Local History News: September 13, 2023

Field Note

Heritage Preservation Planning and Outreach recently conducted a visit to the Islamic Center of Winona to assess the progress of the construction of their new roof and the restoration of the common walls with their neighboring buildings. Originally built as the Second National Bank in the late nineteenth century, the Islamic Center is a historic landmark located in the Winona Commercial Historic District.

Heritage Preservation Grants

Grants Office Webinar: The Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties
September 21 @ 2 to 3 pm (CT) - Online: The SOI Standards are at the center of preservation decisions for the grant program. The purpose of the Standards is to provide guidance to historic building owners, building managers, preservation consultants, architects, contractors, and project reviewers prior to beginning work on historic properties. The Standards cover four kinds of treatments: preservation, rehabilitation, restoration, and reconstruction, and this webinar will discuss each in turn. We will cover what they are, which Standards may work better for different scenarios, and how they inform grant applications for historic property work. 
Join online: meet.google.com/zwx-krei-com
Join by phone: ‪(US) +1 386-361-3086‬ PIN: ‪420 891 978‬#

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

From the Blog

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

Introducing the Minnesota Historical Candidate Biographical Database
A play with a cast of thousands – heroes and villains and the spotlight shining a little more on the extras.

Smart Politics announces the launch of the Minnesota Historical Candidate Biographical Database – a first-of-its-kind resource that centralizes key biographical data in a searchable format to facilitate research by county historical societies, citizen researchers, journalists, and educators on all candidates and nominees who have run for state and federal office in Minnesota history. Not just the winners, but also those who came up short.

The Biographical Database is built into the Minnesota Historical Election Archive – the largest collection of searchable Minnesota election data, assembling the returns of more than 20,000 elections across 17 different federal and state offices since 1858. The Archive is also curated by Smart Politics.

More than a dozen variables were used to create the candidate biographies, with sources listed on each candidate’s profile page. More than 10,000 biographies are already live on the site with dozens more being added each week.

In addition, more than 6,000 images of candidate photos and print campaign advertisements have been uploaded to the database. Continue Reading »

More MN Blog posts

• Fremad Founders – The Wollan Family - Pope County Historical Society
• Between Wirth Par 3 Golf Course and Twin Lake: What’s the Story? - Minneapolis Park History
• Borrow scanning equipment with MDL's Scan for Keeps program - MN Digital Library News
• Meet the new curator of the Givens Collection of African American Literature - U of MN Libraries

From the Tube

This week's post is from the Minnesota African American Heritage Museum and Gallery. Have a video channel or podcast? Let us know!

Woven: MAAHMG Community Quilt Project
Minnesota African American Heritage Museum and Gallery hosted a Community Quilt Project to reconnect people after being isolated by COVID lockdowns and traumatized by the murder of George Floyd. Art has a way of bringing people together, giving voice to social issues and healing. In the summer of 2022, MAAHMG held 11 public quilting events where people were given 12x12 inch quilt squares to create their interpretation of various themes of Black history, Black joy, love, family, racial justice, civil rights, Black liberation, gun violence and healing, and Juneteenth - Freedom.  Watch Video »

More MN Tube posts

• Lyon County Vietnam Veteran: James Keull - Lyon County Historical Society
• Sergio Medrano: Immigrant Stories - Immigration History Research Center, U of MN
• Listening to Pots: or, How Little Things Speak Volumes - Council for Minnesota Archaeology
• Remembering Emily Webster - Betsy-Tacy Society
• Pipestone County Bank Robberies - Pipestone County Historical Society

Job Opportunities

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

MNHS

• Draft Horse Handler - Forest History Center
• Project Associate - MN History Center

LOCAL

• Museum Director - Murray County Historical Society, Slayton, MN
• Glensheen Events Coordinator - Glensheen Historic Estate, Duluth, MN
• Visitor Experience Staff - The Works, Bloomington, MN
• Seasonal Retail Associate - The American Swedish Institute, Minneapolis, MN
• Field Trip Programs Coordinator - The Bakken Museum, Minneapolis, MN
• Museum Facilitator - The Bakken Museum, Minneapolis, MN

