Lake Crystal History

10/31/2026

Re-sharing one of our favorite century-old Halloween prank tale!

Happy Halloween! 🎃 115 years ago, it seems Halloween was more full of tricks rather than treats, as revealed in this newspaper article from the Lake Crystal Union! On October 30th and 31st, 1909, the night before and the very early morning of Halloween, a night of mischief occurred with many youngsters pulling pranks around town. This included taking the horse drawn school buses to the train station, and when people hopped on to be taken into town, the teens left them stranded. Other tricks included wiping molasses on door k***s and taking wheels off of wagons. There was a range of reactions, from one man saying it was “the best joke he had played on him”, to another man who injured himself kicking a prankster. Quite a wild time that is very interesting to read about!

(📸 Blane Anderson)

10/31/2026

Happy Halloween! 🎃Here’s a throwback to 61 years ago - 1965. Winners of the local costume prizes were named Saturday, October 30th at the Lions-sponsored Halloween party at the high school gymnasium. They were Cindy Rossow, Nina Drysdale, Barb Ward and Becky Reinhardt, dressed as pirates; Janice Scott, old woman; Christine Mosher, witch; Kerry Kim Thomas, gypsy; Shelly, Cindy and Jack Cords, three aces. Over 300 youngsters were in attendance at the party!

(📸 Lake Crystal Tribune)

10/24/2026

10/18/2026

Just a few pictures from yesterdays time capsule opening! While unfortunately some items have suffered water damage or rot, it was great to see these items our community chose to preserve for the future 50 years ago. From a Barbie Doll to newspapers to coins to Campfire Girl uniforms. What a great turn out as well. Special thanks to those who got this organized and did all the heavy lifting, including the Miller Family and Dean Tibbetts. The Lake Crystal Area Historical Society is privileged to have been given the items from the capsule and stone marker. The items have been temporarily spread out on tables for organization and drying. We hope to put them on a more permanent display sometime soon. The opening was mostly captured on video, and we hope to put that together and release that soon as well. Thanks everyone for the great day of revisiting history.

(📸 Blane Anderson)

10/16/2026

Tomorrow the time capsule buried 50 years ago by the local Campfire Girls is to be opened! The troop buried the capsule in September 1976 as apart of Lake Crystals celebration of the American Bicentennial. Located in Marston Park near the intersection of Main and Humphrey Streets, it is scheduled to be opened at 2PM, Saturday, October 18th. For the occasion, we will close the museum temporarily around 1:30PM and then reopen after the event, and close at our regular time of 4PM. Can’t wait to revisit history tomorrow!

(📸 Lake Crystal Tribune and Blane Anderson)

10/13/2026

In case you didn’t see it at the last few Cruiz’ Ins, here’s the newest addition to Marston Park - a bench donated by the Lake Crystal American Legion Post 294, Auxiliary Unit 294, and Sons of American Legion Squadron 294. It celebrates the 250th anniversary of American Independence!

(📸 Lois Davis)

10/11/2026

Fall setting in around Lake Crystal!

(📸 Blane Anderson)

10/10/2026

We received some neat donations on Thursday, including this high school diploma from 1902! There were only five scholars in that graduating class, and it was the fourth year of official graduates from Lake Crystal High School. The class, pictured in the center of the diploma, was Ray Bartlett, Margaret Davis, Ed Lee, Vera Leavett, and Robert Roberts. This particular diploma, measuring 22 by 17 inches, is that of Raymond R. “Ray” Bartlett!

09/26/2026

We reached our goal!!! This past Monday, the 21st, marked our deadline to raise at least $38,000 to save the Scout Cabin in Robinson Park. Just before this date we received numerous generous donations that pushed us over our goal to just under $40,000, so we actually exceeded expectations. Thank you so much!

We would like to thank each and every person who was involved in this fundraising effort from the bottom of our hearts. First, we are very appreciative for all donors, whether it was a few dollars in donation jars around town or incredibly charitable check donations, and whether you are a current Lake Crystal resident or former living elsewhere. And to those who supported and donated through our fundraising dinners and events, thank you!

A big thank you to all the local businesses who allowed us to set up donation jars. Especially to Amy and her crew at The Lakes Sports Bar and Grill, and Becky and her crew at the Lake Crystal American Legion Post 294 for their help in organizing, providing for, and running fundraising events. Also organizations who headlined fundraisers like the Lake Crystal Community Band!

Lastly, a huge shout out to our crew of volunteers, both Lake Crystal Area Historical Society members and non-members, for all the work they did in researching, planning, creating, rolling with the punches, and much more. Notably our three hard-working gals: Shawna Brandts, Marcy Morin, and Nana Spencer. They have put so much effort into fundraising, and without their drive, connections, and work, the Historical Society probably wouldn’t have gotten this far. So, we are incredibly lucky to have them.

At Mondays City Council meeting, the $10,000 that was to be used for the cabins demolition was pledged to help save the building, so we thank them for that as well.

We are so lucky to be apart of this community, which is so loving and supportive. Everyone we listed here and any of those we may have forgotten, your donations and efforts are seen, appreciated, and making a difference.

What now? Well, we will begin working to solidify our schedule and plan for how to repair the cabin. Once we have that, we will begin to ask for any volunteers willing to provide their time, expertise, and manual labor to repair the 76-year-old building, probably around spring to summer of next year.

Here is a picture of our filled-in fundraising water tower. We hope that the dreary weather doesn’t deter anyone from coming to the Cruiz’ In today, but if you’re looking for an indoor activity, come check out the museum!