Programs & Videos
Get cozy and grab your bucket of popcorn. Choose from history programs produced by the Anoka County Historical Society, or digitized videos from the collection. Whichever you decide, enjoy a little slice of Anoka County History.
Digital Ghost Tour
Follow the link and enter the password below to view.
Password: midnight
Full Interview with Richard Sorenson & R.W. Johnson -
History 21 The Podcast 3.14
John Weaver, ACHS Board President, sat down with WWII veterans Richard Sorenson and R.W. Johnson to talk about their memories growing up in Anoka, and their service in the pacific theater during the war.
A Deeper Dive: Lester Peterson
A deeper dive on Lester Peterson’s interview with Rebecca, ACHS Executive Director, and Sara, ACHS staff. In his oral history interview in 1987, he shares a story his uncle related about an early Anoka County trapper murdering two indigenous people. The short clip runs less than two minutes, but raises many questions about the erasure of Native history, the relationships between people in the early colonization of Minnesota, and how a story can transform over the years.
Mapping a Mystery with Jessica Nelson
Join Jessica Nelson as she shares her remarkable experience tracking down her husband’s paternal side. During this course, she will share how her experience became more than enthralling detective work of unearthing a long-forgotten past but a true journey in self-discovery. She will discuss the techniques she used to gather family information and reunite a father with a son he never knew he had.
Recorded February 25, 2023 during a hybrid in-person and digital event at the Anoka County Historical Society.
My Life in Columbia Heights, 1930-1950
Myra Blumenthal Shapiro sits down and remembers her life growing up in Columbia Heights in the 1930s and 40s. She discusses her father, Dr. Blumenthal, the community that surrounded her, the Heights Theater and the way her graduating class still comes together each year.
Video File created 2010
Storytelling 101
Join Mary Jo Pehl of Mystery Science Theater 3000 fame and ACHS’ own Daryl Richard Lawrence as they present a workshop on telling your family story. Filmed at ACHS on 11-5-22. Click this link to access the video on YouTube.
Dr. Good’s Office
In September, 1999 Dr. Gary Good recorded an extensive tour of his family’s medical practice and home. He takes the viewer on a tour of the waiting, examination and office rooms as well as the bathrooms almost all decorated with Mexican tile that he specifically went to Mexico to purchase for the office. The office was located at 3827 Central Ave., Columbia Heights, MN.
At the end of the tour Gary takes the viewer outside to the Grand Opening of the Mobile gas station next door.
Dr. Hoff Daniel Good [1894-1964], one of the first doctors in Columbia Heights built his home at 3825 Central Ave. in 1930. He practiced first above the Heights Theater, then moved his medical practice in the single car garage built north of his home in the early 1930s. A few years later he expanded his office into the backyard.
Dr. Gary Good joined his father in the practice in 1958 and continued on after his father’s death in 1964. Dr. Gary Good retired November 1, 1999 shortly after this tour was recorded.
“Insight” with guest Lyle Bradley
"Insight," produced by Quad Cities TV, aired a special edition with host John Mueller in 2002. In it Mueller sat down with guest Lyle Bradley to discuss his time as a pilot during WWII, and his life-long interest in aviation.
A Look Inside ACHS
Take a trip back in time and tour ACHS as it was 30 years ago in 1992. Lucille Lehn, Vickie Wendel, Pat Schwappach and others take us around Colonial Hall. See where we came from and think about how we can grow as a museum in another 30 years. Run time 20 minutes.
A Glimpse into the Brown & Bigelow Creative Department
Jon Arfstrom, B&B Artist
Jon Arfstrom was born on November 11, 1928 in Superior, Wisconsin, and spent much of his childhood in the city of Duluth.
Arfstrom began working as an advertisement illustrator for the Gamble-Skogmo company in 1950, and also provided illustrations of Bible stories of the Lakeland Color Press company. In 1956, he got a job as a staff illustrator at Brown & Bigelow in St. Paul, and would remain with that company until his 1996 retirement.
He spent his final years in the City of Anoka, continuing to paint and draw each day. See more of his collection at ACHS.
Big Stoop Orchestra Playlist:
1. "Four Leaf Clover" W. Chamberlain. Jan 28, 1948
2. "My Reverie" with Jimmie Stevens and W. Chamberlain. Jan 28, 1948
3. "Laura" W. Chamberlain. Jan 28, 1948.
4. "Theme - Opus #1" W Chamberlain. Jan 28, 1948.
5. "She's Funny That Way" W. Chamberlain. Jan 28, 1948.
6. "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie" with Tom Ward and W. Chamberlain. Jan 28, 1948.
7. "Tom Ward Boogie" Undated.
8. Unidentified piece, undated.
This is Our Town - Episode 1
This is Our Town was produced in 1953 by an itinerant filmmaker and featured local businesses and resources in the City of Anoka.
This episode includes (in alphabetical order):
The Anoka County Union
Anoka Police Department
Anoka Public Works
Anoka Recreation
Duffy Lumber Co.
