Archival Anecdotes: Small businesses of century past

The above photo was taken in the early 1900s, but still manages to capture a scene all too familiar to the residents of New Rockford.

Even with virtually every building in this picture gone, can you tell where it is?

Now called Central Avenue, this portion of the city has long been home to small businesses. Those most visible in this photograph begin with the First State Bank building which also included the Transcript and the Land Office. Further to the west are signage for "Arcade Restaurant" and "Harness." Even further beyond that is a shop labeled millinery.

The two photographs below bring a closer look to two of those small businesses and their owners.

At bottom left, Mrs. M.E. Pottner is pictured with a small child outside her millinery shop.

Side note for the folks who aren't familiar with the term millinery, it is used to describe a store than specializes in the design, production and sale of hats.

The bottom right photo was taken of John Rager in his downtown harness shop. The photo is dated 1898.

A sturdy harness or a ornately designed hat might be among the very last things we have on our holiday wish list. But some day, long ago, someone valued these small businesses, just as they valued the watchmaker, the barber and the grocer.

These businesses likely began because someone was willing to take a risk, and by doing so, they made New Rockford a better place to live, work and shop.

While some of these early businesses didn't make it through the 1918 Spanish Flu or the two world wars, the perseverance shown the owners helped to pave the way for new businesses for generations to come.