George Washington--History Exhibit

The History Center has had a George Washington Exhibit since February. It was on the calendar a couple of times, but we never made it. So when I realized it was closing I knew exactly what we needed to do for Kiddo's birthday. It didn't take much persuading to get Kiddo on board; I'm pretty sure I had him at "History."

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There are several halls at the history center. We only made it to one. We have been there a few times now and it seems we can only get to one or two exhibits in a visit. This time, Kiddo and I read every sign, watched every second of every video, did every interactive piece, and saw every inch of the George Washington exhibit. Kutey and Daddy went through much faster than we did, and they still saw everything.

It was a well done, comprehensive exhibit. The life size Washington's were nice, and sort of supposed to be one of the highlights and unique pieces of the exhibit. They were cool, but there were definitely other things kiddo enjoyed more.

All of the high points in Washington's life were touched on. They started at his birth, talked about his days as a surveyor, his early military career, his involvement in the revolution, his presidency, his return to Mount Vernon, and his death. They even had a video regarding Washington's slave ownership. It was quite interesting.



Kiddo was enthralled. He filled in gaps for me, because he has read a great deal about the Revolutionary War (Thanks Magic Tree House!). He did have to ask for a bit of timeline clarification, because Washington served in the military two separate times. When it said he left the military the first time, Kiddo was confused, because none of what he knew of Washington's military career had yet been covered! Once I stated the dates again, however, all was clarified.

There were a couple of things that piqued his curiosity for further study: the Freemasons and spies during the Revolution. There was a fantastic short video about the spies of the war. I admit, I am as interested in learning more as Kiddo is!

We also learned a bit about Mount Vernon. They had a scale model of the estate, which was fun to see given our previous virtual tour of the estate. It really is a massive estate! It was fun to see the model, even if the tidbits you could read were mostly the same as the tidbits on the website. It was good review, right?

They had one live person with early dental tools. Washington had terrible teeth, even though he was good about taking care of them using the practices of the day. The person at the table thought he would stump Kiddo, as he had stumped others before, by asking him what the tooth key was for. Kiddo knew. Not because he had heard what the person said before, but because that is one of the things they show regularly at Fort Snelling. It was also, incidentally, pictured in the display on Washington's false teeth (none of which were not made of wood!), probably 5 feet before you reached the table. All those people who had been previously stumped? Obviously they had not paid much attention to that portion of the display!



We left after 2+ hours of reading. While Kiddo could have read it all, I read quite a bit of it to him, in part to expedite the process and in part because I could start reading to him while there were still people in his way. There were a lot of people there, mostly adults, but a few kids mixed in.

Kiddo loved the whole thing, but I think his favorite parts were seeing how the grist mill worked (they had both a model and a video), the information on espionage during the revolution (a video), the Mount Vernon model, and the quiz at the end. We have now seen the Benjamin Franklin exhibit and the George Washington exhibit at the History Center. I wonder what they will bring in next!



*photos are not allowed inside the exhibit, hence the somewhat boring shots!

The James Sewell Ballet

Living in a major metropolitan area has many advantages. The arts opportunities are certainly one of the greatest. Having been to 2 orchestra concerts and 2 plays, I was thrilled when the opportunity to see a ballet came up once again. We went last year, and the performance and experience were worth far more than the $2 per ticket admission price. Because seating is general admission, we arrived half an hour before the show was to start. We were seated in the second row, and there was virtually no one in the front row. We were close enough to see their feet. Sometimes it pays to be early!

The James Sewell Ballet Company is wonderful. They put on a fantastic performance, but that is not all there is to love about these performances. James Sewell, the co-founder of the company, along with Penny, one of the dancers, take time throughout the performance to explain various things. Penny, for example, talked about the dancers day. She explained various positions and how they use the barre. Sally, another of the dancers and the co-founder, demonstrated the moves as Penny explained. So great! James Sewell talked about the dances, the meanings, and gave ideas of things to look for within the choreography. He also talked about partnering, and had Cory and Eve demonstrate. Then they brought 8 lucky kids on stage to try partnering. Again, great for the kids.

The final dance was rather interesting. It started with shadow puppets. Then the dancers were shadows. Eventually they moved in front of the screens (which were large sheets of white silk), and finished the dance there. This particular piece was performed to a set of Indonesian bells/percussion. I missed the name of them, sadly. At the school performances they used a recording, which is sad but understandable. But the actual instrument was there on stage, and we got a glimpse of it.

