On July 14, Duluth Public Library welcomed “Cuyler Adams” to tell the story of the discovery of Cuyuna Range. The event started at 1p.m. in Duluth Public Library’s Green Room and lasted for 40 minutes.
Six years ago, the Minnesota Discovery Center created “Cuyler Adams,” a historical storytelling program for kids. Duluth Public Library and the Arrowhead Library System sponsored the event this time as part of the Arrowhead Library System’s Legacy Program.
The story of Cuyler Adams is not very well known. Cuyler Adams discovered the Cuyuna Range, an iron range located largely within Crow Wing County, Minn. “Cuyuna” is the combination “Cuyler” and “Una”, the name of Cuyler Adams’ dog.
“It is always nice for everybody to know something about where they live,” said Nancy Eaton from the Community Services Department at Duluth Public Library.
Minnesota Discovery Center found something about this part of history and started to gather more information six years ago. During that time the songwriter and storyteller Richie Johnson who was later involved in the research for this history was invited to play the role of Cuyler Adams. They gradually built up the story and still are researching more information about Cuyler Adams and his discovery of Cuyuna Range.
The purpose of the program is to provide kids with more history of Minnesota. Not just that, it also wants to inspire people to discover something new in their life. Johnson thought it was a great event for kids and also encouraged people to utilize their resources and always be willing to make a discovery.
"The fun part about this research is that as we discovered the story we found out a lot of these discoveries just happened by happy accidents," said Johnson. "Not everything has been discovered. Don't stop learning. Don't stop discovering."
During the 40 minutes of the event Johnson told kids not only the history but also some basic knowledge of compass, rock, agriculture and outdoor survival skills.
The kids had fun during the event. Parents enjoyed this event as well.
Trish Berger, a mother from Cloquet, took her kids here to attend this event. She has seen Johnson’s performance elsewhere and knew ahead of time that this was going to be a great event for her kids.
“He gave much more information and some hands-on experiences than just the story,” said Berger. “And he gave life to Cuyler Adams.”
When the event ended, kids ran on the stage to play with "Cuyler Adams." “Una,” Cuyler Adams' dog played by Johnson’s son, grabbed his dad in the crowd and asked when they could leave.
“Are you waiting for the next discovery, like what’s for lunch?” said Johnson, looking at his own son with a big smile.