Community Corner

Northfield Historical Society's Cemetery Stories Back for Another Year

This year's Cemetery Stories features seven prominent Northfielders.

Who's ready for the dead to rise?

The seventh annual Cemetery Stories is back for another round from 4-8 p.m. Saturday at the historic . The event features actors portraying seven Northfield residents who were buried at the cemetery.

Northfielders portrayed by costumed actors at this year’s event are: John Sletten, George Kimball Dike, Ira E. Sumner, Dr. Danforth J. Whiting, Ed Thye, Sarah Fishback and Laura Nutting.

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A 22-year member of the Northfield Community Band, Sletten was active in Northfield community activities, serving on the Northfield School Board and assisting other civic organizations. He was also famous for his oil paintings of landscapes, featuring rivers and lakes and later Holstein cows.

Dike, who grew up in Northfield, served in the Union Army for two years. After his discharge, he became a surveyor for the U.S. government, traveling to western Minnesota and the Dakota Territory to check out surveys. He assisted in determining the border between North and South Dakota when they became states.

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Sumner is best known for photographing the slain James-Younger Gang members—Clell Miller and Bill Chadwell. Later he photographed the Younger brothers and Charlie Pitts after their capture at Hanska Slough. He established Sumner & Sons Photography in Northfield, where he specialized in copying, enlarging and coloring in ink or oil.

A dentist whose office was located in the post office building, Whiting was treating a patient when the James-Younger Gang raided the First National Bank. He watched the raid unfold from his office, which overlooked the bank’s door.

, serving as lieutenant governor and later two terms as governor of Minnesota. After he retired from that post, he ran for U.S. Senate, serving two terms. He was also active in community organizations.

Fishback once said the James-Younger Gang stopped to water their horses at the farm she and her husband, John, owned. When asked where they were going, the gang members said they were looking to trade cattle. Fishback was one of the few remaining pioneers of Minnesota’s territory days when she died at age 88.

Active in many areas of community service, Nutting was a member of the Congregational Church, serving as a Sunday school librarian and secretary. She also served as member of several other organizations including the Red Cross. Her family came to Northfield in 1866 to enter the banking business.

Oak Lawn Cemetery is located at 1415 Wall Street Road. For more information, contact NHS at 645-9268.


IF YOU GO

WHAT: Cemetery Stories
WHEN: 4-8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15
WHERE: Oaklawn Cemetery
COST: $4 for adults and $1 for children ages 5-13. To reserve a tour time, call NHS at 645-9268.


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