Cost of each program is $150.00.

 "Living History programs" are presented by Vickie Wendel in authentic costuming, with manners  

and artifacts of another time.  It is truly a "step back" to our past.  Each Living History program is one

hour in length.   Please, no video taping.

                  " Tastes and Sounds of Minnesota in the Civil War" is a favorite!

It is a "hands on" approach to history featuring many artifacts, pictures, music and a special taste of a

soldier's typical fare.  This program is flexible in its content to meet the needs of any age group from

first grade to adults.  Click here for details

                  In "A Civil War Christmas," guests hear the music of the season, decorate a tree, taste a

Christmas treat, and see some of the gifts of a Christmas in Anoka County celebrated during the hard

years of the American Civil War.  Suitable for all ages.  Click here for details

                "Early Education in Anoka - 1870's," This special program brings "Jennie Powell", a

portrayal of a teacher in the town of Anoka in the 1870's.  "Town school" is quite different than the

one room county school house as Miss Powell shares daily activities, the 3 R's, rules and exams,

and compares schools of the 1990's with Anoka schools of 125 years ago!

"Fashion Trends," is a look at clothing worn in the mid to late nineteenth century, from the invention of the sewing machine to the ready made clothing purchased from the mail order catalog.  The political, social and etiquette issues of dress are discussed in this one-hour program.  This presentation also includes artifacts from the ACHS hands on collection.  Experience this program presented by a fashionably dressed woman of 1860!  This program is suitable not only to high school students, but also to arts groups, theater, ladies teas, church groups, etc. 

Quilts can do much more than warm your toes on a cold winter night!

They can tell stories, paint pictures, bring back memories of good times and bad, and remind you of friends or family long gone.  Quilts reflect our lives and have for centuries.  This traveling program brings slides of these special quilts to your group along with their stories.  It includes some hands-on items of quilting, too.  This program is designed to be fun for everyone - not just quilters!.  If you like stories, this program is for you!

One of the quilts included in the program is called the "courting quilt." It dates to the years before Minnesota statehood and was made a young couple.  As their courtship grew, so did the quilt pieces they picked out.  He helped choose the fabrics while she sewed them together.  The quilt was eventually finished and visitors will hear what happened to the lover, the trip to the Territorial Fair and the quilt's connection to the City of St. Francis.

Another quilt raises many questions.  It's a signature quilt from Coon Rapids dated 1934.  Signature quilts have names stitched into them, usually friends and family of the makers.  The fabrics in this quilt are common fabrics, the kind everyone had from leftover sewing projects and flour or feed sacks.  The questions come from the names.  There is a square from Mrs. Jacob.  Is she Mrs. L.O. Jacob, the one L. O. Jacob School is named for?  Or Mrs. Vandecar, a familiar name, but who was she?  You'll hear more clues and perhaps you will have heard of some of these women who helped make a special quilt for their friend before she moved away.  (And you won't believe where she moved to!)

Crazywork quilts are those wonderful quilts with patches of every color, size and shape, decorated with stitches and embroidery.  These incorporated symbols and designs, many of which have a special meaning.  A yellow rose could mean jealousy, but a red rose could mean love.  Peacocks symbolized the attribute of beauty.  Some of the meanings of the quilt motifs found in the ACHS collection are explained, as well as stories about the people who sewed these elaborate quilts.