Left to Right: Rachel Wadleigh, Hayes Scriven, and Devyn Gardner. Photo Courtesy Northfield News

On Sunday I had the honor of presenting two $500 scholarships to Rachel Wadleigh and Devyn Gardner.

Both Rachel and Devyn have made great contributions to the Northfield School District and Northfield Historical Society Youth Education Programs.  They both served as Jr. Curators, Jr. Posse Members, and as Museum Summer Assistants.  They were also contributing members of the SCOPE program and published authors of the book “Caught in the Storm.”

Rachel was honored as the NHS Student Volunteer of the Year for 2010 at a reception last July.  Next Tuesday, May 22, at an open house from 6-7:30 p.m. Devyn will be honored as the 2011 NHS Student Volunteer of the Year.  We will also honor past NHS board member Debby Larsen as our Adult Volunteer of the Year.

Congratulations to everyone!

Thank you to the Northfield News for letting me use their photograph.  To see the other photos from the award ceremony you can view them at the Northfield News website here.

We are now open Mondays!  Because of the warm weather and the increase in traffic we have seen we are now open Mondays from 10:00 – 5:30.  If you have any questions or would like to book a tour please call NHS at 507-645-9268 or you can email us through the contact form.

Also, if you have been missing your updates from our website, you will have to sign up again.  When we did the switch over from our old website to our new one, some links changed and our old email service did not carry over.  So sign up today.  There is a new block on the main page to put in your email and get updates from our site.

Did you know that we are trying to more than double our membership by 2015?

Help us make history by becoming a member of NHS today!

I got an email from the Northfield Chamber of Commerce President Rick Estenson the other day, asking me to spread the word about a survey.  The survey deals with their current search for a new Executive Director.  It is very short and if you want to have input on what qualities the new Chamber Director should have, please fill it out.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/N9B6SX6

Craniofacial superimposition Clell Miller

A forensic scientist says a skeleton with ties to Dr. Henry Wheeler, a central figure in Northfield’s storied James-Younger Raid of 1876, could be that of gang member Clell Miller.

In a presentation last month in Atlanta at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, James Bailey, Ph.D., a professor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, said a process called craniofacial superimposition could not rule out that the skeleton’s skull belonged to Clell Miller.

Miller was one of two gang members slain on the street in Northfield during the failed attempt to rob the First National Bank of Northfield. Dr. Wheeler, then a medical student home for the summer, shot and killed Clell Miller; Anslem Manning, a local hardware merchant, shot and killed Bill Chadwell, also known as William Stiles.

Craniofacial superimposition can definitively exclude remains from a positive identification. Computer tomography (CT) scans were used to establish key reference points on the skull in question. Then a postmortem photo was superimposed over the CT scan of the skull to see how the reference points match. Dr. Gil Brogdon and Dr. Brandon Nichols, Forensic Radiologists from Mobile, Alabama, collaborated with Dr. Bailey and used Miller’s case study to familiarize the forensic science community with the technique and how it is used in historical cases.

Dr. Bailey and his colleagues reported that numerous factors must still be evaluated to confirm that the skull is indeed Miller’s, but based on craniofacial superimposition analyzed by three independent sources, Dr. Bailey said the matches were “remarkable.”

The findings will reinvigorate the search for answers about the disposition of the corpses of the two gang members killed that day in Northfield.

This is not a definitive finding,but it certainly brings us a step closer to finding the skeletons of these two outlaws.

We are pleased to announce this week that we are launching a 1,000-member Campaign to help boost the museum and programs to a new level of excellence in the region. NHS currently boasts approximately 460 members and our goal is to more than double that number by 2015.

President of the Northfield Historical Society Board of Directors Scott Richardson said, “For the past 35 years, the Society has been dedicated to preserving, interpreting and honoring the unique history of Northfield and the surrounding area. A vital component to our success has been the dedication and support of our members. Our organization benefits everyone in the region by not only providing a quality cultural experience, but also by educating our neighbors and attracting visitors to the region. We can only extend the quality and reach of the Northfield Historical Society with the financial assistance of more people and organizations in the region.”

We are best recognized for our support of the Defeat of Jesse James Days Celebration each September, Cemetery Stories held each Halloween, and numerous museum exhibits at the original site of the failed 1876 Bank Raid by the James-Younger Gang, and our Museum Store located on Bridge Square in downtown Northfield. “We extend the financial resources at our disposal as far as we possibly can,” Richardson said. “We are now at the point in the organization’s life where we need more people to say ‘I want to be involved. Count on my support,’” he explained.

We are looking for tour guides at the Northfield Historical Society to tell our story of the bank that was robbed by the James and Younger Gang.  We call ourselves the Adult Posse and are always looking for new members to help spread the word about the momentous events in Northfield on September 7, 1876.

Our Adult Posse meets for training one day a week for one and a half hours.  The training sessions begin the first week of April and run to the end of May.  We will have lively discussions about the James and Younger Gang, from their violent background to their association with Minnesota and beyond.  You don’t have to be a history buff to join.  All that is required is an interest in telling our story to visitors from all over the world.  Please consider joining our posse so we can nab all those visitors riding into Northfield and tell them our story of this unique town and its brave citizens.  If you or someone you know is interested in becoming a tour guide in the Northfield Historical Society or wish more information, please contact Earl Weinmann (507.645-9488).

Brent Peterson from the Washington County Historical Society sent me this video and I thought I would share it with you all.  This really captures what it is like to work in  a museum/historic site!  Should NHS make one?

Well….after three years of being on Drupal, we at NHS have switched back to Word Press for our website software.  I have to thank Tim Freeland.  He has done a fantastic job designing this new site.   Please poke around  and tell us what you think.  Also please tell us if something is not working.  We are still trying to fix all the bugs.

Northfield native Don Peterson will share recollections of growing up in the 1930s and ‘40s and his experiences serving in the Korean War Thursday, Jan. 19, 6 p.m. at the Northfield Historical Society, 408 Division.

Peterson’s talk will be accompanied by a book signing of “Dear Folks,” a self-published work based on letters he wrote home during his tour of duty in Korea and Japan.

“Don offers a unique and extremely personal perspective on the Korean conflict and the times that surrounded it,” says Hayes Scriven, executive director of Northfield Historical Society. “Fortunately, his mother saved all of his hand-written letters from overseas. We are grateful Don has decided to share them with us.”

Peterson graduated from St. Olaf College in 1950 and was drafted into the Army that fall. Trained in teletype, he was attached to the 13^th Signal Company of the 1^st Cavalry Division in April of 1952. He served in Seoul, Korea for the rest of that year.

He spent 29 years in the aerial photography business, six in printing and several more in the corporate award and recognition business. He is now retired and lives in Minneapolis.

Peterson’s talk is free and open to the public. His books will be available for purchase.