These stories can also be heard on Sunday mornings around 10 am on WILD 102’s “Look Back in Time” program. Each week’s radio story will be posted here on our website.
Weekly radio stories are researched, compiled, and read by Sheila Winstead, RCHS Board Member.
June 9, 2024
Today’s story is of Lester B Hartz, written by Hazel Wahlberg from the collected memorabilia of L B Hartz lent
to Mrs Wahlberg to write the article. He personally read the article to attest to its authenticity. This story was
published in the book “Remembrances” for the Roseau County Historical Society.
A young boy was ringing doorbells back in August 1909, in Duluth, Minnesota. He wore a suit neatly buttoned,
“knickerbocker” pants revealing his long stockings and sturdy high-topped shoes. One discerned that he was
selling something. His immaculate white shirt, a tie, and a flower in his lapel labeled him as a salesman. Brown
hair cropped out from the edges of his cap. He rang the bell of a house in a row of houses of similar design.
“Yes,” a busy housewife greeted him.
“Would you like to buy some nice fresh vegetables? See I have carrots, radishes, lettuce, broccoli, yellow and
green beans,” he said as he held up bunches of freshly washed produce for her inspection.
The lady showed interest. “Who are you?” she inquired.
“My name is Lester Hartz. I raise these vegetables in our own back yard and I have more than my mother can
use.”
“How old are you?” she inquired.
“I am thirteen ma’am,” replied the young Hartz.
The lady did want some of his vegetables and she engaged the eager young lad in conversation as she made
her selections.
What are you going to do when you grow up?” she wanted to know.
“I am going to be a farmer,” came back the quick reply. But I will have to go to agriculture school because I
want to be a big farmer.”
“You will be,” the lady remarked kindly.
This is how L. B. Hartz got started in business. The vegetable peddling business flourished and soon Lester was
using a cart instead of a basket for his route. As he enlarged the garden plots, he thought he must get better
transportation, so his first “truck” became a horse and wagon. Young Hartz realized that he needed to reach
more people with larger and better displays of his wares. A solution came to this problem when he got a
chance to display his vegetables at an armory vegetable market. It was advertised in the Duluth Herald which
carried a picture of the young businessman and his neat display with the caption “Reducing Cost of Living by
Dealing Direct With the Producer.”
The ill wind blew adversely for a company called the Roseau Co-Op Store housed in the building owned by
the Farmer’s Co-Op in Roseau, Minnesota, was the good wind that enabled young Hartz to start a business.
After high school, he went not to an agricultural college, but to a business college and then worked with
bookkeeping and credit concerns. During this time, he also took a correspondence course in higher
accountancy from the LaSalle Extension University in Chicago. He then spent nineteen months in the Army as
an ammunition truck driver. Then came the opportunity to buy out the Roseau Co-Op after it had been sold to
the Northern Sales Company of Superior, Wisconsin.
Bargains galore were offered to the people by the new owner. There were come-ons like ten bars of P and G
soap for 39cents, men’s canvas shoes for 69 cents, and work shirts for 69 cents. Again, Lester Hartz who
advertised his philosophy in business as, “Economical Distribution of Life’s Necessities”, reaped success.
A real test came to the young man in 1927 when he learned that the J. C. Penney Co. would be coming to
town selling the same type of merchandise as he handled. A decision had to be made fast. L. B. Hartz decided
to stay and compete. Along with this decision, he decided to open stores at Minnesota Hill, Middle River,
Warroad, and Ross. Then in 1928, the Hartz business was incorporated with a capital stock of $100,000 and
with each share to sell at $100. The Ross store building was inundated by water during a flood. Undaunted,
Hartz restocked the store with merchandise using a boat for transportation. This was in 1927 when Jennie and
Knute Byfuglien were hired as managers. After Olaf Arneson and Jennie were married, they took over the
store. Some items of stock which were stored in the attic of the store were uncovered in 1976.
A store was soon established in Badger in the Farmer’s Co-Op building and temporarily run by the principal of
the high school, Mr. Edward Krueger.
At this time the line of merchandise was changed to handle groceries exclusively, and a new location in Roseau
next to the Heyerdahl Drug store was remodeled by the owner, A Waag, for a first-class Hartz Grocery store. A.
L. Killen, with three years of experience in the business, was hired to manage the store with Ronald Parr as his
assistant.
In 1930, with business progressing well, L. B. hosted his employees and friends on a trip to Lake of the Woods
with Captain Fay Young at the helm. A picnic dinner was served on Buffalo Point. A partial list of guests (some
employees) might evoke some memories. They were from Roseau, Miss Cecelia Peterson, Hazel Helstad, A. L.
Killen, Irene Spitzer, Mr. and Mrs. R. J. Bell, A. E. Laufenberger, Gust Nyquist (his partner in the newly
organized “American Arc Welders”), Mr. Louis Larson, Ina Blom, Ruth Berentzen, Inga Holdahl, Mathilda
Halvorson, Alvida Larson, Margaret Rice, Viola Lauring, Opal Olson, Walter Bell, Lloyd Waag, Paul J Buran,
Edgar and Stanley Lauring.
From Badger, Mr. and Mrs. Earl Erickson, Florence Halvorsen, Clara Wammer, Edna Erickson, Edna Torgerson,
Hilmer Jensen and Obert Wammer were the honored guests.
Warroad guests included W. J. Winjum, Mr. and Mrs. George Cole, Mrs. C. E. Carlquist, and daughters, Edith
and Florence, Lilly Larson, Eleanor Arneson, Eva Larson, and Joe Wammer.
The employees from Ross were unable to make the trip.
I’ll continue with the rest of this story next week as Mr. Hartz builds his operation outside of Roseau County.
Thank you to 
(www.roseauonline.com) for letting us share our county’s history with your listeners by donating air time, studio time, and production staff every week.