Volume 4,  Issue 2, May 2023

Egg-stra  Special Artifacts

By Barb Van Eyll 

Every year, as Easter approaches, people around the world hard-boil eggs and dye them brilliant colors. Where did this tradition come from? The first example of Easter eggs coloring in Western culture was reportedly from around 1290 when England’s King Edward I’s court purchased 450 eggs to be colored and decorated with gold leaf to be gifted as Easter presents to the royal household. By the late 1800s, coloring eggs had become a way to commercially make money. William Townley, owner of a drug store in Newark, New Jersey, in 1893 figured out how to concentrate dye in tablet form and launched Easter egg dyeing kits, later becoming the Pass Dye Co. 

It was with these kits that Mrs. P.J. (Jenny) O’Loughlin turned her decorating talents into a moneymaking endeavor for the circles at St. John’s Lutheran Church. For several years her decorating Easter eggs was just a seasonal project, but that blossomed into a year-round job. Her initial church venture in decorating eggs led to more orders coming in, and she soon had customers from all over the Chaska area and even eventually all over the country.

Mrs. O’Loughlin was a self-trained artist who painted eggs free-hand, with no two eggs alike. Ever since she had been a child watching an artist uncle paint she had longed to study art, but her practical father, who had a general store in New Germany, Minnesota, thought it would be a waste of time and money, so she didn’t pursue that interest, instead rediscovering her passion later in life. All of the designs on the eggs she painted were her own, imagined at night when she was unable to sleep. 

In the Spirit:  An Upcoming Attraction!

By Connie Jacobs

Have you ever wondered about others who resided in your home or business? The Chaska History Center will be presenting a new walking tour this fall that explores Chaska’s history while focusing on odd things that go bump in the night. The tour will be .8 miles, encompassing the areas of historic downtown Chaska.  Along the way you will hear stories of haunted businesses and homes, as well as learn about Chaska’s history. We will visit buildings and homes from the late 1800s and early 1900s. You may even hear about some of the residents from long ago!

Come prepared to walk, have fun and enjoy history!  The Chaska History Center is neither advocating for nor denying the existence of ghosts. These stories are presented simply as they were told to us.

If you have bumps in the night, unexplained footsteps or other unusual occurrences and would be willing to add your story to the tour, please let us know by emailing us at historical@chaskahistory.org .

Stay tuned for more information!

2023 - 20 Years That We've Been in the Historic Brinkhaus Livery Stable!

By Lisa Oberski

Although the Chaska Historical Society has been in existence since 1980, our move to the Brinkhaus stable in 2003—After Y2K and 9/11, but before a myriad of other events—was a momentous time for the organization. 

The historical society had had its home on the second and third floors of the Christian P. Klein mansion, located on the northeast corner of Fourth and Walnut Streets, since 1988.  The space at the mansion was notable, not only because it was our first home, allowing volunteers to transfer to a central location the precious collections of artifacts and photographs they had stashed away in their garages and attics for safekeeping, but also because of the history the mansion itself lent to our existence. Often people would come visit us because of the opportunity it provided to see the heavy woodwork and hand-painted wallpaper inside the 1911 home.

More about the Brinkhaus Livery Stable - our new home...

Sara knew early she had a gift for art, and she says it was encouraged by both her parents and by the Roseville schools.  The school even allowed her exhibition space in the hallways, and she sold her first work of art to a teacher in the school. She was also allowed to attend drafting classes in the high school in a time when girls were not permitted to participate in Industrial Arts programs.   Her presence helped to open this area to other girls. Her ability in drawing house plans led to one of her plans being purchased and this paid for her first year at the Minneapolis College of Arts and Design, which she attended after high school.  

In 2000, Sara and her husband moved to Chaska, looking for a home.  She saw the William Scott house on Pine Street with a for sale sign, and as she said, “It called to me.”  She and her husband bought the house, despite the fact it needed many repairs, and worked on refurbishing it for the next ten years.  She set up a gallery and an art school and became part of the fabric of the Chaska community.   

Sara became deeply interested in the history of the Scott house and began historical research on it.  In the early 1900s, William Scott was the owner of the flour mill next door to the house and was the first to produce “roller milling”, which produced a high-grade flour.  With historical research on both the Scott house and the flour mill, Sara applied for its admittance on the National Registry, and it was accepted and remains so today.  

Sara sold the Scott House in 2000.  She set up business in another historical building, the old Faber building on the northeast corner of Walnut and Second Street.  

Sara continues to paint today.  She has a registered trademark for polymer infusion, which she employs in her paintings.  We at the Chaska Historical Society are honored to have a member who used her art and knowledge of history to enhance our community.