A letter at a time
Search #MNMuseumAlphabet on the internet and discover a variety of collections items from across the state, including these lovely little ladies and their dolls. (Object ID 2016.0173.009)
“I” is for Roy Downs and his cousin, Irving Hyatt, who churned ice cream during the warmer weather in 1913. (Object ID 2005.1361.010)
The Downs family strikes again with this crafty and devious plot to stage a photo of their mule in 1915. The letters spelling “kiss” are cut from paper and laid on the ground to produce a distinctive message for the viewer. (Object ID 2005.1361.279)
As the world continues to distance itself physically, we have come to rely on technology to provide a sense of community. From church services to happy hours, play dates to work meetings, Anoka County residents continue to find ways to function together. The museum world has responded to the COVID-19 pandemic in part by creating hashtags on social media that each of us can use to showcase portions of our collections daily.
If you look up #MNMuseumAlphabet in your internet browser, you’ll discover daily posts beginning with the letter A and progressing through the entire alphabet. While the Anoka County Historical Society is participating in this, you’ll also find fun information from the Minnesota Historical Society, local historical societies and county-level organizations. For example, on the day for “L,” posts came about lakes, lumber and logging, while “K” brought out the kerosene lamps and even a “kuppa.”
More specific to Anoka County, we began this game with Apricot, a doll friend of Strawberry Shortcake, then moved to “B” for Graydon Peterson’s baby boots — one for running in the yard and one for special occasions. “C” was for Coon Creek, posted with an image of the water winding its way through Coon Rapids about 1900.
On “D day” we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to showcase a group of girls dressed in their frilly best at an Anoka parade with dolls in carriages. However, we warned readers not to be fooled by the cuteness! We figured these girls were actually a personality test. Which, we asked, were you? Nap time, smiles, older sister stuck with the littles, feeling cute, or out for revenge? The comments indicated that “nap time” and “revenge” were the crowd favorites and several noted never being lucky enough to have dresses that matched their carriages.
By the time we reached “E,” ACHS staff were full of quarantine talk and decided to throw caution to the wind. Our post about exercise featured materials donated by Mike Clark, which he used in his younger years. The program, distributed by Charles Atlas in the 1950s and ‘60s, came to subscribers in installments with directions on how to build your muscles and body. The system was originally introduced by Atlas in the 1920s. But wait! That’s not all! What good is a printed exercise routine during a quarantine if we don’t try it out? Sara, our volunteer coordinator, was game enough to film her shenanigans, and we have posted it on our website for your viewing enjoyment (AnokaCountyHistory.org) Double points if you send us photos of you also doing the exercises.
“F” taught us about advertisements for the fancy fruit served at the Bethel Lunch Room, printed on the curtain of the Bethel theater about 1910, while “G” brought back memories of “gas for less” at Soderville’s Independent Dealer service station, circa the 1960s. We brought back a favorite post from 2017 featuring Happy Corner in Nowthen for “H” and asked, “What’s your happy today”? It felt like the silver linings had started to tarnish for some in our community, but one memory of riding the Big Wheels bikes to the store and buying Smarties suckers for a nickel made us chuckle.
We couldn’t neglect the Downs family and our fabulous set of glass plate negatives from their farm in Ramsey, just outside of Anoka on Highway 10 by the river, so “I” featured Roy and his cousin Irving Hyatt making ice cream in 1913. Roy’s grandfather, Rufus Downs, took these photos after settling in Minnesota in 1856 and eventually marrying Myrtle Hyatt of Anoka (search #MyrtleMonday for happy cat pictures).
As we pull into the middle of the alphabet, we showcased St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Lino Lakes, another favorite from the Downs family featuring their mule, and a lace loom. We hope you’ll join us on the rest of our social media adventure to “Z.” Don’t forget to submit your thoughts on the epidemic for our collection since #HistoryHappensToday.
Rebecca Ebnet-Desens is the executive director of the Anoka County Historical Society.