A couple years ago, to say the collection at the Becker County Historical Society and Museum was a bit unorganized would have been an understatement. Items were put into boxes in the basement with no rhyme or reason behind them. For example, one box was labeled “sporting goods,” and inside it were two spring hats, a fireman hat, roller skates and an uterector (think 1950s intrauterine device). Another box contained ladies’ shoes and a frying pan. So Becca McCollum was hired to sift through the collection and organize and label each item. She’s 90 percent done now and has found some interesting pieces along the way. “All of these things have been rediscovered,” Executive Director Amy Degerstrom said. The museum’s next Brown Bag Lunch, Feb. 11, will feature posters, love letters, indentured servant contracts and other paper products McCollum has found. She has spent her time trying to match descriptions and numbers with donors but hasn’t had luck on a lot of pieces. She said probably 40 percent of the collection at the museum doesn’t have a name attached to it or where it came from. “It’s not a one person job. We really had to plow through it together,” McCollum said of the staff at the museum helping her out. When McCollum starts digging and sorting, she comes across items that she brings to the rest of the staff, and they research what it is and where it came from. “I think it’s fun,” Degerstrom said. “It’s sort of a collections ‘what is it’ game.” Cleaning out collections Since bringing McCollum on and clearing up the collection, the museum has changed the policy on what they will accept for donations. The items need to be from Becker County or have some sort of connection to the county. With items that have been donated and been taken out of the collection, they have been respectfully disposed of as it’s been fit. For instance, items that are moldy are disposed of because they could cause harm to other items in the collection.
Another example is old medicines or chemicals that have been discovered that are now found to be dangerous or illegal. Removing something from the collection is done after all efforts have been made to contact the person who donated the piece and see what they want done with it. Many pieces have no donor information connected to it though. A collections committee made up of board members then determines what needs to be done with each individual piece. “It’s always an interesting process,” Degerstrom said of going through the collection. “It’s been an exciting adventure,” McCollum agreed. The reason for the build-up and need to hire a staff person to organize it all was because for so many years, that position didn’t exist at the Becker County Museum. Degerstrom said that when someone sees the collections area of a large museum, like the Smithsonian for example, everything is organized because it has been since the beginning, and they aren’t trying to play catch-up like smaller ones such as Becker County. “As in all museums, objects are taken in and taken out of the collection as needed and provided that space is available,” she said. “Every museum does this; we are not unique. We have a static amount of space for an ever-growing collection, so very much like your house if something comes in, something has to go out.” After two years though, McCollum’s job of organizing is about complete. “There were lots of steps to it, but we’re finally at a point where we have photographed the collection to not only give a description but also a visual,” Degerstrom said. In fact, people are welcome to stop by the museum and go through the binders with collections photos in to see if there is anything in the collection they might have information on. “The reason we’re doing this is we can’t preserve things we don’t know we have. We can’t insure things we don’t know we have. We can’t make accessible things we don’t know we have,” Degerstrom added. “If you don’t know what you have, you’re not doing your job (of preserving history and making it available to the public).” Gaps missing There are 20,390 artifacts in the Becker County collection - and they’re looking for more. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"1456581","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"350","typeof":"foaf:Image","width":"750"}}]] Degerstrom said there are gaps in the collection where the museum is lacking, especially in 1950 and newer. They also have little to no sports equipment, and they only have one cookie cutter in the entire collection. The museum also has a shortage of toys. Tonka trucks, G.I. Joes, Cabbage Patch Kids, Care Bears - the originals, not the remakes from nowadays - are wanted. “People don’t think of their lifetime as history,” she said, adding that now is the time to donate. “Things you use every day are often the things that get thrown away first.” Things like expired fishing licenses, school programs, graduation announcements, concert tickets, grand opening posters, etc. And some things that people don’t even see as history. For instance, businesses that started in the 1980s, which may not seem that long ago, they are already 30 years old. Memorabilia from existing businesses, schools, households, etc. needs to be collected now. In 25 years, it will be a part of history that may be difficult to get back. “Don’t assume it’s