MANKATO — Mankato’s famed disappearing mayor, Stan Christ, is alive and presumably well in Springfield, Mo., albeit still unreachable.

Christ (pronounced Krist) remains one of Mankato’s most fascinating characters. His lineage runs rich and deep in the community. Stan’s father died in 1965 while serving as police chief. Stan was a vaunted local sports hero, fire chief, longtime City Council member in the ’80s, mayor, and lightning rod during the DM&E; Railroad debate.

When he left town — and his mayor’s job — in the middle of the night more than seven years ago, he made national news.

Then, to solidify his role in local legend, Stan’s name surfaced recently in the city’s investigation into the whereabouts of an old and infamous Dakota hanging monument

Rumor had it that Stan, who ran a Mankato shoe store and collected and sold antique toys on the side, had headed south when he left Mankato, hitting toy shows and enjoying retirement. I’ve attempted to track Stan down over the years, searching for him through his friends in town and via the Internet. It’s hard today for anyone, particularly a public figure, to drop out of sight completely, but Stan did a pretty good job of it. No telephone or address listings anywhere. No friends who’d give up his whereabouts.

But Stan, always a jovial and civic-minded guy, got outed by his own good deeds.

I found him in the Blood Bank of the Ozarks newsletter, featured in an article under “Donor Spotlight.”

The article says Stan has been living in Springfield since he left Mankato. He was honored for his blood donations — more than 15 gallons — and his every two-week donations of platelets at the Blood Bank of the Ozarks.

“My mother died of cancer, and when they told me about the link between platelets and cancer patients, it seemed like the right move,” Stan said in the article.

“When I was younger, we didn’t have a lot of money. Unlike other ways of helping your community, giving blood doesn’t cost a thing,” he said.

The article contained a photo showing Stan throwing out the first pitch at a baseball game for, fittingly enough, MSU. This MSU being Missouri State University. The MSU Bears chose Stan to throw out the pitch because of his involvement in the baseball team’s blood drive. Stan is himself a renowned sports figure. He’s among a handful of people holding a Minnesota State High School League record for being a three-time state wrestling champion, 1957-59.

He served Mankato well in a variety of ways, including volunteer fire chief, councilman, mayor and many civic organizations.

In the late ’90s, when the DM&E; proposal to build new tracks through Mankato arose, Stan was one of the project’s early supporters. He argued for signing a community partnership agreement with the railroad that would bring more safety improvements if the project was completed. His position put him on the wrong side of public and City Council opinion.

Most believe it was that issue that prompted him, in October 1999, to pack up his belongings, put his house for sale and quietly leave town. He left only a letter with the city manager saying he was resigning as mayor.

Stan’s name rose unexpectedly again last year after a Minnesota State University history class pressed the city to account for what happened to a large granite slab that marked the hanging of 38 Dakota Indians in Mankato.

The monument, which bore the inscription “Here were hanged Thirty-Eight Sioux Indians, Dec. 26, 1862,” was erected in downtown Mankato in 1912. Later seen as an embarrassment, it was removed in the early 1970s and stored in a city garage from which it ultimately disappeared.

An investigation by the city last year concluded the monument was hauled out of town in 1994, in a truck driven by none other than the former mayor. Stan, who was friends with the Dakota Indians at the Lower Sioux Reservation near Morton, purportedly delivered it to the band to do with what they wished.

I’m glad to see Stan seems to be enjoying the warmth and rich history of Springfield. He left behind a treasure trove of local lore and mystery. And maybe a little mystery is more fun than knowing all the details.

Still, I’d sure like to talk to him.

You know my number, Stan.



Tim Krohn is a staff writer at The Free Press. He can be contacted at 344-6383 or tkrohn@mankatofreepress.com