"And the sign said long haired freaky people need not apply" according to "The Five Man Electrical Band's" song "Signs". Well, I can guarantee you won't find a sign like that anywhere in Northfield, mostly because we'll take them just the way they are. But, I digress.
This month in the "Exploring the Archives" series, we are going to take a look at some classic signage from Northfield's past, including a very famous sign that you probably wanted to forget all about.
As you may or may not already know about this blog series, I stumble my way through the halls of the Historic Societies archive rooms and dig up artifacts that are just too interesting to remain unseen by the general public, at which point they are placed on display through this incredibly effective communication medium that we call the internet. We also encourage readers to comment and chime in if they have a memory, insight or addition to the history of any item. Or just comment on what you really think about Hayes Scriven.
Let's get started.
Item 96.XX.1: "Northfield, A Special Place" welcome sign.
According to Wikipedia's entry on Northfield:
1914 Northfield adopted a town slogan for itself, “Northfield: Cows, Colleges and Contentment.” The slogan was replaced by "Northfield: A Special Place," in the 1960s. In the 1980s, sentiment, a sense of humor, and marketing savvy lead to the renewed use of the old slogan.
I would like to pinpoint those years of the slogan changes a little better. Comment if you know off hand.
This item was located in the bank museum's vault, facing a wall, and virtually hidden. If it wasn't for the post-it note, we wouldn't have know it was there. Thanks the Dale & Linda Ness (my next door neighbors growing up on Jackson Court) for letting the NHS keep this item. Just think how many times this sign was viewed by human (and non-human) eyes. I wonder if it was the highway 19 or 3 sign. I wonder where the other one landed. As I entered Northfield for the very first time as a young kid, this is what I was greeted with. I asked my parents to turn around and leave. Kidding. Hayes and I had to really dig to get the shots of this. That bank vault is not that large and has a lot of excess...."artifacts" in it. In fact, we stumbled upon the next sign while digging out this one.
(Click any to enlarge)
Item XX.XX.X: "Jesse James Realty" storefront sign.
It was difficult to get a good perspective of this signs size from inside the bank vault, so we leaned them up and took many photos. The three segments were grouped together into a long, single-row sign when on the storefront. Notice the "Ames". How ironic. Which reminds me of something that I want to throw out there. In 1865 Jesse Ames purchased the famous mill from Charles Wheaton. Eleven years later a "Jesse James" came through town. Why the incredibly similar name? Jesse Ames and Jesse James are so close, that I have to wonder why. It seems more than a coincidence. I smell a conspiracy. Has anyone else thought this, or am I as crazy as they say I am.
Item 2002.63: Metal NORTHFIELD highway sign, c 1940.
Item XX.XX: Metal bank raid descriptive sign.
We're not totally sure of the history on this item yet, but Hayes knows it was hanging in the museum for the longest time. It's very heavy and was probably posted along a road in town. Let me transcribe it for you.
NORTHFIELD ROBBERY, September 7, 1876. Eight men of the James-Younger gang swept into this city and with a fusillade of shots attempted to hold up the First National Bank near this site. The cashier and one citizen were killed, but in the ensuing gun fights with posses, six of the bandits were killed or captured.
Item 2003.25: Paul Wellstone campaign for state auditor, 1982.
He can help the state we're in
"Cows, Colleges and Contentment" and timelines
1914 Northfield adopts “Cows, Colleges and Contentment” as its official slogan. The slogan is created by Lud Roe, a member of the Northfield News staff and later a Montevideo publisher and editor, who wins a contest conducted by the Commercial Club, a businessmen’s organization. The slogan is dropped when the dairy industry is going into decline but the slogan is promoted again in 1989 and adopted by the Northfield City Council on November 18, 1991, replacing “A Special Place.”
Sources: Cows in the Kitchen, p. 37; “’Cows, Colleges’ Slogan Gains Local Endorsement,” Northfield News, 1/19/1989; “Slogan: Once Again, Northfield is City of ‘Cows, Colleges and Contentment” by Murray Cody, Northfield News, 11/20/1991
The above is from a timeline for "People and Community Identity" in Northfield. Consult no longer the Wikipedia timeline on Northfield which is very limited. During Northfield's Sesquicentennial year of 2005,categories of happenings were identified and I was engaged by NHS to create timelines of events for the categories. These timelines are not online yet, but are available in the NHS archives. The categories are timelines for Business Growth and Community Development, People and Community Identity, Agriculture, Athletics, Education, Faith and Civic Life, Music, Veterans and the Military and Arts and Culture. The Athletics category is the longest, at 115 pages.
I hope that eventually these timelines ARE online to overwhelm that Wikipedia timeline that keeps popping up.