Fall - Waseca County Historical Society

History Notes
Volume 26, Issue 4
Waseca County Historical Society
Fall 2005
P.O.Box 314, Waseca MN 56093
www.historical.waseca.mn.us
(507) 835-7700
Thank you to each and
every member of the
historical society for
his or her support in
2005. We look
forward to your
continued support in
2006.
Please check your membership renewal date
on the right upper corner of your mailing
label and re-new. We do so appreciate it.
From the
Desk
of
Margaret
Sinn
Mar
Some good things have been
accomplished this year. We have started on a
time line which will be on display on the
second floor balcony of the museum. A wall
has been taken down and some windows
walled off. It is now time to sit down and do
some serious planning. It is really very
exciting for us. If you have something you
feel is a major event in our county history,
please let one of us know. We have many
things we think important but you know
what? Sometimes we are to close to the
forest to see the tree’s so we would love to
hear from you, our membership about what
you think is important.
We have begun the weeding process at
the museum and wish to thank you for your
understanding. At the present time we have
a dumpster outside the door. This is not for
artifacts! It is for old Christmas decorations,
old rusty metal shelving and bits and pieces
that should have gone long ago. A colleague
was talking about our saving habit. It was
decided that societies like ours save bits and
pieces trying to make something of them for
so long that perhaps we keep them way past
their time. The common thing heard in the
furnace room is “Is this yours?” “Where’s
this come from?” “What is this anyway?”
“How long this been here?” “No kidding!”
and “A petrified potato you say, it looks like a
rock!” Thank you for your understanding
and trust. Everyone must weed and our
collection has never been weeded.
Maplewood Park is safe once again, at
least for awhile. Thank-you – Thank-you –
Thank-you! Over 1,400 signatures on a
petition and many bodies to speak at the
council meeting didn’t hurt the cause, nor did
all the letters and phone calls you made! Our
beautiful piece of the big woods and historic
Chautauqua grounds is still standing there as
a beautiful nature park for everyone’s use.
Our $8,000 funding from the city of Waseca
has been re-instated. Some of the council
does not think that there is a need for nonprofits
in the city. I think it would be a
pretty dull town with out the Historical
Society, the Library, the Senior Citizen
Center, the Art Center and other non profits
and service organizations that are the glue of
this community.
So to all of you, we say Thank you for all you
do to support the society and our mission.
We are standing on a rock foundation that
was built by many Waseca people and
continues to thrive because of you. Happy
Holidays and have a wonderful warm winter
from all of us here at the Waseca County
Historical
Society.

Peg Mawby’s
Sinter Klaus’
of the Past
A very special show
will be exhibited
through December
2005 at the WCHS Museum. We are pleased to
present the work of Peg Mawby. Over the years
Peg has created hundreds of Sinter Klaus figures.
Each one is unique and adorned with antique fabric
and trimmings. Peg is retiring and will not be
having her annual Sinter Klaus Holiday sale.
evolve, changing size as
larger figures or very little
figures,
always striving for that
old European look.
Peg retired from her annual
Sinter Klaus sales last
November 2004. So now
they are all in private
collections. Some of the
best are from local
residents and here at
Waseca Historical Society Museum for the month
of
December.
Who is
SINTER KLAUS?
BY JAMES FAIRHURST
ABOUT PEG MAWBY
The Sinter Klaus figures in this exhibit were all
created by Peg Mawby. Peg has lived in Waseca
since 1987 when she opened Oma’s Antiques. She
has loved the antique business all her life. She
began making things with the many vintage fabrics
and materials she found in her continuous search
for wonderful antiques. Her first creations were
actually fashion dolls that she made in the early
1980s. But she soon moved on to designing her
own patterns and the fashion dolls evolved into the
Sinter Klaus figures. Each one she makes is
unique, inspired by yet another piece of vintage
fabric or sack cloth, or piece of fur, leather, a
Christmas ornament, or antique child’s toy. She
never knew what the next inspiration would be, but
was always excited with an array of those vintage
or antique materials around her as she would start
making her figures to be sold in November every
year. And every year the Sinter Klaus would
Sinter Klaus is the Dutch
name given Father
Christmas, and the source of
the derived Americanized—
Santa Claus. Until the
beginning of the 19th
century, Father Christmas or
Sinter Klaus was pictured as
a tall, thin stately man who
wore a bishop’s robe and
rode a white horse. He had a long beard and carried
various gifts for the children.