When the performance is over, the dancers all come out on stage to answer questions. They first, however, introduce themselves, tell where they are from, when they started dancing, and how long they have been dancing/how old they are now. Sally has been dancing for 40 years. 40! That floored me. It was nice to hear that some of them had been slightly older when they started dancing--James Sewell was 15. It isn't something you have to do from the time you are 3, though there were those dancers represented, too.

We had a great time at the ballet. Kiddo said he didn't enjoy it, but I think he did! Kutey loved it. I hope they continue to offer these wonderful performances and we can continue to attend!

Water Music

This morning we had the pleasure of attending another Young People's Concert at Orchestra Hall. These performances are geared toward students and school groups, last about an hour, and feature pieces of music on a theme. Some piece are well known, others not so well known. The orchestra's education department puts together an entire curriculum, telling a bit about the composer, some background on the composition, and lots of teaching ideas for every piece in the performance. They also provide recordings of the music so you can listen and talk about the pieces before you attend the concert. So fabulous.

This performance was entitled "Water Music", so all of the pieces centered on water themes. The pieces were:

• “Allegro” from The Water Music Suite #2 George Frederich Handel arr. Harty
• “Father of Waters” from Mississippi Suite Ferde Grofé
• Aqua Steve Heitzeg
• On the Beautiful Blue Danube waltzes excerpts Johann Strauss, Jr.
• “Oceana” La Mer by Claude Debussy

As an added bonus, Black Label Movement, a local dance company, performed during the performance of La Mer. The adults in our group were rather impressed with the length of the piece they performed. To set the tone, when they entered the auditorium, they carried in several large balloons covered in fabrics made to look like underwater creatures. They were very cool.



The conductor, Courtney Lewis, is superb. He is young and does a little bit of explaining about each piece. He also seems to genuinely enjoy what he is doing. That makes a difference in the kids enjoyment of the concert. From what I have read, he is a talented conductor. I am not an orchestra musician, however, so I cannot attest to that. He seems great!

The kids enjoyed the concert, but didn't love it as much as they did the one in December. Kiddo couldn't name a favorite thing. Kutey liked the dancers best. I enjoyed the whole concert. My only disappointment was that the information sent out before the concert encouraged us to create and bring a sea creature stick puppet, which we did. But they didn't include them in the performance in any way. We enjoyed making ours, so it wasn't a huge loss, but I think the kids would have enjoyed some sort of inclusion of their puppets in the show, as I was led to believe there would be.

That aside, however, it was a fantastic performance. We'll be attending another concert in May, and I am already looking forward to it.

A Surprise Outing

Today (Thursday) we had a surprise outing! You know, the kind where you plan for a month, buy tickets, hide them in the cupboard, but don't tell the kids. Why not tell them? Because the look on their faces is priceless when they figure out where you are.

This was a trip for Kutey. Kiddo and Daddy and I went along, but it was ultimately for Kutey. We don't often go on field trips that follow Kutey's interests; Kiddo's love of history lends itself to field trips much more easily than princesses. But not today! Where did we go?



Disney on Ice, Princess Wishes!

I know, I know. But if you saw that little girl's eyes light up when we got inside the arena and I asked her if she knew where we were. Pure joy. "Princesses Dancing on Ice!" Worth it. So worth it. And after our last few weeks, it was nice to see some pure joy and a little sparkle in those beautiful eyes.



The show was fine, not as good as the one we saw in December 2009 (yes, this was the second time we saw "Princesses Dancing on Ice"), but still good. Kutey loved it, Kiddo? He tolerated it, but he was not thrilled by any part of it. Not even when they lit the ice on fire. Nope. He didn't hate it, but, well, he kept saying he would rather be doing school.

It may have been that he was simply tired. Both kids fell asleep in the car on the way home. I wasn't terribly surprised Kutey did, given that she has been taking naps everyday since she got sick. I was a little more surprised by Kiddo. Crowds and noise are not his thing, though, so I am sure that tired him out some too.

It was great family outing. I just love to watch Kutey absorb "Princesses Dancing on Ice." I love that she calls it "Princesses Dancing on Ice." I love that she so loves princesses. And I love that we could go on an outing that was completely her.

American Swedish Institute--Friday History Field Trip #11, on Thursday

(This post is part of the back log I am working on. If you are getting it in a reader, I apologize, things will be out of order!)



We have a play on the schedule for tomorrow, and though we were at the planetarium this morning, I wanted to squeeze in a Friday History Field Trip this week, so we went this afternoon. Part of the reason I wanted to squeeze in a field trip was that I love going to the Swedish Institute at Christmas time. It is such a beautiful house! When it is decorated for Christmas it is that much more lovely.

