Pieces of Fergus history now at home

By Tom Hintgen (Contact) | The Daily Journal

Published Monday, October 6, 2008

Tom Prischmann, a 1962 Fergus Falls High School graduate who lives west of town along Two Rivers Road, remembers the middle years of the 20th century when Purington Pavers (bricks) lined Lincoln Avenue.

Those bricks were paved over in the late 1960s and were removed starting in the 1980s. Prischmann and his wife, Karen, came up with 150,000 of them after they were uncovered in 2006.

Today many of those bricks are part of their driveway, patio and bottom two feet of their new house. The Purington Pavers also are part of a walkway to the river in the back of their house. Close by is where the Otter Tail River meets the Pelican River west of Fergus Falls.

“Purington Pavers (bricks) were produced in Illinois and probably were positioned in downtown Fergus Falls in the 1890s,” Tom said. “Each brick weighs 8-1/2 pounds.”

Babyboomers who grew up in Fergus Falls and the surrounding area during the 1950s, and other old-timers, remember the special sounds when vehicles drove over the bricks along Lincoln Avenue. They also recall the special feel that drivers had when they drove over the bricks.

Tom and his brothers, Carl and Dan, grew up on a farm near Elizabeth. Each remembers the bricks covering Lincoln Avenue in downtown Fergus Falls.

Purington Pavers were produced by the world famous Purington Brick Company in East Galesburg, Ill. These 100-plus year old pavers feature beautiful colors from maroon to dark purple with a smooth worn side from wear on the streets.

Between 1890 and 1930, over 60 miles of brick street were laid in Galesburg. The United States government selected Purington Pavers to pave the streets of the city of Panama when building the Panama Canal in 1913. Cities from Chicago to Deadwood, S.D., to Fergus Falls ordered the bricks for their streets.

For Tom and Karen Prischmann, it was a labor of love installing the Purington Pavers at their home, albeit a 1-1/2-year home building project along Two Rivers Road. Their five adult children also thought that positioning the bricks at the new home was a great idea.

Tom and Karen, a native of Lake Lillian near Willmar, formerly lived in Bismarck, N.D. Tom worked as a commodity broker and Karen was employed with Northwest Airlines. In retirement they enjoy spending more time with their children and three grandchildren.

Karen’s mother, Sally Olson, lives with them along with their German shorthair and family dog, 10-month-old Lily.

“The Purington Pavers give us a part of Fergus Falls history right here at our home,” Tom said. “Positioning the bricks here was well worth the time and effort.”