In 1809, Washington Irving, the creator of Rip Van
Winkle, published Knickerbockers History of New
York in which St. Nicholas was described as a
stout, jolly man who wore a broad brimmed hat,
huge breeches and smoked a long pipe. Irving's St.
Nicholas rode over tree tops in a wagon and filled
children's stockings with presents. Clement Clarke
Moore ( 1779 - 1863) added to the picture in a
ballad written for his children which is now well
known and begins, “Twas the night before
Christmas”.
Moore was a Hebrew scholar and Professor of
Greek and Oriental Literature at New York's

General Theological
seminary from 1821 to
1850. He is said to have
composed “A Visit from St.
Nicholas” to amuse his
children at Christmas. In
1822 and, unknown to him,
a house guest copied it and
gave it to the press. The
poem was first published
anonymously in the New
York Sentinel on December 23, 1823. In Moore's
poem, St. Nicholas appears as a stout, jolly man
with twinkling eyes and a red nose, riding a sledge
pulled by eight reindeer. Thomas Nast, an
American cartoonist, completed the present day
image of Father Christmas in a series of drawings
for Harpers Weekly Magazine between 1863 and
1886.The drawings show Santa Claus with a white
beard, working in his shop, driving a sleigh led by
reindeer and placing Christmas presents in
stockings over a fireplace.
Earlier in Holland, Father Christmas’ name had
become Sinter Klaus, and when Dutch settlers
arrived in the New World and founded New
Amsterdam (later renamed New York), they took
their Sinter Klaus customs with them and named
their first church after him. The Americanized
pronunciation of Sinter Klaus became Santa Claus
and this became established as his name. By the
1870s, this benign figure had arrived in Britain and
was quickly merged with Father Christmas.
Although today people in many parts of the
world are familiar with Santa Claus, he is primarily
an American invention. In the past Santa Claus had
dressed in a whole range of different colors,
wearing a long cloak and heavy boots. Clement
Moore had described him as being “dressed all in
fur from his head to his foot and his clothes were
all tarnished with ashes and soot”.
All this was to change in the 1930s with a Coca
Cola promotion in which Haddon Sundbloom
redesigned Santa Claus. His colors now were
specially chosen to match the trade colors of Coca
Cola being red and white. A thigh-long red tunic
with white trimmings was held in place by a broad
black belt. On his head was a floppy nightcap, red
with white trim and a white pom-pom, and to
complete the picture his red trousers were tucked
into a pair of heavy black boots. From that time on,
the western world's Santa followed Sundbloom's
design and is now firmly established in the hearts
and minds of people everywhere.
Coming down the chimney is a curious way to
enter a house and Moore's poem is the direct
source. He wrote “And there on a twinkling I heard
on the roof, The prancing and pawing of each little
hoof, As I drew in my head and was turning around
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a
bound.”
Moore was a scholar well versed in
anthropology and had researched the ancient myths
and legends of Christmas before writing his poem.
He knew that the Lapland dwellings were small,
igloo-shaped tents covered with reindeer skins and
sunk into the ground with the entrance being a hole
in the roof to allow the smoke from the fire to
escape. In the poem, when Santa Claus arrives, his
reindeer can be heard on the roof which covers the
Lapp's abode. He enters with a single bound in the
manner of someone leaping down the chimney.
Before Moore's poem, Father Christmas either
walked or rode a white horse. Moore would also
know of a Finnish legend concerning Old Man
Winter. The belief was that with winter's onset this
mythical creature would drive his reindeer down
from the mountains bringing snow with him. There
is a link here with reality for the fierce mountain
winter would drive the reindeer down into the
plains to seek shelter. Moore incorporated this into
his ballad, naming the eight
reindeer. The number eight was
chosen because Odin, a Teutonic
god, rode an eight-legged horse.
Once the poem was published and
became immensely popular, Santa
Claus's transport would, forever
after, be a sleigh pulled by eight
reindeer. Moore's romantic image
will doubtless last for as long as Christmas is
celebrated.

