Origin of the Flyers Nickname

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Mary| Leave a comment

We received a good question via email and it’s been asked so many times that I thought it was worth answering on the blog.

The question …

What is the origin of the Flyer nickname?

The answer …

It comes from Charles Lindbergh’s historic solo flight from New York to Paris in 1927. Prior to this, the Little Falls sports teams didn’t have any nickname; they were just known as the Little Falls High School basketball team or the Little Falls High School football team & etc. Other high school teams around the state didn’t have nicknames, either. The first high school yearbook published (in 1928) after Lindbergh’s flight was dedicated to him and was called “The Flier of Little Falls.” While the sports teams pictured in the book are not yet called the Flyers, this surely was the genesis of the name.

Note the original spelling – “Flier.” By 1946, the date of the next yearbook within the Morrison County Historical Society’s collections, the spelling is “Flyer” and the sports teams all have the Flyer nickname.

Incidentally, we think there were no yearbooks produced for the Little Falls High School between 1928 and 1946 due to the Depression and World War II. Thus far, none have turned up for those years. (If you know of any, we’d certainly be interested in adding them to our collection.)

While we know when the Flyer name came into being, we don’t know when other teams around the state adopted nicknames or whether the naming of the Flyers was part of a larger trend.

Posted in history, little falls, mchs, minnesota, morrison county, morrison county historical society, school

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Pierz Journals Online (1909-1913)

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Mary| Leave a comment

We have exciting news this morning. We knew it was going to happen soon, but we didn’t know when. One of our regular history informants, Larry from the Hesch History blog, sent us an email telling us that the Pierz Journal newspapers we’ve had digitized through the Minnesota Digital Library are now online. Wooooooohoooooooo! It’s happy dance time! (Picture an image of Snoopy doing his Snoopy dance. That’s us!)

The issues that have been digitized run from 1909 through 1913.  They do not appear under the Morrison County Historical Society’s collection, but under the Minnesota Newspapers Collection. You can also do a search for “Pierz Journal” and they should appear.

Have at it, researchers, and let us know what you think. If you like what you see, consider giving us a donation toward the digitization of the volumes through 1923. (See the Save the Pierz Journals link in the right sidebar.)

Posted in archives, artifacts, fundraising, history, mchs, minnesota, morrison county, morrison county historical society, newspaper

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Unlucky 13

Posted on April 6, 2012 by Mary| Leave a comment

I was copying some articles on The Antlers Hotel for a researcher this afternoon when I came across the following article:

Room No. 13.

“There is no longer a room No. 13 at the Antlers. When Jno. E. Sutton managed the house, 13 was used as a sewing room, and it was only recently furnished for a bedroom. When Schilling’s minstrels arrived Saturday, 13 was assigned to two of them, but although it is one of the best rooms in the house, they made a vigorous protest and declared that sooner than sleep in a room of that number they would go to the barn. There was not a man in the company who would occupy it, so they were given another room. Mr. Forde says there are very few hotels in which a room No. 13 can be found.”

Little Falls Daily Transcript, March 13, 1893

Posted in business, culture, history, little falls, minnesota, morrison county, morrison county historical society, museum, newspaper

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Dolly

Posted on March 29, 2012 by Mary| Leave a comment
Viola Landmeier's doll, 1920. #68.22.1 - MCHS Collections

Viola Landmeier's doll, 1920. #68.22.1 - MCHS Collections

One of the benefits of working in a museum is the opportunity to handle other people’s stuff. This beautiful doll belonged to Viola Landmeier and is dated back to 1920.  You can tell from her face that she’s a little fragile, but she’s a joy to hold. Her weight and size remind me of holding a newborn infant. She tucks right into the crook of my arm. I intended to put her on the new What’s It Like exhibit, but she didn’t quite fit. Instead, she gets a blog post.

Posted in artifacts, charles a. weyerhaeuser memorial museum, Collections Carousel, history, mchs, minnesota, morrison county, morrison county historical society, museum, photos

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2012 Exhibits

Posted on March 29, 2012 by Mary| Leave a comment

We’ve been busy building exhibits in the last few weeks and we have two new ones to share.

In our Research Room, we are featuring an exhibit on Civil War veterans from Morrison County.

Civil War Veterans of Morrison County, March 2012 exhibit.

Civil War Veterans of Morrison County, March 2012 exhibit.

Our showcase exhibit, which is along the east hall, is based on portions of some of the essays that have been submitted for the “What’s It Like [...] in Morrison County?” project.

in Morrison County? March 2012 exhibit”]What's It Like [...] in Morrison County? exhibit, March 2012More photos of these exhibits can be seen on our Facebook page. Photos, however, do not do these exhibits justice. These exhibits are text heavy, so to get the full effect, we encourage people to visit. (Also, there’s too much glare from the cases. And why do pics tend to look clear on the camera’s viewfinder, but turn out blurry when uploaded? It’s a mystery to me.)

These exhibits should be up for the rest of the year, so there’s plenty of time for viewing. The Weyerhaeuser Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. year-round.

 

Posted in artifacts, charles a. weyerhaeuser memorial museum, exhibits, history, little falls, mchs, minnesota, morrison county, morrison county historical society, museum, visitors

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