Memories of the Past #2 -

On First Street,  mid block between Central Avenue and 1^st Avenue was Minot Bowling Lanes (it was upstairs also) owned by Fred George .  Harry's Tire Service was next door. )The Bowling Alley was above Harry’s Tire)…This Bowling alley at one time had human pin setters, they used to hire high school kids to do it.  (The people who ran the Bowling Alley lived in an apartment on the top floor of the building. Not sure when it closed but then in the mid-60's it was a place to take your slot car as it had a big track for racing slot cars. 

Also, just west of Woolworths on Central Avenue was the Singer Store and a Drug Store and I don't remember the name of that one. (There was also a women’s hat shop on the same block of Central Avenue, between 1^st Street Southwest and Main St.)

Central Ave. Looking east from Broadway - 1940's

Memories of the Past #1 - Carl's Music Shop was at one time The Minot Accordion Shop and it was located where I Keating is.  He sold Accordions and Guitars mainly and also gave music lessons for the accordion.  (In the mid-sixties, Carl’s Music Shop was located in the Flat Iron Building on Central Avenue).

 On the East side of First Street there was B&B drug with a cafeteria below it and it had the most luscious caramel rolls in the morning!!  On street side, one door down and up the stairs was the Minot Business College.  In the mid-60's Minot Business College moved up on South Hill to what used to be a convent.  Not sure when it closed It was owned by Lloyd Hansen. (This is now Apartments at the intersection of 3^rd Street and 14^th Avenue SE…. By Rosehill Cemetary).

Flat Iron Building - Central and Broadway

The Barrel becomes The Keg

The Barrel  Pt 5 --  After the war, when gas rationing disappeared, the Minot Barrel grew in popularity. Ruth Sethen bought the Barrel from Muzzy and added a dining room and painted the Barrel White. In 1949, Ruth sold the Barrel to her brother Robert Sethen. He operated it until 1955 when he sold it to Rodney Lovdahl, one of his employees. Lovedahl changed the name to the Keg and operated it from 1955 to 1968. The Keg was severely damaged by the Flood of 1969 and was finally demolished in 1971. The other Barrel root beer stands met the same fate. They deteriorated and were eventually destroyed. The only Barrel still in operation is in Grand Forks and it is known as the Kegs. It consists of the original Grand Forks Barrel and the one from Wadena which was moved to Grand Forks. It did survive the Grand Forks Flood of 1997.

The Keg - Barrel - Part 4

The Barrel  Pt 4 – Harry Muzzy ended up building 8 Barrel root beer stands. Three in North Dakota…. Minot, Devils Lake and Grand Forks.  One in Montana …. Great Falls.  Four in Minnesota…. Crookston, Dilworth, Detroit Lakes and Wadena.  The Muzzy’s hired local couples to supervise the root beer stand and they supervised the chain from their home in Crookston. Harry Muzzy visited each Barrel monthly and did all the repair work himself. Cecile Kerns managed the Minot Barrel and became known as the “Hamburger Queen”. After closing her stand in the summer, the Hamburger Queen and helpers would go out dancing to the sounds on the big bands in the area. When the carhops and cooks came in the music would stop and the band would play “Roll out the Barrel” in their honor.

Note - The Keg in background

The Keg - Part 3 - Minot Gets A Barrel

The Barrel  Pt 3 – Harry Muzzy built the second barrel in Minot, next to the Minot City Ballpark and across the street from the city zoo. He used 117 pieces of 1 inch by 6 inch tongue and groove lumber sixteen feet long to form the outer shell of the structure. Local lumber yards had to shape and bevel the wood in order to fit in the top and bottom hoops. It was during the time of the Depression and lumber yards and carpenters were happy to have the work. When completed Muzzy began selling soft drinks, ham sandwiches and hot dogs with sauerkraut to Minot residents. The root beer logo was Triple XXX. The logo stood out prominently on the front of the Barrel root beer stand. This logo and the novel shape attracted and kept customers.

The Keg -- Part 2 - Harry Muzzy

The Barrel Pt. 2 – The Barrel was part of a chain of barrel shaped root beer stands built by Harry Muzzy and his wife Martha in the 1930’s. Muzzy grew up in Minot, worked as an engineer for the Great Northern Railway until 1920. He moved to Crookston, Minnesota and owned a successful cigar store. He had the opportunity to start a root beer stand in Great Falls, Mt. Aware of the success of the A&W Root Beer stands in California, he thought they would be a success along Highway 2 in the northern part of the country. He built the Great Falls stand in the shape of a 2 story barrel. It was a huge success both as a root beer stand and also as a tourist attraction. Muzzy and his wife lived on the second story of the Great Falls barrel.

Harry Muzzy - One of the Original Barrels

The Keg - Part 1

. The Barrel – (the Keg) Pt 1 –This will be a five part History of the Keg

 The Barrel root beer stand was built in 1931 in Minot. It was during the great depression, a time of dust storms, drought, heat waves and crop failures. A nickel bought a root beer and a dime bought a toasted ham sandwich. Food was delivered to the vehicles by young carhops. The smiles were free. Some believe the word “carhop” was coined because the waitresses had to hop p on the running boards of the cars to deliver the food. Others say it was a derivative of  the word “bellhop” and adapted to the cars.. … Most drive-ins instructed the carhops not to stand on the running boards because it was improper and overly familiar behavior. . The first carhops were not teenage girls, but were adult women who found the tips were excellent even back in the 30’s