Hillman News from 100 years ago was butter, bulls and pythons…
I’m on the verge of having a release date for Black and Blue, and working on the following book: The Haunted House of Hillman {H2 OH}. By the way, I would like to thank everyone for the support. Even though I’ve been putting off presenting until I have Black and Blue in my hands, I’m still selling books every week on this website. Thank you!
People who have read my books know I research every community I write my true crime stories in. I’ve found a couple of old news articles about Hillman I’d like to share.
Every one of the small Minnesota towns used to have a creamery and a butter maker. Being a butter maker was a lucrative job. In 1930, Hillman recruited a butter maker by giving him a large furnished home.
1930 Butter makers
This article is taken from the Onamia Herald, on May 26, 1927:
Hillman Man Has Exciting Time with a Bull
According to information sent to us by our Hillman correspondent, Otto Strauch, of that village, he had an experience with a large Holstein bull last Thursday, which he will not care to repeat, and which might have ended disastrously.”
The bull was in the stockyard at the station, and Otto undertook to catch him. The animal turned and charged, hurling him across the enclosure, following him up with the evident intent of trampling him.
But J.B. Nelson chanced to be near, and hearing the commotion he jumped into the yard, grabbed a bit of board and battered the angry animal over the head. This caused the bull to hesitate long enough for Otto to get over the fence, which he did in record time.
It was indeed fortunate for Mr. Strauch that help was near, as the bull would have probably killed him, before he could have got away.
I didn’t realize Hillman had a news correspondent. The Onamia Herald was published from 1924 to 1928. The best article I’ve found so far was from the Mille Lacs Messenger. The Mille Lacs Messenger has been published from 1913 up to the present. August 12, 1926. The headline read:
Big Snake Scares People of Hillman
Python at Large - Seen by Several Truthful People
This article starts with a statement from Fred Nutt, a prosperous Hillman farmer. It begins:
“Everybody knows that Fred Nutt is a strong prohibitionist, spurns moonshine and won’t even put alcohol in the radiator of his trusty flivver to keep it from freezing, so when he told that story, it received general credence.” (A flivver was a cheap car in bad condition.)
“It seems that Fred was leisurely driving home his herd of cattle the other night, when to his surprise and alarm, about a 15-20 foot snake reached down from a tree, wound a couple times around a yearling heifer and lifted it into a tree, where it was lost in the foliage.” (A yearling heifer weighs about 600 pounds, so it's a damn big snake and a damn big tree if you can lose a cow in it.) “Fred, would almost sooner lose an eye than a nice heifer, stood under the tree and called the snake names until a rustle among the branches caused him to think it was time to get the rest of the herd out of the danger zone. When he reached the house, frightened and mad, he told his story. His wrath was in no way cooled, when his wife wanted him to go to bed and have an ice bag on his head. After he had finished milking, he went over and told some of the neighbors about it. Some of them were sore, because he wouldn’t tell them where he saw it, but most kept their stock shut up that night and nailed their windows shut before retiring.”
The article continues…
“Some women who were picking berries in a pasture a day or two later, reported that they had seen a snake about 40 feet long, moving slowly through the ferns in the woods, and it is believed that this was the same snake, as it is unlikely, that at any great number of pythons would be at large in that locality. Since then, the berries are going to waste, as no one can induce them to leave the vicinity of the house.” (2 days later, it’s twice as big. I guess it did eat a cow.)
And yes, there’s more…
“Doubt has been cast on the whole story by Laurence Hughes, who drove down the other evening to call on a friend and reported that he had encountered on the road a snake, apparently about 80 feet long, equipped with automobile headlights and wearing a green sweater. Hughes appeared to be perfectly sober and to be believed that he had given an accurate description of something he had seen, but thoughtful citizens pointed out that it was entirely unnatural for snakes to wear sweaters. Those who have not seen the snake doubt its existence.”
“One chap, who has been in the Southwest, suggests that locoweed, a desert plant that drives cattle insane, when they eat it, has been introduced into the country, and the Hughes and Nutt have eaten some in a salad. Nutt says, even if one could doubt the evidence of his eyes, he is still one shy heifer. Work in the vicinity is pretty much at a standstill, and everybody is talking about the snake, mostly over the phone. Nobody in that neighborhood wants him for anything and if the owner will come and get him, he will not be required to prove ownership.”
If anyone has interesting stories or facts about Hillman to share with me, feel free to do so. I’ll try to have a forensic article next time, and a release date for Black and Blue.
