The Isanti, Chisago, Pine and Kanabec County Historical Societies are together sponsoring a program in observance of the sesquicentennial of the Dakota Conflict of 1862 on June 26 at 7 p.m. at the Rushseba Town Hall. The speaker for the evening is Dean Urdahl. Dean has written about the Conflict and was appointed by Governor Dayton as the co-chair of the Civil War Task Force for Minnesota, in conjunction with the nation's observance of the sesquicentennial of the Civil War 1861-1865. The Dakota Conflict of 1862 is listed officially as a part of the Civil War. About the Speaker Dean Urdahl taught American History for thirty-five years at New London-Spicer Middle School in New London, Minnesota. He also coached cross-country running there for twenty-six years. In 2002, he was elected as a member of the Minnesota State House of Representatives. Dean resides with his wife and editor, Karen, on a hobby farm near Grove City, Minnesota. Dean’s published works include Uprising, Retribution, Pursuit, Touching Bases with Our Memories and Lives Lived Large. The Rushseba Town Hall located a mile north of the historic Grant House of Rush City on old highway #61. The address is 50838 Honeysuckle Lane, Rush City, Minnesota. Call 763-689-4229 for questions regarding this event. Add Comment 
After seven years with the Isanti County Historical Society as my right-hand woman, Maureen Hasan is leaving our employ and embarking on her own journey to the big city of St. Paul. Maureen has been the person behind your renewal notices, thank you letters, on the phone arranging volunteer coverage for events, and greeting everyone with her wonderful smile and great attitude. Maureen’s last day with ICHS is May 23, and we would like to invite our members and friends to enjoy refreshments and wish Maureen a proper farewell from 1:00-4:00 p.m. If you are not able to see Maureen before she leaves, feel free to call her at 763-689-4229 or send her an email at Maureen@izoom.net. We are located at 1700 E. Rum River Dr. S., Suite K, Cambridge, MN. Due to construction on Dellwood Avenue, the best access to our building is from 18th Avenue So. Let’s give Maureen a great send-off … hope to see you there!   Students of past classes at West Riverside School enjoy outside races. After making their own spinning toy, students participate in an inside contest to see who can keep it spinning the longest. Not sure who was the winner, but I bet they will never forget all this fun. This update brings us to Week 45 after the arson fire. Organization, trimming, cleaning, filing and cataloging is mostly complete for the 61 boxes of freeze-dried documents. Many of the books and family histories are yet to either be replaced or trimmed, but the paper files are almost ready for detailed cleaning and scanning, then to be cataloged in further detail so that they will be very easy to locate through a keyword search. In June, we will be moving on to begin the same processes for all of the items that were hand dried by volunteers, so the cycle begins again. In addition to the salvage work, ICHS has made the decision to rebuild on our existing site. Over the next few months we will be working on the layouts, plans, elevations, and making the necessary decisions to enable us to begin building by sometime in August. We will have a presence at the Isanti County Fair in the Heritage Coral so we can update you about what we will be doing. An important part of our mission is to promote the history of Isanti County and we do this with hands-on experiences during Old Time School and Swedish Language and Culture Camp. During the month of June we are holding four week-long sessions of Old Time School at the West Riverside Museum School. Students who have finished grades 1-8 are eligible to enroll. Students will find out what it was like to attend a rural school in 1900. They are asked to wear old-fashioned clothes, bring two sharpened lead pencils and an old-fashioned lunch (No junk food!) in a basket or pail. Other unique experiences are the use of old-fashioned wooden desks, ink wells, a pump organ, and my favorite—a real outhouse! There is no better way to experience the life another generation than to literally live and learn in their shoes. These weeks usually fill up pretty quickly so register early. Information about registration is available on our website at www.ichs.ws, or by contacting 763-689-4229 or Karen Lood at 689-2830. So, as you can see, we at ICHS are working hard to pull everything together and move forward to having a new building and perhaps a few new historical programs. This journey seems never-ending and very slow to me. However, when I reflect on how far we have come in 45 weeks, I see great progress and the hope that we will eventually have a work day that does not include soot and soil. I must thank all volunteers, staff, board members, and committee members for their dedication and diligence and not giving up. If you want to volunteer or to support ICHS, donations are greatly appreciated and can be made by mail, at our website, or directly at Cambridge State Bank. For all other inquiries, visit www.ichs.ws, follow us on Facebook, call us at 763-689-4229, email at ichs@izoom.net or drop us a letter at 1700 E. Rum River Drive S., Suite K, Cambridge, MN 55008. We are open by appointment only at this time. Kathleen J. McCully, Executive Director Isanti County Historical Society 
