My Hometown on Monday - School Board Election 1936

My Hometown on Monday 

 School Board Election 1936

I carefully read my hometown Coon Rapids Enterprise newspaper every week - we do get it on-line now on Thursday and the hard copy comes the first of the following week. My favorite page, of course, is "Days Gone By" featuring news items from 100, 75, 50, 25, and 10 years ago.

In the 75 years ago column this week is reported the School Board and City Election results. I knew my grandfather, Paul KINNICK, served as City Treasurer for many years. He was Clerk of one of the banks in town (the number of banks ranged from one to two, over the years!)... always considered himself to be a 'banker.'

The surprise to me in the paper from March 13, 1936, was the results of a four way race, for two seats, including one long-time incumbent, for School Board: Paul Kinnick (287 votes) and Charles Thomas (262 votes) are elected to the School Board. The incumbent received 98 votes (...and retires after many years of service). The other well-known gentleman received 217 votes. I had never heard, that I can recall, that my mother's father served on the School Board - and that would have been the Spring that my mother, Eileen, graduated from High School! Small world - my dad was President of the School Board in Coon Rapids the year I graduated in 1961 and handed me my diploma!  ;-)

Further, the gentleman who was elected with my grandfather, Charles Thomas, was at the time a young entrepreneur, the co-founder of Garst and Thomas Hybrid Seed Corn Company - the leading employer in the community from the late 1930s to present (though sold to an international firm a number of years ago). Charlie Thomas was also my wife, Nancy's, great-uncle. The Thomas and the Garst families have both been active benefactors of the community through the years and three or four generations, and continue to be.

Coon Rapids recently erected a number of sculptures at the town entrance. One of them was of "Garst and Thomas."

Families are Forever!  ;-)