June 2020 SW MN Sailor

June 2020

FREE Your Summer Guide to Southwest Minnesota!

Who needs a phone when you’re fishing?

Madeline Wenzel and Blaycie Remme who Ma wh ho just completed their seventh-grade year at ju at Luverne High School, weren’t too worried d about texts and snap chats during their fishing outing at Lake Sarah on April 26..

Photo Pho to / Per Per Pet Peters erson on

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

2 – SOUTHWEST SAILOR, JUNE 2020

SUMMER COULDN’T HAVE COME AT A BETTER TIME Never have we deserved it seems like it’s now up to us to make the most of our summer. Yes, summer more than in 2020.

It’s one thing to trudge our way it’s our summer, and COVID-19 won’t take it away. through winter. We live through Our lives have been turned ďŹ ve (sometimes more) months of Per Peterson upside down. We’re still dealing cold, ice, snow and windchills. We Editor, Tracy Area survive knowing that better — and with a crippling pandemic that has Headlight Herald warmer — days are to come. With drastically altered our lives. And we’re also dealing with societal visions of tulips sprouting and strife that has hit us to our core and Easter, we muddle through as days has made us question the very authority that is charged slowly get longer.

This year, we’ve had even more to deal with: a with protecting and serving us. Thankfully, most of pandemic. Not only did COVID-19 hit us as we were us live in small towns and we trust our police force. emerging from another long winter, when the weather However, we all know that isn’t the case everywhere, did turn nice, we were told to stay home. and when we hear of another example of abuse of force That doesn’t y in Minnesota, where we have only a by a police oďŹƒcer — even if it’s hundreds of miles away small window of nice weather to enjoy the lakes, playing — we weep and worry. ball and hitting our state and county parks. Still, we did And what about our kids? They had the last three our best in accepting the governor’s mandate to play it months of their school year stolen from them. And don’t safe. even get me started on the seniors, who for all intents Now, here we are in June. The weather is warm, and and purposes were done with school in early March. the sun is bright and high in the sky. And while the State Distance learning and new-look graduation ceremonies has loosened restrictions on what we can and can’t do, softened the blow for the Class of 2020, but everything

There Ya Go

else was taken from them.

Again, so not fair.

Then there are our local businesses. Our small-town bars and restaurants have been crippled over the last three months by COVID-19. They were forced to close, then only serve in take-out fashion. Then they were able to welcome patrons to outdoor dining, and ďŹ nally on June 10 they could welcome diners inside their establishments at 50% capacity.

Our state — our economy — closed in a wink and is opening like a yawn. It wasn’t fair, but we hope June brings brighter days for everyone — outdoors enthusiasts, kids, businesses. Everyone.

I for one want to forget about the last three months.

We all should put them in the old review mirror, because we need to hold onto a sense of optimism for a brighter future, and it starts now — with summer.

Spring is supposed to be a time of rebirth, but this year, it wasn’t, so let’s hope and pray that the summer of 2020 will bring with it new adventures, new opportunities and new hope for better things for the rest of this year and for the rest of this decade, which couldn’t have started o worse.

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SOUTHWEST SAILOR, JUNE 2020 – 3

FIRST A FLOOD, NOW THIS COVID-19 wipes out Fragments of a Dream for 2020

BY PER PETERSON editor, tracy area headlight herald

A flood washed out the Fragments of a Dream pageant in the summer of 2018, but the pageant bounced back in a big way with a memorymaking spectacle last year that included a plethora of “Little House” actors descending on Walnut Grove.

Today, it’s not the weather that’s wrecking havoc on the internationally-beloved event, it’s a pandemic.

It was announced in May that this year’s festival, which has been entertaining throngs of Laura Ingalls fans for 42 years, will not be held because of COVID-19 and subsequent social distancing mandates. Cast members were notified by THIS ICONIC scene won’t be playing out live this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo / Per Peterson email and phone.

“After the initial They will broadcast their first program on for our cast and crew who had already domino effect of most the normal pageant start date: 7 p.m. on indicated almost unanimously that they theater and other live events being cancelled, it was obvious that we would Friday, July 10. It is the committee’s intent were ready to do what was needed to be in a similar situation,” said Wilder to share its miniseries “Laura’s Prairie make this a positive and memorable Pageant Committee President Bill Summer” on Youtube and Facebook; summer,” said Richards, who estimates Richards. “After a little grieving and check the website at walnutgrove.org for that not holding the event this year will result in a roughly $100,000 hit sadness, it was time for the optimist’s updates.

The pageant committee is developing to the production. He said those who PLAN B!” a Facebook live miniseries with four to have already purchased tickets can get Richards, who has filled different roles for the pageant since 1978, calls this six 45-minute programs featuring a mix a refund, or can choose to make their summer an “extended intermission.” He of new live and recorded scenes based purchase a donation to keep the pageant said the safety of the audience, cast and on Laura and Walnut Grove, interviews going for another season. with several Laura experts and wellPageant Director Erin Altmann, who crew are of the utmost concern. known bloggers, a few contests that may has been involved with the event since “We do not like to call it a involve trivia and cooking and possibly she acted in it years ago, said not having ‘cancellation,’” he said. “I prefer to think of it as an unfunded mandate. For health some pioneer crafts as well. The webcasts the live pageant and all that goes with it is a big disappointment, but she is trying and safety and helping people plan are free, though donations are accepted.

“The difficult part was working out a to stay positive by reflecting on Laura’s their summer, it became apparent that it was needed now rather than waiting way to still connect with our audience struggles back on the prairie.

“It is reflective of Laura’s time and until June. It was a very hard choice that and also provide a good experience took the committee almost an hour of discussion via Zoom.

Richards said in place of a live pageant this year, the Wilder Pageant Committee’s plan is to create an online miniseries with live and recorded performances, live interviews, history moments and contests for the audience.

all the struggles they endured and how with faith, family, and friends they were able to make it through,” she said. “I use this Laura quote every summer with my cast and it seems to fit this situation as well: ‘If enough people think of a thing and work hard enough at it, I guess it’s pretty nearly bound to happen, wind and weather permitting.’”

She added that the biggest thing she will miss is the interaction with the cast and crew that dedicate so much of their summer to making the production such a big hit. She said she considers them all part of her extended family even though she might not see them for all but two months of the year.

“When I hear about them losing a loved one, getting married, or having a baby, it causes a rush of emotion for those people that I have grown to love,” she said. “For many involved in the pageant it is much more than a production put on for three weekends in July. It is a place where they belong.”

