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History of the Village of Strum

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"Strum, Wisconsin - About 1940. This much improved aerial view of Strum is provided compliments of Ron A. Rosenberg. Ron has family ties to Strum. My comments about the picture follow: A characteristic look at Strum from the air, looking North. This picture does not include the today's substantial housing area and ball park that are below and right and left in the picture. From the looks of the near vacant lots in the lower right corner of this picture, it is likely that few other buildings existed south of this picture. What you do notice in this picture is the following: The two steeples are the White (north side of river), and Brick (south side of river), churches, as called by local residents. Both Lutheran Churches. Officially, I believe, they were St. Paul's Lutheran Church, and West Beef River Lutheran Church. Each had its own cemetery. The White Church cemetery is directly behind that church, to the right of the church on this picture. The cemetery for the Brick Church was located southeast of Strum about a mile. North of the river and north of the White Church, near the bend in the road, is a square building. This was the Strum Graded School. It served elementary and secondary education needs until about 1950, when Eleva and Strum merged their high school grades and began a new school, Eleva-Strum Central High School, located almost exactly one-half the distance between the two communities. What is now U. S. Highway 10, and may have been then also, is the road running left to right, between the White Church and the School. For years, the Greyhound Bus Lines made more than one trip a day on Highway 10 between Chicago, Illinois and Minneapolis, Minnesota, picking up passengers at the Standard Oil Station located on the northwest corner of U.S. 10 and Main Street, the wide street that runs north and south in this picture. For years, the operator of that Standard Station was Erling Nymo. Erling, in his great wisdom, married into the Matson-Garson family, when he chose Carla Matson, daughter of Helfred and Mary Matson, to be his wife. From a kid's perspective, another important landmark in this picture would be the hills directly behind and also to the right of the STRUM, WIS label identifier. These hills were great for sliding and skiing in the winter! As you look at the downtown area, about 1 inch up from the bottom of the picture, you can see three of the four feed mills that one time honored Strum. The fourth, I believe, is to the right of the picture on about the same line. All of these units were stationed right along the railroad tracks that ran in a straight line through town. Finally, I believe this picture is from a post card. I recall post cards of Strum being sold in the local Drug Store in the early 1950s and I am sure they were an even greater attraction before that."

"Strum, Wisconsin Downtown About 1962 Strum, Wisconsin Downtown About 1962 This is a picture of downtown Strum, Wisconsin, about 1962. You are looking north toward the river and bridge. Mainstreet is actually county road D. The model and year of the automobiles, the Fords, is a clue as to the exact year. This picture was provided by Bev Olson Van Blaricom, formerly of the Strum area. 1. What is the year of this picture? 2. When did Jacobson Hardware and Hulberg's Grocery burn down? 3. Can you name the businesses on both sides of the street? The picture was taken after the fire that burned down Jacobson Hardware and Hulberg's grocery. On the left, the building with the white wall, that's Jacobson's Hardware. Hulberg's is next back. These are the newer buildings. You may recall that in the older buildings one could walk between the two stores while inside either. Strum's first indoor mall, of sort. Hans Jacobson was Bev Van Blaricom's uncle. Hans and Harry Jacobson, the Shoemaker, are brothers." Fred Much has changed since this picture. The Ford Garage and Dealership is no longer in Strum. On the left side, at the far end of the high building site line, Robbe's store is no longer there. But Robbe's is still a mainstay business in Strum, now being located in a new building further back in the picture, same side of street, directly across the street to the west of the church (note the steeple on the right side of the street, far back). Credit is given to whomever took this picture. I think it may have appeared on a post card back then, but I am not sure. Fred Matson posted 1 January 2005

"Strum, Wisconsin About 1909 A Birds-Eye View. This photo by FLEMING, is on a post card. The card was sent to Miss Olive Berg, Strum, Wis. On the back of the post card is a note, of course, and the date is Feb 25, 09 (presumed to be 1909). The post mark is Strum, Wisconsin! Someone knew then, too, the value of a card sent to a friend. Note how the St. Paul's Church cemetery already has a substantial population. Whether then or not, I do not know, but the plowed area to the left of the cemetery ultimately also becomes cemetery grounds, or at least part of it does. You can fairly readily pick out the main drag, Main Street. Notice that at this time and for some time longer, the Beef River was not confronted with the Strum Dam. Few trees brush the horizon, and, of course, there is no U. S. Highway 10 right in front of us on this side of the church and cemetery. Travel to Osseo must have been on the Prairie Road or further south."

