The following was taken from the very reliable source, Wicked Pedia.
Wannaska is an unincorporated community in Roseau County, Minnesota, United States.
The community is located 13 miles south of Roseau on State Highway 89 (MN 89). Wannaska is located within Grimstad Township and Mickinock Township. Wannaska has a post office with ZIP code 56761.
Nearby places include Roseau and Hayes Lake State Park. The South Fork of the Roseau River flows through the community.
A post office called Wannaska has been in operation since 1896. According to Warren Upham, Wannaska is said to be the native Ojibwe name for the Roseau River.
The first organ built by the Moe Pipe Organ Company is located at Riverside Lutheran Church of Wannaska. It was installed in 2000, prior to the official start of the company.
That is all it says.
This does not do Wannaska justice. I have sent several messages to Wicked Pedia asking them to update their Wannaska entries, but I have seen little movement toward doing this yet. I will try to enlighten our readers with the truth. Please set your faces to stunned now.
Wannaska has been inhabited for thousands of years. Early Wannaskians (circa 2200 BC) even attempted to build a pyramid. They hoped to have an eternal resting place for their king, Pharaoh Anders Anderson. Unfortunately a disagreement over the shape the pyramid should be led to a giant battle. The Orb clan, the Cylinder clan, and Flan Clan all met at Lee's Corner to fight for their desired shape. This led to a bloody end of the first Wannaskan dynasty. It also led to some tough times for Lee's Store as most of their customers were dead.
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| Flan Shaped Pyramids never did catch on...people kept eating them |
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| One of the flans available during the Pony Express trail heyday |
The town started to make a comeback in 1790 when the current oldest resident, Joseph Mcdonnell, started a business renting his tree out to elves. The elves were serious about baking cookies which some found to be uncommonly good. The last elf passed away in 1983, so Joseph (or Joe, as he is known as) built a shed around the remnants of the tree. And that shed went on to save spring break...I mean it became where the idea for the Wannaskan Almanac was born.
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| Joe Mcdonnell's shed, surrounded by the Roseau River |
So take that, Wicked Pedia. You don't know anything.
ReplyDeleteThat’s showing the online encyclopedia who’s boss. You should go ahead and post this information to the website. Of course other historians may contradict you and it will definitely get nasty.
May the best flan win.
You can’t believe that Reynolds guy, he don’t know $%&^@* when it comes to ‘Wannaska’, which is actually a Lakota word that basically means “They are White there” according to a recent word search of the familial grapevine.
ReplyDeleteWhereas, the Pony Express actually did go through Wannaska, it was rerouted through Badger, in 1575, because of innumerable gray wolf attacks, along the South Fork of the Roseau River, that were literally eating the horses right out from under the riders -- and eventually the riders themselves.
A parfleche full of mail, apparently thrown into a tree along the route by its hapless rider, was discovered many years later by two cousins, Oskar and Untvar, on their way home from a local party who, each wearing bib overalls, stopped in a field, back to back, to rid themselves of some sudden dietary discomfort.
Upon finishing, a surprise befell one of the cousins who said,
“You one-eyed son of a biscuit! It vas you who made dis mess in my pants during our mid-meadow debriefing!” cried Oskar.
“Vat proof do you ‘ave for dis vile allegation?” said the innocent Untvar.
“Look at yonder corn kernels interlarded amongst da night soil,” wheezed the astounded Oskar.
“So?” replied Untvar, totally oblivious of Oskar’s complaint.
“I ‘aven’t eaten corn in two veeks, vile you my careless cousin, put avay a half gallon of corn soup for breakfast yesterday!”
“Hey, vat’s dat up in dat tree? Looks like an ol' bag or somet’in’”
"Let me make it up to you, Oskar," said Untvar. "Vud you be up for a plate of flan? I see the light's still on at the L.O.T.N. establishment. "'eard de're flantastic -- and yumpin' yimminy, da dessert is sum'tin' to 'rite 'ome about -- or not. Ve'll keep dis visit yust 'tveen us, eh?"
ReplyDeleteThanks Wannaska Writer and Chairman...without you this historical retelling would have been incomplete.
ReplyDelete