SW MN Sailor - August 2021

August 2021

Free

Your Summer Guide to Southwest Minnesota!

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Despite some initial hesitance, 4-year-old twins Paisley (foreground) and Brooklyn Schneider of Westbrook found the beach at Lake Shetek to their liking as they dipped their toes into the cool water earlier this summer.

Photo / Per Peterson

Published by Above the Fold Publishing LLC • 207 4th Street • Tracy, MN 56175 • (507) 629-4300 • www.swmnsailor.com

2 – Southwest Sailor, August 2021

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Southwest Sailor, August 2021 – 3

Minimal impact by per Peterson tracy area headlight herald

Meg Carney’s passion for the outdoors goes beyond simple camping trips with her German shorthair pointer-black lab, Ash, and her first book, scheduled to come out in September 2022, offers proof of that.

Through National Book Network, Carney is putting out a book titled “Outdoor Minimalist: Waste Less Hiking, Backpacking and Camping,” which is being published by Falcon Guides ($21.95). The 2010 graduate of Murray County Central High School in Slayton, said she hopes the book will serve as a reminder to everyone who uses the outdoors to take care and appreciate nature.

“The core root of the book is basically to remind people that when you’re interacting outdoors, you should view it as a community, not a commodity,” she said. “With COVID, more and more people started going outside, but they didn’t really have much education about general ethics of the outdoors.

There are things that have never been taught or people didn’t know of with the outdoors.”

Carney said her book goes beyond the “leave no trace” ethics, however.

While things like dousing a campfire and picking up after oneself are important and necessary to preserve the outdoors, Carney wanted to look at how we treat the outdoors through a larger lens.

“Even before you go on a trip you need to think about how your equipment impacts the environment, as well as how you take care of that equipment,” she said. “And I move into how you interact with the land and what you do when you

7,500 Free Circulation Published by Above the Fold Publishing, LLC 207 4th Street, Tracy, MN 56175 (507) 629-4300 • FAX (507) 629-4301 www.swmnsailor.com tara@headlightherald.com per@headlightherald.com Tara Brandl – Publisher/Advertising Sales Per Peterson – Editor April DeSchepper – Ad Composition Julie Johnston – Office Manager PUBLISHER’S LIABILITY FOR ERROR: The publisher shall not be liable for slight changes or typographical errors that do not lessen the value of an advertisement. The publisher’s liability for other errors or omissions in connection with an advertisement is strictly limited to publication in any subsequent issue or the refund of any monies paid for the advertisement.

leave. It’s the whole process.”

Most of Carney’s writing career has focused on a combination of outdoor recreation and environmentalism. She said anyone who engages with the outdoors and uses nature in any way should care more and do more for their environment.

“I’ve written a lot of digital content about those ideas, and this publisher reached out to me about writing a book about zero-waste backpacking,” Carney said. “They read a couple of my articles and said, ‘You could be a good writer for this book, if you want to write a book.’”

After some thought, Carney pitched Falcon Guides an outline and a chapter to let them know about her concept and vision. She began writing her book this April and finished it July 1.

Carney, who graduated from the University of Minnesota-Duluth in 2014 with a degree in Teaching Communication Arts and Literature, could best be described as your average nomad, but she would rather refer to herself as a “digital nomad.” She lived in Minnesota during COVID because travels were mostly limited, but now, she currently doesn’t “live” anywhere, and on July 21 embarked on a bike tour of the country.

Photo courtesy Ethan Wiese

“A lot of the places I go, I’ll live with people that I know,” Carney said.

“For my bike tour, I’ll be camping for most of it.”

Carney’s bike tour will take her from Illinois, to Washington, Utah and Arizona, then back east to Louisiana

outdoor minimalist continued on page 4

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4 – Southwest Sailor, August 2021

Outdoor Minimalist Continued from page 3

and finally north back home. She has no definite timeline for her most recent sojourn.

“Usually I just go and come back when I come back,” she said. “I’m kind of hoping to be done with this tour by March. I’ll be stopping in certain places — I’ll be staying in Washington for about a month-and-a-half, then I’ll stay in Arizona for a couple of weeks as well.”

Carney rides a gravel bike (not quite a mountain bike) and will pull a trailer that will carry Ash. She’ll have all her gear, including camping equipment, on her bike. She will also be working as she goes.

“Most of the places we’ll be staying will be developed campground, but if I plan well enough we’ll go to more remote areas,” she said.

Carney said Ash plays a big role in her travels.

“I do have him along for companionship, but also for safety reasons, since I’m a female traveling alone,” Carney said. “It is kind of fun to be able to share the adventure with someone. He comes along on other trips as well as long as he is allowed to be within a certain area. Most of the places we go, I make sure that dogs are allowed.”

A cross between an introvert and an extrovert, Carney said, in a way, being in the outdoors eases her social anxiety and helps her feel more at ease by

Calendar of Events Summer may be flying by, but there are still plenty of events to let you soak up every last minute.

• July 23 & 24- Wilder Pageant - Walnut Grove A family-oriented outdoor drama based on the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder in Walnut Grove. Gates open at 7 p.m., pageant performance begins at 8:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online or at the gate. Visit www.walnutgrove.org/pageant • July 24 - Family Festival - Walnut Grove Demonstrations, activities, food, craft vendors, music, and more. For more information visit walnut grove.org/family-festival • July 22-25, 28-Aug 1 - Grease, Lake Benton Opera House Sandy Dumbrowski, the new girl in town, and Danny Zuko, the school’s coolest greaser, have a secret summertime romance – but when they get back to school, everything is different. Sandy attempts to navigate the tricky Rydell High School social waters and catch Danny’s attention again, but Danny is chiefly concerned with maintaining his tough-guy reputation. In the end, the Pink Ladies help Sandy figure out how to win back the leader of the Burger Palace Boys. For tickets visit, lakebentonoperahouse.org

MEG CARNEY travels the country with her best friend, Ash. Photo / Ethan Wiese

giving her a sense of connectedness. She believes everything on earth is, in some, way connected, and taking in all that nature has to offer gives her a sense of belonging, even when alone.

“I’m OK doing solo adventures, but I also enjoy going with other people,” she said. “I’ve found with my closest relationships, most of them came from doing some sort of outdoor activity together.”

• July 29- Aug. 1 - Water Tower Festival, Pipestone Kids’ Pedal Pull, Pipestone Jr. Ambassador Contest, Bean Bag Tournament, Food & Entertainment, Free Street Dance, Arts & Crafts Fair, Parade, Kids’ Inflatables, Car Show and More. Visit pipestoneminnesota.com for more information • Sept. 3-6 - Box Car Days, Tracy Rides, games, inflatables, golf tournament, softball tournament, street dance, Miss Tracy competition, human foosball, grand parade and much more. Check out Tracy Area Chamber of Commerce on Facebook for more.

