Film Screening: "An Ode to Stillwater: The John Runk Films"
2022-01-11 19:00 - 20:30 (America/Chicago) | Washington County Heritage Center, 1862 South Greeley St, Stillwater, MN, 55082, United States
Come out to the Heritage Center and see this rare footage for yourself! Truly, a “home movie of his home town,” innovator John Runk shot stunning 8mm films to document the growing community of Stillwater from the late 1940s to the early 1950s. Together with a rich soundtrack, original narration, and DVD extras, they show Stillwater and the St. Croix Valley as they were experienced by the “Greatest Generation.”
Among the many distinct historic scenes that Runk took were those of the Marine Ferry Crossing in operation; a Loggers’ baseball game against St. Paul Park; the Stillwater Country Club; Stillwater’s downtown business district just after the end of World War II; Pioneer and Lowell Parks; ice cutting on the St. Croix River and much more.

This event is free to the public and no reservations are required. DVDs of the documentary will be available for purchase following the program. Masks are encouraged.

Black & White Movie Night: Buster Keaton films
2022-01-25 19:00 - 20:15 | Washington County Heritage Center, 1862 South Greeley St, Stillwater, MN, 55082, United States
It’s our very first Black & White movie Night! Dress up in your best black-and-white outfit and come to the Heritage Center for a screening of three Buster Keaton short films: “One Week” (1920), “The High Sign” (1921), and “The Goat” (1921). No reservations needed. Masks are encouraged.

Retired university professor and film enthusiast Steven Schroer will provide an educational introduction prior to the screening and will host an open discussion for interested participants after the films.
Free popcorn provided by Woodbury 10 Theatre.

Annual Ice Cream Social
2022-01-29 12:00 - 16:00 | MN
It’s one of our favorite events of the year – the annual ice cream social! Come down to Lowell Park in Stillwater and enjoy free ice cream from Leo’s!

Presentation: Brent Peterson on Bud Fowler and the 1884 Stillwater Baseball Team
2022-02-08 19:00 - 20:00 | Washington County Heritage Center, 1862 South Greeley St, Stillwater, MN, 55082, United States
Click the link below to be taken to the Google Drives for both the video recording and the presentation slides.
The slides are difficult to see on the video recording. We apologize for the inconvenience. Please view the slides at the link below.

Presentation Slides:
Google Slides
EVENT INFO:
WCHS Executive Director Brent Peterson will be presenting on legendary baseball pitcher Bud Fowler and 1884 Stillwater Baseball team. No reservations needed. Masks are encouraged.
About Bud Fowler:
Bud Fowler (born John W. Jackson) is considered the first professional black baseball player and pitched his first game in Massachusetts in 1878. A star hitter as well, fans would applaud whenever he stepped up to the plate. He played in multiple teams across the United States, including a stint in Stillwater in 1884. Unfortunately, his professional career was short-lived, as the minor leagues secretly stopping hiring black players by 1887.
After his minor league career was forced to end due to rampant racism in the league, Fowler still found a way to play. He became a strong voice for an all-black major league and helped start four new black barnstorming teams: the Page Fence Giants, the Smokey City Giants, the All-American Black Tourists, and Kansas City Stars. He played professionally across fifteen communities during his career, including stints in Iowa, Kansas City, Ohio, and our own Stillwater, Minnesota. Following his career, Fowler moved back to New York and lived out his days as a barber, a profession he had learned from his father and practiced throughout his life as a way to make ends meet. He passed away in 1913 at the age of 54. In 2021, Bud Fowler was named as one of the newest inductees to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and will be inducted in 2022.

