State anniversary is catalyst

By Tom Hintgen (Contact) | The Daily Journal

Published Monday, June 23, 2008

Celebrating Minnesota’s 150th anniversary, also known as the Sesquicentennial, provides an opportunity for all of us to pause and reflect about where we’ve been as a state and where we want to go.

On May 11, 1858, Minnesota became the 32nd state in the United States of America. In January this year the state began a yearlong, statewide commemoration.

We have a catalyst to learn from our past and help in creating a thriving future.

In Otter Tail County, Bob Block of Fergus Falls serves as a Sesquicentennial ambassador for the western half of the county. Roxanne Daggett of Frazee is coordinating events in the eastern section of the county. Both of them are receiving great support from area communities that are blending the state 150th anniversary into local celebrations this summer.

Several days ago Block presented The Daily Journal with a copy of “Minnesota Hail to Thee,” a 163-page book full of wonderful historical accounts and photos from the past 150 years. This labor of love comes from Karal Ann Marling and the Afton Historical Society Press. Distribution is funded, in part, by the Frank W. Veden Charitable Trust.

Many of us are old enough to recall the Minnesota centennial from 1958. A centennial train filled with historical artifacts visited 86 of Minnesota’s 87 counties. The only reason Cook County was skipped was because it had no railroad tracks.

To this day I remember boarding the centennial train in Breckenridge. In the late 1950s we often visited relatives in Breckenridge-Wahpeton. The exhibits on the train included history, resources, agriculture, industry and social progress. When visitors left the train, they were each given a 31-page centennial booklet.

Ten-year-old David Robertson of Brainerd received a Lionel replica of the centennial train, since he was the 500,000th visitor in 1958. A photo appears in the Sesquicentennial book.

Otter Tail County is well represented in the 2008 text, including a photo and reference to the Minnesota Woman historical marker north of Pelican Rapids along Highway 59. In 1931 construction workers discovered the skeletal remains of a teenage girl who lived 10,000 to 20,000 years ago. Her remains are the oldest to be found in Minnesota.

In the summer of 1849, fewer than 4,000 people lived in Minnesota. In the spring of 1861, three years after Minnesota became a state, Gov. Alexander Ramsey traveled to Washington, D.C., for the inauguration of Abraham Lincoln, the nation’s newly elected president.

When southern troops attacked and seized Fort Sumter in South Carolina, the Civil War began. Ramsey pledged 1,000 Minnesota volunteers to the cause, even before Lincoln issued a call for troops. Minnesota soldiers served with distinction during the war which lasted until 1865.

After the Civil War, Minnesota enjoyed rapid growth and widespread prosperity. The 1865 census saw a gain of more than 250,000 people in five years. In May 1865 Old Clitherall became the first permanent white settlement in Otter Tail County.

Minnesota historians also recall the rich culture of Native Americans in this area of the Upper Midwest.

Construction of James J. Hill’s Great Northern Railroad brought hard-working Irish and Scandinavian immigrants to the state. Farmers and millers benefited most from the railroad. Towns followed the railroad tracks in the late 1800s.

In 1905 Minnesota dedicated its new capitol building in St. Paul. The pride of state residents is best described by author Karal Ann Marling.

“Gleaming white, frosted in graceful columns, crowned with a towering dome, and topped off with a gilded chariot and horses, the building was an expression of pride.”

During the 20th century Minnesota progressed as a state blessed with successful agriculture, manufacturing, tourism and a variety of goods and services. In 1973 Time Magazine’s cover story was titled, “The Good Life in Minnesota.”

In closing, author Marling says, “Minnesotans need to keep on learning. The state belongs to each and every Minnesotan.”

Tom Hintgen’s column runs on Mondays.