Images of the past

A Homeland Transplanted

Date: August 26, 2015
Author: admin_pastcast
Categories: German-Bohemians, Images of the past, New Ulm, Pastcasts

A Homeland Transplanted Trailer from Pastcasts on Vimeo.

The German-Bohemian Heritage Society will present the documentary, A Homeland Transplanted: German Bohemians in America, on Saturday, August 29, 2015, at the New Ulm Public Library. The film begins at 10 a.m. and admission is free.

In the latter half of the nineteenth century, immigrants from German-speaking Bohemia came to America, with many settling near New Ulm, Minnesota. There, they lived on farms in the surrounding townships and in neighborhoods like Goosetown and the Wallachei. They brought the folkways of their homeland with them to the new world. Today, the traces of that culture — their Heimat — linger. Many recall the use of the “Böhmish” dialect at home or in the fields. At the family table, bread dumplings with horseradish gravy or “schmierkucken” are still a part of their family fare. Older members of the community carry on crafts such as music-making and klöppeled lace.

Based on extensive oral history interviews, this documentary tells the story of a homeland transplanted.

Edinborough Productions
Produced and written by Daniel J. Hoisington 122 minutes
$16.95 plus free shipping.
Order online with easy checkout at www.germanbohemianheritagesociety.com

Bringing a photograph of death to life

Date: August 30, 2014
Author: admin_pastcast
Categories: Images of the past, Museum Without Walls

If you love the lore of the Old West, you might been familiar with this iconic photograph of the Dalton Gang.

The Dalton gang, 1892

The Dalton gang, 1892

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bob Dalton wanted to make sure his name would long be remembered, claiming that he could “beat anything Jesse James ever did–rob two banks at once, in broad daylight.” On October 5, 1892, the Dalton Gang attempted this feat when they set out to rob the C.M. Condon & Company’s Bank and the First National Bank in Coffeyville, Kansas. The robbery ended, however, with four of the five outlaws dead. Coffeyville became famous all over the country as the “town that stopped the Daltons.”

Now the city can’t seem to get enough of the outlaw gang. Using the photograph of their dead bodies, the local museum created mannequins and laid them out on the floor of an exhibit.

Dalton Defenders' Museum, Coffeyville, Kansas

Dalton Defenders’ Museum, Coffeyville, Kansas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And as an illustration of the impulse to step into the past, the town painted the image on the city sidewalks outside the bank. Yes, lie down on the sidewalk and have your picture taken with the dead Dalton Gang! It seems strange to commemorate death in such a manner, but we have an impulse to connect past events with real places — even step into it, or, in this case, lie in it. Add a photo opportunity and history is spread across modern media.