Posted here by Gary Gauer Nov 10 2024
fixed link to steamboat photo Nov 12 2024
Willie Gabrielson was exceptional in many ways as an inventor, blacksmith, self-taught engineer, electrician, and astronomer. He could fix anything and was known as Mishy Mush probably because of the hodge podge of materials and projects in his machine shop near Kandiyohi Lake.
He was born in Lake Lillian in 1870 and died in 1951 at age 81. I didn't know him well enough to have a conversation with him as I was 12 years old when he died. My dad, Otto, knew him and I remember going to Willies' place with dad in 1950 or 1951. I stayed in the car and now regret that I did not go in to see his shop with dad. This story contains more information than usually only found in obits; and fills in the dash between birth and death.
Many reporters have written of his life and projects for publication in newspaper articles during and after his lifetime . They are incorporated in this larger story and you will see that some of the information from earlier stories is used in later articles.
Wendell Lundquist transcribed information from local newspapers and published three volumes containing many articles of interest to Lake Lillian people.
Eileen Summerlet Olson furnished her reflections and information that was not previously published. Lavonne Bomsta Hookum compiled a family tree of the Gabrielson family That reached back to Norway.
Willie G was born to parents, Nicholai M 1834-1914 and Gunhild Gabrielson. They had 11 children including 3 boys:
Very little is known about Carrie. She is listed as wife on the 1940 and 1950 census but William is noted as married in 1940 and never married in 1950
Willmar Tribune, July 10 1907
The name of the steamboat was "Rover"
detailed image below. Do a right click to open in a new tab and then enlarge.
postcard sent to Esther Hanson Hedin in 1908 and furnished by Mary Hedin Shroeder and her mother, Margaret:
William Gabrielson, the local blacksmith and machinist, expects to erect a garage and blacksmith shop the coming spring so he will be able to handle motor work. He will also install a gasoline filling station, one turning lathe tor extra fine work. The building will be 24x40 feet with a porch on the front.
Atwater Press September 9 1931
Mr Gabrielson was able to show his friends the moon, its crater, the wonderful Saturn and its rings, several stars, star clusters, etc. This group of friends enjoyed Mr Gabrielson's entertainment immensely and were unanimous in saying it was one of the greatest intellectual treats they had enjoyed.
The editor and a few friends were shown thru Mr Gabrielson's finely equipped shop, replete with lathes, drills J2 and tools of all sorts. Here Mr Gabrielson does all kind of work from making a gun lock spring to repairing a gas engine or a threshing machine. Mr Gabrielson lights his house with batteries and generators he himself has made. Customers come daily to this shop from all over this part of the country to have Mr Gabrielson try his skill on their hard tasks.
The community is to be congratulated on having a man of this caliber in its midst. His services appear the more remarkable in that Mr Gabrielson has but one hand - the other shot off by a gun in an accident in his youth. {1989 Update: The scope built by Mr Gabrielson is on display at the Kandiyohi County Historical Society in Willmar}
Sheldon Peterson. feature story writer in the St. Paul Daily News. has the following story about William Gabrielson. well known Kandiyohi county resident, who lives near Big Kandiyohi Lake.
Emerson would have enjoyed knowing William Gabrielson» who lives near Lake Lillian, Minnesota, because he is such a perfect example of a man, working under tremendous physical handicaps, who makes a "better mousetrap." It is not easy to categorize Mr Gabrielson. He prefers to be known as a plain ordinary blacksmith. but in addition to this he is a skilled machinist, an electrician, a designer, an inventor. Today, at the age of 63, he keeps a model show, and the world beats a path to his door.
When he was six years old he received his first physical handicap when improper medical attention to a dislocated hip gave him a left leg two and one-half inches shorter than the right. For months he lay in bed, and when he recovered sufficiently to walk again a steel shoe was fitted to the sole of his regular shoe. He wears a similar shoe at the present, preferring such a contrivance to anything else.
The second accident, which came at the age of 15. was caused Indirectly by Bill's first handicap. He was hunting rabbits one day when his left leg caused him to stumble. As he lost his balance the shotgun accidentally discharged, blowing 136 off his right arm two inches below the elbow.
With his first accident Bill's parents were quite sure their boy would never be able to make his own Living and when he lost his arm, they gave up all hope. Bill, himself was none to optimistic 'for a while," he said, "l could see nothing but gloom ahead of me. I soon Realized, though, that such an attitude would accomplish nothing. I resolved to make something of myself in spite of my handicaps. At first it was hard to become accustomed to using my left arm for everything, but as I grew older my dexterity increased until today I wouldn't know what to do with another arm. It's the way one uses his head that counts."
Bill was always interested in the steam engine, and at the age 18 possessed a steam engineer's license. For some years after that he traveled over much of the country, servicing steam engines of all descriptions. With the decline of the steam engine he returned to his home town and turned his interests to electricity. He took a course in electrical engineering from a correspondence school in Chicago, and upon completing his course built his shop, which is a marvel of all who see it. It is interesting to note that Mr Gabrielson will have nothing to do with factory made equipment. Everything in his shop is hand made. His lathes are masterpieces of mechanical accuracy, and he has made and fitted every piece into place. In addition he makes his own tools, many of them which can be found in no other shop in the country. He has his own secret process of tempering steel whereby he procures a metal of great hardness, which will take lasting edge. Many men would give any amount of money to know his process, but he will tell no one.
He built every part of his electric plant which furnishes power and light to his shop and house. The man has several hobbies, but by far the most interesting one is astronomy. He has constructed his own telescope, and that includes grinding the lenses. The instrument weighs 21 pounds, and has a magnifying power of 40. The beautifully finished tri pod is made of oak cut from his own grove of trees. At present he is building a telescope which will weigh about 300 pounds when completed and the magnifying power will be 200. The eyepiece the only part of the instrument which he intends to buy, and he would make that also if he had the materiel.