First National Bank
Greenhaven golf course
Market Garden Youth Program
Municiple Beach
National Guard
Nielsen's Supermarket
This is Our Town - Episode 2
This is Our Town was produced in 1953 by an itinerant filmmaker and featured local businesses and resources in the City of Anoka.
This episode includes (in alphabetical order):
Akona Chemical
Anoka Chamber of Commerce
Anoka City Government
Carlson-King Co.
Colburn-Hilliard
Ghostly Poultry Farm
Rum River Lumber Co.
Santa Clause Town
Scout Troupe Fingerprinting
An UnWise Murder
(members use password “pratt” to view after clicking the links)
On a spring night in 1900, the Wise family gathered for a game of cards at the kitchen table when gunfire exploded through the porch window. The daughters, Eliza and Martha, ran to fetch help from the neighbors, while their parents and two brothers lay injured and dying.
An UnWise Murder follows the twists and turns of this horrific case, including original testimony at court, hand-written letters, and the local newspaper headlines. The program was created using primary documents and resources at the Anoka County Historical Society and brought to life with the help of volunteers portraying the critical players in the event.
Civil War Program: Digital Edition
Each year, Minnesota sixth graders learn about the Civil War - the reasons why it started (slavery), the battles, and the national figures. In this program, ACHS Board Member Steve Florman joins staff member Sara Given to explore the everyday things that people in Anoka County, Minnesota would have worn or experienced. Binge watch them all or take your time. Each segment runs approximately 10 minutes.
Part 1: Join Sara and Steve from the Anoka County Historical Society to learn about what men and women were wearing during the Civil War.
Part 2: Steve spills the tea on everything a soldier carried with him during the war and Sara talks about the women who followed along with the Army.
Part 3: Take a closer look at the weapons and tactics soldier’s used during the Civil War. Steve demonstrates all the steps needed to load and fire his 1860s rifle, while Sara geeks out holding a fragment of a cannonball from the Civil War. TW: this episode contains firearms
Part 4: Communication and symbols from music to flags Sara and Steve talk about how the soldier’s knew where to go on the battlefield. TW: this episode contains discussions and images of the Confederate Flag.
Bonus Segment: Sara answers your questions, and shares artifacts in the collection from the Civil War. If you were wondering where the soldiers went to the bathroom, how families sent letters to loved ones or want to see Sara geek out over getting to hold items from the Civil War....tune in!
Peterson Tornado Film - 1939
A tornado hit the city of Anoka June 18, 1939. On that day Robert A. Peterson was returning from Minneapolis with a newly purchased camera when he saw, and then documented, the aftermath of the storm. The camera and editing equipment he used to create the film are in the ACHS collection.
#TourAnokaCounty
Take a digital tour of [most] of the 21 cities in Anoka County. Created during the height of lock down when ACHS was closed to the public in 2020. Videos created with the help of volunteers filming video on their own and submitting it to ACHS to compile and edit.
History of Columbia Heights
The history of Columbia Heights is unique, transforming from rural to urban and blurring the lines between where Hennepin County ends and Anoka County starts. Sara Given, from the Anoka County Historical Society, shares the stories and history of Columbia Heights. She will focus on its beginnings, the ways in which it drew new residents, and why a quirk of timing meant there is an entire city in the middle of it.
Anoka High School Video Yearbook - 1997
The Anoka High School video yearbook captures the memories of the 1996-1997 school year. Starting with the first pep-fest in the field house and all the way through to graduation, student life in the 90s is captured through the lens of the students on the video yearbook staff.
Recognize someone? What behind the scenes stories couldn’t be captured in video form from your High School experience?
Video yearbook editor: Laura Botts
Video Yearbook Staff: Jodi Anderson, Carissa Barbur, Terry Cole, Ryan DeGuise, Josh Fancher, Sarah Gray, Mary Jamison, Stephanie Kraatz, Kelly Kraus, Melissa Lindstrom, Jenny Rowe, Nina Smith, Kylie Sundberg.
Adviser: Gary DeGuise
Coon Rapids Video Yearbook - 1993
Time travel back to the 1992-1993 school year at Coon Rapids High School. The video takes us through the year touching on fall, winter and spring sports, and snippets of the musicals performed. Students also give advice on what Spring Fever means to them, and what they believe their teachers get up to in the elusive teacher’s lounge.
Recognize someone? What behind the scenes stories couldn’t be captured in video form from your High School experience?
Produced by Mark Carter, Dann Peterson & Daniel Ribar
Additional Photography by Craig Alreck, Lisa Liebert, Raif Nordby & Scott Peterson
Linda Yates and the 1992-1993 Coon Rapids High School Yearbook staff
Blaine High School Video Yearbook - 1994
With all the glories of 1990s fashion, the Blaine Video Yearbook gives a view of student life at Blaine High School in the 1993-1994 school year that can’t be captured in the pages of a traditional yearbook. Enjoy snippets of Homecoming, the Bengalettes, Fall Sports, Winter Sports, Sno-Daze, the orchestra, band and choir, theater, Prom and MORE!
Recognize someone? What behind the scenes stories couldn’t be captured in video form from your High School experience?