Diversity on the Iron Range

An important component in understanding the Iron Range is the Iron Rangers.

Although the Range has a historically dominant Scandinavian population, immigrants came here from practically everywhere making the Iron Range one of the most culturally diverse areas in the state of Minnesota.

How does understanding the ethnic diversity of the ranges' immigrant population help understand the role of immigrants in U.S. industrialization after 1870?

What are some examples of ways that the political and labor histories of the Iron Range have been shaped largely by ethnicity and by assimilation into American life?

We want to hear from you!

Getting Acquainted with Minnesota's Iron Range

The second series of the 2008 Building America Workshops is off to great start.

On Sunday, we explored the cities of Duluth, Two Harbors, Silver Bay--port cities on the shore of Lake Superior that have played a significant role in the success and functionality of Minnesota's Iron Range.

Monday, we journeyed to the center of the earth during a tour of the Soudan Underground Mine and today we're off discovering the town of Hibbing and touring MinnTac.

***Editor's Note: Please scroll down to our past workshop blog coverage to read summaries of our destinations and tours***

So far, we've been focusing on the first two themes of the workshop: The Natural History of the Iron Range and The Mines and Their Importance in American History.

With that said, we are attempting to ascertain what the present status of the mining landscape of the Range is and how it relates to the cities and towns we have visited thus far.

I invite you to share your thoughts on this by commenting below, and I encourage participants to share what they have seen of the Range and its people or how they approached this journal topic.

Pictures from Days One and Two!

Get Excited!

We sure are.

The next series of the 2008 Building America workshops begin this Sunday. We will be covering it right here on the blog as we did last time, but with a slightly different focus.

The stops on the tour of the Iron Range will stay the same, of course, but the experiences of participants will surely be different and it only feels right to honor that in a different way. As you read the new posts in the coming week, feel free to find background information provided in the posts from the previous series of workshops.

We can't encourage you enough to share your thoughts, stories, or opinions by commenting. Whether you're a past or current participant, a workshop scholar, an educator, a family member, a friend, or a curious bystander--please join us! We want to hear what you have to say!

Let's get the ball rolling...

What's your Minnesota Iron Range story--what comes to mind when you think of the Range?

If you are a current workshop participant, why are you interested in Minnesota's Iron Range and what do you hope to learn?

2008 Building America Workshop in the News!

The Ely Timberjay ran a story in this week's edition featuring the 2008 Building America Workshops!

Please go here to read it.

Photos from Day Five

Valentini's Supper Club
Valentini's Supper Club

Ironworld Archives

Day Five

Day five began with breakfast and a teacher-led workshop on the cultural diversity of the Iron Range.

Jessica Winkelaar, a social studies teacher and Coordinator of Resource Creation and Dissemination here at the Minnesota Humanities Center, and Craig Hattam, a social studies teacher at Hibbing High School, offered some great information during this time.

Later, we boarded the bus and went off to Ironworld in the city of Chisholm.

Ironworld is the largest museum in the Northeast region of Minnesota and showcases some amazing exhibits. Right now, they are featuring an exhibit entitled "Tangled Up in Ore: Bob Dylan and the Iron Range".

(That's right, Mr. Dylan is a Ranger!)

A few notes about Chisholm:

• Chisholm's earliest days were of timber, not of mining.


• Chisholm was named for Archie Chisholm, who also founded the first mine there in 1900.


• There are approximately 90 lakes withing 25 miles of Chisholm.


• Chisholm is known as the "hub" of the Iron Range and the "Gateway to North Country".


• Famous Chisholmites include: former baseball player Dr. Archibald "Moonlight" Graham, billionaire Philip Falcone, and one of my personal favorite television spokespeople (he's always so enthusiastic!), 2nd Wind Exercise Equipment founder and CEO, Dick Enrico.

Anyways, we had such a full day planned here that we didn't have much time to really take full advantage of the great pieces at this fascinating museum.

Luckily we were able to, however, have some great lecture/discussions on the politics of the Iron Range by Dr. Brunfelt and research opportunities in the Ironworld Archives.

Special thanks to Jennifer Rian, Ironworld's Education Coordinator, for being our hostess and leading the research and lesson plan components of the day.

Dinner was at Valentini's Supper Club, also in Chisholm, where we had a great time.

Our time with this workshop is winding down, here's hoping for a wonderful last day and safe travels home!

Thank you for following us on the Minnesota Humanities Center Blog!!!

(The group photo at the top of this post was taken at the Iron Ore Miner Statue in Chisholm. It was erected in 1976 as a tribute to the miners of the Minnesota Iron Range. It is made up of 150 tons of steel, copper, bronze, and brass and stands at an impressive 81 feet high!)