"The History of Strum, and the Town of Unity can be found in a book by that title, written by Roy H. Matson, son of Helfred and Marie Matson, in 1979. Actually, Roy completed a great deal of the research before his death in 1979, and his son, Erik Matson, completed the project and published the book in 1989. The book was widely distributed in the Strum, Wisconsin area. Roy spent most of the time between his first stroke in 1970 and his death, researching and writing the story of his town. As Erik says in the introduction to the book, Roy was keenly aware that his generation is the last to have some acquaintance with the early settlers of this area. He realized that the history of the years before roughly 1920 had to be recorded now lest they be completely forgotten. This picture of Strum, Wisconsin, USA, provides a view of Strum looking south from the north end of the downtown district. Every building past the third building on the left, burned in the Christmas Day fire of 1914. The darker, one-story building next in line to the south had been replaced by a larger brick structure, the T. M. Olson Building. The brick in that building probably helped control and ultimately stop the progress of the fire north. On the right, the first large white building still stands. Along with the stairs to an upstairs living area, the building, in recent years, housed first Robbe's Store and now more recently a hardware store. Straight ahead through the main street and just below the horizon the road turns left. The road is County D. County H continues straight ahead and south for maybe a half mile and then turns west (right). Ultimately County H goes over the Gullicksrud Hill and into Chimney Rock Township. County D continues for a similar short distance to the left and east and then also heads south through Johnson Valley, others areas, with option to go to Pleasantville and then to Whitehall. It would be interesting to know who is posing in front of the City Hotel in this picture. Are they local residents or are they customers of the hotel? And who is standing dead center in main street? Both sides of this main street of this community burned, in part. The earlier great fire was on the left (east) side. In the 1950s two buildings located about half south of the large white building on the right, burned. Jacobson's Hardware and Hulberg's Grocery were linked at least on the main level and both burned to the ground. Strum and the Community of Strum has overcome all fires, all disasters! Like a lot of smaller communities that are hit by fire or tornado, this one too, comes back with vigor!"

1970

"I received this surprise in the mail from Eunice, Nelson on 19 December 2001. Thank you Eunice! This picture of the Strum Choir is about 45 years old as of Year 2001. Back Row: (Left to Right) Darrell Gilbertson, Jerry Halvorson, Dick Matson, Bob Hatcher, Roy Matson, Elvin Thronson, Cy Nelson, Mel Gilbertson, Dennis Indjger, Maurice Hanson, Don Gilbertson, Elsmore Indjger. Middle Row: (Left to Right) Marilyn Call, Cherry Myhers, Shirley Berg, Betty Gullicksrud, Beatrice Larson, Eileen Myren, Sonja Hageness, Vicki Olson. Front Row: (Left to Right) Ovid Berg, Choir Director; Becky Indrebo, Ramona Indjger, Elaine Nysven, Pat Nelson, Eileen Butek, Myrtle Indgjer, Ruth Strand, Carla Nymo, Phyllis Semingson. This picture is about 45 years old. Ovid Berg was a well known local vocalist and choir director. He sang with the Eau Claire, Wisconsin Male Chorus for years. The Strum choir had a very good sound. I know because I heard them many times, and later, maybe only a year after this picture, joined the choir myself, not that that in any way improved the quality. As is so often the case, last names in the church choir are a good indication of names in the community. There may be a couple non-Norwegians descendants in this group. This group is loaded with descendants of early Norwegian settlers, perhaps a few are descendants of the early east coast English settlers who even beat the Norwegians to Strum. Dick & Roy Matson are my brother and dad. Ruth Strand is my great aunt, sister of Mary Garson; Carla Nymo, who later became the choir director is my dad's sister. Eileen Butek is my dad's and Carla Nymo's 1st cousin." Fred Matson 21 December 2001 updated 14 January 2006

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Link to History of Strum by Roy Mattson

PDF Version of History of Strum by Roy Mattson 
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History of our Village by R. Spangberg
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