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.
David Durenberger, United States Senator
We mourn the passing of former US Senator David Durenberger, who represented Minnesota from 1979-1995. His signature issues were health care, the environment, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. He was also the author of the MNHS Press book "When Republicans Were Progressive," published in 2018. This photo portrait from our collections was taken in 1979, as he began his senatorial career.
ID: por 22733 p1 (Locator Number)
Link: http://collections.mnhs.org/cms/display?irn=10782855
1942 St. Paul Winter Carnival ice palace melting
Today's Winter Carnival item is a photo of the partially constructed 1942 St. Paul Winter Carnival ice palace melting during an unusually warm January.
Item ID: M.17.F.1 Packet 38 (Locator Number)
Link: http://collections.mnhs.org/cms/display?irn=11124391&return=brand%3Dcms%26q%3Djanuary%26startindex%3D26
St. Paul Winter Carnival Button
Today's Winter Carnival item is a button featuring the Ice Palace and a polar bear in a clown costume. The button reads, "MID-WINTER / 1970 / MAGIC / SAINT PAUL WINTER CARNIVAL". Manufactured by Western Badge Company, St. Paul, 1970.
Item ID: 70.23.1 (Accession Number)
Link: http://collections.mnhs.org/cms/display?irn=10294142&return=q%3Dwinter%2520carnival%26startindex%3D101
Winter Carnival Parade
Today's Winter Carnival item is a photo of the 1940 parade as it passed the Cathedral. This year's King Boreas Grande Day Parade will be held tomorrow, Jan. 28 in downtown St. Paul.
Item ID: MR2.9 SP9.1 1940 m4 (Locator Number)
Link: http://collections.mnhs.org/cms/display?irn=10716776
St. Paul Winter Carnival
The St. Paul Winter Carnival begins today! Over the next two weeks, we'll be sharing some of our favorite and little-seen Winter Carnival items from our collection. Today we go back 35 years to 1988, when this postcard showing was created.
ID: MR2.9 SP9.1 1988 r2 (Locator Number)
Link: http://collections.mnhs.org/cms/display?irn=10463562
St. Paul Winter Carnival Medallion
The annual St. Paul Winter Carnival starts tomorrow, but the St. Paul Pioneer Press Treasure Hunt is already underway! Participants seek a medallion in the city's public parks using daily clues as guides. This souvenir medallion from our collection predates the first Treasure Hunt by 65 years, but is a treasure in its own right. The front shows the 1887 Ice Palace, and the back scenes of winter activities: skating, tobogganing, snowshoeing, and curling.
ID: 73.76.2 (Accession Number)
Link: http://collections.mnhs.org/cms/display?irn=10072384
Man scraping the ice off his windshield on January 24, 1950
The more things change, the more they stay the same. This photo of a man scraping ice off a car's windshield was taken Jan. 24, 1950.
ID: M.16.A.3 Packet 93 (Locator Number)
Link: http://collections.mnhs.org/cms/display?irn=11153012
Minnesota Public Radio button
Yesterday, January 22, was the 56th anniversary of Minnesota Public Radio's first broadcast. One of the station's first broadcasters, and a staple for 45 years, was Gary Eichten. This "I LIke Eichten" button was created in 2008. Eichten retired in 2012.
ID: 2008.115.5 (Accession Number)
Link: http://collections.mnhs.org/cms/display?irn=10582999
"Pray for Bruce Laingen and the Hostages" button
On this day, Jan. 20, 1981, Minnesota native Bruce Laingen and 51 other hostages who had been taken at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran on Nov. 4, 1979 were released after 444 days. Laingen was chargé d'affaires at the U.S. Embassy and was the most senior official held. This button was produced during the crisis.
ID: 2008.107.26 (Accession Number)
Link: http://collections.mnhs.org/cms/display?irn=10581939
Eleanor Roosevelt smiling for the camera during a January 19, 1953 visit to Minnesota
On Jan. 19, 1953, former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt paid a visit to Minnesota, seen here getting off a train in the Twin Cities on her way to St. Olaf College in Northfield. In her diary, she would later write of the trip: "The 40-mile drive from Minneapolis to Northfield and St. Olaf's [sic] College was rather hazardous, but Minnesota drivers are accustomed to slippery conditions and we made the trip in good time."
ID: M.14.G.3 Packet 34 (Locator Number)
Link: http://collections.mnhs.org/cms/display?irn=11260956