Sometimes (often!) we receive an artifact at the Weyerhaeuser Museum that contains more fascinating material than what the item ostensibly displays. Such is the case with a piece of sheet music we recently received.
The music, which is supposedly the important part of this piece, is for a song called “Eyes I Love,” by May Hewes Dodge and John Wilson Dodge. It was published in 1906.
What surrounds the music are local advertisements for businesses operating in Little Falls, Minnesota, at that time. Between the ads, the list of officers for the Benevolent Protective Order of the Elks (Little Falls Lodge No. 770), and a list of boosters for the piece, we have a snapshot of local citizens in 1906. Dan Bell, L. Pancratz, Martin Engstrom, Christian Rosenmeier, Dr. J. H. Newman, Henry J. LaFond, Max A. Corbin, H. W. Venners, to name just a few.
A couple of the ads are truly clever.
“Buckman Hotel, Little Falls, Minn. – Enough Said”
“We would like to C.U.B.A. customer of ours – German American Nat’l Bank”
Naturally, we wanted to know if there was anything going on between Cuba and the United States at that time because that’s such a specific reference. Of course there was. President Theodore Roosevelt ordered an invasion of Cuba in 1906.
Have a look through the 8 pages of the sheet music document and see what wonders pop into your mind about local history.
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