Going Up 10! - Frazee, MN

"Frazee, Minnesota, home of the World's Largest Turkey!"

I saw that billing when I was planning My Stupid Vacation to Fargo, ND, and knew that we had to stop and see it. In the fall of 2023, I was planning a drive from our home in the Minneapolis suburbs, to Fargo, ND. With a base established in Hawley, MN. The purpose of this drive was to photograph as much of it as possible, recreating childhood vacations with the family. I wanted to see what the drive looked like 40 years later, for a series of stories here.. With stops at locations with personal relevance and various tourist traps along the way.

World's Largest Turkey? Yeah I've got to see this...

Approaching Frazee from the south, on Highway 10. On the right is the old Highway 10, used before the freeway was built to bypass the town of Frazee completely. Up in this part of Minnesota, my family had no connections to Frazee, so we almost never took the highway detour to drove through town. I would have taken this turnoff, to follow to original road, but I needed to record the main feature I knew Frazee for...

The rest area, just off Highway 10! It was rarely used on family drives on the way to Fargo/Moorhead. Typical stops were Wadena and/or Detroit Lakes. (Old School Holiday gas stations in both towns.) But if something needed attention, the Frazee rest area was nice to have on the way.

Now why didn't I stop here on the drive home, for pictures of that actual rest area?

Failure to plan...

Next exit after the rest area, fronted the Burkel Turkey Farm. (Photo taken from eastbound lanes, on the way back.) I suspect the turkey farm may have a little something to do with the World's Largest Turkey. That I know is nearby...

Minnesota State Highway 87, northeast into Frazee. There's a sign on the side of the road if you don't believe me. Just before the road curves to the left, is the entrance to Lions Park, home of the World's Largest Turkey.

Judging from the look of this Googles satellite photo, it had to have been taken during the winter of 2023/2024. There's no snow to be found, but the lake and rivers are clearly frozen over. Town Lake sits on the left side of the photo, which is held back via dam. The Burkel Turkey Farm at the bottom center of the picture, with Highway 10 running underneath it. The town of Frazee sits to the east of the lake, with Lake Street (Highway 87) and the BNSF Railroad tracks cutting through town.

But before we get to town, we've got a turkey to hunt!

Kind of hard to read, but the signs above the Lions Park entrance read: "The Best Lions Park by a Dam Site." 

You know... That slogan seems a little familiar...

A whole lot like the title of this unofficial Coon Rapids historical booklet from 1984. They may have been the best Lions Park, but we were a Fine City!

And our dam is much bigger. 

We must be close to the World's Largest Turkey, according to the sign by the side of the road.

22 feet tall it is, they say...

Even though it's hard to read the park hours, I see that I have until 10pm to find the World's Largest Turkey. It's a little before 6pm now, and it'll be getting dark in about an hour. So the clock is ticking.

No time to enjoy a light dinner under the covered picnic area.

The Best Lions Covered Picnic Area by a Dam Site.

I think I shall take the stairs down to the man made rock dam.

For some stupid reason, I didn't take a picture of that sign to the right of the stairs.

Typically don't miss things like that.

This river flows to the south, under Highway 10, eventually emptying out in Rice Lake.

I really liked this picture.

The other side of the dam.

Something amused me about the spinning drowning man in the dam. Besides the whole not being able to breathe thing, doing underwater cartwheels in the current, looks like a blast! Though, the water appears to be a little shallow for underwater gymnastics.

No, Yo Mama.

Going back up, because there's no World's Largest Turkey down here.

Disc Golf starting point.

Remember to lube up before you toss, and leave your Vasoline in the basket.

And you really should wash your hands.

Don't forget your can of Silly String!

The Best Lions Playground by a Dam Site.

Disc Golf goal #6

Hmmm... Think I need to check out the The Best Lions Public Restroom by a Dam Site.

Men's restroom was locked today.

Women's restroom was locked as well. However, the women's restroom had this sign taped to the  door... "Sorry for not open." Classic. As far as "State has not tested" goes, am I to assume the state DID test the biohazard I was about to walk into?

You see, the unisex/handicapped restroom was open...

With a warning...

