History

Pony Express delivers mail and money to Camp Courage

NEW ULM -- Horsemen from Brown, western Nicollet and Sibley Counties teamed together Saturday to carry a special mail delivery from New Ulm all the way to Camp Courage near Maple Lake.

In addition to this main route, two routes were run-one from Henderson to Gaylord and one from Green Isle and Arlington to Gaylord. The Pony Express style ride, with each rider taking a two to four mile relay, was for the benefit of handicapped children to attend the summer camping programs at Camp Courage.

Before the ride, the horse people had sold specially designed Pony Express stationery to area residents. Those buying the envelopes and paper write letters to anyone they wanted, stamped and addressed them as usual-but returned them to the riders instead of putting them in the mailbox.

The letters were then carried by horseback to Camp Courage on Saturday, before going into the U.S. mail for final delivery to their destination. A special Pony Express postmark was placed on each envelope at Camp Courage, making each a collector's item.

Pony Express riders from many counties in Minnesota rode relays from their areas to Camp Courage on Saturday-a day set aside by Minnesota horse people for the Pony Express Riders of Minnesota.

MANY OF THE riders involved in the Brown-Nicollet-Sibley ride were 4-H horse project members or members of the Sibley County Sheriff's Mounted Posse. Their ride started at New Ulm at 7:30 a.m. when Julie Wilfahrt accepted the first mail from Pam Martens, twice at Courage Camper. Also carrying mail on this first 8-mile leg of the trip to Lafayette was Mike Thompson. South of Lafayette, the mailbags were handed off to Chris Hanson who carried them to County Road No.8, where Debbie Froehlich was ready to take her relay.

At the Golf Course Road, she was met by Tammy Harrell who finished the ride to Winthrop. She reached Winthrop about 9:30 a.m. and found Jenny and Deb Prodoehl ready to ride their shifts to Gaylord, where they were due in at 10:30 a.m.

THE MAIL CAME from three directions to Gaylord: one relay came from Henderson, one from Arlington and Green Isle, and the third was the Winthrop relay. Pat and Mike Braucher, Arden Kroehler, and Joe and Nancy Messner were the riders who rode the 16 miles from Henderson to Gaylord.

New Ulm Daily Journal

Sept. 12, 1976