It began
That lake has been a sort of mystic force in my life, ever since I can remember. I had licked it partly—had been to its bottom in deep dives, had been in it, on it in boats and aquaplanes, with ice-boats and skates. Now my hope was to glide over it—an obsession it was, almost.
Ralph Samuelson
Ralph Samuelson
Everyone in Lake City knew Ralph Samuelson invented water skiing. In the early years there were performances on the waterfront. He did every stunt he could think of: stood on his head, jumped off of ramps, and even skied behind an airplane. But eventually Samuelson moved on, time passed, and memories faded.
Ben Simons never forgot. He was ten years old when he saw it with his own eyes: Sammie usually took his crazy ideas right to the bottom of the lake, but this time was different. He got up on those two boards and he stayed up. Ben never stopped telling that story.
Ben Simons never forgot. He was ten years old when he saw it with his own eyes: Sammie usually took his crazy ideas right to the bottom of the lake, but this time was different. He got up on those two boards and he stayed up. Ben never stopped telling that story.
When he became the Lake City harbormaster, Simons hung a pair of Samuelson’s homemade skis on the wall of the bathhouse. He told anyone who would listen that they were the world’s first water skis. Margaret Crimmins, an editor for the St. Paul Pioneer Press, was on vacation when she heard it. She wrote a series of articles for the paper in 1963.
In the world of water skiing, there were other ideas about who invented the sport. Other places claimed the title of birthplace. Crimmins' research proved otherwise. Lake City business leaders decided to combat the myths. In 1965 they petitioned the American Water Ski Association for proper recognition.
In the world of water skiing, there were other ideas about who invented the sport. Other places claimed the title of birthplace. Crimmins' research proved otherwise. Lake City business leaders decided to combat the myths. In 1965 they petitioned the American Water Ski Association for proper recognition.
The Lake City Chamber of Commerce December 9, 1965 letter to the American Water Ski Association. It included the signatures of Lake Citians who remembered and could testify to Ralph Samuelson water skiing on Lake Pepin in 1922 and for many years after that: Charles Hoyt, Ralph Adolph, Warren Peterson, J. Roschen, Harry Olson, Clarence Zillgitt, Ervin P. Saunders, and Anita Riester. From the records of the Lake City Historical Society.
April 22, 1966 letter to Ralph Samuelson from the American Water Ski Association acknowledging him as the first water skier of record. Original document in the collection of the Lake City Historical Society.
A Monumental Idea
This is something – a monument that will last.
Harley Flathers
Southeastern Minnesota Regional Arts Council (SEMRAC)
Harley Flathers
Southeastern Minnesota Regional Arts Council (SEMRAC)
By 1972, people were engaged in waterskiing all over the world. Boats were faster, equipment was better and waterskiing was a big deal. Local business leaders had begun to see possibilities; Lake City’s annual water carnival was rebranded as Water Ski Days. Ralph Samuelson, now a resident of Pine Island, rode on the Lake City float in parades around the area.
Ralph Samuelson in the 1972 Water Ski Days parade. Photo restoration by Ben Threinen.
However, parades are fleeting and newspaper articles end up in archives. Business leaders with the Chamber of Commerce wanted something more, a permanent memorial to recognize Lake City as the birthplace of waterskiing. They got an idea: to mark the spot where people sat and watched Sammie put on shows for tourists.
The town had some funds left over from the 1972 Centennial Celebration. An arts organization stepped forward with a matching grant. Artists competed for the opportunity to design and create a monument. Proposals arrived; Jack Becker was selected.
The town had some funds left over from the 1972 Centennial Celebration. An arts organization stepped forward with a matching grant. Artists competed for the opportunity to design and create a monument. Proposals arrived; Jack Becker was selected.
The Artist
A sculpture of celebration for the spirit of water skiing.
Jack Becker, artist
Jack Becker, artist
Jack Becker (1943-2010) created abstract sculptures for public spaces, and worked from a studio in the Twin Cities. Lake City native Gene Olson was in Becker's studio as he was making it, although he didn’t know at the time that the huge wave being created was destined for Lake City. It was the first of four massive sculptures that Becker created that remain in existence and are listed in the Arts Inventories Catalog of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Two Swans. France Avenue, Edina, Minnesota. Photographed by Emily Albright.
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Metro Hitch. South Puget Sound Community College, Olympia, Washington. Photographed by Cindy Williams.
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Hands that Hope. St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church, Highway 3, Readlyn, Iowa. Photo from St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church on Facebook.
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The Wave
[A] monument to the place where water skiing was born in 1922 in the waters of Lake Pepin off Ohuta Park.
Lake City Graphic, September 30, 1976
Lake City Graphic, September 30, 1976
Minneapolis Tribune, Thursday, September 23, 1976, page 1B
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Bill Stiene, along with Neil Brunkow and Erv Dick, were there when the sculpture was ready to unload from the truck. They usually worked on the electric lines, but they had the only lift truck in the municipal fleet, so they were given the job of getting it onto the concrete basin that was also its foundation. Stiene remembers, “I looked at it and said, ‘Which end of it goes up?’ Then I realized the artist was standing right behind me. As we got it over to the foundation, it slid right over the bolts. It fit perfectly.”
