Lowe's Grocery - Lowes Floral & Garden

Lowes Grocery was located in what is now the Ice Box on the corner of 3rd St NW and 1st Ave in Minot. Jim Lowe, one of the Lowe children, along with his wife Clarice began growing fresh produce to provide for the store. Later a "pick your own" vegetable stand was added. From fresh vegetables to bedding plants was an easy transition for Clarice and Jim, who ran Lowe's Gardens as a seasonal business. Lowe's Inc. DBA Lowe's Floral and Garden Center has been serving the Minot, ND community with fresh flowers, green and blooming plants, trees, shrubs, and locally grown vegetable and bedding plants for over 80 years. Their son Philip Lowe and his wife Jennifer purchased the business in 1975 and turned it into its current business form by adding the Floral Division, the Nursery and Landscape Department and the Garden Center. Two years later the couple moved to the caretakers cottage on the property and Jim and Clarice moved to Clarice's ancestral home in Tattman Township, North Dakota near Glenburn. Jim and Clarice worked daily at the business well into the 1980's.

Lowe's Grocery Pt 1

Albert Lowe was born in Wild Rose, Wisconsin on December 25, 1880. He was the son of Thomas and Mary Lowe. Albert’s father worked in the coal mines in Wales. He never saw daylight until he was 19 years old. Albert attended a commercial college in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. He also worked in a general store that was owned by C. A. Smart. Albert came to Minot and worked in the business office of the Minot Optic, later the Optic Reporter, owned by his brother-in-law, W. M. Smart. One of his jobs was picking up advertising for the newspaper. On of the advertisements was, For Sale – Riverside Mercantile Co., located at Third Street and First Avenue Northeast. The store was owned by Ed and Albert Bettin and Harry Marshall. This was in 1916. Albert asked if he could wait a few days before turning in the ad. In the meantime he made arrangements to borrow $3,000.00 on his own signature. In 1930 the store became strictly a food market and the name changed to Lowe’s Grocery, selling “Red & White” goods. Later, Albert purchased 19 acres of land from Harry Smith. This was originally the Joe Roach Ranch located in the bend of the Mouse River. He raised vegetables to sell to stores and wholesale houses in Minot. After purchasing the acreage on the Mouse River, Albert erected a chicken house. He ought Leg Horn pullets and when grown, sold the day old eggs. The cartons stamped with the date they were gathered and got 5 cents a dozen premium. People came from all over town to buy these day old eggs From Lowe’s Grocery.
 

The Keg - Is No More

In May of 1971 a long standing landmark in Minot was demolished. The Keg across from The Zoo was torn down. Older residents remembered it a s the “Root Beer Barrel’ or just the “Barrel’.. It was built in the 1930’s by a former Minot native – Muzzy. The Minot Barrel or Keg was one of 8 that were built across the northern part of the country. Originally it was just the Barrel and the dining room was added later.  The Keg ceased operation just before the 1969 Flood and never reopened after that flood. The Barrel was removed first and then the dining room addition.

Show N Sell #2

As co-owner of the Show N Sell sign I can attest to some of the challenges in operating it. The only access to the sign on the roof was by an extension ladder placed on the west side of the building. The first winter of ownership we discovered that water on the roof pooled below the sign. In the winter, the wind blew and polished the ice, making it very slippery. We used a step ladder to place the letters on the sign as this worked much better and was quicker than using the long arms to place the letters. With the ice it became a two man job. One to hold the ladder and one to place the letters. In later years we placed wooden pallets upside down below the sign. When they froze into the ice, the step ladder would not slide around while working on the sign.

Show & Sell #1

the Show N Sell Sign is the former marquee from the Empire Theater on main Street. When the theater was torn down, the theater marquee was rescued by Robert and Becky Weiss. The sign was built in 1954 when the Empire Theater was constructed. The Show N Sell sign was placed on the roof of the Midtown Plaza on the southwest corner of Broadway and Second Avenue. As the Empire Marquee the sign was illuminated with 480 incandescent light bulbs. As the Show N Sell sign it is illuminated by two exterior high intensity lights. The sign was rented by people and businesses wanting to advertise or announce special events

Steam Tunnels

For many years a number of downtown buildings were heated by steam which was piped into them by steam pipes for the NSP Steam Power plant. The steam pipes had to be maintained so they ran through tunnels below the streets and buildings. These tunnels were large enough to accommodate men who may need to repair or do other maintenance. Many people confuse these tunnels with tunnels rumored to be running into Minot for the purpose of running contraband in and out of town. Most of this was in the form of alcohol smuggled in from Canada and other points. The Steam tunnels under Minot, while large enough to walk through were separate form any booze smuggling tunnels. However there was a rumor that a tunnel ran from Stearns Motors to the Rex Motel and another tunnel that ran from Stearn’s Motors to the old Flatiron Building. Possibly, only the people working on the Broadway Project in 1960 would know if this were true.

Minot Public Library

The original Minot Public Library  began in 1908 in two rooms rented in the Optic Block. In 1908 the city approved its first mill levy for library purposes. In 1910 with $2000 in its treasury, the library obtained a grant from Andrew Carnegie for a new building. The Library was built at the corner of what is now Second Avenue and First Street Southeast. The library moved into its new home in 1911 and remained there for 55 years, when it moved into its current location. When the Library was dedicated in February of 1912, it had 1490 books and claimed to have 1350 borrowers. The original library building is now the Carnegie Center.
Pictured below is the Library interior and exterior as it looked in 1911