​​Audrey Ryti Tack grew up in Cokato primarily in the house that was next to the Green Giant Canning plant (today it sits between Dollar General and ProCare along Highways 12). The Ryti family moved into the house around 1930.  Audrey stated that most families in the area had boys, with only the Bergstrom girls that were nearby for her to play with. Audrey remembered having to cross the  railroad tracks on her walk to and from school.  At lunchtime, she would have to return home because there were no lunches served at school. Girls at that time wore saddle shoes, skirts, and occasionally slacks. They also did not wear T-shirts, mainly blouses and sweaters with dickie collars.  Jeans did not come into fashion until after World War II.

For over a century, lumberyards played an integral role in the development of Cokato’s community. It’s hard to say who started the first lumberyard in Cokato. In the early 1880s, there were a smattering of very short-lived lumber yards, and many farms in the area had their own sawmills. In time, Cokato’s lumberyards were consistently housed at four        primary locations: Broadway Avenue and 1st Street SW; Millard Ave; Jenks Avenue and Third Street SW; and Century Avenue and 1st Street SW.