Once the sculpture was in place, the monument was fitted with a pump. Water splashed over the brass curl, symbolic of a wave on the lake, and back into a pool. Larry Kehren and his dad Bill Kehren did the work for the foundation. He remembers that, "it has a LOT of rebar. It was a monolithic pour of 4000# concrete and the base is 12-16" thick." The Wave was installed in Ohuta Park, a block and a half up Park Street from the boat launch. Organizers selected the spot where people gathered to watch Ralph Samuelson ski behind a World War I airplane in August, 1925. That scene is depicted in a mural in the foyer of the Lake City Post Office, located on the corner of Lyon Avenue and High Street. |
Google Earth. July 3, 2021.
The Celebration
[I wish] the whole state could be here, because it is a landmark in history to see this magnificent creation. People will come from all over to see and photograph this monument.
Bob Ryan, KTTC-TV, Rochester news director
Lake City Graphic, September 30, 1976
Bob Ryan, KTTC-TV, Rochester news director
Lake City Graphic, September 30, 1976
As reported in the Lake City Graphic on September 30, 1976:
Dave McCormick, chairman of the 1972 Centennial Committee, formally presented the fountain-monument to the City of Lake City on Saturday afternoon, September 25, 1976. The program included speakers Jack Becker, Harley Flathers, Dave McCormick, Mayor Don Busch, Red Wahlstrom, and Bob Ryan, with musical selections by the Lincoln High School “Tigers” marching band, and “a performance by the Bald Eagles Water Ski Club [White Bear Lake, Minnesota] to provide an entertaining atmosphere for the dedication.
Maurice “Red” Wahlstrom of Lake City, easily the speaker who most enjoyed himself on the platform, was the mechanic who designed and built a boat and engine capable of pulling Samuelson.
Dave McCormick, chairman of the 1972 Centennial Committee, formally presented the fountain-monument to the City of Lake City on Saturday afternoon, September 25, 1976. The program included speakers Jack Becker, Harley Flathers, Dave McCormick, Mayor Don Busch, Red Wahlstrom, and Bob Ryan, with musical selections by the Lincoln High School “Tigers” marching band, and “a performance by the Bald Eagles Water Ski Club [White Bear Lake, Minnesota] to provide an entertaining atmosphere for the dedication.
Maurice “Red” Wahlstrom of Lake City, easily the speaker who most enjoyed himself on the platform, was the mechanic who designed and built a boat and engine capable of pulling Samuelson.
I remember the day Ralph Samuelson's monument, The Wave, was dedicated in Ohuta Park. He and his wife were there. He was dressed in a nautical suit with a white cap. My husband, Norman, took some very nice pictures of him and all of us. Dr. Gregor Ziemer and his wife were also there. Dr. Ziemer wrote a wonderful book on Mr. Samuelson's life.
Virginia Holst
Oral history recorded, January 6, 2005
Virginia Holst
Oral history recorded, January 6, 2005
Plaque after professional cleaning funded the Lake City Historical Society. Photographed by Ben Threinen
“If we had a way of foreordaining these things, we couldn’t have picked a finer father of water skiing than Ralph Samuelson. He has been an amazing asset to the sport ever since he discovered it on Lake Pepin, Lake City, Minnesota, largely because of his modesty and his genuine wonderment at what he started quite innocently back in 1922.”
Thomas C. Hardman
American Water Ski Association
Winter Haven, Florida, 1976
”If I had it to do over again I couldn’t have chosen a better place to have it happen than at Lake City, Minnesota, on beautiful Lake Pepin.”
Ralph W. Samuelson
"Father of Water Skiing"
Thomas C. Hardman
American Water Ski Association
Winter Haven, Florida, 1976
”If I had it to do over again I couldn’t have chosen a better place to have it happen than at Lake City, Minnesota, on beautiful Lake Pepin.”
Ralph W. Samuelson
"Father of Water Skiing"
The Legacy
It didn’t take long for The Wave to become part of the cultural identity of Lake City. It began to appear on tourism, business, and community promotion brochures. Photos appear in news stories and family photo albums. It inspires art.
The future
I visited The Wave and considering what I saw of it as it was being made, I have come to the following conclusions. It is in dire shape.
Gene Olson, Sculptor, Fabricator, Lake City Alum
And veteran of several major sculpture restorations
August 30, 2023
Gene Olson, Sculptor, Fabricator, Lake City Alum
And veteran of several major sculpture restorations
August 30, 2023
Photographed fall of 2023.
Icons age. They deteriorate. Years of water damage have taken a toll on the internal steel frame of The Wave. In the fall of 2023, the City of Lake City removed the sculpture from Ohuta Park and put it into storage. Its future is uncertain. Can it be saved and returned to the lakeshore? The Lake City Historical Society is working to accomplish just that. In the fall of 2024, the sculpture was inspected by an art conservator and a welder. It is the beginning of a long journey. Pledge your support by becoming a member of the Lake City Historical Society.
Some of the challenges faced by The Wave over the years:
