Photo by Jamie Whitney
Laurens Sun and Pocahontas Record Democrat
Volunteers from the museum have put together a new exhibit called The Land. It highlights what the county looked like when first settled in the mid to late 1800's and the changes that have occurred to the landscape.
We had lots of help from friends in the county as well as former residents in developing this display. The idea was triggered by a donation of original agricultural drainage papers from Pocahontas County dating from the early 1900's. These fit right into our mission of telling the important stories of the county. Agricultural drainage is definitely one of those stories.
Materials for the display were provided through a grant from the Pocahontas County Foundation. Corinne Peterson from the County Conservation Board helped us out by fact-checking our information about prairies and the effects of present-day drainage. She also provided two great photos of local prairie. The Wiegert Farm Committee graciously lent us some hand tiling tools.
Photos and videos help to bring topics alive. We aim to use all local photos at the museum. Lyle and Barb Wallin of Swan Lake Township provided a fun 1923 photo of Guy Wallin and Louis Sagness sitting in the scoop of a ditcher. We also included a photo from Havelock's Centennial book and a Rolfe photo that we already had in our collection. Helen Gunderson, a former Rolfe resident, allowed us access to a video of tiling that she made in
the mid 1970's. Tech-savvy museum visitors can watch it by downloading a QR code reader onto their smart phones.
So thanks to everyone who helped. If you haven't seen the display yet, check it out.
