HOT PURSUIT

It will go down as one of the more memorable Father’s Days for Lloyd Kaplan, a man who’s dedicated his later years to history of Steele County and Ellendale and more specifically Gus’ Station, an iconic gas station that served the Ellendale community for nearly a half century.

For those not familiar with Kaplan, he and his history sidekick, Terry Prokopec, were at the center of a huge firestorm at the Steele County Historical Society (SCHS) for the past several years. They were kicked out of the history center, told to never have anything more to do with the county’s historical society and banned from the premises for lifetime. They were even accused of stealing funds from Gus’ Station, though no police report was ever made.

Last November the Steele County Times did an extensive investigation into the chaotic and craziness going on at the history center. Just days before our stories were published, the center’s director, Jennifer Thiele, resigned. Within a couple weeks following publication of the investigation, at least half of the board resigned.

New board members came onboard to deal with the aftermath and mess left behind. They dug into the controversy for several months before finally reaching out to Kaplan and Prokopec to make amends in hopes of ironing out their differences in late April.

Just last week and days before Father’s Day, the history board led by current president Dave Effertz lifted the ban against the history duo and apologized for what had happened. They did so in rare class by making a public announcement in front of about 40 residents of Ellendale. Effertz deserves a big thank you for orchestrating this resolution.

As for Kaplan, he’s beyond relieved that it’s over.

“Many sleepless nights,” Kaplan said in describing the hell he went through over the past several years and the ensuing battle he waged to clear his name. But, he added, it was never his intention to take down the historical society.

Kaplan’s daughter, Gail, couldn’t agree more. She helped her father throughout the battle and often lamented how she was worried about his health and the stress this issue was causing him.

“It’s time to move on to recover from this,” she said Monday afternoon. “We need to heal from this and rebuild (the historical society). I’m grateful the current board came together to put together a resolution.”

The elder Kaplan, who turns 90 in August, is appreciative of how his daughter helped him through this rocky time, which has been compounded by his wife recently being placed in memory care. Gail helped forge a resolution with history officials.

“She has been around the world and knows how to conduct with people,” Kaplan said of Gail, who is retired from the U.S. Army.  “It turned the tide to have the support of Gail in all of this,” he added.

As part of the agreement between both sides, Kaplan, Barb Mrotz and Andy Lerberg, both of Ellendale, will be making a video detailing the history of Gus’ Station, something that very few have any knowledge about. Kaplan can’t wait to get the video produced for the benefit of keeping the history alive for future generations. Previously, most Ellendale history lovers had severed ties with the county organization over the controversy.

To illustrate how committed Kaplan and other Ellendale residents are when it comes to history, they immediately stepped out of last week’s meeting, rolled up their sleeves and began discussing how to finance the mural project in downtown Ellendale. They learned one way is this year’s profits from an upcoming car show at the Steele County Fairgrounds will be earmarked for them.

“Better days are ahead and let’s move on,” Kaplan said.

As for Kaplan’s other dose of good fortune on Father’s Day, he got to go out for breakfast with his daughter who stood by his side and fought for him at Little Six Restaurant in Prior Lake.

Reflecting on the controversy, Gail probably put it the best.

“Let’s get back to talking about history,” she said.

With the history center being such a vital piece of the social fabric of Steele County, she’s right. Now with lifetime bans lifted, everyone needs to focus on going in hot pursuit of the real function of SCHS—showcasing the county’s rich history.