Join Jessica Nelson as she shares her remarkable experience of tracking down her husband’s paternal side.
CELEBRATE
Spend a special night enjoying stories, art, and home movies made by the one-and-only, Jon Arfstrom! Your attendance and sponsorship will help maintain vital research and preservation services at ACHS.
Aug 22, 2022 from 7-9 p.m.
This is the regular monthly meeting of the BOD. Open comments are permitted at the beginning of each meeting and the public is welcome to attend.
The ACHS Annual Meeting has been scheduled for MAY 22 AT 1 P.M. Join us in-person at the Anoka History Center, OR digitally over ZOOM. Link is available here
After a short business meeting to install new Board members and approve the 2021 financial statements, attendees will enjoy special entertainment created just for you! ACHS broke new ground in the past year with programming of all sorts, gradually adjusted museum open hours welcoming patrons and volunteers back, and navigated a sold-out return to Ghost Tours in the Fall. Help us celebrate 2021 together as we look forward to 2022 and where the Anoka County Historical Society is heading in the future.
This is the regular monthly meeting of the BOD. Open comments are permitted at the beginning of each meeting and the public is welcome to attend.
After reading the Frank Hart autobiography, ACHS staff were reminded that HOW a person tells a story often feels more important than the specific information it contains. But creating that magic for future generations feels daunting at best! We’re here to help. Join Rebecca Desens for a three-part series of Storytelling 101 via Zoom this winter to sharpen your skills of finding the story beneath the story of the mundane
January 18, 7 p.m.
After reading the Frank Hart autobiography, ACHS staff were reminded that HOW a person tells a story often feels more important than the specific information it contains. But creating that magic for future generations feels daunting at best! We’re here to help. Join Rebecca Desens for a three-part series of Storytelling 101 via Zoom this winter to sharpen your skills of describing the mundane (just how DO you brush your teeth?)
January 18, 7 p.m.
Stories abound in Anoka of odd happenings and eerie encounters. Our costumed tour guides will take you on a walk through historic neighborhoods of Anoka, sharing stories of the past along the way.
Sixty percent history, 40 percent folklore; these stories are just part of the fun you will experience on your Ghosts of Anoka tour!
The Anoka County Historical Society is excited to unveil a digital, multi-touch table in the exhibit hall during Riverfest. This device, purchased courtesy of a grant from the Shavlik Family Foundation, will create an interactive experience for visitors to the museum.
Come say hi to us at the ACHS table at the Outpost in Ramsey!
9 a.m. check in for the cars who cruise ($20 entry fee)
11 a.m. cruise starts
1 p.m. raffles, food, and fun
2 p.m. Kat Perkins concert
3:30 p.m. trophies awarded
Questions? contact Cars for Neighbors
Fingers crossed the evening weather will be picture-perfect for us to gather (socially distanced, masks required) outside at the History Center! We will hold a short business meeting then invite small groups into the museum to hear about the preservation of the Federal Cartridge Company’s collection ready for their 100th anniversary next year. Welcome home, members! The doors are open for you once more.
Not ready for in-person? No problem. We will live stream the event via Zoom. Just click the link below to view on your device or call in with your phone to the number below.
Time: May 18, 2021 07:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83863270245?pwd=cXlma3ZCVHpoZXBZcXVYTi9uYlQ4dz09
Meeting ID: 838 6327 0245
Passcode: 621481
Dial by your location
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose)
Meeting ID: 838 6327 0245
Passcode: 621481
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kA4SRxOFt
Program May 15, 1 p.m. via zoom!
Image ID 2019.1843.021
This is the Municipal On Off Sale Liquor Store that used to be on the east side of Central Avenue in Columbia Heights, between 40th Avenue and 41st Avenue, near the Band Box (burger joint). The Nelson parents worked there part time, cleaning the lounge after it closed for the night. Steve Nelson has memories of it closing up early on Christmas Eve and his parents picking him and his sisters up to go downtown to look at the Christmas decorations.
Join us for the annual meeting, delayed due to COVID-19 and our holiday party all in one place!
ONLINE FUNDRAISING EVENT: A family game of cards around the Wise family kitchen table in Grow was cut short in a moment when gunfire exploded through the porch window on May 27, 1900. The daughters, Eliza and Martha, writing letters in the front parlor, ran to fetch help from the neighbors, while their parents and two brothers lay injured and dying.
That’s why we’re bringing Nate Otto of Rum River Restoration back at our Annual Meeting! We learned so much about player pianos and enjoyed the concert (with an unplanned sing-a-long to “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”) with big grins. In his day-to-day life, Nate offers high-quality restoration and repair services to customers with player pianos, reed organs, and other pneumatically-operated automatic musical instruments from the 1890-1930’s
We want to say THANK YOU for being a part of the ACHS family for another year, so we are throwing an end of year party just for you.
As a special MEMBERS ONLY present, we’ve invited Nate Otto of Rum River Restoration to share a special program about player pianos. Nate offers high-quality restoration and repair services to customers with player pianos, reed organs, and other pneumatically-operated automatic musical instruments from the 1890-1930’s.
Come join all, or part, of the fun!
Coffee and Conversation at Lyric Arts!
Join Sara to find out more about Christmas in 1940s Anoka County (and see more of her fun clothing pieces!) A fun, casual event at the theater.
When: Nov. 21, 9 a.m.
Where: Lyric Arts, Anoka
The documentary will show prior to the movie in the park (Cars), City of Anoka
A new partnership between ACHS and Hammerheart Brewing has blossomed in the recent months, resulting in a first-ever brew fest of, well...historic proportions.
Event begins at the memorial park and ends at the Legion to celebrate this anniversary. Come see the newly acquired Edward Cutter garment bag, which dates to before WWI.
Agriculture has changed substantially over the past 100 years. Tractors were just beginning to come into common use and nearly every farm was organic. With World War I dominating the 1910s, producing more with less became paramount. Today, farming looks much different, but agriculture faces similar problems: a depleted workforce, a need for education, and a rapid advancement of technology.
This tour of unique Fridley neighborhoods is brought to you by the Fridley Historical Society, City of Fridley, and the Anoka County Historical Society (ACHS), but it is only through the generosity of homeowners in the neighborhood that this event is possible.
The Anoka County Historical Society is excited to unveil a digital, multi-touch table in the exhibit hall during Riverfest. This device, purchased courtesy of a grant from the Shavlik Family Foundation, will create an interactive experience for visitors to the museum.
Take some time to talk about family cookie recipes, traditions, and memories of the family bakers in this class given by the Anoka County Historical Society. Please bring along a favorite cookie jar and a good story to share (we’ll provide the treats!)
Register here. The class is FREE!
Taking you on a journey through the ages from sundials to watch fobs to smart phones. How has time changed the way we live and how have we changed the way we track time?
You’ve done it with chili, now do it with Jello-O! No family gathering in the Midwest is complete without fruit, fluff, and that magical jiggle. Come taste the best Jell-O salads, desserts, and dishes as they compete for a chance to win prizes for:
Best in Fluff
Best Fruit Suspension
Best Family Story
Best Photo Entry (the older the better)
We will have games like Jiggler toss and Jell-O Jeopardy as well as light refreshments to cut the sweet. With your admission, you’ll receive three tickets for food, activities, or naked Jell-O (thumb) wrestling! Additional tickets can be purchased during the event.
Have a family favorite of your own? Register as a competitor
Proceeds from this event support the operations at ACHS.