Richards said the pageant will seek grant dollars and donations in efforts to rebound from this year’s losses as they make an effort to provide a refreshed production in 2021 that will attract a broader audience.

“How does anyone come back from a great loss?” he said. “You get as creative as possible and believe in what you are doing and go for it!”

• The 2021 pageant dates are July 9-10, 16-17, 23-24.

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4 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; SOUTHWEST SAILOR, JUNE 2020

SW Minnesota history shaped by bodies of water 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 Billâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s family, is reproducing his popular columns in this edition of the Sailor, as well as in editions yet to come: This summer my southwest Minnesota history articles will focus on four large bodies of water. Water which was vital to the native peoples who inhabited this area for approximately 98.6% of our regionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s human history, and water that is today inexplicably linked to many of us. Among a myriad of todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s values weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d ďŹ nd recreation, beauty, wildlife, economics, water quality, ďŹ&#x201A;ood control, homes, etc.

Unfortunately, to many, one of these almost irreplaceable resources was lost to the drainage people in 1912-13. I use the word almost as I never dreamed the Big Slough SE of Slayton would or could be restored â&#x20AC;&#x201C; it was! The other three survive, but in various stages of decay and as pawns to selďŹ shness, neglect and greed â&#x20AC;&#x201C; dearly in want of protection and care, as we the present custodians pursue our recreational, leisure time and business activities. I sometimes reďŹ&#x201A;ect

History Is Life Bill Bolin after a lifetime of living in this area as to the decisions we may have made, or might make in the future, if weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d have followed the Iroquois tradition of making all decisions today with the thoughts of seven generations from now.

The lakes I refer to are Lake Benton in southeast Lincoln County, the Great Oasis of northwest Murray County that became the victim of drainage just prior to WWI, Lake Shetek in north central Murray County, and Heron Lake in northwest Jackson County. All lie on the eastern slope of the Coteau des Prairie (Bemis Moraine or BuďŹ&#x20AC;alo Ridge to most of us) and eventually drain to the Mississippi via rivers and streams such as Coon Creek, Beaver Creek and the Redwood, Cottonwood, DesMoines, and Minnesota rivers.

Using reference sources such as: Draining The Great Oasis, by Janet Timmerman, 1993.

Joseph N. Nicollet on The Plains and Prairies, translated by Edmund and Martha Bray, 1976.

The Sun and The Moon, by Maxine Luehmann, 1985.

Early Western Murray County History,

by Robert B. Forrest, 1947.

Southwestern Minnesota Archaeology,

by Scott AnďŹ nson, 1997.

Western Iowa Pre-history, (Conservative Great Oasis), by Duane

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Anderson, 1995. and numerous articles, excerpts and documents I will try to provide readers with some interesting historical tidbits regarding these priceless water treasures which have helped sustain human occupation in southwest Minnesota for approximately 12,000 years.

Duane Anderson writes in chapter 4 of Western Iowa Prehistory: â&#x20AC;&#x153;In Murray County Minnesota, a now extinct lake was formed during the Ice Age. It is called Lake Great Oasis and is now entirely dry, but in pre-historic times a village was located along its shoreline.

The people who lived there vanished from the area more than 600 years ago.

They were ďŹ rst studied in the early 1940â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and have since come to be called â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Great Oasisâ&#x20AC;? people.â&#x20AC;?

Eventually the culture of these people was to spread into areas as diverse as Mobridge, South Dakota, Des Moines, Iowa, and northeast Nebraska. Archaeologist Scott AnďŹ nson indicates that the Great Oasis site was obviously a major Great Oasis phase village, the only one in Minnesota. A few smaller campsites are known in southwest Minnesota. One in the Big Slough southeast of Slayton, another at the Pipestone Quarry and perhaps the Pedersen site at Lake Benton.

It seems obvious in reading the works of Anderson and AnďŹ nson that

Joseph Nicolletâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 1838 expression â&#x20AC;&#x153;Great Oasisâ&#x20AC;? for the acres of timber found in sections 9 and 10 of present Lowville township were destined to become part of American history forever. A fraction of that timber still stands along Murray county Road #12â&#x20AC;Śturn west at Peteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Corner on Highway 59 and follow #12 for 7 miles.

There in northwest Murray County, north of Hadley and south of Balaton, was one of the great wildlife areas in the northwest. It was surrounded by 6,000 acres making up Bear, Rush, Crooked and Great Oasis Lakes and thousands of acres of treeless prairie. It was said to be the largest wooded area between the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers and had been protected from the gigantic prairie ďŹ res that historically swept across southwest Minnesota (generally from southwest to northeast).

The area boasted large stands of mature oak, elm, ash, linden (basswood), hackberry, willow, ironwood and cottonwood and a carpet of ferns and wildďŹ&#x201A;owers.

An extra bonus was an abundance of wild plum, grapes, raspberries, gooseberries, currants, elderberry and chokecherry.

In 1934 a widespread eďŹ&#x20AC;ort to reclaim the area as a wildlife restoration project

HISTORY IS LIFE continued on page 5

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SOUTHWEST SAILOR, JUNE 2020 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 5

Minnesota State Parks begin reopening with restrictions

A 1908 PLAT MAP of Lowville Township, Murray County, shows the Great Oasis Lake, Bear Lake, Rush Lake and Crooked Lake.

History is life Continued from page 4

was launched. Letters of support from Tracy, Slayton, Luverne, Lake Wilson, Fulda and Pipestone organizations make interesting reading today. It seems that only Hitler and the rise of Nazi power in Germany doomed the endeavor. By 1939 Hitlerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s invasion of Poland squelched any further eďŹ&#x20AC;ort to restore the once marvelous wildlife haven.

Two interesting depositions, given on March 3, 1934, on behalf of the restoration were those of J. Marshall Low, age 60 and son of Bart M. Low who had homesteaded there in 1866, and by Charley Aspeline age 57. Both men had been born there and had lived there their entire lives. They speak of songbirds, quail, prairie chicken, ducks and geese in the millions, heron, bittern and hundred of varieties of shorebirds, including willit, rails and curlews. They refer to the yearly return and nesting of sandhill cranes and the wide assortment of fur bearing animals. The depositions both refer to professors from the University of Minnesota and South Dakota State that came yearly to study rare specimens not found elsewhere.

