Minnesota Greatest Generation

The Minnesota Historical Society (MHS) selected five venues across the state to host the Minnesota Homefront traveling exhibit.  This exhibit features nine panels, audio interviews, songs of the period, a "Letter Stories" bin, and shares the experience of 46 Minnesotans during WWII.  The exhibit launched at Minnesota's State Capitol in January 2011 and will continue to travel around the state until September 2011.  Dodge County Historical Society (Mantorville) and the Wabasha Heritage Preservation Commission (Wabasha) were both awarded the opportunity to showcase this MHS exhibit.  The exhibit opened at the Dodge County Historical Society on March 19, 2011 and will be on display through May 8, 2011.  The Dodge County Historical Society partnered with the Kasson Public Library to bring in some of the Minnesota's Greatest Generation library kits to go along with the exhibit. The exhibit will be on display in Wabasha starting July 23 and running through September 11, 2011.  A location has yet to be determined and the city is looking into ways to partner with the Wabasha Public Library.

Check out the Minnesota Homefront traveling exhibit while it's in the SELCO region!  And click here to check out the available Minnesota's Greatest Generation library kits to start or enhance a program at your library!

This project was funded in part or in whole with money from Minnesota's Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.

Ann Regan, Editor in Chief at Minnesota Historical Society (MHS) Press, will be speaking at the Red Wing Public Library on April 16, 2011 at 10 a.m.  Regan will give an overview of publishing at MHS Press, the largest historical society press in the country.  This program is funded in part or in whole with money from Minnesota's Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.

Great news!  Minnesota's Greatest Generation (MGG) Kits are now available to book for programming and focus on events and activities for the generation of Americans who grew up in the Depression, fought in World War II, and brought along the Boom in prosperity after.  There are four types of kits available:  Film Festival Kit, Trivia Contest Kit, Craft Kits, and Family Day Kits.  Each kit contains programming ideas, contents lists, craft supplies and evaluations.  Requests for MGG Kits must be made by e-mail.  These kits were created by staff working for the Minnesota Historical Society and Minnesota's Regional Library Systems.  This project was funded in part or in whole with money from Minnesota's Arts and Cultural Heritage fund.  For booking and other information, please click here .

A request from the Minnesota Historical Society ....

As the Minnesota Historical Society prepares to roll-out a series of traveling exhibits over the next few years, we would like to ensure that these exhibits are able to best serve your library communities. Please ask a representative from each of the libraries in your region to fill out this short online survey. The more we learn about libraries and their exhibition capabilities, the better we will be able to design exhibits that work for these unique spaces.

Four plays were commissioned for the Minnesota's Greatest Generation Project. Each playwright used primary source documents as inspiration.  The Minnesota Historical Society (MHS) will provide scripts of the plays to the libraries. The library acts as producer, casting local actors or teens. Plays were written to be performed in small spaces with minimal or no props and can easily adapt to any library or stage setting.

Parachute Silk
     Cast: two female actors
Two factory girls discuss their fears and hopes about marrying their returning GI fiancés, while making wedding dresses out of parachute silk.

Parachute Silk Script

Parachute Silk Staging Notes and Information

The Secret Storm

     Cast: one female, three male actors
A housewife in the 1950s watches a soap opera that has an eerie way of crossing into her own life---and bringing up issues of lost loves, divorce and survivor's guilt.

The Secret Storm Script

The Secret Storm Staging Notes and Information

Swell!

      Cast: one female, one male actor and a narrator
The story of two different teenagers and their worries during the Depression, as seen through their diary entires.

Swell! Script

Swell! Staging Notes and Information

The Amazing Adventures of Stuart Lindman!     Cast: two male actors
The life story of Minnesota's Greatest Generation member Stuart Lindman, told as an old time radio show.

The Amazing Adventures of Stuart Lindman! Script

The Amazing Adventures of Stuart Lindman! Staging Notes and Information

LIBRARY LOGISTICS:
Libraries must provide:

• Library or community staff to produce the play (cast actors, rehearse, etc.)
• Seating for audience
• Props and costumes (optional)

For more information contact Ginny Brodeen , CRPLSA/MHS Library Coordinator

The Minnesota Historical Society (MHS), in partnership with the Council of Regional Public Library System Administrators (CRPLSA), is proud to release the Minnesota's Greatest Generation in the Libraries Catalog .  With much anticipation, the catalog is the graphic presentation of the start of a beautiful partnership that will bring quality programs to libraries and communities - large and small - throughout Minnesota.  The offerings include music, theater, speakers, workshops, intergenerational programming materials and support for communities electing a "do-it-yourself" approach.