This time we went at lunch time and hit the cafe first. They have only a small selection of options, but we managed to find something to eat. Then we sat with our A to Z scavenger hunt and selected a few items we wanted to look for as we went through the house. The A to Z scavenger hunt is great, but a bit long. I read through the items and made some suggestions. Having been to the Institute before really helped, too, since many of the things I could remember, making it easier to give hints to the kids.



The one thing Kiddo really wanted to find this time? All 11 kakelugn, the Swedish tile stoves imported for the home. If you follow the link you will see one of the kakelugn. Photographs are not allowed in the institute, so I can't show any more, but the one shown is a favorite anyway. They are really ornate and so much fun to see. We had previously found 9 of them, but the last 2 were elusive. We managed to find all 11 this time! There is a second one in the basement that we did not know about, as well as one in the gift shop that would have been overlooked.

Kutey was very excited when I mentioned there was a picture of a real princess somewhere in the house. For Christmas they set the tables in the tradition of the various scandinavian cultures and this year for Sweden they set the table to look like the wedding table of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, who married in June. They had pictures of the royals posted in the room. Kutey was in awe. Pictures of an actual princess. In the new year I hope to pull more information about royalty out for her, especially as Prince William gets married. Maybe we can transition from the love of fairytale princesses to knowledge of real princesses. We shall see.

We spent some time playing in the kids area, which has a small play house complete with clothes to dress-up as Sankta Lucia and toy lussekatt and pepparkakor. Kutey loves to dress up as Lucia when we are here. She was looking for the crown from the moment we got there.



There were two interesting special exhibits going on, one on the history of Sankta Lucia, the other "Santa Claus, Coca-Cola, and Swedish Design." Both were interesting...to an adult. They had lots of Coca-Cola artifacts on display, which the kids enjoyed, but the exhibits are reading intensive and my kids lost interest. As much as they love history, this was just a bit much for them.



As we were leaving, we paused to find the turret on the house, and noted just how deep the snow was along the path. The weekend storm
has made it difficult to get about in the city, even in well-prepared Minnesota. I can't imagine what a storm would do to places less well-equipped to handle it.

Alexander Ramsey House--Friday History Field Trip #10

(This post is part of the back log I am working on. If you are getting it in a reader, I apologize, things will be out of order!)

After three weeks off for illness and holidays, we were ready for another Friday History Field Trip! I was really excited about this one. We were headed to Alexander Ramsey House in St. Paul for a Victorian Christmas.

This was another new to me site. Though it was a beautiful house and we should go back when it is not decorated for Christmas, I think it will be a while. An incident there left me a bit less than comfortable with the site in general. Nothing serious, mind you, just something handled poorly.

On to the site.



The house was built from 1868 to 1872 by Alexander Ramsey. Ramsey was appointed Territorial Governor of Minnesota in 1849 and brought his family family here to MN. The house was built much later and occupied largely by Mr. and Mrs. Ramsey. Though they had 3 children, only 1 survived to adulthood. When she married, she moved out of the area. She did return, with her children, later when her husband fell ill and was institutionalized. Her daughters never married and lived in the house until they passed away and donated the house to the Minnesota Historical Society. Because they knew it would one day be a museum, they kept everything. When they took out the original bathtub, they kept it so it could be returned. Most items in the house, therefore, actually belonged to the Ramsey family. In fact, there are over 13,000 artifacts!

The house was built with all the modern conveniences of the time. It had both hot and cold running water, impressive at the time. The furnishings were purchased in New York. It is said that Anna Ramsey (Alexander Ramsey's wife) went on a shopping spree and bought enough to fill 2 box cars! Crazy! But the house is 3 stories. The third story is the servants quarters, where there is no heat, no light, and no running water, as there was in the rest of the house. Still, the average stay of a servant was 10 years! The third floor is also home to the nursery, where the grandchildren played. In it there is a replica doll house built for Laura Furness, Alexander Ramsey's granddaughter. It was built by the same master carpenter as the house, and is built to resemble the house in some ways.



Ramsey was not only territorial governor, he was also the second governor of the state, mayor of St. Paul, U.S. Senator, and secretary of war under President Hayes. He was a very prominent citizen of the state in his time. He is a contemporary of William LeDuc, so it was fun to visit the house for that comparison! I stumped one of the guides when I asked if President Hayes visited the Ramseys and the LeDucs on the same trip. Another guide who overheard chuckled a bit as she said yes, that she believed the President had lunch at the LeDuc House and dinner at the Ramsey House.

In the sense of Minnesota History this was a great place to visit, but it is probably not one of my favorite sites. The kids enjoyed it, though I think we had more fun in the carriage house looking at the books and toys!

