I Was Thinking... Constant Change

As I was sitting on our deck on one of those perfect summer evenings, I heard the unmistakable sound of the flutter of a hummingbird’s wings behind me. I was seated with my back to the feeder, and he must have felt I was no threat.
A quick gaze across our backyard also included the yards of several neighbors. We are a well-established residential area, but it doesn’t seem that long ago we were all just moving in. Looking at the mature trees, the houses, additions, garages, sheds and fences, you would think it was always like this.
But in the early 1970s, this had been a corn field. No trees, no buildings, no streets, just corn. For many years, the east side of Kasson stopped at 3rd or 4thAvenue. First Street ended at Charlie Sinwell’s cattle auction barn. Beyond that he had a pasture for several horses. Third street ended at a farm place owned by Vern and Polly Huse. But then Clark Blaine obtained the land and started building simple affordable starter homes. Our particular area was called Blaine’s 6th.
Some people in town welcomed the new housing development while others weren’t quite so happy about these outsiders coming into Kasson. Polly Huse once referred to us newcomers as squatters. But we came anyway and for many of us, this was our first home. We were mostly young and also just starting our families.
My wife and I had an 18-month-old daughter when we arrived. When we moved in, there was freshly laid sod in the front and a tractor was going through what would become all of our backyards with a drag to get it ready for seeding. The road in the front was not yet paved and all our driveways were gravel. There were no garages, decks, fences, sheds or gardens, it was just a house, and we were glad to have it. I look around my backyard now and am amazed at the change. But so has everything.
In 1977, the four-lane highway had just reached Kasson but old Hwy. 14 still had a bridge going over the railroad track at the west end of town. A small trailer court was just being established near the cemetery.
A young couple named Gadient had bought the Boston Caf? and changed the name to Daniel’s. You could get gas at Fjerstad’s Standard Station, Johnson’s Mobil Station, Greenway Co-op, or at the little station operated by Al Lostegard. There were three family-owned hardware stores on Main Street. We had Gambles, Erickson’s Hardware, and Morison’s.
There were also three car dealerships so you could buy a Chevy, Ford, or Chrysler product. For farmers, there were three implement dealers as well. Even the school district was divided into three separate buildings. The elementary was on the same block as the stone water tower in Kasson, the middle school was on the hill in Mantorville, and the high school was in the country between the two cities.
But the main feature on Main Street was Leuthold’s Department Store. They had almost everything you needed. There was a section for women’s clothing, men’s clothing, work clothes, a children’s section and a shoe store. In addition, they handled sewing supplies and fabric. But Kasson was still a small town.
In 1977 we still didn’t have a traffic light. We had our own telephone company, but you could only call within Kasson and Mantorville without doing long-distance. The city hall was on Main Street and the building also included the library and the police department. Across the street on the corner was the drug store and on the other corner was Kasson’s only bank. Main Street also had a bakery and the Variety Store.
On the corner of Main and 1st Ave. was the municipal liquor store and behind it on 1st was the post office, next to the auto body shop. On the 100 block of Main Street was a bowling alley and near it, Kasson’s only bar, the Friendly Tavern that only sold 3.2 beer. Other than that, Kasson was dry. People that left Kasson in 1977 wouldn’t recognize it now as constant change continues.
Did You Ever Wonder? — If you expect the unexpected, doesn’t that make the unexpected expected?