Presentation: Author Ryan Gale on "Shanty Boys: The Lumbermen of the Upper Midwest 1830-1940" and Minnesota north woods musician Brian Miller
2022-02-15 19:00 - 21:00 | Washington County Heritage Center, 1862 South Greeley St, Stillwater, MN, 55082, United States
Author Ryan Gale will be discussing everything from logs to legacies in a presentation on his brand-new book, Shanty Boys: The Lumbermen of the Upper Midwest 1830-1940. Additionally, musician Brian Miller of The Lost Forty will be performing Irish-influenced songs about Minnesota north woods history and folklore! No reservations needed. Masks are encouraged.
About Shanty Boys: The Lumbermen of the Upper Midwest 1830-1940:
“The lumbermen who cut and hauled the pine of the upper Midwest between 1830 and 1940 went by many names: lumberjacks, woodsmen, and shanty-boys because of the rough shanties they lived in. They endured severe cold, poor living conditions, and long isolation for little pay. Lumbermen were revered in their time as symbols of strength, ruggedness, and independence. “Shanty Boys: The Lumbermen of the Upper Midwest 1830-1940″ offers a glimpse into the fascinating lives of those hard-working men and shows how they continue to impact our society.” -Ryan Gale
About Brian Miller:

A native of the northern Minnesota town of Bemidji, Brian Miller has performed extensively throughout the US, Canada and Ireland with a variety of Irish music groups. With his duo The Lost Forty (and as a soloist) Brian revives and performs Irish-influenced songs of men who roamed the Great Lakes region in the days when pine was king. He is a winner of the Parsons Fund Award from the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress for his research into this rich but under-explored music.

Black & White Movie Night: "Within Our Gates"
2022-02-25 19:00 - 21:00 | Washington County Heritage Center, 1862 South Greeley St, Stillwater, MN, 55082, United States
Our second Black & White Movie Night! In honor of Black History Month, we are showing impactful silent film Within Our Gates (1919). Written, produced, and directed by Oscar Micheaux, this film is considered the earliest known surviving film by a black director. The film is considered a response to D.W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation in which the Ku Klux Klan is shown in a heroic light.
Summary of Within Our Gates via the Library of Congress: Abandoned by her fiancé, an educated negro woman with a shocking past dedicates herself to helping a near bankrupt school for impoverished negro youths. Within Our Gates was created in response to The Birth of a Nation which depicted southern whites in need of the Ku Klux Klan to protect them from blood thirsty blacks. Micheaux shows the reality of Dixie racism in 1920, where a black man could be lynched for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Retired university professor and film historian Steve Schroer will provide an educational introduction for Within Our Gates and will host an open discussion for interested participants after the film.
Free popcorn provided by Woodbury 10 Theatre.
Please be advised: this film depicts numerous racial epithets, unfair and inaccurate portrayals of black culture and a two brief scenes depicting lynching. We are mindful of these harmful themes and encourage the audience to view this film as a learning opportunity, not a promotion or acceptance of those practices and mindsets.

Black & White Movie Night: Headin' Home
2022-03-08 19:00 - 20:00 | Washington County Heritage Center, 1862 South Greeley St, Stillwater, MN, 55082, United States
It’s Black & White Movie Night! In honor of Major League Baseball’s Opening Day in March, we are showing silent film Headin’ Home (1920) starring none other than…Babe Ruth. Who knew he could act? (or not?!)
No pre-registration required. Masks encouraged.
Free popcorn provided by Woodbury 10 Theatre.
Summary of Headin’ Home via PublicDomainMovies.Info: “Heading Home (also called Headin’ Home) is a 1920 American silent sports film directed by Lawrence C. Windom. It attempts to create a mythology surrounding the life of baseball player Babe Ruth.
Ruth stars in the film, playing himself, but the details of his life are completely fictionalized. In the film, Ruth comes from a small country town and has a loving home life, but in real life, he grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, and spent most of his childhood in a reformatory. In the film, shades of the baseball movie The Natural, Ruth cuts down a tree to make his own bat.
The screenplay was written by Arthur “Bugs” Baer from a story by Earle Browne. Directed by Lawrence C. Windom.
Cast:
Babe Ruth as Babe
Ruth Taylor as Mildred Tobin
William Sheer as Harry Knight
Margaret Seddon as Babe’s Mother
Frances Victory as Pigtails
James A. Marcus as Simon Tobin
Ralf Harolde as John Tobin”

"Minnesota's Headline Murders! 1900-1919" with author Patrick L. Shannon
2022-03-22 19:00 - 20:00 | Washington County Heritage Center, 1862 South Greeley St, Stillwater, MN, 55082, United States
Are you a true crime junkie? Do you follow criminal cases in court like it’s your job? This event is for all the small-time sleuths! Author Patrick L. Shannon will tell all the juicy details on the most famous murders in Minnesota via his book “Minnesota’s Headline Murders! 1900-1919.”

