Project Goal: To collect a minimum of 100 essays on a variety of identities, occupations, hobbies, and life tasks as experienced while living in Morrison County, Minnesota. Taken together, these essays will provide a larger picture of what it’s like to live in Morrison County. Essays will be posted by the Morrison County Historical Society on a “What’s It Like” blog and paper versions will be kept on file at The Charles A.Weyerhaeuser Memorial Museum in Little Falls, MN.
1. Pick a topic from the list of suggested topics or create your own topic, filling in the brackets for the question, “What’s it like [ . . . ] in Morrison County?” You may also adjust the question to “What was it like [ . . . ] in Morrison County?” for past situations. Be sure to include the full question you’ve chosen to answer at the top of your essay. Feel free to be creative in your topic choice. Select a topic you love so that it’s easy to write about. (Topics can be repeated by more than one person.)
2. Write an essay of 200 to 1,000 words on your topic, keeping in mind how it relates specifically to Morrison County, Minnesota, and including both positive and negative aspects of your situation. (Essays can be longer than 1,000 words, but we don’t want people to feel they must write an entire life story. We’re looking for snippets of history.) See our list of starter questions for inspiration.
3. Provide the following demographic information:
Date of Essay
Full name
Contact info (current address, phone number, email address)
Birth date
Birth place
Gender
Dates you lived in Morrison County
4. Indicate how you would like your name to appear on the “What’s It Like …” blog.
Full name
First name + first initial of last name
Initials only
Anonymous
Note: Demographic info will NOT be posted online. It will be on file at The Charles A. Weyerhaeuser Memorial Museum in Little Falls, MN. Full names will not be used online to identify the essays of minors, only initials or “Anonymous.” Parents need to fill out a permission form before essays of minors are posted online.
5. Indicate whether you would like MCHS staff to check your essay’s grammar and spelling. If you want us to edit your work, we will have you approve any changes before it is published or added to our files.
6. Mail your essay to the Morrison County Historical Society, PO Box 239, Little Falls, MN 56345
Or
Drop it off at The Charles A. Weyerhaeuser Memorial Museum, 2151 S. Lindbergh Drive, Little Falls, MN 56345.
Or
Email it to weymu@morrisoncountyhistory.org
7. If you enjoyed this experience, feel free to write another essay for the “What’s It Like” project.
Printable version of Writer’s Guidelines (pdf file)