Plum Creek Library System Legacy Grant SFY 2018 - SFY 2019

A STEP BACK IN TIME BUS TRIP
The Jackson County Library System sponsored a one day charter bus trip to Owatonna, Minnesota where they toured the Minnesota State Public School Orphanage Museum, Louis Sullivan designed National Farmer's Bank and the Village of Yesteryear. The library chartered two buses that made stops in the communities of Jackson, Heron Lake and Lakefield to pick up participants from the communities where the three branches of the library lived.

Working through the Owatonna Chamber of Commerce, the tour provided participants a chance to learn about the orphanage and the children who lived there. Many had never heard of the State school and were eager to learn about the local history. Visiting the school as well as the historic National Farmer's Bank and Village of Yesteryear gave the visitors a glimpse into the past in a living history setting. The bus trip is yet one way that the Jackson County Library is seeking to find interesting destinations to provide its patrons, all within the local area.

Seventy people participated in the bus trip, which included people from the Jackson, Heron Lake and Lakefield communities. The Friends of the Library donated bottled water and snacks while local media helped to promote the event through a donation of advertisement.

MINNESOTA'S WILD AND WOOLY PROHIBITION DAY
The Meinders Community Library in Pipestone used their ACHF funding to provide a program that served as one element in a series of programs centered on the Prohibition era. Historian and living history expert Arn Kind brought to life the history of the era.

Library Director Jody Wacker noted that many participants were surprised at the excessive use of alcohol at the turn of the century and what kind of role prohibition and temperance played in the history of lawmaking. "This awareness brought about discussions of the unintended consequences of trying to do the 'right' thing," she said. "Over the course of several weeks, as we continued to host events related to Arn Kind's presentation, community conversations occurred about the tough choices we face in protecting our own interests and families versus following the letter of the law."

The library staff devised an escape room, funded by a State Farm Neighborhood Assist grant, which was made available to attendees following Arn Kind's presentation. Several participants of the program noted that they remembered the answers to the escape room puzzles from listening to Arn Kind's presentation, and were excited about the connections they had made and the information learned along the way.

The library incorporated this ACHF program as part of a series of programs introducing the broader picture of alcohol use and paired with the community's Coalition on Underage Drinking. The collective programming was so successful that the library had businesses ask about putting on a Roaring 20s mini-escape room for their employees.

Additionally a youngster in the audience was so enthralled with learning about the era that he wrote his competitive speech for the season on prohibition and the choices that people faced. He did extensive research on the subject to make his creative piece as accurate as possible.

As a whole, Arn Kind's program kicked off an avalanche of community conversation around the prohibition era and into the issues we face today. One comment heard, "This program has definitely changed the way I think about some of our current policies. It takes some of the right and wrong, black and white out of the issues and makes them more nuanced and therefor more important to understand." Another comment was, "This issue feels timely. We are currently facing so many tough choices in our legislature that can easily be translated into the 1920s framework. What a cautionary tale that we must heed if we don't want to sway too far either way."

Partnerships for this collaborative program included the Friends of the Library who provided root beer floats, the local media who promoted the program, the Neighborhood Assist Grant that paid for the escape room supplies, Pipestone Area Coalition that worked with students on the history of prohibition, the Pipestone Country that provided space for the escape room, and the school's social studies classes that discussed the topic in classrooms.

LITTLE MINNESOTA IN WORLD WAR II
In the spring of the year, sixteen libraries hosted Jill and Deane Johnson, author of the book, Little Minnesota in World War II. The presentations centered on the book that they wrote honoring 140 of the men from Minnesota's smallest towns who gave their lives for their country during World War II.

Many of the attendees appreciated the opportunity to visit with the authors and to learn about the places and towns that they had researched for their book. At every location the authors talked about servicemen with local connections and that interested many who were at the programs. Most notably, those who attended this program learned about the devastating and lasting affect that the war left on so many of the smallest towns in Minnesota, where one loss of life reverberated loudly.

The in depth research that the presenters performed to write their book was impressive. Not only did they write about each of the featured service me but they included photographs and interviews with surviving family members and that brought their stories to life. There was not an audience member who was left untouched by hearing about these men.

"I am intrigued by the value of our farm boys as enlisted soldiers," one audience member mentioned. A young attendee spoke at length about the information that Jill and Deane Johnson provided as to how to research military records on the internet. All participants appreciated the added element of the accompanying slide show presentation.

In all, 319 people attended the programs that were held in libraries, community centers and city halls. There were numerous partner in-kind contributions that included advertising, refreshments and use of facilities and the program drew in a variety of entities within each community.

THE WOMEN OF SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA AND THE GREAT WAR - Anita Talsma Gaul
We were pleased to be able to present this unique historical program at the Nobles County Library. Dr. Anita Talsma Gaul, Professor of American History at the Southwest Minnesota University in Marshall, Minnesota, presented a lively and colorful presentation that explored how the women of the Southwest Minnesota region contributed to the war effort during World War I.

Gaul, garbed in authentic period costume, presented information about how women took on roles with the Red Cross, U.S. food Administration's food conservation campaign and nursing facilities as well as other nontraditional gender roles traditionally held by men such as working as field hands, railroad depot agents or in Minnesota's all-­female Home Guard unit. The presenter's energy and zest for history was contagious to all who attended the program.

The library partnered with the Nobles County Historical Society for their program and found it to be both educational and entertaining to attendees of all ages. The cost for the entire program was $173.08 which included the speaker's travel. It is programs such as this that are right in our own territory that mean so much to the library and all who attend them. The library reported that attendees were extremely engaged in the program and offered numerous questions following the presentation. They also showed a keen interest in the subject of World War I and Southwest Minnesota history.

The Rock County Library in Luverne partnered with local music studio Luverne Street Music, located in the historic Carnegie Cultural Center, to bring the Arlington Brass group in. The local group has been together for more than 15 years and have traveled the Midwest to perform in many different communities. The Arlington Brass played music arranged especially for them and shared stories about their experiences. Stories included how one band member, a retired Army musician, rode his motorcycle from Virginia to play with the ensemble. A former band director, aged 80, diagnosed with macular degeneration, shared how his eyesight hasn't stopped him from making music. There were 38 attendees, all of whom had smiles on their faces throughout the program. Many people commented on how fun the event was and how great the brass sounded.

Comments included:
"I'm encouraged again - you do not have to let age or even a disability deter you from doing what you enjoy - playing in a band or driving your cycle across the country!"
"I found out how much I love brass instruments!"
"Music skills span the ages!"
"Magnificent. Thank you so much. I love the library."