(soft music) - [Announcer] Funding for Off 90 is provided in part by, the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.

(upbeat music) - [Barbara] Cruising your way next, Off 90, we check out the George Stoppel Farmstead, the Minnesota Marine Art Museum shares items From the Vault.

A Mankato singer performs her original song, Float.

These stories and more are coming up on your next stop, Off 90.

(country upbeat music) (upbeat music) Hi, I'm Barbara Keith.

Thanks for joining me on this trip, Off 90.

The George Stopple Farmstead was built by German immigrant, George Stoppel and his family in the late 1850s near what is now, Rochester.

The farm stayed in the family for a century before being purchased by the Olmsted County Historical Society in 1976.

(instrumental music) - [Wayne] The George Stoppel farmstead is a 1850s historic site that is listed on the national register.

And it also happens to be the history center's largest historic artifact.

When George Stoppel and his brother Franz Joseph arrived here in the late summer of 1856, there was nothing here.

No buildings, just a wild land.

Otherwise it was just him and his family and they had to figure out how to survive.

So they had to get started building shelters, growing food, and preparing for the winter.

And so one of the first things that they did was to start digging a cave.

That's just one cave of a total of four caves on this property that those two dug out.

It's like they just couldn't stop digging caves.

After that first tough winter, they started to build this farmstead.

It really became one of the premier farmsteads of their time.

The stone house was built in the 1861, probably finished around 1865.

And one interesting thing about the stone house is that it was hit by the 1883 tornado and it ripped off the roof and George Stoppel seemed to be very adaptive to change.

And when he built the new roof, he built it over the old roof and he encapsulated those original cedar shingles, which we can see today up in the attic.

It's like a little time capsule from 1861.

When people have been around Rochester a long time, when they think of the Stoppel farm, they think of the red barn because it's so big and I think it's so majestic, both inside and out.

And the barn is really interesting.

It's a bank barn, meaning that its banks are built up to the front and the rear entrance.

So you could drive up your oats, your hay, your other animal feed into the main part of the barn and the loft, and it really has some incredible structural work inside with these giant beams that connect together, and you try and imagine how they hoisted those up in place, it's really remarkable.

Yeah, the barn was the heart of the farmstead and probably still is today.

Now the smokehouse is a very interesting and unique building for Southern Minnesota because it has a dedicated meat smoking tower, but also underneath the smokehouse is yet another cave that goes back about 45 feet straight into the hill.

And what's interesting about the caves is that George Stoppel's grandsons and probably great grandsons and granddaughters also went into that cave and they also left their mark on the wall, all sorts of wild things that really adds character and tells you that real people were exploring these and enjoying these.

It's a pretty significant site, but even how they got to be here is remarkable as a story of immigration.

The journey that George Stoppel and his brother Franz Joseph made from a kingdom and what we now know as Germany, the kingdom of Wurttemberg through Europe during a time of reform and revolution across the Atlantic in 1848 to New York city, and then across the Midwest where they first stopped in Cincinnati, Ohio, but in Cincinnati, they were part of a German community that was attacked by nativists Know Nothings.

The Know Nothings we're part of a nativist political party in the 1850s.

That probably drove them further out west to Minnesota.

And they probably heard that Minnesota had lots of open wheat fields and lots of land to pioneer and settle.

And they walked the two families with one cart and one ox between them, several days from Ohio to Minnesota and they ended up here in the late summer, early fall of 1856.

So, think about that immigration experience that they went through.

And it's really emblematic of that solid stone house that you see behind me, which it stands in testament to their perseverance as immigrants.

Yeah, George and his brother Franz Joseph had a really interesting background coming out of Wurttemberg, Germany.

Franz Joseph, the older brother, was trained as a stone mason and he used that skill to great advantage when building the Stoppel house that you see behind me.

His younger brother was trained as a cooper, someone who made barrels that you would put wine in or beer or anything like that.

And he was able to use his skills here in America as well.

But the interesting thing is, even though they used those skills that they learned in the old country here in the new country, the future was farming.

And they became farmers here in the Minnesota territory.

So, they were able to use those old world traditions that they learned growing up in Wurttemberg, Germany, and brought them to the new world, just like generations of immigrants have done in our state and in our country.

We invite the public to join us in the exploration, not only of the barn, the stone house, the caves, but also in the immigration journey of George Stoppel from Wurttemberg, Germany, to Rochester.

It's really gonna take all of us in Olmsted County to make the restoration and rehabilitation of this incredible property a reality and we really do need the public's help in doing this.

(upbeat music) - Have you ever wondered what the oldest piece at the Minnesota Marine Art Museum in Winona is?

Curator of collections and exhibits Jon Swanson dives deep into their collection to share pieces with us From the Vault.

- Hello, I'm Jon Swanson, Curator of Collections and Exhibition at the Minnesota Marine Art Museum in Winona.

Today, we're gonna look at an object from the vault.

(soft music) The Minnesota Marine Art Museum features great art inspired by water.