junk and no one wants it,” Degerstrom said. She said the museum is also looking for items not from Detroit Lakes. Because it’s the largest city in the county and where the museum resides, there are lots of pieces from Detroit Lakes. That doesn’t tell the history of the entire county though. “We want things from around the county,” she said. “Think to ask. We can’t take everything, but we would certainly like the opportunity” to see what’s being given away or thrown away because it’s not considered noteworthy, she added. She wants to tell (and preserve) the story of people living now too, not just early settlers. Brown Bag Lunch Each month the Becker County Historical Society and Museum hosts a Brown Bag Lunch. The next one is Wednesday, Feb. 11, and McCollum will be showing unique paper pieces from the collection. The event is at noon, and people are encouraged to either bring their own lunch or call the museum ahead for a sandwich and soup lunch catered from La Barista. Follow Pippi Mayfield on Twitter at @PippiMayfield.A couple years ago, to say the collection at the Becker County Historical Society and Museum was a bit unorganized would have been an understatement. Items were put into boxes in the basement with no rhyme or reason behind them. For example, one box was labeled “sporting goods,” and inside it were two spring hats, a fireman hat, roller skates and an uterector (think 1950s intrauterine device). Another box contained ladies’ shoes and a frying pan. So Becca McCollum was hired to sift through the collection and organize and label each item. She’s 90 percent done now and has found some interesting pieces along the way. “All of these things have been rediscovered,” Executive Director Amy Degerstrom said. The museum’s next Brown Bag Lunch, Feb. 11, will feature posters, love letters, indentured servant contracts and other paper products McCollum has found. She has spent her time trying to match descriptions and numbers with donors but hasn’t had luck on a lot of pieces. She said probably 40 percent of the collection at the museum doesn’t have a name attached to it or where it came from. “It’s not a one person job. We really had to plow through it together,” McCollum said of the staff at the museum helping her out. When McCollum starts digging and sorting, she comes across items that she brings to the rest of the staff, and they research what it is and where it came from. “I think it’s fun,” Degerstrom said. “It’s sort of a collections ‘what is it’ game.” Cleaning out collections Since bringing McCollum on and clearing up the collection, the museum has changed the policy on what they will accept for donations. The items need to be from Becker County or have some sort of connection to the county. With items that have been donated and been taken out of the collection, they have been respectfully disposed of as it’s been fit. For instance, items that are moldy are disposed of because they could cause harm to other items in the collection. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"1456577","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"350","typeof":"foaf:Image","width":"750"}}]] Another example is old medicines or chemicals that have been discovered that are now found to be dangerous or illegal. Removing something from the collection is done after all efforts have been made to contact the person who donated the piece and see what they want done with it. Many pieces have no donor information connected to it though. A collections committee made up of board members then determines what needs to be done with each individual piece. “It’s always an interesting process,” Degerstrom said of going through the collection. “It’s been an exciting adventure,” McCollum agreed. The reason for the build-up and need to hire a staff person to organize it all was because for so many years, that position didn’t exist at the Becker County Museum. Degerstrom said that when someone sees the collections area of a large museum, like the Smithsonian for example, everything is organized because it has been since the beginning, and they aren’t trying to play catch-up like smaller ones such as Becker County. “As in all museums, objects are taken in and taken out of the collection as needed and provided that space is available,” she said. “Every museum does this; we are not unique. We have a static amount of space for an ever-growing collection, so very much like your house if something comes in, something has to go out.” After two years though, McCollum’s job of organizing is about complete. “There were lots of steps to it, but we’re finally at a point where we have photographed the collection to not only give a description but also a visual,” Degerstrom said. In fact, people are welcome to stop by the museum and go through the binders with collections photos in to see if there is anything in the collection they might have information on. “The reason we’re doing this is we can’t preserve things we don’t know we have. We can’t insure things we don’t know we have. We can’t make accessible things we don’t know we have,” Degerstrom added. “If you don’t know what you have, you’re not doing your job (of preserving history and making it available to the public).” Gaps missing There are 20,390 artifacts in the Becker County collection - and they’re looking for more.