County fairs are back!

Many county fairs have kicked off with a wide variety of the traditions we love.

Be sure to check out your local county fair, or visit a neighboring county. You can never have enough of the county fairs!

• July 22-25: Yellow Medicine County Fair, Canby 4-H Events, Demolition Derby, Great Plains Tractor Pull, Baja Races, Midway. ymcfair.org • July 28 - 31: Rock County Fair, Luverne 4-H Events, Grandstand Shows, Midway and more. rockcountyfair.org or on Facebook Rock County Fair MN • July 29 - Aug. 1: Lincoln County Fair, Tyler 4-H events. lincolncountyfairmn.com • Aug. 4-7: Pipestone County Fair, Pipestone Livestock Shows, Exhibits, Midway Rides, Grandstand Shows. pipestonecountyfair.com

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• Aug. 4-8: Nobles County Fair, Worthington Entertainment by Eddie Montgomery of Montgomery Gentry with Lake & Lyndale, Shane Martin; Midway, Races, Horse Arenas, Grandstand. noblescountyfair.org • August 11-15: Lyon County Fair, Marshall PRCA Rodeo; Ralco Enrichment Center;

Entertainment including Beer & Bands, White Sidewalls, Cody Hicks Band, Jason Pritchett, Red Dirt Road; Midway, Demolition Derby, 4-H Events. lyoncountyfair.com • Aug. 11-15: Brown County Fair, New Ulm Carnival, Demo Derby; Kids Day; Live Music including Drop Tailgate, Rhino, Dain’s Dutchmen, Sandra Lee & the Velvets, Bockfest Boys; Tractor & Truck Pull. browncountyfreefair. com • August 18-21: Murray County Fair, Slayton Carnival Rides, 4-H events, Tractor Pull, Pie Baking Contest, Cattleman’s Association Supper, Cash of Cash Entertainment, Kiddie Tractor Pull, Kids Bean Bag Tournament, Stock Car Races in the Grandstand, KJOE Summer Fun, Enduro Car Race in the Grandstand, IV Play Entertainment, Fireworks. murraycountyfair.com

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Southwest Sailor, August 2021 – 5

It’s an outdoors thing

More than 60 kids wetted a line at Swift Lake in early July, as the new Returning Our Youth Outdoors group began fulfilling its mission by per Peterson tracy area headlight herald

t

he shore line of Tracy’s Swift Lake hadn’t been this crowded since … well, probably since it became a lake.

The first-ever Returning Our Youth Outdoors (ROYO) event took place at Swift Lake on July 8, and judging from the turnout, a lot of parents were pretty excited to get their kids outside and off their screens.

“If we have six kids we’ll be happy, if we have two dozen we’ll be happy,” ROYO President Trent Fischer said prior to last week’s big event. “This is all about getting kids outside and having fun.”

It’s safe to say he underestimated things a bit, as a total of 63 youth registered for the fishing tournament, and well over 100 fish — from bullheads to bluegills — were caught and released.

After being treated to a hotdog meal, all 63 kids grabbed the fishing poles and went in search of the big catch.

ROYO was formed after the Minnesota Waterfowl Association dissolved in September 2019 after a 52-year run.

The new ROYO Chapter is led by many volunteer members of the now-defunct organization and Tracy residents.

“We’re picking up where that left off,” said Fischer. “We wanted to do something that was all local and with a common goal. We decided to focus on the youth and being outdoors.”

It was Fischer and fellow board member Drew Hebig who initially got together to put in motion something that would give the kids a conduit to the outdoors, much like the MWA’s Woodie program.

“We got a group of guys together and said, ‘Hey, here’s kind of what we’re thinking,’” Fischer said. “We needed to know if there was enough interest, and everybody was on board and said, ‘Let’s do it.’”

Keith Peterson, another former MWA member, actually grew up in a family that didn’t hunt, but he got involved in

Dan Dieter helps his 3-year-old son, Mason, with his line during the July 8 Returning Our Youth Outdoors fishing tournament at Swift Lake, while Mason’s sister Payton (4) looks on. Photo / Per Peterson

the outdoors through a friend’s father.

He said ROYO can be that go-to for kids like him who might not otherwise have that outlet.

“For kids that come into this and are interested in hunting, their folks can bring him here, and we can show them how to do things,” Peterson said.

“That’s why I think this is just a great start for them to the outdoors, see if they’re interested … if they’re not, they’re not, if they are, awesome.”

ROYO doesn’t just serve as an extension of the popular Woodie Camp, however. Since the No. 1 goal is to get kids experiencing the outdoors, it’s not limited to just one activity like hunting.

ROYO is about getting the next generation to not just enjoy being outside but to appreciate the outdoors and inspiring a passion within them.

“It’s not just hunting and fishing,” Fischer said. “It can be canoeing, it can be golfing — it can be anything. Our vision is, if there are people out there who want to organize some kind of event for

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ROYO Continued from page 5

the kids, they can come to us and liasons Jason Kainz, Shane Erickson and Andrew Dieter; as say, ‘Hey, here’s what I’d like to do,’ and we can provide some well as Andrew Thooft, Daren Pedersen, Dylan VanDromme, of the backing of it. Hopefully Will Rolling, Eric Squires, the people will also help with Cody Arnold, Peterson, Paul whatever their idea is.”

Skoglund, Jeremy Trulock, Rolf ROYO members wanted its initial event to be something Hanson, Brandon Parker and Andy Lanoue. special and memorable to the “This is great,” said DNR kids, which is why they chose Conservation Officer Matthew Swift Lake, which is regularly Loftness. “In the day and age stocked by the DNR. we’re in now, getting the kids “We need to have events away from electronics and for the kids, so they can kind of understand what we’re getting them outside — you can’t ask for anything better. looking to do — we said, There are some kids out here ‘What’s something fairly local who have never casted a fishing and easy for us to do?’ There line before now.” are kids fishing out here all the time; someone caught a 30Family ROYO memberships are $30, or one can sponsor the inch northern and even fiveMaURA Freeburg (5) won the “biggest pound goldfish.” program for $200. ROYO also bullhead” award at the July 8 ROYO event. accepts any freewill donations.

Along with Fischer, ROYO members include Vice President Hebig, Secretary ROYO is in the process of gaining its 501c3 status.

Jason Lichty and Treasurer Mark Evers; board

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Southwest Sailor, August 2021 – 7

Pichaske offers tour on pages by per Peterson tracy area headlight heraLd

David Pichaske doesn’t need a picture to tell his audience 1,000 words, but he knows the importance of images.

Pichaske, author of numerous books, recently spent some time Closed School, Jasper at Wheels Across the Submitted photo Prairie Museum in Tracy to discuss his latest work, “The Secret Places of Southwest Minnesota” — a 200-plus-page collection of places around southwest Minnesota — some you might recognize, others you might just be drawn to, to seek out. The work includes numerous color photos that accompany Pichaske’s writing.

