The East Union News is unusual among Carver County newspapers for a number of reasons. It was not a traditional paper by any means, from how and why it was published to who published it.
Ernest Enock Carlson was born to Andrew John and Maria Carlson on November 19, 1878 in East Union, Carver County, Minnesota. He was raised with his six brothers and sisters: Victor E., Lydia, Elise, Levi, Carl, and Alice Jeannette. He was second youngest. From an early age, E.E. Carlson worked alongside his father in a nearby flourmill before going into business for himself while still a boy.
E.E. Carlson started publishing the East Union News in 1891 when he was between 11-12 years old. This newspaper was a small 4-page, 4 x 6 inch paper of local happenings produced on a small hand-press. He began publishing it simply for “fun and pleasure”. His paper was soon popular among residents of the local community, though it was published for only a short time. The last issue was in October 1900. Carlson went on to continue his career in newspaper and printing at the Cokato Enterprise, the Cambridge North Star, and a publishing company he operated for a short time in Minneapolis with his brother, called the Arcade Printing Company.
Over the years, the Carver County Historical Society has collected hard-copies and microfilms of all the newspapers ever printed in the county. When a visitor came in looking to find the full “A Narrative of the Late War”, which E.E. printed about his father’s U.S. Dakota and Civil War experience from his journals, it was realized that the November and December 1897 issues were missing. That visitor had the missing editions. With the help of local historians from East Union, the full narrative was located. With the support of the family, it was published as Two Wars on the Frontier.
The story of the East Union News, though brief, is an interesting one. Considering the publisher was only eleven, the short publication range, the later missing editions, and the father’s narrative becoming a book, this is an interesting tale of an interesting newspaper from Carver County’s history.
“Obituary- Ernest Enock Carlson.” Weekly Valley Herald, January 2, 1936.
Petersen-Biorn, Wendy, editor and Darlene Fasching, compiler. Two Wars on the Frontier. Louisville, Kentucky: Four Color Print Group, 2014.
Secondary:
“Cokato Enterprise- New Editor.” Weekly Valley Herald, May 9, 1901.
