Sixth-graders at Kimball elementary learned a few things about Kimball last week that they hadn’t known before. Like the beef jerky we enjoy is something we learned from the Indians many years ago. Mariella Arnold, a member of the Kimball Area Historical Society and former Kimball teacher, spoke to students in Ms. Bernardy’s and Mrs. Hauge’s classes. She brought bags full of historical photos of Maine Prairie and Kimball Prairie (as Kimball used to be called). Students learned that Knaus Sausage House is the oldest Kimball business that has stayed in the same location. Knaus contributed some beef jerky to the history lesson, too. They learned that Kimball actually began about 30 years before the railroad came through, but it began as Maine Prairie several miles north of what is now Kimball. When the railroad bypassed Maine Prairie, buildings were picked up and moved to Kimball’s current location. One of the first businesses in Kimball was the general store that was located where the laundromat is today. A candy store was another very early business. There was a 1905 photograph showing cars lined up on Main Street in Kimball. Students studied and passed around several of the photographs. They seemed to especially like the two photos of the old Kimball school – one before the fire and the other while it was burning. It was a good local history lesson for the sixth-graders. There is indeed a wealth of history to be discovered right here in Kimball.
