Memories

On Tuesday, October 10, we headed for Mankato MN to have a Betsy-Tacy adventure.  I have been a fan of the Betsy-Tacy books by Maud Hart Lovelace since I was a child growing up in Winnebago MN and Maud was just writing the books. They are a lovely slice of life about growing up in the early 1900’s in the family friendly town of Mankato. The homes of Maud (Betsy in the books) and Bick (Tacy) are across the street from each other and have been lovingly restored by the Betsy-Tacy Society (of which I am a member). They were not open, but we took pictures of the houses and the bench up the hill where the little girls played. We also saw the new statue of the Boy in Blue (a Civil War soldier) in Lincoln Park. This was another favorite place for Maud and her friends to come. We ended up at the Blue Earth Historical Society where I purchased some more books written by Maud and her author husband, Delos Lovelace.

Suzanne visits the "bench" in Mankato

We finished the day with a trip to Red Wing MN where I visited the Goodhue County Historical Society and City Hall looking for more records of my family who lived in this part of the state in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. I was also looking for the pottery which was manufactured here during the same time period. It turns out the plant closed in 1967 (I knew that!) and there is nothing left but a museum and lots of antique shops. I have some pieces of Red Wing pottery from my mom and would have loved to find more, but no luck.

I finished my family research on Wednesday when we spent several hours in the Olmsted County History Center in Rochester MN. They have vital records, plat maps, city directories, and a nice gift shop, so it was a productive visit! We ended up back in Austin to stay overnight in their Wal-Mart. We have come full circle and ready to move on on Thursday.