New book makes the most of local history

In this Leader Q&A, Haines and Wegscheid talk about the book and local history.

How long have you been writing or when did you start?

Haines: Writing is something I never knew I could do until I started college. As a history student, I found that researching and writing is one of the main assignments on tests or projects. Several of my professors began commenting on my writing style, and after a short time I realized it was something I enjoyed doing. After college I started writing history articles for my hometown paper and they became quite popular. I later put those articles into a book as well. When I began working at the MCHS, I wanted to continue the trend of writing historical articles, so I reached out to the Leader and the rest is history.

How did you choose the stories featured in your new book?

Haines: I’ve been writing historical pieces about McLeod County for nearly three years, and my favorite of those tell of the county’s early years, from about 1855-1900. There’s something about this period in Minnesota history that really touches the core of my imagination. In the last three years, I’ve written about the period so much that I was able to take several of those stories and arrange them chronologically to provide readers with a bit of a narrative.

Who are your favorite characters from McLeod County history and why?

Haines: It’s hard to pinpoint a favorite character in McLeod County history, there are just too many. I’d like to say Les Kouba for obvious reasons — the guy was just a good dude. Since Kouba’s not in the book, however, I’ll have to name some others. I’ve always been interested in Little Crow, of course, as he was certainly a central figure in our state’s history, but I’ve also been a fan of Martin McLeod and the foresight he displayed. If I had to pinpoint a favorite, I guess it would be Albert H. Delong. Delong was a hunter, trapper, soldier and woodsman — a regular Davy Crockett. Being an avid outdoorsman, not only do I envy Delong, but I must imagine that if I lived at the time, he would be the guy I’d want to be.

What was your favorite part of the book project?

Wegscheid: It was reading each story and letting a particular image pop into my head that would give a good “snapshot” of the overall story. At first, it was daunting — 50-some drawings with an especially short deadline. However, I feel I work better under pressure. As I began with Chapter 1 it seemed like a ton to work through. I found by Chapter 3, it became more fun and exciting as ideas began to really flow easily, and I became excited, almost hurried to move on to the next chapter to see what I got to draw next.

What media did you work in and why?

Wegscheid: The media style I decided on using was based on Brian’s idea of how he wanted the illustrations to look and the feel for the stories. We decided on a nice, simple ink-type pencil sketch look. So I ended up doing two-thirds of the drawings with your common black ink fountain pen. The other third of the drawings were simply pencil. I added some shadows on the finished sketches with a light grey water-based marker to help things “pop.”

What is the most valuable piece of advice you’ve been given about writing or art?

Haines: An experienced writer told me once to ignore criticism. Another writer once said to just keep doing what you’re doing. Most recently, my volunteer editor told me my first draft is always the best. I guess when you put them all together, it means that to be creative is to let the imagination flow without restraints from what you imagine others are thinking.

Wegscheid: It has always been difficult to find advice in the art world that fits in with such a different view than your typical business. Tom Wirt (Hutchinson potter and Small Business Administration consultant) has incredible insight through his years of being in the creative field and has managed to unite both an artist’s desire to create things with a business platform to be able to make a living at it. The best advice comes from those who have been through it. So my advice to someone in this business is to talk to Tom.

If you could spend a day with another author/artist, whom would you choose?

Haines: Several years ago I was hunting in Northern Minnesota. While taking a break along the edge of a field, I spied a man walking out of the woods toward me. He came closer and we began talking about grouse hunting. He’d had some good luck and I’d had none. I later realized that the man was the famed outdoor writer Gary Clancy. As I’ve begun writing for a few outdoor publications, I’d love to go back in time and tell him what an inspiration he would later become for me. Unfortunately, he has since passed on to happier hunting grounds.

Wegscheid: Oh boy. That’s a tough one. There are so many I’d enjoy to spend time with and talk to. I’ll narrow it down to my present place in time: Les Kouba. As I work on reproductions of some of his paintings, I am overwhelmed and simply amazed at the attention to detail, lighting and feeling he put into his work. I think a lot of people miss his detail, and when I reproduce them at such a large scale, you really get to see more than a print on a wall. Another person would be Steve Howe, the guitarist from the band YES. I got to meet him once after a performance at the State Theater. Very cool!

What else do you want people to know about your book?

Haines: I’d like people to know that this book is not just me alone but is possible through the help of many others. Dave Wegscheid, for one, has devoted much of his time in creating the sketches. Pat Chapman of Edward Jones is sponsoring the book, and then there is a behind-the-scenes person who has edited, fact checked, and critiqued every story I’ve written. I’d like to shower her with credit not just for the book, but for how great our museum is, but she prefers to stay behind the scenes.