Degerstrom said there are gaps in the collection where the museum is lacking, especially in 1950 and newer. They also have little to no sports equipment, and they only have one cookie cutter in the entire collection. The museum also has a shortage of toys. Tonka trucks, G.I. Joes, Cabbage Patch Kids, Care Bears - the originals, not the remakes from nowadays - are wanted. “People don’t think of their lifetime as history,” she said, adding that now is the time to donate. “Things you use every day are often the things that get thrown away first.” Things like expired fishing licenses, school programs, graduation announcements, concert tickets, grand opening posters, etc. And some things that people don’t even see as history. For instance, businesses that started in the 1980s, which may not seem that long ago, they are already 30 years old. Memorabilia from existing businesses, schools, households, etc. needs to be collected now. In 25 years, it will be a part of history that may be difficult to get back. “Don’t assume it’s junk and no one wants it,” Degerstrom said. She said the museum is also looking for items not from Detroit Lakes. Because it’s the largest city in the county and where the museum resides, there are lots of pieces from Detroit Lakes. That doesn’t tell the history of the entire county though. “We want things from around the county,” she said. “Think to ask. We can’t take everything, but we would certainly like the opportunity” to see what’s being given away or thrown away because it’s not considered noteworthy, she added. She wants to tell (and preserve) the story of people living now too, not just early settlers. Brown Bag Lunch Each month the Becker County Historical Society and Museum hosts a Brown Bag Lunch. The next one is Wednesday, Feb. 11, and McCollum will be showing unique paper pieces from the collection. The event is at noon, and people are encouraged to either bring their own lunch or call the museum ahead for a sandwich and soup lunch catered from La Barista. Follow Pippi Mayfield on Twitter at @PippiMayfield.A couple years ago, to say the collection at the Becker County Historical Society and Museum was a bit unorganized would have been an understatement.Items were put into boxes in the basement with no rhyme or reason behind them. For example, one box was labeled “sporting goods,” and inside it were two spring hats, a fireman hat, roller skates and an uterector (think 1950s intrauterine device).Another box contained ladies’ shoes and a frying pan.So Becca McCollum was hired to sift through the collection and organize and label each item. She’s 90 percent done now and has found some interesting pieces along the way.“All of these things have been rediscovered,” Executive Director Amy Degerstrom said.The museum’s next Brown Bag Lunch, Feb. 11, will feature posters, love letters, indentured servant contracts and other paper products McCollum has found.She has spent her time trying to match descriptions and numbers with donors but hasn’t had luck on a lot of pieces. She said probably 40 percent of the collection at the museum doesn’t have a name attached to it or where it came from.“It’s not a one person job. We really had to plow through it together,” McCollum said of the staff at the museum helping her out.When McCollum starts digging and sorting, she comes across items that she brings to the rest of the staff, and they research what it is and where it came from.“I think it’s fun,” Degerstrom said. “It’s sort of a collections ‘what is it’ game.”Cleaning out collectionsSince bringing McCollum on and clearing up the collection, the museum has changed the policy on what they will accept for donations.The items need to be from Becker County or have some sort of connection to the county. With items that have been donated and been taken out of the collection, they have been respectfully disposed of as it’s been fit.For instance, items that are moldy are disposed of because they could cause harm to other items in the collection.
