Collecting pieces of Minnesota's past for the future
About
The Minnesota Historical Society preserves and makes available a wide range of materials chronicling Minnesota's history and culture. The goals of the Collections Department are to collect and preserve; provide access and interpretation; and engage in education and outreach. This blog is a tool to share these stories and let people know what is happening in the department.
Two women are flying to Alaska on an aerial vacation
Spring break is upon us or near for many Minnesota schools. Are you heading anywhere or do you have any other spring break plans? These two women were headed for Alaska in 1940 when this photo was taken.
ID: HE1.5 p20 (Locator Number)
Link: http://collections.mnhs.org/cms/display?irn=10732906
Spring Planting
At 4:24 local time this afternoon, the sun will be directly over the equator, the official start of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. With current weather, we are still some time from planting season, so this painting titled "Spring Planting" by Henry Holmstrom (1940) will have to hold us over.
ID: AV2007.139.90 (Accession Number)
Link: http://collections.mnhs.org/cms/display?irn=10578786
St. Patrick's Day parade, St. Paul
On Monday, March 17, 1851, the first celebration in St. Paul of St. Patrick’s Day took place. According to the Minnesota Pioneer, it was an impromptu but orderly celebration. The modern iteration was begun in 1967 by the St. Patrick’s Association and draws thousands of revelers to downtown St. Paul each year. This Collections photo is from 1978.
ID: GT4.2 p6 (Call number)
Link: http://collections.mnhs.org/cms/display?irn=10824942
Munsingwear women's basketball team
The Minnesota State Girls High School Basketball Tournament is underway! We celebrate by sharing this piece of the legacy of girl's basketball in the state: the 1920 Munsingwear women's team, made up of employees of the then-Minnesota-based undergarment manufacturer.
ID: 5407-B (Negative Number)
Link: http://collections.mnhs.org/cms/display?irn=10807210
Wanda Gág Self Portrait
On March 11, 1893, artist and author Wanda Gág was born in New Ulm, MN. She is perhaps best known for her children's book "Millions of Cats" (1928), and also created many other books and artworks. MNHS holds many of her pictures, sketches, artwork, and papers in our collection. This self-portrait was sketched in 1914.
Learn more about Gág in this MNopedia article: https://www.mnopedia.org/person/g-g-wanda-1893-1946
ID: AV1982.203.7 (Accession Number)
Item Link: http://collections.mnhs.org/cms/display?irn=10608510
Pillsbury Best Flour and Golden Glow Pie display sign
It's Pi Day, 3/14, and as a onetime major flour milling center, Minnesota has many reasons to celebrate pie! (The crust part, at least.) This three-dimensional point-of-sale display sign was created by Pillsbury Best Flour in about 1950 and promotes Golden Glow Pie.
ID: 2007.64.1125 (Accession Number)
Link: http://collections.mnhs.org/cms/display?irn=10573820
Bud Grant, Minnesota Vikings Coach
We mourn the passing of Minnesota sports legend Bud Grant. In addition to coaching the Vikings, he played for the Minneapolis Lakers and even played minor league baseball.
Images from the MNHS collections:
Grant when coaching the Vikings, 1975 GV3.13P p5 (Locator Number)
Grant with the Minneapolis Lakers, 1950 GV3.12P p20 (Locator Number)
Stillwater baseball team, 1954 (Grant 4th from right in rear) Runk 1485 (Locator Number)
A man bemoaning his fate after his shovel broke during a heavy snowfall, March 18, 1951
Today's Collections Item of the Day is this descriptively titled photo, "A man bemoaning his fate after his shovel broke during a heavy snowfall, March 18, 1951." It is part of Minneapolis and St. Paul Newspaper Negative Collection.
We feel ya, buddy. We feel ya.
ID: M.15.E.2.A Packet 49 (Locator Number)
Link: http://collections.mnhs.org/cms/display?irn=11178263
Main Street, Austin, Minn.
These postcards from our collection show two different perspectives of the city of Austin, MN: A Main Street scene from 1920, and an Interstate off-ramp in about 1975.
Main Street postcard: http://collections.mnhs.org/cms/display?irn=10462991
Freeway postcard: http://collections.mnhs.org/cms/display?irn=10463357
International Womens Day
Happy International Women's Day! This poster from 1977 promotes events celebrations recognizing the day, sponsored by the May Day book store in Minneapolis. Check out the MNopedia spotlight on Women's History to learn more about people, places, and events that shaped women's history in Minnesota: https://www.mnopedia.org/spotlight#Women's-History
ID: J7 a5 (Locator Number)
Link: http://collections.mnhs.org/cms/display?irn=10467576