Norwegians in “The City that Does Things”

Caroline C. Morris

Catalog Number: 2008.016.01

In April 1912, this postcard, featuring a raised red felt pennant, made the journey from La Crosse to Flekkefjord, Norway. For two cents, a resident from “The City that Does Things” could send greetings to a friend or loved one back in the Old Country. Midwesterners sent thousands such postcards in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Unlike most cards, however, this one found its way back to La Crosse.

Ties between the Upper Midwest and Norway were strong at the turn of the century, as tens of thousands of Norwegians moved to this part of the country, fleeing crop failures and poverty in Norway.

Local newspapers, civic groups, and churches kept the connection between the “old” and “new” worlds alive. The Ames (Iowa) Evening Times frequently ran news items about Scandinavian countries that read more like gossip columns than international news stories, including a 1914 account of a legal quarrel between a Norwegian steamer and an Italian ship that was working its way through courts in Flekkefjord. The newspaper’s decision to run the story – which had no discernible connection to life in Iowa – suggests that a contingent of Flekkefjord natives lived in the area.

The La Crosse Lodge of the Sons of Norway was particularly active in the early twentieth century, staging “Syttende Mai” celebrations in Myrick Park to commemorate Constitution Day. Perhaps no one fostered bonds between Norwegian immigrants better than the hundreds of Norwegian churches in the Upper Midwest. At about the time this postcard was sent, La Crosse boasted several: Norwegian Methodist, Bethel Norwegian Lutheran, and two Norwegian Lutherans (one in North La Crosse and one in South La Crosse).

Connections to Norwegian culture remain strong in this area, Westby celebrated Syttende Mai with a parade and concerts last weekend, and if you journey to the Rhubarb Festival in Lanesboro, MN, on June 4, you can sample plenty of Norwegian baked treats. God appetitt!

This article was originally published in the La Crosse Tribune on May 21, 2016.

This object can be viewed in our online collections database by clicking here.

Ice Chipper Ushers in Era of Cold Drinks

By Terri Karsten

The ice chipper is emblematic of an industry that rose to prominence and fell into obscurity within a hundred years, but left behind a craving for iced drinks.

People have used ice for centuries, but for most of that time only the elite could afford it. Turning the luxury into a necessity was the work of Frederic Tudor, beginning in 1805.  He spent 30 years and three times in debtors prison to convince ordinary people they needed ice, not just to keep food fresh, but also for their beverages.

As the business of selling frozen water grew, it became feasible for middle class families to buy ice. Blocks of ice, harvested from lakes and rivers in the cold months, were delivered to households in the warmer months. By the 1840’s, iceboxes could be found in most American kitchens. Along with the iceboxes came the tools -- picks, chippers, and crushers-- needed to render huge blocks of ice into more useable forms. This chipper is a Gilchrist 50, a form patented by Raymond Gilchrist in 1919, and most likely used in a bar or soda fountain to knock chips off the big block for iced soda or beer. Like the rest of the country, La Crosse drinkers wanted ice. In 1919 there were four ice dealers and 118 saloons listed in the La Crosse City Directory.

But the rise in ice’s popularity brought about the collapse of the industry. The demand for ice led to innovations for making ice cheaper and less messy. Iceboxes gave way to the electric refrigerator starting in 1915. By 1950 the icebox was obsolete as modern refrigerators were cheap enough for nearly every household.

Today, making ice is easy and the business of selling frozen water has changed. We no longer need to fill the icebox with huge blocks, or even refill empty ice trays. Hardly anyone uses an ice chipper anymore, when it’s so easy to buy bags of pre-molded ice nuggets, and many refrigerators come equipped with ice makers. What hasn’t changed is our craving for the cold stuff. Shaved, cubed or chipped, we still want ice in our drinks. Cheers!

You can see this ice chipper for yourself in the kitchen at Hixon House, the historic house museum owned and operated by the La Crosse County Historical Society. The Hixon House, once the home of La Crosse lumber baron Gideon Hixon and his family, opens for tours on Memorial Day, May 30th. For hours and cost, call 782-1980 or go to www.lchshistory.org. 

This article was originally published in the La Crosse Tribune on May 14, 2016.

The Imperial Camera of La Crosse

By Tami Holtslander

Catalog Number: 1984.036.01

At the turn of the century, this striking camera captured images of many businesses in La Crosse.   Photography itself was growing in popularity and studios opened up all over La Crosse, including floating studios that travelled on barges up-and down the Mississippi.  As La Crosse evolved from a lumber mill town, other businesses grew and so did the use of photography in a commercial setting.  The idea to “sell” items along with their businesses was the “job” of this camera.  An enterprising young man, Charles Loveland, used this camera to create his own commercial advertising company, Northern Engraving.  Northern Engraving specialized in commercial photography and companies such as Pamperin Cigar and La Crosse Plow Works utilized Loveland’s expertise.

Even the Imperial Camera itself was made right here in La Crosse.  In 1901, the Imperial Camera Company of La Crosse was located at the corner of 7th and La Crosse Streets.  They had 50 male employees, 10 female and 3 people under the age of 16 working at the company.  The Imperial Camera Company began as the Aiken-Gleason Camera Company, co-owned by Frank Aiken and son-in-law Eugene P. Gleason.  With the change of business name to Imperial, the business began to catch the eye of a larger camera company located in Rochester, New York-the Eastman Kodak Company. Although the Imperial Camera Company only remained here for a few years before becoming part of the Eastman Kodak product line, the impact on the business and legacy of La Crosse is evident in Loveland’s photographs and the creation of the Northern Engraving Company.

This camera is in the collection of the La Crosse County Historical Society. The camera was also featured in the exhibition “[art]ifact: Where History Meets Art” at the Pump House Regional Arts Center in Spring 2016.  

This article was originally published in the La Crosse Tribune on May 7, 2016.

This object can be viewed in our online collections database by clicking here.