Northfield Historical Society--Friday History Field Trip #9

(This post is part of the back log I am working on. If you are getting it in a reader, I apologize, things will be out of order!)

This week our Friday History Field Trip took us back to the scene of the crime!



Actually, there was no crime here. This is where the James-Younger Gang was defeated. It is the proud moment in the city of Northfield's history that is celebrated every year the weekend after Labor Day. Every year, we go to the festivities, watch the reenactment, and generally have fun. But we had never taken the time (or braved the crowds) to go to the museum.

The museum is housed in what was the First National Bank in Northfield. Interestingly enough, most everything inside is original. The floors and counters are the same, the vault is the same, they have the original ledger on display, it is truly stepping back to the 1870's. The bank was only housed here for a short time, moving a few years after the thwarted robbery to it's present location across the street on the opposite corner. I don't know how they managed to keep this particular space so well preserved, given the timeline. Still, it is always so much fun to go into a building that is as it was.

The museum itself is small, but mostly well done. There is a brief video to watch that takes you through the events of September 7, 1876, the day of the attempted robbery, along with some of the events leading up to it. There are wall boards to read about the gang, the town, and the events of the day.



From there you proceed into the actual bank, where you can see the vault that was actually open on the day of the robbery. The robbers never got inside, however, largely due to the valiant efforts of bank employees who insisted it was on a timer. We spent a lot of time talking about why a robbery would have been so destructive to the town. Now, when money is largely electronic and we rarely see large amounts of it in one place, it is difficult to imagine that there would have been vast sums of money in the bank. We also live in a time when our deposits are insured, which was not the case then. I could see Kiddo wrapping his head around this as we stood there. It was here, in the actual bank, that I most wished for a guide for our tour. Here, where Kiddo had questions to which I could not remember the answers. We were fortunate, however, that the director wandered through while we stood there. Kiddo got to ask him a few questions, he showed us a seal which he stamped into play money for each of the kids, and verified some of the things I thought I remembered.

From there, you head into the artifact room. Kutey was lost at this point--tired and bored. Kiddo, however, insisted on viewing every single thing in the room and reading (or having me read) every description. My favorite display was of two inlaid wooden boxes made by the Younger brothers while they were in prison in Stillwater. My one complaint? On two description cards regarding weapons (they have quite a few on display), they used the word "witch" where they meant "which." Small, I know, but it is not helpful to young readers!



The staff at the museum was great. We tend to take a long time when we go to this kind of place, where there is no tour. On more than one occasion, a staff person wandered through and commented that we must be looking at every detail! We were; the other people who watched the video at the same time as us were long gone. You could tell they were also pleased to see the kids enjoying themselves in this setting. On the way out, they kids were even given a piece of candy by the woman at the counter. She seemed genuinely impressed with their behavior and attention to the exhibits.

We enjoyed our visit immensely. It was nice to get a more in depth picture of the events that transpired that day in 1876, an event we revisit each year. We are already making plans to return when the weather is nicer to do their podcast walking tour of Northfield! Sounds like great fun!

W.W. Mayo House--Friday History Field Trip #8

Today's field trip almost wasn't.

I made plans to go to the W.W. Mayo House in Le Sueur, checked the website, made sure they were open, and we went! When we arrived, however, they weren't open. Curious, since the website actually says through November, and it is the first week of November. The kind woman who was in the entrance building (working at the florist that shares the space), allowed us to wait for the museum person. She arrived, and apologized, and explained. The W.W. Mayo house is a cooperative site, meaning the Minnesota Historical Society works with the Mayo House Interpretive Society(MHIS). Truthfully, the site is managed by the MHIS. The information on the Minnesota Historical Society website is not entirely accurate, and MHIS has no control over what goes there. Communication seems to be an issue. OK, but I had driven an hour with my kids to go to the W.W. Mayo house. This is where I renewed my faith in people. She gave us the tour anyway! She opened the house just for us. Thank you, Becky!



W.W. Mayo house was built in 1859 by Dr. W.W. Mayo (of Mayo Clinic fame). This is where he had his first medical practice, and where his first son was born. The house itself is small. Very small. Apparently Mayo was known as "The Little Doctor." He was short. He was my height, and I am not tall! The house shows this. A trip upstairs is tricky for me; the kids were fine, I had to duck. The ceilings are also slanted at the doorways, making it even more complicated. The doors on the main floor have been heightened, the family that lived in the house after the Mayo's left for Rochester were taller. They also added on many rooms, rooms which have since been removed to allow the house to depict the time of the Mayos.

