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larger place near the postoffice, where Joe Libby was postmaster. I bought the building vacated and had it moved up on Princeton street and made into a home for the man who was working for me, Carl Schmiege. This is still standing and is now the property of Mrs. Mary Bishop. On May 19, 1892, 1 married Miss Matilda Schmiege, of Burns, and also settled on Princeton street in the home we occupy to this day. On April 25, 1898, when the whole business section on the north side of the railroad tracks was destroyed by fire my place was the last one to burn. I had no insurance, but with the help of my friends and the good will of my customers, I stared again on a small scale. Then Amos Houlton built a nice new shop for me on the old site where I stayed until 1901, when all the business places changed from the north to the south side. Then I also moved to the south side of the tracks into the one story block built by W. H. Houlton. For the next few years I was kept very busy making river drivers' shoes, repairing and selling new shoes and rubbers. By 1910, when on New Years night this block was completely destroyed by fire, I had accumulated a very nice stock of goods and tools, but I didn't save as much as a pegging awl. This happened to be an extremely cold winter and I could not do much in the temporary location. Mr. Houlton rebuilt to one story brick block and I rented the store we occupy today. Having insurance on part of my goods, i again made a new start. I discontinued making new shoes and put all my efforts into repairing and into the retail business. The beautiful view of the Mississippi river at our back door has helped many a weary task throughout these years. But without the help of my good friends, the loyal support of my customers and the interest of my own family, I could not have built up the business. Fred and Will, my two sons, have been working in the stre ever since they were old enough and are with me today. We hope to carry on this business to the best interest of the entire community in the future as I have tried to do in the past. Even today, however, there's something nostalgic about watching Bill and Fred fixing shoes. Even installing new composition half soles and heels, or sewing up a small rip, requires much of the skill that old Herman Greupner brought with him from Germany [Source: Sherburne County Minnesota Genealogy. Part of The Minnesota GenWeb Project.] Sherburne County Minnesota Genealogy Part of