Whispering Tombstones
A Historic Cemetery Walk . . .
was held Friday, October 28, 2005 at Woodville
Cemetery. Guests were escorted by horse drawn
wagon from the east end of the cemetery to the
beginning of the walking tour. Each group was
led through the darkness by a non-speaking guide
dressed as a faceless spirit. The guides by the
light of a single lantern moved the groups to and
from each tombstone where they were greeted by
a historic Waseca character.
The first stop was the resting place of Miss
Mattie Murphy. Mattie was born Martha Inez
Murphy on November 2, 1872. The very proud
parents were John Fisk Murphy and Emma Jane
Hiller Murphy. John Fisk Murphy was a printer
who relocated to Waseca from Wilton to work
with James Childs on the
newspaper. Mattie was
well photographed in her
early years. She was a
darling child and a
beautiful young woman.
Many portraits are in the
WCHS Collection. We
became interested in Mattie
when we came across her
diary of sorts while
processing scrapbooks for
the collection. She had
taken an old book and used
the pages like a scrapbook,
cutting and pasting illustrations, articles, poetry—
anything that interested her. Mattie was an artist.
She studied art in Minneapolis and was known for
her posters and artwork used to advertise
community and church events in Waseca. Mattie
is photographed with friends at the T.B.
Sanatorium on Lake Pokegama in Pine County.
Her diary contains correspondence that refers to
her health, but it is not clear if she was a patient
or working at the hospital. Mattie never married.
It has been said her parents were against a
relationship Martha was in and consequently it
ended. Mattie was an extremely religious person.
She was devoted to God and the Church.
Mattie could be seen in her later years walking
downtown. It is said she would spend much of her
time at Stucky’s drugstore, just hanging around
reading and watching people come
and go. Mattie died in 1955 penniless.
She may have given all she
had to the church, although no
record of this has been found.
Mattie seemed to be ahead of her
time. She stands out as a unique
individual who lived in a world
known only to her. Sadly, no stone
marks the grave of Mattie or her
mother. Only the flat small stone of
John Murphy marks the final
resting place of this family. Mattie
has no surviving relatives in
Waseca County. Mattie Murphy
was played by our own
Teri Pribble.
Our second featured citizen Mr. Philo C. Bailey
played by WCIS teacher Michael Koranda.
P. C. Bailey was an early merchant who moved his
hardware store from Wilton to
Waseca in 1867. He was also a
State Senator as well as a
member of the Common
Council of Waseca and was a
Waseca County Commissioner
from 1895-1897. He took a
prominent and useful part in the
construction of the courthouse
in 1897. He married Lurinda
Dodge in 1867. They lived at 400 N.E. Wood
Avenue, which is now called 2nd Avenue and
houses the research facility for WCHS genealogy
library.
His only surviving relative we found was very
helpful during the house renovation.
Continuing on in the tour we came upon the
grave of Captain Rinehart Miller played by
Scott Roemhildt. Captain Miller was one of the
first men to enlist for the defense of the Union in
1861. He was a member of Company E, and served
in the Army of the Potomac. He was wounded in
the cavalry fight at Buckland Mills VA. in 1863
(Continued on page 5)

and taken prisoner at Trevillion
Station VA on June 11, 1864.
He was one of the few men to
survive the infamous
“Andersonville Camp” for
prisoners of war in
Andersonville, Georgia. In
February 1872, Capt. Miller
came to Waseca with his wife
Julia, and eight children. He
owned and operated a general store for 27 years.
One of the daughters, Nettie, became Mrs. E.A.
Everett and another, Bessie, Mrs. E. W. Ward, and
son John married Daisy Aughenbaugh. Nettie
Miller was tragically killed while on a train in
Mexico in 1909. She was 41 years old. The train
was hit from behind as it idled on the tracks. She
was in the observation car, the last on the train.
In 1916 daughter Gene married brother-in-law E.A.
Everett. She took over raising 14 year-old
Constance and maintaining the home in Waseca. In
1909 Rinehart and Julia moved to Minneapolis, as
did son Hugo and wife Edith. Julia died on July 21,
1919. Rinehart died on March 17, 1927 from
bronchial pneumonia. He was 83 years old.
Captain Miller organized Company A of the
National Guard and served as captain and drill
master of the company. Captain Rinehart Miller
has no remaining relatives in Waseca County.
