Field Note

Local History Services collaborated with MNHS’s conservation staff for the annual Ask A Conservator Day. On Friday, November 1, MNHS conservators were on hand in the galleries at the Minnesota History Center to answer questions and speak with the public about how they do their work and how to take care of historical objects. 

Heritage Preservation Grants

MNHS Announces July Round of Legacy Small Grants
Recipients received 30 Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Small Grants, ($10,000 and less) totaling $253,605 in 15 counties. Learn more »

Small Grant Deadline
The next small grant deadline (requests of $10,000 or less) for the MHCHG program is Friday, January 10, 2025.

Grants Office Webinar: First Steps Towards a Grant (Pre-recorded)
November 21 @ 2 to 3 pm (CT) - Online: In this webinar, you will learn what you need to do to register for a grants portal login, how to apply, what the grant programs offer, what the programs can fund, and which resources are available for applicants. If you have never applied for a grant before or would like to hear about the basic process again, this webinar is for you.
Join online: meet.google.com/zwx-krei-com
Join by phone: ‪(US) +1 386-361-3086‬  PIN: ‪420 891 978‬#

Grants Office YouTube Playlist »

From the Blog

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

Can we change our history? …Or why we deaccessioned an 1861 St. Anthony-Minneapolis Map
One answer to the question above is, I hope so, and hopefully for the better. Another possible answer is, maybe not, the past is in the past. The question came to mind because an item in our collection has recently found a new home. An 1861 Rufus Cook map that used to be in our collection now resides at the University of Minnesota’s John R. Borchert Map Library. The history of our organization was influential in determining the future of this item. I’ll explain how that came to be, but first I’ll fill you in on the item itself. Continue Reading »

More MN Blog posts

• I Scream! You Scream! We All Scream for Ice Cream! - Wright County Historical Society
• Thomas Welch: Grocer, Forester, and Hiberian - Washington County Historical Society
• Collections Spotlight: Hilma Berglund - American Swedish Institute
• UMN Libraries joins the Digital Preservation Coalition - U of MN Libraries
• New MDL Primary Source Sets on Rondo's Past and Present - Minnesota Digital Library News
• Rapid Strides - Robbinsdale Historical Society
• Litchfield's Historic G.A.R. Hall - Meeker County Historical Society

From the Tube

This week's post is from the Washington County Historical Society. Have a video channel or podcast? Let us know!

More MN Tube posts

• Haitian Immigration: A History of the Present Webinar - Immigration History Research Center
• Inside the Bell Museum Collection: Fishes - Bell Museum
• Isabel and Raluca Avery, Maria Colibasanu - Heritage of Romanian-Americans of Minnesota

Heritage Preservation YouTube Playlist »

Job Opportunities

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

MNHS

• Program & Outreach Specialist, Native American Initiatives - MN History Center

LOCAL

• Request for Proposal - Minnesota Main Streets by Rethos is seeking specific
  subject matter experts to create specified toolkits for use in Main Street communities around the State of Minnesota.
• Executive Services Coordinator - American Swedish Institute, Minneapolis, MN
• MAEP Advisory Committee - Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, MN
• Graphic Production Technician - Science Museum of Minnesota, St Paul, MN
• Exhibit Maintenance Technician - Science Museum of Minnesota, St Paul, MN
• Program & Gallery Manager - ArtReach St. Croix, Stillwater, MN

REGIONAL

• Curator, South Dakota Oral History Center, Assistant Professor of Practice - University Libraries of the University of South Dakota, Vermillion, SD
• Museum Technician (General) - Indian Arts and Crafts Board, Office of the Secretary of the Interior Rapid City, SD 
• Administrative Assistant - Iowa Conservation and Preservation Consortium,  Iowa City, IA
• Executive Director - Prairie Village Museum, Rugby, ND

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

• Military Museum Curator - Illinois State Military Museum, Springfield, IL
• Site Superintendent II - Pullman Historic Site, Florence Hotel Historic Site, and Douglas Tomb Memorial (Illinois DNR), Chicago, IL
• Processing Archivist - Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
• Digital Archivist - Naper Settlement, Naperville, IL
• Manager/Coordinator of MacMurray Archives & Collection - Jacksonville Area Museum, Jacksonville, IL
• Museum Section Head II - Illinois State Museum, Lewistown, IL
• Celebration Crossing Engagement Specialist - Indiana State Museum, Indianapolis, IN
• Curatorial Assistant - Mott-Warsh Collection, Flint, MI
• Archives Associate 2 (Reference Services Mgr) - University of Akron, Akron, OH
• Archives Technician - US Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, PA
• Interpretation Associate - Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO
• Archives Assistant for ArchivesSpace - Nebraska State Historical Society, Lincoln, NE
• Director of Development - Wichita Art Museum, Wichita, KS
• Administrative Coordinator - Canadian Museum for Human Rights, Winnipeg, MB
• Exhibits Designer - Toronto Public Library, Toronto, ON
• Executive Director (Parental Leave) - Bytown Museum, Ottawa, ON
• Autistic Lived Experience: Community Curation & Memory Workers Fellowship - AMIA/Autistic Voices Oral History Project, Remote Work