ZOOM INFO:
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/…/tZUpfu2upz0uEt0EEnPxXeFx2Nfi4…
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

EVENT INFO:
The Washington County Heritage Center will be open at 6pm for event attendees to experience the museum prior to the event at 7pm. Masks encouraged.

Copies of Minnesota’s Headline Murders! 1900-1919 will be available for purchase at the WCHS Store prior to and after the program.

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Praise for Minnesota’s Headline Murders! 1900-1919: “If you like true crime stories, you won’t want to miss this book. Author Patrick L. Shannon tells the tales of ten murders from Minnesota’s history in the voice of someone involved either in the murder itself or the resulting trial. The cases are full of twists and turns, desperate schemers, jilted lovers, and all the captivating peculiarities of people who commit murder. Shannon’s accounts of the trials are extremely well researched and told with excellent attention to historical detail. Through the telling of these cases, he weaves the evolution of criminal law and capital punishment in Minnesota. Each case also includes a fascinating epilogue in which the reader learns the ultimate fate of all the major players. This is a captivating read for those interested in Minnesota history, true crime, and criminal justice.” -Katie Jean Davey, reference librarian
Patrick L. Shannon is a graduate of De La Salle High School and the University of St. Thomas. He worked for the Federal Bureau of Narcotics and then spent most of his career with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension as a special agent in narcotics and death investigations. He now writes and is a licensed alcohol and drug counselor. He lives in Minneapolis with his wife and two grown children.

Washington County Historical Society Annual Meeting
2022-03-24 17:30 - 21:00 | Stillwater Event Center, 1910 Greeley Street South, Stillwater, MN, 55082, United States
WCHS’s Annual Meeting will take place on March 24, 2022 at the Stillwater Event Center, located at 1910 South Greeley Street (right next door to the Washington County Heritage Center!).
RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED. Seating is limited and the organizers are expecting a large audience. To make reservations, email information@wchsmn.org or call 651-439-5956.
Price: $25/WCHS Members, or $30/non-members
Schedule of Events:
5:30pm – Social Hour
6:30pm – Dinner catered by Scheel’s Catering
7:30pm – Program by Captain Charlie Anderson
About Captain Charlie Anderson:
Captain Anderson is a Washington County resident, a Marine-on-St. Croix City Council member, and the Primary Battalion Intelligence Officer for 1-194 Combined Arms Battalion, 1/34th Brigade Combat Team. He served as a leader of Minnesota Army National Guard soldiers who participated in the evacuation of Hamid Karzai International Airport in August 2021. He returned from deployment earlier this year.
After over two years of training and preparation, in March 2021 the Minnesota National Guard’s 1st Combined Arms Battalion was activated and sent to Kuwait, prepositioned by the US Army to serve as the Regional Response Force in case of a crisis in the Middle East during its deployment.
With just six hours’ notice, Captain Anderson and a 400-soldier element was sent to Hamid Karzai International Airport to help protect the evacuation of US citizens, families and allies while under constant threat from both the Taliban and ISIS-Khorasan. Between August 14 and August 31, 2021, more than 123,000 people were evacuated following the collapse of Afghanistan’s central government. It is the largest noncombatant evacuation in U.S. military history. In their work, the Minnesota Guard soldiers served alongside some of the most storied units in the history of the United States: The 82nd Airborne Division, the 10th Mountain Division, a Marine Air-Ground Task Force and a Marine Expeditionary Unit.
Captain Anderson’s presentation will include a history and military lineage of his unit, and a personal telling of his experiences during the evacuation.