Thanks for listening,
Frank
Before Weird Al, there was Ray Stevens and Jim Stafford. Here is an old clip of Jim Stafford and Barbara Mandrell.
People who have read my books know I research every community I write my true crime stories in. I’ve found a couple of old news articles about Hillman I’d like to share.
Every one of the small Minnesota towns used to have a creamery and a butter maker. Being a butter maker was a lucrative job. In 1930, Hillman recruited a butter maker by giving him a large furnished home.
1930 Butter makersThis article is taken from the Onamia Herald, on May 26, 1927:
Hillman Man Has Exciting Time with a Bull
According to information sent to us by our Hillman correspondent, Otto Strauch, of that village, he had an experience with a large Holstein bull last Thursday, which he will not care to repeat, and which might have ended disastrously.”
The bull was in the stockyard at the station, and Otto undertook to catch him. The animal turned and charged, hurling him across the enclosure, following him up with the evident intent of trampling him.
But J.B. Nelson chanced to be near, and hearing the commotion he jumped into the yard, grabbed a bit of board and battered the angry animal over the head. This caused the bull to hesitate long enough for Otto to get over the fence, which he did in record time.
It was indeed fortunate for Mr. Strauch that help was near, as the bull would have probably killed him, before he could have got away.
I didn’t realize Hillman had a news correspondent. The Onamia Herald was published from 1924 to 1928. The best article I’ve found so far was from the Mille Lacs Messenger. The Mille Lacs Messenger has been published from 1913 up to the present. August 12, 1926. The headline read: Big Snake Scares People of Hillman
Python at Large - Seen by Several Truthful People
This article starts with a statement from Fred Nutt, a prosperous Hillman farmer. It begins:
“Everybody knows that Fred Nutt is a strong prohibitionist, spurns moonshine and won’t even put alcohol in the radiator of his trusty flivver to keep it from freezing, so when he told that story, it received general credence.” (A flivver was a cheap car in bad condition.)
“It seems that Fred was leisurely driving home his herd of cattle the other night, when to his surprise and alarm, about a 15-20 foot snake reached down from a tree, wound a couple times around a yearling heifer and lifted it into a tree, where it was lost in the foliage.” (A yearling heifer weighs about 600 pounds, so it's a damn big snake and a damn big tree if you can lose a cow in it.) “Fred, would almost sooner lose an eye than a nice heifer, stood under the tree and called the snake names until a rustle among the branches caused him to think it was time to get the rest of the herd out of the danger zone. When he reached the house, frightened and mad, he told his story. His wrath was in no way cooled, when his wife wanted him to go to bed and have an ice bag on his head. After he had finished milking, he went over and told some of the neighbors about it. Some of them were sore, because he wouldn’t tell them where he saw it, but most kept their stock shut up that night and nailed their windows shut before retiring.”
The article continues…“Some women who were picking berries in a pasture a day or two later, reported that they had seen a snake about 40 feet long, moving slowly through the ferns in the woods, and it is believed that this was the same snake, as it is unlikely, that at any great number of pythons would be at large in that locality. Since then, the berries are going to waste, as no one can induce them to leave the vicinity of the house.” (2 days later, it’s twice as big. I guess it did eat a cow.)
And yes, there’s more…“Doubt has been cast on the whole story by Laurence Hughes, who drove down the other evening to call on a friend and reported that he had encountered on the road a snake, apparently about 80 feet long, equipped with automobile headlights and wearing a green sweater. Hughes appeared to be perfectly sober and to be believed that he had given an accurate description of something he had seen, but thoughtful citizens pointed out that it was entirely unnatural for snakes to wear sweaters. Those who have not seen the snake doubt its existence.”
“One chap, who has been in the Southwest, suggests that locoweed, a desert plant that drives cattle insane, when they eat it, has been introduced into the country, and the Hughes and Nutt have eaten some in a salad. Nutt says, even if one could doubt the evidence of his eyes, he is still one shy heifer. Work in the vicinity is pretty much at a standstill, and everybody is talking about the snake, mostly over the phone. Nobody in that neighborhood wants him for anything and if the owner will come and get him, he will not be required to prove ownership.” If anyone has interesting stories or facts about Hillman to share with me, feel free to do so. I’ll try to have a forensic article next time, and a release date for Black and Blue.Thanks for listening,
Frank
Before Weird Al, there was Ray Stevens and Jim Stafford. Here is an old clip of Jim Stafford and Barbara Mandrell. 
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