The Great Oasis was a magnet for anyone traveling to the Pipestone quarries and no doubt native peoples visited the area for hundreds of years on their annual pilgrimage to the sacred place of red stone. George Catlin in 1836 and Joseph Nicollet and John Charles Fremont in 1838 all wrote of their time at the Great Oasis. Most importantly was the American Fur Company Trading Post located in the NE1/4 of section 10, Lowville Township. The post was established in 1833 and headed up

by Joseph Laframboise. 1837 was its last year of activity as smallpox had decimated many of the local Indians and the fall in rat prices no longer warranted the prairie trading posts.

Bob Forrest, in Western Murray County History, writes: that trade at the post ďŹ&#x201A;uctuated, but â&#x20AC;&#x153;ordinarily 300 or more Indians might be found in lodges in the Timberâ&#x20AC;?, and the â&#x20AC;&#x153;trade at the post was not conďŹ ned to this village. Indians who hunted at Lake Shetek, Lake Benton, near the Pipestone Quarry and all the territory west to the Big Sioux River, received credits from Laframboise.â&#x20AC;?

Today most of the woods and all of the lakes of the Great Oasis are gone; corn and beans have taken their place. I have only talked to a few who remember what it was like and they too are now gone.

Yet I vividly recall the twinkle in Lyman Bengstonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eyes and the excitement in his voice as he told how his father had taken him there as a young boy.

DO YOU HAVE A STORY IDEA OR WOULD LIKE TO ADVERTISE YOUR BUSINESS? Contact us at (507) 629-4300 or email info@swmnsailor.com

Camden State Park (507) 872-7031 10 miles southwest of Marshall on Highway 23 Camden State Park is a heavily wooded oasis along the Redwood River of over 1,600 acres. Habitat includes a maple basswood forest and prairie meadows.

The spring-fed swimming pool has a nice sandy beach, with a sand volleyball court located nearby. There are lifeguards on duty at the pool.

Nearly 16 miles of hiking trails, eight miles of snowmobile trails, 10 miles of horseback riding trails, over four miles of mountain bike trails, and ďŹ ve miles of cross-country ski trails are in the park.

The Redwood River is a designated trout stream, with German Brown Trout stocked each spring. Trout stamp required. Brawner Lake has a ďŹ shing pier and boat ramp (electric motors only).

The park has 80 drive-in campsites (upper and lower campgrounds), 47 electrical (upper and lower campgrounds). There are two wheelchair accessible sites (lower campground) and 12 horse campsites (50-person capacity).

The group campsite is located adjacent to the Redwood River and accommodates up to 50 people.

For reservations, visit www.dnr.state. mn.us/state_parks.

Lake Shetek State Park (507) 763-3256 3.5 miles NW of Currie via County Roads 38 and 37 The 1,108-acre parkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s history is rooted in the USâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;Dakota War of 1862. In August

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STATE PARKS continued on page 7

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of that year, Dakota Indians descended on the Shetek settlement. Sixteen white settlers and an unknown number of Dakota were killed. A monument to those who died stands on the east side of the park.

The park has 66 drive-in campsites (Oak Woods and Sunrise campgrounds), 64 electrical with 50 amp service (32 at Oak Woods; 32 with sewer, water and electric at Sunrise). There are seven cart-in sites, six wheelchair accessible sites, and one primitive group camp (Wilderness camp). The Zuya Group Center has an 80-person capacity. There are also four camper cabins.

14 miles of marked hiking trails include an interpretive trail to Loon Island; six-mile paved bike trail; ďŹ ve miles of snowmobile trails.

On the water: Boat access, ďŹ shing pier, canoe and kayak rental, and swimming.

Other recreation: Picnic facilities, playground equipment, volleyball courts, soccer nets and balls, horseshoes, and activity ďŹ elds.

For reservations, visit www.dnr.state. mn.us/state_parks.

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6 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; SOUTHWEST SAILOR, JUNE 2020

Prairie Lives: Feed Sack Dresses

The most common form of farming in our region from the late 1800s through the 1940s was smallscale, mixed farming. Small-scale simply means the average farms were small â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a quarter section (160 acres) was typical.

Reliance on draft animals or the early, smaller tractors for field work dictated

BY BILL PALMER

special to the sailor

Welcome to

this small size.

Mixed farming refers to the practice of raising livestock as well as crops.

During this time farming families often raised some beef cattle, dairy cows, hogs, and chickens; kept draft animals; and raised corn and oats for market and for livestock feed and bedding. Finally, the vegetable garden was an essential part of

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LORIE FETZIK

MARIAN PAGEL

supplying the farmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s kitchen.

This small-scale, mixed farming practice ensured farm families had a stable food supply. It also generated income from marketing the beef cattle, hogs, cream from cowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s milk, eggs, and the corn and oats not needed for livestock feed.

But the small scale of these farm operations also limited their income potential. Simply put, cash was tight.

This meant most farm families had slim budgets and little money for buying extra clothes, particularly for growing children.

Marian Pagel grew up during the 1930â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and 1940â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s on one of these small farms west of Marshall on Highway 19. She described their home and farm operation in detail, along with her many roles helping in that operation. For instance, she helped feed their livestock and ran a team of horses during hay harvest.

While describing her childhood farm and her parentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s roles, she added, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mom made all our clothes out of feed sacks.â&#x20AC;?

I had not heard of this practice before, so I later asked her how this worked.

Marian explained, â&#x20AC;&#x153;When Dad would go to buy feed, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d go along to pick out the print [on the feed sacks] and then Mom would use the material we chose to make dresses for us.â&#x20AC;? She added, â&#x20AC;&#x153;She would use patterns to make our clothes. She was very handy that way.

She probably got the patterns from JC Penney.â&#x20AC;?

She continued, â&#x20AC;&#x153;I remember going to [country] school in the winter wearing feed sack dresses and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d wear these heavy brown stockings that were held up with garter belts.â&#x20AC;?

When I asked if the other girls at the school also wore feed sack dresses, Marian replied, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Oh, yes. We all did.â&#x20AC;?

So it appears the feed dealers and farm families of the time had a unique relationship.

The feed dealers sold

DOROTHY SWEDZINSKI

farmers bags of processed feed for their livestock using materials for the bags attractive enough for a second use as material for childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s clothing.

This discovery intrigued me, so in subsequent interviews with women who had grown up on farms, I asked about this â&#x20AC;&#x153;feed sack phenomenon.â&#x20AC;?

Dorothy Swedzinksi grew up on a farm in rural Milroy during the 1930â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and 1940â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. When I asked her about feed sack dresses, she immediately replied, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Oh, yes. And my sister, being that she was 10 years younger than me, there was always enough left over to make a little dress for her.â&#x20AC;?

Lorie Fetzik grew up on a farm east of Minneota in the 1960â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and shared a story from her Grandmother. She explained, â&#x20AC;&#x153;My Grandmother always made us dish towels and she would tell me stories about the feed sack dresses.â&#x20AC;?

She added with a laugh, â&#x20AC;&#x153;[Grandma] would tell how they were so thankful to get certain prints and that other prints â&#x20AC;&#x201C; you just hoped your Mother never came home with them.â&#x20AC;?

Marshallâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ann John grew up on a farm in northern Iowa during the late 1930â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and 1940â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. She explained how her Mom used feed sack material: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Well, you know the feed sacks came from the chicken feed â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and the sacks it came in would be printed. The sacks were patterned in colors and designs of plaids and flowers. Mom would tell Dad how many sacks alike she had to have to make a dress or to make a shirt or whatever.

So he had to get so much of this fabric to make our clothes.â&#x20AC;?

She continued, â&#x20AC;&#x153;My first bought dress was when I graduated from 8th grade.

Otherwise, we would look at the catalog and my sister and I would pick out the dresses that we liked. Mom would put the newspaper on the floor; cut out the pattern; sew our dresses; and we were

DRESSES continued on page 14

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State Parks Continued from page 5

Blue Mounds State Park (near Luverne) The main campground and cart-in campgrounds are open from 8 a.m.-10 p.m. (tipis and group camp closed until further notice). All campsites need to be registered and paid for ahead of time by calling 1-866-857-2757.

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Kilen Woods State Park (near Lakefield) 27 of 33 campground sites opened on June 1 - 8 a.m.-10 p.m. All campsites need to be registered and paid for ahead of time by calling: 1-866-857-2757.

Upper Sioux Agency State Park (Granite Falls) Equestrian campground and Yellow Medicine campground are open; tipis opened on June 15; Riverside campground will remain closed until further notice. All campsites need to be registered and paid for ahead of time (1866-857-2725). Highway 67 is expected to be closed for major repairs through 2020 after collapsing last year. The park oďŹ&#x192;ce, main entrance and horse camp are on the west side of the closure and the Yellow Medicine Campground is on the east side, with a lengthy detour connecting them. Bathrooms/shower buildings are closed until further notice. Vault toilets are available at the Equestrian Campground, picnic grounds, and Yellow Medicine Campground.

Lac qui Parle State Park (near Watson) The Upper Campground including 41 drive in campsites, 3 walk in campsites, and 3 camper cabins opened June 1 for campers with reservations. The Group Campgrounds in the original portion of the park (lower) will remain closed until further notice. All campsites need to be registered and paid for ahead of time by calling: 1-866-857-2757.

bittonsroadhouse.com Social distancing regulations may affect hours and seating.

See what Tracy has to offerâ&#x20AC;Ś

Â&#x2039; 5,> 308<69 :;69, 67,505. :<44,9 Â&#x2039; >OLLSZ (JYVZZ [OL 7YHPYPL 4\ZL\T Â&#x2039; :P_ 4PSLZ VM )PRL ;YHPSZ Â&#x2039; :^PM[ 3HRL 7HYR *HTWNYV\UK Â&#x2039; /VZWP[HS *SPUPJ Â&#x2039; )LH\[PM\S -SV^LY .HYKLUZ Â&#x2039; ;LU *P[` 7HYRZ Â&#x2039; :OVWWPUN -VVK .HZ .YVJLYPLZ Â&#x2039; .VSM *V\YZL Â&#x2039; ;YHJ` (X\H[PJ *LU[LY Closed for 2020 season due to COVID-19

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PLANNING A VISIT? KNOW BEFORE YOU GO: â&#x20AC;˘ Plan ahead. Make reservations and buy your permits in advance. â&#x20AC;˘ Be prepared. Bring soap, toilet paper, water everything you might need. â&#x20AC;˘ Follow rules. Observe signage and practice social distancing - even outdoors.

For more information on Minnesota State Parks visit the DNR website at https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/ state_parks/index.html

8 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; SOUTHWEST SAILOR, JUNE 2020

passionate picking

Homeless Treasures is a hidden gem of a business in southwest Minnesota No other local business takes on the title of hidden gem quite as well as rural Tracyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Homeless Treasures.

Nestled a few miles south of Tracy, Sharon and Randy Hohlerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s yard is covered in a wealth of odd, unique and everyday items, from vintage furniture and galvanized scrap to antique games and wagon wheels. Their small business consists of three buildings overďŹ&#x201A;owing with inventory, the result of many years of passionate picking. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is what nine years of serious collecting and buying get for you,â&#x20AC;?

Sharon said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They call me the junk lady.â&#x20AC;?

Getting to the Hohlersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; farm isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t always easy, but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s well worth a few extra minutes spent navigating gravel roads and peaceful sloughs. For true antiquers, the destination is very much a treasure trove, run by someone who is only in the business to see old pieces ďŹ nd new homes. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I have no sellerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s remorse. Whoever buys it is going to love it and that makes me happy,â&#x20AC;? Sharon said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I have to sell because I like to buy, I like to hunt.â&#x20AC;?

Homeless Treasures will open for another summer season on June 12, with new regulations that address the

BY ERIN BALLARD reporter, tracy area headlight herald

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SHARON HOHLER looks over a plethora of antiques at her home south of Tracy. Photo / Erin Ballard

COVID-19 pandemic. Sharon has been keeping up with the latest in advice on safely opening from Minnesota health oďŹ&#x192;cials, the Centers for Disease Control, and local authorities, like Murray County Emergency Management Director Carl Nyquist. The new system sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s enacted includes requiring customers to wear a mask (provided for $1), oďŹ&#x20AC;ering a hand sanitizer station and keeping up with social distancing rules through a number system that will limit the amount of people in each building.

There will also be a guest sign-in sheet to help track who visits and how to get in touch with them later, if necessary. So far, commenters on Facebook, some of them Sharonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s summer regulars, have been kind and understanding about the wait, if not a little anxious for this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s re-opening. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been bugging me and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m ready. Life has to go on, you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t live in fear,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m leery, but excited.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just kind of scary. If you feel sick, just stay home.â&#x20AC;?

This summer, Homeless Treasures will oďŹ&#x20AC;er the same kind of pieces that

it always has, with additional weekly bargain tables this year in place of the annual Fatherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day rummage sale.

But the vast stock of quirky items, tools, household and garden dĂŠcor, old-fashioned toys and much more will remain the same. With every pass through a building, a wandering eye can catch something new, something diďŹ&#x20AC;erent and rare. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I like to carry a little bit of everything. If you pigeon-hole yourself youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve only got a certain clientele,â&#x20AC;?

Sharon said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;A lot of it is a memory thing. Customers see something and theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re like, mom had that or grandma had that.â&#x20AC;?

Sharon has had a passion for collecting antiques for as long as she can remember. She blames her father, Swede Beierman, for passing down the trait. â&#x20AC;&#x153;My dad was a collector, he would always bring home stuďŹ&#x20AC;, big stuďŹ&#x20AC;. To the point my mom said if you bring anything else home it needs to ďŹ t under the bed,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;My sister and I both

HOMELESS TREASURES continued on page 9

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Homeless Treasures Continued from page 8

say we’ve got Papa it to take everything Visit Homeless Treasures on Swede’s sprinkles. We home,’” Sharon said, Facebook for more information, both love it.” laughing. “We make a including updated hours. Accepts walk-ins and appointments.

Sharon got used good pair.”

Address: 1964 230th Ave to rummaging and That means that Tracy, Minn., 56175 thrifting during her Randy was on board Directions from Tracy: 6 miles childhood, when times when Sharon recently south on County Road 11, turn were leaner in the acquired a barge — the left on 201st Street/County Road 17. After 1 mile, turn right on family. That mentality, kind used for shipping 230th Avenue. Pull in at the sign that old things are still cargo on the ocean — and red mailbox. useful and can be given for extra storage. She’s Contact: (507) 227-1198 new life, continued into been able to use the her adult way of life. last couple months to “I always tell people my house looks organize it, in addition to sprucing up just like this, I don’t have anything new building displays and getting back into in my house,” she said. gardening. While she doesn’t know all Sharon’s been collecting for so long her that the future holds, Sharon and Randy name has become a staple in the regional will continue with Homeless Treasures auction and antiquing market. Nowadays, until they can’t anymore, she said. At most of her inventory comes from people the end of the day, her passion is with who call her directly, sometimes with one the thrill of the hunt, buying and selling, item to look at, other times with an entire rehoming and reusing, rather than being building full. Maintaining relationships purely for profit. That enthusiasm is with those sellers and gifters over the apparent to the many frequent fliers of years has helped Sharon keep Homeless Homeless Treasures who continue to Treasures unique and fresh. make the country trek each summer to “It’s all about connections and being find their own diamonds in the rough, kind to people and being fair. People fostered with love and care by Sharon. are so generous to me, I am gifted,” she “I never thought I’d be a business said. “I love picking. That’s my favorite. owner,” she said. “But people bring If I can go and be able to pick, especially stuff to me because they know I’ll love it on farms, and find that cool, neat, odd and they know I’ll find someone else to stuff, put it in a pile and it’s great, I can love it.” keep the price reasonable.”

Homeless Treasures opened its doors on June 11, 2011, after years of successful rummage sales and collecting. Sharon and Randy initially purchased a single building and started selling out of the farmyard, but eventually the demand for more inventory forced them to expand. They had their eyes on one nearby structure in particular, which happened to be newly owned by a coworker and friend.

“I tried to buy this barn and she said, ‘Oh sweetie, it’s got your name all over it, you can have it,’’’ Sharon said. “I always say I have junking angels. I truly, SHARON HOHLER’S extensive antique collection ranges from furniture to old signs. truly do.”

Now, Homeless Treasures consists of three shops. While Sharon runs the business show, including creating all of the ever-changing displays throughout, Randy enjoys collecting just as much, she said. The couple have amassed an impressive assortment of items during their 45-year marriage and often tag team auctions, such as the time their separate purchases ended up working quite well together.

“I pointed out to him all the things that I wanted to get and he says, ‘I bought that two-wheel trailer over there.’ I said, ‘Really? That’s probably a good thing because we’re going to need

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“I LOVE PICKING. THAT’S MY FAVORITE,” SAYS SHARON HOHLER. “If I can go and be able to pick, especially on farms, and find that cool, neat, odd stuff, put it in a pile and it’s great, I can keep the price reasonable.” Photos / Erin Ballard

Visitor’s Center, Gifts and Tourist Information 440 North Mill Street, Currie, MN (507) 763-3708 e-mail: endoline@co.murray.mn.us

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JODY GROGAN caught this Northern Pike that weighed over 15 lbs. while crappie ďŹ shing on Lake Shetek this spring.

VALHALLA & KEELEY ISLANDS

ARIEL COYLE caught this crappie on Bloody Lake.

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SOUTHWEST SAILOR, JUNE 2020 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 11

Send us your fishing & hunting photos â&#x20AC;&#x201C; email info@swmnsailor.com

FROM LEFT: HAYDEN SANDERS caught this catfish in Bloody Lake; Jared Sanders holds up his northern caught in Bloody Lake; Levi DeSchepper is excited to hold up his first bullhead of the season.

G reenwood Floral ABOVE: KINLEE SANDERS proudly displays her catfish she caught on Bloody Lake. BELOW: Jenna Sanders and Rylee Schmidt show their perch and crappie caught in Bloody Lake.

Submitted photos

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Noblesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Road This begins the narrative â&#x20AC;&#x153;Noblesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Road,â&#x20AC;? written by Randy Kottke of rural Tracy.

In June of 1857, an expedition of seventy-ďŹ ve men left New Ulm to begin construction of a wagon road between Fort Ridgely and the Continental Divide. To the Congress that funded it, the eight hundred-mile Fort Ridgely and South Pass Wagon Road promised emigration, settlement, even a railroad route to the PaciďŹ c. The men were led by former Minnesota Territorial House member William H. Nobles, appointed as Superintendent of the project. Privately, Nobles was involved with the Dakota Land Company, an ephemeral incorporation of speculators and politicians who would attach themselves unoďŹ&#x192;cially to the roadbuilders that summer. By claiming town sites along the new route, the land company expected to proďŹ t from the settlement sure to follow Minnesotaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s forthcoming statehood.

By July it was apparent Nobles and his entourage had little interest beyond the rich soils of what is now southwest Minnesota and eastern South Dakota. And by the end of October, the train of twenty-seven wagons, drawn by oxen, mules, and horses had returned to its starting point after reaching only the east bank of the Missouri River.

The entire government appropriation had been spent, the project was abandoned, and work on the road never resumed. Nobles had completed 254 miles of road, about one-third of his assignment.

Preserved on microďŹ lm by the National Archives in 1948, records are nearly all that remains of the project. But in them, a study of our regionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s earliest days. How the campaign moved, where it travelled, what it built, who the men were. Their supplies, the tools, the animals, the carbines and revolvers. An Itinerary describing the water, wood, grazing, topography, the game and the weather. And the letters that had moved between St. Paul and Washington in nine days like clockwork. Other documents list barrels of pork and beef and ďŹ&#x201A;our by the score; codďŹ sh, bacon, sugar, salt, tobacco, by the hundreds of pounds. Beads and blankets for the Indians. Hay by the tons and grain by the hundreds of bushels. The story of Noblesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Road.

Machinist, Blacksmith and Wagonmaker, forty-year old William H. Nobles had become a promoter, too, by the time of his 1856 appointment as superintendent of the road project. A participant in the California gold rush, he had returned to his home of St. Paul, Minnesota Territory and in the fall of 1853 was elected to the Minnesota Territorial House, chairing its Roads Committee. From his western adventure, Nobles

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believed that a road from Minnesota to the Rocky Mountains would be shorter and oďŹ&#x20AC;er more wood and water to the traveler than the Platte River trail from Missouri.

He and his backers spent the next three years lobbying for â&#x20AC;&#x153;communicationâ&#x20AC;? with a California pleading for emigrants.

Noblesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; plan allied him with Minnesota politicians Henry Mower Rice and Joseph Renshaw Brown. Rice was the territoryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Democratic Delegate in Congress and Noblesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Washington counterpart as promoter of a paciďŹ c route from Minnesota. First elected in 1853, Rice maintained an obvious presence during the construction of the road, even pledging his name as security for the expeditionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ferry expenses and clothing for the roadbuilders. Brown, elected to the Territorial Council and then the Territorial House, was also a Democrat, served with Nobles, and was involved in all things related to the road. Brown was one of the organizers of the 1854 meeting in St. Paul that chose Nobles as lobbyist in Washington for the project.

In July 1856, Congress appropriated $50,000 to build a portion of Noblesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; idea, that from Fort Ridgely in Minnesota Territory to South Pass, near Lander, Wyoming.

There, it was to intersect an improved central route to California, the Fort Kearney, South Pass, and Honey Lake Wagon Road. Noblesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; section was over eight hundred miles and the 2018 value of its appropriation was a million and a half dollars. Congress assigned the project to the Department of the Interior, who in turn directed it to Commissioner of Indian AďŹ&#x20AC;airs George W. Maypenny, who then selected the everpresent Noblesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; as Superintendent. Nobles applied himself to the roadâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s construction immediately, leaving Washington, DC on September 22nd, 1856.

Supplies were purchased in New York and other points during the eleven days travel to St. Paul, where three weeks were consumed hiring men and adding provisions. Finally, Nobles, assistant Samuel A. Medary, and eighteen men left St. Paul with seven teams, bound for Fort Ridgely. The party struggled for ďŹ ve days over rain-soaked roads to reach the fort, about one hundred miles. The superintendentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ďŹ rst task was to determine whether his survey would follow the drainage of the Redwood River or the Cottonwood River. Electing to study the course of the Redwood ďŹ rst, an Indian guide was enlisted and the group left the fort, traveling ninety miles west in eight days to Hole in the Mountain. A natural ascent to the plateau of the Coteau des Prairies, Nicollet had been there in 1838 and estimated the bluďŹ&#x20AC;s to be one-hundred ten feet above the nearby Lake Benton. He recorded, â&#x20AC;&#x153;the site is one of grand beauty, and the extensive view enjoyed from one of the summits that surround the neck is as ravishing as it is varied.â&#x20AC;? Determining that his road must utilize the passage regardless of which ďŹ nal route he chose, Nobles employed part of his men constructing a supply depot there for the next yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work. Others with six of the teams retraced their steps to collect materials being relayed from St. Paul.

The group had traveled over a burned prairie since leaving Fort Ridgely, and from Indians at Hole in the Mountain the superintendent learned the burning continued to the Missouri River, one hundred-sixty miles west. Without reliable forage for the teams, further travel was pointless. Nobles procured a â&#x20AC;&#x153;small quantity of hay from a settlement on the Red Wood,â&#x20AC;? possibly Lyndâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s trading post, and with an interpreter rode west twenty-four miles to the Big Sioux River. There he claimed to have encountered a band of impoverished Sioux River Indians who insisted that the land west of the river was theirs, protesting an examination of it unless paid.

Without, â&#x20AC;&#x153;they would resist all attempts to go over it.â&#x20AC;? Unable to meet the Indiansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; demands, the superintendent returned to Hole in the Mountain. He would bring the matter before his department. The remainder of the supplies arrived, the depot and a stable were completed, and three men remained over the winter to produce stakes for marking the road when work resumed in the spring.

By December 7th, Nobles had returned to St. Paul and explained his work in a report to commissioner Maypenny. Admittedly, no actual roadbuilding had been accomplished, though a route had been located between Fort Ridgely and the Big Sioux, about 110 miles. Completion of that section, the superintendent lamented, would have been possible, â&#x20AC;&#x153;had I been enabled to commence operations one month

NOBLES continued on page 13

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Nobles Continued from page 12

earlier.â&#x20AC;? Too, there was â&#x20AC;&#x153;much annoyanceâ&#x20AC;? without access to $4500 remaining from the $13,500 estimate of funds needed that fall; Superintendent of Indian AďŹ&#x20AC;airs Huebschmann, whom Nobles learned had received the remainder, was not in St. Paul. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is to be regretted the more,â&#x20AC;? Nobles complained, stating he was thus unable to continue forwarding supplies for the following season. The California desperate for an eastern connection seemed all but forgotten in the superintendentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s summary of his progress: The road passes over a country well adapted for agriculture, the land being of the best quality, well-watered and with suďŹ&#x192;cient timber to supply the wants of the settlers along that portion of the route east of the Hole in the Mountain and the beneďŹ cial eďŹ&#x20AC;ects of the construction of the road are already perceptible in the impetus given to the settlements in that direction. Although the location of the road was delayed until late in the fall, many farms have already been selected in the country through which it passes and preparations for heavy settlements east of the Sioux river are now in progress.

Doubtless the line of the road as far as it has been located will be settled during the next summer.

But it would not be settled the next summer, or the next, or even the next. It would be ďŹ fteen years before settlement of the region had â&#x20AC;&#x153;impetus.â&#x20AC;?

The spring of 1857 brought a change of administration, the new President Buchanan selecting Jacob Thompson as Secretary of the Interior. An elevenyear Congressman from Mississippi, Thompson would later display his loyalty to the south by resigning from his cabinet position at the outbreak of the Civil War to serve in the confederate army and as governor of Mississippi.

