The Pipestone Area Community Foundation sponsored educational programming for the 2010 Pipestone Civil War Days. With this funding it is possible to present a number of educational and informative programs at this event. The Pipestone Civil War Days originated in 1991, and the program was planned and operated by the Pipestone County Museum. After the second event in 1992 a biennial format was adopted for future events.  In 2000 the Civil War Days Committee was formed by the museum, consisting of citizens in the community, and the event became more focused on the historical lives of soldiers, merchants and civilians who lived during the war. The event allows visitors to interact in the lives of soldiers and civilians of the Civil War era and to learn through living history.  The event has educational and entertainment venues for the public to view re-enactors presenting their music, skills, and knowledge of this difficult time in our history.  Civil War Days is held at the Song of Hiawatha Pageant Grounds, near the Pipestone National Monument.

One of the sponsored programs was The Ladies Aide Society and U.S. Christian Sanitation Commission.  These were the nightingales of the Civil War.  They were the ladies of mercy who went on the battlefields to minister to the wounded.  They cared for the injured in the camps, wrote letters home for those who were not literate, and provided the spiritual guidance to others in the camps.  Another program was the Etiquette of Fans, Handkerchiefs, and Parasols.  during the Victorian period, women who used their fans, handkerchiefs, or parasols, were sending non-verbal messages to others, depending upon how they were displayed,  They were able to communicate their intentions to others with the subtle swoop of their hand. The Daily Life of a Civil War Housewife was a program on what life was like for women during the Civil War era. What these women did to keep their families fed, clothed, and the housework completed!

Other programs offered at the event included the role of the undertaker, the life of children, school days, etiquette, medicine, photography, naval history, clothing, dancing, blacksmithing, hot air balloons of the Civil War, Civil War music, children’s games, quilting, Minnesota’s role in the War, and Abe and Mary Lincoln. The roar of the cannon, the smell of gunpowder, and the performance of the actors, musicians, and other educators, resulted in a full immersion into the 1860s, possible for those who attend the event.

~Chuck Ness, Pipestone Civil War Festival Committee

The Pipestone Four Winds Association was formed in 2008 after a 60-year run of the “Pipestone Hiawatha Pageant.” The main goal of our group was to continue to bring revenue to the City of Pipestone while educating the public about the culture and heritage of our unique area. We have held two “Love of the Land” Rendezvous thus far and have continued to see success. This year we also had the first-ever chuck wagon cook-off in Minnesota and plan to continue with that next year. With the money we received from the Foundation we were able to have an author and authority on the Fur Trade era in our state and area come to this year’s Rendezvous. His name is Ryan Gale, and he has written three historical books and is working on a fourth. Without the Pipestone Foundation’s generous grant, none of these things would have been possible. The Foundation has been very instrumental in helping us to get these events going. As co-founder and Secretary of the Pipestone Four Winds Association, I would like to thank the Foundation for their continued support in allowing us to continue to reach our goal. ~ Cynthia Portz