Eulogy for Pete

Fifty years ago Truman Strand and friends were making final plans to erect the World's Largest Pelican next to the Mill Pond Dam. West Central Turkeys Cooperative had just been formed. Maplewood State Park was still somebody's dream. 56572 was to get a drive-in with the Tastee Freez opening plus its first stoplight at 108 West and US 59.

Who was first between Rothsay, Pelican Rapids, Vergas and Frazee in putting up their respective birds has not been researched. My guess is the pelican came first. Whose idea the pelican was, Truman could tell us. Lyle Severson had just bought Kwako Drug and Lloyd Swan had just remodeled his Swan Drug. Both would sell roll after roll of Kodak or a World's Largest Pelican postcard.

Twenty-four years ago a 25th Birthday Party was held for the World's Largest Pelican. It was a sober affair, as I remember.

Now we face the question of how to celebrate the 50th birthday of what some of us now call "Pete." Over-the-hill cards? Black Balloons? Drunken revelry? Oops, I forgot it's a City Park, alcohol and tobacco are forbidden. How about a mate?

I suggest we put Pete on eBay and see how much he will bring. The publicity could put 56572 on the map.

56572 fifty years later is a different place. It's hard to get a peek at Pete over the cement bridge. What turns passing motorists heads these days are hijabs on the sidewalk or say four or five hijabs in a new Hyundai SUV.

Does 56572 need to be defined by a fifteen foot high cement and steel structure for the next fifty years? What do we want to be defined by? Can we do better? Have we no imagination?

I see three areas which could form a new focus for 56572, attracting visitors who could learn from us and recreate to their heart's desire. We could concentrate on one, two or even all three areas.

The Ace in the Hole for 56572 is not a thing, it's a person. She has been here longer than anybody and will be here longer than any of us. The Oldest Woman in North America (born 5834 BC) comes from 56572. This is a story waiting to be told, a story for the ages. When was the last time anybody stopped you and asked for directions to Pelican Rapids Woman? Did you know that her remains were handed over to a coalition of Sioux tribes and buried in South Dakota in 1999? News to me. Did you catch this in the Press? I missed it. Then again, word is that her remains were at Hamline University and Hamline wanted to keep it quiet. Maybe Norm could help us get her back along with Browns Valley Man? I wonder if we could get grant money to put up an interpretive center for the woman we finally must name...and no Pocahantas won't do. The story of her life and death on the banks of glacial Lake Agassiz remains unwritten. Have we no imagination?

The second really big tourist attraction we don't talk about enough is really big. It's been here longer than any of us and hopefully will remain in public hands as long as we are alive. Anybody in the Minnesota State park system, anybody who uses Maplewood State Park will tell you that Maplewood is one of Minnesota's best kept secrets. The Horse People from Dakota will tell you they want it to stay that way. If you ask me, didn't Pelican Rapids Woman live on the island off the swimming beach in Maplewood State Park? Wouldn't seeing the birthplace of North America's oldest woman be at least equal to seeing a creek drain out of a lake?

The third idea is one less permanent and more challenging, a moving target. Who can argue the fact that 56572 is not a Global Village, an incubator of New Americans seeking the American Dream of freedom, peace and opportunity? In 2006 about thirty-five procent of 56572's residents are bilingual and do not speak English at the dinner table. All have stories about how and why they left home, how they came here and why they now call 56572 home. People are coming to 56572 to find out why diversity seems to work in a small town. We need to show them the reasons. How to do this will require some imagination and some collaboration. It is another story that needs to be told.

OK. I surrender. I am willing to spare Pete's life, if you spare me all the nasty anonymous comments.
Now, will you calm down and go back and read the last three paragraphs?