Charlie Anderson Evacuating Kabul

"Minnesota's Golden Age of Wrestling: From Verne Gagne to the Road Warriors" with author George Schire
2022-03-29 19:00 - 20:00 | Washington County Heritage Center, 1862 South Greeley St, Stillwater, MN, 55082, United States
Whether you’re a babyface or a heel, this event is for you! Author and wrestling historian George Schire will be presenting on the crazy world of wrestling and his book, “Minnesota’s Golden Age of Wrestling: From Verne Gagne to the Road Warriors.”

ZOOM INFO:
Register in advance for this meeting:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEkc-2vqT0tEtbUHwnYgx2pdadNiyu3lYC3
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

EVENT INFO:
The Washington County Heritage Center will be open at 6pm for event attendees to experience the museum prior to the event at 7pm. No pre-registration is required.

Copies of “Minnesota’s Golden Age of Wrestling” will be available for purchase at the WCHS Store at the program.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
“Why was Minnesota, a land known for its stoic farmers, reasonable politics, and comfortable casseroles, a hotbed of the wacky and wild world of professional wrestling? And how did that old-school wrestling become the Saturday night program of choice for thousands of midwestern families in the last half of the twentieth century? Professional wrestling historian and insider George Schire is here not only to set the record straight but to entice you into a world gone by, a world that comes alive through his colorful and perceptive reporting.
As a kid, Schire found a way to escape the troubles of his life by becoming a wrestling fan, glued to the TV set and then later traveling to see every live “card” in the Twin Cities and many more throughout the region. Over the years he has been involved in all aspects of the sport, and he now offers detailed, behind-the-scenes accounts of important matches from 1954 to 1990 and stories of wrestler personalities, both in and out of the ring. He shares his own extensive collection of wrestling memorabilia— photographs, program covers, newspaper clippings, and other ephemera—to honor the hardworking characters who forged serial storylines onstage week after week and who thrilled fans by carrying out their plots in the ring, with blood, sweat, tears, and high-flying body slams for all.
Praise for George Schire:
“I thought I knew the sport of professional wrestling. Then I met George Schire! No one is more knowledgeable about the events and personalities that made professional wrestling what it is today.”—Greg Gagne, former professional wrestler and titleholder”

"Ambulance Man" with author Brian Casey
2022-04-05 19:00 - 20:30 | Washington County Heritage Center, 1862 South Greeley St, Stillwater, MN, 55082, United States
“A behind-the-scenes ride that is sometimes funny, sometimes frightening, but always heartfelt.” Join Brian Casey for a program about what it was like to work in high-pressure situations as a paramedic and EMT including his early days working on the orange-and-white wagon ambulance that barreled down the streets of Stillwater in the 1980s.

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Brian Casey’s latest book, Ambulance Man, is the story of a uniquely intense and rewarding occupation, one that has not been widely told. Ride along with the calm and measured paramedics of 1980s ambulance work as they navigate speed and gore. Chronicled are the memories of a boy who followed the sirens’ call into manhood utilizing grit and imagination to overcome hidden deficits. Ambulance Man is the sometimes funny, sometimes frightening, but always heartfelt story of a young man’s entry into ambulance work.

Short excerpt:
For years as a boy, I had rushed from my house to the corner of Third and Laurel for a distant glimpse of the very ambulances that were now coming there to pick me up to be the ambulance attendant. Like a realized dream of glory, that most beautiful of man-made objects, the ambulance, would stop before me and I would climb in.
At night the phone would ring and the caller quip, “Gotta call, pick ya up.” Sometimes I wouldn’t hear the phone ring and my folks would take the call and wake me with the message. I would spring from bed, dress with trembling hands, and go out into the dark. I would stand in the illumination of the streetlight as crickets chirped in the summer or crystalized snow fell in the winter.
The rig would arrive silently, not wishing to advertise the detour needed to complete a crew. Sometimes I would wait and wonder if they had changed their mind or forgotten me. Once it occurred to me that some sick or injured person and I were both waiting for the same ambulance.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Brian Casey grew up Stillwater and earned a teaching degree from the University of Minnesota. Casey has spent his entire adult working life as an EMT, paramedic, EMS educator, and police officer