“The photographs preserve what used to be,” said Pichaske, who has been a professor at Southwest Minnesota State University since coming to the area in 1980 after 10 years of teaching in Illinois.

Pichaske said his connection with the area began when he arrived here all those years ago and rented a farmhouse outside of Minneota.

“I would drive around — and walk around, even — and take photos,” he said. “I would print them out, sometimes I’d frame them and put them in my office … people sort of reacted to the photos. There’s a lot of loss in those photos — the buildings and the barns, and I think people here have a sense of that. And the landscape is pretty spectacular, too.”

Pichaske said the images in his books mean a lot to him because they are untouched.

Technology like Photoshop has not blemished them.

“That preserves everything,” he said. “I have albums full of photos, and with digital, it’s so great because you can see immediately what you have. You can take the pictures and analyze them later on.”

“Secret Places” was an ongoing project that spanned more than a decade. Pichaske took all the photos, some in black-and-white and dating to his early days in southwest Minnesota.

Pichaske and his colleague, fellow historian Joesph Amato, proposed the project to the Historical Society Press and received “a polite rejection,” Pichaske wrote in the “Secret Places” preface. However, the book, which came out in late summer 2020, recently went into its second printing.

“The first printing, I just wanted to get the thing done, and I didn’t think I would have any distribution,” he said. “Last year, the museums were closed, the book stores were closed, nobody was going anywhere or doing anything. Next thing you know, they were gone by Christmas.”

The second printing of the book includes 500 copies.

“Secret Places” covers all corners of southwest Minnesota and its historical places — its landscape, lost villages, buildings, museums and cemeteries. Pichaske said the book was a way for him to preserve places in the region for all to see, whether they know they exist or not.

“Driving around and seeing things was part of it, and the desire to preserve the heritage was part of it,” he said. “And people are sort of interested in this stuff.”

AUTHOR AND SMSU PROFESSOR DAVID PICHASKE spoke to an audience at Wheels Across the Prairie Museum last week about his book, “The Secret Places of Southwest Minnesota.”

Photo / Per Peterson

Right: Johnson House, Hendricks.

Submitted photo

Pichaske’s wife, Michelle, was not a big fan of the title, he said. He was tossing around words like “hidden,” “lost” and “unknown” for the book’s title but his main purpose for the title was to inspire others to hop in their vehicle, drive around and see what they can discover.

“I just thought ‘secret’ would just appeal to people … ‘oh, it’s a secret place, I want to look this up,’” he said. “I think it worked out well. Part of it is, nobody knows where these places are, and they are secrets. Part of the idea, too, was to just get people to get out and look around, and find what they can find.”

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Hatch kin still linked to Shetek 8 – Southwest Sailor, August 2021

From Above The Fold: It is our honor to once again be bringing our readers in the region the writings of the late Bill Bolin, an iconic and beloved historian, educator and coach in Tracy for many decades.

Bolin passed away October 15, 2017, and he is missed by so many to this day. Bill started writing for the Sailor in 1997 in hopes of passing down many of his experiences, especially to his children, grandchildren and the many students he encountered in Tracy Area High School from his student teaching in 1956-57 until his final retirement in 2010.

The Tracy Area Headlight Herald, with permission from Bill’s family, is reproducing his popular columns in this edition of the Sailor, as well as in editions yet to come:

Continuing from the last Sailor this article will focus on another early Shetek mother – one of the first mothers to lose her life during the 1862 Dakota Conflict at Lake Shetek and possibly the first white mother to die in Murray County, Almira (Hatch) Everett.

Fittingly her name, followed by those of her two sons, is the first to appear on the beautiful Shetek Monument.

I’ve been fortunate through the years to meet a great many relatives of those first Murray County pioneers who in the late 1850s and early 1860s unfortunately chose to make the eastern shores of Lake Shetek their new home.

I received a call from relatives of Tommy Ireland who reside in Mankato and were camping at the state park. I drove over and for nearly two hours we shared stories and history of “Uncle” Tommy, whose second wife (and also a Shetek mother) Sophia Waters, and daughters Sarah Jane and Julianne, died at Shetek on August 20th. They rest

History Is Life Bill Bolin yet under the oaks where the Shetek monument stands with Mrs. Everett and her sons. Tommy’s daughters Rosanne and Ellen Nellie were to be taken hostage and were rescued and returned to safety by the Lakota “Fool Soldiers” that I will allude to later. We found it interesting that Tommy out-lived four wives, Sarah Harrison who died in 1843, Sophia Waters killed at Slaughter Slough on August 20, 1862, Sally Haddock who passed away in 1882 and Sarah Underwood Ridgeway who died in 1890. Tommy died in 1897 at Mankato. It is apparent that he liked women whose first names began with the letter s.

Ironically, it was the death of Almira (Hatch) Everett and her two young sons, Charlie (named for her brother Charles Duncan) and Eddie at Slaughter Slough that was destined to change my life significantly. Her surviving daughter, Lily, was found by the Dakota on the morning of August 21st at the slough and was subsequently taken captive and held for more than three months. She died in 1923 in Oakland, California.

In a 1894 letter to Dr. Harper Workman

Almira (Hatch) Everett

Lillian Everett

of Tracy she indicated that she couldn’t remember anything about living at Shetek. The band of White Lodge with that of Lean Bear were the Dakota leaders of the attack on the Shetek settlement. It is believed that their permanent campsites were in the Lynd Woods (now Camden State Park) and an area in present Lincoln County near Lake Shakotan. Lean Bear was killed at Slaughter Slough, but White Lodge and his followers were to take women and children captives and wander through Dakota Territory. They left the “Big Oaks” at Shetek, what is now the home of Fran and Richard Rieger and was then the homesite of Tommy Ireland’s family on the south shore of Armstrong

Bay on August 21st. It wasn’t until late November, while camped on the banks of the Missouri River north of what is now Mobridge, South Dakota that they were seen by a boat of Montana miners who notified authorities of their location.

It was at this time that Lily and seven others were rescued and returned to white officials by the daring and incredible effort on the part of ten or eleven young Teton Lakota known yet as the “Fool Soldiers”.

In the summer of 1996, 134 years after this rescue, the families of Lily Everett and her mother’s brother, Charlie Hatch,

Bolin

continued on page 9

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Southwest Sailor, August 2021 – 9

Bolin Continued from page 8

gathered with nearly 200 relatives of the Teton Lakota boys at Eagle Butte, SD in a spirit of peace and reconciliation. My wife and I, accompanied by Dick and Mary Donaldson, were a part of that historic gathering. The outpouring of mutual respect and a common bond linked to events of 134 years earlier seemed to forge a clearer and keener understanding of both cultures.

