The pranks began on Halloween evening – Sunday, October 31st, 1909 – when (presumably) a group of ne’er-do-wells deposited a boat and cart within the school’s hall to be discovered on Monday morning. The pranks continued over the course of the week as mischief makers inscribed messages on the school’s sidewalks, left a heavy water tank on the principal’s desk, and even managed to trap two cats inside the school’s piano. (Worry not – first person accounts reveal the cats were unharmed and quickly escaped the building once the piano was opened.)

These incidents were chaotic nuisances but were nowhere near the level of “Dastardly Outrage” of Molly’s short-lived high school career.

During the night of Monday, November 8th, Molly disappeared from her home in the barn of H. O. Amundson, which was located near the high school in Alexandria, MN. Molly was led or carried (or perhaps some combination thereof) up three flights of stairs and tied to a desk in the assembly room.

Mr. Steen, the school’s janitor, arrived the next morning to discover the front door open and Molly upstairs. School officers quickly cancelled classes for the day “while the assembly room was cleaned and thoroughly aired of the foul and obnoxious odors which naturally resulted from the cow’s presence in the room during the entire night.” (Alexandria Post News, November 11, 1909)

Officials gathered a team of workmen to remove Molly from the building. Cattle like Molly may be convinced to walk up flights of stairs, but usually refuse to walk down stairs due to the angle of movement and their own weight distribution.

Despite her education, Molly was hesitant and refused to be led down the stairs. To remove her from the building, the workmen constructed a chute so she could be slid down on her back and side. The workmen had to dismantle and reconstruct the chute for each flight of stairs while Molly waited at the landings.

The Alexandria Post News ran an article on November 11, 1909 on the incident, calling it a “dastardly outrage,” and took a hardline stance against the prank.

“Not only was the act a deplorable exhibition of lawless defiance for those in authority, but it has set a pernicious example of lawless disregard for school discipline that cannot fail to have a mischievous effect upon younger students… Furthermore, the school is a public institution, supported in part by the tax payers of the community and in part by the state, and any act which interferes with the orderly conduct of this institution is necessarily an act directed against the interests of the entire community and against the state as well.”

School officials expelled at least three of the pranksters involved, and a student was suspended the next week for bringing a photograph postcard of the cow to school and showing other students. Over the years, many Douglas County residents have come forward claiming to have insider knowledge of the incident, but the Douglas County Historical Society will not name the pranksters at this time.

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