One of the lingering local legends of the part is based on a big winter carnival which supposedly took place in Albert Lea during January 1920.

Friday, February 08, 2002

One of the lingering local legends of the part is based on a big winter carnival which supposedly took place in Albert Lea during January 1920.

About 15 years ago several folks thought this carnival could be the basis for a historical article. And to boost the topic along, there were even several photos of the toboggan teams sponsored by various firms and banks which were reportedly involved with this wintertime event of 82 years ago.

Local boosters began to organize the Winter Sports Carnival celebration, which may have been inspired by the well publicized yearly activities in St. Paul, in December 1919. Just after the start of 1920, the organizers were promoting a series of events scheduled for the last week in January. Among these events were a Queen of the Carnival contest with 26 candidates, a Homely Man’s contest with 24 contenders, a parade, entertainment by groups from the Twin Cities, and the organizing of uniformed marching clubs and toboggan teams sponsored by local business firms.

By the middle of the month a toboggan slide had been built near the corner of Fountain Street and Washington Avenue to the rear of the Mark M. Jones property overlooking Fountain Lake. ( Mark M. Jones died in 1935 and was the grandfather of the property’s present owner, Mark S. Jones.)

The Tribune promoted the coming carnival with daily publicity designed to build local enthusiasm for the start of the very first winter outdoor event set to begin on Jan, 28, 1920, and extend to Jan. 30.

The publicity news items included information that the Fifth Regiment Band, a National Guard unit, would participate in the grand parade on Jan. 28. The event’s new king, George Bagan, led a delegation to Mankato, Waseca and Owatonna to promote the carnival. Local business firms were being encouraged to decorate their trucks for the parade. Arrangements were also being made to have folks meet all the passenger trains coming into the city to welcome people coming to the carnival.

The events scheduled for the Winter Sports Carnival included the parade, two evening dances at the Auditorium (now the Civic Theater), speed skating demonstrations, tobogganing and recreational ice skating. This carnival would end with what the Tribune said would be a &uot;Grand display of fireworks on Fountain Lake.&uot;

Ice skating would take place at an outdoor rink laid out on the Fountain Lake ice in Fuller’s Bay near the east end of Mariners Lane.

In the Jan. 22, 1920 issue, a headline proclaimed, &uot;Business Men Get Behind Winter Sports Carnival.&uot; The news story said the city’s boosters intended to put on &uot;the very best carnival in the state this year.&uot; And right next to this article urging everyone to put on their newly acquired uniforms to promote the coming event was another short news item saying there were 101 people with influenza in Albert Lea and 600 cases reported in Mankato.

In 1920 the mere mention of the word influenza caused extreme apprehension. Two years earlier a worldwide influenza epidemic had caused 25 to 50 million deaths (including a half million Americans) and killed more American soldiers than the warfare in France during World War I.

On Jan. 23, 1920 a front page notice in the Tribune put an end to the Winter Sports Carnival. Dr. E. 0. Vollum, chairman of the local board of health, prohibited all public meetings and gatherings because of the rapidly spreading new influenza epidemic.

Yet, there’s still a mystery regarding this Winter Sports Carnival. Was it ever held at a later date in 1920, or during the following winter?

Feature writer Ed Shannon’s column appears Fridays in the Tribune.