"A Bag Worth a Pony: The Art of the Ojibwe Bandolier Bag" with author Marcia G. Anderson
2022-04-20 19:00 - 20:00 | Washington County Heritage Center, 1862 South Greeley St, Stillwater, MN, 55082, United States
Have you seen the gorgeous bandolier bags in the lobby of the Washington County Heritage Center? WCHS is brought in the expert to talk about these beautiful pieces. Marcia G. Anderson, whose book was a significant resource in the exhibit’s content, presented on her book A Bag Worth a Pony: The Art of the Ojibwe Bandolier Bag. Marcia Anderson was curator of the Minnesota Historical Society’s museum collections for 30 years.

Copies of A Bag Worth a Pony: The Art of the Ojibwe Bandolier Bag are available online at our store and in-person at the Heritage Center store.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Bandolier bags, or gashkibidaaganag—the large, heavily beaded shoulder bags made and worn by several North American Indian tribes around the Great Lakes—are prized cultural icons here and around the world. From the 1870s to the present day, Ojibwe bead artists of Minnesota have been especially well known for their lively, creative designs. Neighboring Dakota people would trade a pony for a beautiful beaded bag.

Over the years, non-Indian collectors and ethnographers, struck by the bags’ cultural significance and visual appeal, bought them up. Today, there are hundreds of bags in museums around the world, but not so many in the hands of community members. In A Bag Worth a Pony, Marcia G. Anderson shares the results of thirty years of study, in which she learned from the talented bead artists who keep the form alive, from historical records, and from the bags themselves.

Anderson examines the history, forms, structure, and motifs of the bags, giving readers the tools to understand a bag’s makeup and meaning. She also offers a tour of Minnesota’s seven Ojibwe reservations, showing the beautiful beaded bags associated with each along with the personal insights of seven master beadworkers.

In the Media:

“Bright red, green, and blue beads in geometric and floral patterns on shoulder bags being danced by Ojibwe men. This is what the reader first sees when opening Minnesota Historical Society curator Anderson’s wonderful new book about the gashkibidaaganag (Anishinaabe beaded bags) held in the collections of the Minnesota Historical Society. One can quickly see why Anderson has worked with these culturally significant pieces for over 30 years, and how her dedicated research has produced sophisticated and nuanced scholarship as well as a model for how museum collections can be fruitfully reanalyzed so readers can hear the history and continuing cultural vitality of Native peoples. As Anderson deftly demonstrates, the pieces communicate much about Ojibwe culture, how art is used on a daily basis and in special events, the historical experiences of each community, Anishinaabe-Euroamerican economic and political relations, and how the storied bags moved from makers to a museum. The book’s second half contains fascinating stories from knowledgeable individuals and beadwork artists residing at 12 different Anishinaabe communities. These stories are as important as the bags, for they show that the bags are living expressions of Anishinaabe culture.”
CHOICE reviews

Praise:

“Beautifully illustrated, carefully researched, and sensitively written, A Bag Worth a Pony is filled with valuable information about Ojibwe bandolier bags—gashkibidaagang—one of the great glories of Native North American beaded art and an important part of Ojibwe identity. The author uses historical writings, photographs, contemporary interviews, and analysis of technique and designs to accurately place the bags within their communities. Above all, Anderson conveys the spirit behind the bags by honoring the superb artistry of their (predominantly female) makers.”
Lois Sherr Dubin, author of The History of Beads: 100,000 BC to the Present

“A Bag Worth a Pony reveals the story behind the Ojibwe bandolier bag, which proliferated throughout the assimilation era when Ojibwe and other Native people struggled to maintain their cultural traditions. Over several decades, Minnesota historian Marcia Anderson interviewed several bead artists whose voices teach us more about the significance of this enduring practice and the strength of a people.”
Karissa Isaacs, associate curator, Tweed Museum of Art, University of Minnesota Duluth