W.W. Mayo came to Minnesota from Indiana in search of relief from malaria. Given our climate, malaria was not as prevalent here as it was in some southern states. he first settled in St. Paul, but didn't open a medical practice there, finding that there were already too many doctors in the small city. Instead, his wife opened a milliners shop, as she had in Indiana. It is likely this shop was the main source of income for the family at the time. Eventually they moved to Le Sueur. They only lived here until 1863, when they moved to Rochester where in 1889 W.W. Mayo was asked to be the medical director of St. Mary's Hospital which would become the center of the Mayo Clinic. The Mayo Clinic--the first private medical clinic in the United States--was opened in 1903. More about that history can be found here.

My favorite tidbit of information from the tour was that the medical course Dr. Mayo took was--get this--16 WEEKS long. It took longer to become a baker! Mayo did, however, have 2 medical degrees, and had studied science prior to medical school. He also worked as a tailor, a census taker, and newspaper publisher, just to name a few! I think the world is glad he finally settled into medicine, I know we here in Minnesota are.



Outside the house there is a small park with a statue entitled "The Mothers," honoring the two Louises (Mayo and Cosgrove) of the W.W. Mayo house. The statue begs for children to run around it, and so mine did!



When the Mayo's left, the house was occupied by the Cosgrove family for 3 generations. The Cosgrove family started Green Giant, a canned vegetable company currently owned by General Mills. Even though there is no Green Giant presence in Le Sueur any more, the historical connection is still celebrated and a large green giant sign is visible from the road. The house was added onto for the three generations of Cosgroves who loved there. It has been returned to the way it was when the Mayo's lived there, but the interpretive building has information on the Cosgroves as well.

Due to the tour guide needing to get to a meeting, we agreed to watch the introductory video after our tour rather than before. I was grateful for her accommodation. As we left, I grabbed a brochure on Ottawa Township. Never heard of it. The Florist assured me it was just a few miles down the road, and though nothing would be open, it was still interesting to drive through. She also mentioned that she had been homeschooled a few years herself, love it when people feel compelled to mention that! It makes what we do feel less out of the ordinary.



The town was plotted and never really became much. It does, however, have MANY old buildings. We love old buildings. The brochure I picked up had a few sentences about the buildings that we read as we stopped in front of the buildings. My favorite was the school house from 1915.



I love buildings like this. I wish there was an infinite amount money for their preservation. It would be fun to have historic programming in this building, instead of seeing it fenced in and boarded up. Maybe someday.

Friday History Field Trips

After the three Fridays at Fort Snelling, and the next Friday at Split Rock Lighthouse, I had another Friday History field trip planned to a history festival. Though we ended up not going due to a simply overwhelming week, I started to think that Fridays were starting to be History Field Trip days.

So I started planning them that way. For the last several weeks, we have been going on field trips to historical sites in our area. I haven't organized any formal groups, finding instead that we are able to get more out of it when we go alone. Kiddo likes to explore things more slowly than many kids do. This is something that really interests him; I want to make sure he has the time he needs to see what he wants to see. Not to mention the freedom to ask the questions he wants to ask. I have found that sometimes, it is just better to go it alone. We still go on some field trips with others, and enjoy those experiences, but having the freedom to spend the time we want to spend and not having to wait for others has proven to be a big benefit.

I have three more field trips to update--Folsom House in Taylors Falls, Marine Mill in Marine on St. Croix, and Le Duc House in Hastings. But if you are interested in history, keep watching for the posts about out Friday History Field Trips!

Le Duc Historic Estate--Friday History Field Trip #7

(This post is part of the back log I am working on. If you are getting it in a reader, I apologize, things will be out of order!)
This week's Friday History Field Trip was to LeDuc Historic Estate in Hastings. I am having so much fun finding these sites! I love that my kids are enough into history that they enjoy it, too. Even though Kutey says she doesn't like history.



William LeDuc and his wife Mary moved to Minnesota in the 1850's. They originally moved to St. Paul, but eventually moved Hastings. They had farms in the area, and LeDuc was involved in many other ventures as well. LeDuc House was completed in 1865-66 and is fairly unaltered since that time. The timing of the house is interesting, because William LeDuc, the builder, was a Civil War officer. While he was off at war, his wife was back in Ohio with her mother. The house was built largely in their absence. It is also very early in the history of Minnesota as a state. They were building the house at a time when the area was largely wilderness. As such, it is a massive house. It also apparently cost a a small fortune when built. They thought it might cost as much as $5000, a great deal of money at the time. When completed, however, it was 6 times that much--$30,000. It took the family years--and an inheritance--to finally get back on firm financial footing.



