When I was discussing my route a few months ago with my sister, Ann, she noted that it went very close to Currie, MN, where our maternal grandmother was born. I quickly adjusted the route so I could spend some time in Currie. Ann was going to drive over to join Toni and me for the day, and though her schedule didn’t allow that, she did some very helpful research about our grandmother’s roots in currie.
The decision to ride north to Currie was fortuitous given that the wind blew briskly from the south. My average speed for the day was only about 16 miles an hour, but that included a long time wandering around Currie at a few miles per hour. Much of the morning I was blasting along at 25 to 30 MPH!
My first stop was Slayton, MN, home of the Murray county recorder. Ann had contacted Karen in the recorder’s office, who dug up information about the residential lot and the farm acreage that my grandmother’s mother and father had owned in Currie. i had a chance to meet and thank Karen for all her help.
I then rode on to Currie, where we first found the lot in town. The house currently on the lot had clearly been added well after my grandmother and her family moved away in 1909. But for those in my family who want to see the space Grandma Oslund first called home, here it is.
Toni and I also spent some time in the local cemetery. Although my grandmother and her family had moved away before they died, we did find some information about my grandmother’s grandmother. As is often the case with quick genealogical research I came away with more questions than answers, but what I learned should stimulate some further looking!
I then rode north a few miles and found the farm acreage my great-grand-father had owned. We need to do more research here as well to figure out if he ever actually farmed it (he may have just owned it for speculative purposes), but it was nice to see how the property is being used today.
By then we were just a few miles from the campsite we are staying in this evening. Once again, we are on a beautiful lakeside site, enjoying the Minnesota outdoors.
There were plenty of barns on today’s short ride. The first is within the city limits of Worthington and the second was just as I entered Currie.
The technical stuff:
Worthington to Currie, Minnesota
50.6 miles
692 feet of climbing
Average speed 16.2 miles per hour
Weather: Partly cloudy in the morning, sunny in the afternoon. Temperature 60 at the start to 70 at the end. Brisk (20 to 25 MPH) tail winds. Can’t beat that!