“In this well-researched and richly illustrated history of a distinctive indigenous art form, Anderson does the hard work of connecting specific gashkibidaagan to their Minnesota communities of origin and, when possible, to individual artists or families, enriching our understanding of local stylistic variations. By providing context to the circumstances of making, wearing, and collecting these regalia, in the past and today, she also brings much-needed focus to the lived experiences of Ojibwe artists across the generations.”
Adriana Greci Green, curator of Indigenous Arts of the Americas, The Fralin Museum of Art at the University of Virginia

Presentation on the Red River Métis by historian Fritz Anderson
2022-04-27 19:00 - 20:30 | Washington County Heritage Center, 1862 South Greeley St, Stillwater, MN, 55082, United States
EVENT INFO:
From Fritz Anderson:
The Red River Métis is a community of the Minnesota’s early settlers of Minnesota that came from the OTHER direction of many settlers of the day. Early Minnesotan history had many settlers that came from the Northwest, rather than the East. This intriguing group came from the Red River Valley of northwestern Minnesota and what is now Southern Manitoba. The Métis were an entirely new society that were of Native and White ancestry but subscribed to being neither. A new people that were distinctive in American history as being the only example of a new culture with a unique language and strong social identity that arose from a combination of many peoples.
The Washington County Heritage Center will be open at 6pm for event attendees to experience the museum prior to the event at 7pm. No registration required.

Private Rental
2022-04-28 18:30 - 20:30, 2022-05-17 16:00 - 19:00 | Washington County Heritage Center, 1862 South Greeley St, Stillwater, MN, 55082, United States

Textile Conservation with Jennifer Cruise
2022-05-10 19:00 - 20:30 | Washington County Heritage Center, 1862 South Greeley St, Stillwater, MN, 55082, United States
What is conservation? What do textile conservators do? The founder and director of Textilis Conservation Jennifer L. Cruise, Ph.D., M.A. Cons will be presenting about her textile work at the Heritage Center. The beautifully dressed mannequins in the “The Sixties: Fashion & The Frontier” exhibit is Jennifer’s work!.
EVENT INFO
The Washington County Heritage Center will be open at 6pm for event attendees to experience the museum at a discounted rate prior to the event at 7pm.
About Jennifer: Jennifer uses both her science background and her knowledge and appreciation of historic textiles and all fiber arts in her evaluation of items and in her treatment plans. She received a Bachelor of Science degree from St. Lawrence University, a Ph.D. from Duke University, and an MA in the Conservation of Historic Objects from the University of Lincoln, in the United Kingdom. She has completed placements/internships at a number of sites, including the National Trust Textile Conservation Studio, in the UK, and Museum Textile Services, in the US. Textilis Conservation follows the codes of practice of the American Institute for Conservation (AIC), and of the U.K. Institute of Conservation (ICON).

Jennifer Cruise with the 1860s-1960s Fashion & the Frontier exhibit at the Washington County Heritage Center
1860s-1960s “Fashion & the Frontier” Exhibit

Stillwater Historic Homes Tour
2022-05-22 12:00 - 17:00 | Warden’s House Museum, 602 Main Street North, Stillwater, MN, 55082, United States
Join us for the 2022 Stillwater Historic Homes Tour on Sunday, May 22 from 12pm-5pm! Nine beautiful and unique homes nestled into the hills of Stillwater will be opening their doors to share hospitality and history.
Tickets will be held at will call located at the Warden’s House Museum (602 N Main St). The Warden’s House will be on the tour! Please bring a photo ID to claim your tickets.
Rain or shine. All sales are final.
Click here to purchase your tickets!

Humans, forests, and fire with author Jeff Forester
2022-05-24 19:00 - 20:30 | Washington County Heritage Center, 1862 South Greeley St, Stillwater, MN, 55082, United States
EVENT INFO:
What effect do humans and fire have on forests? Author Jeff Forester gives a program about his book “The Forest for the Trees: How Humans Shaped the Northwoods.” This history of human relationship with the land starting with native Americans through the pioneering logging, the rise of industrial logging, creation of the United States Forest Service and finally the creation of a designated wilderness is visible in Minnesota. So to the story of wildfire is told in full in Minnesota, from tribal fire regimes to reduce fire intensity and provide habitat for blueberries and wildlife, through catastrophic fires that killed hundreds in an afternoon, to the near eradication of fire for the first time since the last ice age, to fire reasserting itself on the landscape. By examining the Minnesota’s forests we can see the full history of how humans shaped the northwoods. Jeff Forester is a freelance writer whose work has been published in Whole Earth Review, Rolling Stone, Oregon Quarterly, and Timberline. He is executive director of a nonprofit organization and an instructor at Concordia University in St. Paul.

