Levon Williams, a Race, Equity & Inclusion Consultant with the American Association of Museums, discusses his work at ACHS and other midwest museums through the Facing Change grant. Levon reflects on how diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion (DEAI) work can be messy, convoluted, and imperative for museums.
Hosts Rebecca Desens, ACHS Executive Director, Sara Given, ACHS Volunteer Coordinator and Erin McBrien, ACHS Archivist.
Read MoreDennis Tkach played as part of the Tkach band for 40 years—four of the members are in the same family! Their parents, Walter and Mary, created B Sharp Music in Columbia Heights. Dennis shares how the band formed when he was a high schooler as a seven-piece variety dance band to compete in the Minnesota State Fair Amateur Talent Contest (they made it to the finals!). They played for over 2000 events throughout the Twin Cities and western Wisconsin before retiring in 2019…but have they really?
Hosts Rebecca Desens, ACHS Executive Director, Sara Given, ACHS Volunteer Coordinator and Erin McBrien, ACHS Archivist.
Read MoreJohn Jost’s love of Anoka Halloween began as a child, and have culminated in the publication of a book celebrating the 100th anniversary of the festival. Learn about his connection to the holiday as a child, and what it was like organizing and celebrating a 100th anniversary during a pandemic.
Hosts Rebecca Desens, ACHS Executive Director, Sara Given, ACHS Volunteer Coordinator and Erin McBrien, ACHS Archivist.
Read MoreIn 1979 Karen George became an Anoka Princess and spent the next year driving back and forth from college in Morehead, MN to represent her home town at various events and parades. George shares her journey as a candidate and Princess, how she designed the first Halloween themed float for the city and her lasting connections with Anoka Halloween.
Hosts Rebecca Desens, ACHS Executive Director, Sara Given, ACHS Volunteer Coordinator and Erin McBrien, ACHS Archivist.
Read MoreWhat’s it like living in a haunted house? Jenn Shoemaker and her family (along with a couple permanent, ghostly residents) lived at 403 Van Buren in Anoka for four years. Hear how they came to own this beautiful home, the surprise of finding that their new house was on the Ghosts of Anoka Tour, and all the supernatural occurrences they experienced along the way.
Hosts Rebecca Desens, ACHS Executive Director, Sara Given, ACHS Volunteer Coordinator and Erin McBrien, ACHS Archivist.
Read MoreWhat’s it like running a county historical Society? Sam Klocksien, Executive Director of the Isanti County Historical Society, sits down with Rebecca to talk about the ins and outs of running a museum - from helping people with research to mowing the lawn yourself.
Hosts Rebecca Desens, ACHS Executive Director, Sara Given, ACHS Volunteer Coordinator and Erin McBrien, ACHS Archivist.
Read MoreJust in time to head out for the annual Nowthen Threshing Show, John Wetter and Anne Zimmerman, President and Director of the Nowthen Historic Power Association, talk about what exactly threshing is, everything you can find at the show in Nowthen, and why it’s important to preserve and showcase these skills for kids today.
Hosts Rebecca Desens, ACHS Executive Director, Sara Given, ACHS Volunteer Coordinator and Erin McBrien, ACHS Archivist.
Read MoreAll bound up and waiting for you! This brand new history of Blaine has come out to play with beloved tales as well as newly discovered gems about Anoka County’s largest city. Join Orville Lindquist from the Blaine Historical Society as he divulges some plot twists about Greenberry Chambers, relates how he discovered a slide showing the aquariums at Northtown, and the local connection to the Radisson empire.
Hosts Rebecca Ebnet-Desens, ACHS Executive Director, Sara Given, ACHS Volunteer Coordinator and Erin McBrien, ACHS Archivist.
Read MoreServing as the most recent guardians of their 150 year old home on Ferry St. in Anoka, Dillon and Kristin Cords join a list of familiar names including Woodbury and Goodrich on their property abstract. In this episode of History 21, they share their joys and frustrations of living in an old home, their restoration journey, and some fun things they found inside the walls…along with a few surprise guest visitors who might just frequent the property still.
Hosts Rebecca Ebnet-Desens, ACHS Executive Director; Sara Given, ACHS Volunteer Coordinator; and Erin McBrien, ACHS Archivist.
Read MoreIt's an honor to present this podcast in memory of Lyle Bradley, who passed away on June 7, 2021 at the age of 96. One of two oral history interviews he gave the archives of ACHS (2003 and 1993), we invite you to share in the stories of this talented individual who served his community in a multitude of ways. In this episode, Lyle speaks of becoming a combat fighter pilot, including how being a bird watcher can get you in trouble during flight training.