Making it the perfect place to kick back and enjoy a hot and delicious pizza!

Now, I did take a picture of the toilet, and momentarily debated including it here. Shooting it down rather quickly because it was just too gross. Not at the level of the Loaf n' Jug gas station in Englewood, Colorado. (Another picture I can't possibly use.) This was about 60% of that. Still, someone committed a serious toilet atrocity. Probably after eating their pizza. 

Let's walk up the hill and look at the giant turkey!

Overlooking Lake Street and Town Lake.

We will soon be driving over that bridge, to get to downtown Frazee.

Front of the Turkey.

With a soft, comfortable place to sit.

And hopefully not get pecked in the head.

Someone stole the plaque! That is so lame! 

Since there's no on site official record at the site, here's my summary of the World's Largest Turkey. Pieced together from several Frazee sources, provided via the Googles.

Frazee has a long history in the turkey industry. Local turkey growers and committee members commissioned a turkey statue overlooking the town, in 1984. Artist Shell Scott designed and built the statue, for around $20,000. He used a combination of cement and fiberglass, attached to a metal frame, to build the giant turkey. The statue was named "Big Tom", and was installed at the top of the hill, in 1986. Big Tom was 22 foot tall big, backing the claim as home of the World's Largest Turkey.

But it wasn't all happy times... Due to the statue's construction, it needed frequent maintenance. There were also Big Tom haters, complaining the statue wasn't proportioned like a real turkey. After careful consideration, the area turkey committee association decided Frazee deserved a better Big Tom.

Feeling shunned and disrespected by the turkey council association regime, Big Tom decided he'd exact his revenge on those who wronged him. He waited until July 1, 1998, when a three man team assembled on the hill to take him down. Just as they tried to cut off his wings...

Tom burst into flames! 

Okay... That's not exactly how it happened... When they tried to cut the statue apart, the torch set the fiberglass on fire. Luckily they were able to snap a picture as it happened. Here's a link to the site where I learned about Big Tom in Frazee, MN. 

The new Big Tom statue hatched on this hill in Frazee Lions Park on September 19, 1998.

That's what you're looking at here.

Well, Big Tom's ass, technically...

The Best Lions American Flag by a Dam Site.

Leaving Lions Park... It's time to visit downtown.

We both need a restroom, and not certain that we're current enough on vaccinations to risk using the one here.

Creatively named Town Lake, on the north side of Lake Street. 

After several blocks of residential homes, you cross the railroad tracks to reach downtown Frazee.

The Hostel Hornet, at the corner of Lake Street and Main Avenue. We're going to stay on Lake until it stops being interesting, then come back here and I'll walk Main for pictures. 

Vaguely remember Lake Street from some point when I was a kid. I remember sitting in the passenger seat of a car, or maybe my dad's pickup truck, looking at these old buildings. Going up the hill about two blocks from here, then by the High School. I don't remember who was driving. Or what year it was.

Doubt it was any more recent then 40 years ago...

We turned around in the parking lot across the street from the Frazee/Vergas High School. Vergas is a small town of about 350, 10 or so miles south of Frazee. I've never been to Vergas before. But according to the Googles, they recently demolished an old abandoned grocery store and replaced it with very ugly modern in-line retail. That's not going to win you any points with me. 

More Frazee/Vergas High School.

Coming back down the hill, the Frazee Event Center sits on your left. Also home to the Frazee Liquor Store, plus the Third Crossing Bar & Grill. Which you can't see. Apparently their special is a basket of hornets, for $10.95. But only on Fridays. This being Sunday night, Laura and I will just have to get our bees elsewhere.

If you look closely at the bottom of the sign, you can see they also feature The Best Lions Charitable Gambling somewhat near a Dam Site.

Back at the corner of Lake and main, opposite the Hostel Hornet, is the All in All Sinclair gas station. Which would serve as our temporary Frazee headquarters, for the next 45 minutes.

The iconic Sinclair Dinosaur was found out back, forced to eat from a bucket of ChemQuest. (Demoted due to the giant turkey, which got top billing over the longtime corporate mascot.)

Pumps and canopy, with the Hostel Hornet to its left. 

