The Hero of Hinckley - Hinckley, Minnesota
N 46° 00.880 W 092° 56.604
15T E 504381 N 5095678
Located next to the Hinckley Fire Museum. 106 Old Highway 61 Hinckley, MN 55037
Waymark Code: WME1RK
Location: Minnesota, United States
Date Posted: 03/22/2012
Views: 7
September 29 1999: A new mural commemorating the great Hinckley Fire of 1894 has been unveiled at the Hinckley Community Center. The fire produced a firestorm which incinerated hundreds of square miles and killed more than 400 people. The mural, by Ojibwe artist Steve Premo shows the historic rescue of a family by a young Ojibwe woman, whose identity has only recently been discovered.
Plaque at mural reads:
A STORY OF HEROISM AND FRIENDSHIP
The mural, painted by artist and Mille Lacs Band member Steven Premo depicts the story of an unselfish and brave Ojibwe woman who saved the Non-Indian Patrick family from the Great Hinckley Fire.
Mah-kah-day-gwon (Blackfeather) heard the cries of Mary Ellen Patrick and her two children, Frank and Roy, who had sought refuge from the Fire on a boat on Grindstone Lake. When the boat was blown across the lake, frightening the Patrick family, Mah-kah-day-gwon and her two small children, Be Shew (Jessie) and Saung way way gah bow eke (Maggie) paddled out in their canoe to meet them and bring them back to the shoreline for safety.
The Ojibwe woman offered them food and shelter in her unburned cabin for the night and even made a pair of moccassins for Roy who had lost his shoes while escaping the Fire.
Mah-kah-day-gwon spent her life helping people after relocating with her husband Alexander McDonnell to the White Earth Indian Reservation in 1905 where she acted as doctor and mid-wife in the area, delivering over 300 babies. She was affectionately known as Granma McDonnell to children and adults as well.
The Patrick family returned to Hinckley after the Fire helping the town rebuild. They remain a prominent family in the town to this day. Frank, who was two years old at the time of the Fire was a wonderful storyteller and relayed his rescue story to many museum visitors and school children before his death in the 1980's.
In the end, it is a heart warming story of heroism and friendship that has survived over one hundred years.
City: Hinckley, MN
Location Name: Billboard
Artist: Steven Premo
Date: 9/29/1999
Media: wood
Relevant Web Site: [Web Link]
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Visit Instructions:
Please give the date and description of your visit. One original photo of the mural must also be submitted. GPSr photo NOT required.