If you have never taken a ride on one of the areas’ many rivers, there is no better time than Clean Up the River Environment’s (CURE) Annual River, Culture and History Weekend being held this Saturday and Sunday.
No canoe? No kayak? No problem. CURE has watercraft to spare and wants nothing more than to assist you onto the river at no expense. Really. It’s in their mission, it’s what they do – they want you to have the chance to fall in love with scenic bluffs, lush flora and an abundance of wildlife too.
For 19 years, CURE has held River, Culture and History Weekends in which individuals paddle the Minnesota River and its tributaries in the afternoon and then barbecue, listen to a speaker, sing songs, tell stories and camp out in the evening.
Paddlers always encompass a wide range of ages and experience levels, from students to elders and first-timers to pros. Between the six possible river trips, there is a journey that is an ideal fit for each degree of ability.
On Saturday, depending on the particular trip, CURE board members will lead the excursions along much of the Upper Minnesota River Watershed. Trips include the Minnesota and Yellow Medicine Rivers near Granite Falls as well as the Chippewa, Lac qui Parle and Pomme de Terre Rivers located upstream. On Sunday, appropriate water levels providing, an additional adventure will be lead on Hawk Creek.
Individuals are welcome to take part in any or all aspects of the weekend. If they don’t take part in a paddle, they are encouraged to make it to Lac qui Parle County Park (Nash’s Grove) where amateur historian, postcard collector and environmental scientist guest speaker: Wayne Ostlie, will discuss “1890-1920 in the Upper Minnesota Valley: Railroads, Boom Towns and Hand Painted Post Cards” at 7:00 p.m. (See adjacent article for more info.)
Following the afternoon river rendezvous, individuals will meet at the Lac qui Parle State Park where a potluck will be held at 5:00 and camping will ensue after the speaker at 7:00 p.m. Individuals are encouraged to bring lawn chairs, a food dish and camping supplies.
Those interested in borrowing a canoe or kayak should contact the CURE office at: 1-877-269-2873. Additional information is also available at: www.curemnriver.org/Ostlie’s talk on Upper Minn. Valley history
A special regional history talk will be held on Saturday, May 15th at 7:00 p.m. at the Lac qui Parle County Park, eight miles northeast of Dawson on the Lac qui Parle River, featuring amateur historian, postcard collector and environmental scientist Wayne Ostlie. The title of Ostlie’s talk is “1890-1920 in the Upper Minnesota Valley: Railroads, Boom Towns and Hand Painted Post Cards”
The event is free and open to the public. Guests are asked to bring their own lawn chairs and blankets. A pot luck supper begins at 5:00 p.m. A community grill will be provided for the grilling of meats. Camping is permitted.
For the past several years, Ostlie has devoted his free time toward the collection of hand painted postcards from the Montevideo area that date back to the 1890s through the 1920s. He is now collaborating on a book that features those postcards and tells the stories behind them.
“It was during this time when all the small towns of the region were thriving and really promoting themselves,” Ostlie said. “The view of life as portrayed by hand painted post cards tell us a lot about the optimism and pride that our forbearers had about this region.”
As the son of local historian Evelyn Ostlie (who conducted extensive research on the lives of the Dakota Christian Women of the Lac qui Parle Mission), Ostlie has gathered a wide range of knowledge about the history of the Dakota people, the pioneer settlers and the railroad history of the Upper Minnesota River Region
