Fire Hall Collection Processing
To provide better organization of a discrete part of the museum collections, allowing for greater public access to the community?s historic resources.
$4,500,000 the first year and $6,500,000 the second year are for history programs and projects operated or conducted by or through local, county, regional, or other historical or cultural organizations or for activities to preserve significant historic and cultural resources. Funds are to be distributed through a competitive grant process. The Minnesota Historical Society must administer these funds using established grant mechanisms, with assistance from the advisory committee created under Laws 2009, chapter 172, article 4, section 2, subdivision 4, paragraph (b), item (ii).
Available upon request. grants@mnhs.org
We will discuss the measurable outcomes in terms of (1) short term, (2) intermediate, and (3) long term.
1. The short term outcome involves the intellectual control of our collections. We have already identified several photos that are desirable for upcoming exhibits that were cataloged as a result of this project. These are primarily involved with firemen who also belonged to music groups that are being researched for our upcoming exhibit on music. In addition to the photos, we restored provenance on several musical instruments that were used in the Fireman?s Band.
2. Our intermediate goal was to identify holes and excesses in our collection. We can report two outcomes here in addition to our new ability to better evaluate incoming collections. First, we identified areas of the collection where there was unnecessary duplication. Since the Fire Hall is not climate controlled, the duplicate items will be retained and stored in a climate controlled facility. These will then be rotated in on a two year schedule, giving the items a rest period and a regular cleaning cycle. Second, the cataloging process opened dialog with staff at area fire departments. As a result we were able to locate large collections of photos in their possession. We have begun discussions of bringing these photos in on loan in the future so that the images may be preserved for future generations. These include portrait photos of Steele County public servants such as fire and law enforcement personnel, as well as photos of community events. This directly connects to our long-term goal.
3. Each collection management project ultimately brings us into greater with the community at large. In this case, with fire and safety personnel. This work has reinforced relationships started by our Steele County Disasters exhibit a few years ago. The institutions have noted our work and continued attention to their niche in Steele County History. Conversations are going well to secure loans of their historic materials to further our collections in this area. We suspect that the work will have a similar effect on the general public when the building is reopened, an event which has been delayed to an unknown date due to the 2020 pandemic closures. However, if past patterns are any indication, we will see an influx of offered material when the building is reopened.
Available upon request, grants@mnhs.org