"Life in a Pioneer Log Cabin" speaker featured at annual meeting

    In his presentation, "Life in a Pioneer Log Cabin" at the Montgomery Historical Society's annual meeting on Thursday, Jan. 28, Larry Kortuem noted that early settlers "focused on the needs of food, clothing and shelter but often forgot about the 500-pound gorilla in the room - a source of water!"  Kortuem has restored his great-grandfather's 1867 log cabin in Madison Lake. Kortuem's great-grandfather lived in the cabin until 1915.

     Kortuem's presentation featured family photos, family stories, and detailed research on what life would have been like when his relatives lived in the cabin. Kortuem shared perspectives of how his ancesters and settlers of the era traveled west to Minnesota, built cabins, survived through cold Minnesota winters, did everyday tasks without the help of electricity, and how they handled the hardships and challenges such as disease, crop loss, and fire.

      To find out more about the presentation and the Montgomery Historical Society annual meeting and election results, pick up the February 4 issue of the Montgomery Messenger.