Object of the Week

The Invention of the Damper Flapper and the Birth of Honeywell

2023-08-24T14:15:01-05:00

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 [...]

The Invention of the Damper Flapper and the Birth of Honeywell2023-08-24T14:15:01-05:00

Tonka: The Toy Truck from Mound

2023-08-24T14:10:42-05:00

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 [...]

Tonka: The Toy Truck from Mound2023-08-24T14:10:42-05:00

Nordic Ware’s Bundt Pan

2023-08-19T16:40:49-05:00

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. [...]

Nordic Ware’s Bundt Pan2023-08-19T16:40:49-05:00

The History of Handicrafts in the Great Minnesota Get-Together and How Changing Attitudes Have Shaped the Fair 

2023-08-19T16:39:16-05:00

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 [...]

The History of Handicrafts in the Great Minnesota Get-Together and How Changing Attitudes Have Shaped the Fair 2023-08-19T16:39:16-05:00

Blood in the Streets: Governor Floyd B. Olson and the Teamsters’ Strike of 1934 

2023-08-19T16:36:48-05:00

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 [...]

Blood in the Streets: Governor Floyd B. Olson and the Teamsters’ Strike of 1934 2023-08-19T16:36:48-05:00

Flour Power: Party Edition

2023-08-19T16:29:56-05:00

July 23, 2018 At 7:30 in the morning, more than 1700 milling employees and their family, friends, and supporters, gathered in Minneapolis, picnics in hand, to board special trains that would carry them to Lake Minnetonka for the fourth annual Head [...]

Flour Power: Party Edition2023-08-19T16:29:56-05:00

Take the Bitter with the Sweet: Abdallah’s Banana Split Dish

2023-08-19T16:07:41-05:00

April 2, 2018 This banana split dish is from the 4th generation family owned business established by Lebanese immigrant Albert Abdallah. Albert opened Calhoun Candy Depot in 1909 on the corner of Lake Street and Hennepin Avenue in the Uptown area [...]

Take the Bitter with the Sweet: Abdallah’s Banana Split Dish2023-08-19T16:07:41-05:00

A Survivor and Pioneer of Change: Dr. Borgen’s Dentist Chair

2023-08-19T16:06:17-05:00

March 19, 2018 This dental chair was used by Dr. Fanny ‘Nusia’ Freund Borgen, the first female orthodontist in Minneapolis. Dr. Borgen graduated from the University of Minnesota Dental School where she earned her DDS in 1956 and her Orthodontics degree [...]

A Survivor and Pioneer of Change: Dr. Borgen’s Dentist Chair2023-08-19T16:06:17-05:00
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