Robert’s Range Riders, Green Lake area, Isanti County, Minnesota c. 1940-50s. Robert Jensen, Sr. on bass, Robert “Bobby” Jensen, Jr., est. age 8, Richard “Ricky” Jensen, est., age 3. The other fellows are still “mystery men” and probably in their late 60’s to early 70’s. Anyone know them? A phone call last week made me realize that history connects us in a variety of ways. Certainly it bridges generations over time, but it also connects us in the present day even though we may not even live near one another. I see this on Facebook, when Past Board President Roger Anderson posts older family photos of his siblings and other relatives. They make me smile, because I have similar photos from the same time frame. I see it when photos are posted of new babies, just starting their journey in life, yet already making history, and I see it when Past Board President Tesha Christensen posts updated photos of herself and daughter Josey as they explore their new neighborhood by bike. I have always said that “history is created every day, by everyday people, doing everyday things.” Last December I ran a photo from the Carlson negatives of a band decked out in really classy western outfits. A call was received from Janet Swedeen Sundvall on Dec. 21 who said, “I used to play with that band when I was 16. The name of the band was Jensen’s Country Band, but I don’t remember the name of the band members other than Robert, Ricky, and Robert Jr.” I tucked away the note, until Dec. 28 when I received a call from Howard Erickson from Florida. He said “I received an issue in the mail of your article and the photo, and three in the photo are Bob, Ricky, and Bobby Jensen from the Green Lake area.” I added his note to Janet’s. Then, a month or so later I received a call from the older boy in the photo, Robert “Bobby” Jensen, Jr. He is now retired and living in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. We had a long chat and he said that the name was Robert’s Range Riders. It was a part-time band, and over the years many local musicians played with the band, and that he too, did not remember the names of the others in the photo. The call I received April 2 was from Joyce Jensen, the 86-year old matriarch of the family from Hamilton, Montana. Joyce was so excited to have been sent a copy of my article (by her sister in Arizona) and this photo. She feels that Bobby was about 8 yrs old and Ricky about 3. She said the bass player was her husband, Robert who passed away in 2000. I told her about all of the people who had called, including her son Bobby, Janet and Howard from Florida. “Oh, Howard is my cousin. So that’s where he ended up.” From Minnesota, this one photo has brought back memories and history to Springvale Township, Florida, Grand Rapids, Arizona, and Hamilton, Montana. What was a part-time venture, to make and share music, to spend time with family and friends, also created a snapshot in time and history that today brings together family and friends again from the four corners of our nation. Go figure! Friday marks Week 41 since the fire. We are still salvaging freeze-dried documents and compiling replacement lists for the worst of the burned items. I have had positive results and replacement donations for a number of the items that have previously been published and plan to provide an updated list in my next update. In the meantime, if you would like to volunteer to assist us in trimming or scanning, please let me know. Here are other ways to support ICHS during our marathon journey in recovery and rebuilding. Donations • By US Mail to 1700 E. Rum River Drive S., Suite K, Cambridge, MN 55008 • At www.ichs.ws • At Cambridge State Bank. Contact Us 1. Follow Us on Facebook 2. Call us at 763-689-4229 3. Email to ichs@izoom.net 4. US Mail to the above address We are open by appointment only at this time. Thank you to all for their support as we continue on our journey. Kathleen J. McCully, Executive Director Isanti County Historical Society 
A Food Guild ad from September 6, 1945. Great prices at Oleson Bros. in Isanti. Our purchasing power would greatly expand if we could use these prices today. If only … A few weeks have passed since my last update. Our recovery work has been very slow-going. A bright spot in the day is finding that interesting tidbit of history, an old ad, or anything that leads us to compare life today against that of the past. One such advert is from a local grocer and tells the cost of groceries in days gone by. Oh, if only we had those prices today to offset rising gas costs. We have received replacements for several of the family histories in my last update, and as a result we can just dispose of the burned version and forego the dirty salvage work …YEAH! We are thankful for such small victories. Below is a list of several more family histories that we need to replace. Pass the word to those you may know, and if they do the same, we can get a few more replacements. 1. Eric Strom Family, One Man’s Reach by Silvia Strom Osborne. 2. Anderson Dalarna, Tom’t Mats Anderson Family 3. Fred Soderberg Family History 4. Swenson Family Genealogy 5. Arvid & Clara Swanson Family History This is Week 39 after the fire, and the arrival of an early spring signals a new beginning. Everyone is eager to plant, clean, refresh, and, in some cases, add on an addition or remodel their home. ICHS is working toward all of those things this spring, and would like the community to join us at each new turn. As our plantings around the Heritage Center emerge, I need a gardener or a garden club to transplant our flowers from around the slab to a temporary location so that they could be replanted in the future. Can you or your club volunteer to determine how and when this should be done? If so, please contact Kathy at 763-689-4229. Here are other ways to support ICHS during our marathon journey in recovery and rebuilding. Donations 1. By US Mail to 1700 E. Rum River Drive S., Suite K, Cambridge, MN 55008 2. At www.ichs.ws 3. At Cambridge State Bank. Contact Us 1. Follow Us on Facebook 