History 21 The Podcast - 1.08 Anna Gorham

Anna Gorham taught classes of students at Franklin Elementary School for 26 years. In 1989, she sat down to record some of her experiences with education starting with describing the one-room schoolhouse she attended in Burns, and then what Franklin Elementary was like when she started teaching there in 1946.

Note: This recording is digitized from the original cassette tape. The recording has been enhanced where possible, but for clarity an edited transcript of Anna’s interview is also provided below.

Hosts Rebecca Desens, ACHS Executive Director, Sara Given, ACHS Volunteer Coordinator and Erin McBrien, ACHS Archivist.

History 21 The Podcast - 1.07 Maddie McNamara

A sophomore at Anoka High School, Maddie shares her experiences over the past year of distance learning in the midst of a global pandemic and social upheaval. She discusses how it feels to go to school remotely, how it affected classroom dynamics, relationships, and her own mental health.

Hosts Rebecca Desens, ACHS Executive Director and Sara Given, ACHS Volunteer Coordinator.

Columbia Heights’ first female firefighter looks back

Part of the joy of working at the Anoka County Historical Society is having history at your fingertips as you J-O-B. One of the challenges is deciding how best to share this trove of information with the community.

We launched History 21: The Podcast in late December to engage people who prefer an audio delivery to a more visual format. As podcast lovers ourselves, staff often drive, wash dishes or take a walk with various programs chatting in their ears — and there is NOBODY else out there focusing on Anoka County History!

Subscribe to our email blast

ACHS maintains membership in these organizations