Contact: North West Company Fur Post, 12551 Voyageur Lane, Pine City, MN 55063 • (320) 629-6356 • [email protected] • www.mnhs.org/places/sites/nwcfp
Also check out:
Grand Portage National Monument, Grand Portage; (218) 475-0123; www.nps.gov/grpo
The Landing, Shakopee; (763) 694-7784; www.threeriversparks.org/parks/the-landing.aspx
Oliver H. Kelley Farm, Elk River; (763) 441-6896; http://sites.mnhs.org/historic-sites/oliver-h-kelley-farm
If nothing is going well, call your grandmother. ITALIAN PROVERB
Gammelgården
In 1972, local residents of Scandia had a wonderful vision. They began the Gammelgården project in order to preserve the past for the benefit of the future. As a result, one of the country’s best places to celebrate Scandinavian heritage was born.
Gammelgården is particularly important for families with Scandinavian ancestors, since it preserves the home of the first immigrants who settled in Minnesota. The site also includes an old parsonage, a corn crib and a barn. The project culminated with the Valkommen Hus, a two-story structure that provides office space, a wonderful boutique gift store, a classroom and restrooms to serve the growing number of visitors. But the real treat is walking into the buildings, letting yourself drift back in time and helping your grandchild connect to an era without electricity.
There are many festivals held here, and any one of them is worthwhile for the entire family. Our favorite is Spelmansstämma, but several other events should be noted on your calendar too, including the following:
Annie’s Coffee Parties – A long-standing tradition, tour the grounds, with a three-course coffee party in honor of the longest-lived resident of Gammelgården.
Immigrant Day – Explore the life of new residents as activities take place in all the buildings of the museum complex.
Midsommar Dag (Mid-summer day) – Raise the Majstång (May Pole) and enjoy dancers, music and entertainment.
Girls & Dolls Tea Party – Games and stories accompany the fancy settings and the tea and treats with music and the legends of Lucia.
Running of the Meatballs – Nowhere else will you see meatballs given their freedom to race down the hill. A fundraiser, yes, but definitely fun.
Lucia Dagen – Lucia Day – A truly Scandinavian holiday festival with lots of pageantry and colorful costumes and decorations.
Bonding and bridging:
You probably didn’t live in houses this small and crowded, but your grandparents or their parents might have. How do you share with children the ways that our lives have changed? Your old photos are good, but Gammelgården is a tangible reference for them.
Were these people happy? What did the children do for fun? What did they eat? Was there a grocery store? These are questions that grand-children need to have answered. Could you or your grandchild live like this? What else would you need to have? Use this time as an excuse to buy one of the children’s books that depicts the life of this time. Read it, then talk about it. For older children choose a young adult novel, and read it together over time.
A word to the wise:
Spelmanstämma is an excellent way to enjoy the warmth of summer and enjoy a Swedish heritage. In the morning there are special children’s programs followed by fiddle music and a parade! Check out the announcements; sometimes there are additional events and opportunities associated with scheduled activities.
Age of grandchild: 5 and up
Best season: Summer and fall
Contact: Gammelgården, 20880 Olinda Trail, Scandia, MN 55073 • (651) 433-5053 • www.Gammelgårdenmuseum.org
Also check out:
American Swedish Institute, Minneapolis; (612) 871-4907; www.asimn.org
Heritage Hjemkomst Interpretive Center, Moorhead; (218) 299-5515; www.cityofmoorhead.com/departments/parks-and-recreation/hjemkomst-center
If you don’t know [your family’s] history, then you don’t know anything. You are a leaf that doesn’t know it is part of a tree. MICHAEL CRICHTON
Grand Rounds National Scenic Byway
Would you like to see the best of Minnesota’s transportation, recreation, nature, art and history? It sounds like a week’s worth of touring, right? Wrong! The Grand Rounds National Scenic Byway has it all in one interconnected series of parks, lakes, streams and greenways. Walk, bike, paddle or drive around Minneapolis while remaining connected to the natural world.
When I drive visitors from the airport who have never been to the Twin Cities, I like to show them the Grand Rounds. More than anywhere else, this route shows Minnesota’s relationship with nature and with our historical heritage. It demonstrates how people and nature can blend and how refreshing, energizing and uplifting that mix can be.
The Grand Rounds is so unique and beautiful that it has been designated a national drive. The route’s seven diverse districts include Minnehaha Falls and Creek, the Mississippi River, the Chain of Lakes, Theodore Wirth Park, Victory Memorial Parkway, Saint Anthony Parkway and Ridge Parkway.
Your options here are endless. Drive your grandchild around and point out all of the sights. With older grandkids, we recommend that you hike, bike or even canoe—if you’re feeling up to it. Better yet, why not do all three?
For more kinds of fun, take your grandchild on a trolley ride and skate the lakes during winter. You can also visit the Longfellow House, the visitor center for the Mississippi National Riverway, the historic buildings of Nicollet Island and the old Mill City Museum. Let’s not forget swimming, golfing, bird watching, smelling the spring flowers, tobogganing and skiing, as well as visiting the gardens, veterans’ memorials, natural springs and side trails for adventure and exploration.
There are many possibilities, so you can choose the section that fits your mood, is most appropriate for the weather conditions and is the distance that you want to cover. Return time and again for different experiences. You can build upon each and every visit. Confirming how special this is, in 2015, the cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul tied for first place on The Trust for Public Land’s 4th annual ParkScore® Index.
Bonding and bridging:
In the U.S., nothing