Submitted photo When Mary Whitney poured out water to bless the city of Marshall with its name in 1872, it also inspired commemorative buckets that are on sale at the Lyon County Museum

MARSHALL — A city only turns 150 once. That’s a big part of the reason why organizers of Marshall’s sesquicentennial celebrations want to make this summer special.

“We really needed more than a weekend,” said Nicole DeBoer, co-chairperson of the Marshall 150th planning committee.

“This is really a 150th season of celebration,” said Marshall Mayor and planning committee co-chair Bob Byrnes. “There’s a lot of things being planned all summer.”

There will be a number of ways that people can take part in the celebrations over the course of the summer. The celebrations will kick off this month with activities like city-wide bingo, and continue with celebrations including a birthday party for the city in August.

“That’s going to be a fun event,” DeBoer said.

Byrnes and DeBoer said a wide range of people who have been part of the planning for the city sesquicentennial, including a mix of citizen volunteers and city staff. Local businesses and organizations like the Lyon County Historical Society are also part of the celebrations.

“One of the things the committee wanted to do was make the 150th its own event,” Byrnes said. They wanted to have celebrations that were distinct from ones held for Marshall’s 125th anniversary, and that were also open to everyone.

“We hope it gives them a sense of appreciation . . . but also a sense of inclusiveness,” Byrnes said.

One of the first events of the celebration season will be a city-wide bingo night May 19 at the Red Baron Arena and Expo.

Another activity that will run from May through September is a weekly radio trivia question on Marshall Radio’s KMHL and KARZ. Every Tuesday at 8:30 a.m., listeners will have a chance to win fudge from Walnut Grove Mercantile. Walnut Grove Mercantile has created a fudge flavor for the 150th celebration, organizers said.

Commemorative buckets with the image of the Mrs. Whitney statue in Marshall will also be available at the Lyon County Museum while supplies last. Organizers said the idea for the buckets came from the story of Mary Whitney giving the city its name, and blessing the community by pouring out water.

“The idea was that people would likely use the buckets for planters,” Byrnes said. It will also be possible for people to order buckets pre-planted with a variety of flowers by Greenwood Nursery.

One big piece of the celebrations will take the whole summer — and a lot of community effort — to complete. In honor of the sesquicentennial, a new sculpture featuring an ‘M’ for Marshall will be built at Independence Park.

“Work is already being done on the fabrication of the giant M,” DeBoer said.

Designed by area artist Tamara Isfeld, the sculpture will include mosaics that community members can be a part of. Marshall community education coordinator Amanda Beckler said Marshall Community Services will be offering chances to sign up to help create mosaic panels.

“People can join in and help out,” Beckler said.

Beckler said community members can also be a part of the art project by donating materials that can be made into mosaic panels. People can drop off materials like china, old jewelry, beads and buttons at the Lyon County Museum.

Some of the events planned to celebrate Marshall’s sesquicentennial will happen in partnership with the Sounds of Summer festival in August. An official “City of Marshall Birthday Party” will be held Aug. 19, with live music and activities, and a free magic show by illusionist and Marshall native Jett Skrien.

Other events commemorating the city’s 150th anniversary, including a living history event and fashion show, a vintage vehicle show and a fireworks display, will also be held during Sounds of Summer.

As the city of Marshall turns 150, it’s important to remember the breadth of the community’s history, organizers said.

“The planning group has acknowledged we’re certainly not the first people on this land,” DeBoer said. The bend in the Redwood River in this area was important for Native American communities long before Marshall was founded, she said.

Byrnes said the Marshall community has also had some unique factors throughout its history. In the 1870s, there were many southwest Minnesota cities founded as stops along the railway lines.

“Most of those communities didn’t survive, and the ones that did found their purpose,” Byrnes said. Through its history, the city of Marshall had an entrepreneurial spirit, focused on serving the agricultural communities in the area. “That continues today,” Byrnes said.

Byrnes said Marshall was unusual in that it saw a lot of growth after 1960, driven partly by business innovations and the need to develop a strong workforce. That was another part of the community’s purpose that remained with Marshall up until today, he said.

More information on the Marshall sesquicentennial celebrations is available at the city website, https://ci.marshall.mn.us.