Hi all,
Last June I received the following message:
Hi Mr. Christiansen,
I work at the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County at the Hjemkomst Center. We are planning the new Clay County history exhibit that we will put up in January. We were wondering if WMSTR would be willing to donate some wood from your saw mills for the exhibit.
The exhibit’s theme will highlight some of the most colorful eras in our history. It will be called Wet and Dry: Alcohol in Clay County, 1871-1936. The first section will explore our Wild West settlement era (1871-1890); followed by the Saloon Era when North Dakota went dry and all the saloons moved to the Minnesota side (1890-1915); and finally we look closely at the criminal alcohol distribution network during Prohibition and how Prohibition was repealed (1915-1936). We want to explore both sides of the alcohol debate – those fighting against alcohol and those fighting for it. We think the reason the CDC reports that Fargo-Moorhead is the drunkest city in the world might lie in our unique history with alcohol.
The first and most eye-catching part of the exhibit will be the tent saloon. This is where we show people that, in spite of what Hollywood Westerns will have you believe, the Wild West also happened in cold, snowy Minnesota. We will be using some of the oldest photographs of Moorhead to reconstruct a tent saloon, recalling the era when gunfighters and gamblers were living in tent towns along the railroad. We are looking for roughcut wood to build the bar and the tables.
This is what we are envisioning for the bar:
2” x 18” x 8’ roughcut pine. It will be balanced on old barrels to give it height.
For the tables:
Two tables of roughcut pine, 4’ x 4’
We also want to reproduce some beer and whiskey crates of that era. Using measurements from a beer crate artifact, we could reproduce a dozen crates with this wood:
(18) 1 x 4 x 8’ pine
(6) 1 x 10 x 8’ pine
(5) 1 x 12 x 8’ pine
Your donation would make WMSTR a sponsor of this two-year-long exhibit. And, as you said in your speech, it lets you play at your hobbies with your friends. Also, I think it might be worth a text panel in the exhibit to talk about the old saw mill and the people who cut this wood. I have the exhibit all drawn out in a 3-D digital program if you’d like to see it sometime, and I love chatting about it with whoever is interested.
Thanks! I’ll see you in September if not before.
Markus Krueger
Education Coordinator
Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County
218-299-5511 ext. 6738
I put Markus in contact with Merlyn M at Earl's Mill and the two of them worked out the details.
Now the time has come for the exhibit's Grand Opening, and WMSTR members are invited! The event is from 4pm - 7pm 16 February 2016 at the Hjemkomst Center. The festivities continue after 7pm at with an 'Afterparty' at the Rustica (the old Kirby's on Main). I hope to get a poster up loaded later on.
Later,
Jerry Christiansen
Last June I received the following message:
Hi Mr. Christiansen,
I work at the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County at the Hjemkomst Center. We are planning the new Clay County history exhibit that we will put up in January. We were wondering if WMSTR would be willing to donate some wood from your saw mills for the exhibit.
The exhibit’s theme will highlight some of the most colorful eras in our history. It will be called Wet and Dry: Alcohol in Clay County, 1871-1936. The first section will explore our Wild West settlement era (1871-1890); followed by the Saloon Era when North Dakota went dry and all the saloons moved to the Minnesota side (1890-1915); and finally we look closely at the criminal alcohol distribution network during Prohibition and how Prohibition was repealed (1915-1936). We want to explore both sides of the alcohol debate – those fighting against alcohol and those fighting for it. We think the reason the CDC reports that Fargo-Moorhead is the drunkest city in the world might lie in our unique history with alcohol.
The first and most eye-catching part of the exhibit will be the tent saloon. This is where we show people that, in spite of what Hollywood Westerns will have you believe, the Wild West also happened in cold, snowy Minnesota. We will be using some of the oldest photographs of Moorhead to reconstruct a tent saloon, recalling the era when gunfighters and gamblers were living in tent towns along the railroad. We are looking for roughcut wood to build the bar and the tables.
This is what we are envisioning for the bar:
2” x 18” x 8’ roughcut pine. It will be balanced on old barrels to give it height.
For the tables:
Two tables of roughcut pine, 4’ x 4’
We also want to reproduce some beer and whiskey crates of that era. Using measurements from a beer crate artifact, we could reproduce a dozen crates with this wood:
(18) 1 x 4 x 8’ pine
(6) 1 x 10 x 8’ pine
(5) 1 x 12 x 8’ pine
Your donation would make WMSTR a sponsor of this two-year-long exhibit. And, as you said in your speech, it lets you play at your hobbies with your friends. Also, I think it might be worth a text panel in the exhibit to talk about the old saw mill and the people who cut this wood. I have the exhibit all drawn out in a 3-D digital program if you’d like to see it sometime, and I love chatting about it with whoever is interested.
Thanks! I’ll see you in September if not before.
Markus Krueger
Education Coordinator
Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County
218-299-5511 ext. 6738
I put Markus in contact with Merlyn M at Earl's Mill and the two of them worked out the details.
Now the time has come for the exhibit's Grand Opening, and WMSTR members are invited! The event is from 4pm - 7pm 16 February 2016 at the Hjemkomst Center. The festivities continue after 7pm at with an 'Afterparty' at the Rustica (the old Kirby's on Main). I hope to get a poster up loaded later on.
Later,
Jerry Christiansen