Another example is old medicines or chemicals that have been discovered that are now found to be dangerous or illegal.Removing something from the collection is done after all efforts have been made to contact the person who donated the piece and see what they want done with it. Many pieces have no donor information connected to it though. A collections committee made up of board members then determines what needs to be done with each individual piece.“It’s always an interesting process,” Degerstrom said of going through the collection.“It’s been an exciting adventure,” McCollum agreed.The reason for the build-up and need to hire a staff person to organize it all was because for so many years, that position didn’t exist at the Becker County Museum. Degerstrom said that when someone sees the collections area of a large museum, like the Smithsonian for example, everything is organized because it has been since the beginning, and they aren’t trying to play catch-up like smaller ones such as Becker County.“As in all museums, objects are taken in and taken out of the collection as needed and provided that space is available,” she said. “Every museum does this; we are not unique. We have a static amount of space for an ever-growing collection, so very much like your house if something comes in, something has to go out.”After two years though, McCollum’s job of organizing is about complete.“There were lots of steps to it, but we’re finally at a point where we have photographed the collection to not only give a description but also a visual,” Degerstrom said.In fact, people are welcome to stop by the museum and go through the binders with collections photos in to see if there is anything in the collection they might have information on.“The reason we’re doing this is we can’t preserve things we don’t know we have. We can’t insure things we don’t know we have. We can’t make accessible things we don’t know we have,” Degerstrom added. “If you don’t know what you have, you’re not doing your job (of preserving history and making it available to the public).”Gaps missingThere are 20,390 artifacts in the Becker County collection - and they’re looking for more.[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"1456581","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"350","typeof":"foaf:Image","width":"750"}}]]Degerstrom said there are gaps in the collection where the museum is lacking, especially in 1950 and newer. They also have little to no sports equipment, and they only have one cookie cutter in the entire collection.The museum also has a shortage of toys. Tonka trucks, G.I. Joes, Cabbage Patch Kids, Care Bears - the originals, not the remakes from nowadays - are wanted.“People don’t think of their lifetime as history,” she said, adding that now is the time to donate. “Things you use every day are often the things that get thrown away first.”Things like expired fishing licenses, school programs, graduation announcements, concert tickets, grand opening posters, etc. And some things that people don’t even see as history.For instance, businesses that started in the 1980s, which may not seem that long ago, they are already 30 years old. Memorabilia from existing businesses, schools, households, etc. needs to be collected now. In 25 years, it will be a part of history that may be difficult to get back.“Don’t assume it’s junk and no one wants it,” Degerstrom said.She said the museum is also looking for items not from Detroit Lakes. Because it’s the largest city in the county and where the museum resides, there are lots of pieces from Detroit Lakes. That doesn’t tell the history of the entire county though.“We want things from around the county,” she said. “Think to ask. We can’t take everything, but we would certainly like the opportunity” to see what’s being given away or thrown away because it’s not considered noteworthy, she added.She wants to tell (and preserve) the story of people living now too, not just early settlers.Brown Bag LunchEach month the Becker County Historical Society and Museum hosts a Brown Bag Lunch. The next one is Wednesday, Feb. 11, and McCollum will be showing unique paper pieces from the collection.The event is at noon, and people are encouraged to either bring their own lunch or call the museum ahead for a sandwich and soup lunch catered from La Barista.Follow Pippi Mayfield on Twitter at @PippiMayfield.A couple years ago, to say the collection at the Becker County Historical Society and Museum was a bit unorganized would have been an understatement.Items were put into boxes in the basement with no rhyme or reason behind them. For example, one box was labeled “sporting goods,” and inside it were two spring hats, a fireman hat, roller skates and an uterector (think 1950s intrauterine device).Another box contained ladies’ shoes and a frying pan.So Becca McCollum was hired to sift through the collection and organize and label each item. She’s 90 percent done now and has found some interesting pieces along the way.“All of these things have been rediscovered,” Executive Director Amy Degerstrom said.The museum’s next Brown Bag Lunch, Feb. 11, will feature posters, love letters, indentured servant contracts and other paper products McCollum has found.She has spent her time trying to match descriptions and numbers with donors but hasn’t had luck on a lot of pieces. She said probably 40 percent of the collection at the museum doesn’t have a name attached to it or where it came from.