Caledonia Argus

Ninth edition of Caledonia Pride most extensive journal yet

Posted: 12/2/03

By Shannon McKinney
Argus News Reporter

Alan Fleischmann of Caledonia emphasizes that his latest edition of ìCaledonia Prideî is the last one.

ìCaledonia Prideî is a historical journal of Caledonia that he has published nine times.

Next year, all nine journals will be put together into one 1,000 page hard-bound book for the sesquicentennial celebration.

This newest edition, the longest at 206 pages, was one of the more challenging books to put together. ìThereís a lot more pressure, thereís no next year to pass stories onto,î Fleischmann explained.

When Fleischmann originally had the idea for making the books, it was to produce 50 page journals. But because there has been so much information from the public, the size of the books and the number of editions increased. For the past five years, Fleischmann has been telling people that each recent publication will be the last.

Some of the articles that are especially interesting in this publication include ìDecoration Day May 30th, 1890,î written By David Klinski.

ìDecoration Dayî is the old name for what we now call Memorial Day. ìItís a beautifully written story for what it was like,î said Fleischmann.

Another unique, recent event chronicled is the City of Caledonia receiving an official Coat of Arms from The Lord Lyon of Scotland, who is in charge of issuing all of Scotlandís Coat of Arms.

The founder of Caledonia, Samuel McPhail, was the son of Scottish immigrants.

The coronet above the name of Caledonia reflects that Caledonia is the county seat. On the coronets are thistles, which is the national plant of Scotland. The gold border reflects the sovereignty of Caledonia, that it is not under the rule of Scotland. The words ìCity For All Seasonsî tells the cityís motto, which is illustrated by the four signs of the season: the snowflake, sun in splendor, maple leaf and dogwood flower.

The City of Caledonia approved the Coat of Arms on December 13, 2003.

Another article rare for its time is the first annual report from Caledonia Hospital which details the quality of the hospital, the death rates, and complication rates. ìItís a very unusual thing. They were way ahead of their time,î said Fleischmann.

The article on the history of nursing in Caledonia, as researched and written by Jeanne McCarthy, is an original work, said Fleischmann.

Many people helped

ìCaledonia Prideî would not be possible without the many people who wrote and researched articles for the book. There have been 405 contributors for all nine journals. Part of Fleischmannís role in bringing together the stories is reading whatís submitted and making calls for additional information. ìI call them and see if I can charm them into doing more work for nothing,î he smiled.

For the past several years, Rosine Macomber has been the primary copy editor. She is the only person paid for the hundreds of hours it takes to transcribe articles.

Former Caledonia native Paul Nadon returns to Caledonia for a full weekend each year to design the layout of the book.

Also contributing to the book is Helen Houlihan as researcher and Alanís children, James and Diana, as assistant copy editors.

ìPeople have been very kind. They get no reward for that (writing articles). Theyíre just interested in helping to preserve history,î he said.

ìCaledonia Prideî journals can be purchased for $14.50 at The Caledonia Argus, the Pine Cone Place, Quillinís IGA, Wittís Pharmacy and Caledonia Drug. For those who would like to purchase the books via the mail, you may order by sending $14.50 plus $2 shipping and handling to: Caledonia Pride, 12280 Knollwood Road, Caledonia, MN 55921.

Anyone interested in submitting news articles, additions to old articles or any corrections must let Fleischmann know in the next few months to be able to get it into next yearís sesquicentennial edition. He can be reached at 507-725-5540.

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