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Lifelong Mankato resident Bryce Stenzel, perhaps best known in the area for his Abraham Lincoln impersonations, recently wrote a Mankato history book to coincide with the town's 150th anniversary. Photo by Jeff Thompson. |
Historical Happenings Bryce Stenzel tells story of community with "Mankato Milestones" By Rachael Hanel Bryce Stenzel attended a historian's convention in Springfield, Ill., and when he said he was from Mankato, he attracted much attention. Other historians there wanted to know more about Mankato's role in the Dakota Conflict. That interest and knowledge of Mankato's history by other historians proved a theory of Stenzel's. "We tend to be interested in things happening elsewhere, but our own history is overlooked," he said. Stenzel sees his latest endeavor as a way to get Mankato-area residents interested in their own community's history. His book, "Mankato Milestones," is being released to coincide with Mankato's 150th birthday. The book goes through Mankato's history decade-by-decade, starting with the 1850s and ending with 2002. Most of it is set up in a question-and-answer format. Stenzel also includes asides about his own personal take and stories on Mankato's history. Stenzel thought his latest book could serve as a commemoration for the sesquicentennial. "When I think about what people want to look back and have 25, 30 years from now, they could have mugs and T-shirts, but those wear out or break. Books are pretty durable. It will be a lasting keepsake from an important occasion," he said. The book was borne out of a timeline Stenzel worked on while serving on the sesquicentennial planning committee. Some members of the committee wanted a book and talked of revising Verne Lundin's "At the Bend of the River" book. But Stenzel didn't want to tinker with Lundin's writing. "That was a great book. It really stands on its own," Stenzel said. Despite Stenzel's vast knowledge of Mankato history, he discovered a few new things while working on the book. He learned that Mankato was home to the first car with a V-8 engine, the Mayer car. And he addresses the conflicting ideas about where the name "Mankato" originated. Some people think it's a misspelling of a Dakota word, "Mahkato." Others think it's named after a German sea nymph of lore. But Stenzel said Mankato was named that purposely. "Mankato" and Mahkato" are different dialects: One means green-blue earth and the other means blue-green earth. He said a Chief Mankato born about 20 to 30 years before the city was founded proves it's a legitimate word. The 1986 Mankato East graduate attended Minnesota State University and earned bachelor's and master's degrees in history. He teaches at Riverbend Academy and Community Services, and is now in his 13th year as an Abraham Lincoln impersonator. His first book, "Abraham Lincoln: Man of the People," was published in 1996 and came out of a lecture series he did on the 16th president of the United States. Stenzel said events marking Mankato's sesquicentennial is drawing people into history that may otherwise not have been interested. "History is like a road map. You don't know where you're going if you don't know where you've been," he said. Little-known facts about our city The following is an example of facts noted in
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