“Stearns County Syndrome” Flares Up Again…Is It A Thing?

I've lived in Stearns County nearly my entire life. I've always heard that there was this thing called, "Stearns County Syndrome." I've often wondered if it was an actual thing. I decided to go to the Stearns History Museum and find out if this is fact or urban legend.

I dug deep into their "Stearns County Syndrome" file and here's what I found. 

The Minneapolis Tribune had a front page story on Jan. 2, 1979 titled "Stearns Syndrom Hurts If You Don't Laugh." The article was quite controversial and listed symptoms of the so-called syndrom as; "large family inbreeding, mental retardation, illiteracy, alcoholism, wife-beating, funny accents, bad drivers, and low golf scores." The article couldn't come up with any hard facts to back up the rumors. Dang, I was hoping we were all good at golf.

The article poked fun directly at Holdingford which sparked editorial backlash from many people in the small community. One reader wrote a note to the editor, "First of all; let me make it quite clear to all, who think that Holdingford people of Stearns County are something funny to stare at: Most of the people of Holdingford are quite as ordinary as everyone else." Well, Stearns County does span a larger area than just Holdingford...FYI.

Despite the outrage, a local bowling alley owner in Opole decided to make shirts that said, "Look, Holdingford Syndrome." A photo of the shirts was published in a Jan. 22, 1979 St. Cloud Daily Times article. It became a sort of joke in the area.

Three college professors from Saint John's University decided to hold a panel discussion in March of 1980 to address the "Stearns County Syndrome" rumors because they were widely talked about and largely accepted. They wanted to find out once-and-for-all if the "syndrome" was actually a thing.

They ended up concluding that there were no facts to back up the urban legend. While they did conclude that it's inappropriate to call it a "syndrome" it's OK to call it Stearns County "culture."

The stereotype supposedly stems from the strong German-Catholic culture in Stearns County and the characteristics that go along with it.  So, no, Stearns County doesn't have a "syndrome" but that doesn't mean we have our own unique "culture."