| A History of STRUM and the TOWN OF UNITY by Roy Matson |
| THIS IS PAGE 17 | TABLE OF CONTENTS | PAGE BACK | PAGE FORWARD |
| 1900 - 1950 The turn of the century marked quite a change in the thirty year old community. The church, blacksmith and creamery were located north of the river but all other business endeavors were located south of that stream near the tracks. The Carter Creek Road, laid out by Evenson, became the main street of Strum and village activity was beginning a couple decades of growth. Rural Free Delivery of mail came in 1900. O. E. Hogue was the carrier and he traveled north to Norseville and Nix Corner, postal stations at that time. Rural residents had much apprehension about free delivery the first years but this feeling soon abated. In 1905 Ben Borreson began serving route 2 south of town. Around 1900 the Modern Woodmen, and insurance lodge, were active in this area and sold residents on building a hall large enough for community-wide meetings and events. The Temperance Society building was small and that group forbade dancing or most entertainment. The MWA hall was built and served the community for over fifty years. It seemed to be refinanced and under new management about every fifth year. (see MWA Hall). Growth of the village affected membership of the St. Paul’s church. In 1902 a major remodeling and expansion was done. Sivert Rekstad was the prime mover of this job. About that time records show that steam engines used by threshermen were crashing through bridges in the township. The town board passed a resolution ordering these operators to carry heavy planks when traveling town roads which crossed streams. No sooner had this been posted when Mark Rice and his Minneapolis steamer fell through the river bridge, necessitating a major overhaul of that |
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