Next on the tour was the Trowbridge/Ward
monument. Ira Trowbridge, played by Out-To-
Lunch”owner Rick Roberts, was the founder of
Waseca. He was instrumental in bringing the
railroad to Waseca and
developing the town. He came
from Illinois in 1866 and
purchased the land that Waseca
sits upon from a farmer named
Jacob K. Meyers. James Child
sums up Ira as . . . “a man of
nerve and iron will and allowed
no man to thwart his plans
without suffering for his
temerity sooner or later.”
Trowbridge’s first enterprise
was a hotel for the influx of people arriving in
Waseca. Mrs. Judith Trowbridge was known to be
a gracious and kind hostess, although suffering
from bad health. Mr. Trowbridge was assisted by
W. G. Ward and J. H. Jenkins in the early years of
Waseca. Later both men would become sons-inlaw.
W. G. Ward married Trowbridge’s youngest
daughter, Ella in 1867. J. H. Jenkins married
Augusta Trowbridge in 1867. Son Adolphus died
in 1873. Son Edgar C. engaged in the hardware
business in this city. The Trowbridge once faced
State Street, but was turned to face the park named
for him in the 1920s. It now belongs to the Pribble
family. Ira Trowbridge died suddenly of heart
failure October 3, 1893. No
living relatives reside in
Waseca.
Sharing the plot with the
Trowbridges is the family of
W. G. Ward, played by
WCHS Board Member
Dennis Kuefner. Ward
married Ella after coming to
Waseca in 1867. Ward was
Chief Engineer in the construction of the Winona
and St. Peter Railroad.
Ward invested in property in and around Waseca.
He built a home that stands on Second Avenue
N.E. across Curator’s from the WCHS Corner Museum. Ward had
two children, By Pauline Clarence Fenelon and and Anne Teri with Pribble his first wife
Martha Dodge. Martha died in 1865. With Ella
they had four children: Martha, Roscoe Percy,
Florence and Earl. W. G.Ward died in September
1892 after a long illness. He was remembered as a
friend of the poor and a kind, well loved and
missed member of the
community.
The next stop on the tour was
the Everett family mauseleum.
Welcoming the vistors was Lilly
Everett Curtiss, played by our
own Sheila Morris. The beautiful
marble mausoleum is nearly
surrounded by the 17 family
graves. Lilly Everett was the
daughter of William Everett by
his first wife Almira Hatch. Almira and her two
small sons were killed in the Sioux Indian attack at
(Continued on page 6)

(Continued from page 5)
Lake Shetek in 1862. Details of this event can be
found in the Child’s History of Waseca County.
William Everett was wounded and left for dead.
Lilly was six years old when she witnessed the
killing of her mother, brothers and other women
and children living in the settlement. She was taken
captive by the Sioux. Mr. Everett escaped with
other wounded survivors to a nearby farm. Months
later Lilly was set free and was reunited with her
father at Fort Dodge, Iowa.
William remarried Amelia Addison in 1865 and
with Lilly moved to Waseca in 1867 where
William opened a general store. William and
Amelia had a son in 1868, Edward. “E. A.” as he
would be known developed the mill business with
his father’s partner, John Aughenbaugh, to form
the EACO Flour Mill on the shore of Loon Lake.
Lilly married Dan Curtiss and
never had any children. She
died in 1923.
The last stop on the tour
was the final resting place
of Grace Cooper played by
Marlene Rietfort.
Grace was the most recent
person on the tour. Grace
died in 1974 after leaving
Waseca and moving to
Marshall, Minnesota. Many in Waseca knew and
remember her. She was known for her crusade
against the evils of alcohol. She was an active
member of the Waseca Women’s Christian
Temperance Union. Grace spear-headed the annual
Tuberculosis Christmas Seals sales, and was
credited for the establishment and expansion of the
Waseca Library. She is remembered fondly by Dr.
Rethwill as a family friend. Grace and Harold
Cooper rest eternally beside the Rethwill family
plot.
Many thanks to the following volunteers
for the production of Whispering Tombstones,
A Cemetery Walk!
ACTORS: Teri Pribble, Michael Koranda,
Scott Roemhildt, Dennis Kuefner, Rick Roberts,
Sheila Morris, and Marlene Rietfort.
NON-SPEAKING ACTORS: Tom and Bobbie
Holtz
GUIDES: Sheryl Wilder, Karen Simmons, Rita
Miller, Lori Weller, Vanessa Zimprich and Jake
Sachs.
