NPR’s Kathy Wurzer was guest speaker at the annual meeting of the Schroeder Area Historical Society on June 14.
Cathy Wurzer, host of Minnesota Public Radio’s “Morning Edition,” and co-host of “Almanac,” produced by Twin Cities Public Television, was guest speaker at the annual meeting of the Schroeder Area Historical Society on Sunday. The standing-room only event was held at the Cross River Heritage Center.
Wurzer has just completed a best-selling book “Tales of the Road: Highway 61,” as well as an accompanying video. Her research took her up and down Highway 61, which included stops at the Heritage Center where, she said, staff and members of the Historical Society gave her access to historical files which made her research and work on the Cook County portion of the road successful.
Wurzer told lots of stories about some of the people she met on her journey to define and describe the history and communities that have grown up along Highway 61 from the Canadian border to St. Paul and the Mississippi River. To read her blog about writing the book, click here.
She said she wanted to start the journey at the old border crossing to Canada on the Grand Portage Reservation on Mineral Center Road. She and her videographer were ready to give up at one point, because the road they had been told to take led nowhere, as far as they could tell. Then they came to a fork in the road and took the “more traveled,” stopping at the place where they thought the old border crossing probably was.
But there was nothing there. “Originally there were gas stations, resorts, bars … lots of bars,” Wurzer said. Now — nothing. Could this really be the place? they asked themselves.
Then her videographer noticed some smoke coming out of a chimney of a small cabin just off the road. “Why don’t you go over there and see who’s there?” he suggested to Wurzer. Sure, she told him, and convinced him to come along. As they approached the cabin, they had a surprise. When about 10 feet away, they could hear a Minnesota Public Radio show, “The Splendid Table” blasting across the clearing.
“Well, at least I knew I was among friends,” Wurzer quipped.
And she was, she soon found out. Minnesota poet Joanne Hart, who lives in the isolated primitive cabin in the summers, welcomed them and told them stories about the border crossing and showed them where it used to be. The border crossing was moved when Highway 61 was re-aligned years ago.
She and Joann have become fast friends since that time, Wurzer said, although they can only write letters to each other. “There’s no electricity out there. If you want to talk to her, you call the Grand Portage Post Office,” Wurzer said.
This is only one of many stories included in her book and the accompanying video. And there will be more, she said. She is already plotting out a second video which will include footage that ended up on the cutting room floor as well as new stories she is discovering as she visits communities like Schroeder to talk about her book.
She said she has become a member of several historical societies along Highway 61 because she sees their preservation of the history of their communities so important.
She also made an appeal to the audience to write down their stories or put them on tape. “Everyone has a story,” she said. “It would be your gift to future generations.”
Her gift was to donate the proceeds from the sale of her book that day to the Schroeder Area Historical Society. Copies can be found at the Cross River Heritage Center as well as local booksellers.
The annual meeting also featured the Celtic music of Georgeann Hunter and Kevin Oftendahl. Celtic Harp (a short clip)
