Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Eddy County Museum at the end of the 2023 season. The historic multiplex includes three buildings, from left to right: Stavanger Church, Brantford Depot, and Hulbert Schoolhouse. Courtesy photo.
Apple trees now grow alongside the Stavanger Church. Other species recently planted on the Eddy County Museum grounds include lilac, lindenwood, burr oak and more, thanks to funding from the North Dakota Forest Service. Courtesy photo.
Welcome back for another season of Archival Anecdotes!
For those of you who aren't familiar with this column, please allow me to make an introduction. It was late in 2019 that the Eddy County Museum and Historical Society decided to launch the interpretive column for the winter months. Since then, I have written 126 of these entries, and I am planning on writing a couple dozen more before the museum opens again at the end of May.
Perhaps that is a cue for another introduction. I have served as the museum archivist since 2016, and have digitized and provided interpretive documentation for hundreds of the museum's artifacts. Interestingly enough I have no familial connections in Eddy County, or even North Dakota. I grew up in southern Illinois and began working in the field of archaeology at the age of 19. I later moved west, where I earned my bachelor's degree in Anthropology and a master's degree in American Studies, both from the University of Wyoming. It is a privilege to apply my skills and knowledge to the future of the museum, and even more so to work alongside such a knowledgeable board.
One of our newest board members is the Community Forestry Program Manager for the North Dakota State Forest Service, Gerri Makay. This summer, Makay put her talents to work and helped the Eddy County Museum apply for and receive a tree planting grant. The trees selected for planting on the museum grounds were selected based on their cultural importance. For example, lilacs were essential to making the homestead a home, lindenwood was highly valued material for building furniture and burr oaks served as a central gathering space.
If you were to drive past the museum this week, these trees would not look like much more than a few sticks poking up out of the ground. But one day I assure you, those trees will be majestic – whether we are here to witness it or not.
Such is the same for the museum. We're still growing and changing. Each time we accept a new item for accession or create a new display, we learn more about our past.