LeDuc tried many things to make his fortune, held many positions. Most notably, he was the Commissioner of Agriculture under President Rutherford B. Hayes. The LeDuc's also hosted the first presidential visit to the State of Minnesota, too. Rutherford B. Hayes, of course.



The house is based on an Andrew Jackson Downing design that Mary found in a book entitled "Cottage Residences." It is the Headley House in the Hudson River Valley. Mary LeDuc reversed the plan by holding it up to a window and tracing it. The windows are also not quite as long as they should have been. Mary LeDuc wanted them to go all the way to the floor, but the builder convinced her that in Minnesota that would be a poor choice, so they end 15 inches from the floor. Still very large.



At LeDuc you go on a guided tour, which is what Kiddo prefers. He likes that he can ask as many questions as he needs. I like that I don't need to know anything when I go in. I am learning with the kids. Our LeDuc tour had only one other couple on it, which was wonderful, too. I am not always sure what people think when I show up with a 7 year-old and a 4 year-old. This couple complimented us at the end, told Kiddo he asked good questions, and commented on how good they were. I know these things, but it is always nice when others recognize them, too!



We also wandered about outside the house for a bit, and found some favorite things there. First up, Chickens!

Ever since our visit to St. Augustine in May, Kutey has had a thing for chickens, particularly for feeding them! So we spent a bit of time feeding the chickens bits of grass. There was a whole list of things you could find around the yard that the chickens like to eat (along with what you SHOULDN'T feed them!). So close to the end of the growing season here in Minnesota, however, we were lucky to find grass!

Second, LIGHTNING RODS!

Kiddo's favorite Ben Franklin invention. We look for them often, but honestly, this one sort of snuck up on us. It is a lovely example however.



Want to go on your own tour of LeDuc? You can! I love this site. They have a virtual tour on their website! It even shows the basement and the third floor, areas that are not available for tour in person. 200 photographs and 50 interactive 360 degree panoramics. They won't be open again for tours until Spring (we literally hit the last Friday), but the virtual tour is good! And if you aren't from the area, the virtual tour will give you a bit of an idea of what we got to see!

Marine Mill Site--Friday History Field Trip #6, On Saturday

(This post is part of the back log I am working on. If you are getting it in a reader, I apologize, things will be out of order!)Every year our family joins my family of origin and some extended family members for a 4 day camping trip in October. We go to William O'Brien State Park, which is close to the Twin Cities metro area. That allows those who don't want to camp to come out for a day or two. The park is coincidentally just down the St. Croix River from our last Friday History Field Trip--Folsom House.

Because we were camping this weekend, I chose a site close to the campground for our Friday History Field Trip--the mill site at Marine on St. Croix. Since Friday was a big day of visitors--there were 9 children 7 and under--we chose to wait a day and go on this particular field trip on Saturday.



The site is basically interpretive signs marking the ruins of of what was the first commercial saw mill in Minnesota. It was built in 1839, prior to Minnesota becoming a state, and closed in 1895. Seems like a short lifespan, but the raw lumber was farther away by then, I am sure. All that remains are the stone foundations of some of the buildings. The signs help you to envision how much actually stood here, though, over 115 years ago.



Marine on St. Croix is a cute little town, too, so some in our group ventured into the little shops--getting coffees and hot cocoas and $2 chocolates.



Across the street from the actual mill site there is a cabin marked with a historical marker sign as an "Early Settler's Cabin." We went and read the sign, viewed a mill pond (at least I am pretty sure that is what is was, I didn't photograph the sign, so I can't remember for sure). It is a restored cabin, you can see in the picture where the original logs are (the grey at the top).



The sites are small and easy to see in a short amount of time. We managed to squeeze them in between rain showers (so it was really wet, but not bad). This field trip did, however, prove to me that it is sometimes better to go alone than with a group. The other 7-year-old was not as interested in history. Kiddo was torn between running ahead with the him and going slower and soaking it all in. Thankfully it is an easy site to revisit, maybe in the summer!

Glacial Potholes

After our trip to Folsom House, we had a little time. My grandfather is buried in Taylors Falls (he grew up there), so we headed to the cemetery for some genealogy. The hosts at Folsom house encouraged us to look for Folsoms in the cemetery as well. We spent some time walking around to view the stones of our ancestors. We also noticed a number of very old stones, read the years, and talked about what was happening in the area at the time. There are many that date from the 1860s to 1880s.



After that we headed down to the St. Croix River and Interstate State Park. I am told I have been here before, but I have little recollection of it. It is a very interesting park geologically speaking. There are at least 10 different lava flows visible in the park and 2 distinct glacial events. There are also glacial potholes.