REGIONAL

• Director of Guest Services - Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, WI
• Facilities Coordinator - Circus World Museum, Wisconsin Historical Society, Baraboo, WI
• Archivist - Limited Term Employment, Wisconsin Veterans Museum, State of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
• Curator III – Christian Petersen Art Museum, Iowa State University, Ames, IA

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

• Sr Historic Preservation Specialist - Metra, Regional Transportation Authority, Chicago, IL
• Chief Development Officer - Museum of Science+Industry Chicago, Chicago, IL
• Archivist - Chicago History Museum, Chicago, IL
• Chief of Staff - The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL
• Vice President of People and Culture - The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL
• Learning and Outreach Manager - Art Gallery, Grand Valley State University, Allendale, MI
• Museum Operations Coordinator/Operations Coordinator - Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
• Exhibition Designer - University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
• Exhibit Designer - Senator John Heinz History Center, Pittsburgh, PA
• Assistant/Associate/Full Curator, Native American Art - The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO
• Executive Director - Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, MO
• Archivist - State Historical Society of Missouri, University of Missouri - Columbia, MO
• Archivist - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis, MO
• Conservator (Archivist) - Queen's University Library, Kingston, ON
• Mirkopoulos Curator of Ancient Greece and Rome - Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, ON

Additional Job Postings in the Field »

Do History Here

Image used with permission. From the collections of the Virginia Area Historical Society.

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

Presentation: The Romancing of History: Romance Novels, Historical Research, and the Business of Books
September 14 @ 7 pm - St. Cloud: Stearns History Museum - Join local writer Elizabeth Reisinger for a discussion on the relationship between history and romance novels. Explore the captivating letters of Reisinger's great-grandmother and her award-winning debut novel, Whiskey Shores, set in Prohibition-era rural Minnesota. Discover how romance novels transport readers through time and gain insights into the world of publishing. Location: Beaver Island Brewing Company. Cost: Free for members/$10 nonmembers. Learn more »

Presentation: Minnesota’s Golden Age of Wrestling: AWA Tag Team Mayhem!  
September 19 @  7 to 8  pm - Stillwater: Washington County Heritage Center - Wrestling historian and author George Schire discusses all of the incredible tag team combinations that made the AWA one of the greatest promotions for three decades. Cost: Free. Learn more »

Presentation: Annual Meeting to Feature Railroad History
September 21 @ 6 pm - Little Falls: Morrison County Historical Society - Special guest speaker Steve Glischinski has been an avid photographer of railroads, beginning in 1970 at the age of thirteen. Since then, his works have been published in dozens of books and magazines. His presentation at this meeting will focus on railroads in Minnesota from the post-World War II era to modern times. Location: Historic Cass Gilbert Train Depot. Cost: $15 members/$20 nonmembers. Learn more »

Presentation: The WPA Era-Free Records Boon from the Government
September 21 @ 7 pm  - South St. Paul & Online: Dakota County Historical Society - The WPA and Historical Records Survey created valuable records for genealogists during the 1930s and 1940s. These records include transcriptions, inventories, indexes, and histories that may exist for your ancestral area. They will discuss these WPA creations and where to find them. Cost: $5 members/$10 nonmembers. Learn more »

Washington County Rural School Reunion
September 23 @ 12 to 4 pm - Scandia: Hay Lake School Museum - The Washington County Historical Society is excited to announce a Washington County Rural School Reunion for anyone who attended a one-room/two-room school anywhere in the county. All are welcome from all Washington County Rural Schools. Stop by and share your stories, photographs and memories of an era gone past. Cost: Free. Learn more »

Continuing Education

Highlighted Museum: North Shore Commercial Fishing Museum, operated by the Tofte Historical Society, Tofte, MN.
Photograph by Mehendri Solon, distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 license.

