Category Archives: Opinion

History Is a Fun House Mirror

Posted on December 13, 2012 by Carrie Zeman

Before I began writing history, I loved reading it: the feeling that a good history book was a window I could look through to see the past. But actually doing history is more like looking into a fun house mirror: … Continue reading →

Posted in Commemorating Controversy, Doing Historical Research, Opinion, truth-telling | 2 Comments

Other Wise

Posted on October 3, 2012 by Carrie Zeman

Odobenus rosmarus Daughter, beginning student of Latin: “Mom, does that mean the walrus smells good?” ***** Recently, I heard a scholar explain his inability to supply information with what I think of as the “oral history excuse:” knowledge on that subject … Continue reading →

Posted in Doing Historical Research, Opinion | Leave a comment

Racial Profiling: 11 years after 9/11, 150 years after 1862

Posted on September 15, 2012 by Carrie Zeman

Pop history in the wake of 9/11: Showtime’s Emmy Award-nominated miniseries ran for two seasons in 2005 and 2006: “Sleeper Cell takes you behind the veil of terror networks and into the minds of the agents trying to stop them.”  … Continue reading →

Posted in Commemorating Controversy, Opinion | Leave a comment

What’s Missing

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Carrie Zeman

Dakota quilled moccasins. The Minnesota Historical Society. In the process of designing the new 1862 exhibit at the History Center in St. Paul, the Minnesota Historical Society stuck its neck out. You know the old joke: What happens when you … Continue reading →

Posted in Commemorating Controversy, Minnesota Historical Society, Opinion | 2 Comments

Irish Catholics Were “Heathen,” Too

Posted on June 11, 2012 by Carrie Zeman

guest post by Lois Glewwe You never know what you might find while searching for a historic figure on the Internet. I was looking for R. McQuestern, who was mentioned in Robert Cressell’s little book  Among the Sioux: A Story … Continue reading →

Posted in Doing Historical Research, Opinion, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

The 19 foot by 9 inch Splinter

Posted on April 28, 2012 by Carrie Zeman

This week I finished my first-pass research  on the execution artifacts, including my findings on the beam reputed to be from the gallows that executed 38 Dakota men in Mankato in 1862:  Execution Artifacts Report in PDF form, “A Veiled Cabinet of … Continue reading →

Posted in Blue Earth County Beam, Opinion | Leave a comment

What We See is What We Think We See

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Carrie Zeman

In history, as in life, what we see is what we think. Or maybe more precisely, what we see is what we think we see. Have you ever brought home a piece of fruit from the grocery store only to … Continue reading →

Posted in Blue Earth County Beam, Opinion | 1 Comment

One Noose, Two Beams, Same Story

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Carrie Zeman

Like PBS’s History Detectives? Read on. ***** Roughly a decade ago, a Blue Earth County Historical Society volunteer took a historian into the back room of their Mankato, Minnesota facility and unwrapped a huge wooden timber. The volunteer said it was … Continue reading →

Posted in Blue Earth County Beam, Minnesota Historical Society, Opinion, truth-telling | 4 Comments