Humboldt County Historical
Association Newsletter
April 2009
Norm Caldwell, President Connie Overby, Director
332-5285 890-9652
The April 16th meeting was the last
meeting before the summer season. We will begin our next season in September.
Be sure to watch the newsletter for upcoming events and the calendar for our
fall, winter and spring meetings. Also, if you have any program ideas for our
meetings, and if you would be willing to serve as a host/hostess for a meeting,
please contact Jeanne Raine (332-3264)
Norm's Notes:
The Museum Store is finished and ready for goods to be sold. The deck and ramp
on the store entrance is almost finished and will be completed this Wednesday if
we aren't planting corn. We will paint the deck and ramp this September after
the wood dries out.
Our next area will be in the barn where the livery stable will be enlarged. I
was amazed at the number of items in the small room where the livery stable was
originally displayed. The tools, horseshoes, and equipment will be much better
displayed when we get it all organized.
Thanks to the Humboldt Community Foundation for the $990.00 given to us for
developing a traveling trunk educational program for our young students of
Humboldt area schools.
Soon our doors will be open so please stop out and take a look. Admission is
free for all our members so hope to see you this
--Norm
News From Your Museum Director:
Spring is in the air and our museum is waking up from the long winter and slowly
coming to life.
We had our Hardy Church cleaning day on March 26th and although we didn't get
the whole church cleaned the kitchen is in pretty good shape. We also developed
a new display in the main church area and have many historic items from the
Hardy Church now on view.
The Master Gardeners are getting things started for the development of our
Kitchen Garden east of the house. Look for lots of activity in the next few
months.
Thanks to Norm and his Wednesday Workers the new Museum Store is painted white,
the floor is painted red and there is a beautiful new sign. The store is now
ready to be filled with wonderful things. We are looking for a variety of
things to sell in this store so please contact Connie at 890-9652 if you have
anything to donate or sell on commission.
Thank you to Bev Kennedy for taking on the preservation of our quilt
collection. The last quilt was rolled up, put in its muslin bag and labeled;
the quilts are being stored in the closet upstairs.
We are holding a "Sewing Day" in the Hardy Church basement on Thursday,
April 30th, from 9 to 5. If you sew, or are crafty please come and together we
can make items to be sold in the museum store. If you are wondering what sort
of things we are looking for, we are thinking of things people would have made
and used back in the time Humboldt County was settled. Corn Husk dolls, corn
cob pipes, baskets, hand made items, dolls, hats etc.
Our Museum GARAGE SALE will be held at the museum on Saturday, May 16th. Please
drop off your items at the Clancy Building. If no one is there place the items
near the front door of the Clancy Building.
The IMA (Iowa Museum Association) held a wonderful workshop at the Danish
Heritage Museum in Elk Horn on Monday, April 6, which I attended. I learned so
much, how to make custom boxes, how to label and display items, and even how to
bend plexi-glass! These workshops are always well worth the time and
energy, I look forward to attending more in the future.
I will be showing our wedding gown collection to P.E.O. Chapter OA on Wednesday,
April 22, at the museum. It is such a treat to show off any of our collections
to the folks of Humboldt County. If you know of a group in the area that may be
interested in visiting our museum to tour or to view a
certain collection please call Connie at 890-9652.
As opening day approaches we need to clean and spruce up our museum and get it
ready to show off. If you have any time you can spend working at the museum
please call Connie at 890-9652. We can tell you exactly what needs to be done
or you can tell us exactly what you are willing to do and when you would like to
do it! Any help will be greatly appreciated.
--Connie
Remember to do the Dues!
Remember to send your 2009 dues ($10.00 single per year or $200.00 lifetime)
to Jeanne Raine, 509 11th Street S.W. Humboldt, Iowa 50548.
More Items of Interest from the Accession Committee
A few more of the 10,800 items that have been accessioned and catalogued in
our museum collection:
J A large (42" x 35") aerial view of the city of
Humboldt taken about 1950. It had hung in Dr. P. W. Williams' dental office for
many years until his retirement and he donated it to our museum
J Humboldt Centennial program of events entitled
"A Day of Old Fashioned Fun" held at the Humboldt County Fairgrounds in June
1963. W. E. Stow was chairman and Ray Lindhart the Master of Ceremonies.
J A brass school bell for the teacher's desk used
by Grace Schultz in the country school in 1897. Given by
Dr. Nelle and Dr. Ivan Schultz.
J Dr. Carl
Hoveland's medical bag with instruments given by Dr. Hoveland.
J Leather holder for ration books and tokens which
were used during W.W. II. From the Nellie Schnoor estate.
J A wooden chopping bowl, 10" diameter,
given by Ray Engle.
J A postcard of Humboldt's 50th anniversary
parade in 1913 showing main street and Frank Gotch
walking with an ox team. From the Earl Butterworth estate.
J Ten sections of special Centennial edition
published by the Humboldt Republican newspaper, June 2 - 9, 1963, given by Betty
(Hellickson) Lilly.
These items and many more can be seen at
our Humboldt County Historical Museum.
--Bill Verbrugge
Historically Speaking
Humanities Iowa has a publication called "Voices from the Prairie". An article
written by Irene M. Slater in which she relates memories of the old cook stove
from her childhood was printed in the most recent issue. Perhaps her story will
trigger memories of your youth.
" I remember my own mother's cook stove. It was an
older model Home Comfort cook stove and has been purchased at an auction.
I remember the smell of hot bread baking in the oven when we came home from
school.
I remember the steaming, hot water in a pan sitting on the open oven door which
we would breathe when we had colds. That was our decongestant. Then mother would
slather a mixture of good grease and turpentine on our chest and place a hot
flannel cloth that had been warming in the oven on top of the mixture on our
chest.
I remember heating a brick in the oven on cold winter nights. It would be
wrapped in a towel and we would take it to bed with us to warm up the bed. The
bedrooms had little or no heat then.
The open oven door provided a warm place to dress on cold mornings because the
house had no other heat. The old cook stove was kept going 24 hours a day in the
winter.
I remember the wash tub sitting on the floor in front of the oven door. It was
filled with hot water from the built-in reservoir of the stove. We had no
running water or electricity. The reservoir was always a source of hot or warm
water. We could carry in water to keep it filled when we brought in the drinking
water bucket."
--Martha Schmidt