Archive for March 17th, 2012

17
Mar

Book giveaway

   Posted by: admin    in Current news

I started this history blog on March 1, 2011. In honor of the first year I’m holding a giveaway.

The prize is a copy of “Fort Dodge: 1850 to 1970 (Images of America)” by Roger Natte.

Fort Dodge: 1850 to 1970 (Images of America) by Roger Natte

The book description from Amazon.com says:

Fort Dodge was founded in 1850 as a military post to police the Iowa frontier. A subsequent land boom created fortunes that were reinvested in the local economy. The town soon earned the nickname Mineral City because of the extensive deposits of coal, gypsum, limestone, and clay. By 1900, the city was a rail center and the world’s largest producer of gypsum products. With a highly diversified economy, the city prospered and by World War I was able to claim to have more skyscrapers per capita than any other city in the Midwest and beautiful public buildings designed by some of the nation’s leading architects. Between 1900 and 1925, Fort Dodge enjoyed the role as an important political center and the home of two U.S. senators, the director of the U.S. Mint, the solicitor of the Department of the Treasury, a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit, and the first presidential press secretary and speechwriter. Sons and daughters of the community went on to establish national reputations in art, music, literature, science, and journalism. Images used in this volume come primarily from the archives of the Webster County Historical Society and were chosen to represent the changing character of the community from 1850 to 1970.

Roger Natte is a retired history professor and local historian. I haven’t spoken to him about the giveaway, but there’s a good chance that I can get him to autograph the book for the winner.

The prize is being provided by me personally, and I will cover the cost of mailing it to the winner. For this reason, I am restricting it to residents of the United States.

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17
Mar

Promotion for M & St. L. Man

   Posted by: admin    in Railroad

The Fort Dodge Messenger: March 17, 1904

Promotion for M & St. L. Man

J.W. Bell Gets Agentship at Winthrop, Minn.

Is an Important Junction of the Railway – Mark of Esteem for Faithful Employe (sic)

J.W. Beck, who has been bell (sic) clerk in the Minneapolis & St. Louis freight office in Fort Dodge for the past eighteen months, has been given a promotion. He has been offered and has accepted the agency of the Winthrop, Minn., office for the same road. This office is an important one, as it is the junction point of the Estherville, Watertown, South Dakota lines. His promotion is significant of the approval of the officials, as very few ever become agents who are not operators. Mr. Beck is not an operator, but as there is both a day and night operator at Winthrop, it is not necessary that the agent be an operator. However, it shows that his ability is depreciated.

Mr. Beck was a Fort Dodge boy, having graduated at the Fort Dodge high school. Later he moved from here and studied to be an operator, but did not continue that work. He enlisted in a South Dakota regiment at the outbreak of the Spanish-American war and served until his regiment was mustered out.

Later he accepted a position in the Minneapolis & St. Louis offices at the Minneapolis Transfer, and was promoted to a position in the general offices. Later he was transferred here as bill clerk. He will leave to take up his new duties as soon as his successor arrives.

Mr. Beck is well known in Fort Dodge, having practically lived here all his life. His many friends here will be glad to hear of his promotion.

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