2. Call us at 763-689-4229 3. Email to ichs@izoom.net 4. US Mail to the above address We are open by appointment only at this time. Thank you to all for their support as we continue on our journey. Kathleen J. McCully, Executive Director Isanti County Historical Society The Isanti County Historical Society is sorting salvaged items and considering what to do next after an arson fire last summer destroyed its building. by BRYNA GODAR , Star Tribune http://www.startribune.com/local/north/142122333.html Eight months after history turned to smoke and ashes in an arson fire at the Isanti County Historical Society, the organization is contemplating its future -- not whether it will have one, but the directions it will take. The Cambridge fire consumed about 70 percent of the society's archives and all of the building's interior, and the staff now is working in a two-room suite provided by the county, sifting through damaged documents and artifacts. "We're kind of reassessing the traditional model of how a historical society operates," said Kathy McCully, executive director of ICHS. As staff members evaluate whether to rebuild at the old location or move into a new building, they are also considering becoming fully digital or having virtual exhibits. In January, staff began to reorganize and document the contents of 61 boxes of salvaged materials. After the fire and the resulting hose-down, wet documents that had not succumbed to the flames were freeze-dried to prevent mold. The documents returned in mid-December, without mold, but were "very brittle." McCully said the lifespan of the paper has been compromised by the fire, smoke, water and chemicals. The society plans to encapsulate some of the documents, placing them between two sheets of film so people can still handle them without touching the actual paper. In addition, all of the documents will be scanned to preserve them digitally, a step that had not been taken before. Another storage unit houses about two dozen big tubs of hand-dried items that will need to be inventoried, cleaned, refiled, and organized. "This is a huge undertaking," McCully said. "We're all very tired, we're trying to take it all in little steps because it's so overwhelming." She expects it will be at least another year and a half before they can move into a new building. It will be a slow rebuilding process. The fire claimed photographs, scrapbooks, phone records. "We lost tons of oral history - taped interviews and the transcriptions," McCully said. "They're a one-of-a-kind thing." The society isn't currently accepting historical items, but received many calls after the fire and thousands of dollars in donations. It also received a $7,000 grant from the Minnesota Historical Society to help with recovery efforts. McCully said the society is going to become more proactive about collecting records, making copies of documents that people want to keep. "Generally people bring things to historical societies; we'd like to become more proactive about seeking it out," she said. "Our mission is to preserve the history of Isanti County." Bryna Godar is a University of Minnesota student on assignment for the Star Tribune. 
Week 36 falls on March 16. If this were truly a race, we would just be crossing the starting line. It would be accurate to say that each week is like one stride in a marathon. Over the past two weeks we have whittled away at the 61 freeze-dried boxes and have replaced all of the manilla folders and hanging folders, relabeled them with the appropriate titles and ID numbers, and have brushed the fire residue from each page. While doing this we have enjoyed finding articles, photos and ads from years past. At least this part of the job makes the dirty work more enjoyable. I have included one that had us all fooled and giggling, the board included. After looking through two or three boxes that contained family histories, it became evident that we have two courses of action. 1.) Find a new replacement, if that is at all possible, or 2.) Trim the burnt perimeter off of each page and keep the original. Depending on the dates of these family histories, I would guess that it will be a combination of both. Following is a list of these family histories. If you have a copy, or know of someone that may, please contact the office. You would not necessarily have to donate your copy, but if you would allow us to scan a clean copy we would then not have to trim the burned version. The less dirty work the better, I say. 1. My Father’s House (Raether, Luebke & Krueger Family History) 2. The Life & Times of Viola Lindell Reichel (as told to Gail Szumylo) 3. Britta Kajsa (by Junette Erickson Person) 4. Mama Remembers, Vols. 1 & 2, Memoirs of Lydia Pearson Anderson 5. Sweden to Wyanett & Karmel by Morris R. Peterson (500 printed, we had issue 78) 6. Falk/West (Roy) by Carol Falk Olson 7. Blomquist/Stanius 8. Pearson Tribe 9. Ditt eget Släkt (Byss-Bolin, Stoneberg) Family There will be more items in a couple of weeks. We will have processed the last of the 61 boxes and will be looking for more replacements. Thank you in advance for helping us find replacements. In the meantime, if you want to support ICHS, donations are greatly appreciated and can be made by mail, at our website, or directly at Cambridge State Bank. For all other inquiries, visit www.ichs.ws, follow us on Facebook, call us at 763-689-4229, email at ichs@izoom.net or drop us a letter at 1700 E. Rum River Drive S., Suite K, Cambridge, MN 55008. We are open by appointment only at this time. Kathleen J. McCully, Executive Director Isanti County Historical Society Visit www.ichs.ws and join our eNewsletter mailing list, or LIKE us on Facebook to stay up-to-date on our progress. 