Beginner Grantseeking
September 14 @ 1 to 4 pm (CT) - Online: Minnesota Council of Nonprofits - They'll discuss the best ways to begin grantseeking, explore four good places to start looking, work through a proven process for finding funder information, discover how to “dig deeper” into a foundation’s interests, and determine the best way for you to start capturing what you are learning about your organization and its potential funders. Cost: $89 members/$129 nonmembers. Learn more »

Tools for Organizing PDFs and Article Citations
September 19 @ 10 am to 12 pm (CT) - Online: U of MN Libraries - Citation managers are tools to help you collect, organize, cite, and share research. This session will give an overview of various citation managers and then a deep dive into Zotero, a free, easy to use citation manager. They will also demonstrate how to format citations in a variety of styles and how to add in-text. Cost: Free. Learn more »

Home Maintenance
September 20 @ 6 to 8:30 pm - St. Paul: Rethos - Brand new homeowner? Looking for a home maintenance refresher? Home Maintenance is the place to begin. In this class, you’ll learn tips and tricks for taking care of your house. Cost: $15. Learn more »

Water We Doing? Wet Treatment in Conservation
September 21 @ 11 am (CT) - Online: Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts - This webinar will introduce you to what to expect and what questions to ask when discussing wet treatments with a conservator. Cost: Free. Learn more »

Disaster Planning for Extended Closures
September 26 @ 11:30 am to 12:30 pm - Online: Northeast Document Conservation Center - This webinar introduces participants to collections concerns that arise when a building is not accessed regularly and recommends practical solutions for adapting an organization’s disaster plan and implementing practical mitigation and monitoring strategies in-house. A portion of the webinar will be reserved for attendees to ask questions and share their own experiences with extended closure, and participants are encouraged to contact the instructor with specific questions following the conclusion of the webinar. Cost: $45. Learn more »

Treasurer/Finance Committee: Right People, Right Roles
September 28 @ 9 am to 12 pm - Online: Propel Nonprofits - This session is geared toward helping new treasurers and finance committee members (or current ones looking for a refresher) be successful in their role. Discover tools and practices that can help board treasurers develop finance skills, ask strategic financial questions, lead board development in finance, and keep the numbers connected to the mission. Cost: $75. Learn more »

The Legacy of the Settlement House Movement
September 28 @ 9 am (CT) - Online: International Coalition of Sites of Conscience - Around the turn of the 20th century, the American Settlement House Movement arose as an innovative approach to addressing social issues caused by rapid industrialization and unchecked capitalist greed. Join us for an exploration of how the movement and the work continue into the present day. Cost: Free. Learn more »

Advancing Change: Museums, Libraries, and Communities Diversity Summit
September 29 @ 9 am to 2 pm (CT) - St. Louis & Online: St. Louis Art Museum - A free on-site and virtual summit centering museums and libraries as leaders in their communities. The summit will include panel discussions and a keynote address by Louise Bernard, senior vice president and founding director of the Obama Presidential Center Museum. Cost: Free. Learn more »

In-person seminar: Section 4(f) Compliance for Historic Properties
October 3 & 4 - Milwaukee, WI: National Preservation Institute -  Section 4(f) of the DOT Act of 1966 is triggered by funding or approval from a U.S. DOT agency for a project that proposes "use" of historic property or land from a publicly owned park, recreation area, or refuge. With a focus on historic properties, examine the stringent approval standards of this substantive law and discuss ways to better integrate and streamline Sections 4(f) and 106 with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. Cost: $700/$300 (student). Learn more »

TIPS & TOOLS

• How AI (Artificial Intelligence) is Revolutionizing the Grant Writing Industry - Grant Writing Made Easy

Additional Educational Opportunities »

Funding & Awards

Civil Rights Grant Program
October 10 - (deadline): The National Park Service’s African American Civil Rights Grant Program (AACR) supports projects to document, interpret, and preserve the sites related to the African-American struggle to gain equal rights as citizens in the 20th Century.

• African-American Civil Rights Preservation Grants are for the physical preservation of historic sites only.
• African-American Civil Rights History Grants are for historical research, documentation, survey, and nomination projects.

