Ivanhoe Library to host author talk on 3-day 1873 blizzard

The Ivanhoe Public Library will host a book talk featuring Kandiyohi County native, Carolyn Mankell Sowinski at 2 p.m., Monday August 21 in the Ivanhoe Community Center. Carolyn is an author who recently wrote the book “The Great Storm: Minnesota’s Victims in the Blizzard of January 7, 1873, which is an account of a three-day blizzard that took place in western and southern Minnesota.
Sowinski has identified 84 people from 31 western and southern counties who died in this storm: men and women; children and babies; Civil War veterans and recent immigrants; homesteaders and villagers; state residents and visitors. Friends died together; neighbors died together; family members died together. Many died alone—suffering for one, two, or all three days. Sowinski also tells the stories of 25 people who suffered amputations and other life-changing injuries.
Sowinski will share the story of Lincoln County resident Axel Nilson, a young immigrant who was lost in Royal Township, and later found on Easter Sunday, a mile north of Swenson Lake. He had been out gathering wood for the family when the blizzard struck. She will discuss the tragic story of Lyon County victims Marvin Chase, Loren Fox and daughter Winona, who perished together just east of Marshall. We will also hear about Yellow Medicine County resident Iver Iverson, who died while out cutting hay for his cattle. These and other stories from the three-day blizzard will be discussed.
Each victim’s biography includes genealogical information, immigration story, place of residence, journey in the storm, and burial location. Sowinski’s presentation is free and open to the public. This presentation is sponsored by the Ivanhoe Public Library.