Behind the Victory Flagpole — the other Blomquist Market
When I wrote about Charlie Blomquist and his Red and White grocery store in the December Camden News I was beginning to think we had a Camden mystery on our hands.
For looking through old census records, there were two Blomquists listed as grocers who had settled in Camden. One was Charlie W. Blomquist, the other was Frank J. Blomquist.
The natural assumption was that they were brothers, or related at least. First, they were both born in the Småland area of Sweden, Charlie in 1863 and Frank in 1865. They emigrated to the U.S. within six years of each other.
On top of that, they both had grocery stores in Camden! Charlie’s first store was at 4601 Lyndale N. in 1895 and his second at 4211 Washington Ave. N. in 1913. Frank’s store was at 4165 Washington Ave. N. in 1892. The plot thickened!
I was determined to find out what the relationship was. Luckily, M. Charles Anderson, Charlie Blomquist’s grandson, gave me a little insight on the mystery. First of all, he told me the two men were in no way related. He had known that at one time there were two Blomquists in the grocery business in Camden, in separate stores. By coincidence, from attending the same church, he happened to know Frank J. Blomquist’s granddaughter, Muriel Blomquist Lorentzen.
Putting me in touch with her, she told me about her grandfather, Frank. He emigrated to America in April of 1887, at the age of 22. He married Emma C. Anderson in Minneapolis October 27, 1888. Emma had emigrated from Sweden in 1886. Harry, their son, was born September 1891.
In 1892 Frank Blomquist bought a half-interest in a grocery establishment at 4165 Washington Ave. N. with Fred W. Meinke. Fred was a cousin of Camden’s old time baby nurse, Hattie Meinke Thomas.
Frank and Fred worked together for 17 years, until Frank bought out Meinke, and the store’s name was changed from “Meinke and Blomquist Cash Groceries,” to “F. J. Blomquist and Son.” Frank’s son, Harry, then 18 years old, became his father’s business partner. They worked together for seven and one half years.
In July of 1916 Frank sold the store to P.M. Hoffman, but stayed on a year to help Hoffman get started. When the year was up, he went across the street (41st and Washington) to work at the C. J. Lindholm Seed Store, where he worked for 33 years. When Frank Blomquist retired in 1950, he made note of the fact that he had worked 58 years in Camden, longer than any other person he knew of! That was a record that should go down in history!
Son Harry went on to become an insurance man in Camden at 4167 Lyndale N., on the 2nd floor of the old bank building.
The mystery of the two Blomquists who had markets in Camden was finally solved. But there was one more strange coincidence. Both men had changed their names!
Charlie’s name had been Carl (Charles or Charlie) Gustav Franzson. (His father’s name was Franz.) He changed his name to Blomquist when he came to America.
Frank’s name had been Frank Anderson in Sweden, but changed it to Blomquist because he said there were too many Andersons in the army.
Nevertheless, these two men, who had so much in common, were the best of our old Swedish immigrants in Camden! 
Note: Thanks to M. Charles Anderson, Muriel Blomquist Lorentzen and Judy Thomas Halvorson for their information.