Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 1080 – Oakdale Farms in Le Roy, Minnesota, 1921

Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett

Thomas G. Moses visited Minnesota in January 1921. Of the trip, he wrote, “Took a short trip to Louisville to get measurements for data for a big picture set, coming directly back and going to Le Roy, Minn., where I closed a contract for a decoration of a big pavilion used for dancing at the Oak Dale Farm.  I found some zero weather and had to go several miles out of town to the farm in an old bob-sled.” Moses later wrote, “I found the Le Roy job still hanging fire, so I had to go up and superintend the installing.  Everyone pleased.  We certainly got a good effect out of the ceiling panels.”

Le Roy was in the southeast corner of Minnesota, just a mile from the Iowa state line.

The dancing pavilion project was quite a project. At the time, Oakdale Farm near Le Roy, Minnesota, had a reputation for being the largest establishment of White Leghorns near that place. Stopping here to comment that it is hard not to visualize the cartoon character of Foghorn Leghorn. I guess that I am a product of Saturday morning cartoons.

By 1920, Oakdale farm comprised 80 acres and was stocked with 4,000 and 5,000 birds (New Ulm Review, 13 Oct. 1920, page 12). Each year, Oakdale Farms hosted an annual exhibit advertised as “More Fun Than a Circus! – More to See Than a Fair!” (Star Tribune, 3 Aug 1921, page 8). Advertisements announced, “Start early and make this a real picnic. Good places to park your car, and you’ll certainly enjoy the trip. 25,000 people expected, and there is room for all. Picnic tables free on the ground and arrangements have been made to serve cafeteria style at a nominal charge all those who do not care to bring their own picnic dinners. Plenty to eat for all.” I bet chicken was on the menu. There was “something ‘doing’ every minute!” that included aero-planes, vaudeville, band concerts and lectures.

The 1921 advertisement also  noted, “You will have an opportunity to ‘star’ in our motion pictures. The William A. Lochern Film and Slide Co. of Minneapolis are sending down their most expert crew to take picture for us of the crowds. We expect to show the film in every locality possible afterwards. Don’t miss getting in on this picture.”

On July 17, 1921, the “Star Tribune” included a picture of the dance pavilion announcing, “Oak Dale Farms Famous for Chickens” (page 33). The caption noted, “People who spend their vacation at the Oak Dale farms in Leroy, Minn., will have enough to eat. One of the farms is a famous poultry ranch and hatches out 50,000 chicks every month; if they cook them as well as hatch them, and it is said the do. Dancing in the pavilion should be postponed until some time after dinner. The other farm has gained notice for its stock. The photograph shows the corner of the dance pavilion at the farms.” This was a big enterprise that also functioned as a tourist destination. 

“Oakdale Farms, Inc.” made the newspaper multiple times in 1921. On August 21, 1921, the Star Tribune” reported, “Liens on Thomson Farm Break Records….Austin, Minn., Aug. 20. – All records for liens against an individual estate were broken here today with the filing of 56 liens, totaling $19,018.43, against Oakdale Farms, Inc. owned by R. J. (Cy) Thomson, embezzler of $1,890,000 from George A. Hormel & Co. The liens filed do no include those filed against Oakdale Farms at Le Roy, but are against property here and in Blooming Prairies. Liens against the LeRoy farms are filed in Cresco, Iowa. The amounts range from $621 to $3,956.49” (21 Aug 1921, page 11).

This mention on Moses’ diary shows the variety of projects that came into a scenic studio, ranging from rural Minnesota dance pavilions to metropolitan coliseums. In 1921, Sosman & Moses also delivered scenery to the Acadia Dancing Hall. These firms delivered painted scenes and decorations all over the country to stay afloat.  My greatest question was why a poultry producer south contracted a Chicago scenic studio, rather than one in the Twin Cities. However, there was the mention of Oakdale Farm’s connection to Hormel in Chicago, also a client of Sosman & Landis.

To be continued…