By Bev Pechan
In the Black Hills, we call them flatlanders — people from Minnesota and non-hilly country who head west for a change of scenery and history. We invite them to see Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse and other man-made attractions found nowhere else. So what do Minnesotans do the rest of the summer on weekends? Simple. They head for the lakes up north.
On any given weekend through Labor Day, and to a lesser extent after that, thousands of mosquito-bitten and traffic-weary folks will endure one more bumper-to-bumper escape attempt to cool off and play in one of Minnesota’s 10,000 (or more) lakes. Resorts, cabins and lodges are said to host more state residents than out-of-staters and it is tradition for those who can afford it to own two homes – one to go to work from and the other to play in. Sort of like another tradition of having a winter and a summer bedspread.
When I say the traffic is bumper-to-bumper, I am not kidding. Highway 95 runs north and south of and through downtown Stillwater, Minnesota’s birthplace, which is across from Wisconsin and divided by the St. Croix River – a scenic Wild River-designated happy place for boaters and outdoor enthusiasts of all ages. In about the 1960s, the region was falling into disrepair with lots of old buildings and decaying Victorian mansions. In its heyday, Stillwater had steamboat landings with hundreds of daily arrivals and departures. It was a wealthy town comprised of lumber barons, merchants, cattlemen and breeders of fine and fast horses.
What could they do to save the town, they asked. Then someone told them they didn’t have to do anything except gussie up what they already had. Stillwater today is a top tourist attraction for Twin Cities and travelers alike. They also see hundreds who dock their boats nearby to take in what Stillwater has to offer on any given weekend throughout the summer. That includes rides on the Andiamo and other steamboat replicas with sumptuous buffets and Dixieland music. Bistros in converted buildings, antiques in an old lumber mill and numerous other places, antiquarian bookstores, designer fashions and locally-made candies and foods and Kathy Wolfarht’s German import store. About 20,000 people per weekend stop in Stillwater to enjoy the experience.
They are not going to Mount Rushmore; they come to see historic Stillwater and unwind. The Minnesota territorial prison is here – what remains of it. It is where Cole and Bob Younger served time following the Northfield Bank robbery committed in 1876 by the James and Younger gangs, putting an end to their careers.
The warden’s house nearby is now a museum and the last I heard, still contains the bottle of wine saved by the Last Man’s Club – a group of Civil War veterans who met yearly to see who was still living. The sole survivor could open the bottle of wine. I am not sure that was ever done, but some of the men lived to a ripe old age. Cole Younger became the prison librarian and with $100 of his own money, started a prison newspaper called “The Mirror.” Again, I don’t know if it is still in print, but was a few years ago.