photo by Tribune staff

Re-enactors highlight lives of four former residents

By Ed Shannon | Albert Lea Tribune

Published Saturday, August 15, 2009

Re-enactors portraying four former county residents now buried in Graceland Cemetery will be presenting the ninth annual “Echoes From the Past: A Journey into History” on Wednesday.

This year’s program starts at 6:30 p.m. Those attending are asked to use the Clark Street (north) entrance to Graceland Cemetery, which is to the west of State Highway 13.

The Freeborn County Historical Society and Graceland Cemetery Association are again co-sponsoring this year’s event.

This new presentation will feature three women and one man who were a part of Freeborn County life during the last half of the 19th century and the early part of the 20th century.

Three of the people portrayed in this year’s journey into history were European immigrants — one each from Norway, England and what’s now Germany, and one person who was born in Floyd County, Iowa.

Glen Parsons will portray the role of Torger Swenson (1836-1918), a Norwegian immigrant who came to the U.S. in 1856.

He lived in Winona and worked as a tailor. From Winona he moved to Chatfield where he was married three years later.

During the Civil War Swenson served two years as a saddler in the 2nd Minnesota Cavalry Regiment.

In 1867 the Swenson family came to Freeman Township, then later lived on a farm near Bear Lake in Nunda Township.

After selling the farm, the family moved to Albert Lea in 1884 where he worked as a tailor.

The role of Bertha (King) Oentrich (1847-1933), the owner of a boarding and rooming house, will be assumed by Lilah Aas for this program.

Bertha was born in what’s now Germany and came to the U.S. with her parents when she was 7 years old.

She married Louis Oentrich and they came to Albert Lea about 1877. They built and operated the LaCrosse House (Deutsches Kost Haus) at 137 W. Clark St. (Home Federal Savings Bank is now located at this site.) The name on their business clearly indicated a previous association with the Wisconsin city and their German heritage.

Louis Oentrich died in 1893 and is buried at Graceland Cemetery. She continued to operate the boarding and rooming house until the 1920s. She then moved to White Bear Lake where she died. Her body was returned to Albert Lea to be interred next to her husband at Graceland Cemetery.

Joan Muschler, who has been involved with several prior cemetery presentations, will be assuming the role of Lucy (Richardson) Thurston (1859-1948).

She was born in Floyd County, Iowa, and was a rural school teacher before her marriage to Thomas F. Thurston during June 1882 at Osage, Iowa. They moved to Albert Lea two years later. He husband died in 1937. The role of Frances Mary (Boulden) English (1828-1917) will be portrayed by Nancy Hockenberry.

Frances was born in Leeds Parish, County of Kent, England. She came with her parents to Canada at the age of 3 and married William English in Keysville, N.Y., during February 1851. They lived in New York until 1854, came to Freeborn County in 1858, and settled on a farmsite in Bancoft Township.

During her presentation, Hockenberry will describe the route the English family took on their long journey to Minnesota and some of the challenges they encountered with life on what was then the nation’s frontier.

A news release from the Historical Society states, “’Echoes From the Past’ will present the lives of three women and one man that lived and were part of the history of our county. Their stories will be told by re-enactors who have developed their story lines from data collected on each individual. Each presentation is approximately 12 to 15 minutes. There will be only one presentation area this year so the re-enactors will not be competing against each other to be heard. There will be two presentations, a short break for refreshments followed by two more presentations. Seating is provided, but you may want to bring your own chair for more comfort.

“The program should be just over an hour and you will have the opportunity to visit with the re-enactors at the grave sites following the presentations. We hope to have a representative of Graceland available for questions also.”

The admission price is $5. Children under 11 will be admitted free.

Pat Mulso, executive director of the Freeborn County Museum, Library & Historical Village, reminds those attending to park on Clark Street if they are able to walk a distance, or follow the direction of the volunteers if they need to arrive closer to the performance location, but all attendees must come through the Clark Street entrance to receive their tickets for the event.

“Graceland is a lovely cemetery and a perfect setting to bring you stories of early residents of Freeborn County. Please join us for an entertaining evening as history comes to life, “ Mulso added.

In case of adverse weather, Mulso said the re-enactment will be held at the Freeborn County Museum, 1031 Bridge Ave.

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