| Riders will follow outlaws’ trail |
By: DAVID HENKE, Staff Writer
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Posted: Wednesday, August 19, 2009 12:54 am
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Riders in last year’s Outlaw Run, a motorcycle rally hosted by the Northfield Historical Society, followed the historical path of the James-Younger Gang’s escape route to Elysian, Minn.
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Last August, Chad Jenkinson got a feel for the outlaw life.
Jenkinson was one of nearly 100 motorcycle enthusiasts participating in the Northfield Historical Society’s first Outlaw Run, a 100-mile motorcycle rally that follows the James-Younger Gang’s escape route through Minnesota after their failed Northfield bank raid.
Following in the James-Younger Gang’s tracks, Jenkinson said, let him live vicariously as one of the outlaws and gave him a new take on a story that Jenkinson knows like the back of his hand.
“I’ve seen the re-enactment every year for the past 20 years,” Jenkinson said. “You watch the re-enactment, but then to go further, to leave town like you’re an outlaw ... it was definitely a different experience.”
This Saturday (Aug. 22), Jenkinson will again take to his motorcycle as part of the second annual Outlaw Run. The run, which commemorates the gang’s flight to Elysian, will depart from downtown Northfield at 10:30 a.m., after a re-enactment of Jesse James’ infamous 1876 raid on Northfield’s First National Bank. Participants will travel south to Elysian, where they will stop for lunch. After that, the route winds its way back up to Northfield, with stops in Lexington and Millersburg for games and activities.
Registration for the event is $20 per rider and begins at 9 a.m. on Saturday. All the proceeds from the event will benefit the historical society’s youth programs.
The event, coordinated by NHS Executive Director Hayes Scriven and KYMN Radio owner Jeff Johnson, was conceived last year as a contemporary, “out-of-the-box” way to present local history, Scriven said. Through the run, Johnson and Scriven said, riders are able to better visualize the James-Younger Gang’s escape, and can share the sense of adventure associated with the ride.
To help riders connect with the historical aspect of the Outlaw Run, Johnson said, the ride this year will also include a short narration by Earl Weinmann, who worked with local students to publish “Caught in the Storm,” a non-fiction account of the James-Younger Gang’s escape.
“It’s definitely a different way of spreading the history of this area,” Scriven said. “Everyone who went on the run last year really liked it and told us that they did learn something along the route.”
— David Henke covers city, business and youth issues. He can be reached at dhenke@northfieldnews.com or 645-1100.
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