“Home Grown Variety Show” June Fundraiser
Thursday, June 29th, 2023 at 4pm at the Faribault American Legion
Come join RCHS for a night of comedy, music, and fun as RCHS presents the “Home Grown Variety Show”. We will have community members, volunteers, and staff on stage all to help raise funds for the Rice County Historical Society. A social hour will begin at 4pm with dinner to start at 5:30pm. The show begins at 7pm, and all throughout the evening we will have a silent auction of items donated from across the county and beyond. It’s a night of song, joy, and laughs.
Dinner: Chicken Cordon Bleu with Salad and Green Beans Almandine, Coffee, Water, and Carrot Cake Dessert. For those interested there will be a cash bar available as well.
The event will be held at the Faribault American Legion, tickets are $35 per person. All proceeds go to support the Rice County Historical Society’s mission to discover, preserve, interpret, and share the history of Rice County. To reserve your tickets, call 507-332-2121, email rchs@rchistory.org, or stop by the museum at 1814 2nd Ave NW, Faribault, MN.
Kid’s Saturday Program: Shoebox Archaeology
Saturday, June 10, 2023 at 12pm at the Rice County Historical Society Museum
Bring down the kids for a fun day with RCHS. Who doesn’t love digging in the dirt and finding hidden treasures. RCHS Curator Jenna Nelson will work with kids to make pottery and then show them how archaeologists dig up artifacts. Kids will have a chance to dig in boxes and follow the steps to find their own discoveries!
This program is free to all and aimed toward children 6 and up. To sign up please call 507-332-2121 or email us at rchs@rchistory.org
“A Short Japanese Cadet: Kiyoshi Kitagawa and Interwar Shattuck” with Patti Kameya
Thursday, May 18, 2023 at 7pm at the Rice County Historical Society Museum
Kiyoshi Kitagawa enrolled at the Shattuck School in September 1927. He was probably the only nonwhite student and the first Asian graduate. Although he did not succeed academically as his father had hoped, he rose in rank to first lieutenant in Company A. After Pearl Harbor he was sent to an incarceration camp in Poston, Arizona, but he returned to Minnesota to train for the Military Intelligence Service at Fort Snelling and went on to join the highly decorated 442nd regimental combat team.
How did Shattuck and Minnesota shape Kiyoshi’s extraordinary life? Dr. Patti Kameya will present her findings on Kiyoshi and interwar Minnesota from archives, online newspapers, and other sources. Please join our conversation on Asian Americans in prewar Minnesota for Asian Pacific Islander heritage month.
Dr. Patti Kameya researches Japanese and Japanese American history in St. Paul. She taught Asian and world history at Midwestern universities for ten years. Recently she taught creative writing at the Loft Literary Center and received Minnesota State Arts Board Creative Support for Individuals grants to research the Kitagawa family for a book manuscript. Find her work at https://pattikameya.com/.
This program is free for RCHS Members and $5.00 for non-members. Reservations are strongly encouraged. To reserve a spot, please call the museum at 507-332-2121 or email us at rchs@rchistory.org. This program is sponsored in part by the Minnesota Valley Electric Co-Opperative.
“After the 1862 War: Life for Minnesota’s Dakota” with Corrine Marz
Thursday, May 4, 2023 at 7pm at the Rice County History Museum
Join us as we welcome Corrine Marz, author of the book “The Dakota Indian Internment At Fort Snelling, 1862-1864”.
With their loss at the Battle of Wood Lake, near present-day Granite Falls, Minnesota, on September 23rd, 1862, most of those Dakota involved in the attacks and fighting, fled Minnesota, heading west into Dakota Territory or north into Canada. Those who remained secured and protected and then surrendered over 250 women and children (with only 2-3 male captives), held as captives, to Henry Sibley at a place known as Camp Release. From here the Trials would begin, with the Dakota male prisoners taken to Mankato and the dependents transferred to the Internment Camp at Fort Snelling.
This program is free to members and $5 for non-members. Reservations are strongly encouraged. To reserve your seat please call 507-332-2121 or email us at rchs@rchistory.org.