In recent years, there has been a huge boom in the natural beauty market. However, the idea of creating a chemical-free cosmetic product with pure ingredients is nothing new. In fact, a Hennepin County resident invented such a concoction at the turn of the Twentieth Century. Her name was Josie A. Wanous and she also happened to be […]
November 13, 2018 An early kittenball, or softball, mold from the collections of Hennepin History Museum. Minnesotans are generally nice, polite people. We don’t always like stirring up trouble by offering a contrary opinion and we’re usually happy to share our hot dish with [...]
November 6, 2018 The Heffelfinger family boasts military and football achievements galore, but if you were a young woman living in Minneapolis during the second half of the nineteenth century, chances were you knew the Heffelfinger name from your weekend shopping [...]
October 3, 2018 This thermostat and motor belonged to a device called a thermo-electric damper-regulator and alarm, otherwise known as a "damper flapper." It was the predecessor of the modern thermostat and established the technology that laid the foundation for the [...]
September 24, 2018 This backhoe was manufactured by a company established in Hennepin County whose name is derived from the Dakota word for "big" and inspired by a nearby lake. That company is Tonka, and its birthplace was in Mound. Tonka [...]
September 17, 2018 This bottle of liquid bluing was once ubiquitous in homes across America. The first sale of Mrs. Stewart's Bluing (MSB) was recorded on July 30, 1883. It is still sold and distributed today and has been manufactured in [...]
September 10, 2018 Burnt toast doesn't seem like a big deal, but if you had to eat it on a consistent basis you may feel otherwise. Humans have been eating bread for over 6,000 years and toasting it over a fire [...]
August 27, 2018 Nordic Ware boasts a long history of innovative engineering and manufacturing of cookware. Their most famous product is undoubtably the Bundt pan. Today more than 70 million American households have one of these iconic pans in their kitchens. [...]
August 22, 2018 This intricate model stage coach made of metal and fabric was entered into the State Fair Craft Show in 1971. According to the ribbon still attached to one side, it won 4th place. An adhesive label on the same side indicates this is a model of [...]
August 6, 2018 In 1934, the streets of Minneapolis were a battleground. Teamsters had declared a city-wide strike to end discrimination against union workers, and their cars of strikers chased heavily-guarded trucks to keep them from crossing picket lines. Roving battles [...]
