The following article is part of the Diamond Club Member group that began in the January 7, 1943, issue of the Rock County Star Herald. Members of this group consist of persons of age 75 and older.
The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on September 23, 1943.
(Continued from last week, where Herbert recounted his 1888 blizzard experience.)
With the clotheslines to follow, the neighbor was able to bring his family to the Herbert home.
Worked in Harness Shop
Here he worked as foreman in the shop for Burley and Kennicott. After three years, Kennicott was in full charge of the business and he was employed by him for 10 years. He was a shop mate of the late Ed Lynch for 12 years, and later worked for him in his own shop. He went to Alden, Minn., where he remained one year working at his trade, then he came back and worked 12 years for Steve Kennedy and three years for John Albert. On March 1, 1919, he opened his own shoe repair shop in the rear of what then was the Handy grocery, and what now is the Schlader jewelry building. This he operated until going to California in February, 1928. He opened a shop in San Fernando, and after his wife’s death on May 15, 1929, he moved to North Hollywood where he is still proprietor of “Dad Herbert’s” shoe repair shop.
Racing was one of Mr. Herbert’s favorite sports in his younger days. When he was a boy of nine, he rode on the first half mile race track at the Minnesota state fair. For three seasons, he rode for a horse owner named Dilley, and when the latter was ruled from further competition from the track, Mr. Herbert’s horse racing days were over.
Won But Lost
The account of the last race as related by Mr. Herbert is interesting. Seven horses were entered in a seven heat race. His horse, a buckskin mustang, won three of the races, and a spotted horse, ridden by a Negro boy, also had won three. The other horse dropped out, leaving the two of them to finish the last race alone.
“That crazy horse I was riding got Mr. Dilley ruled off the race track,” Mr. Herbert relates. “It was one of the fastest horses I’ve ever been on, and also one of the most unpredictable. It would just as soon run right through a crowd as go around a curve at the end of the track. In this particular race, I was about three lengths ahead of the other horse. Just a few feet from the finish line, the buckskin came to a dead stop. It happened so fast that I went right over its head, and landed on the other side of the finish line ahead of the other horse, but my horse still hadn’t crossed the line. The owners of the two horses, and the judges had quite a discussion about the whole thing, and finally, the victory was awarded my horse, but only on condition that Mr. Dilley would never race another horse on that track.”
On Fire Hose Team
Foot racing was also a favorite sport of Mr. Herbert, who said that one time he would just as soon have run a foot race as to go fishing. After coming to Luverne, he joined the Luverne fire department, and was a member of the hose cart team that won the world’s championship in a tournament in Pipestone in 1895, by running 200 yards, laying 150 feet of hose and making the coupling in 26 and one-fifth seconds. Mr. Herbert was not one of the runners, but served as one of two “bracers” as they were called; men who braced the wheels just as the race was about to begin. Only a few of those men are living at the present time, he said, among whom are Al Angell and Jim Wiggins of Luverne, Jean Barck, Spokane, and Ed Bronson, who lives in Idaho. Mr. Herbert served as a member of the fire department for about 20 years.
Mr. Herbert became the father of four children, three of whom are living at the present time. They are Mrs. A. B. Cowan, Luverne; Mrs. Maude M. Smith, North Hollywood, and Horace G. Herbert, also of North Hollywood.
Nicknamed “Waxie”
He explained that his son, Horace, was known more generally by the nickname, “Waxie”. After his second son, Horace grew older, it developed that he acquired the name “Little Waxie,” his brother became “Big Waxie,” and Mr. Herbert himself became “Old Waxie”.
On Nov. 11, 1939, Mr. Herbert remarried, his wife being Anna Mattison. She is here with him at the present time, and they expect to leave today for their home in North Hollywood.
In addition to his children, his direct descendants include five grandsons and two great granddaughters. He has three brothers and one sister living; Charley Herbert and John Herbert, both of Sioux Falls, Cort Herbert, Galesburg, Wis. and Mrs. Fletcher Alger, of Sioux Falls.
He attributes his long life to hard work and having lots of fun. Always a lover of sports, his hobbies until later years have been hunting and fishing. His health is still good, he says, as a recent medical examination revealed that he was as “fit” as a fiddle.”
He was never greatly interested in politics, and has never held a public office. He is affiliated with the AOUW lodge, of which he has been a member for 35 years.
Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.