Bison Reintroduction at Belwin Conservancy with Lynette Anderson
2022-06-02 18:00 - 19:00 | Warden’s House Museum, 602 Main Street North, Stillwater, MN, 55082, United States
EVENT INFO
At Belwin Conservancy, American bison (Bison bison) play an important role in the health of the prairie. Since 2008, a herd of juvenile males from Northstar Bison has taken up summer residence at one of our tallgrass prairie restorations. Their presence has been transformative.
Today, the balance and abundance of wildlife, grasses, and flowers on Belwin’s bison prairie is second to none, thanks to this majestic creature. Belwin Restoration Specialist Lynette Anderson explains: “their grazing patterns promote the growth of different flowers, which brings in different insects, which bring in different birds, and so on and so forth. And that’s the importance of disturbance on a prairie: to keep this vital, dynamic, beautiful habitat going.” – Belwin Conservatory

Annual WCHS Beer Tasting at Hay Lake School
2022-06-18 16:00 - 19:00 | Hay Lake School, 14020 195th St N, Marine on St. Croix, MN, 55047
Bottoms up! The WCHS Annual Beer Tasting will be held at the Hay Lake Museum Complex on Saturday, June 18 from 4pm to 7pm. Silent auction, local brews, and a celebration of our community’s history!
Cost for beer tasting is $20
This event is geared towards adults 21+.

The French Fur Trade in Minnesota with Greg Cash
2022-06-22 19:00 - 20:00 | Washington County Heritage Center, 1862 South Greeley St, Stillwater, MN, 55082, United States

"Minor Treasures: Diamond Gems from the Glory Days of Minnesota Baseball" with author Stew Thornley
2022-06-28 19:00 - 20:30 | Washington County Heritage Center, 1862 South Greeley St, Stillwater, MN, 55082, United States
EVENT INFO:
Play ball! Baseball historian and author Stew Thornley will be discussing his brand-new book “Minor Treasures: Diamond Gems from the Glory Days of Minnesota Baseball.” Co-author and collector Taylor Simons will present pieces from his extensive collection of Minneapolis Millers and St. Paul Saints memorabilia.

St. Croix River and the National Park Boundary with Daniel Peterson
2022-07-07 18:00 - 19:00 | Warden’s House Museum, 602 Main Street North, Stillwater, MN, 55082, United States
The river has made our county what it is today! Daniel Peterson will be at the Warden’s House Museum to discuss things to do in and on the river within the National Park Boundary.

Peterson is the Saint Croix River District Ranger at Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway. Over the course of his 25-year career, Dan has paddled his career along several scenic roads including the World Bird Sanctuary in Missouri and for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a Wildlife Refuge Specialist in Arizona and Visitor Services Specialist in Wisconsin. Dan has also worked for the National Park Service at Grand Canyon, Badlands, Crater Lake, Voyageurs National Parks, and most recently at the Missouri National Recreational River located along the state borders of Nebraska and South Dakota. He’s an avid birder, hiker, and paddler.

