HEART OF STEELE

Maybe because I’m a journalist at heart, I’ve always been fascinated by history.

Local newspapers like the Steele County Times typically have some sort of archive, and I’ve been fortunate to have worked for papers that have decades of history bound up in volumes. They’re a hoot to flip through. The old ads and stories capture the day-to-day life across several generations of residents, and the differences seem stark.

In the early 1900s editions, for example, you may see the names of families suffering through influenza or the meeting minutes of a Ladies Aid meeting. People shared details of their lives back then much the way they do on their personal social media accounts today–but for all the town to see.

Those stories help us better understand what life was like back then. They also document the lives of those who made special contributions to the community–people like Charles Crandall, who helped ensure Owatonna became home to the Minnesota State Public School.

There are all kinds of challenges to maintaining a historic property; perhaps the greatest is preserving the history itself. A museum showcases the State School’s history and honors the lives of the children who lived there.

Now, planning is underway for a historical timeline that will be created as part of the city council chamber renovation. It’s an important element, because plans call for removal of a stage in place at one end of the room.

That’s the way of time, isn’t it? Bricks and mortar change over the years–time leaves it mark, needs change. Buildings rise and eventually fall.

But the heart of our history lies in the stories we share with one another, pass on to our children, and preserve through millennia.