Interview transcript available in the show notes.
Hosts Rebecca Desens, ACHS Executive Director, Sara Given, ACHS Volunteer Coordinator and Erin McBrien, ACHS Archivist.
Read MoreThe following is an excerpt from “Memories of Life …” by Arch G. Pease, pg. 45-51. Ellipses indicate text removed by ACHS for narrative purposes. Read his full memoir in History 21: The Vault and tune into History 21: The Podcast to hear an oral interview with Pease conducted in 1989.
Read MoreFolklore held that a tornado would never strike where two rivers met. Residents of Anoka, located at the confluence of the Rum River and Mississippi River, believed their community safe until June 18, 1939, 3:17 p.m. In this episode, hear the voices of Anokans who experienced the tornado as they tell their stories of that day.
TW: severe weather, injuries, death.
Interview transcript, map of location and Peterson’s video of the aftermath available in the episode show notes.
Hosts Rebecca Desens, ACHS Executive Director, Sara Given, ACHS Volunteer Coordinator and Erin McBrien, ACHS Archivist.
Read MoreWhat stories would you tell about your parents? Charles L. Horn, Jr. took time in 1993 to remember his father and namesake Charles L Horn, Sr. He shared details on everything from Sr’s signature mustache and the first days of Federal, to President FDR’s secret visit to a Federal-run ammunition plant during World War II.
Hosts Rebecca Desens, ACHS Executive Director, Sara Given, ACHS Volunteer Coordinator and Erin McBrien, ACHS Archivist.
Read MoreOn board the USS Alabama in 1942, Glen Lindstrom set up his sewing machine, fabric and thread. He sailed with the ship as the on-board tailor, skills he picked up helping his mother, in the pacific theater during WWII. In this oral history interview recorded April 7, 2005 ,Glen describes why he enlisted in the Navy, and his time aboard ship.
Hosts Rebecca Desens, ACHS Executive Director, Sara Given, ACHS Volunteer Coordinator and Erin McBrien, ACHS Archivist.
Read MoreOn board the USS Alabama in 1942, Glen Lindstrom set up his sewing machine, fabric and thread. He sailed with the ship as the on-board tailor, skills he picked up helping his mother, in the pacific theater during WWII. In this oral history interview recorded April 7, 2005 ,Glen describes why he enlisted in the Navy, and his time aboard ship.
Hosts Rebecca Desens, ACHS Executive Director, Sara Given, ACHS Volunteer Coordinator and Erin McBrien, ACHS Archivist.
Read MoreOn board the USS Alabama in 1942, Glen Lindstrom set up his sewing machine, fabric and thread. He sailed with the ship as the on-board tailor, skills he picked up helping his mother, in the pacific theater during WWII. In this oral history interview recorded April 7, 2005 ,Glen describes why he enlisted in the Navy, and his time aboard ship.
Hosts Rebecca Desens, ACHS Executive Director, Sara Given, ACHS Volunteer Coordinator and Erin McBrien, ACHS Archivist.
Read MoreOn the first day of 2021 Terry Overacker died after over a month in the hospital battling Covid-19. In this episode, his wife and business partner, Gina, shares her deeply personal experience with this terrible disease, her grief after Terry’s death, and how sharing your story can bring healing.
Hosts Rebecca Desens, ACHS Executive Director, Sara Given, ACHS Volunteer Coordinator and Erin McBrien, ACHS Archivist.
Read MoreAnna 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.
Read MoreA 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.
Read MoreIn an oral history interview with ACHS in 2008, Denise DeMars shares her journey with the Columbia Heights Fire Department as their first female firefighter. She joined the fire department as a volunteer in 1978, became a full time firefighter in 1980 and navigated sexism in a male-dominated profession as well as the dangers of fighting fires. She retired as a deputy fire marshal for the state of Minnesota in 2012.
Content Note: this episode contains sensitive language we do not condone. About two thirds of the way through Denise Demars’ 2008 oral history interview she recounts a conversation in which the N-word was used in her presence in 1980. We have decided to leave this portion of the interview unedited, not to be insensitive, but instead to reflect how history must acknowledge the evolution of social mores and language. We invite you to think about Denise’s reaction to the power structure at the time, her reaction recounting the event 28 years later, as well as how you might handle the situation if you were in her place.
Hosts Rebecca Desens, ACHS Executive Director and Sara Given, ACHS Volunteer Coordinator.
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