ZOOM INFO:

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0tce2tqjIvH9ZQRy1d1BkqRuH8TJmO6Mz3
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

ArtReach St. Croix Gallery Reception
2022-07-10 14:00 - 16:00 | Washington County Heritage Center, 1862 South Greeley St, Stillwater, MN, 55082, United States
Join WCHS and ArtReach St. Croix to celebrate eight fabulous artists and their work displayed at the Washington County Heritage Center! This is your time to chat with artists about their pieces, ask questions and learn more about their subjects and processes. A new show will move in after this gallery closing event, so be sure to check these incredible works out while you still can! Light refreshments will be served.
Featured Artists:

Tom Maakestad
Myriah Olson
Nancy Condon
David Browne
Sarah Lilja
Megan Schmidt
Becky Benson
Judy Sell
“Grace’s Corn Meal” by Judy Sell

“After the Burn” by Tom Maakestad

"In the Beginning there was a Chapel" with Mark Labine
2022-08-02 19:00 - 20:00 | Washington County Heritage Center, 1862 South Greeley St, Stillwater, MN, 55082, United States

"The Last Bookseller" with Gary Goodman
2022-08-09 19:00 - 20:00 | Washington County Heritage Center, 1862 South Greeley St, Stillwater, MN, 55082, United States
Gary Goodman presents on his book “The Last Bookseller: A Life in the Rare Book Trade”!

ABOUT THE BOOK:
About “The Last Bookseller”:

When Gary Goodman wandered into a run-down, used-book shop that was going out of business in East St. Paul in 1982, he had no idea the visit would change his life. He walked in as a psychiatric counselor and walked out as the store’s new owner. In The Last Bookseller Goodman describes his sometimes desperate, sometimes hilarious career as a used and rare book dealer in Minnesota—the early struggles, the travels to estate sales and book fairs, the remarkable finds, and the bibliophiles, forgers, book thieves, and book hoarders he met along the way.
Here we meet the infamous St. Paul Book Bandit, Stephen Blumberg, who stole 24,000 rare books worth more than fifty million dollars; John Jenkins, the Texas rare book dealer who (probably) was murdered while standing in the middle of the Colorado River; and the eccentric Melvin McCosh, who filled his dilapidated Lake Minnetonka mansion with half a million books. In 1990, with a couple of partners, Goodman opened St. Croix Antiquarian Books in Stillwater, one of the Twin Cities region’s most venerable bookshops until it closed in 2017. This store became so successful and inspired so many other booksellers to move to town that Richard Booth, founder of the “book town” movement in Hay-on-Wye in Wales, declared Stillwater the First Book Town in North America.
The internet changed the book business forever, and Goodman details how, after 2000, the internet made stores like his obsolete. In the 1990s, the Twin Cities had nearly fifty secondhand bookshops; today, there are fewer than ten. As both a memoir and a history of booksellers and book scouts, criminals and collectors, The Last Bookseller offers an ultimately poignant account of the used and rare book business during its final Golden Age.

Check out “The Last Bookseller” website for more information and to order your copy!

Minnesota's Golden Age of Wrestling 2.0 with George Schire
2022-08-24 18:00 - 19:30 | Washington County Heritage Center, 1862 South Greeley St, Stillwater, MN, 55082, United States
Back by popular demand! George Schire returns for more on Minnesota’s Golden Age of Wrestling. This event will include all new topics and stories. Check out his first event at: https://www.wchsmn.org/event/georgeschire/

The History of Schaar's Bluff with Herb Reckinger
2022-09-07 18:00 - 19:00 | Washington County Heritage Center, 1862 South Greeley St, Stillwater, MN, 55082, United States
Herb Reckinger, Jr. from the South Washington Heritage Society presented on the history of Schaar’s Bluff County Park (located in Dakota County west of Hastings). Reckinger has done impressive research on the geological elements that characterize the area. What does Schaar’s Bluff have to do with us? Everything! From the park overlook, there is one of the finest views from that end of Washington County- the Mississippi River, Spring Lake, Cottage Grove and the Grey Cloud Islands. Remember- the bedrock is the same in all parts of our county. We have many fine features that are not repeated elsewhere. Herb presented on the Mississippi River Commission maps of the 1890s, the bedrock geology of our area, and the glaciers that made all of this happen.

Private Event
2022-09-13 18:00 - 20:00 | Washington County Heritage Center, 1862 South Greeley St, Stillwater, MN, 55082, United States

School Field Trip
2022-09-16 10:00 - 12:00 | Washington County Heritage Center, 1862 South Greeley St, Stillwater, MN, 55082, United States
