Family has pitched slicers and dicers at the State Fair for generations
Charles "Billy" Newcomb's family has pitched slicers and dicers at the Minnesota State Fair for generations. Now president of Syndicate Sales Corp. in Hopkins, Newcomb can also be found in the lower level of the grandstand touting food choppers and his famous salsa recipe. These are his words:
My family has been selling items at the State Fair since 1933. One of the original items was the Feemster Slicer. It was a vegetable slicer, and the farm ladies just loved it for their refrigerator pickles. It was very dangerous, and sold for a dollar.
My father was from Chicago. One time he was on the Boardwalk in Jersey, and a fellow was demonstrating items and making a dollar or two, so my father decided to give the business a whirl and it clicked.
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Videos: Memories of unique events to Minnesota
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A Minnesota moment: Fishing opener
Greg Fisher, co-owner of Vados Bait & Tackle in Spring Lake Park, is steeped in the tradition of the Minnesota fishing opener.
A Minnesota moment: The MInnesota State Fair
Bill Newcomb and his family have been pitching products at the Minnesota State Fair for 75 years.
A Minnesota moment: 1987 World Series
Dick Wilke sold beer at the Metrodome and witnessed the Twins win the 1987 World Series.
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Galleries
The Land of 10,000 Lakes
With 10,000 lakes to our credit and still counting, it's little wonder that Minnesotans have embraced the outdoors, no matter the season.
One state, many people
Whether you call it a melting pot or a crazy quilt, our history is the sum of many, many histories.
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From Target to Toro, Minnesota's economy has ridden the waves as surely as the tankers that line Duluth's docks.
The weather we endure
For Minnesotans, "Cold enough for ya?" isn't a lame attempt at conversation. We really want to know.
Politics in Minnesota
Our politicians have talked (Hubert Humphrey), made feminist history (Walter Mondale), rattled cages (Paul Wellstone), and rocked the world (Jesse Ventura).