INTERNSHIPS/VOLUNTEERS/FELLOWSHIPS

• Education Intern (Hybrid & Remote) - Minnesota Center for Book Arts, Minneapolis, MN
• Spring 2025 Museum Assistant Internship - State Historical Society of Iowa,  Des Moines, IA
• Spring 2025 State Archives Internship - State Historical Society of Iowa, Des Moines, IA
• Spring 2025 Museum Education Assistant Internship - State Historical Society of Iowa, Des Moines & Virtual
• Spring 2025 National History Day in Iowa Internship - State Historical Society of Iowa, Des Moines & Virtual

Additional Job Postings in the Field »

Do History Here

Image used with permission. From the collections of the Carlton County Historical Society.

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

Author Presentation: Some Very Clever Teamwork: How Basketball Transformed Youth Sports in Minnesota
November 14 @ 7 pm - Stillwater: Washington County Heritage Center - Beginning with the popularity of the sport of basketball, youth sports and youth culture in Minnesota were transformed from a period of chaos to one of an accepted order. Author Marc Hugunin takes the reader on a journey through the first Minnesota state high school basketball tournament in 1913. It was through some very clever teamwork among the faculty at Carleton College and its friends in the field of secondary education that the tournament was held at all. Cost: Free. Learn more »

Presentation: Climbing Your Family Tree: Starting Your Genealogy Journey
November 14 @ 6 pm - Faribault: Rice County History Museum - Executive Director Dave Nichols discusses the steps, tips, and tricks to begin your family genealogy. This program is a beginner-level introduction that will provide handouts, resources, and guidance on where to begin and how you can start climbing the family tree today. Cost: Free members/$5 nonmembers. Learn more »

Presentation: American Plains Bison
November 16 @ 1 pm - Mankato: Blue Earth County History Center - Local historian, Tim Pulis will share his experience, teachings, and photographs as a Bison Ambassador. In 2015, Minneopa State Park reintroduced American Plains Bison to the prairie in South Central Minnesota. Minneopa manages 330 acres of prairie land for the bison range. The Minnesota Bison Conservation Herd has been a formal agreement between the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources at Minneopa State Park and the Minnesota Zoo since 2012. These partners work cooperatively to preserve American Plains Bison with healthy genetics and to conserve other prairie wildlife species native to Minnesota. This is a great program for all ages. Cost: Free members/$10 nonmembers. Learn more »

Presentation-Concert: Revitalizing Norwegian Fiddling and Fiddle-Building in Minnesota
November 17 @ 1 to 4 pm Glenwood: Pope County Museum - Rinita Dalan and Gus Dalan Holley will present a lecture-concert on Norwegian hardanger fiddling, exploring its history and the unique differences from violins, along with a performance of traditional tunes. They are part of a project celebrating the 200-year anniversary of Norwegian immigration to North America, sharing insights from their experiences in building custom fiddles. Learn more »

Presentation: Butter, Booze, and Bandits
November 19 @ 6:30 pm - Cokato: Cokato Museum - What thief doesn’t get twitchy fingers when coming across golden bars...of butter, that is. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, gangs of butter thieves robbed Minnesota creameries and stole their transport vehicles. Around the same time, the Cokato villagers were divided into two groups the “drys” and the “wets,” battling each other over booze. Not only was booze controversial and illegal for a time, but the lengths went to by these opposing sides to ban or distribute booze sometimes crossed the line into criminal. Cokato Historical Society Director Johanna Ellison will present some tantalizing tidbits about these nefarious crimes. Cost: Free. Learn more »

Event: First City Singers for Year-End Celebration of Local Music
November 21 @ 12 pm - Bemidji: Beltrami County Historical Society - A special performance by the First City Singers as part of the year-end celebration of local music. The First City Singers will take the spotlight to share their inspiring organizational history, along with personal stories from their individual musicians. Attendees can look forward to an entertaining performance featuring several musical pieces that highlight the choir’s unique talents and passion for music. Cost: Free. Learn more »

Explore Minnesota - State of MN's Tourism website
Listings: History & Heritage Events | Historic Exhibits | Lectures & Workshops
Register for an Account »

Continuing Education

Highlighted Museum: Purcell-Cutts House, operated by the Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, MN.
Photograph by Charles Walbridge, distributed under a Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication license.

