Thursday, June 20, 2013

Volume 97; Number 51

www.bladepublishing.net staff@bladepublishing.net

A community newspaper serving Browerville, MN and surrounding areas. USPS 067-560

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Scott Lieser signs pro contract with the Milwaukee Brewers

The Early Civilizations of Todd and Surrounding Counties

By Ron Wienhold of the Todd County Historical Society As mentioned in a past article on land topography caused by glaciation in Todd and surrounding immediate counties, the area was a very barren land several thousand years ago. Then came several migrations of peoples from the old world. One recently surmised a route around the top of the Atlantic Ocean on ice and water. However the most used is the land bridge and water between Siberia and Alaska during the low sea levels at the time of much ice on the poles. Each migration brought with it advances. What makes our area so unique is the method of travel. The Rocky Mountains were quite difficult to cross, so by heading east a bit they came to a huge inland glacial lake called Agassiz, of which the southern shore line came down to where Fargo-Moorhead now stands. Following this down through our area they spread south and developed the eventual civilizations of the southern states, Central American and South America. It is amazing to think of those original people possibly trudging through our counties. However most people think only of the tribes of Native Americans (Indians) that were here when Europeans settled here. We must remember there were several thousand years before that. Usually archaeologists divide these into different eras. Paleo, the first few thousand years, then Early Woodland, Middle Woodland and Late Woodland and finally those who were here at the time of European arrival. A native artifact hunter found a Folsom spear point, about nine thousand years old, at the headwaters where the Long Prairie River comes out of Lake Carlos. It is one of very few found in Minnesota. It is distinctive for being like one found grown into the bones of an extinct bison in New Mexico. A very unique form with a hollow ground groove on each side caused by one long flake taken off each side from the bottom. These people for some time were hunter gatherers - traveling about after game like large Mammoths and other now extinct animals. They used spears and later atlatls. Many of our so called arrowheads were actually the tips of a dart that was attached to a long spear thrown with the help of a flat piece of wood for extra leverage. Much later, seven or eight hundred years, the bow and arrow came with new migrations. Campsites were used around our many lakes and rivers. These are often mistaken for battle sites because of the somewhat frequent finds of artifacts on the spots. Also these sites contain many chips of stones used in the manufacture of weapons. A sampling of the flakes shows an amazing variety from distant places. Obsidian from Yellowstone, oolitic chert from New York State, copper from Michigan,

Former Browerville and St. Cloud State alumni Scott Lieser signed a professional baseball contract with the Milwaukee Brewers. Lieser recently completed his final season at St. Cloud State that saw the righthanded pitcher set many school records including three no-hitters. Lieser went 10-3 with a 2.71 ERA in his senior season for the Huskies. He threw 83 innings, struck out a team-high 66 and walked a team-low 11 among the Huskies starters. Lieser recently left for Arizona to begin his first season with the Brewers rookie team located in Phoenix. Lieser added, I want to thank everybody in the surrounding communities for their support throughout the years and their continued support as I continue to chase my dream. flint from North Dakota, evaculite from Missouri, and greenstone from Ely. Closer to home there is a vein of white milky quartz in the bed rock below the dam in Little Falls that they quarried. Also used were the glacial tumbled rocks of chert, agate, jasper, chalcedony and others found around our lake shores and rivers. Little Falls had many spalds of quartz on the town site as well as scattered along the road cuts south of the city. Being the people did not have horses for carrying the rocks they were chipped into hand sized pieces rounded on the top and flat on the bottom and called turtle backs. These could be carried long Continued on page 12

Come visit Browerville Heritage Days! June 28 - 30. something for everyone!
What is Crazy Bingo?
Whats Crazy Bingo? Good question! Have you ever played Bingo and complained because you dont win? Have you ever been discouraged because YOU HAD the number BEFORE or AFTER the one called? Have you ever been discouraged because you were just O N E NUMB E R a w a y f r o m having Bingo, a n d someone else yells, Bingo! Dont y o u w i s h t h a t youd know if maybe, JUST MAYBE, the next number called could have been YOUR bingo number? How would you like to be rewarded for having the number just called on your card? It could happen! How about if you added 10 to the number that was just called and be able to cover that number, too? Sounds crazy, doesnt it? Well, dont be discouraged again!! Once you play Crazy Bingo, youre going to wonder why its not ALWAYS played that way! Come to the tent area behind the Vets Club on Saturday, June 29th, from noon until 2:00 p.m. and enjoy some FREE fun and win prizes while youre at it. Just one free card per person if you c a n r e a d numb e r s you can play theres no age limit! Join us at any t i m e f r o m n o o n until 2:00; well try to get 20 games played. Rem ember: its FREE, one card per person; play as many games youd like; if you can read numbers - you can play. Join Sandy and the Crazy Bingo crew at the Vets Tent on Saturday, June 29th. It promises to be a fun afternoon!

This image is a depiction of what an early settlement in Todd County may have looked like.

WEEKLY WEATHER REPORT

Tue. June 18 Mostly Sunny 75/55 Wed. June 19 Partly Cloudy 78/61 Thur. June 20 T-Storms 80/65 Fri. June 21 T-Storms 77/66 Sat. June 22 Mostly Cloudy 83/60 Sun. June 23 Mostly Dloudy 80/60