“It’s not a one person job. We really had to plow through it together,” McCollum said of the staff at the museum helping her out.When McCollum starts digging and sorting, she comes across items that she brings to the rest of the staff, and they research what it is and where it came from.“I think it’s fun,” Degerstrom said. “It’s sort of a collections ‘what is it’ game.”Cleaning out collectionsSince bringing McCollum on and clearing up the collection, the museum has changed the policy on what they will accept for donations.The items need to be from Becker County or have some sort of connection to the county. With items that have been donated and been taken out of the collection, they have been respectfully disposed of as it’s been fit.For instance, items that are moldy are disposed of because they could cause harm to other items in the collection.[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"1456577","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"350","typeof":"foaf:Image","width":"750"}}]]Another example is old medicines or chemicals that have been discovered that are now found to be dangerous or illegal.Removing something from the collection is done after all efforts have been made to contact the person who donated the piece and see what they want done with it. Many pieces have no donor information connected to it though. A collections committee made up of board members then determines what needs to be done with each individual piece.“It’s always an interesting process,” Degerstrom said of going through the collection.“It’s been an exciting adventure,” McCollum agreed.The reason for the build-up and need to hire a staff person to organize it all was because for so many years, that position didn’t exist at the Becker County Museum. Degerstrom said that when someone sees the collections area of a large museum, like the Smithsonian for example, everything is organized because it has been since the beginning, and they aren’t trying to play catch-up like smaller ones such as Becker County.“As in all museums, objects are taken in and taken out of the collection as needed and provided that space is available,” she said. “Every museum does this; we are not unique. We have a static amount of space for an ever-growing collection, so very much like your house if something comes in, something has to go out.”After two years though, McCollum’s job of organizing is about complete.“There were lots of steps to it, but we’re finally at a point where we have photographed the collection to not only give a description but also a visual,” Degerstrom said.In fact, people are welcome to stop by the museum and go through the binders with collections photos in to see if there is anything in the collection they might have information on.“The reason we’re doing this is we can’t preserve things we don’t know we have. We can’t insure things we don’t know we have. We can’t make accessible things we don’t know we have,” Degerstrom added. “If you don’t know what you have, you’re not doing your job (of preserving history and making it available to the public).”Gaps missingThere are 20,390 artifacts in the Becker County collection - and they’re looking for more.
Degerstrom said there are gaps in the collection where the museum is lacking, especially in 1950 and newer. They also have little to no sports equipment, and they only have one cookie cutter in the entire collection.The museum also has a shortage of toys. Tonka trucks, G.I. Joes, Cabbage Patch Kids, Care Bears - the originals, not the remakes from nowadays - are wanted.“People don’t think of their lifetime as history,” she said, adding that now is the time to donate. “Things you use every day are often the things that get thrown away first.”Things like expired fishing licenses, school programs, graduation announcements, concert tickets, grand opening posters, etc. And some things that people don’t even see as history.For instance, businesses that started in the 1980s, which may not seem that long ago, they are already 30 years old. Memorabilia from existing businesses, schools, households, etc. needs to be collected now. In 25 years, it will be a part of history that may be difficult to get back.“Don’t assume it’s junk and no one wants it,” Degerstrom said.She said the museum is also looking for items not from Detroit Lakes. Because it’s the largest city in the county and where the museum resides, there are lots of pieces from Detroit Lakes. That doesn’t tell the history of the entire county though.“We want things from around the county,” she said. “Think to ask. We can’t take everything, but we would certainly like the opportunity” to see what’s being given away or thrown away because it’s not considered noteworthy, she added.She wants to tell (and preserve) the story of people living now too, not just early settlers.Brown Bag LunchEach month the Becker County Historical Society and Museum hosts a Brown Bag Lunch. The next one is Wednesday, Feb. 11, and McCollum will be showing unique paper pieces from the collection.The event is at noon, and people are encouraged to either bring their own lunch or call the museum ahead for a sandwich and soup lunch catered from La Barista.Follow Pippi Mayfield on Twitter at @PippiMayfield.
