is a beautiful example of how people during such a hard time in history found a way to still create art. Whittling is the act of carving wooden shapes and designs with a knife. It is an art that requires similar skills to sculpting, and the pieces are art below are works of patience and dedication. All of these items were carved using only a small carving knife, which is remarkable when considering the detail work involved.

This ax is about 14 inches long and has a carve ax head and handle that are then fitted together.

The teeth of this saw are broken because the donor, when she was a child, believed it to be a real saw and tried to cut something with it with her brother.

The links in this chain are all independent, carved one at a time and then separated to be linked together without breaking the rings.

Written by Dave Nichols, Curator of Collections

Bird is the Word

We are slowly inching towards the first day of spring… March 20th is only a few weeks away! As I write this, the streets outside the museum are still piled high with mounds of fluffy white, but the sun is shining and the snow feels more magical than malicious.

With the advent of spring comes the return of songbirds. To prepare for our feathered friends, I thought I would share an article published in the early days of spring 1865. On March 25 of that year, the following passage extolling the divine virtues of birds was printed in the pages of the Scott County Argus:

Usefulness of Birds

Jay in a tree. Photo taken by Leroy Lebens, 1960. From the SCHS Collections

Birds on a telephone wire. Photo taken by Leroy Lebens, around 1960. From the SCHS Collections.

“It takes mankind a great while to learn the ways of Providence and to understand that things are better contrived by him than can be contrived by him than they can contrive them. Of late people are beginning to learn that they have mistaken the character of most little birds, and have not understood the object of the Almighty in creating them. They are looked upon as the friends, and great friends of those who sow and reap. It has been seen that they mostly live on insects which are among the worst enemy of the agriculturist, and that if they take, now and then, a grain of wheat, they levy but a small tax for the immense services rendered. In this altered state of things, legislatures are passing laws for the protection of little birds and increasing the penalties to be enforced upon the bird-killers. An illustration of the virtue of some of the winged tribe is before us in a paragraph from a paper in Birmingham, New York: — a farmer from that neighborhood wished to borrow a gun of a neighbor for the purpose of killing some yellow birds in his field of wheat, eating up his grain. The neighbor declined the loan of the gun, however to gratify his curiosity he shot one of them, opened its crop, and found in it two hundred weevils and but four grains of wheat, and in those four grains weevils had burrowed! This was a most instructive lesson and worth the life of the poor bird as valuable as it was. The bird is said to resemble the canary and sings nicely. — One of our citizens, a careful observer and owner of many farms called for our attention to this paragraph and said, use as a text for sermonizing, for the benefit of farmers and other who may look upon little birds as inimical to their interests. He said he has studied the subject as a lover of natural history, as well as a hunter and farmer, and he knows there is hardly a bird that flies  that is not a friend to the farmer and gardener. We think the gentleman is right, and we hop his suggestions will have their due weight. — Working Farmer”

Interested in expanding your avian knowledge? Join us on the Second Thursday evening of each month for educational, informative and interesting programs! We will be presenting guest speakers, author talks, tours and DIY projects.

April’s Second Thursday will take place on April 11th, 2019 at 6:30pm. Join us to learn a bit about bird life in Scott County, and then make your very on wooden bird door-knocker. Interested? Register now RIGHT HERE

The Land Before Cars

Automobiles and roads are often taken for granted in modern life. The number of people who can remember a time without cars or an interstate highway system are sadly dwindling. This period in history is at the twilight between living memory and historical artifact. Despite the abundance of cars and roads today it was only a little over a century ago that people were riding in a wagon to town, and making their way across rough dirt and gravel roads. The first record of a car in Shakopee is from 1901, and automobiles in general did not start to become popular until the 1910s when they entered mass production.

It was not uncommon for people to walk from one place to another, unless they were going between towns. Farmers had wagons they could use to get around and in the towns, carriages were more common. Consider snow falls in those times for a moment. Pictured is a crew shoveling snow off the road in Shakopee. Imagine how long it would take to clear roads, or even haul the snow out of the way. Today, snow plows have thousands of pounds behind them and a motor capable of providing far more power than a horse could muster.

The idea of modern conveniences and services are seldom thought of as they were in the past. For example, this photograph of a Fire Department from Belle Plaine shows a team of horses pulling a massive water tank. Today, a bright red truck would fly down the road and hook into a hydrant system. This is one of several major services that is seldom thought of a product of the modern road system and engines. Emergency services were more practical in town and cities than out in the country. Water tanks on wagons were used when away from the towns, but they were limited and did not have a very large volume to the tanks.

As cars became more plentiful, and roads went from gravel to paved, the world became more connected. It is difficult today to consider living our lives without hopping on some highway and zooming at 70 miles an hour. It has been a little more than a century since the lives of Scott County moved at one horse power.

Fire at the Camp!

Last week the Scott County History Blog profiled the National Youth Administration Camp that was located outside of Shakopee in the late 1930s and early 1940s. With hundreds of young people living in one place, the camp was bound to be a hotbed of stories and misadventures. One incident in particular was profiled in the Shakopee Argus-Tribune on February 27th, 1941. Two days before the camp had been hit by a massive fire. The Argus-Tribune reported the basics of the fire, but allowed the bulk of the story to be told through a letter that “Ted”, a camp enrollee wrote home to his parents:

“Dear Mom and Dad:

“I know you’ve read all about it so there probably isn’t much left for me to tell.

“I was in bed when the siren blew, for the fire was discovered after lights-out. Nevertheless, I managed to be one of the first ones there., We used our hand extinguishers until enough fellows came to form a bucket brigade, but we knew it was out of control. While the fellows kept fighting some of us tried to salvage our tools and equipment until the heat became unbearable. You cam imagine our relief when the Shakopee Fire Department arrived, but our hopes were short lived, for the tanks of welding gas began to explode and it was impossible to stay. Chaska and Jordan also arrived with their equipment and we were able to pump water from the river yet the most we could do was keep the flames from the hanger and other buildings nearby. While we worked, we saw our welding shop go; practically helpless we watched the flames roar through the machine shop; we stood b as the firemen battled them through auto mechanics, where the fire was finally brought under control leaving but one wall standing.

“If you could have seen it in the morning; where the machine shop had stood, only the scarred heavy metal lathes, grinders, shapers and milling machines remain.  Two twisted cars and a wall are all that is left of the auto shop. Except for a few torn takes which held the welding gas, nearly everything is ashes.

“Of course we all felt pretty bad but words of encouragement began to lea from Cap Whelan’s office. Later at a meeting we learned that new machines and equipment were to be shipped immediately. We were also happy to hear that we have been offered equipment and shops by the businessmen of Shakopee to be used until our courses are reestablished.

” Fortunately our new welding unit was still in the storeroom, so it will be installed in a new larger shop

” Since the aviation classes can be held in Minneapolis, the auto mechanics and body and fender courses will be setup in the large space which was the hanger. Sheet metal drafting and blue print reading will be taught here at the project, while the actual work experience will be gained, for the time being, in a shop at Shakopee

“The people of Shakopee have been really swell. It seems that nearly everyone has tried to help. Besides the businessmen’s generous offers, we are are grateful to Chief Ring and his volunteer fire department

“I know you’ve all been worried. You’ll be glad to hear there were no serious accidents, a  few boys were scratched and our caretaker, Pat Hardegan was struck below the knee by a piece of tank when it exploded.

“Well, we’re all happy that things have turned out so well, and that everything will soon go on as usual

“Don’t bother to write, for I have my leave to come home for the weekend

Your loving son, Ted”