History tour to feature six stops in Otter Tail County

By Tucker Henderson

Reporter

A special History by the Highway bus trip will take place on Wednesday, Aug. 28 taking off from the New York Mills School parking lot. The tour will leave at 9:30 a.m. and will make its way around Otter Tail County with six planned stops at historical locations throughout the county.

History by the Highway is a virtual historical tour program presented on Facebook by Missy Hermes, Education Coordinator at the Otter Tail County Historical Society (OTCHS), which began during the COVID-19 pandemic as a way of bringing local history to the home. Hermes has showcased locations all over Otter Tail County in the past few years and continues to highlight local history in our area.

“This History by the Highway bus tour will allow us to achieve our goal of promoting local history and all there is to see in Otter Tail County,” said Hermes. “Initially, that’s how the Facebook Live videos started. With COVID, the museum itself was closed, and many of the places I visit with museum programming—schools, assisted living facilities, and organizations like libraries- could not have in-person presentations.

“Officials were also encouraging people to enjoy the outdoors, walk, get fresh air,” she continued. “With History by the Highway, here was an opportunity to give people ideas for getting outside and visiting the many amazing locations, so rich with history, that our communities have to offer. It has been a tremendous experience for me.”

Hermes said that bus tours have been offered by OTCHS in the past, but oftentimes it was to further historical locations such as Fort Snelling, Pipestone National Monument, New Elm, the Science Museum and the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul. The bus rides were popular attractions, but came with a price attached for each person. She said that the History by the Highway bus tour will be free to all.

“When libraries in the state began to offer bus tours free of charge, it was not longer possible for us to fill a bus,” she said. “In recent years, local libraries have asked us to serve in a history consultant capacity on bus tours, offering historical information and commentary while traveling to sites.”

The opportunity for this bus tour came about after a member of the Friends of the NY Mills Library suggested the idea at their meeting in April. Julie Adams, Executive Director of the library, ran with the idea and quickly collaborated with Hermes to get the tour set up.

“We have been partnering with the Otter Tail County Historical Society for quite a few years,” said Adams. “Missy and Chris from OTCHS have presented many history programs for us. We were discussing possible library sponsored bus trips when someone mentioned how we should get Missy to do a History by the Highway tour. I contacted Missy with this idea and the ball started rolling.”

Hermes had a hard time paring down the locations within the county in order to make a six hour bus tour doable, but after consulting with Adams, they were able to whittle it down to six locations at which history fans will be able to get off the bus, walk around, and see the historic buildings and monuments up close and personal.

“Thanks to a very generous grant to the Historical Society from the Fergus Falls Sertoma Club, we will have a sound system to enhance hearing for the bus riders who might need that as well,” said Hermes. “As we travel from place to place, additional commentary will be offered. There might even be an onboard Otter Tail County-themed trivia contest or BINGO game, too.”

Registration for the tour will open on Thursday, Aug. 1 and will be available in person at the library. A signature on a liability waiver is required to attend, so all registrations should be made in person if possible. The bus has limited seating with a capacity of 40 people and will also have a bathroom available onboard. Attendees are asked to bring their own bag lunch and water and to be prepared for the day’s weather conditions as well as to be prepared for walking some distance and possibly on uneven surfaces.

“I’m looking forward to meeting some of our History by the Highway fans in person! People are so excited about offering their own personal experiences or asking questions during the Facebook Live videos or in the follow up photos that are posted later,” said Hermes. “This bus tour will give us a chance to share our local history together.”

Adams is also looking forward to the event and hopes that the tour will give a larger opportunity for the public to learn more about local history.

This event is sponsored by the NY Mills Library and the Viking Library System as well as financial support for the NY Mills Friends of the Library. This project was funded in part or in whole with money from the Minnesota’s Arts and Cultural Heritage fund.