Local History News: June 21, 2023

Field Note

The Historic Resources Advisory Committee (HRAC) held their Spring Meeting in St. Paul, MN at the Charles Thompson Memorial Hall, a building built in 1916 as the first social club in the nation designed exclusively for the Deaf and continues to serve the community today. While there, the Committee and MNHS staff were able to check out the historic porch restoration funded with Legacy grant money. They were also given a tour of the building by Charles Thompson Memorial Hall board member Herman Fuechtmann who pointed out many of the unique features of the building designed for the Deaf including a higher-than-normal stage so audience members could clearly see the presenter on stage as they signed. 

Heritage Preservation Grants

Large Grant Deadline
Pre-applications for the Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Grants large grant round (requests over $10,000) will be due Friday, July 21, 2023. This is a required part of the large grant application process. Contact the Grants Office with questions.

Small Grant Deadline
The next small grant deadline (requests of $10,000 or less) for the MHCHG program is Friday, July 14, 2023.

From the Blog

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

The first woman radio voice of the Northwest: Eleanor Nesbitt Poehler
WHAT DO WCCO RADIO and Eleanor Nesbitt Poehler have in common? Wait, you haven’t heard of Eleanor Nesbitt Poehler? Without her, WCCO may not have begun transmitting across Minnesota’s airwaves in 1924. And the popular radio medium might have taken more years to get off the ground. Who was this remarkable personality you’ve never heard of?

A LITTLE RADIO HISTORY

WCCO has been a legendary mainstream radio channel for almost 100 years, not only in Minnesota but across the country. But WCCO was not the first station to fill the airwaves in Minnesota. There were several hundred requests for radio licenses from 1920 to 1922 and many were primarily owned by newspapers and other private companies. Continue Reading »

More MN Blog posts

• Pope County Photographers: Harry G. Andrews - Pope County Historical Society
• Making of McNair Manor - Robbinsdale Historical Society
• Kicking off Walter Library at 100 - U of MN Libraries 

From the Tube

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

Getting ready for the Bears Building Community Exhibit! 
See how a 1932 Fire Truck is moved into the White Bear Lake Armory. Come see the show starting June 15 through July 30. Check out the White Bear Lake Area Historical Society website for details and more information. Watch Video »

More MN Tube posts

• Miss Mitchell Getting Ready for The Hangar Dance! - Minnesota Wing
• Cocktail History: Tequila Sunrise - Freeborn County Historical Museum
• Native Minnesota Podcast: Indigenous Resilience and Literature with Monique Gray Smith - Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community
• The Hormel Strike of 1985-86: Historical Perspectives - East Side Freedom Library
• Hiatus Kaiyote at Paisley Park - Paisley Park
• Walnut Grove: William and Mary Steadman - Wilder Museum
• How to make Midsommar Flower Crowns - American Swedish Institute
• Public Archaeology at Petaga Point, Kathio National Historic Landmark - Council for Minnesota Archaeology
• Audrey Felske sharing stories of Gary, MN - Norman County Historical Society

Job Opportunities

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

MNHS

• Museum Supervisor - Mill City Museum
• Program Supervisor - Mill City Museum

LOCAL

• Facilities & Preservation Manager - Freeborn County Historical Museum, Albert Lea, MN
• Education Specialist - Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, National Park Service, St. Paul, MN
• Curatorial Assistant - Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN
• Manager of Retail and Merchandising - Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN
• Gala Logistics Coordinator - Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN
• Scheduler - Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN
• Artistic and Equity Coordinator - Children's Theatre Company, Minneapolis, MN
• Lab Technician, Environmental Focus - Science Museum of Minnesota, Marine on St, Croix, MN
• Lab Technician, Biological Focus - Science Museum of Minnesota, Marine on St. Croix, MN

REGIONAL

• Development and Membership Director - Jewish Museum Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI
• Director, Wisconsin Historical Society Press - Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, WI
• Business Intelligence and Data Program Officer - Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, WI

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

• Exhibition Interpretation Specialist - The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
• Collections Coordinator - Spurlock Museum, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL
• Associate Director of Technology Services - Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center, Skokie, IL
• Preparator - Eiteljorg Museum, Indianapolis, IN
• Digital Marketing Coordinator - Greater Cleveland Aquarium, Cleveland, OH
• Architectural Historian/7010317 - Missouri State Historic Preservation Office, Jefferson City, MO
• Architectural Historian/7010312 - Missouri State Historic Preservation Office, Jefferson City, MO
• Architectural Historian/7010302 - Missouri State Historic Preservation Office, Jefferson City, MO
• Superintendent - Ashfall Fossil Beds, University of Nebraska State Museum, Royal, NE
• Historic Tax Incentive Coordinator - Nebraska State Historic Preservation Office, History Nebraska, Lincoln, NE
• Historian(s) - Request for Letters of Interest - Civil War Defenses of Washington Administrative History, National Council on Public History & National Park Service
• IT Support Technician - Canadian Museum for Human Rights, Winnipeg, MB
• Executive Assistant - Canadian Museum for Human Rights, Winnipeg, MB
• Special Events Manager - Canadian Museum for Human Rights, Winnipeg, MB
• Visitor Experience Associate - Manitoba Museum, Winnipeg, MB
• Collections Management Assistant, Artifact Handling - Bata Shoe Museum, Toronto, ON
• Collections Management Assistant - Bata Shoe Museum, Toronto, ON