Spotlight on Humanities in Higher Education
October 18 - (deadline): National Endowment for the Humanities - This grant program supports the exploration and development of small projects that would benefit underserved populations through the teaching and study of the humanities at small and medium-sized colleges and universities. NEH invites applications from two- and four-year institutions of higher education, as well as from nonprofit organizations, and state, local, or Native American Tribal governments aiming to advance the humanities at these institutions. Learn more »

Collaborative Research Grants
November 29 - (deadline): National Endowment for the Humanities - Collaborative Research grants support groups of two or more scholars engaging in significant and sustained research in the humanities. The program seeks to encourage interdisciplinary work, both within the humanities and beyond. Learn more »

Paint the Town Grants
TBA - (deadline): Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation - The Paint the Town Grant Program is designed to engage volunteers, create a sense of community pride and build collaborative efforts that beautify communities through “Painting the Town” with a new community mural, community welcome sign or painting an historic structure. Paint the Town grants are administered by SMIF in collaboration with various Ace Hardware and Arrow Hardware & Paint stores located in our region. Communities with populations under 10,000 are eligible to apply. Learn more »

News

11 Most Endangered Historic Places
National Trust for Historic Preservation is accepting nominations for the 2024 list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places! Letters of Intent are due September 29, 2023. Learn more »

Be a Part of Examining Military Service From the Margins
The Minnesota Humanities Center is seeking discussion leaders in Minneapolis, Mankato, and Winona for the spring 2024 series "Examining Military Service From the Margins." This series will explore the experiences of female, Black, American Indian, LGBTQ, and immigrant service members across U.S. history and discuss the complexities of serving a country that limits freedoms. Discussion leaders with military experience, teaching or facilitation experience, and diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply by September 25. Learn more »

'Friends of the Theater' trying to save lodge at Theatre L'Homme Dieu
Echo Press — Nearly 10 months ago, a unanimous decision was made by the Theatre L’Homme Dieu board of directors to take down “the lodge.” However, after some pushback, the decision was put on hold until the board could hear more from the public. Continue reading »

Northlandia: Why Tower has world's first monument to President McKinley
Duluth News Tribune — McKinley died Sept. 14, 1901, from a gunshot wound he sustained eight days earlier when an anarchist shot him in Buffalo, New York. Within two months, the people of Tower and nearby Soudan erected and dedicated the simple 18-foot obelisk. ...“It’s funny because I’ve had so many questions this week about it — it’s just crazy,” said Richard Hanson, archivist at the Tower-Soudan Historical Society. “Usually, nobody says much.” Continue reading »

It is now Archeological Month in Minnesota 
Albert Lea Tribune — Did you know that September is Minnesota Archeological Month? The Freeborn County Historical Museum is celebrating by releasing its Lyle Mammoth dig video, believed to be the first mammoth skull to be found in Minnesota, which was found on the Lyle family farm between Hayward and Hollandale in Freeborn County. Continue reading »

An Indigenous History of Bloomington, Minnesota
City of Bloomington MN - Indigenous Peoples have inhabited and been in relationship with the land now called Bloomington, Minnesota for thousands of years. Historians Dr. Kate Beane and Peter DeCarlo discuss this deep history, the Dakota people who have called this land home, and the impacts colonization has had on both the people and landscape. Watch Video »

Minnesota State Fair History Walking Tour 2023
Walking Minnesota - Let’s take a walk along the Minnesota State Fair history walking tour. This 12-stop tour is a two-mile guide to the state fair's most historically significant spots. Watch Video »

Featured Book Nature’s Crossroads: The Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota, edited by George Vrtis, Christopher W. Wells. University of Pittsburgh Press. Book Talk Thursday, September 28 @ 7 to 8:30 pm MN History Center, St. Paul, Minnesota	Featured Article Minnesota History More than wages: Twin Cities theater workers' control struggles Volume 53, Issue 8, 1993	Featured Article MNopedia Virginia Lane Frazier (1921–2012) 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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