The Weber files: Part 2

Last week we began a three-part series about the Weber Family Collection at ACHS. This week, we’ll look at some more records that are part of that collection.

The Weber farm was handed down through three generations of the family. Some of the legal documents that trace these ownership transfers tell us another interesting story as well: How did older people plan for retirement in the years before nursing homes and assisted living facilities became common?

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The Weber files: Part I

Collections of records from a single family are generally referred to in the preservation world as “family papers.” Family papers would include many actual pieces of paper (correspondence, household or business records, legal documents, etc.) but can also include photographs and, sometimes, three-dimensional artifacts as well. One such collection at the Anoka County Historical Society is one for the Weber family of the Centerville area.

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Keeping Time With History: The OG and Seth Thomas Clocks

The third and final installment of the Anoka County Historical Society clock restoration series appears this week. Be sure to visit the museum and request a showing of these artifacts.

The first donation we will discuss is a Forestville OG style clock, which appears in a well-cared for, pristine state rarely found in clocks of this age.

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Anna Hedgeman: Activist for civil rights

Who was Anna Arnold Hedgeman, and why has the Anoka County Historical Society received calls suggesting we create a memorial to her? Was she a movie star, a performer, an athlete? Is her name widely recognized throughout the country or, for that matter, in Anoka? In 2013, the public television show Almanac aired a segment on her life and accomplishments, which reran recently and prompted the conversation once more.

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