Remember the giant waterslide?

As you leave Waseca on old Highway 14 east toward Owatonna. you pass by Kiesler’s Campground and the southeast boat landing of Clear Lake. North of the boat landing is a large hill known as “Maplewood.” 

For the past 25 years, the Clear Lake Association, along with the city, hosts a spring park cleanup. Families and individuals of all ages report to Maplewood, where they are assigned a park where they are asked to pick up trash, gather sticks or branches, and perform other tasks to make everything look ship shape. After their task is complete, they report back for camaraderie, hot dogs, chips and snacks, coffee, pop or other beverages. For the past couple of years I’ve enjoyed serving hot dogs and treats to cleanup participants alongside Joan Mooney. The last couple of cleanup Saturdays have been very cold and windy. We serve the goodies in a large pavilion originally built by the Boy Scouts at the top of the hill. The building is constructed of clay tile and brick; it  was built in 1929, and is still in excellent condition. I’m sure some repairs have been made to it over the years. It was a pleasure watching people warm themselves at the large, built-in fireplace, talk, laugh, and sip hot coffee or a beverage. 

I hear that Maplewood Park was the center of Waseca’s cultural and social life back in the late 1800s. That’s some 130 years ago, so no eye witnesses are alive to interview and tell stories. I took some questions to the Bailey House of the Waseca County Historical Society; Joan and Virginia sent me home with a folder of information. It was fascinating research. 

In the late 1800s there was a “Chautauqua” movement that began in New York and moved west. One of the movement’s goals was to intertwine education and entertainment; lectures, dance, music, drama, and art were some of the key components. The idea was to introduce this culture to others while also presenting information and practices they could use in everyday life. Chautauqua came to small towns; the ideal setting was among trees, by a lakeshore, or in a park. 

As we were informed in “Field of Dreams,” “If you build it they will come.” It certainly turned out to be true in this case: Maplewood became a combination of a dinner theater, the Orpheum, and, on a much smaller scale, Valley Fair. The park was the center of Waseca’s cultural and social life for at least 15 years.

At the top of the hill was a luxury hotel, probably the finest in Minnesota. It had three levels with porches and promenade decks, a large lobby, parlor and dining room. The hotel featured great food and provided 40 rooms for guests. Just south of the hotel was an auditorium. It had a roof and open sides and a folding canvas for bad weather. Even with a seating capacity of more than 500, Chautauqua brought overflow crowds. The auditorium offered week-long entertainment by musical organizations, outstanding speakers, plays, and science lectures. Supposedly William Jennings Bryan and Mark Twain each spoke there. Just west of the auditorium stood the Chautauqua Hall, a building patte