Local History News: December 7, 2022

Field Note

Staff was out in Sacred Heart, MN doing a site visit of the Hotel Sacred Heart to review masonry and other work done using Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Grant funds. The 99-year-old hotel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016. It had been vacant for over a decade when Sacred Heart Area Historical Society purchased it in 2014, with the intent of restoring the building. After restorations it will see new life as housing for the community's seniors.

Heritage Preservation Grants

Grants Office Webinar: Project Directors - The Moms of Your Grant Projects
December 15 - Online: 2 to 3 pm (CT): What does that mean? You know that one person who everyone looks at to solve the problems and answer the questions? That’s the Project Director. They may not always get the support they could use, or the rewards, or the appreciation, but the project always needs them and can’t do without them. This webinar will show you how to fill that role for a Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Grant and get the love you deserve.
Presented by Melinda Hutchinson, Grants Specialist. Learn more »

Small Grant Deadline
The next small grant deadline (requests of $10,000 or less) for the MHCHG program is Friday, January 13, 2023.

From the Blog

This week's blog post is from Minitex. Have a blog? Let us know!

Borrow scanning equipment with MDL's Scan for Keeps program
Borrow scanning equipment with MDL's Scan for Keeps program
Did you know that the Minnesota Digital Library (MDL) has high-quality scanners available for organizations to borrow? Our Scan for Keeps program was developed to provide equipment for community scanning events and digitization projects around the state. Kits are available for libraries, historical societies, and other organizations to encourage community engagement and foster preservation education.

Since the launch of this scanning program in 2016, MDL has loaned equipment kits to organizations as varied as the Arrowhead Library System, the Hmong Museum, the Plymouth Historical Society, the Hallie Q Brown Center, and the Hibbing Public Library. These organizations have used our scanners to digitize their own collections as well as items owned by patrons in their communities.  Continue Reading »

More MN Blog posts

• The Changing Names and Landscapes of Lake Nokomis & Hiawatha -  Minnesota History
• Cats from the archives - U of MN libraries
• Minnehaha Park Zoo - Minneapolis Park History
• December’s History Friday: Hope Breakfast Bar - Kraus-Anderson

From the Tube

This week's post is from White Bear Area Historical Society. Have a video channel or podcast? Let us know!

Bear Symbolism in Minnesota Archaeology
Dr. David Mather, National Register Archaeologist at Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office, discusses how bears are represented in Minnesota archaeological sites. Watch Video »

More MN Tube posts

• Secrets of the Season: Jen Newburg Interview - American Swedish Institute
• History 21 The Podcast - 2.23 Sam Hermanstorfer - Anoka County Historical Society
• Talking Sky: The Great Panther - CGEE Hamline

Job Opportunities

Minnesota Historical Society's Job Announcement, Internship,  Fellowship, and Volunteer Opportunity pages.

LOCAL

• Visitor Services Coordinator - Brown County Historical Society, New Ulm, MN
• General Program Manager - Somali Museum of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
• General Program Coordinator - Somali Museum of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
• Supplemental Museum Educator - Bell Museum, St. Paul, MN
• Visitor Experience Manager (Monday - Thursday) - Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, MN
• Visitor Experience Representative, Contact Center - Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, MN

REGIONAL

• Visitor Services - Mining & Rollo Jamison Museums, Platteville, WI
• Collections Management - Mining & Rollo Jamison Museums, Platteville, WI
• Collections Management Assistant - Mining & Rollo Jamison Museums, Platteville, WI
• Wade House Site Director - Wisconsin Historical Society, Greenbush, WI
• Administrative Specialist - Chazen Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI
• Archivist, WVM Oral History Program - State of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
• Custodian - North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum, Bismarck, ND

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

• Associate Director of Exhibits - Illinois State Museum, Springfield, IL
• Exhibitions Preparator - Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center, Skokie, IL
• Senior Principal Investigator – History/Architectural History - Gray & Pape, Indianapolis, IN
• Museum Director - Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, St. Louis, MO
• Highway Archeology Program Manager - History Nebraska, Lincoln, NE
• Executive Director - Toronto's First Post Office, Toronto, ON
• Collection Specialist, Special Project - Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, ON
• Steward, Indigenous Collections - Royal Alberta Museum, Edmonton, AB

Additional Job Postings in the Field »

Do History Here

Image used with permission from the Virginia Area Historical Society.

Be sure to check with each organization for COVID-19 updates and safety measures for in-person events.

