Born January 15, 1895 in Gibbon, Sibley County, Minnesota, Edward Henry Buerkle graduated from Gibbon High School and then Mankato Business College. With America’s entry into World War I, Buerkle enlisted in the Marine Corps. As part of the American Expeditionary Force, Ed served 18 months overseas and was cited for bravery during the Battle of Chateau Thierry.

By 1924 Buerkle was working as an examiner for the Minnesota State Banking Department. He was sent to New York Mills to liquidate the assets of The Farmers and Merchants State Bank that had fallen on hard times. Seeing how important the bank was to the community, Ed felt the bank could be saved. Instead of closing it down as he was supposed to do, he reorganized it and stayed on as a temporary cashier. Temporary became permanent as Buerkle served as cashier, director, president and eventually chairman of the board.

Ed’s son, Edward Henry Buerkle II, began working at the bank in June of 1956 and continued working summers with the exception of summer jobs for Otter Tail County in 1958 and the Lund Boat factory in 1959. After graduating from college in 1962, he began his full-time career at the bank where he eventually followed in his father’s footsteps as president and chairman of the board. Farmers & Merchants State Bank remains a locally-owned community bank and celebrated 100 years in 2016.

The original 1916 bank still stands on the corner of Centennial 84 Drive and Main Avenue. A new bank was constructed in 1973 where the Merchants Hotel was originally located. Befitting a Finnish community, the hotel had a series of public saunas. Saturday night was especially busy as people flocked to the sauna to clean up.

In the 1960s, Mills had other public saunas, including one across the street from where Scott’s Bait is located on South Main. It was originally the Niemala family’s private sauna, but when it became popular with guests, they decided to turn it into a business. In that location, there were two doors, one for women, and one for men. Patrons had to wait their turn and knock before entering to ensure the two groups didn’t mix.

More public saunas were located in Mills Cafe on the central block of Main Avenue. Mauris and Mary Skoog, owners of Mills Cafe, built public saunas connected to the Cafe, including several private rooms and a men’s bullpen sauna, where local men followed the Finnish tradition of sauna bathing in the nude.