Mrs. Brinkman was one of the earliest to settle in Bemidji in the entertainment industry. Mrs. Brinkmann rode into Bemidji in a stagecoach with her son, Eddie, a baby in her arms, about 1898 - - 2 years ahead of the railroad. Her husband, Fred, who had come on ahead, had already begun a business on the exact spot where they are located today (1927). The village was then but a tiny insignificant scar on the face of the Great Woods. In 1905 they erected the building which they now occupy. For a time they ran a hotel, their dining room occupying the space now housing the Grand Theater. Then in 1908, Mrs. Brinkman went into pictures. As she expressed it herself, she journeyed back through the Eastern cities, got to look at the young picture industry and concluded that it looked easier than the hotel business. With characteristic directness, she opened the theater almost immediately. As of 1927 she operated the Grand, the Elko, and for a time she ran the Rex. She found the business a fascinating one although harder than she had anticipated. She came to know the comparative merit of all the stars. All of her pictures were new and first runs. In many cases she was showing pictures ahead of larger cities. She bought the first First National franchise sold in the state and her number on that circuit was number one. She predicted that in 5 years, pictures would be made on a much grander scale with correspondingly higher prices which would be a good thing for folks' artistic souls but tough on their pocketbooks. She left her interviewer in the midst of a discourse on Bemidji's future to write out some passes for two presumably poverty-stricken youngsters who wondered "if they please couldn't get in to see Nevada." By Mrs. Arnold. Bemidji Herald, Aug 19, 1927.