June 19, 2017 The Minnesota frontier could be a frightening place to have an illness by today’s standards. Travel was slow, medical education was unregulated, and medicines were often limited to what you could make with the plants at hand. Many [...]
June 5, 2017 This blue, red, and white sporting sweater carries with it a lifetime of memories. Owned and worn by Wayzata resident Alfred Lindley, this sweater was donated to Hennepin History Museum by his sister, Mrs. Ward Burton. Mrs. Burton [...]
May 15, 2017 This week’s object of the week is an unassuming black blouse that donor, Ms. Hyacinth Easthagen, called, “not beautiful,” and “not well finished.” Although Hyacinth, the great-granddaughter of the woman who owned the blouse, was not impressed with [...]
May 8, 2017 Above: Aqua Jester Mike Hogan used this trunk at Aquatennials from the 1950s to the 1990s. Clowns, jesters, and fools have existed for many hundreds of years in literature, dramatic performance, and pop culture. Children grow up seeing [...]
May 4, 2017 Are you thirsty for history? How about for beer history? This week's featured photograph depicts the local distributor for the La Crosse, Wisconsin-based John Gund Brewing Company. John Gund was a German immigrant who began his brewing career [...]
May 1, 2017 Working in collections, it is not unusual to come across an item that leaves us with many questions about its origins and story. This peach silk and lace nightgown was paired with a bonnet and slippers, and was [...]
April 24, 2017 Our object of the week this week is a gorgeous bodice donated by Nancy Piazza. The bodice traveled from the donor’s great grandmother in Sicily to Piazza’s grandmother, who had settled in Minneapolis, MN. The Piazza family went [...]
April 18, 2017 This rocking chair, in the Hennepin History Museum Collection, was allegedly removed from the rooms of Harry Hayward after he was arrested for Kitty Ging’s murder Above: this rocking chair, in the Hennepin History Museum Collection, [...]
April 17, 2017 In the early years of airline flights, flight costs were prohibitively expensive for many Americans. In order to cater to wealthy customers, airlines wanted to create an environment where people felt lavished, complete with beautiful female attendants. It [...]
March 13, 2017 Robert “Fish” Jones, with his signature beard and moustache In 1876, a man named Robert Jones moved from New York to look for opportunities out west, and settled in Minneapolis. Missing the fresh fish so easily found on [...]
