history pragmatic historian

Aphantasia and the Study of History

Here is an amazing fact of life that younger people may not realize until they have a good number of years behind them: You never stop learning interesting, fundamental things about yourself. My husband and I are in our early 50s and Erik (that’s my husband, in case you didn’t know) just learned that he is aphantasiac. Here is the BBC article about aphantasia that brought this realization to him. Basically, people who have aphantasia…

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history pragmatic historian time

Unsettled by the Metal Detector Man

One day last week, our dog’s insistent barking (he rarely barks) announced that someone was near the yard. A man with a metal detector came to the door and asked if he could search our yard. He was attracted to our house because it is old. This is the second time this has occurred. Last year, a different man with a metal detector asked if he could search our yard because our house is old.…

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challenge history pragmatic historian

Bog Coat Revisited X 3

I’ve made 3 bog coats and I have to say, I am not a fan. I wrote about bog coats in November 2018. This style of coat is made from one piece of fabric with 3 basic cuts and what appears to be one seam. It is supposed to minimize fabric waste and be fairly simple to make. Well, the ancient Dane found in a bog with this coat had secrets that I haven’t been…

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history museums pragmatic historian

Museum Subsidies

Okay, one more post related to the Minnesota Alliance of Local History Museums conference, then I will be on to other things. (See how much fodder a conference can provide for a blog?) While I work at a museum and my employer could have paid for my attendance at the conference, I chose to pay for the conference and its related expenses (hotel, mileage, meals) personally. Why? One major reason, but there is an ancillary…

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history museums pragmatic historian

Leaving Breadcrumbs: Succession Planning the Hansel & Gretel Way

In my last blog post, I discussed attending the 2019 annual conference of the Minnesota Alliance of Local History Museums at Treasure Island Resort & Casino. While that post covered the sessions I attended, I also led a session and figured that warranted its own blog post, which is what this post is devoted to. My session, “Leaving Breadcrumbs: Succession Planning the Hansel & Gretel Way,” appears on page 20 of the conference guide. My…

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