Steele County Great War Centennial and Federated Inventory Program
To form a partnership in order to provide services to, and help coordinate preservation of historic resources for, the various historical organizations around Steele County.
Partners: Steele County Historical Society, Minnesota State Public School Orphanage Museum, Owatonna High School Museum, Little Theater of Owatonna, Ellendale Area Heritage Society, Medford Historical League
This partnership of Steele County history organizations will commemorate the centennial of the entrance of the United States into the Great War (World War I). A task force will begin with a historic resource survey aimed at unifying collections strategies and performing the interpretive research needed to create a multi-site exhibit focused on Minnesota institutions in Steele County such as the Minnesota State Public School for Dependent and Neglected Children and Pillsbury Military Academy. Companion public programming to complement the exhibit will be designed for varying ages and will fit inside a case for travel to schools. These programs will cross Minnesota educational standards, dovetailing local history with science, engineering, literature, and physical education, making these programs highly attractive and powerful tools for schools. Another outcome of the partnership is to increase efficiency and visibility, build capacity and resilience, and strengthen relationships among the Steele County history groups.
$2,000,000 the first year and $2,000,000 the second year are for partnerships involving multiple organizations, which may include the Minnesota Historical Society, to preserve and enhance access to Minnesota's history and cultural heritage in all regions of the state.
Available upon request. Contact:grants@mnhs.org
We can approach our metrics by considering our to-date performance on; (1) short term, (2) intermediate and (3) long term goals. To an extent the goals set forth for this project reflect our continued involvement with the interpretive partners. However, there is a great deal of mutual benefit from continued involvement with the township governments as they are the caretakers of our official rural heritage.
1.We set three short term goals; (a) a federated collections inventory, (b) visibility and (c) capacity.
a.The inventory is already proving valuable to several of the organizations. The sPs and OHSM are planning Legacy Grants to process portions of their collection. The inventory, along with minimal information from our experience, tells them nearly exactly how much labor the project will require.
We were also able to use the inventory to locate numerous materials essential to completing both the exhibition and programming of this project. Additional opportunities have also been gleaned through dialogue.
b.To date this project has yielded two feature newspaper stories, a story in an area magazine and reports in the newsletters of the partners. This has cross pollinated and expanded our constituencies, which benefits all partners.
We anticipate this will magnify as we are now in the construction phase of the exhibition and firming up the planning for a selection of the recommended community events. With the exhibition deployed at six locations throughout the county, the visibility and visitation for all involved is certain to continue to increase.
c.The project has increased the capacity of many of the interpretive partners. This has particularly been true for the smaller organizations that are dependent exclusively on volunteers : having access to paid professionals. Through our partnership we have assisted with numerous projects and planning meetings.
Capacity for the SCHS should have probably been considered an intermediate or long term goal, however. While capacity has already been increased, it is probable that our involvement with the partners will continue to grow access to a much greater pool of talent.
2.We set two intermediate goals; (a) collections strategy and (b) sharing knowledge, skills and resources.
a.The inventory has allowed the SCHS to begin more complete analysis of collections that may be deaccessioned. We are however waiting to attend the spring session of MAHLM which is hosting a presentation on deaccessioning before we begin casting off portions of our collection. For other partners, discussion of collections strategy has become an analog to review overall function of the group. This growth has just begun and is exciting for us.
b.This benefit has largely been enjoyed by the smaller partners who have gained access to professional staff to assist with their projects or advise on planning. And this arrangement furthers the SCHS mission. By assisting these organizations we are directly impacting the preservation of Steele County History. Additionally, the SCHS anticipates that this will pay dividends in the long term transition : connecting us with more people : allowing greater partnership : connecting us with more people.
3.We set one long term goal, the building of enduring relationships. Long term goals should reflect consistent and continued effort. In this case we have defined success based on continued meetings/aid after the project ends. While we cannot predict the future, we are in a place for success. We are currently working directly with several of the organizations on a monthly basis. These are organizations we previously talked to, maybe, annually.
With regards to our township partners, we will continue to attend the annual township association meeting as well as attending one meeting for each township annually. Additionally, we hold one collections workshop each year and the townships will receive an invitation, gratis. If this formula is followed, we will achieve our goal and will stay plugged into the heartbeat of rural Steele County.
Available upon request, grants@mnhs.org