Our exhibitions and education programs explore the ongoing and historic relationship with water.

One question I get asked frequently, "What is the oldest object in the museum?"

Well I have it here with me.

It's a medallion coin from 327 AD celebrating a Naval battle.

This object is unique because it wasn't circulated like regular coins, it was a commemorative medallion celebrating a specific naval battle.

Constantine, when he moved the capital of the Roman Empire to Constantinopolis, today's Istanbul, released a series of commemorative medallions, celebrating him, his family, his military and political victories.

On the front, or the obverse, of the medallion, we see a bust or a portrait of Constantine.

He's wearing a helmet, armor, and holds a septor over his left shoulder.

The raised lettering reads, "Constanti-nopolis," denoting the city named after him.

On the reverse or the backside of the medallion, we have the naval scene.

We see a galley with oarsman, a captain sitting in the stern of the vessel.

And on the prow of the ship there's an allegory for victory, winged and holding a wreath, denoting the positive outcome of this battle.

You see turbulent water and some standards denoting that this is a naval vessel.

The engraving reads "Vic-toria AVG," which translates to "Dedicated to the victory of the Emperor."

This medallion commemorates a famous naval battle and victory, the Battle of Hellespont in 324 AD.

The battle of Hellespont pitted Licinius' navy of 350 triremes, these large Roman battleships against the much smaller 200 ship navy of Crispus.

Crispus won a resounding victory with over 130 of Liciniuns' ships lost to battle or wrecked along the rocks of the Dardanelles due to a gail force wind.

This medallion was struck to celebrate the festivities around the founding of the city of Constantinople, today's Istanbul, Turkey, There are only four known examples of this medallion.

so it is quite rare.

This being the oldest object in our collection is fitting, again, celebrating a naval victory, with a naval scene commemorated on the back.

Thank you for taking a look at this little seen object from the vault of the Minnesota Marine Art Museum.

(soft music) (upbeat music) - Minnesota artist, Stefanie Schmid, explores her journey with mental health through abstract paintings, and every piece is a reflection of her visual recovery journey.

- [Stefanie] What's unique to my art I would say is that, it depends on my mood, it depends on my feelings, with what's going through my life at the time.

It's a vulnerable, unplanned and authentic.

When I start a painting, I will scribble with either a China marker, opaque marker, or even just paint, and I'll stare at it and I'll see if I see anything in that painting and then I elaborate from it.

It's just totally spontaneous and imaginative.

My name is Stefanie Schmid, I am a local artist out of the Twin Cities.

I use my art as a tool for recovery from various mental health conditions.

I remember seeing my art on the wall at school as a first grader and hearing people say that one stands out, and I had so much pride and I knew that was something I had a strong student, so I wanted to continue that.

I pushed it off and I wanted to do it in college but I thought, well, it's not gonna make money, so I better not do that and I went to school and I had a lot of setbacks in my life, a lot of trauma happened and I developed PTSD and art became a way to express what I feel without having to speak and without having to say, relive how flashbacks go through the whole thing.

I was able to express myself on canvas without having to say a word.

I vary from using two different materials.

I use a paintbrush and I also use a palette knife with acrylic paint, which is kind of different.

Most people use a palette knife with oil.

If you are a creative person and you have that spark and that energy to wanna be an artist, go for it.

I say, pick up the paintbrush, the pencils, whatever, whatever you have available, and use that to move forward.

I use a lot of objects around the house that you wouldn't typically use to create my art.

For instance, old credit cards.

I've used paper towel pieces, and smudged it instead of a paintbrush, I just find stuff to reuse a lot of times.

And then also with the process, as far as color and what I'm gonna make, it's all about practicality, it's all about what's available and maybe what's affordable at the time.

And that's how I determine the beginning of a painting.

I actually started on Etsy, I would say in about 2011, I wanna say, I started with doing paintings that were about three by three inches, they were tiny, and I sold a ton of those.

I had some inquiries to do larger paintings.

And so, I got the canvases and the supplies for shipping and everything, and I started making these larger paintings.

And now I've done them as large as three by four feet.

So they're really big.

I think if it wasn't for that one person, I think I would have stopped with just the little ones because I'm so...

I get into my groove and it's scary to try something new.

And when someone said, "Hey, we like your stuff.

I just wish it was bigger," I'm like a light bulb went off.

I'm like, "Well, maybe I should do that too."

If I'm having a really rough day, I try to change the painting from being dark and scary or just unsettling to something as beautiful as possible to change the energy to manifest something more beautiful and worthwhile.

I find a lot of people wouldn't want what I have in my head sometimes on their wall.

And so I really try to change it to the uplifting and to bring some positivity to the art instead of having it just be depressing and sad, even though I'm feeling that way, I don't want it to be conveyed that way on canvas.

You know, I try not to judge myself and I try to just be free and not do maybe what is correct.

I have to change my environment to feel safe, so I'll make myself as comfortable as possible.