CRPLSA - MHS project coordinators, Ginny Brodeen and Maren Levad, will serve as the point of contact and booking agents for Regional Library Systems and local libraries interested in scheduling just one or several programs described in the MGG in the Library Catalog.  The Regional Library Systems will distribute the Catalog to area libraries and encourage library staff and coordinating volunteers to start booking.  The kits (described on page 9) are being assembled and should arrive at the Regional Library offices by early April.

For more information contact:

Abbey Thompson - SELCO Project Librarian

Ginny Brodeen   - CRPLSA - MHS Library Coordinator

Maren Levad   - MHS Library Partnership Coordinator

Ginny Brodeen & Maren Levad paid a visit to SELCO last week to discuss progress with the Minnesota Greatest Generation project. The following handouts were presented during the course of the discussion:

MGG Catalog of Programming

MGG/SELCO Partnership Mission

MGG Sample Performer Evaluation

MGG Intergenerational Project Selection Process

The Council of Minnesota's Regional Public Library System Administrators (CRPLSA) is pleased to announce the appointment of Ginny Brodeen as the Library Legacy Program Coordinator for the statewide Legacy Fund partnership with the Minnesota Historical Society  .  Ms. Brodeen brings a wealth of successful program, partnership, and project management experience to this position, from her years of working at St. Paul Public Library  in public service, outreach and management to her wide variety of professional contributions within the Minnesota Library Community.

 
This partnership between Minnesota's Libraries and the Minnesota Historical Society will bring programs and services based on the tremendously popular Minnesota's Greatest Generation exhibit across the state.  Minnesota's network of regional libraries will host a variety of programs, events, displays, and experiences for people of all ages.
 
"Minnesota's Greatest Generation: The Depression, The War, The Boom"  explores and celebrates the generation of those who came of age in mid-20th century America with particularly daunting challenges. After a childhood overshadowed by the Great Depression, world war rushed these young men and women into adulthood. This generation's endurance and ingenuity brought not only wartime victory but unprecedented prosperity in the post-war years. In recognition of their courage and in gratitude for their efforts, many have called them the "Greatest Generation."
 
Programs and services will encourage local exploration and discovery of stories, memorabilia, and experiences of Minnesota's Greatest Generation for all ages to examine and enjoy.  This will be an extraordinary opportunity to experience a vast sweep of American and Minnesota history from the 1920s to the present day.

For more information, contact Mark Ranum , Plum Creek Library System, 612-701-9989.

This project was funded in part or in whole with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008 which dedicated funding to preserve Minnesota's arts and cultural heritage.

Minnesota's Greatest Generation – the people who grew up during the Depression, came of age during World War II, and participated in the post-war Boom – created a lasting legacy that has shaped all of us who have come after.  The Minnesota's Greatest Generation (MGG) Project preserves their legacy and makes it accessible through an exhibit at the Minnesota History Center, films, workshops, public programs and a website.

In an exciting new Arts and Cultural Heritage Legacy partnership, the Minnesota Historical Society (MHS) and Minnesota's Regional Library Systems (CRPLSA) will continue the work of the Minnesota's Greatest Generation Project, focusing on three key goals.

• Documenting and preserving stories
• Educating people of all ages about the history of the Greatest Generation
• Bringing generations together to create community histories that will be shared with a broad audience through art, film, exhibits and other media.

The goals of this new MHS – CRPLSA statewide project range from quick, easy and inexpensive to slow, hard and expensive!  During Fiscal Year 2010, MHS and CRPLSA will work together to create a three-tiered experience.

Tier One:  All libraries in the regional system may choose to participate where libraries can host:

• Public programs to educate people of all ages about MGG
• Oral history workshops
• Classes on how to Share Your Story
• MGG Family Days using the MHS – MGG family day template and art activities.

Tier Two:  Many libraries in the regional system can:

• Host preservation workshops offered by MHS conservators
• Develop workshops on how to preserve family stories through film or other media, as well as work with other creative partners.

Tier Three:  Selected libraries throughout the state will participate with MHS to implement high-impact inter-generational programs that yield tangible products documenting community history.

Check back here for more information as the project progresses.