Dr. Paul Carpenter, of Sioux Falls the great grandson of Charlie Hatch and Marcella LeBeau, a retired nurse of Eagle Butte, South Dakota, great granddaughter of Four Bear, (one of the Fool Soldiers) were instrumental in the long overdue reunion. At Eagle Butte Dr. Carpenter was honored by the Lakota and bestowed with the name “Nagi Owotonla” which means “Straight Spirit.” A painting by Del IronCloud depicts the journey to Fort Pierre following the rescue. It is entitled “Going Home.”

The proceeds from the sale of the print are given to a scholarship fund for the descendants of those brave young boys who were never thanked or compensated for the goods used in ransom for the

Shetek captives.

I have met relatives of the Teton Lakota boys, to eventually acquire photos of six of them and to smoke the pipe with both Dakota and Lakota. This has helped me see and feel the emotions of brotherhood between all races, and as I said earlier, made my life much richer.

Thus the death of Almira Hatch Everett in 1862 at Slaughter Slough influences the life and thoughts of my family and myself in 1999 as we approach the new millennium.

Another Hatch relative that I came to meet and know at Eagle Butte was Larry Peterson. Larry is a pastor in the joint Presbyterian-Lutheran ministry at the Pine Ridge Christian Center in Pine Ridge, South Dakota. His mother, Virginia Peterson and Jean Hatch attended the spring Elderhostel at the Shetek Lutheran Bible Camp.

On May 11 Larry was honored by Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN with the prestigious Race, Church and Change Award. Award presenter, David Tiede said: “Pastor Peterson’s obvious gift of community building demonstrates that he has embraced honor, humility, respect

Above: William Everett Left: Four Bears

and courage – the four key values of Lakota culture.”

Did the events of August 20, 1862 influence his work toward reconciliation and healing among Native Americans and those of us working today toward that end?

• The year this story was first published in the Sailor, Bolin also wrote that several

people planned to gather around in the picnic grounds of Lake Shetek State Park in the spirit of peace and reconciliation on Aug. 20, adding: Richard Bryan, (Sisseton Dakota) of Pipestone, Dr. Carpenter and others are in hopes of bringing together descendants of the 1862 Dakota Conflict to

Bolin

continued on page 11

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10 – Southwest Sailor, August 2021

Ready to carve a pipe?

Editor’s Note: The following is a firstperson perspective from Walnut Grove resident Dan Peterson on his recent pipe carving experience. A separate story on the Mission of the Keepers of the Sacred Tradition of Pipemakers can be found on Page 18.

Often as I am on a search for arrowheads, pottery shards, or other artifacts left by the native peoples of the area, I think about just how much time it must have taken to make these important items in their daily lives. What a story this arrowhead could tell if it could. What is its story from beginning to ending up in my hand? I ran into an article about the Keepers of the Sacred Tradition of Pipemakers in Pipestone that offered presentations, workshops, cultural camp experiences and … pipestone carving!

This was my opportunity!

I emailed Bud Johnston who operates the Keepers Gift Shop, and after a few emails he decided I could come down and start work on a pipe.

I awoke excited to get going (as well as excited to see it was raining, which we needed and continued the entire drive).

I really didn’t know what to expect or where I was going exactly. I pulled up early and saw it was headquartered in a beautiful old Rock Island Railroad Depot building. The Keepers had purchased the building in 1996. I could not miss the giant pipe over to the left with a sign proclaiming it the “World’s Largest Pipe.”

I got out my umbrella and decided to walk around the exterior despite the rain. Near the door was a historic marker about the depot and I chuckled as above

Dan’s Point of View Dan Peterson it a sign read “Spitting on platforms and approaches being a misdemeanor and punishable by a $500 fine, a year in prison, or both. By order of Board of Health.”

A bright, aqua-colored car pulled up and I assumed it to be Bud. A kindlooking man with long white hair in a ponytail got out and carried things into the depot. I looked at the giant pipe and soon heard a friendly, “C’mon in.”

Was I ready to carve a pipe? I had no idea what the process was actually like, but here we go. Bud told me a little about himself. He was from a band of Chippewa — later he learned this was a negative connotation — then Ojibwe, and finally Anishanabe. He chuckled as he told me about learning about his people as he went along. His family was not happy with him as they could and wanted him to pass as “white” and not bring up their cultural background.

Bud and his wife, Rona, run the gift shop, do cultural workshops, storytelling, culture camps, school presentations, and much more. I didn’t get to meet his wife as she was doing a cultural camp near Garrettson, SD. “Ok, find a piece of stone you like.” I

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BUD JOHNSTON, proprietor of the Keepers of the Sacred Tradition of Pipemakers welcomed the author to his shop earlier this summer to create his very own pipe. Photo courtesy Dan Peterson

looked at the shelves of various pieces of stone. Bud quickly explained this was mainly my journey not his. He would give me some guidance but basically it was for me to figure things out. I looked at a few pipes on display thinking I would never get this piece of pipestone to ever look anything like that! I took a piece that resembled a T. Bud led me back to a small desk in the back with some tools, pencils, and a lot of red dust. He gave me a hand rasp and told me to start shaping it in general and to use the rasp in one direction only (as I wanted to go back and forth). I took off pieces of the red dust of the stone making very slow progress ­— while working up a sweat, I must admit.

It gave me time to again think of some questions I was curious about. After waiting on customers who would come in, Bud came to check on my progress.

He then told me some stories to answer some of my questions. The quarries at Pipestone had been used for over 2,000 years, as were the quarries in Canada that produced a black stone which he showed me a beautiful pipe made of it.

It was a special place for the many tribes and bands that used the quarry. There was no tribe that controlled it, but it was used by many.

By now my shorts and shirt were full of red dust. Bud asked what I wanted to

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Peterson

continued on page 12

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make and how intricate, as his wife was a stickler on details — he was not as tough, he laughed. He showed me a couple of types of files and away I continued. I rounded off the edges, first seeing how that would go. An hour-and-a-half in I saw things taking shape.

I took a small break as Bud came to tell me a couple stories about the Three Maidens rocks there in Pipestone as well as a quick tour of his office to see his arrowhead collection and other artifacts.

I was in awe. I shared with Bud how funny it sounded, but as a kid when others wanted to be a policeman or doctor I wanted to be an “Indian.”

It was back to work, and I started to fine tune my carving as to take any large scratches from the rasp out. People had wandered in the gift shop. All covered in dust, I carried my bowl out to compare it to other pipes to decide which direction this thing was going.

I was asked a question by a tourist who thought I worked there, which, of course, I could not answer. In a way it was an honor to be asked.

Back to my desk and more filing. I had decided to try to make the bird on the end. This could get interesting. I pulled out a can of water from my bag which was also now covered in a fine red dust.

