When we left you last time, we were on our way to Northfield,Minnesota to tour their quaint downtown area. It is full of art shops, vintage clothing stores, coffee shops and one of the best bakeries in the area.
The Bakery is called Quality Bakery and is right on the main street downtown. We purchased some (a lot) of goodies. I mean, how could we not! We were like kids in a candy store. I was going to get some pictures of the treats, but....you know the rest. We consumed then like we were starving. We did use some (very little) self control and saved some for Sue's folks, the famous Molly and Harv. We took some of the items over to their home Saturday morning for coffee and treats. They really enjoyed the goods and Harv said they used to have fresh bakery goods like that in the Navy when he was on his ship...The USS Harv.
There was a weird hand lettered sign on the cash register in the bakery "If you get off your cell phone, we will serve you". Being that Northfield is a college town, that has to be some what limiting. Oh well, we had good service and excellent breads and sweet stuff.
I did not carry my camera when we strolled the downtown, but I did get a few shots when we got back in the vehicle to cruise the area.
Here are some shots of the back of some of the downtown businesses that line the river that runs through town.
The town is also famous for the Jesse James bank robbery. They hold a celebration there every year to commemorate the event.
First National Bank of Northfield.
Defeat of Jesse James Days
The First National Bank building in Northfield, site of the attempted robbery.On September 7, 1876, Northfield experienced one of its most important historical events. An outlaw gang led by Jesse James tried to rob the First National Bank of Northfield. Local citizens, recognizing what was happening, armed themselves and resisted the robbers, successfully thwarting the theft, but not before the bank's cashier, Joseph Lee Heywood (who also served as Northfield's and Carleton College's treasurer) and a Swedish immigrant, Nicolaus Gustavson, were murdered. A couple of the James-Younger gang were killed in the street, while the rest of the Gang (except for Jesse and Frank James, who reportedly escaped), were cornered near Madelia, Minnesota, and were either killed or taken into custody. The failed raid has sometimes been called the last major event of the American Civil War. The event has become a major tourist draw for the city.
One result of the attempted bank robbery by the James-Younger gang is an outdoor festival, The Defeat of Jesse James Days, held the weekend after Labor Day every year to commemorate the event. The festival is among the largest outdoor celebrations in Minnesota. Thousands of visitors witness reenactments of the robbery, watch championship rodeo, enjoy a carnival, watch the parade, explore arts and crafts expositions, and attend musical performances.
A number of films have been made of the attempted robbery. One of the best known is the 1972 film The Great Northfield, Minnesota Raid, which portrayed the bedraggled James brothers riding off into the mountains west of town. In reality the mountains are about 1,200 miles west of town. As a result of this historic event, one of Northfield's slogans is "Jesse James Slipped here." by virtue that he escaped, and that the heist was such a failure.
Jesse made it out of Northfield and traveled West through the Mankato and Madelia areas and on the South Dakota. We have traveled his escape route several times and really enjoyed the historical aspects of it.
Before leaving Northfield we stopped by the park where our niece, Jaime, is getting married next June.
Best wishes Jaime and Adam!
We sure had a great day and I am glad you tuned in to share it with us!
Join us again real soon for another edition of "Now What Are They Doing?"
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