"Where Fillmore County News Comes First"

August 15, 2022 by Lee Epps Leave a Comment

Part one of a series

It was before television, movies and even radio. There were not yet competitive sports. It was the late 1880s and 1890s near Hokah, Minn., which had been settled by those with European heritage in 1849. Many young folks comprised their family’s first generation to be born in North America. There were very few traveling entertainers that came to Hokah – a medicine show, a circus or a dog and pony show. However, with family and good friends, most social entertainment was at home.

Almost every Sunday afternoon, the young folks had a party at one of their homes. In summer, it was a lumber-wagon party; in winter it was a sleigh-ride party. After the summer destination was determined, the one living farthest away would supply the lumber wagon and pick up the other young folks on the way. The wagon box contained three spring seats and enough standing room for the boys. On special occasions, the wagon would be trimmed or decorated. It was before the era of tinsel or crepe paper. Wreaths and garlands were made with natural finery, one Fourth of July wagon with  a garland of red oak leaves. A. J. Langen recalled wreaths made by folding “a leaf from tip to stem to within one-and-half inches from the tip. Press it flat. Do the same to another leaf and slide them over each other, keeping an inch or two apart. Stick the second stem into both leaves and you have a start. These garlands were strong as well as decorative.”

On winter Sundays, when conditions were favorable, a sleigh picked up the participants. Langen described an 11-foot sleigh box, which could accommodate quite a few revelers, who sat facing each other. That sleigh box floor was padded with hay, which was then covered with horse blankets and buffalo robes with quilts to cover the riders. “Of course, the party was merry with much singing and horseplay, and the air resounded to the tinkling of the sleigh bells, which hung in strings or big gongs fastened to the harness.”

Upon reaching the destination farmhouse, the hosts and hostesses came out to welcome the quilt-covered passengers. The “ladies” would head indoors while the “gents” unhitched the team of horses and led them into the barn. Langen described one sleigh-ride party when the sleigh hit an icy spot, slid and tipped over. Fortunately, no one was injured. Another late-winter afternoon, the sun melted the snow to such an extent that sleighing was so difficult that the boys had to get out and walk. That was the final sleigh party that year.

The afternoon might be spent playing games. However, if someone brought a mouth organ (harmonica) or accordion, dancing was the preferred activity. Langen was frequently the guy with the mouth organ. If he was needed to be the eighth square dancer, he was known to dance and provide music at the same time. The rhythm would be the tip end of a broom handle being rubbed across the grains of the pinewood floor. That rhythm method ended with the advent of polished and waxed hardwood floors.

There were a few public dances in town, where a “young swain” would walk to pick up his date, walk her to the dance, then dance all evening and walk her home before heading back to his house. “I suppose it was hard on the shoe leather, but there were no blowouts or collisions.”

The festivities called for little cash, maybe only 25 or 30 cents. They chipped in for drinks and music. The hall was available for free, and the musicians didn’t ask for much pay. Langen often lugged along his bass violin, played from eight o’clock in the evening until two in the morning and then toted the “ungainly instrument” back home – all for a dollar.

Most romantic was a buggy ride. “… a young man would work his fingers to the bone to acquire a horse and buggy and the more trimming, the better … And best of all, there was no hustle and bustle and hurry. The horses strolled leisurely along, keeping to the narrow roads.” There was little traffic and no flat tires or empty gas tanks.

Source: “Just For Old Times Sake; History of Early Days of Hokah, Minn.” by W. J. Langen (1869-1960), proprietor of Log Cabin Museum. The book celebrated the Hokah centennial (1849-1949).

Filed Under: Arts & Culture, Columnists

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