Coya’s home and career will be featured during Chautauqua at Old Crossing August 24. This event will begin at 6 PM in Old Crossing and Treaty Park, Huot MN.
It features a dynamic introduction to Coya’s energy from Oklee to D.C. by Duane Midboe of Climax, MN followed by a public discussion enlightened by author of “Coya Come Home,” Gretchen Beito. Gretchen, a Thief River Falls resident, a unique observer of social ways will share colorful insights of Coya’s time. Gretchen will be joined by other panelists and members of the audience anxious to share what you will surely enjoy.
This Coya Come Home event is part of Chautauqua & Arts Festival at Old Crossing located seven miles west of Red Lake Falls. Other events feature Bud Larsen and Keith Bear playing together, respectively on the violin and flute, whose artistic works will be introduced by North Dakota folklorist Troyd Geist. This event will follow Coya Come Home. Other events beginning at 1 PM offer an hour-by-hour schedule including The Skally Line, Ryan Keplin Michif (Metis) band, a Chautauqua presentation by Eugene Standingcloud of the Red Lake Tribal Council, the Cajun band, New Riverside Ramblers of Minneapolis, and the Crookston Community Band.
Entrance to the Park is free and open to all. A menu of festival food is available all day and a pig roast by super chef Doug Carpenter and daughter, Teresa begins at 5:30.
“This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Northwest Minnesota Arts Council thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.”
Saturday, July 26th @ 1 PM
Robert Gruchala will talk about his Polish American heritage.
Location: Pierre Bottineau homestead, south side of Red Lake Falls
entrance will be marked from Highway 32
By the age of five, when his parents moved from Fried, North Dakota, north of Jamestown, North Dakota (population of thirty or so). It seems the urge to explore his surroundings was born. By the age of thirteen, the urge to bike out to the horizon of the prairie had become one of Bob's habits.
Bob moved about, motivated by his curiosity, or by invitations of others being various towns in the Red River Valley, first with his parents and then on his own to finally settle more definitively in Minto, North Dakota in 1982 where he and Mrs. Gruchala live today. But during that time of his life when he moved about, often motivated by curiosity or by invitation of others Bob stretched out and away from North Dakota yet never straying away from the direct contact he nurtured with Polish and Polish American cultures.
In the 1970s Bob enrolled as a college student in the Polish Alliance College located in Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania. “Founded in 1912 by the Polish National Alliance and dedicated by U.S. President William Howard Taft, Alliance College was one of the nation's first nationality colleges. Its mission was to provide educational opportunities for everyone, but especially to those of Polish descent. … Alliance College included Polish arts, language and history as part of its curriculum and campus culture until it closed in 1987.” (Google Alliance College)
In 1968, near the time when Bob was a student there, the college had an enrollment of 629 students. Bob majored in English which he later taught in Minto high school beginning in 1982 when he settled there. But before Bob settled into teaching in Minto he traveled and studied in Poland. Setting aside money for travel during this time which he earned in various ways, Bob was able to return to Poland and other countries in Europe. Travel was once made possible through an invitation from a family in Warsaw, Poland. They had, of course, heard of Warsaw, North Dakota and have even heard of the young aspiration to know more lad of Polish descent who lives near there. From Warsaw, Poland further friendships and trust in those he met led him to visit Norway and Denmark.
Thus, Mr. Robert Gruchala, camouflaged as an English teacher is much more than an isolated individual. He is part of two communities: a community he went out to meet and the community of Minto where he now lives.
The comment by Virgil which follows underscores why we (AFRAN and its members) aim to develop friendship and knowledge through the programs we sponsor.
Too often people and places are no more than data in our lives. “Went there, done that.” Yet for others a bike ride, an invitation, a special educational experience, attachment to communities develop trust, knowledge and appreciation of others.
Come hear Bob tell of his sense of community, friendship and trust as he traveled within the nation of Poland and the Polish American communities he has known.
Saturday & Sunday, August 23 & 24, 2025
Chautauqua & Arts Festival
Old Crossing Festival of Performance, Demonstrations and Participation in the Arts takes place at Old Crossing Treaty Park in Red Lake County next to the village of Huot along the Red Lake River. Artists at Old Crossing Festival perform music, tell stories, demonstrate artistic crafts, and invite attendees to participate in a variety of artistic activities during this two-day event. Every art activity allows the audience opportunities to experience various aspects of the heritage of the Red River Valley. This experience happens in the presence of others with whom they engage in the appreciation of a fine performance on stage, or in their exchange with presenters at a demonstration site, or by participating with others in an artist-led activity such as a folk dance. The festival is a public event that connects people of the Red River Valley through the Arts to the heritage of the region. People learn together at Old Crossing Festival. In fact, the festival draws hundreds each year to this historic site. Historic as it is, Old Crossing is not well known. The festival makes this place which has no buildings to accommodate visitors very attractive with the tents, stages and exhibits it places strategically around the park for the event. The idea behind the strategy of making the park attractive and accommodating is to create a social atmosphere conducive to the exchange of thoughts and learning. The numerous tents, stages, chairs, and exhibits up to and including the porta toilettes are necessities. Together with the performers, demonstrators and artists who invite participation, the tents, stages, sound system, sound technicians, chairs, and exhibit shelters all make this event a major attraction in the Red River Valley.
