history pragmatic historian

Unarticulated History

Let’s face it. Even in this age of individuals digitally capturing and sharing the minutiae of daily life, we simply can’t capture and hold all of history in order to replay it later. Even a video camera only records what’s within range of its lens. If you are facing the lens, it’s not picking up your back. Sure, you could put multiple video cameras in a room in hopes of recording everything happening in that…

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history pragmatic historian

Bog Coat / Bog Bodies

Bog Coat The Textile Center of Minnesota recently offered a class on how to construct a bog coat. As a fiber artist, I’m curious about elemental forms of clothing construction, particularly jackets and pants made from basic shapes with very little cutting or sewing involved. When I saw the class offering, the bog coat piqued my interest and I looked it up online. I found several websites sharing the bog coat pattern. Using one piece…

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history museums pragmatic historian

History, Succession Planning and Wayfinding Notes

I began my job at a county historical society in Minnesota over 20 years ago. I seem to be saying that a lot lately, but I’ve reached a point where I’ve served enough time that I can look back and pick up on themes within my work. Path to Museum Succession Planning A big theme has been succession planning, only I didn’t know I was doing this from the beginning. When I started, I was…

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