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NEW EXHIBIT OPENING!
September 11th
A new permanent and comprehensive
exhibition on Superior’s labor movement and the people who fought it will open
September 11th, 2007 at the Douglas County Historical Society, 1101 John Ave.
Beginning with the strikes of 1889 and 1890, the exhibition will touch on the
cultural influences of the immigration
population as well, including the Finnish community which played a prominent
national part in creating the Finnish Socialist Federation, the Finnish Workers
Federation, the Industrial Workers of the World and the communist party of the
USA. An original theatrical production and roundtable discussions are part of
the week’s events to usher in this new exhibition.
Click HERE for
more information
"All we ask is $2 a Day" 
Portions of the Historical Society's collection have been put on display for the
public.
We are currently developing new exhibits for our new location!
Admission
to all exhibits is $3.00.
Current Displays Include:
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This
wonderful doll pictured at left is but a sample of the artistry of
Mary
Branca.
We
have many of Mary Branca's dolls
on
display in our great hall. The following two pictures are also of
Mary Branca Dolls. |
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Mary Branca grew up above her father’s
confectionery shop at 1218 Tower Avenue.
She was educated at local schools, worked
in the family store and eventually went to Chicago to study at the Art
Institute and begin her career as a designer in a millinery firm. In her
spare time, she made dolls. Mary not only created the bodies for the dolls
from her own secret formula, she also attired them in authentic costumes.
She learned how to make wigs, do leather and metal work, design jewelry and
sew everything from petticoats to slippers in miniature. When she finished a
doll, she sent it home to her mother who displayed them in beautiful cases
made by Mary’s father.
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Along with some of her
beautiful oil paintings, DCHS is proud to be able to open a new exhibit of
Mary’s dolls and display them in the cases that her father made so long ago.
The dolls vary in their
construction and design, some made from porcelain, others from a nylon or
stockinet fabric. Notice the long, spindly fingers on some of the dolls,
while others are more natural looking. Whether these differences are
developments resulting from years of experimentation or deliberate is not
known. Mary apparently did not make notes on her research or didn’t keep
them. Mary and her gift of genius continue to be a mystery.
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Pictured
here is part of our
David Barry Display.
This famous frontier and pioneer photographer helped
preserve the pictorial history of the old West with photos of The Custers,
military officers and enlisted men, military forts, the little Bighorn
Battlefield in Montana, and also Buffalo Bill Cody with his Wild West shows.
Without his camera images, much of the photographic record of the people,
places and events of the past would be lost to us today. |
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12' x 4' WPA Painting
displayed on the wall in the great room. |
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Psycograph display.
Psycographs were
designed to read the bumps and ridges on the
skull which told of the weak and strong characteristics of the personality. |
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Also
come and see our permanent
"Coolidge
Room" display.
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All images on this site are the property of the
Douglas County
Historical Society. Unlawful reproduction is strictly prohibited.
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