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Southwest Sailor, August 2021 – 11

Bolin Continued from page 9

Lake Shetek for the 140 anniversary of that event. Hopefully attending will be relatives of the 1862 white settlers at Shetek, relatives of the Lakota boys who rescued the Shetek captives along the Missouri River, and relatives of Dakota who initiated the attack at Shetek when they rebelled after years of broken promises from our government. The August 20th gathering will be very informal and all are welcome to attend the potluck and discuss ideas for the 140th anniversary in 2002. th

No doubt, Charlie Hatch, the Paul Revere of Lake Shetek, the surviving brother of Almira Hatch Everett experienced some dangerous and harrowing moments on August 20. He lived to write a marvelous poem

about events of that day, a poem passed down among family members which with his own life was to inspire future relatives and friends to engage in work of true reconciliation.

What better way to honor the death of his sister and nephews at Slaughter Slough?

On that fateful day Charlie rushed to the Everett cabin site, located on the north side of the Des Moines River, less than a mile west of present Currie and just northeast of the Pioneer Cemetery. He was to bring his sister and three children to the Wright cabin where most of the settlement had gathered to make a decision whether to remain there and make a stand or to head east toward New Ulm abandoning their homes. Charlie’s poem

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refers to that dash from the cabin site where he lived with brother-in-law Bill Everett, his sister Almira and their children.

“That hasty flight seems dear, For it was my last visit with sister here: And she was to me both sister and mother, Her heart was knit to her youngest brother.”

Though his sister didn’t survive the attack at Slaughter Slough as the small contingent made their way toward New Ulm, Charlie did. Today I believe that his descendants must make that young mother very proud as she looks down on the good work they do.

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12 – Southwest Sailor, August 2021

Peterson Continued from page 10

Bud stopped for lunch and came back and told me to center a hole in the stem from the two directions where the tobacco would be put. I used a large nail and a rock that sat on the desk. The first pound brought Bud in wondering what the heck I was doing! With a marker hole, he showed me how to drill a small hole from both directions then enlarging it. It was back to filing and shaping.

My hand was developing a blister, so I took another break to check out all the wonderful things in the gift shop that adorned the walls and showcases.

I picked out a small turtle made from the black stone, a bag of kinnick kinnick (if I ever decided to smoke my pipe).

Bud explained to me about using the pipe for prayers. First it is offered to all four directions then sky and earth. He was originally taught seven pinches of tobacco had to be smoked (which is a lot) but decided that a generous pinch was enough. This led to a story of his time in Switzerland. (Bud is a world traveler and still does workshops in Hawaii and elsewhere).

Back to my work if I wanted to get done.

I had been told it would probably take two days to complete. After filing and more filing, and scraping the red dust into a five-gallon bucket (this part of precious stone was saved as well) Bud told me to pick out a stem. I picked the easiest — a piece of cedar. Bud told me to take a small plane and to taper the end and take a knife to take a couple big chunks out. Using the file on the wood was almost more difficult for me

THE AUTHOR’S work areas are shown during his pipe making experience.

than the stone! There was a stone with different-sized carved holes to test the size of my stem on, not on my bowl as you did not want to break it. Bud shared more traditions with me after asking him about pipes after they finished. The stem is buried with you when this life is over, and the bowl was passed on to family members.

At about the three-hour mark, it was time to sand the stone with fine sandpaper and then wet-sand it. After this, I followed Bud into the little kitchen area where he put my stone in water

Marine Winterizing & Storage

The author holds a block after cutting it out with a hacksaw and rounding its corners with a file.

Photos courtesy Dan Peterson

on the stove, and we waited for it to boil. After boiling, it was fished out and beeswax applied, and it was put in cold water and buffed with a waxy piece of cloth. My bowl was finished!

I proceeded to work on my stem which could also be burned for decoration, tied with hide, and/or bead work. Rona was the bead expert, so if I wanted beads it would have to wait for her! I was getting tired, sweaty and hungry. I finished sanding the stem and said I could do the others if I decided to on my own.

Bud explained that a pipe is never really

finished. It can be added to or changed over time if I wished. He was impressed I had finished in a day!

I paid for my materials, made a donation to the Keepers and thanked Bud for the honor. I left with the sun shining and with a sense of accomplishment as I looked at my hands and clothes full of the red dust. It had been a wonderful day!

I recommend the experience! If you would like to learn more you can contact them at email pipe@iw.net. To learn more, check out their website www. pipekeepers.org.

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Southwest Sailor, August 2021 – 13

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The Dale siblings as adults circa the 1950s. Back, from left: Esther, Helmer, and Nora. Front, from left: Clifford, Victor and Alfred. Photo courtesy Roger and JoAnne Dale.

Camden Love Letters:

Converting an immigrant dream Editor’s note: Bill Palmer’s columns, called “Prairie Lives,” are a special feature of the Sailor.

We have been exploring the history of Camden State Park, our southwest Minnesota wilderness. We learned that Norwegian immigrant, Andrew Dale, bought a farm in the “Camden Woods” upriver of Lynd in 1911 because the valley reminded him of Norway and he thought it would be great for livestock.

Andrew and his spouse, Caroline, farmed through the 1910s, helped by their six children. But the dream of farming and raising a family in their wooded valley came to a tragic end on July 16, 1921 in a collision with a passenger train west of Marshall. The accident killed Andrew and Caroline and left their eldest son, Helmer, and youngest daughter, Esther, hospitalized.

The accident upended the Dale family in an instant.

The Dale children immediately confronted big decisions. They arranged a funeral for their parents in Marshall the following Tuesday. Lyon County Probate records show Helmer petitioned the same week to appoint his grandfather and the Dale’s friend, Frederick W. Vanstrom, Lynd’s banker, as executors of his parents’ estate. The family also agreed 5 year-old Clifford should live with his uncle, Christ Dale, in Stevens County, Minnesota.

The accident and Helmer and Esther’s hospitalization left the Dale’s eldest daughter, Nora, age 16 years, in charge of the Dale home, farm, and her younger brothers; 14 year-old Alfred and 12 year-old Victor.

A family history published in 1986

by Barbara Swedenburg described the challenges Nora faced. Caroline Dale’s parents (Norwegian immigrants, Nels and Britta Lee) had moved to a nearby farm in April 1921 which the Dale’s called the “upper farm.” So their nearby grandparents were able to help. But the Lee’s were in their 70’s and Nels was suffering from a cancer that took him in February of 1922. Moreover, Helmer had helped the Lee’s operate the “upper farm,” so his hospitalization meant Nora, Alfred, and Victor had to operate both farms during Helmer’s monthslong recovery.

The responsibility of running two farms made attending school a luxury

by Bill Palmer

Special to the sailor

the Dale kids could not afford. With Nora taking the lead, they tended their homes and farms, attending school only during the winter months when farm work demanded less of their time.