These holes were formed by the Glacial St. Croix. Here, fast moving waters ground rocks in whirlpools against the rock, wearing it away like sandpaper. The park contains more potholes in a smaller area than anywhere else in the world. These potholes are also some of the deepest known in the world, and they are found right here in Minnesota! There are trails that let you walk amongst them, and one you can even go into--at the bottom, where the rock was worn away at the side, too.



The kids were fascinated by the holes (but they like rocks in general, so I wasn't surprised). The unfortunate part was that there wasn't enough time to explore as much as they would have liked. I will be adding this park to our list of places to visit again next summer!



For more information:
There is a video walking tour of the potholes here. It is meant to be loaded onto a video player and carried through the area, but it gives a information and photos of the potholes. There is a nicely done pdf of the formation of the area here. General information about the park can be found here.

Folsom House--Friday History Field Trip #5

(This post is part of the back log I am working on. If you are getting it in a reader, I apologize, things will be out of order!) This week's Friday History Field Trip was to Folsom House in Taylors Falls, MN. I was very excited. I have family history in Taylors Falls. I have been to the area many times over the years, but I had never once even HEARD of Folsom house.



Folsom House was built by W.H.C. Folsom who made his fortune in lumber among other things. He served in the state house and senate early in the state's history. He moved his family into the house in 1850, and the house remained in the family until it was turned over to the Historical Society. Because the house remained in the family, and because the family never fell on hard times, the house is still filled with the belongings of the family. There are some very unique items--I won't give away all the secrets, some of them you just have to see for yourself! But there is a unique collection of cups and a number of unique toys. The kitchen tools, however, are perhaps the most interesting.



Normally there are guided tours of the house, and that is what we expected. We happened to go, however, on the first day of a weekend-long quilt show in the house. This meant that we did not get a tour, unfortunately. We are good at asking questions, though, so we still learned a great deal. There are two parlors in the house--the men's parlor, and the women's parlor. They are side by side and were open to each other when we visited, but we were told what they were. There is a beautiful library, a large dining room, and several bedrooms upstairs--two of which you can go through.



Instead of windows on one whole side of the house--where the parlors are on the first floor and bedrooms on the second floor--there are doors. Four of them. I believe they said it had to do with how windows were viewed for the value of the house (and thus the taxes). As is the case in many houses this age, there are few closets. One that we saw. Closets were considered rooms and you were taxed based on the number of rooms, thus no closets. At least that is what I have been told! It is also true, however, that they had fewer possessions they would have placed in a closet, so it would have been much less necessary to have a closet.



One of the fun things we did was to go through the house (particularly the parlors) and note the chairs. We have become "chair historians," and we like to see which chairs are for the men (chairs with arms) and which are for the women (those without). We learned about chairs at Civil War Day at Fort Snelling this year, and it adds some fun to our tours! We also looked at the stair case, which was exceptionally wide. Apparently it was a status symbol to have a wide staircase. It was also more accommodating of hoop skirts, the fashion of the day.



Kutey loved this lamp in the men's parlor. It was very unique. And fragile. One pane had already been replaced, it appeared, and another was cracked horribly. It didn't detract from Kutey's fascination, however! I love seeing what catches the kids eye when we go to places like this. I might not have even noticed this lamp!


The field trip was a good one, but I think we'll be visiting Folsom House again when they are giving tours. We'd like to learn more!

Split Rock Lighthouse

(This post is part of the back log I am working on. If you are getting it in a reader, I apologize, things will be out of order!)
One of my favorite sights on the North Shore of Lake Superior (really, the whole North Shore is my favorite, but...) is Split Rock Lighthouse. Lake Superior is the only place in Minnesota to see lighthouses, and Split Rock is definitely the most spectacular of them.

The lighthouse was built in 1909-1910 on a 130 foot cliff of anorthosite. It was taken out of service in 1969, when modern navigating technology made it obsolete. It is now the property of the state. The Minnesota Historical Society operates the lighthouse site, while the Department of Natural Resources operates the surrounding state park. It costs extra to go into the lighthouse and keepers house, as well as into the visitor's center exhibits, but you can see the lighthouse from the park, too, which just requires the annual (or daily) permit that is good at all Minnesota State Parks.

Kiddo has always like going to Split Rock, though we have only been into the lighthouse on one previous occasion, I believe. We have often climbed the rocks on the beaches beneath the lighthouse. This year we have a Historical Society Membership, so a trip to the lighthouse when we were going to be on the North Shore anyway was a given. Kiddo looked forward to it for many weeks. We waited until Friday to go, because I found out that in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the lighthouse, they were lighting it (a rare occurrence) on the first Friday of every month. It just so happened we would be there on the first Friday of October.
A visit at that time was a must.

