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About 50 members and friends attended this year’s annual meeting of the Tower-Soudan Historical Society. The meeting opened with a talk by railroad enthusiast and historian Todd Lindal, who spoke …
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About 50 members and friends attended this year’s annual meeting of the Tower-Soudan Historical Society. The meeting opened with a talk by railroad enthusiast and historian Todd Lindal, who spoke about the construction and early days of the railroad in Tower. The talk even included some home video of Todd and his family visiting the train depot in Tower. Railroad history is much more than the trains. There were murders, epidemics, land speculation and even payroll being delivered by dog sled. The names involved are familiar to anyone living in our area: George Stuntz, Charlemagne Tower, the Ely brothers, and John Armstrong. Rail service also opened up the area to tourists, with passenger trains bringing visitors to the area to fish and hunt. The first ore train steamed up to Tower in 1884, and the last train trip on the tracks was in 1961.
Tower’s railroad history is on display all summer long at the Depot Museum, operated by the TSHS. This year over 4,000 people visited the Depot, with visits from tourists from Mexico, Germany, Sweden, Japan, Spain, South Africa, China and Canada.
Members voted on a new slate of officers for the organization. Richard Hanson was elected president, Nancy Larson vice-president, Ann Flannagan secretary, and Colleen Lepper treasurer. Three new board members were elected: Jayne Sundeen, Al Reller and Cookie Bonictato. Richard Hanson was appointed as the group’s representative for the St. Louis County Historical Society. Outgoing board members Andy Larson, Steve Abrahamson and Jim Macomber were recognized. Richard Hanson presented outgoing president Jim Macomber with a gift of appreciation, a book on railroad history. Hanson also asked the group to consider naming Andy Larson as the group’s official historian. The group approved raising the membership fees from $5 to $10 for individuals and from $10 to $20 for families, starting in 2014.