MCHS Receives Ernest Mann Collection

Squeeeee!

We get lots of interesting items donated to the Morrison County Historical Society. Many of them make us squeeeee and do a little dance because of their inherent coolness.

When we received an email from Hanno Beck of The Benjamin Banneker Center for Economic Justice in Maryland, I had to take some deep breaths to contain my excitement. Hanno told us that the Banneker Center was no longer operational and asked if we would like the organization’s collection of Little Free Press zines created by Ernest Mann (Larry Johnson), a man I profiled in two articles for MCHS:

Getting to Know an Ernest Mann

Ernest Mann Revisited

Could we accept this collection fast enough? I think not.

Our curator, Ann Marie, wrote a lovely reserved email telling Hanno that “we would be happy to accept the newsletters for the collections” and sent it off.

And I waited as patiently as I could.

Yesterday, the box from Hanno arrived and I wanted to shout my excitement to the rooftops. Right on top of the collection of Ernest’s Little Free Press zines was a copy of his book “I Was Robot.” I did not expect that gift within the collection. There were also a few smaller handouts and a couple of handwritten notes from Ernest to Hanno.

We are thrilled to be able to accept the Ernest Mann collection from Hanno and the Banneker Center. It gives us better insight into a free thinker who made Morrison County his home.

Since posting the aforementioned Ernest Mann articles on our website, we have discovered that Ernest has quite a following for his Priceless Economic System all over the world. Those who are interested in his life philosophy will now be able to study the collection at the Weyerhaeuser Museum in Little Falls, MN.

Thank you, Hanno and the Banneker Center!

This small handout sums up, in a question, Ernest Mann’s Priceless Economic System: