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Closing Celebration at Lafayette Charter School By Ruth Klossner Sunday was a bittersweet day at Lafayette Charter School. The LCS PROS held a closing celebration that gave students and staff one more chance to walk through the school, get something to eat in the lunchroom, play some games, and visit with friends. The kids seemed to enjoy that last chance to be with their classmates before they head off to new schools in the next few weeks. They talked, ate ice cream, climbed on the playground, and got a pickup game of kickball going. It's sad that the school has had
to close its doors, due to a lack of teachers. It had a good run and was great for the community. Lafayette Charter School opened September 7, 1999 with 35 kindergarten through fifth grade students and three full-time teachers at two sites—Lafayette and a satellite site at the Hutterian Brethren Colony near Gibbon. School enrollments grew through the years as LCS became a pre-kindergarten through eighth grade school. The school had about 70 students when the difficult decision to close was made in mid-July. Those kids will likely enroll in area public and One last trip through the school lunchroom. Everyone enjoyed sub The boys—and a few girls—got a game of kickball going and had fun private schools or be home schooled. sandwiches with all the trimmings, chips, cookies, and water. trying to get runners out.
For the LCS students who came from out of town, Sunday might have These girls enjoyed ice cream while sitting in the shade under been their last chance to play on the school playground. the trees.
Courtland Fire Department Celebrates 125th Year By Ruth Klossner For the first time in 25 years— since its centennial—the Courtland fire fighters added water fights to its annual fire department dance and lunch. The locals invited area departments to join them for an afternoon of fun and got entries from New Ulm, Nicollet, Cleveland, and Le
Center. Some of the departments entered several teams so the men’s division had eight entries. The women’s division had four entries, as did the chief’s contest. Courtland wasn’t exactly “the good host,” however, as it didn’t share the top prizes—making a clean sweep of first in each division. Nicollet teams took second and third in the men’s division.
Le Center was second in the women’s division, Courtland’s second team third, and Nicollet fourth. Nicollet placed second in the chief’s competition. Meanwhile, up at the Community Center, there were other things to do. The fireman had collected a lot of history material and set up a great display for all to see. The fire association served a pulled pork sandwich
meal and beverages were available. The music started at 3:00 p.m., with the Misfits playing until 7:00 p.m. Then, at 8:30 p.m., the Schell’s Angels took over, playing for the next four hours. All in all, it was a fun day for people to gather, to remember the group’s history, and to thank the Courtland Fire Department for its service for the last 125 years.
Longtime LCS teacher Tally Clobes, left, and Ashley Juracek shared a laugh.
MORE PHOTOS ON PAGE 3
War in Nicollet County By Michael Lemmer
This past week marked the 160th anniversary of a war being waged in Nicollet County. The U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 encompassed much of the Minnesota River Valley during the months that it took place. Fort Ridgely in Nicollet County played an important role in the war, and would go into the history of the American West as the only fort to come under an attack as it experienced. The Dakota War began on August 18, 1862 at the Lower Sioux Agency along the Minnesota River when Chief Little Crow made the decision to attack the site in an effort to drive all settlers from the river valley. This came after a summer of much tension between the eastern band of Dakota, fur traders, and Agents with the US. government. The agents were late with government annuity payments owed to the Dakota. The traders refused to extend credit to With the sun coming out during the championship round of the men’s The fire fighters put a lot of work into assembling an extensive the tribe for food, and a harsh predivision, a rainbow formed from the spray. Courtland, right, took the historical display, dating all the way back to the founding of the vious winter and the depletion of first two heats in the best of three competition to take first. department in 1897 much of the wild game in the area had led to starvation and severe hardship for many of the native people of southern Minnesota. In the years leading up to the war, the settler population of Minnesota had skyrocketed as the territory became a state. In 1850 there were just over 6,000 settlers in the territory. Ten years later that number had grown to more than 172,000 settlers. This had a dramatic effect on the native Dakota's wild game for food along with the fur from that game for trading. The Treaty of Traverse des Sioux was signed in 1851 in what would The “older crowd” enjoyed dancing and listening to the music of The Courtland Team 2 battled Le Center in the women’s division of the become Nicollet County. It and the Treaty of Mendota that same year Misfits Saturday afternoon. water fights. Nicollet County Ledger P.O. Box 212, Lafayette MN 56054 Office: 766 Main Avenue
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ceded large tracts of land in the Minnesota Territory to the United States Government in exchange for promises of money and supplies to the Dakota.The treaties established a 20-mile wide reservation along a 150-mile stretch of the upper Minnesota River for the natives. But the articles of the treaties which set out reservations were removed by the U.S. Senate during ratification. Much of the compensation promised to the Dakota for the land then went to traders instead, who claimed large debts were owed them by the natives. The Dakota had factions within their tribes that were becoming increasingly discontented by the summer of 1862. Non-payment by the U.S. Government, which was at that time fighting the Civil War, along with food shortages and famine had severely disrupted the Dakota way of life. A report to President Lincoln earlier that year had found numerous violations of law and fraud pertaining to the agents of Indian Affairs in the area as well. When the southern Mdewakanton and Wahpekute petitioned the Lower Sioux Agency for supplies on August 15, 1862 their pleas were rejected due to lack of payment, in which the U.S. Government was two months behind. Minnesota State Senator and Indian Agent Thomas Galbraith managed the agency at the time. Upon refusing to distribute food to the bands without payment, he is said to have stated “So far as I am concerned, if they are hungry let them eat grass or their own dung.” This statement was later cited by Chief Little Crow as the major reason for commencing the war. Continued on Page 5
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