Erin McBrien became the new ACHS Archivist at the end of 2020. She talks about job searching during a pandemic after graduation, what brought her to pursuing a masters degree in library and information science and her thoughts about being a custodian and advocate for Anoka County stories and history.
Hosts Rebecca Desens, ACHS Executive Director and Sara Given, ACHS Volunteer Coordinator.
Read MoreSaying goodbye to exemplary staff as they move to other parts of their career journey never makes the top 10 list of things to do in a day. That said, the growth of staff members does make my top 10—my top five, even—and so here we are, searching for a new human to fill the position of curator/archivist at the Anoka County Historical Society
Read MoreWhen I’m in an archive, I feel like a kid in the candy store. I want to learn everything, explore everywhere and discover every single piece that might have been forgotten in the crush of the collection.
Read MoreLocal newspapers are a bedrock of historical research, but those documents are created and run by people in the community. Listen to an interview with Arch Pease, editor and owner of the Anoka Union from 1946 until 1989, as well as it's with it's descendants Managing Editor, Jonathan Young.
Hosts Rebecca Desens, ACHS Executive Director and Sara Given, ACHS Volunteer Coordinator.
Read MoreSanta has had a second home here in Anoka County for over 100 years, and ACHS has the proof in our collection. Listen to the ways Santa has visited the County from farm life to Zoom visits with Steve Griffiths, the Executive Director of Impact Services.
Read MoreSelf-appointed family historian, Daryl Lawrence, shares the saga of discovering his great-grandmother’s hidden first marriage and divorce as well as finding a member of his family tree who was gay like him.
Read MoreUnderstanding that bridges provide a key link in our highway system is critical to a full historical perspective of our transportation system. By definition, a bridge is a link between two separate sections of road. Our earliest examples of this are logs placed diagonally across a break in the road/trail, like would have occurred along the Red River Ox Trail, which ran through Anoka County between St. Paul and Pembina in the mid-1800s.
Read MoreMinnesota is a state where people love to connect. Whether it’s over mini doughnuts and corn on the cob at “The Great Minnesota Get-Together” or a concert at the Orpheum, Minnesotans love to unite and commiserate over our state’s nasty habit of hurling winter snowstorms at us in April. These days, because of the coronavirus, instead of Minnesotans “getting together,” we are being told to stay away from each other.
Read MoreOAK PARK PLAZA: BLAINE’S FIRST SHOPPING CENTER
Other than Doberstein’s convenience store in the Johnsville area, shopping in Blaine was almost nonexistent before the 1960s. Residents did their shopping in Columbia Heights, Northeast Minneapolis and Anoka.
Read MoreMany of our conversations today reference articles printed in magazines, newspapers or online articles for evidence to support our intellectual positions. We look to the media to make sense of events we don’t witness ourselves and provide us with meaningful information. The debate over what portion of this material is biased, inaccurate or inflammatory for political gain continues to rage.
Read MoreLike many people in Anoka, Karen George has an orange tint to her blood and thrives on Halloween as a year-long holiday. Growing up in Anoka, she has many fond memories of the festival, including walking down Main Street in the Big Parade of Little People, painting Halloween scenes on business windows, marching with the Anoka High School Band in the Grande Day parade, and represented the city and festival as a Princess from 1979-80. Karen joined the Anoka Halloween Committee in 2006 and has served in many capacities during the ensuing years.
Read MoreAnoka County has quite a few names that have had their start in life here and went on to accomplish nationally important things. One of those humans is Edna Belle Bean. She literally left her calling card with us in Anoka. Now it’s time we reconnect and hear her story, what she’s been doing all these years.
Read MoreTake a look at what you’ll see at our first online fundraiser on Sept 19! Tickets available on eventbrite
Read MoreThe Anoka County Historical Society is helping Federal Premium/Vista Outdoor with their historical materials in part because the Anoka-based ammunition company will be reaching its 100th anniversary in 2022, marking a century since the Federal Cartridge Corporation, as led by Charles L. Horn, began its many decades of successful business. But that was not the first year that the ammunition company known as Federal came into being — for that, 1916 is the year we want.
Read MoreWith each pile of lemons found on our front steps, we also receive an invitation to mix up that magical pitcher of lemonade — as long as you can find some sugar. Otherwise you’ve just made yourself sour water. The Anoka County Historical Society hopes that the upcoming “Un-Wise Murder” digital event will use our pile of COVID-19 lemons wisely (cough, get it?) and create something memorable.
Read MoreWhat better memories than a warm kitchen belonging to a bustling grandmother holding a cookie sheet in her hand, filled with doughy blobs and melted chocolate? Or perhaps frying fish, fresh caught that afternoon and filleted by the skilled hands of a grandfather? Or those special holidays where a tattered cookbook or recipe card saw the light of day once more, only to receive another splash of oil or dash of flour over the handwriting ... but no matter, because the tradition had become so ingrained?
Read MoreJames W. Groat was the great-grandson of John Groat, who immigrated to the United States from Germany in the 1700s, eventually settling in upstate New York. Born in 1824, James married Rebecca and the family came west, settling in Anoka in 1854.
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