Mooving memories of Watertown in ‘67, by Tom Schmidt

WATERTOWN, MN — I had a little spare time last week, so I found myself going through a box of old Carver County newspapers from the 1960s. I soon found myself zeroing in the year 1967. I was surprised by the number of interesting community events taking place that year.  (Click here to see photos with readable cutlines).

After reading through several papers, I couldn’t help but notice the contrast between Watertown life in 1967, as compared to life in Haite Ashbury, CA (the Summer of Love).

I came across one event that stood out above all others as the must see event of that year – an event that is still talked about amongst the old timers – that just may have set the standard for many future Watertown community events to come.

I’m not referring to the front page story of the Butcher Boys bowling team competing in the state bowling tournament at Minnehaha.   And even though the results were impressive, it’s not the successful fishing trip that included local fishermen Elroy Vidlund and Ron Tilly.  As far as major local events go, the annual Co-op open house, while ranking right up there with the top events of 1967, paled in comparison, at least in this writer’s opinion, to that year’s biggest event.

The event I’m speaking of, is the Watertown Dairy Days Milking Contest.  The milking contest would reach its pinnacle as a Watertown event in 1967. That year, legendary local favorite “Icy Pull” Benson (superintendent Louie Benson) would finally face off against his old nemesis, defending champion “Greasy Fingers Ray” (Ray Etnier).

In what many locals consider to be one of the all-time great upsets in Watertown history, Icy Pull, who fell behind early in the match, would surprise even the most adamant of skeptics and pull out in front, just before the final bell, to shock the milking community with a defeat over Greasy Fingers Ray.

But it wasn’t over yet. There were still two challengers waiting in the wings, a rookie, “Long Nails Lueck” (Linus Lueck) vs. seasoned veteran “Persuasive Hank” (Pastor Henry Mueller of St. Pauls Lutheran Church).

Persuasive Hank, a crowd favorite, was expected to pull off an easy victory over the rookie, but in 1967, youth won out over experience. When the winner was announced, Hank hung his head and didn’t utter a word.

With Persuasive Hank out of the way, Icy Pull Benson would moooove onto the finals for an easy victory over the rookie.  We take this moment to salute our distinguished Watertown athletes who, decades before, set the standards for excellence in their chosen fields back in 1967.

Written by Tom Schmidt of Watertown