Three items after freeze-drying: A very old Swedish family history (L) with the first pages destroyed, but other pages partially usable. McCall Pattern News, was originally encapsulated, but this too is brittle and must be replaced. The Wireless from CHS Sr. Class of 1912, a yearbook that was only water damaged, but very brittle and wavy. Over the past two weeks we have begun to reorganize the contents of 61 boxes of salvaged archival materials. Since there is no order to how the items were crated at the time of the fire, we must now put everything back in order so we can begin to assess what we are able to use again, or what we will have to replace or toss. Because not everything we have saved can be replaced, we have to find a way to preserve the information in them as well as the original damaged item. It could be a very old family history, a one-of-a-kind scrapbook, a very old yearbook, a legal document, or organization records. All of the freeze-dried materials are very brittle. After speaking with Belfors, the folks who generously donated their freeze-drying services to us, they state that the molecular structure of the paper has been compromised because of the fire, the water and chemicals used to put out the fire, and by the process of freeze-drying itself. Therefore, even though we have been able to rescue these items either in part or in whole, the life span of the paper has been shortened. So what does this mean and how does it affect our work? Well, it means that . Next we must determine if the damaged item should be kept or tossed. If we want to keep the one-of-a-kind, or irreplaceable original document, then it must be treated with a deacidification spray and encapsulated to minimize exposure to the air and oils from our hands during future handling. Encapsulation is similar to lamination. The difference is when something is laminated, it is heat-sealed between sheets of clear film. Since the adhesive touches the original, it can never again be separated from the laminate. With encapsulation, the item is free-floating between two sheets of film, and the edges beyond the page are sealed with a double-sided tape. This way, you can see both sides of the item, you can handle the page, but it won’t be touched by air or the human hand. If need be, the edges can be opened and the original removed. As you can see, we have our work cut out for us. This is Week 34 and the journey again seems rather daunting when I see all of the items that need work. While there will be many steps during our recovery process, scanning will take a huge part of the time. I would be interested in speaking with anyone that has computer/scanning experience that would commit to a certain amount of time each week for several months to help with the task of scanning. Training would be provided. As we move ahead with recovery, there will be many more volunteer opportunities available, so please do not hesitate to contact our office and provide your skills and availability. If you want to support ICHS, donations are greatly appreciated and can be made by mail, at our website, or directly at Cambridge State Bank. For volunteering and all other inquiries, visit www.ichs.ws, follow us on Facebook, call us at 763-689-4229, email at ichs@izoom.net or drop us a letter at 1700 E. Rum River Drive S., Suite K, Cambridge, MN 55008. We are open by appointment only at this time. Kathleen J. McCully, Executive Director Isanti County Historical Society 
From the Carlson collection, this photo creates a loud noise. Many hours of marching band practice, shoes hitting the streets in unison, the drum cadence, wrong notes, cheers, clapping, the sound of pride in a perfect appearance, and the joy in leading a group of peers through the parade. Whose daughter is this? Call 763-689-4229 or email ichs@izoom.net to report the sound of history that you hear from this photo. As I watched the Grammy Awards and listened to all the music this past weekend, I began to wonder about the kinds of sound that history makes. We can all hear it you know, if we take the time. It is all around us and deep inside us. The sounds show themselves when we least expect them, and are fueled by a number of sources. How about an old ice skate? It brings me back to evening skates at our neighborhood rink with all my friends from school. The blades hitting the ice, the laughing and screaming as we played crack the whip around the rink. Then there was the music and the heat of the warming house and the blades hitting the wooden floor before getting to the rink. Close your eyes and see what comes to life in your mind’s eye. A conversation which took place in days past between you and your mom or dad. It could be the one where they say, “You will thank us for this one day” in their voices, with their inflections at a time of “less than perfect” behavior? Or hearing their sorrow at the news of the death of one of their parents. Or just sitting with your dad at the kitchen table and talking about “things” as he plays solitaire, with each card being