Local News
'War-stravaganza' grows
Related Photos
-
Allied soldier re-enactors cheered last year as a World War II-era plane passed over a mock battle at Traxler’s Hunting Preserve near Le Center. On Saturday the site will again host a Living Military History Day spectacle. File photo
-
World War II re-enactors marched into battle at the 2008 event. File photo
-
Multiple-era military encampments are part of Living Military History Day. File photo
-
U.S. soldier actors called in an airstrike on a German armored car during a choreographed battle last year. File photo
Discussion
Add a comment on this storyTools
Living Military History Day: ‘More pyro, more tanks, more actors’
LE CENTER — War may be hell, but its re-enactment can be hellaciously entertaining.
That’s the aim, anyway, of Jeff Traxler, who is reprising the “war-stravaganza” he staged last year just outside Le Center.
“It’s going to be bigger and better than ever,” Traxler hyped of the Living Military History Day spectacle that abounds with sensory overload.
“We’re going to have more pyro, more tanks, more actors,” said Traxler, whose inaugural event last year included a simulated World War II battle incorporating explosions, machine guns, armored vehicles, planes and more than 100 soldier re-enactors.
Saturday’s event will feature re-enactments from the Civil War, World War II and Vietnam, plus mockups of military encampments from various eras.
The main show will be a re-enactment of the World War II Normandy battle.
The event is held on the grounds of Traxler’s Hunting Preserve. Daylong shuttle transportation from nearby Le Sueur County fairgrounds will be provided.
Traxler, a military history buff who has visited World War II battlefields in Europe, is using 40 people to help stage the event and hopes to draw 3,000 visitors.
He said he has more than 160 German and American soldier re-enactors signed on from throughout the United States and last year used 14 sets of bleachers and spent $7,000 just for blanks for the guns.
If You Go
What: Living Military History Day — A Tribute to D-Day
When: 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Traxler’s Hunting Preserve near Le Center
Cost: $20 for ages 13 and older; $10 for 6 to 12; free 5 and younger
Information: www.traxlers.com or 507-357-6940
- Local News
-
-
Repeated snow days add up to scheduling headache
The problems go beyond classes to community recreation and education.
-
East grad killed in accident
Dustin Lemke was hit by another vehicle as he walked
-
Winter weather watch, road conditions
MnDOT's up to the minute Road conditions map.
See the National Weather Service continually updated Weather forecast
- School closing announcements
-
Life Remembered: Claire Faust a builder of connections
Claire Faust was also a dedicated Kiwanian.
-
Mississippi River water quality meetings set
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is holding public meetings on a water quality standard proposed for the south metro Mississippi River.
-
Rail leader reports growing Asian market
Though the recession roiled the rail industry in 2009, the head of a Texas-based railway company is bullish about its Asia-enhanced future.
-
Mankato utility reform approved
The Mankato City Council approved changed Monday on how water utility bills are paid.
-
Weird News: Economy is going to pot
-
Public safety finalist ousted from previous job
Todd Miller, one of the four finalists to be Mankato's public safety director, had a controversial tenure in Terrell, Texas.
- More Local News Headlines
-
