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  • Rarely Seen Glass Slides Of Abbie Gardner’s Story To Be Presented Next Week In Public Event

Rarely Seen Glass Slides Of Abbie Gardner’s Story To Be Presented Next Week In Public Event

April 15, 2022 Steve Schwaller

(Spirit Lake)– The public will have a chance to see a recently discovered relic depicting some of the history behind the Spirit Lake Massacre.

Albert Sharp donated some glass slides to the Dickinson County Museum in 1992. Sharp, the grandson of Abbie Gardner, used the slides in presentations chronicling what Abbie went through when she was held ransom. Anita Bomgaars of Friends of the Abbie Gardner Cabin Historic Site tells KUOO news Ed Purdy, docent at the Abbie Gardner Cabin, and Mary Dreier, Curator at the Dickinson County Museum, will narrate the slides at an event set for 7:00 pm Thursday, April 21st, at the Maser Monarch Lodge near the Dickinson County Nature Center…

“They will basically be giving the same kind of presentation using the slides that Albert gave back in the day. I think we’ll be open for questions. They have a little treat. Another thing that they just uncovered, call the Okoboji Waltz, a waltz that was written to honor Lake Okoboji, and they’re going to be presenting that, also.”

Thursday’s event will also be livestreamed on the Friends of Abbie Gardner and Dickinson County Museum’s Facebook pages.

As we reported previously this year marks the 165th anniversary of the Spirit Lake Massacre. Bomgaars says they have some special events planned, including one where they hope to unearth some additional details into what happened 165 years ago…

“We have some site analysis that our group has funded that are going to be beginning actually next month already on the cabin and the property as well as the state archaeologist, John Doershuk from the University of Iowa, will be doing a dig out there this summer.”

Friends of the Abbie Gardner Cabin Historic Site was recently established to raise money to help preserve the the site. More information can be found at their Facebook page.

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