Battle Lake history blends with state sesquicentennial
Published Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Photo by Tom Hintgen
Reba Gilliand of Battle Lake holds a photo of her house in 1906 that was built by Philip DeCatesby Ball as a summer home. In the early years of the 20th century he owned the St. Louis Browns, which later became the Baltimore Orioles.
Minnesota’s 150th anniversary (sesquicentennial) this summer will be celebrated all across the state as various communities — Battle Lake included — blend local history with state history.
Spearheading this effort is the Battle Lake Area Friends & Neighbors, a local non-profit organization with support from a steering committee made up of community leaders. Represented are the Battle Lake School, Battle Lake Area Community Fund, Lions Club, Friends of Glendalough State Park and other groups.
“We’ll have an enactment of Glendalough's history as told through prominent characters," said Reba Gilliand, one of the organizers for the summer 2008 events in Battle Lake. “It’s great to have so many people involved.”
The Glendalough enactments will take place late afternoon and evening on July 31. Actors and actresses will depict renowned Battle Lake personalities such as Ezra G. Valentine, Fred Everts, F. E. Murphy, Star-Tribune owners, and Glendalough guests Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon who visited the areas in the 1950s.
There will be reduced admission to Glendalough State Park and refreshments provided by Glendalough Park Partners.
A play the evenings of Aug. 1 and 2 and matinee on Aug. 3 at Broberg Fine Arts Auditorium at the high school will be based on memories and stories of Battle Lake area residents.
Playwright Roger Niebold, who is a well-known writer and who has written for the Minnesota History Theatre, is on board through a grant from the Lake Region Arts Council. Also involved are local director Carol Mikkelson and a cast of Battle Lake area residents.
Exhibits depicting the evolution of transportation, businesses, churches, organizations, farming, recreation and many other facets of life through the years will be on display before and after the play.
Local artist Leta Hanson is preparing an exhibit depicting life on Lake Avenue in the early years. On opening night paintings of 27 businesses will be displayed. Various groups will have heritage Scandinavian and German foods for sale. Sons of Norway, for example, will sell rommegrot at their food booth.
Key planners, in addition to Gilliand, include Pat Kostelecky, Marjorie Quammen, Sonia Peterson, Jeff Wiersma, Kathy Kensinger, Alaine Risbrudt, Vernal Lind, Janet Schicker, Erin Adkins, and Dale Ruehle. Many others also will be involved to make this summer’s events in Battle Lake a big success.
More than 35 people from the Battle Lake area have shared memories and experiences. Those accounts will be combined into a script which will depict life from about 1920 to the present day.
Up to six people per workshop meet Wednesday evenings at the Battle Lake library. Marjorie Quammen leads the workshops and Reba Gilliand captures the memories for the script writing.
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