Heritage society seeks material for third history

IRONTON -- The Cuyuna Country Heritage Preservation Society, which published Volume II of "Cuyuna Country: A Peoples' History" at the end of 2002, is seeking material for the third and final volume in its series.

At its Jan. 10 meeting, the CCHPS governing board set two deadlines for submissions of material for the book. Rough drafts or preliminary outlines of material should be submitted no later than June 30 and final drafts by the end of this year.

Berger Aulie, senior publications editor for the society, said pulling together the history for Volume III is unlike the challenge presented by Volumes I and II because not as much information is available in the Heritage library. The time period for the book will be roughly from the end of World War II to the present time, he said, and very little has been done to record the local history of those years. In addition, information missing from Volume II will be included as space permits.

"A year sounds like a lot of time, but it really isn't when you consider the volume of material to be brought together," Aulie said. "And if you start early there will be time to fine-tune those wonderful family histories.

"By the end of June, we need to know basically who will be making contributions so we have contact people for every church or local service group, for example. We can then follow up by working with potential contributors and helping them to get their material in order," Aulie said. "That way, the finished material we have worked out with those contributing will be ready to go by the Dec. 31 deadline. Our Book Committee is too small to handle having everything come in at once."

Material is needed to tell the story of the closing of mining, churches, businesses and economic development, service and social groups, the military and impact of wars, schools, sports, major community efforts during the period, local attractions such as the Croft Mine Park and Cuyuna Range Museum, the reclaiming of the mine pit area -- which grew into the Cuyuna Country State Recreation Area -- the story of medical progress and the impact of technology. Aulie said while these are some of the major areas of interest, the book will not be limited to them and suggestions from the public are sought.

"We also need to get as many family histories as possible," Aulie said. "We need all of this material both for the book and to upgrade and update our permanent files."

And good photos recording both historical events and place, and the beauty of Cuyuna Country are needed. "We always do an honest job of recording local history," Aulie said, "but we think what it all adds up to -- the ups and the downs -- is an area any chamber of commerce should be proud to promote."

Anyone interested in working on the book or with suggestions is asked to write or call CCHPS. The mailing address is P.O. Box 68, Ironton, MN 56455. The society is located in the lower level of the First National Bank of Crosby. Open hours are 9 a.m. to noon Mondays, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and noon to 3 p.m. Fridays.

The office phone is (218) 545-1166. Home numbers to be called include Kaye and Dick Gillman at (218) 546-5996; Beverly Mindrum Johnson at (218) 546-5233; Lansin Hamilton at (218) 534-3398; and Al Knieff at (218) 678-2816. Or communicate by e-mail at kitcat@emily.net or kdic@emily.net.