flipped (snapped) over off the deck and placed or discarded. Photographs really speak loud. They tell stories about people, places and events captured in time. Bring out the old photos at a family gathering and listen to the sounds: the sighs, the smiles, the tears and cries, the questions and the “real” story behind the picture. Sounds you will never expect, and if not written down will be silenced forever. What else will speak to you? A place, a building, an article of clothing, a song, a letter, a sibling? Your assignment for the week is to become aware of the sound of history in your life. However fleeting, you will recognize it when it surfaces, and how. History is everywhere, all the time, is global and also very personal. And it will be as loud as you will allow it to be! Just listen and enjoy! The mission of the Isanti County Historical Society is to promote and preserve its history, and all the sounds that it makes. As we process salvaged documents we are hearing many sounds long forgotten as we look over the contents of each folder. This is Week 32 after the fire and our marathon journey in recovery and rebuilding continues. Fiscal support is still needed to replace funds lost due to lack of programs and events. If you want to support ICHS, donations are greatly appreciated and can be made by mail, at our website, or directly at Cambridge State Bank. For all other inquiries, visit www.ichs.ws, follow us on Facebook, call us at 763-689-4229, email at ichs@izoom.net or drop us a letter at 1700 E. Rum River Drive S., Suite K, Cambridge, MN 55008. We are open by appointment only at this time. Kathleen J. McCully, Executive Director Isanti County Historical Society 
Anyone have information on this family or photo? Time unknown, occasion unknown, maybe 1930’s or 40’s, but a part of the Carlson negative collection, but this family would have been unique enough to Isanti County that perhaps someone can help us identify the picture. It has been two weeks since my last update, ushering in Week 28 since the fire. The work on all recovered archives and photo negatives continues and one negative in particular caught our attention. With the Martin Luther King holiday upon us, it seemed fitting to bring it forth. Isanti County was first settled by the New Englanders, followed by the Swedes, Germans and a smattering of other Scandinavians/Europeans. Taking all of these nationalities into account, we have not been surprised that all Carlson negatives have been of white residents thus far. That is, until this wonderful photo of a family of color surfaced. Because we do not have access to this negative’s original number, there is no way for us to check the logs to see when it was taken. Perhaps the 1930’s or 40’s, and we can only make a guess by the clothing and hairstyles. We probably will never know their names, where they lived, if it was in our county, or if they just visited the photo studio for this sitting. However, this is the case with all the negatives and photos in our collections that are not properly identified. Photo identification and stories are so important to history, and this fire is making us very aware of this fact as we handle the archival remains. We continue to process the salvaged negatives, and I am sure there will be many more surprises to come. Also, our goal is to have inventoried all 61 boxes of freeze-dried material by the end of January. We are half-way there. There are surprises here too. Many photos have been saved—however, not all in good condition. We are very thankful for digital photo restoration and the fact that water stains, creases, burns, and other imperfections can be repaired. This is due to the magic of technology, and the talent and skills of photo restoration professionals. Our marathon journey in recovery and rebuilding continues. If you want to support ICHS, donations are greatly appreciated and can be made by mail, at our website, or directly at Cambridge State Bank. For all other inquiries, visit www.ichs.ws, follow us on Facebook, call us at 763-689-4229, email at ichs@izoom.net or drop us a letter at 1700 E. Rum River Drive S., Suite K, Cambridge, MN 55008. We are open by appointment only at this time. Kathleen J. McCully, Executive Director Isanti County Historical Society | AuthorsThis blog is a group effort. Contributors include: ICHS Executive Director Kathy McCully, Maureen Hasan, Roger Wm. Anderson, Tesha M.C. Pettit, Marilyn McGriff, Jack Puterbaugh, Ruth Anderson, Wendy Quinn and Kay Rodrigue. ArchivesMay 2012 CategoriesAll Contact Us
Isanti County
Historical Society 33525 Flanders St. NE Cambridge, MN 55008 Phone: 763-689-4229 Email: ichs@izoom.net See UsAll visits are by appointment only. Research inquiries should be done by phone or email.
Our Heritage Center, located in the northwest corner of the Isanti County Fairgrounds, off Highway 95 and Flanders Street in Cambridge, was set on fire by an arsonist on July 8, 2011 and burned to the ground. Click for directions Help us
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