BNSF railroad tracks running parallel to old Highway 10, to the left of the them.

Dating back to when I was a kid, I was always interested in how these particular tracks interact with each of the small towns they go through. Laura was surprised when I told her these are the same tracks that run less than a 1000 feet from our house. Highway 10 follows them all the way northwest to Fargo/Moorhead. They stray from Highway 10, west of Wadena, as the highway has been redone to bypass the towns of Frazee, Perham, and New York Mills. This crossing has been redone in the last few years. Earlier pictures on the Googles don't show the pointless decorative fencing.

Just an old shed I found behind the Sinclair, near the tracks. One of the surviving old structures on the block, with most eliminated when All In All expanded.

All in All Sinclair sign. 

5:59pm, 57 degrees, Sunday, October 8, 2023.

All in All has a smaller turkey sculpture out front. I do not know if this is the original Big Tom or not. I'm assuming Big Tom died in an intentionally tragic poultry spontaneous combustion incident. But maybe he was repaired and repainted? Maybe this is a third Big Tom? Medium-sized Tom?

Oh well, let's get some perspective...

Currently in the story, I'm almost in the center of this map. Southeast corner of Lake and Main. I'm going to walk east on Main, then come back and go west. Until I run out of interesting things to take pictures of, from the sidewalks in town. Laura is choosing to stay behind at the gas station, while I went on my Downtown walk. Whatever she found to do on her phone, interested her more than Frazee. 

Her loss!

Starting with the northeast corner of Main Avenue and Lake Street, there's a small vacant lot and the Frazee Post Office! Laura is missing out on this! Something else appears to be missing. The patch of green grass looks like it hasn't been there all that long...

To the Googlesmachine!

August, 2021. The Googles shows that Seip Drug used to operate out of this old building.

August, 2013. Behind Seip was the old Sanders Oil Company building. I don't know when Sanders closed, but if you zoom in tight on the pumps, there's notes attached saying they are out of gasoline. Both Sanders and Seip were sold and the buildings demolished, by early 2022. There's two more interesting buildings removed from the Frazee landscape. Replaced with nothing.

See! October 8, 2023. Absolutely nothing is happening here!

The Frazee Post Office. 

East Main Retail? Oh man... They pulled a Vergas Abandoned Grocery Store here too!

Not only does this design stand out horribly, and doesn't fit any of the surrounding buildings, they haven't found any tenants yet. This entire project just looks really stupid.

Guess it's the new location for Seip Drug.

I can understand Seip probably needed more space than the previous old building allowed, but this is trying so hard to have character, that it has zero character.

According to the September 2012, Googles, these buildings were sacrificed for that horrible looking building. Obviously I know nothing about their condition, or if it was worthwhile to renovate them. The two story building on the right looks like it could be in rough shape. Either way, it's sad that these buildings are gone, and replaced by that ugly, modern mess of a structure that stands out as wildly inappropriate for this area.

I'm not sure what the former Frazee Co-Op Creamery is used for today. My first impression was apartments, but since there was an ambulance working on site, I didn't stop to ask questions. Still a nice renovation of an old building.

The Lumber is OK... Not great, but it's OK.

Here's Family Foods. And a "Lucky Bubble" laundromat.

Now that is so Minnesotan, it's almost painful... 

And get a better microphone. Be professional here. So says Captain Honkass. 

Either way, it's nice to see that Frazee still has an open locally owned grocery store. 

Unlike those in Vergas!

Not a large food mega-store, like we have to trudge through in the suburbs, but the right size for the market.

Love the characters attached to the facade of The Yak Shack.

Bookworm on Head Start education center.

At first, I mistook this tiny building as an old gas station. 

Until this sign told me this was the original headquarters of Daggett Truck Line. Who have since moved to a much larger location, on Juniper Avenue, at the western edge of Frazee. 

Laying on the ground in front of tiny Daggett, was this scarily authentic police badge. I probably should have turned it in at the first station down the street. That's probably the best place, since I didn't see a Frazee police station.

Another angle for Daggett Truck Line...

And a peek inside the windows, revealing a little of the original 1925 brick work.

