Minnie Freeman and the Blizzard of 1888
The January 2025 letter from Tam the Time Traveler tells the true story how Minnie Freeman saved 13 schoolchildren during a blizzard. This story is often told in Nebraska, but it isn’t as well known outside the state. Here is a little more info about the artifacts included in the letter:
The song “Thirteen Were Saved” was written in 1888 in honor of Minnie Freeman. The graphics are an exact copy of the cover page of the song when it was first published. I love the blizzard typeface! The original musical score ran several pages, so I edited it to make it fit on one page. I also used a simple lead sheet format, and I transposed it to a more singable and playable key. If you are a musician, I encourage you to try it out.
The letter from Minnie to her “dear friend” was quoted in a newspaper from the time. The letter is accurate, but I printed it in a handwriting font on parchment paper to mimic a letter. The name of Minnie’s friend wasn’t mentioned, so I addressed it to “my dear friend.”
I also included a sheet from the McGuffey’s Primer from the time period. Although we don’t know exactly which textbooks Minnie had in her classroom; this is an example of the textbooks used in 1888.
As you can see from the trading card, Minnie Freeman was quite an amazing person. Here are some links to more about Minnie and the Blizzard of 1888:
The Blizzard Voices, by Ted Kooser, US poet laureate, a collection of poems based on recollections of the blizzard Click here
The Children's Blizzard, a nonfiction book by David Laskin that tells the story of the Blizzard of 1888. Click here
The Children's Blizzard, a novel by Melanie Benjamin, historical fiction based on true stories. Click here
The mural in the Nebraska state capitol building that depicts the story of Minnie Freeman Click here
Location of historical marker about Minnie Freeman. Click here
Video reading of Minnie Freeman’s Blizzard picture book Click here
Video: The Deadliest Walk From School: The Schoolhouse Blizzard of 1888. The first part of this story contains some stories that may be disturbing to young children. The story of Minnie Freeman starts at the 11-minute mark and ends at 13:12. Click here
To receive the letter and artifacts, please click here:
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