After Nels died, Britta built an addition to the Dale farmhouse and made her home with her grandchildren.

She died there in September 1926.

Helmer returned home after several months’ hospital recovery and became the primary operator for both farms.

Clifford stayed with Uncle Christ about a year and was then placed in several homes for possible adoption. But he could not adjust to living away from his siblings. Nora Dale’s daughter, Marian Pagel, reported that Clifford repeatedly ran away, the last time almost drowning in the Redwood River at age six, trying to return to the Dale farm. So, the court let him stay with Nora and his brothers.

Esther returned from the hospital almost two years after the accident, reuniting the family.

The children were growing older, though, and other paths beckoned.

Helmer married Ella Nordstrom in 1924 and they made their home at the “upper farm.” Nora married Henry Schroeder in 1928 and they moved to a farm west of Marshall. Alfred and Victor continued to help Helmer operate both Dale farms.

Peggy Vanstrom Cobb, daughter of the Lynd banker who was a friend of the Dale’s and executor of their estate, described her father’s efforts to promote a park in the wooded valley of the Dale farm.

“My dad recognized this as an area that should be shared with a lot of people. Dad contacted state officials in St. Paul; brought some to this area; and conducted a tour through what is now Camden State Park. This was in the 1920s.”

Nothing came of this early effort to interest the state in a park in the Camden Woods, but Mr. Vanstrom was only one member of a citizen’s group interested in establishing such a park.

Drought conditions in the early 1930s combined with a national depression to create a farm crisis. Federal records from that time reveal Lyon County averaged 18% less rainfall; experienced only 69% of usual crop conditions; and produced only 60% of usual pasturage during the 1930-35 growing seasons.

Prairie Lives

continued on page 15

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‘Beautiful Snow’ 14 – Southwest Sailor, August 2021

Book uncovers fresh views of epic winter

Will historians and authors ever exhaust the topic of Laura Ingalls Wilder?

Not as long as there are researchers

by Seth Schmidt

wheels across the prairie correspondent

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The Minnesota native’s acclaimed new book, The Beautiful Snow, invites readers to board a westbound Dakota Central train and revisit the horrific winter of

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Drawing on 140-year-old railroad records, weather data, and reams of small-town newspaper articles, Wilson recreates the Dakota and Minnesota frontier of the late 1800s.

By interweaving the triple sources with Wilder’s remembrances in The Long Winter, Wilson provides a fresh perspective of the hardships endured by the farmers, merchants, and tradesmen who settled in this vast territory.

“The Beautiful Snow is a thoroughly engrossing read,” comments historian and author William Anderson. “Cindy Wilson’s impeccable research resulted in an exciting panoramic account of the infamous winter of 1880-81, and its effect on Minnesota and the Dakota Territory.”

Marcy Schramm, a Wheels board member and a meticulous Ingalls Wilder researcher in her own right, calls The Beautiful Snow a splendid addition to the pantheon of Ingalls Wilder literature.

“Cindy is a master at weaving the railroad history, community newspaper

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articles, and the 1880-81 meteorological facts, with the events described in The Long Winter.”

Five railroads Wilson sets the scene for The Beautiful Snow by detailing the westward expansion of five southern Minnesota railroads in the 1870s through 1880. The construction of the Dakota Central— which extended rail service 240 miles west from Tracy to Fort Pierre, SD. in 1879-80—directly impacted the Charles and Caroline Ingalls family. In her novel On the Shores of Silver Lake, Wilder described the thrill of her first train ride as a young girl in traveling from Walnut Grove to Tracy in 1879 with her mother and sisters. After waiting at the Tracy depot to be picked up by “Pa” in a horse-drawn wagon, the Ingalls family continued west to make their new home in the fledgling Dakota territory town of De Smet.

But the family’s first full winter in De Smet was brutal, with a relentless string of howling blizzards enveloping the surrounding prairie landscape with deep snow and bitter cold.

The winter’s first storm, a three-day blizzard that paralyzed travel from the Dakota Plains to the Great Lakes, occurred in mid-October.

The last heavy snow hit in mid-April, and didn’t melt away until May. In between, an extraordinary parade of winter fury whipped up snowdrifts that stopped railroad shipments for weeks and months.

Severe shortages of coal, firewood, kerosene, and food staples

Beautiful snow

continued on page 15

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Crews of shovel-wielding men were often overmatched by Mother Nature, in trying to keep tracks clear of snow during the arduous winter of 1880-81. This Chicago & Northwestern Historical Society photo, which is displayed at the Wheels Across the Prairie Museum, shows men attempting to clear passage for a train near Sleepy Eye in April of 1881. Similar epic snowclearing efforts were also often needed in a snow-clogged cut west of Tracy.

Southwest Sailor, August 2021 – 15

Beautiful Snow Continued from page 14

were the result in isolated towns and farms dependent upon the railroads.

Mail stopped. Diets became ever more spartan. Twisted strands of hay became the heating fuel of last resort.

The Beautiful Snow explains that railroad “cuts” dug through hills during the Dakota Central’s 1879-80 construction were vulnerable to snowdrift blockages.

A choke-point west of Tracy was especially notorious, rating numerous mentions in The Long Winter, newspaper articles, and railroad records.

Armies of men were hired to shovel out mountains of snow from “the Tracy cut” and other blockages, often to little avail, as snow from new storms quickly drifted back in.

In The Long Winter, Pa Ingalls tells a dramatic story about the railroad attempting to open up the “Tracy cut,” by ramming three locomotives full-speed into the drift. The operation described in the book fails grandly, by burying the locomotives so deeply it took men two days to dig the behemoth engines out.

Pa Ingalls grimly tells his family that the railroad had given up on efforts to keep the rails running between Tracy and De Smet, and that the family shouldn’t expect to see supplies from another train arrive until spring. Wilson’s research doesn’t turn up evidence to corroborate Pa’s tale. But De Smet was in fact cut off from rail shipments for months that winter, with its first train in the spring of 1881 not arriving until May 4.

Wilson identifies the probable location of troublesome Tracy railroad as being

Author Cindy Wilson

4.5 miles west of Tracy, on the western edge of Section 30 in Monroe Township.

Wilson writes that her quest to pinpoint the Tracy cut provided the inspiration for writing The Beautiful Snow.

Beautiful snow? Wilson explains that the phrase was often used by newspaper editors during the winter of 1880-81.

The 3,000 some newspaper articles that Wilson included in her research included the Murray County Pioneer of Currie, the Pipestone Star, the Lyon County News of Marshall, and the Marshall Messenger.

However, except for an excerpt reprinted in another newspaper, nothing is included from the Tracy Gazette. No copies of Tracy’s first newspaper, which went defunct in 1881, are known to exist.