That means this year is this tiny little building's 100th birfday! Everybody go to Frazee right now and wish it a happy birfday. You should even go across the street to Family Foods, and buy it a cake!

Or just walk back Main to Lake Street, trying to not look at the abomination of East Main Retail.

Walking past the Frazee Post Office, the dedication plaque caught my eye. It was seeing the name of the second-worst president in the history of the United States. Although the name Winton Blount struck me as cool.

This building was once a bank. Today, it’s the Monarch Coffee House and Solberg Insurance Agency. With the Hair Style Studio in the building behind it.

Let’s continue our Downtown Frazee walk, down Main Ave West.

The Hostel Hornet used to operate a bar & grill, on the ground floor of the former Baer Bros. General Merchandise building. Looks like another historic building that has been nicely restored. Yet, there's uncovered windows of a business no longer doing business. I'll have to take a closer look on my way back up the block.

While researching this story, I found some pictures of the apartments above the Hostel Hornet. Somewhat small, they looked nice enough and reasonably modern. Seeing places like this, in this setting, add fuel to that “what would life be like if I lived here?” fantasy. How would my life be if it were in a small town like this? Instead of the big city suburbs that I've always lived in. As you walk the streets of these small towns, imagining you had enough money to not need to work full time, how you'd interact with this environment. It would be very easy to disappear into a slow paced life away from the city. As I get older, that sounds like an option that is more and more appealing. 

Unfortunately, I wont be getting off that treadmill anytime soon.

You know, I get the message they're going for, but the phrasing seems like a defeated whiff to me. “Yeah... Most don't. Some do... But most don’t.”

That’s a very luke-warm take, Frazee/Vergas School District...

Vacant building and the Palace Cafe. Looking back at the Googles, as far as their maps go back, there hasn't been an occupant for this building. Which is sad, it's pretty cool looking. No idea if there's anyone living above the retail space.

A look inside shows little, but hints at more...

Palace Cafe, Backyard Station and the tiny Icemule Coolers stand. According to the sign you can't read, Backyard Station is an authorized Icemule Cooler dealer. In addition to their kick-knacky gift shop. The first thought that popped into my head when I found in-store pictures on the Googles...

"Old lady catnip."

The Pseudo-Quanset Hut is another part of Backyard Station. Next door is a barber shop. Why does it not have a barber shop pole? That little building is absolutely screaming for a barber shop pole. 

United Community Bank is clearly a newer building.

But across the street from the bank, I found the crown jewel of Frazee... 

Klemm's Service Station. An original 1930's era gas station that was still in use today.

Well, not today... It was Sunday evening, and there was no one around.

With vintage 1970's era pumps!

Small brick building, with what appears to be original doors and windows.

More pumps!

The canopy is obviously newer.

Petro Gabon!

Have some Yabun!

List of services provided. 

Oh, how awesome is this!

69!

Men's room. 

Thank you Klemm's Service Station. You made our stop in Frazee extra worthwhile!

You managed to top Tom Turkey!

Walking back east on Main Ave. west, on my way to Lake Street.

There's the Frazee VFW and Ketter's Meats.

Global Talent Solutions and Frazee Forum. 

In previous years, the building that Global Talent Solutions now uses, was a small studio and internet  radio station. It closed some time before August 2013. But the sign was still up.

Today it's West Main Plaza, but 10 or so years ago, it was Zee Lanes bowling alley, bar and grill. Plus Jimmy's Pizza, on the left side of the building. Frazee Fitness is open here now. So is something called vend 24/7. "Soda, Candy, Snacks, Chips, Arcade Games." Well, I call BS on the 24/7 part... Wasn't open when I came by at… 6:30 on a Sunday evening. Although I definitely saw vending machines inside.

And we're back to Main and Lake!

Years ago, this was a branch of the long ago absorbed Peoples State Bank of Frazee. Unless it was originally there, I love the classic sign reading: "This Old Bank". Pretty subtle troll of a cool building.

Let me take a few paces backwards and turn around...

Yup, there's the former Baer Bros. General Merchandise building. previously the home of Hostel Hornet Bar & Grill. Which opened in late 2012. from the looks of things, they invested some money into the place. Interior photos on the Googles looked like a cool place, if that's the kind of places you think are cool. 

