Dodge County Historical Society Summer Fund Raiser is upon us! On Sunday, July 30th DCHS will be hosting an open air Vintage tractor and garden quilt show at 20921 602 street, Wasioja, Mn from 10:30 to 4 pm. There will be live music and entertainment by the Onion Creek Cloggers, and a traditional blacksmithing exhibit with Zach Wilcox at the helm. Demonstrations of a vintage threshing machine and a PTO driven 5-foot chain saw that was manufactured in Claremont, Mn will be on display, as well as 100 vintage and contemporary quilts made by local quilters.
I spoke with Jean Bartel, President of the Society about the show. "We are encouraging vintage tractor enthusiasts to bring their own tractors to be on display at the show. If you are interested in joining us, please call the Historical Society at (507) 635-5508 and leave a message. This promises to be a showcase for old time agricultural practices."
There will be vendors and food being served, and the buildings will all be open to explore as well. The Blacksmith demonstration will show how important smithy's were back in the day. Every town had it's own blacksmith to forge everyday necessities like nails and horseshoes, as well as decorative and functional items for the homes.
Jean has been the President of the Society for the last 3 years, and has been instrumental in many fundraisers. " We are all volunteers, and are financially sustained by our fundraisers and the generous donations from our visitors. We are able to do so much more with our community's support."
Annie The Intern was present as well, and she added," If you are interested in the history of this area, please stop in and learn about the heritage and history of our county. There IS more than just agriculture here!" Civil war involvement, Norwegian and Swiss immigrants, and those of European descent can all be found in Dodge County.
The museum has recently been revamped to include pictures and objects of the period. They are inventorying and cataloging all the items in the collection on a weekly basis. They move the items around to protect the integrity of them and change out the displays so that every time you stop in, they will have different displays of the period for you to enjoy. Important documents such as land deeds are placed in protective archival sleeves to preserve them for generations to come, and stand the test of time. They change things annually so every new summer season there will be new things to discover.
Volunteer Curator Linda Jerviss would like to thank the people who care enough about the history this area for donating their family treasures to grace the walls and show visitors more of the past. So, come on in and see if you find any of your family history, or donate some of your own family treasures to be preserved for all time. In any case, a trip to the museum will leave you in awe of life in the past era.
As you can imagine, they are always looking for volunteers to help with the various tasks and adventures they encounter on a daily basis. Computer help, handy man duties, helping with displays, logging the collections, or just helping keep the place tidy are all jobs you can do! Or, if you have an expertise not mentioned that you want to share, they need you!
See you at the show!