We arrived enough before sunset (the appointed time for the lighting) to tour the visitor center, the lighthouse and the keeper's house before the lighting. The visitors center has a few interesting hands on exhibits as well as a number of informational areas. The kids sorted fish (wooden, of course) in the exhibit about commercial fishing on the lake. We learned that the iron ore in the land on the North Shore of Lake superior (inland is called the Iron Range, and much taconite has been mined there) can interfere with traditional compasses, a problem for navigation! We also learned about the Fresnel lens of the lighthouse.

After our exploration, we went back to the car for a snack. The plan had been to drive down to the beach and then sit on the beach to get a better view of the lighthouse when it was lit. It was clear to us that moving the car was not going to happen...we would never get another place to park. So we walked down. It isn't far, but it was the end of the day and the kids were tired. They were troopers.

If you live in Minnesota, chances are you have seen at least one photograph of Split Rock. But unless you are viewing pictures from prior to 1969, few of them will be of the lighthouse lit. They do light it once a year, in November, and on other rare occurrences. The Coast Guard doesn't allow them to light it regularly, fearing it will interfere with navigation, I guess. I have been to the lighthouse many times, and never witnessed the light on.

It was spectacular. There were a bazillion people there (that is not an exaggeration, and I am sure a bazillion is a number!) Hubby and I looked around and commented on the value of all the photography equipment. I struck up a conversation with a couple of very nice women who set up near me. We talked photo equipment. I don't have what I want yet (I wish I had it before this event, but oh well!) so I asked questions. I had both of them trying to shoot with their left eyes, and finding it impossible! But that is how I always shoot. And that is why I don't have the equipment I want...left eye dominance sometimes puts important buttons in awkward locations on a camera--like right next to my largish nose! The women captured some beautiful photos. I was pretty pleased with what I managed to capture, too, though! Kiddo helped me frame some shots, too, and took great pleasure in seeing the results. We left when my battery died, and made the hike back to the car in the dark. The kids were hungry (there are few places to eat in the area), and tired, but they still thought it was great!

It was a great history field trip, a great experience!

Fort Snelling--Civil War

(This post is part of the back log I am working on. If you are getting it in a reader, I apologize, things will be out of order!)
This was week number three at Fort Snelling, the last of the series for homeschoolers at the Fort. This week, we explored the Civil War. Kiddo is fond of the wars, which in general shocks people. He is a very calm, kind, quiet kid, so the fact that he is very interested in something as violent as war, and in particular, the weapons, just doesn't line up. But he is fond of the wars. And the weapons. So there ya go.

The fort does a great job creating educational events. We spent time in the medical building (again), but this time, while we learned a bit about the medical side of the civil war, it was also home to information about the U.S. Sanitary Commission. They had a great deal of interesting information to share! If only I could remember it all (or find my notes!). The kids got to roll bandages, then apply them to a willing volunteer.
He looks happy to be injured, no?

They also talked about some of the things that were new ideas during the civil war--like keeping the bathroom areas separate from the living areas. They also now used quinine, from the bark of the cinchona tree, to treat malaria, which was common. They were beginning to understand that disease might be caused by something coming from outside your body, rather than an imbalance of your own body (too much blood, too much water, too much bile, etc.).

The Commandant's house had displays about life at the time. We were introduced to some rules of etiquette, which was fun. We also learned about chairs! A fun tidbit. Men's chairs had arms, women's did not. The arms would get in the way for their sewing and needle work. And of course, for the large hoop skirts! As uncomfortable as I though the skirts looked, the women wearing them assured me they were far more comfortable than the layers required previously.

Kiddo's favorite sign:


That's right. Civil War Weapons. A whole room. Sigh.


Thankfully, there is always someone there to talk about such things, since I am clueless. Guns, not really my thing. We were also fortunate that when we arrived, there was only one other family there, giving Kiddo more opportunity to see things. It also turned out that the older boy in the other family was very interested--and knowledgeable--about guns. He knew what questions to ask, which resulted in a great deal of information being taken in by Kiddo. He followed the boy around, wide-eyed. I spoke to the mother of the boy while we waited for the boys to exhaust wither their interest or the gentleman answering their questions. We also happened to be standing by the wall of the building when they fired the canon at the other end of the field and felt the walls shake. Very cool.

I know we learned more, but as I am posting this as a backlog post, I just can't remember. I do remember that it was another great day, and that we spent another 5 hours at Fort Snelling, something we can't seem to avoid.