Since the windows are uncovered, let's take a quick look inside!

The first window opened up into a room that looked like a more formal restaurant, that your typical bar & grill. Booth and table with a Rubik's Cube and Baby Wipes. Which definitely do not imply bar & grill. 

Booths, boxes and scary Santa face.

I suspect coffee shop...

Do have to mention the quality remodel that was done. This looks very nice in combining old with new. Love the hanging lights and the non-boxed in feel of the space.

What also looks to have been an antique shop?

Front doors to the Hostel Hornet. Always been a fan of the cut out entrance, stairs on both sides, support pole between them. But I'm not a fan of painting the brick dark Skull-Crushing Teal. Especially when the rest of the brick is natural. Hopefully the next renovating includes a clean sandblasting down to the original brick. 

Do like the Hostel Hornet sign a lot!

Back to the corner of Main and Lake...

Looking south down Lake Street, towards the BNSF railroad crossing.

All in All Sinclair. Because Kwik Trip doesn't go west of St. Cloud...

I can't complain about All in All Sinclair. They were a great spot for Laura to hang out at while I wandered around. They provided restrooms and over $40.00 of overpriced gas station food and drinks, when all was said and done. Including nothing from this picture. I just snapped this while Laura was paying for our purchases. I'm not chugging a 5-Hour Energy. Especially not for $4 a bottle.

Their previous location, which was demolished and rebuilt sometime between 2013 and 2021, was MUCH smaller. There were only four gas pumps and the station itself was maybe a third of this. The building was a lot closer to Lake Street, since there were other, older buildings behind it. There wasn't enough room to expand on this property, with the previous occupants still hanging around.

The Turkey is still there, but it’s no longer nestled into a picnic area.

Those hand painted city maps are gone as well. 

Sinclair had to wait for several smaller old buildings on the block to vacate, before expanding their footprint. Including one building run by the energetic TJ, who operated a T-shirt shop, a used book, CD and game store, plus auto detailing! All under one roof! 

And that roof is gone now. Along with the walls supporting it. 

Which is too bad, I absolutely would have bought something from TJ’s used book, CD and game store.

I don't own a car worth detailing...

As we pull away from Sinclair, a quick shot across the parking lot, at the Frazee Post Office and This Old Bank. Then we set out west on Main Street. We were losing daylight, and we still had about 40 miles to go, before reaching our hotel in Hawley, MN. I decided that we wouldn't make any more stops before then. I'll get Lake Park and Adubon while we're up there, and we can check out Detroit Lakes on the way home.

Crossing the railroad tracks on 5th Street, to make a right turn on Juniper. Juniper Street is the name of old Highway 10, as it goes through the Frazee city limits. 

By the time we got back on the road, the sun was setting over Town Lake. Too bad there's a big stupid mirror in this shot. I really like it, if not for that.

A mile or so west of town, Juniper (Highway 10 Classic) merges with New Highway 10. 

I really wanted to take a good picture of this pedestrian bridge, crossing over Highway 10 Classic, just before the intersection with New Highway 10. Unfortunately, my camera chose to focus on all of the splatted bugs on the car windshield instead. 

Oh well... I'll get another chance for a picture of this bridge when we drive back home in a few days. And sure enough, as I'm approaching the west Frazee turn lanes approaching, my hopes of a good shot of the bridge quickly sunk...

Because THIS GUY chose to sit and wait in the turn lane, avoiding several obvious chances to turn, so he was always going to interfere with my shot as I drove by. Damn you!! The bridge was even in focus this time!

I'll have to settle for At Ease Dock Lift. No one was turning here. Thought the clouds combined with the dock lift frames, made for a cool picture.

Oh well. That's all the Frazee I feel like talking about today.

Stay tuned for future installments in the "Going up 10" series. 

This is only the second installment, with The Hawley Grain Elevator Fire, being the first.

Who knows which town I choose next?

Maybe it'll be you, Verndale!

Hmmm... I missed Wannigan Park. 

Though I did enjoy my experience at The Best Lions Park by a Dam Site.