Минесота штатындағы Холдингфорд қаласының тарихы

City in Minnesota, United States

Holdingford is a city in Stearns County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 708 at the 2010 census. It claims to be "The Gateway to Lake Wobegon", the fictional central Minnesota town created by author Garrison Keillor. Holdingford is part of the St. Cloud Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Similarly to other Stearns County German and Polish American communities, the Holdingford area opposed American entry into the First World War, but produced many local recruits and draftees once America declared war on Imperial Germany in May 1917. In November 1917, the largely German American parish of St. Mary's heard a "very impressive sermon" on American patriotism by Fr. Scheuer followed by the presentation of the parish's service flag, which bore 15 stars in honor of each of the young men from the parish who were serving in the United States military. America's Independence Day 1918 was understandingly the largest ever seen in Holdingford, beginning with a Requiem Mass at St. Hedwig's Church for the fallen soldiers of all the Allied Armies, followed by a dinner served at noon by the women of the parish. Five Holdingford area Doughboys lost their lives while serving in the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF), Private Nicholas Heinz, who died on 13 September 1918 from wounds received in the 2 September capture of a German machine gun nest near Vilcey sur Trey, for which he was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross; Ernest Roehrs, who died of the influenza on Sept. 29, 1918 at Camp Funston, Kansas; Gregor Hartung, who was killed in action on France in October 1918; John Elkanic who was killed in action on 22 October 1918 and buried in the Oise Aisne American Cemetery and Memorial; and Private Francis Feia who was killed in action on the fall of 1918 and whose Polish American parents only received definitive word of his death on 12 July 1919. A Tridentine Requiem Mass was offered for Pvt. Feia at St Hedwig's Church on 21 July 1919. Holdingford's American Legion Post #211 was later named in Private Feia's honor.

Following the 1941 entry of the United States into the Second World War, young men from every ethnic background living in Holding Township became voluntary recruits to the United States military. In April 1944, Holdingford native Private Walter Krystosek was killed in action at the Anzio landing. On New Years Day 1945, Clarence Scepaniak, was a paratrooper serving in the European Theater with the 17th Airborne Division when he was taken prisoner by the enemy. After being held as a POW in conditions that traumatized him for the rest of his life at Stalag IV B, Scepaniak was liberated and returned him to Holdingford. He remained silent about his experiences until finally giving an interview about them in 1985. In July 2017, the remains of United States Navy Fireman First Class Elmer Kerestes, a Holdingford native who was killed in action aboard the U. S. S. Oklahoma during the attack on Pearl Harbor, were posthumously identified through DNA testing by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency and returned to his family for burial. Kerestes' whole 25 mile funeral route from Melrose to Holdingford was lined with local people who wished to pay their respects as his American flag draped casket passed by. Kerestes' was then buried next to his parents in Holdingford with full military honors.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.85 square miles (2 km2), all land. Holdingford is located nine miles north of the city of Avon at Interstate 94 in central Minnesota. The city of Albany is also nearby.

As of the census of 2010, there were 708 people, 306 households, and 190 families living in the city. The population density was There were 330 housing units at an average density of The racial makeup of the city was 98.6% White, 0.1% Asian, 0.4% Pacific Islander, and 0.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.7% of the population. There were 306 households, of which 29.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.8% were married couples living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 7.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 37.9% were non families. 32.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.92. The median age in the city was 37.3 years. 25.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25.1% were from 25 to 44; 25.2% were from 45 to 64; and 16.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 50.7% male and 49.3% female.

Stearns County Road 9 (4th Street), Stearns County Road 17 (River Street), and Main Street are three of the main routes in the community. Holdingford is home to the longest covered bridge in Minnesota. The bridge is located along the Lake Wobegon Trail extension that runs from Albany past Holdingford. It is 186 feet (57 m) long and was built in 2008 by the Holdingford Lions club. Each May since 2008, runners in the Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon start in Holdingford before running 26.2 miles south on the trail to St. Joseph.