He reappointed the decidedly northern Nobles as superintendent on April 25th.

Once again in Washington, Nobles was â&#x20AC;&#x153;directed to repair to St. Paul, Minnesota, without delay,â&#x20AC;? and authorized to purchase supplies between Chicago and Fort Ridgely.

Thompson moved administration of the Fort Ridgely and South Pass project from the Indian OďŹ&#x192;ce to his newly created PaciďŹ c Wagon Roads OďŹ&#x192;ce, and chose Albert H. Campbell as General Superintendent of the PaciďŹ c Wagon Roads. Thompson selected Noblesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; assistant from the previous fall, Samuel A. Medary, as Engineer. Medary was now a Governorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s son, his father Samuel Medary having been appointed Minnesotaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s third territorial governor in March. Assistant Engineer W. E. Smith was added. Noblesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; task was to establish a basic route with grading or bridging necessary only to allow loaded wagons to travel, protecting the expeditionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s property from Indian losses with Sharps carbines and Colt revolvers supplied by the War Department.

A frustrated Nobles wrote to Secretary Thompson on May 15th, 1857, reporting his lack of progress in organizing men and materials at St. Paul. The projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s intended Disbursing Agent had declined the appointment and Nobles believed the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s voucher system cumbersome in the cash-fueled Territory. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I have experienced much diďŹ&#x192;culty in obtaining funds to commence purchasing supplies,â&#x20AC;? Nobles wrote. Nonetheless, he had begun acquiring provisions, wagons, tents, oxen, mules, and horses, by giving his â&#x20AC;&#x153;individual responsibilityâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;oďŹ&#x192;cial authorityâ&#x20AC;? to obtain money.

Departure for Fort Ridgely would be delayed a week, perhaps two, due to

the unusually cold spring delaying the growth of grass; the animals required a constant supply of forage once moving.

From Noblesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; letter: The Minnesota River is in good condition and I shall ship the bulk of the supplies hence to Fort Ridgely by that river, sending the teams and men by land.

I am at present engaged in procuring suitable men for the expedition taking particular care to select able bodied and competent men giving preference to those who have had experience in mountain life and duties.

The rumored diďŹ&#x192;culties with the Indians I ďŹ nd to be too true. The Indians in many sections are wickedly disposed and on many places on the route the tribes are hostilely inclined and I shall be obliged to take precautionary measures on their account and make my force somewhat larger, not less than seventy-ďŹ ve men being necessary to prosecute the work with safety and in accordance with the views of the Department of the Interior; it may be that I may require more.

Sixteen miles upriver from New Ulm, Fort Ridgely was intended to serve as a buďŹ&#x20AC;er between the newly created Sioux reservations along the Minnesota River and an encroaching white settlement.

The need to supply the frontier post by steamboat placed it near the lower boundary of the reserve, the furthest point upstream on the Minnesota that could be reliably navigated. Construction of the fort began in 1853 with the arrival of two Companies of the Armyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Sixth Infantry from Fort Snelling; aboard three steamboats, each with two barges in tow, they travelled 250 miles up the Minnesota to a forty-ďŹ ve-square mile tract selected by the military. Fifteen miles further upriver, construction of an administrative agency for the lower Sioux was begun and within two years, ďŹ fty tons of freight per week were sent to the fort by water. Though the remote location was necessary for its mission, the fort remained an unlikely starting point for the emigrant and his wagons.

On May 21st, Nobles wrote Thompson about the expected carbine and revolver shipment, â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am prepared to depart as soon as I receive the promised supply.â&#x20AC;?

Two days later he advised it would not be possible to purchase replacement arms, if necessary, â&#x20AC;&#x153;the parties from whom I contract to purchase will not take my y certiďŹ ed vouchers in p payment, y

they demand cash.â&#x20AC;? He added, â&#x20AC;&#x153;indeed it is impossible to purchase anything in this Territory without funds to pay, upon delivery of the goods.â&#x20AC;? Nobles enlisted the services of R. A. Fish as Clerk and J. D. Goodrich as Physician. For six hundred dollars per year and subsistence, Fish recorded the daily progress of the expedition, its priceless Itinerary.

On June 6th, Fish informed Thompson that the arms had arrived. From the St. Louis Arsenal, ďŹ fty thoroughly modern Sharps carbines with ďŹ ve-thousand percussion cartridges were issued to the expedition, plus one dozen Coltâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Navy model revolvers with twelvehundred percussion cartridges. Leaving little to chance, the arsenal also included ďŹ ve sets of spare parts for the carbines.

Sharpsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; pattern of breech loading arm was by then successful and the rapidity of ďŹ re aďŹ&#x20AC;orded by its breech-loading system assured its superiority to muzzle loading arms. The Sharps company included Andrew B. Grayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s glowing 1855 testimonial in their catalog, â&#x20AC;&#x153;It inspired the men with great conďŹ dence in their strength and power to defend themselves against superior numbers. With ten men, a negro and a Mexican, I kept at bay one hundred and forty Apache warriors, all fully armed, just on the eve of an attack on Gov. Gardnerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ranch in Sonora.â&#x20AC;?

Still, Nobles remained in St. Paul.

Provisions purchased in St. Paul and New Ulm included sixteen barrels of

ďŹ&#x201A;our, nine barrels salt pork, sixty bushels of potatoes, 563 pounds sugar, 550 pounds salt, 208 pounds dried apples, 165 pounds coďŹ&#x20AC;ee, 106 pounds of bacon, and ďŹ fty pounds of lard. Payment was suspended on vouchers for 470 pounds codďŹ sh, ďŹ ve half-barrels mackerel, 100 boxes of sardines, six boxes herring, 140 pounds ďŹ gs, ďŹ ve boxes raisins, and 275 pounds of tobacco. Those items were determined, â&#x20AC;&#x153;not strictly necessary, but belong to that class usually denominated the luxuries of life, and consequently could not be paid out of the appropriation for the construction of a wagon road.â&#x20AC;? Calling general superintendent Campbell, â&#x20AC;&#x153;your clerk,â&#x20AC;? Nobles responded to the censure in a rambling eight-page June 11th reply to Thompson. Of the vouchers returned for explanation: In a long journey where hard work independent of fatiguing travel has to be performed a variety & constant change of diet is indispensable to preserve the health and cheerfulness of the men & I submit that it is no economy to feed your men on pork & beef for six months without change. For these prudential reasons I laid in a very small stock of antiscorbutic supplies which your clerk thinks unnecessary. One pound of codďŹ sh at 9 cents will go farther for a breakfast meal than two pounds of pork at 13 ½ cents and a sardine or herring when you camp late in the evening will satisfy the appetite far better

NOBLES continued on page 15

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Dresses Continued from page 6

thrilled to death. We had a new dress for school.â&#x20AC;?

