Earlier this month, geographer/photographer Dan Rogness told a crowded room of history buffs about the preservation of the Valley Grove churches, oak savanna and cemetery.
Rogness was the final speaker in the popular History Happy Hour series that was started a year ago by the Northfield History Center.
Mark Thornton, outreach coordinator for Northfield History Center, said the after work happy hour series of monthly history lessons held in the center's archives on the lower level has enjoyed a successful first year.
"This is our 12th History Happy Hour and final installment for our first year," said Thornton before he introduced Rogness. Two of the more popular Happy Hours, Thornton said, involved talks about pirates and Vikings.
He told the packed crowd that the series will pause in September for a different lecture series dedicated to the James Younger Gang and its Northfield raid. Thornton said during the Defeat of Jesse James Days festival on Friday, Sept. 6 and Saturday, Sept. 7, the history center would be hosting a special series of DJJD seminars led by local history experts Andy Ebling and Earl Weinmann.
Thornton explained that those DJJD-themed seminars will last 90 minutes, cost $20 per session and require advance registration.
Monthly meetings
One of the keys to the success of the series has been the variety. During the first year, the session topics ranged from Teddy Roosevelt to the Israel/Gaza conflict, and from pirates to Vikings to the Civil War.
Series presenters have included Adam Lindquist, a Northfield Historical Society Board member; Jon Olson; St. Olaf College professor Steve Hahn; Northfield High School graduate Ian Iverson; Carleton College professor Austin Mason; St. Olaf professor Jaden Janak; Carleton College professor Sarena Zabin; and Robb Campbell.
Many series presenters are college professors who used their own research in their public presentations, such as Jaden Janak on Political Organizing, Prison Abolition and Contemporary US Black Liberation Movements; Steve Hahn spoke about his research and book on "Pirates, Young, Resolute & Wicked Fellows: The Pirates of Providence, 1700-1740"; and Sarena Zabin presented on her work around the Boston Massacre and her book "The Boston Massacre: A Family History."
Additionally, Benjamin Wendorf, a professor at Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester, Massachusetts, gave his presentation titled "Tracks and Transformation: Labor, Community, & Connectivity in the Atlantic World, 1840-1940" and Ian Iverson of the John Dickinson Writings Project, presented his dissertation titled "Holding the Political Center in Illinois: Conservatism and Union on the Brink of the Civil War."
Robb Campbell spoke on Black Hills Rephotography and discussed how, in 1874, George Custer took the first camera to the Black Hills, which was then reshot by Don Progulske in 1974. In 2024, Campbell captured the entire sequence of events in a digital book.
Not all of the topics were of national or international origin. A few subjects concerned local events, such as the poets who are buried at Oak Lawn Cemetery, presented by a former Northfield Poet Laureate. Keepsake Cidery owner Nate Watters who presented on the history of the apple.
Christine Sartor, development and administrative coordinator at Northfield Retirement Center, said that the August Happy Hour was her first, but certainly not her last.
"I was attracted to this particular happy hour, because it was about Valley Grove — a very special local place to many of us," said Sartor. "I would love to see more happy hours like this about Northfield and Rice County related subjects — less lecture-based and more interactive."
Sartor suggested that some interesting future topics might include: Tilt-a-Whirl, Rice County libraries, the history of politics in Rice County, immigration past to current, the various stores that have come and gone in Northfield and Faribault, The Tavern Restaurant.
"Those of us who have been in Rice County for several generations might have some stories to tell, too," she added.
Coming this fall, Thornton said, will be a talk by Alaina and Don Pappas on the Hubbell House Restaurant in Mantorville on Oct. 7. On Nov. 4, Tun Myint, of Carleton College, will give a presentation on elephants in wars in Burma, especially during WWII, with the background historical uses and roles of elephants by kings in Burma.
HISTORY HAPPY HOUR BASICS
Held the first Monday of every month, except in September due to the Defeat of Jesse James Days festival. Each month, doors open at 5:30-6 p.m. for a social time with beverages provided. The presentation begins at 6 p.m. followed by Q&A time until 7 p.m. The sessions are free and open to everyone, no registration is required.
Attendees meet in the archives at the Northfield History Center, also known as the Northfield Historical Society, which are located on the lower level.
Find out more at northfieldhistory.org .
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