Anyone is welcome at the "observatory," and visitors are entertained by the hour with narrations of planet and star peculiarities. Bill is firmly convinced that the stars play an important part in one's destiny. "I was born on April 26," he said, "and the stars at that time of the year are particularly unfavorable. I think that is the reason why I have but one arm and one good leg. "
Sunday is visiting day at the Gabrielson shop and home where he lives by himself. Friends and strangers alike come with knotty problems for help and if Bill can't solve the problems he can at least give encouragement. He has the rare ability of taking ideas from the heads of men and transferring them in concrete objects. This ability alone makes him a valuable friend of the inventor.
Bill isn't oblivious to the "finer things in life. He can talk intelligently on English and American literature, and will quote poetry as long as anyone will listen to him. He derives his greatest enjoyment from reading the bible. I used to have a radio," he said one day. "Made it myself from about three sets I picked up around town. The set worked good» too, but gave it to a friend in California. YOU see the darn thing ran night and day and I couldn't concentrate on my reading. Finally it reached a point where it was either my books or the radio. The radio went " His books are mainly scientific in nature. Those dealing with astronomy might compare favorably with those possessed by a professional astronomer. A natural question to ask the man is why he has continued to reside in a community so isolated as the one in which he lives. Certainly he must have had opportunities to earn far more money in some other location.
"I have had several chances to take other jobs." Bill admitted, "but I don't know why I should. I was born here and this is my home. I know everybody, and doubt if I could be happy anywhere else. Besides, if I worked for someone, I couldn't have the fun of puttering around with my hobbies. That's half the joy of life. " One of the most remarkable things about Bill is the fact that despite his age and handicaps his mind is just as keen as it ever was, and his physical agility hasn't declined one iota. 139
In 1996 the Willmar Astronomy Club used a telescope built by William Gabrielson in the 1930s, a man who is fondly remembered by local astronomers. He was a blacksmith and steam engine engineer who lived near Lake Lillian. He built the 9 Inch reflector telescope, the glass he used were from ship portholes which he ground to the right curvature. Using scrap metal and other junk material he built the telescopes and other machinery.
He had only a grade school education, most of his learning was from books lent to him from a teacher of the local school.
He did all this in spite of being handicapped. His left leg was badly crippled from an accident he had at the age of 6, he lost his right arm in a hunting accident when he was 16.
A6 Monday, June 13, 2011 Community West Central Tribune — Willmar, Min
Fahlun township is and has been host to many interesting
people, but here's -one who isn't mentioned very often these days:
'Willie' Gabrielson was a man whose blacksmith shop kept him
pretty well occupied. It was said that he was a mechanical genius who could fix just about anything if it was made of metal. Most farmers were pretty good at handling small repair jobs right
there on the farm. The big ones they brought to Willie.
He fixed other people's problems all day — at night he could
concentrate on his own.
One of his hobbies was making things — easy ones or tough ones, they were all one to Willie. This worked wonders for anoth- er of his hobbies — astronomy. He wasn't content with just looking at the moon and the visible stars of the Milky Way and some far off planet with a pair of binoculars or a mail-order telescope. Since there was no other way, he would make them himself, and he proceeded to do so with a speed and determination seldom found even in fanatical hobbyists.
He made several telescopes but was not satisfied with the results. Sure, they made Jupiter seem like it Was just over the county line, and provided many nights of intensive observation for himself, and provided friends and neighbors glimpses of worlds that were totally foreign to most people. Willie and his telescopes were familiar sights at evening public gatherings. He'd let people get good, long looks at interesting parts of the heavens, and he knew he'd explain what they were seeing and its place in the universe far into the night, then hitch his horse to his buggy and head for home and some sleep before he had to open the shop the next day. Challenged by just the thought of all that was out there beyond the reach of his telescopes, and encouraged by his success in building several other telescopes, he went to work. He had a pretty comprehensive astronomical library, some of which was devoted to the making of telescopes of all sizes. Just the thought of spending long winter nights slowly hand grinding a large heavy piece of glass into a concave mirror which would finally be mounted in a ten-inch or one-foot diameter tube to catch the presently unseen rays of light which had left their sun millions of years ago. Just the thought was enough to spur him on when ambition flagged.
Today no one remembers how many years he worked on that mirror, but for him it had been worth every minute he'd spent working on this, his magnum opus. It was a great night when he first-set up his finished product and looked millions of light years into the past. Of course he demonstrated it at every opportunity, and it is still in use today. A local astronomy club is using it on a loaner basis from the Historical Society. It's by far the most powerful instrument they have.
When he wasn't looking at the stars he was intrigued by Big Kandiyohi Lake, and he made a steam boat to use in exploring It was so popular that, for about 15 years, he sold rides around the lake on nice Sundays and holidays. He always said that the best Sunday he had was the one when a local church had picnic on one side of the lake, and the men kept Willie busy taking them across the lake to a bootlegger's shack, and back to the picnic.
He was a remarkable man, with remarkable ideas, who didn't let handicaps faze him. After all he had one good leg and one working arm. What more could man ask for?
Don Miller, a Longtime resident of Willmar, was president of The Kandiyohi County Historical Society for 32 years and is still active with the organization.
Photo shows Willie and Bennie Bomstad and Clifton Rasmussen All deceased (had to be published 1952 or later in Lake Lillian Crier.)
Photo of Willie G and Dorothy Summerlet by Maxwell car with brass lamps. Dorothy Gabrielson Summerlet 1912 - 1982 was niece of Willie, daughter of Nickolas R Gabrielson and wife of Alroy Summerlet and mother of Eileen.