When I asked whether this was common, she shared the experience of her grade school peers, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Only four girls from our class ordered clothes from the catalog. The rest of us all had feed sack dresses. The boys even had feed sack shirts.â&#x20AC;?

She reďŹ&#x201A;ected on what they had experienced growing up, â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think back to how we were poor, but everybody was poor and never knew it. Nobody stood

out as diďŹ&#x20AC;erent or better than the next person. We were all working hard; had responsibilities; had jobs to do â&#x20AC;&#x201C; chores.

Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the way it was.â&#x20AC;?

Increased farm mechanization and the ag-markets rewarding economies of scale since the mid-20th century pushed farming toward larger and more specialized operations. This led to fewer farms; fewer and smaller farm families; increased income for the larger farm operations; and fewer farms engaged in mixed farming, among other changes.

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It also spelled the end of the era of feed sack dresses.

It seems worthwhile to consider from time to time what we have gained and what we have lost as a regional community from these changes to our farm economy.

I welcome your participation in this exploration of prairie lives. You may reach me at prairieviewpressllc@gmail. com.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mom made all our clothes out of feed sacks,â&#x20AC;?

Marian Pagel said. Submitted photo

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than uncooked beef or pork, and on Sunday a few raisins introduced into a palatable dish with a good plate of “macaroni” soup go a long ways to preserve cheerfulness without which the duties are performed reluctantly & less work accomplished. I have deemed it no extravagance to provide for all contingencies. I am to depart with undisciplined men for a journey of peril and hardship and I deem it my duty to provide for their comfort and health.

Defending the tobacco purchase, Nobles advised that the tobacco was to conciliate the Indians, and “a few pounds of tobacco has often been the means of saving many a mule and horse.” He seemed unaware that eleven years prior, Secretary Thompson was chairman of the Committee on Indian Affairs in the Twentyninth Congress. Nobles informed that a Disbursing Agent had arrived, but “he has no money.” Without acknowledging receipt of the all-important arms five days earlier, Nobles complained, “I have been ready to start for 3 weeks & it may as long a time yet before the bills are paid,” concluding, “I have a fine set of men & am anxious to carry out the intentions of Congress & only await money to settle my accounts.” Nobles’ friend, congressman Rice, later defended the purchases: In regard to the Codfish and Raisins, I can only say that as to the fish it was cheaper than pork, and as to the raisins, I consider them very useful upon the plains or upon the sea, especially where vegetables cannot be had. I have spent many years upon the plains and always when possible took raisins to occasionally mix with the food for my men as a prevention of the scurvy.

Nobles had also been asked to explain the purchase of oxen at $197 per yoke, deemed exorbitant by Washington. The civilian seller, William Divier, responded that he had sold Nobles twenty yoke of oxen averaging 1200 pounds per animal, each with a girth of 6 ½ to 7 ½ feet, declaring, “if they were slaughtered today they would bring as much as they cost.” Nobles had obtained the oxen on credit from Divier, as well as nearly seven thousand dollars in supplies for the

project. A Baltimorean, Divier was a friend of New York born Nobles and had been in California at the same time as Nobles. Announcing to Campbell that he and honorable dignitaries from Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Maryland would accompany Nobles to see the “great West,” Divier made it clear that his involvement was to invest in land, he had ready money, and he wanted the road built.

Either unknown to or unimportant to Divier, Superintendent Campbell was born in West Virginia, was a civil engineer, and by 1853 had crossed the continent twice in the employ of the government in its explorations for southern railroad routes to the Pacific.

He was a personal friend of General Lee, and as did Thompson, joined the Confederacy at the outbreak of the civil war. An Itinerary entry on June 30th, 1857, noted a lake along the route being named “Devere” Lake in honor of the “esteemed friend from Baltimore City.”

St. Paul newspapers studied the roadbuilder’s lack of progress; the June 15th Daily Minnesotian observed Nobles’ party had been encamped in the vicinity of Fort Snelling nearly a month, “and the officers and men of the expedition are running about the streets or lying listlessly in camp.” The following day, the Pioneer & Democrat reported on Nobles’ recent fistfight with former Territorial Governor Willis A. Gorman, who cast “disreputable imputations upon the character of Col. Nobles.” The titular rank had been added by the newspapers, one writer finding the superintendent willing to fight Indians, too: Colonel Nobles passes through the country occupied by the warlike Indians, and I am fully persuaded, from my knowledge of the character of the Colonel and conversations with him, that he will punish them severely long before the dilatory orders of the Secretary of War can reach even this town. The friends of the wagon road expedition need be under no apprehensions as far as their safety is concerned, because they are well armed, mounted, and experienced mountaineers.

On June 18th, Nobles at last informed Thompson that

the expedition was departing St. Paul. Although bills remained unpaid, the superintendent repeated that he had pledged his own faith and his own credit to borrow money from friends, thereby assisting “a Government work.” He defended the borrowing by reasoning, “had I not done so, the object of this expedition would have been defeated and six years of my explorations entirely lost,” adding that he would not charge interest to the government.”

Henry Rice was one of the friends whom Nobles asked for assistance. Thompson had finally ordered Nobles to begin field operations, and the superintendent, out of money, called upon Rice. The superintendent later said, “when he enquired of me what amount of money would be necessary to start my train, I informed him that by making myself personally liable for a part, with fifteen hundred dollars for ferry expenses and to purchase clothing for the men, I thought I might proceed.” Nobles did borrow the money and was finally leaving St. Paul, “after a detention of nearly six weeks, solely for want of funds.”

On the other hand, Thompson was well aware of the expedition’s ability to start; vouchers submitted to Washington for payment told the story of a wellequipped party. In his order to Nobles, the Secretary included, “you were aware of the limited amount of the appropriation for the Road under your charge, you were instructed to confine yourself within these limits, and not create a deficiency against this road.

Regardless of these facts, you have nearly expended the appropriation without making a commencement, and seem determined to force the department into a deficiency.” So convoluted were Nobles’ financial dealings that the government would require five years to settle his accounts. Nonetheless, the builders of the Fort Ridgely and South Pass Wagon Road were underway.

See part two in the July edition of the SW MN Sailor.

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