Exhibit: Family in Pieces: One woman's discovery of her family's past
Through Spring 2023 - Minneapolis: Hennepin History Museum - Developed by local artist and family historian Debra George, this multi-dimensional exhibit tells the story about one family's past through heirlooms, genealogical research, and paper collage. This exhibit is sure to inspire you to start our own journey of discovery. Learn more »

Temporary Exhibit: Never Dry: The Rise of Prohibition on the Iron Range
December 8 - Chisholm: Starts at 5:30 pm. Minnesota Discovery Center -  "Never Dry" takes you on a journey of booze, bootlegging, and busts in true Iron Range fashion. Special guest, author Tony Dierckins, will be presenting the history of Iron Range brewing prior to the exhibit unveiling. Cost: free. Learn more »

Workshop: Young Historians
December 10 - Mankato: 10 am to 12 pm. Blue Earth County Historical Society - This program is a hands-on history workshop for school-aged children. Each month, a new topic is presented with opportunities to interact, discuss and try new foods. The topic this month: Exploring December Holidays. Cost: free. Learn more »

Event: Family History Day
December 10 - Mankato: 10 am to 4 pm. Blue Earth County Historical Society - All ages are invited to explore the History Center Museum and enjoy hands-on activities to discover Blue Earth County's past. Cost: free. Learn more »

Event: Christmas in the County
December 10 - Austin: 11 am to 4 pm. Mower County Historical Society will be celebrating the holidays with its annual Christmas in the County fundraiser.  Learn more »

Event: Clue for Gumshoes Game Practice 
December 17 - Bemidji: 2 pm. Beltrami County Historical Society - You are invited to come play the game of Clue. They will have Clue board games available and experienced game players to guide new detectives through the game. Attendees will receive a 5% discount for History Mystery event tickets. Cost: free. For more information call 218-444-3376.

Event: History Day Hullabaloo
December 17 - Roseville: 11 am to  3 pm. Roseville Library - National History Day in Minnesota invites you to dig deeper into the theme "Frontiers in History: People, Places, Ideas." Our History Day Hullabaloo is a research open house to get the details you need for your project. Cost: free. Learn more »

Continuing Education

Highlighted Museum: Legacy of the Lakes Museum, Alexandria, MN.

Caring for the Silver in Your Collection
December 12 - Online: 12 to 1 pm (CT). Ohio Museums Association - Get practical tips for silver care, learn why museums should polish the silver in their collections (and when it shouldn’t be polished), how to store the pieces for their best care when not on view, and see a demonstration on silver polishing using the techniques conservators use. Bring your questions for our expert at this informative session. Register by December 9. Cost: $10 members/$15 nonmembers. Learn more »

How to Be a Great Board Chair
December 14 - Online: 12 to 1 pm (CT). Propel Nonprofits - This webinar prepares the board chair for governance and leadership responsibilities. They’ll cover how to design effective board meetings, attend to board development, partner with the CEO/ED, and lead as an ambassador for the organization. Cost: No cost. Learn more »

Nonprofit Governance & Leadership: Today and Tomorrow
December 13 - Online: 9:30 to 11:30 am (CT). Minnesota Council of Nonprofits - This workshop will help nonprofit board members and executives gain greater understanding of the requirements of and the leadership opportunities for nonprofit boards. Cost: $45 members/$65 nonmembers. Learn more »

Fundamentals of Nonprofit Board Governance
December 13 - Online: 9 am to 12 pm (CT). Propel Nonprofits - Minnesota Council of Nonprofits - You will learn typical board responsibilities and explore the nuances of board authority and relationships.  Participants will receive Propel’s Nonprofit Board Governance workbook, which includes the Fiduciary Duties of Directors of Charitable Organizations. Cost: $75. Learn more »

Town Hall: We Don’t Know What Collections Cost: Let’s Find Out
December 13 - Online: 2 to 3 pm (CT). New England Museum Association - Museum collections cost money to acquire, care for, and make accessible. What are the costs? Is this the question? What do we need to know to answer it? Participate in designing the research questions and paths to the answers. Cost: No cost. Learn more »

Measuring the Social Impact of Museums
December 16 - Online: 11 am to 1:30 pm (CT). Museum Association of New York - How can audience data help us plan for the future? Social impact, or the effect of an activity on the social fabric and well-being of a community, provides a fresh lens. Come learn about a new national research project and discuss how to make these measurements useful to all museums. Cost: No cost. Learn more »

Workshop: Examining Your Organization's Origin Story with the Institutional Genealogy Framework
January 26-27, 2023 - Online: AASLH - Is your organization knowledgeable about its origin story—how it began, for what purpose and audiences, with whose money, on whose land, and with whose collections? This virtual workshop uses Aletheia Wittman’s Institutional Genealogy Framework to help you re-examine your organization’s past. Participants will leave with key questions and takeaway tools for positioning newfound awareness of the past as the basis for equity and inclusion actions that respond to institutional legacies. The workshop is limited to 25 participants. Deadline to register is January 22. Register »

TIPS & TOOLS

• Queering The Museum - Journal of Museum Education

Additional Educational Opportunities »

