A summer in the old New Atlantic hotel
During the summer and fall of 1975 when I worked at PPG Industries in the Industrial
Park (the building is now owned by Schwan’s, I believe), a friend and I rented
an apartment — the old cook’s quarters above the kitchen — for
$140 per month, including utilities and a parking spot at the back (I think there’s
outdoor seating there now). It was great fun, and spooky, too, as the kitchen or
other non-retail space was not in use at the time and we’d panic when we heard
noises coming from “downstairs.” I’d drive my 1956 Chevrolet to
and from work and at age 18 thought I was so grown up and loved being a part of
the Marshall community.
I’m 50 now, and as I think back I have lots of fun memories of those days
in Marshall and our stint in the New Atlantic hotel.
— Robin M. Frette, currently a resident of Owatonna, Minnesota
Hotel worker helped save twins in 1940
In 1940, a man named Lloyd Burdick looked out the window of the New Atlantic Hotel
and saw a set of 3.5-year-old twins hitching a ride underneath a semitrailer. The
twins, Bernie and Jimmie Archbold, attached themselves to two pieces of iron underneath
the trailer, while their father, the owner of a Marshall moving company, drove down
the street unaware of the danger. One twin was said to be sitting safely within
the confines of the iron bars, but the other clung for dear life with his two little
fists and his feet dragging. When seeing this, Burdick immediately pointed the situation
out to Lue Robinson, the chief clerk in the hotel. Robinson sprinted after the truck
but feared that he would not catch it. He then yelled at a man just passing the
Marshall Grocery Company. In turn, the man signaled to Mr. Archbold, who stopped
to find his two sons frightened, but unharmed. The story somehow received national
coverage as newspapers throughout the country recognized the name Lloyd Burdick
as a well-known pro-football player. Some stories credited Burdick with dashing
after the twins and rescuing them from the truck as it drove down the pavement at
40 mph.
— information provided by Bernie Archbold, now a Marshall insurance agent
Hotel was an all-purpose building
I think the hotel was built in 1926. I was born in Marshall in 1925, so I remember
the New Atlantic Hotel well. There was a lot of activity. It used to have a barbershop
right on the front corner. I got my haircut there a few times. A classmate of mine,
Jack, he would shine shoes at the building. Businessmen would just leave their shoes
so he could shine them. We would go in the hotel from time to time. It had a restaurant
and a lot of guys in high school would go there with their girl after a movie.
There was a lot of activity in that hotel. I remember when I came back to Marshall
to work for The Schwan Food Company in 1964, there was still a restaurant there
and my dad, Paul, he wanted to show appreciation to milk producers, and that’s
where we would have it. We’d have a big dinner and have a good time.
— Alfred Schwan, former chairman of The Schwan Food Company