The Northfield Historical Society will be closed Thanksgiving Day and November 30.  We will be open Friday November 28 and Saturday November 29.  If you have any questions please call us at 507-645-9268.

By now, most of the members of NHS should have received their copy of the Scriver Scribbler.  Our cover story is on the 1918 Spanish Influenza Epidemic and how it affected Northfield, it was written by Dr. Alice Hanson of St. Olaf College.  Because of space limitation we only published part of the article.  However, if you really enjoyed the article and you want to know more, you can view the extended article in our new section titled Online Scribbler Articles. 

If you would like to submit content to the Scriver Scribbler please contact us by email or by calling us at 507-645-9268

Above photo: St. Olaf Students avoiding the flu bug.  Photo courtesy St. Olaf College Archives

New Exhibit Opening this Thursday!

“Northfield Women and World War II: From the Homefront to the Battlefront” will debut at the Northfield Historical Society museum on November 13, 2008 at 7 PM. The story of four Northfield women in service to their country during World War II, it will showcase Army Nurse Corps officers Ruth Nutting, Florence Wiechman and Kathleen Phillips, as well as Northfield newspaper columnist and hometown legend Nellie “Mom” Phillips.

Featuring over 150 vintage photographs from two overseas theaters of war and Northfield, many taken by the women themselves, it will offer their personal experiences. Clothing, memorabilia and oral histories will be included. Of particular note will be a Story Wall, where visitors can read tales about the war from a woman’s perspective. A CD player with headphones will offer recorded readings of their wartime letters, plus a humorous Christmas poem, all set to 1940’s big band music.

For further information, call the us at 645-9268.

This Saturday we will host our annual auction.  As most of you know this year's theme is The Masquerade.  The auction is a great time!  You get to meet and greet other members of the community, see friends that you might not always get to see, support the Northfield Historical Society and have the chance to bid on a few of of a once in a life time opportunities at our auction.

At this year's auction you have the chance to bid on some truly special items.  One item in particular is a ghost tour of St. Olaf College.  Dean of Students, Gregg Kneser, will give you and a group of your fiends (no limit) a ghost tour of St. Olaf; and to top it off Greg will buy your whole group soft drinks at the Pause after the tour.  So if you want to know what the ghost of Ytterboe the dog is up to, this tour will interest you!

Another item,  probably the most unique item we have offered in a couple of years,  is a safe that has been in the First National Bank of Northfield since 1893.  This safe is one of two that was taken out of First National earlier this summer.  This is a fully functional safe and has immense historical value.  

There are many more items up for auction that truly unique and exciting.  For a listing of more items up for bid, visit the Auction Page.  If you would like to reserve your tickets today call us at 507-645-9268.

This page features extended articles fo the Scriver Scribbler, that we do not include in our quarterly publication.

The Spanish Influenza Epidemic of 1918 in Northfield, MN