The “Tracy cut” is still visible today, 4.5 miles west of Tracy, although wider and less steep than it was during the winter of 1880-81. Photo / Marcy Schramm.

In Beautiful Snow, Wilson acknowledges that reconstructing past events is often messy work. Evidence is sometimes contradictory and incomplete. Human memory can be misleading and absolute truths elusive.

But she concludes that the challenges

make historical research about the winter of 1880-81 all the more worthwhile.

Wilson writes: “The more one learns about that particular winter, the more impressive it becomes.”

Prairie Lives Continued from page 13

Lyon County was a designated drought county during 1934 and that brutal growing season produced less than a third of a normal crop.

A 1936 National Park Service report on Camden State Park by the project’s landscape architect explained the difficulties the Dale’s confronted operating the valley farm during the drought years. “[T]rees were damaged within grazing height as the drought period which had preceded the park development had made all the natural pasturage dormant and the only green feed for stock were the green branches and leaves of the trees.

Formerly green pastures in the valleys and on the slopes were simply dead, brown sheets of dry and dusty landscape.”

The report also explained the local and state actions that led to the park. First, the local committee had generated considerable interest in a park. State officials asked the National Park Service to assess the site and their team recommended the area for a park. The local committee and State then negotiated a sale with the Dale family of 469.96 acres of the “lower farm” to the state for $11,407.

Nora’s daughter, Marian Pagel, explained, “They just couldn’t make it, so they sold it to the state.”

Thus, Andrew Dale’s dream of a livestock operation in a beautiful, wooded valley that reminded him of Norway became the beginnings of a Minnesota state park.

I welcome your participation in and ideas about our exploration of prairie lives. You may reach me at prairieviewpressllc@gmail.com.

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16 – Southwest Sailor, August 2021

RIDERS AT A PAST RIDE 2 REMEMBER event gathered in front of the Kandiyohi Fire Hall. Submitted photos

On the road to remember by per Peterson tracy area headlight herald

The end of what was known as the KMS Memorial Ride was, in a way, just the beginning.

The local KMS Ride lasted for 10 years and honored the lives of Brent Koch, Kyle Miller, Joshua Schmit, James Wertish, Mathew Kahler and Ryane Clark, who were killed while serving their country. Every August, a

group of people took part in a fundraising event in their honor (KMS stands for Koch, Miller and Schmit).

That event ended in 2017. Enter Mike Felske, the husband of Rachel, who handles public relations for Ride 2 Remember.

Mike was in a unit with Koch and took part in nine of the 10 KMS rides.

“That ride meant a lot to him, so when THE RIDE 2 REMEMBER event draws more than 100 motorcyclists every year. The ride is a spinoff of the KMS memorial ride that has ended after a 10-year run.

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he went to the 10th and final, he and (Ride 2 Remember board member) Ryan Bromeland approached KMS’s board and asked if they would be interested in allowing us to take over the ride,” said Rachel, who along with Mike are members of the Army National Guard. “Attending the KMS was important and was kind of healing for Mike. I was deployed at the same time, but I didn’t know Brent.”

Mike’s plan worked, as Ride 2 Remember has been going strong since January 2018, thanks to a group of friends and combat veterans who have made it their mission to keep the tradition going to not only honor the fallen, but help all of today’s veterans as best they can.

“Our mission is to help veterans and their families in their time of need,” said

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Beth Bjorklund, the muscle behind Ride 2 Remember fund-raising. “Being that source that people can go to. This year, we did clothing drives every third Saturday in the Cities for homeless veterans, we helped fundraise for a veteran in the Cities who had a stroke and is paralyzed, we have helped with funeral expenses for some local veterans in our area, we have paid for water heaters, we have paid to fix cars, food … anything that we can.”

The Ride 2 Remember group is a 501c19 organization with a board that consists of four veterans who have served overseas.

The Ride 2 Remember board consists of the Felskes, Bjorklund, Bromeland (Army National Guard) and his wife, Vanessa, Megan McGarvey (Army National Guard) and Steve Peterson.

“This is something that we hold very near and dear to our hearts,” Bjorklund said. “We want to help all veterans and support them.”

To help reach veterans and their families all over the state, the organization often works with other groups, since it only has a certain amount of funds.

“Sometimes we’ll call this group and that group and between the three of us, we can cover everything,” said Bjorklund.

“We have an awesome partnership with other organizations. Sometimes we have to team up to accomplish a mission.”

While Ride 2 Remember began just as its name would indicate — a ride — it has branched out from that in a major way. And on Saturday, Aug. 14, the Ride 2 Remember crew, along with help from the Granite Falls American Legion, will hold its “Ride Day” fundraiser during Riverside Jam in Granite Falls. The day will consist of a bean bag tournament, food and live music.

“We start at 10 in the morning and go until 1 o’clock the next morning,” said Bjorklund. “We’ve added some kids’ activities, so parents can still come out, check out the silent auction items, buy some merchandise.”

Ride

continued on page 17

Southwest Sailor, August 2021 – 17

Memorial park

Memorial Park is not only an awe-inspiring spectacle in downtown Marshall, it’s a tribute to all those who have served in the military. The park, dedicated in 2020, is home to statues that represent each branch of the military; there is also a statue of a soldier carrying a wounded man. Displays in the park include a memorial wall and pavers dedicated to local veterans. Fundraising for the project took off in 2017, and donors included the City of Marshall, Lyon County, local veterans organizations and community members.

Photos / Per Peterson

Ride: Big event is Aug. 14, starting in Granite Falls Continued from page 16

The rain-or-shine ride, which varies every year, will leave from the Granite Falls American Legion post at 11 a.m. on Aug. 14 (registration will begin at 8:30 a.m.) after the opening ceremony at 10 a.m., bikers will hit the road on the tour that will include cities such as Wood Lake, Cottonwood, Marshall, Garvin, Tracy and Walnut Grove. The Sons of the American Legion in Walnut Grove will provide a lunch for all the riders about 12:30 p.m. The second leg of the ride will take riders east through Lamberton, Wanda and Franklin, Bird Island and Sacred Heart, as well as other towns as they make their way back to Granite Falls.

Bjorklund, who lives in Walnut Grove, hopes this year’s ride will include 150 motorcyclists; there were 130 last year.

“Every year we’ve been steadily growing,” Bjorklund

said. “We take huge pride in this — our bike run is very well-organized. We try to keep it as safe as possible. It’s a lot of fun to watch, and being a part of it and seeing it come together is amazing. Being able to turn around

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and spend money to help veterans is even better.”

Rachel Felske said the act of giving back to so many veterans has been a very humbling experience.

“It allows us to continue serving the veteran community,” she said. “It’s healing as well.”

She hopes that giving veterans a helping hand will help them as they deal with life after service.