INTERNSHIPS/VOLUNTEERS/FELLOWSHIPS

• St. Croix Watershed Research Station Postdoctoral Fellow - Science Museum of Minnesota, Marine on St. Croix, MN

Additional Job Postings in the Field »

Do History Here

Image used with permission. From the collections of the Sleepy Eye Area Historical Society, Sleepy Eye, MN.

Submit your history organization's news and events to localhistorynews@mnhs.org.

Discussion: History Book Club - The Good Country
June 21 @ 1 to 2:30 pm (CT) - Online: Roseville History Book Club - This month, join Peter Rachleff, Director Emeritus of ESFL, for a discussion of The Good Country: a History of the American Midwest, 1800-1900 by Jon Lauck, an unorthodox look at the part of the nation all-too-often dismissed as “flyover country” by those on the coasts. Cost: Free. Learn more »

Event: Grand Opening of the Newly Renovated Jordan History Center
June 24 @ 10 am to 2 pm - Stop in and see their new media center and expanded exhibits. While you are there, pick up a walking tour map of the city showcasing the city's history. Bring Jordan memorabilia to share. Bring historic photos of Jordan, or your own family photos for digitization at their scanning station. Complimentary flash drives for the first 10 people who bring historic materials to scan. Items can be considered for addition to the JAHS collections. Learn more »

Event: Jell-O Derby 
June 22 - (deadline): Anoka County Historical Society - Every year at the Blaine Festival, the museum takes up space in the West Pavilion and races small cars down a track driven by tiny people made from Jell-O. Cost: $10 to sponsor a car. Need not be present to win. Learn more »

Event: Midsommardagen
June 24 @ 10 am to 4 pm - Scandia: Gammelgården Museum of Scandia - There is a full day of activities to celebrate Midsommardagen - or Midsummer Day. Traditional Swedish music, group folk dancing, hands-on activities, arts and craft fair, demonstrations by artists, and, in the center of it all, the Majstång/Midsommarstång (May/Midsummer Pole), freshly decorated with spring greenery. Bring your picnic lunch and blanket to enjoy on the museum grounds. Cost: Free. Learn more »

Event: A Little Night Music
June 30 @ 7 pm - Albert Lea: Freeborn County Historical Museum - Bring your own chair or blanket to this night of live and local music by the music trio "The Pumper, the Peddler, & the Politician." For more information call 507-373-8003.

Tour: Learning from Place: LGBTQ+ History in Downtown Minneapolis
July 8 @ 9 am to 12 pm - Minneapolis: MN Humanities Center & Telling Queer History - Be immersed by traveling through downtown Minneapolis, interspersing history with storytelling from local LGBTQ+ activists and artists. Learn about how down-and-out drifters in the notorious Gateway District helped shape a Twin Cities gay identity, how lesbians threw parties in deserted industrial warehouses, how gay and lesbian political power was built in response to police raids, and how one of the first Pride festivals grew from a ragtag group marching up Nicollet Mall. Location: Minneapolis Community and Technical College. Cost: $30. Learn more »

Tour: History Hunt in the Gardens 
July 20 @ 10 am to 6 pm - St. Cloud: Stearns History Museum & Rethos - Learn about the history of these nationally-known historic landscapes while taking the History Hunt challenge. This self-guided activity takes place during the Munsinger Clemens Botanical Society’s Art Fair in the Gardens. Cost: Free. Learn more »

Activity: County School Day Camps
July 24 & 25 or July 26 & 27 - St. Charles: Winona County Historical Society - Students can step back in time to the days of one-room schools that dotted the countryside of Winona County. In this 2-day summer day camp students at the Gainey-McCarthy School explore what life as a rural student was like over 100 years ago. Cost: $60 members/$75 nonmembers. Learn more » 

Continuing Education

Highlighted Museum: Minnesota Veterinary Historical Museum, housed at the College of Veterinary Medicine on the St. Paul Campus of the University of Minnesota.
Photograph by McGhiever, distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 license.