I paint in sometimes pajamas.

(giggles) I make the mood good, I listen to a lot of classical music and then light candles, I just mix the paint for some reason that is really soothing to me.

I do this to run from my feelings basically.

And then it produces something beautiful out of something so dark.

The mind can play tricks on you.

I mean, there's times I think I'm a worthless artist, but you gotta remember that it's not reality.

It's just a feeling and you know, someone can say something to you and say, "Hey, you're terrible," but you also have to look at who it's coming from and what are their intentions.

And so it's like I have to learn to be nicer to myself and more open-minded and less judgmental that perfection is a huge issue that I struggle with.

And that's why my paintings are very messy and very, I would say not photo realistic at all.

I've shied away from that.

But yeah, it's been an amazing journey from just picking up the paintbrush to release some feelings and bad energy to having celebrities follow me and purchase my work and it's an honor, so yeah.

You can find my work on Etsy at my shop, ww.etsy.com/shop/StefanieSchmid.

You can also find my work through the Maple Grove Arts Center.

I am an exhibitor for them so I, every three months, I'm at a new location.

For the time being, I'm at the Government Center in Maple Grove.

The Maple Grove Arts Center, I'm in a exhibit called the Black and White Show with a splash of red.

So, all of the art will be black and white with 20% or less red in the piece.

So, it's gonna be a really interesting fall feeling show.

So I'm in that, and that should be up for a good month I'd say, yeah.

(country upbeat music) - Mankato singer, Aliya Mukamuri, shares her original song, Float.

Enjoy.

(soft music) ♪ Mmmmh ♪ ♪ All my thoughts covered up in silence ♪ ♪ Feels like I'm floating inside of my head ♪ ♪ With the world around me turning blue ♪ ♪ It's hard to be where there's nothing happening ♪ ♪ Home's not my home got me feeling trapped and ♪ ♪ What more can I do ♪ (piano playing) ♪ I'm always sad, nothing make me happy ♪ ♪ Except for my music but all of it sappy ♪ ♪ No one understands ♪ ♪ Feeling like I'm completely silenced ♪ ♪ Bino and Mike are the only ones listening ♪ ♪ Someone take my hand ♪ ♪ 'Cause I'm stuck in the pavement of the earth ♪ ♪ And I'm drowning in water ♪ ♪ Losing worth, oooh ♪ ♪ When somebody gonna help me flow ♪ ♪ Somebody gonna let me know ♪ ♪ I gotta take time to grow ♪ ♪ On my own ♪ ♪ 'Cause I'm stuck under water ♪ ♪ In my earth ♪ ♪ Help me float ♪ ♪ Help me float ♪ ♪ In my head thoughts are going crazy ♪ ♪ Everyone always expecting words from me ♪ ♪ Don't know what to say ♪ ♪ Live my life but sometimes I hate it ♪ ♪ Trying so hard but de-motivated ♪ ♪ Every single day ♪ ♪ 'Cause I'm stuck in the pavement of the earth ♪ ♪ And I'm drowning in water losing worth, oooh ♪ ♪ When somebody gonna help me float ♪ ♪ Somebody gonna let me know ♪ ♪ I gotta take time to grow on my own ♪ ♪ 'Cause I'm stuck under water in my earth ♪ ♪ Help me float ♪ ♪ Help me float ♪ ♪ Drowning in space ♪ ♪ Tough meant to stay ♪ ♪ Wish it would just go away ♪ ♪ But no one would help pull me out of this place ♪ ♪ Oooh ♪ ♪ Now 'cause I'm stuck in the pavement of the earth ♪ ♪ And I'm drowning in water losing worth, oooh ♪ ♪ When somebody gonna help me float ♪ ♪ Somebody gotta let me know ♪ ♪ I gotta take time to grow on my own ♪ ♪ 'Cause I'm stuck under water in my earth ♪ ♪ Help me float ♪ ♪ Help me float ♪ (upbeat music) - We've reached the end of this tour Off 90.

Thanks for riding along.

See you next time.

But before we go, we learn about the history of agriculture in Blue Earth County.

(soft music) - [Narrator] Blue Earth County has always been based in agriculture.

Many of the early farms were 160 acres and were plowed by hand or with oxen or horses.

Much of what was grown at the time was small grains, as corn and potatoes required the farmer to plant by hand if they did not have a planter that allowed them to stand.

Produce like this was most likely grown in small garden patches near the house and tended by the women and children.

Due to the changes in machinery, making planting and harvesting easier, farmers in Blue Earth County first began to grow in surplus to sell to cities, and then began to diversify the crops grown to help maintain nutrients in the soil.

With the extra crops grown, mills like Seppman Mill and Show Stock Mill were no match for what places like Hubbard Mill could process in an hour.

Blue Earth County remains a very agricultural society to this day.

For more information about historical topics, visit our website at BlueEarthCountyHistory.com.

(upbeat music) (soft music) - [Announcer] Funding for Off 90 is provided in part by, the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.