Location: Old Crossing Treaty Park, Huot, Minnesota
Dates: August 23 and 24, 2025
Time: 12:30 PM - 10 PM Saturday August 23
Time: 12:30 PM - 5 PM Sunday August 24
Schedule Saturday August 23
12:30 Introduction to Old Crossing through story
1:00 Lynx Lynx
1:00-4:00 O'Neils out park
2:00 Polish National Alliance
3:00 Clyde Bauman singing as farmboy Milo
4:00 The Skally Line
5:15-6:15 To Be Announced
5:30 Polish American Supper
6:30 O’Neils Dance around park
8:30 The Skally Line at Bonfire
Food and beverages are available from 11:00 AM- 3:00 PM on Saturday and Sunday.
Schedule Sunday August 24
12:30 Introduction to Old Crossing through story
1:00 The Skally Line
2:00 Clyde Bauman singing “Prairie Memories Songs of Home”
3:00 Lynx Lynx
4:00 O’Neils Family Band
Demonstrations and activities that engage attendees in the park away from the main tent are from 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM and from 4:00 PM - 5:00 both days.
Joel and Sue Miller, North Dakota Pembina museum outreach program, O'Neil Family, Clawhammer Mike, Britt Malec.
Lynx Lynx (Vidar Skrede and Patrick Ahlberg)
Skrede plays original tunes inspired by local Norwegian and Swedish folk music on the Harding fiddle. He has played at a large variety of venues from large city symphonies to local stages. He has been touring since 2016. Patrik Ahlberg is a multi-instrumentalist from Sweden. He regularly plays and performs music of both the United States and Sweden.
Sandy Schuster Polish National Alliance Sandy Schuster’s dance group of five from Minto, ND will perform and demonstrate on stage traditional Polish dances as they have been adapted and presented in the Red River Valley. Dances have been learned by this group over the last twenty years from professional Polish dancers who teach traditional dance. Over the past twenty years Sandy has served as director and main dancer for the group. The outfits they wear while performing come from a variety of Polish regions. Both dances and the outfits illustrate commitment to folk traditions while illustrating the beauty of design on fabric and the execution of intricate dance steps.
Clyde Bauman Clyde Bauman’s songs can be divided into those he refers to as Prairie Memories and those he sings as a fictional farm boy. A professional musician and entertainer from Bismarck, North Dakota, Clyde Bauman’s fictional farm boy songs portray a character he calls Mylo Halzenbuhler. Bauman’s songs as Milo blend theater, comedy, and music to portray a German farm boy who sings of the many real situations of farm life from needing a loan again to selling cows. His songs, as Mylo, are some of the most right on and yet hilarious ones a person can hear. They fully review aspects of traditional farm life in the Valley and beyond. Mr. Bauman’s songs from his repertoire, entitled Prairie Memories includes such songs as A Spirit Lowly, Bed by the Window, He Just Can't Be Seen from the Road. These songs tell of how rural life shapes how people think, listen and talk.
Skally Line Skally Line is a musical duo which with mandolin, guitar and song tell stories drawn from Minnesota history. Fred, the singer in the duo, tells stories of trading posts, settlements Metis and Native Peoples. The duo will present on stage as well as at the Saturday evening bonfire.
O’Neil Family Band will perform on stage under the main tent as well as involve attendees in folk dance activities
Joel Miller and Sue Suess Joel Miller and Sue Suess will demonstrate on Saturday in the park away from the main tent. They are artists who work in metal to create iron-forged sculptures. They work mostly with traditional blacksmithing design techniques and forging methods.
Britt Malec is a multifaceted artist based in Grand Marais, Minnesota, whose creative endeavors encompass painting, music, traditional crafts, and community engagement. Her artwork draws inspiration from northern landscapes, Slavic folk art, and her grandmother's garden, reflecting a deep connection to her heritage and environment.
Clawhammer Mike and His Minnesota Fiddle Tunes project explores the forgotten dance music of the North Star State. Drawing on decades of research, old field recordings, and community memory, Mike captures melodies of regional fiddle traditions. His repertoire spans the Scandinavian polkas, Métis reels, lumber camp jigs, and homestead of Minnesota’s diverse cultural roots. The project connects past to present, inviting audiences to living traditions of Minnesota.
Pembina Museum outreach program for youth. Jeff and Brian of the Pembina Museum, demonstrate and engage youth attendees at the festival in telling and portraying the history of the fur trade.
A Polish American supper will be served from 5:30-7:00 PM on Saturday. Price of $15.00 for a homemade meal of Polish sausage, pierogies, salad and coleslaw with coffee or cold beverage. A sample plate of one sausage, one pierogi and a salad for all ages is also available for $8.
FEE. There is no fee either to enter the park or to attend any of the Chautauqua and art events.
Volunteer contributions are, however, much needed and appreciated.
Come and see Old Crossing Treaty Park the one and only park marking the link between Native American and homestead history of Red Lakers and the residents of some 21 counties of the Red River Valley formed from the treaty land cession.
This event promotes friendship and a deeper awareness of our rich heritage and cultural diversity.
This activity is funded, in part, by a grant from the Northwest Minnesota Arts Council and the Minnesota arts and cultural heritage fund as appropriated by the Minnesota State Legislature with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008.