Intermediate Grantwriting
June 27 @ 1 to 4 pm (CT) - Online: Minnesota Council of Nonprofits - This intermediate-level training is also a hands-on writing clinic, in which registrants will receive feedback from other participants about specific sections of one of their grant proposals as well as have an opportunity to create and/or improve some usable grant content for their organizations. Cost: $89 members/$129 nonmembers. Learn more »

Interpreting the U.S. 250th at Your Site: Connecting with Fieldwide Themes 
June 28 @ 2 pm (CT) - Online: American Association for State and Local History - This second session in a three-part webinar series will offer best practices in interpretive planning, connections to fieldwide themes for the 250th, and the chance to brainstorm your ideas with fellow practitioners. Cost: $10 members/$20 nonmembers.  Learn more »

Critical Conversation: Starting with the Indigenous | Emphasis on Place
July 10 @ 6 to 8:30 pm - St. Paul: MN Humanities Center  -  What connects us to this place? How does the history of this place inform who we are and how we connect with each other? Participants will learn from Dakota and Ojibwe community members, through stories and histories often left out of public narratives, how art helps us create deeper meaning and connections. Cost: Free. Learn more »

USPS Nonprofit Mailing
July 11 @ 11 am - Online: Minnesota Alliance of Local History Museums - Have you wondered how nonprofit mailing with USPS works or what options are available to your organization? Mailing Standard Specialist, Brian Nord, will lead a virtual session on how to apply, the do's and don'ts, and reserve time for your questions. Cost: Free. Learn more » 

Reserves – What, Why, When, and How (Much?)
July 12 @ 12 to 1 pm (CT) - Online: Propel Nonprofits - In this webinar, they’ll dig into why reserves are valuable and for what purpose, the perennial question of how much, and some practical tools for managing and communications. Cost: Free. Learn more »

Fundamentals of Nonprofit Board Governance
July 13 @ 9 am to 12 pm (CT) - Online: Propel Nonprofits - Board members will participate in board meetings and other engagements with more confidence and more knowledge about your role after attending this workshop. You will learn typical board responsibilities and explore the nuances of board authority and relationships. Cost: $75. Learn more »

Erie Mining Company Scholarship Fund
Feb 15, 2024 - (deadline): Applicants must be graduating seniors from either Mesabi East or Cook County high schools. Students must be pursuing a post-secondary degree at an accredited educational institution. The purpose of the Erie Mining Company Scholarship Fund is to commemorate the history of the Erie Mining Company and its employees, and to keep alive its vision of successfully developing Minnesota’s mineral resources. Learn more » 

TIPS & TOOLS

• American Association for State and Local History has issued the 2023 National Visitation Report that analyzes trends in visitation at history organizations of all types and sizes across the United States.

Additional Educational Opportunities »

Funding & Awards

Grants for Arts Projects
July 6 - (deadline): National Endowment for the Arts - Through project-based funding, the program supports opportunities for public engagement with the arts and arts education, for the integration of the arts with strategies promoting the health and well-being of people and communities, and for the improvement of overall capacity and capabilities within the arts sector. Learn more »

History of Equal Rights (HER) 
July 11 - (deadline): National Park Service - These grants will preserve sites related to the struggle to achieve the ideal of equal rights in America. HER Grants will fund a broad range of preservation projects for historic sites including: architectural services, historic structure reports, preservation plans, and physical preservation to structures. Learn more »

Connecting Communities Digital Initiative Grants 
August 7 - (Deadline): Library of Congress - These grants encourage digital programs that add and amplify the stories of people whose voices have traditionally been minimized, and innovatively incorporate Library collections. Learn more »

Fellowship Programs at Independent Research Institutions
August 9 - (deadline): National Endowment for the Humanities - The Fellowship Programs at Independent Research Institutions (FPIRI) program supports institutions that provide fellowships for advanced humanities research in the U.S. and abroad. Learn more » 

Climate Smart Humanities Organizations
September 14 - (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. Learn more » 

News

Minnesotan who played Munchkin in 'The Wizard of Oz' gets monument in her hometown
KARE 11 - Highway 12 will never be mistaken for the yellow brick road. But in Dassel, MN, both roads intersect. “This one, right here,” Tom Nelson says as he walks toward a small, flat, grave marker at the Dassel Community Cemetery. Continue reading »

Featured Book The Wedding Heard ’Round the World America’s First Gay Marriage by Michael McConnell with Jack Baker as told to Gail Langer Karwoski University of Minnesota Press.	Featured Article Minnesota History "Curious and Romantic Sensation" - Sex, Fraud, and Celebrity in the Leon A. Belmont Case of 1880 Volume 67, Issue 5, 2021	Featured Article MNopedia Dream of Wild Health 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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