History 21 The Podcast - 2.16 The History of Cedar with Linda Rodgers
Linda Lee Rodgers grew up in the close-knit community of Cedar, MN (located within the south east portion of Oak Grove today). Once a small town in its own right with a Main Street, railroad depot, creamery, and grocery stores, Cedar’s “modest grandeur” has faded over time. Linda shares her love of her hometown, and its history she is working to preserve.
Host Sara Given, ACHS Volunteer Coordinator
Vault Extras
Listen to Linda’s Full interview where she tells more stories about the history of Cedar.
“History of Cedar” by Karen Gallagher
Finding the Lee’s of Cedar
by Linda Rodgers, printed in History 21, the ACHS newsletter, July, 2019.
My immediate family—my cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandpa—all called Cedar our hometown through the 1950s-1960s. Our total of 15 Lees (the Weston Lee clan, that is, since the Tom Lee clan lived outside of town) comprised a pretty big share of the total Cedar population of 80. Entertainment in our tiny town during that era centered on family get-togethers. Lee get-togethers meant sharing a meal, playing pinochle or cribbage, and telling family stories. We held on to heirlooms representing those stories...photos and letters in a cedar box...a mustache cup...an old wooden box for a knitting machine. And a prize possession, my great-grandpa’s sword from the Civil War.
Fast-forward to 2019. The little girl who grew up in Cedar is 67, retired and restless, looking for a rewarding volunteer commitment of value to others. I made a list of three organizations that hosted programs placing volunteers in jobs that seemed to fit those goals. I planned to interview people from each of the three programs, thoughtfully consider which would be the best, and go ahead with that assignment.
The first organization was the Anoka County Historical Society. I visited one Saturday and felt caught up immediately by the entrance display that focused on Army Medic Leslie Cowden. I caught my breath and my eyes misted over. Leslie Cowden had grown up in the Cedar area. He was killed in Viet Nam, within days of his neighbor, Marine Sargent Peter Hedlund. Their deaths had brought home the grim reality of that war and had shaken my comfortable teenage roots. The display drew me in, transporting me back decades to that tumultuous time.
Regaining my composure, I finally pushed through the entrance area to the reception desk. Don introduced himself, gave me some basic information about volunteer tasks, and advised me to contact Sara, the volunteer coordinator, who would be in on Monday. I spent the next two hours wandering through the museum’s exhibits and resources. I spied my high school buddy’s dad’s photo from WWII, snapped a photo and texted it to her in Seattle. “Wasn’t he handsome?” she wrote back immediately. Fun! I hadn’t expected all the personal connections in this place.
I stayed until closing that Saturday, feeling a little buzz from the time travel and the personal connections.
Suddenly, something fired in my brain and on impulse, I asked, could my familiarity with Cedar be useful in any way? By the end of that conversation I had been given my dream assignment– to research and write a booklet about Cedar’s history.
I have spent time thinking about how I grew up in tiny Cedar, how idyllic it felt, how my childhood remained full of freedom and security there. I also think about how different that place and time are from the world in which my granddaughters now have to grow up in. I want to help them imagine Cedar, just as my mom helped me imagine growing up in her hometown. She gave me a grand story of Fromberg, Montana in the early 20th century. Knowing that place and time helped me understand her values, her skills, and how she approached life. I would like that for Grace, Sabrina and Ella– a grand story of Cedar, Minnesota in the mid-century.
Also, how would I divvy up everything I learned? By chronology? By families? By themes such as business, health, and social roles? What gets included? What’s out? As an adult I understand Cedar was not really idyllic in every way. Should I include the not-so-nice parts of the story in the booklet or do they remain unsaid? I decided the answers to those questions will emerge through diving deep into the information I collect.
Surprises jumped out at me as I continued to research– that many people DO still remember the Cedar of old, whether through family stories or artifacts– and how generously those people share information. I found a booklet on Cedar’s history written in the 1970s by Karin Gallagher (Galloway); now I can build on her good work. I discovered Cedar once had a sorghum factory and a car dealership on its two-block Main Street. And I’ve heard stories that made me go “hmmmm”, leaving me puzzled about whether they can be included. I can’t help but wonder, “What other surprises are ahead as I research the history of Cedar?”
Cedar plat map, 1899.
Linda Lee as a small girl with perfect pigtails.
A group posing in downtown Cedar near the Cedar Store and Town Hall, circa 1920.
Loading milk cans at the Cedar depot.
Anoka County Library Minute
Further Reading:
In this episode of History21, Rogers mentions the myriad European settlers who inhabited the town, but also notes the indigenous people who were a major part of the landscape. In this book, learn about the Ojibwe indigenous people of Minnesota and their ways of life before and after colonization. This book pays special attention to the labor practices before and after, and how gender has also played a significant role in the changes.
Dakota Life in the Upper Midwest by Samuel W. Pond (977.60049752 PON)
This is another book devoted to looking at the indigenous make-up of the state of Minnesota, this time focusing on the Dakota people. Originally published in 1908, this book provides a first-hand account of how the Dakota people lived in the early 1900s. Written by someone originally tasked with preaching Christianity to the natives, Pond and his brother ended up spending 20 years observing Dakota life and traditions.
Minnesota’s Lost Towns: Central Edition by Rhonda Fochs (977.67 FOC)
The second in a series of books about ghost towns in Minnesota by Rhonda Fochs, Minnesota’s Lost Towns: Central Edition defines and discusses ghost towns and highlights Cedar as one such town. Anoka County history buffs will also likely recognize some other locations mentioned in this book.
Minnesota Days: our heritage in stories, art, and photos edited by Michael Dregni (Q977.6 MIN)
Celebrated Minnesota writers, artists, and photographers come together to represent what life in Minnesota is and was like for many different people, and from all corners of the state.
Digging Up the Past: unearthing the stories of Anoka County by June Gossler Anderson (977.665 AND)
The author of this book, who initially volunteered in 2007 to be a Ghost Tour Guide for the Anoka County Historical Society, ended up writing articles about the history of Anoka County for the weekly newspaper. She has compiled some of those articles in this book, some of which pertain to the unincorporated town of Cedar.
Railroads, Trains and Depots: the way it was by Raymond A. Crippen (385 CRI)
Published by the Nobles County Historical Society and written by Worthington, MN native Raymond Crippen, this book highlights the many ways in which railroads and depots shape and have shaped our towns.
Neither Snow Nor Rain: a history of the United States Postal Service by Devin Leonard (383.49 LEO)
This comprehensive history of the U.S. postal service provides context for why and how the post offices were often so central to small towns in the early 1900s.