“The Boy in Muddy Rumpled Overalls from Webster–Who Helped Capture the Younger Brothers of the Jesse James Outlaw Gang”
by Arley K. Fadness
This presentation exposes the secret that Webster, SD citizen Doc Sorbel hid all his life. Asle Oscar Sorbel, the 17 year-old lad, then living in Madelia, MN, was responsible for the capture of the Younger Brothers of the infamous Jesse James outlaw gang in 1876. Shortly after the capture, he quickly and judiciously disappeared. After several years, he would reappear in Webster, SD and spend the rest of his life as the eminent area “horse doctor”, harboring his secret until the year be for he died in 1930.
About Our Speaker

Arley Kenneth Fadness was born in Webster, Day County, South Dakota the same hometown of Asle Oscar Sorbel. He married his wife Pamela from and in Madelia, Minnesota where the Younger Brothers were captured
Arley is a retired draftsman for aircraft projects by Boeing and balloon certifications for Ed Yost, inventor of the modern hot air balloon; clergy focusing on church revitalization; active history enthusiast and presenter for the South Dakota Humanities Council Speakers Bureau, and author of Balloons Aloft: Flying South Dakota Skies and Capturing the Younger Brothers Gang in the Northern Plains: The Untold Story of Heroic Teen Asle Sorbel to be published June 2022.
THURSDAY APRIL 28, 2022
ELKS CLUB #838 600 West Kemp Watertown, SD
5:00 PM Social Hour
6:00 PM Dinner
7:00 PM Presentation
Tickets – $25 per person.
Reservations and ticket purchase
at the Museum
required by April 22.
27 1st Ave SE 605-886-7335
This program was made possible by the South Dakota Humanities Council, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