“Each of us has our own set of demons, for lack of a better word — our own battles we’re still fighting after coming home from deployment,” Felske said. “Some are a little more well-equipped to face those battles because we have support systems. To be able to be there, even if it’s providing a meal and some new clothes, is very rewarding.”

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18 – Southwest Sailor, August 2021

RONA, CAMAS AND BUD JOHNSTON stand next to the large peacepipe in front of Keepers in Pipestone. The family’s mission to share their heritage and culture goes far beyond the peacepipe. (Right): Regalia that once belonged to Bud’s father is displayed at Keepers. Photos / Tara Brandl

A family’s mission “Tradition only goes back one generation,” Rona Johnston explained during a recent visit to Keepers of the Sacred Tradition of Pipemakers in Pipestone. “The only tradition you can be sure of is the tradition from the person that taught you. You have a pretty good understanding of his teachings. But you don’t know what they teacher taught him except for what he relays to you.”

Passing on those traditions is a family affair for the Johnstons. Bud and Rona have long been active in preserving and sharing the tradition, cultures and history of the native people. Throughout their shop in Pipestone, you can browse their wide variety of art including carvings, jewelry, leather bags and much more. But the tradition and culture they hold close goes so much further than that. And it is their family’s mission to spread that.

“Do you practice Christmas exactly the way your mom did?” Rona said. “No, you kept the things that felt right to you and changed the things that didn’t. The same thing

by Tara Brandl

tracy area headlight herald

happens with ceremonies.”

“If we don’t share what we have, it will be lost,” Bud Johnston said. “So many of our culture ways were lost and nobody knows about them, even today.”

Bud worked with tribal leaders to make a video about those traditions. But making a video came with it’s own challenges. During a school year visit to Russell-TylerRuthton middle school and high school, the Johnstons along with daughter Camas explained some of the laws that are still on the books and why preserving some of the history is so difficult.

“We were telling the kids even today there are a lot of old laws on books,” Rona said. “Some of the laws involving Native people in the state of Wisconsin and the state of South Dakota, there is still a law on the books that says three native people together is considered a war party and can be shot on site. I think the kids were surprised

Keepers

continued on page 19

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Southwest Sailor, August 2021 – 19

Keepers Continued from page 18

with some of the information we gave them like Natives didn’t have religious freedom until 1978, that’s when the Religious Freedom Act was passed.”

Bud explained that is why photos of ceremonies and other traditions are so hard to find.

“You never take pictures of a religious ceremony because that would be evidence that they could use to hang you,” Bud explained.

The loss of these traditions and their deep heritage has the Johnstons working in many different ways to preserve their culture and share it with others while teaching at the same time. During the visit to RTR school this year they held a dream catcher class, gave a talk about growing up Indian, tribal history and as Rona explained, “ talked a lot about the historical stuff that doesn’t get covered in schools, some of the stereotypes that our native people face.”

In addition to the visits to classrooms, the Johnstons also have a Teach the Teacher conference. They share some of the traditions that could be seen as disrespectful in the classroom, but are respectful in the culture.

“Most Native children, I was brought up this way,

CAMAS JOHNSTON creates her own jewelry using Pipestone and resin.

RONA JOHNSTON creates many of the jewelry pieces found in the shop using the traditional bead colors. Photos / Tara Brandl

you don’t look adults in the eye,” Rona said. “So if you go to public school and you don’t look the teacher in the eye, then the teacher thinks you’re ignoring them or not paying attention and you might get into trouble. But culturally, that was the appropriate way to respond to an adult that spoke to you, you looked down.”

Bud explained that pointing is another cultural aspect that is different. They were raised not to point with their fingers, but to point with a nod of the head. It is considered more respectful than pointing with a finger.

“There are culture things that people might take as disrespectful but in our culture it is actually respectful,” Rona said. “I don’t think that most educators are aware of them.”

The Johnston family also hosts Culture Camps at their property in Garrettson, SD. They set up tipis, use plants for meals and use cattails for salads. They also teach weaving.

Rona is working on a new board game to share the Ojibwe language.

“I took the basic idea of the “Ascension” game and I created a game I call “The Village” where you use a deck building game concept to create a village and when you reach a certain population at your village you win the game,” Rona explained. “Each one of the cards has a word in the Ojibwe language and the subtitle down below has it in English so you can play the game and if you’re pronouncing the names of the cards and playing the game through, you’re more familiar with the Ojibwe langue. And the card says exactly what the

word means so you are learning the meaning.”

During 2020, the Johnston family wasn’t able to do many of the presentations they had done before. But daughter Camas has one area she is more than happy to be back sharing.

“Dancing!” Camas said when talking about the tradition she enjoys the most. “I enjoy the presentations we do. But I felt like something was missing over 2020 because we were home so much. We didn’t do anything, no dancing, no pow wows. It was really hard for me. I actually started crying when I went to an art camp at the University of South Dakota and on the last night they brought in a pow wow drum group and they played songs and it was so awesome to hear the drum again.

The recordings are fine, but you can’t feel the vibrations like you can when you’re actually there.”

Through their art, their culture camps, their presentations, their shop and more, the Johnston family continues to share their native culture and hopes to bring their history to more people.

94th Annual

Box Car Days

September 3 - 6, 2021 Tracy, Minnesota

Friday • Tracy Area Chamber Burger Night • Beer Pong Tournament • Karaoke

2021 Miss Tracy Jenna Spanovich, Center 1st Runner-Up Lauren Verlinde, left 2nd Runner-Up Rachel Przybilla, right

Saturday • Kegs & Eggs • Zero K Fun Run • Annual Labor Day “400 Open” Golf Tournament • Annual Softball Tournament • Annual BBQ Cook-Off • “Texas Hold ‘Em” Tournament • Human Foosball - 16 yrs. & Older • Kiddie Parade – Prairie View • Street Dance “Drop TailgaTe” NO COVER CHARGE!

For more information contact the Tracy Area Chamber of Commerce at tracyareachamber.mn@gmail.com

SuNDAy • Mud Volleyball Tournament • Horseshoe Tournament • Human Foosball - 15 yrs. & younger • Inflatables/Dunk Tank - Central Park • “Texas Hold ‘em” Tournament • Miss Tracy Scholarship Program • Tractor Pedal-Pull • Karaoke

ALL 3 DAyS (SAT. - MON.) • Bingo Stand • Beer Garden • Wheels Across the Prairie Museum open • Antique Tractor Show • Midwest Rides & Concessions

MONDAy • Fly-in/Drive-in Breakfast • Box Car Day Road Race • St. Mary’s Arts & Crafts Fair • St. Mary’s Food Stand • Tracy Pigeon Race

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Search Tracy Area Chamber Special Box car DayS HourS at tracy BuSineSSeS.

20 – Southwest Sailor, August 2021

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