SINGERS: Amy Roemhildt, her mom and son,
Cody
WAGON MASTERS: Mert Schwarz, Joleen
Gunderman and her nephew, Harlan Gekelerfor
the use of his wagon.
PRODUCTION ASSISTANCE: Andrew Breck
COSTUMES: Suzy Kuefner
WOODVILLE CEMETERY BOARD: Pastor
Roger Haug, Dr. Wes Rethwill and Robert
Neigebauer
LANTERNS & LIGHTS: Andrew Breck, Mert
Schwarz, Ron Purcell, Holtz’s, Karen Simmons
GREETERS: Lanae Feser and Janet Welch
What’s Happening at WCHS
The WCHS Annual Meeting was held Tuesday,
October 25, 2005 from 6:00-7:30 p.m. A
delicious Pot Luck Dinner was served. Special
Guest, photographer Doug Ohman, presented slides
from his new book, Minnesota
Churches. This book as well as
Doug’s previous book, Barns of
Minnesota, is available at the
WCHS giftshop. Thirteen images
of Waseca County barns are
featured in this wonderful book.
Some signed copies remain.
Both books sell for $19.95.
Festival of Wreaths and Sinter Klaus’ of the Past
will be on display as long as our lenders let us
keep them—December! Come and see them! The
sooner the better!
The Museum Giftshop has been restocked for the
holidays—check out our many ornaments and
decorations for gift-giving. We’re open 8-5, Mon-
Fri—that’s noon hours, too! Coming in February—
A Photo Exhibit, “Preservation Alliance of
Minnesota’s Ten Most Endangered Buildings.” The
featured buildings are from all around the state,
selected for their historical significance and
architectural interest.

LEFT: Lilly (Sheila Morris) and P.C.Bailey played by
Michael Koranda.
BELOW: Amy Roemhildt and her mom, and son Cody.
Sheila Morris, as Lilly Everett Curtiss
ABOVE: Lanae Feser,
greeter
ABOVE: Teri Pribble as Mattie Murphy
BELOW: Dennis Kuefner as W.G.Ward
makes a point.
ABOVE: Scott Roemhildt as
Captain Rinehart Miller.
ABOVE: Karen Simmons, a
“confused guide”
RIGHT: Tom Holtz is Waseca
journalist, James Child.
Photos by Pauline Fenolyn

WASECA COUNTY
HISTORICAL SOCIETY
P.O. BOX 314
WASECA MN. 56093
NON-PROFIT
U.S. POSTAGE PD.
WASECA MN.56093
PERMIT # 41
CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED
Membership renewal date
Memorials
Nettie Krause, Shirley Woyke, Emmeth Swenson, Ethel Sotabeer, Troy Roemhildt, Lydia Bahr,
F.H. Deef.
New Members and Renewals
Jean McCarthy, George McCarthy, Marge Ross, Lois Gleason, Paul Carpenter, Michael D. Lacopo,
Terry Mohring, Larry Johnson, Diane Wendland, George Parola, Tina Frye, Rodney Hatle, Janet Welch, Patricia
Millard, Les Tlougan, Deb Dobberstein, Selma Reb, Susan Eckert, Anne Sandbeck, Alan Doyle, Barb Herme, Barb
Noble, Melissa Peterson, Jody Johnson, Pat Mortenson, Lyle Olson, Leta Clemons, Bonnie Born, Pat Helyer, Ann
Berrie, Ardella Draheim, Barbara Kopischke, Janine Burr, Marjorie Gores, Margie Arndt, Neil and Sharon Fruechte,
Joe and Marge Britton, Vida Ahlman, Benjamin Imker, Mary Warfield, Sandy Thalmann, William Sudduth, Mike and
Jean Halvorson, Vicki Baird, Janet Sabraski, Bill Burns, Leo Fette, Kristi Steele, Thomas Holman, Pamela Gehring,
John Brassfield, Gail Stanley, Tracy Frederick, Suzanne Mackey, Jayne Staley, Public Library of Cincinnati, Leona
Benson Michael Hecht, Margaret Hasslen, Diane DonCarlos.
Life Members
Bumps Brown, Emmeth Swenson, Betty Sheeran,
Gladys Brynildson, Dorothy Moriarty, Gus Cooper, Liz Corchran