Usually, only businesses bought a copy of the directory, so really the info was tailored to their needs. For instance, there's Homer St Onge, a student, probably at St Cloud State. He was living in the house he lived in when we knew him 30 years later. But in 1939, if he applied for a job or a loan, he could have been looked up in the directory, at the very least to see if he was who he said he was.
And look: the second set below shows that a Peter Seaberger died June 19, 1935, age 70. How could a business use that info? Well, if a woman claimed she was his widow, you could check it in the directory, etc.
And what if you met someone at church named Mabel Silvernail, you could find her husband's name in the directory, and invite them both to your grand opening, or send em some early junk mail. The possibilities are endless. Since a person's profession was listed too, you could tailor your advertising as well. Wanna know who owned St Cloud Tent and Awning? Or if Oliver Riggs was still the leader of the St Cloud Senior Boys Band? The info's here.
Did you know the Sisters of St Francis from Little Falls built and ran the Children's Home in St Cloud? Everything else in the area was Benedictine--schools and churches and hospital. Don't you wonder what the relationship was among the two brands of nuns?
Look at all the skilled tradesmen in town, too. Carpenters, painters, bakers, roofers, engineers, and lots of stonecutters. And look--Fr Wildenborg was pastor of St Anthony's even then.
The first of these pages I copied were the SAND listings (last page, below). Just think, if we were wondering what happened to Peter S Sand after he moved to St Cloud? THIS would be invaluable info. And then, if you wanted to know exactly what the Sisters of St Benedict did...whew...check their listing.
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