Fund Your Mission

Blandin Foundation Grants for Rural Minnesota
The Blandin Foundation, a private foundation based in Grand Rapids, MN, is the largest Minnesota-based foundation serving only rural communities. Start by visiting the About Grants page for details on eligibility and how to submit an inquiry if your project aligns with the Foundation’s focus areas. Learn more »

Small Museum Awards
December 15 - (Deadline): Small Museum Association - The Small Museum Association (SMA) recognizes two museum professionals each year at its conference by selecting them for awards. Nominating a colleague for either of these awards is an excellent opportunity to publicly acknowledge their hard work at one museum or in the small museum field. The nomination form is now available. Learn more »

American Heritage Program Grants
January 8, 2023 - (Deadline): Americana Foundation - Through the program, grants are available for projects that preserve or restore high-quality classic and handcrafted furniture, decorative arts, and similar objects of early American material culture and their placement on public display, offer training opportunities, undertake select preservation or restoration projects in significant buildings, and produce educational programs that contribute to a better understanding of Americana and American heritage. Learn more »

Media Projects
January 11, 2023 - (Deadline): National Endowment for the Humanities - These grants supports the development, production, and distribution of radio programs, podcasts, documentary films, and documentary film series  that engage general audiences with humanities ideas in creative and appealing ways. Learn more »

National Digital Newspaper Program Grants
January 12, 2023 - (Deadline): National Endowment for the Humanities - This program aims to create a national digital resource of historically significant newspapers published between 1690 and 1963 from all 56 states and U.S. jurisdictions. The Library of Congress will maintain this searchable database, which will be freely accessible online. Learn more »

Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections
December 8 - (Optional drafts due)/January 12, 2023 - (Deadline): National Endowment for the Humanities - These grants help cultural institutions meet the complex challenge of preserving large and diverse holdings of humanities materials for future generations by supporting sustainable conservation measures that mitigate deterioration and prolong the useful life of collections, and support institutional resilience. Learn more »

Climate Smart Humanities Organizations
January 17, 2023 - (Deadline): National Endowment for the Humanities - Through the Climate Smart program, your humanities organization can undertake activities such as energy audits, risk assessments, and meetings with consultants. The resulting climate smart plan helps you establish goals and prioritize actions that reduce your organization’s impacts on the environment through mitigation and vulnerability from extreme events through adaptation. Individual organizations can apply for themselves or lead a consortium of organizations collaborating on strategic climate smart planning. Learn more »

African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund
December 19 - (Letter of intent)/April 7, 2023 - (Deadline): Grants ranging from $50,000 to $150,000. If you or someone you know has a historic place such as a site, museum, or landscape representing African American cultural heritage, you’ll want to learn more about this program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. From capital projects to organizational capacity building, there are many ways that you can put this funding to use in your community. Learn more »

News

What's New in the Archives
MNHS announces the addition of 19 series inventories to the online finding aid for the Hubert H. Humphrey Papers, representing 178 boxes of files. There is now online access to a finding aid of 2336 boxes in 92 record series, all now electronically searchable. Hubert Humphrey (1911-1978) represented Minnesota for many years in the United States Senate, and for four years (1965-1969) as Vice President of the United States. Learn more »

Tower-Soudan Historical Society receives $125,000 Blandin Foundation Leadership Boost Grant
Timberjay - The Tower-Soudan Historical Society (TSHS) will use a $125,000 Blandin Foundation Leadership Boost Grant to continue the restoration of the historic brick building on Main Street. Leadership Boost Grants were launched to encourage Minnesotans living in rural and Tribal communities to be visionary and creative as they move their communities forward after two years of pandemic-related challenges. Read more »

Anoka County Historical Society Receives Partnership Award
The League of Women Voters ABC chapter presented ACHS with a Friend of the League Award on November 14 at the Andover City Hall. After the presentation by LWV-ABC President Gretchen Sabel, ACHS Director Rebecca Ebnet-Desens spoke on the “Power of Personal History.” Learn more »

Featured Book Boosters, Hustlers, and Speculators by Jocelyn Wills. Minnesota Historical Society Press.	Featured Article Minnesota History When Minnesota coveted Canada. Volume 41, Issue 2, 1968	Featured Article MNopedia David Jon Madson (1963–1997) Featured MNopedia Article
Minnesota History Organizations Directory  • County, Chapters, and Local • Statewide/Topical Historical • Regional History Coalitions • Professional Organizations	Minnesota Main Streets Reinvigorate your community's commercial district.	Preservation Specialists Directory Look up products or services.

From the Heritage Preservation Department
Reminder: Due to COVID-19 all Heritage Preservation Department staff (Grants Office and Local History Services) are working remotely until further notice. If you need to connect with a specific staff member, please email them directly.

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