Call for MALHM Conference Site Proposals
Minnesota Alliance of Local History Museums needs your help! MALHM is seeking proposals to host future conferences. Learn what’s involved from their flyer or take a look at the full guidelines and requirements. Please feel free to share with others who might be interested! Have any questions? Reach out to the Alliance Coordinator. Hosts are crucial to the conference process—they can’t make it happen without you! Proposals are due January 31, 2025.

DEADLINE EXTENDED–Call for Session Proposals
Thank you to everyone who’s submitted session proposals for the 2025 MALHM Conference! They’ve heard that a few of you need a little more time. Proposals are now due tonight, Wednesday, November 13, at 11:59 pm. Find more information on their website and reach out if you have any questions or need any help. Learn more »

Telling Your Place-Based Stories 
November 22 @ 1 to 3 pm - Minneapolis: Liberal Arts Engagement Hub - The places in your life tell stories: your stories. Explore how to use place-based storytelling techniques and StoryMaps software to tell YOUR story! This hybrid workshop led by Shana Crosson and Hawona Sullivan Janzen is the first in The Hub's Collaborative Learning for Change series. Refreshments will be served to in-person attendees. Registration required. Location: Pillsbury Hall, U of MN. Cost: Free. Learn more »

TIPS & TOOLS

• Resource page for how museums can honor and celebrate Native American Heritage Month - American Alliance of Museums

Additional Educational Opportunities »

Funding & Awards

Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections
January 9, 2025 - (Deadline): National Endowment for the Humanities - This grant program helps 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, prolong the useful life of collections, and support institutional resilience: the ability to anticipate and respond to disasters resulting from natural or human activity. Learn more »

Digital Humanities Advancement Grants
January 9, 2025 - (Deadline): National Endowment for the Humanities - Funding supports innovative, experimental, and/or computationally challenging digital projects, leading to work that can scale to enhance scholarly research, teaching, and public programming in the humanities. Learn more »

National Preservation Awards
January 10, 2025 - (Deadline): National Trust for Historic Preservation - These awards are bestowed on distinguished individuals, nonprofit organizations, public agencies, and corporations whose skill and determination have given new meaning to their communities through preservation and sustainability of our architectural and cultural heritage. Learn more »

Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections
January 10, 2025 - (Deadline): National Endowment for the Humanities - This grant program helps 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, prolong the useful life of collections, and support institutional resilience: the ability to anticipate and respond to disasters resulting from natural or human activity. Learn more »

Additional Funding & Award Opportunities »

News

As dreary weather sets in, head to Minnesota to experience its Nordic sauna culture
Chicago Tribune — ...The Barberg-Selvälä-Salmonson Sauna, which is no longer operational, is still worth a visit. Named for the three families who settled the area, the Barberg-Selvälä-Salmonson Sauna is a historic Finnish smoke sauna in Cokato Township. It’s believed to be the oldest in the nation. Built in 1868, the savusauna, or “smoke sauna,” is a wooden building powered by a fire with heated rocks. Spa-goers could cool off using cold water or, during much of the year, fresh snow. Now part of the Cokato Finnish American Historical Society, the ax-hewn log building shows what the earliest saunas in the state looked like through the 1930s... Continue reading »

Minnesota Discovery Center has evolved the past 50 years
Mesabi Tribune - Minnesota Discovery Center (MDC) has the distinction of being the largest museum complex in the state outside of the Twin Cities metro area. The museum, a place to learn about “The land, the Mines, the People and the Work of the Iron Range,” has expanded, evolved, and undergone a few name changes in its history. The museum has also experienced its share of ups and downs. Continue reading »

Historical societies preserve the history of local veterans
West Central Tribune — West central Minnesota has a proud military history and that is portrayed in the various county historical societies and museums across the region. Within their walls are more than 160 years of history, including the stories, artifacts and memories of the men and women who served in uniform. "We've always had a military display and there will always be one," said Kandiyohi County Historical Society Director Jill Wohnoutka. "It affects everybody. If they haven't served, they know somebody that served and it's part of being part of our county." Continue reading »

Featured Book Grocery Activism: The Radical History of Food Cooperatives in Minnesota by Craig B. Upright. Minnesota Historical Society Press.	Featured Article Minnesota History Arlington Hills Public Library/East Side Freedom Library, Ramsey County Volume 68, Issue 8, 2023	Featured Article MNopedia Civilian Conservation Corps-Indian Division 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.

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