Of the more than 100 boxes of artifacts received from the MHS, the interns have been through just over a third. What they found often provided glimpses not only to the family, but to the time in which they lived.”

LeDuc Historic Estate
1629 Vermillion St.
Hastings, MN 55033
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When the LeDuc Historic Estate received a tranche of more than 100 boxes of artifacts from theMinnesota Historical Society (MHS) lastfall, it was often unclear exactly what they were receiving.

Themore than 1,600 items came from the LeDuc mansion from 1982 when antique dealer and current resident of the site, Carol Simmons retired, having given the building to the Minnesota Historical Society for the creation of a future museum there. The items range from original furniture like William and Mary LeDuc’s bed to trunks to journals, clothes, and memorabilia from various family members over the years.

Other items, however, came from Simmons and “didn’t have the intent of being collected,” said Ryan Kutcha, LeDuc Estate Site Supervisor.

Parsing not only what objects were, but how they connected to the LeDuc family—or didn’t—has been a long process that is still far from complete.

Since receiving the items, the long process of cataloguing, researching and eventually displaying them has been underway for the past year, with a glimpse into what exactly the items were last week. LeDuc summer interns Natalie Lambie and Dyllon Lohmann have been working throughout the summer at the site, cataloguing and researching items. They previewed some of their findings with the Hastings Area Historical Society last Tuesday. Some of this work has been difficult in part due to boxes losing cataloguing sheets or perhaps never having them from the MHS which often left the interns and LeDucworkers unsure what exactly they would find within any given box.

The interns uncovered three separate boxes of seashellswith little idea from where they camenor why they had been saved. Another box was discovered full of buttons, with each being slightly different, had to be individually catalogued.

“It makes me more willing to get rid of things,” quipped Lambie about the process.

Of the more than 100 boxes of artifacts received from the MHS, the interns have been through just over a third. What they found often provided glimpses not only to the family, but to the time in which they lived.

One group of items uncovered was aset of engraved souvenir spoons that appear to be novelties on topics ranging from President William McKinley to the State of Florida. Lambie describedone of the spoons as “merch” from McKinley’s presidency, which became popular in part due to his assassination in 1901.

The spoons were engraved with names of family members which made the process of placing them easier, but details on the ‘Florida’ spoon, which sports pictures of oranges and alligators, are lacking.

The journal of Vincent Gardner, husband to Minnie LeDuc the daughterof William and Mary, was another item recovered and catalogued from the MHS.

The journal sports various doodles from Vincent poking fun at his barber who was so short he had to stand on a box to shave customers, to a self-portrait of a bad haircut Vincent had received from him.

Other entries provide a glimpse into late the late 1890s, where Vincent complains about a family friend coming to the house and “Kodaking” the family by taking pictures of them, a novelty at the time.

Vincent, of course, was upset that his likeness was being captured after his bad haircut.

Other items, like a series of silver dishware, left LeDuc staff unsure what they were looking at.

The items are believed to be gifts from the various LeDucs to Mabel Gardner, granddaughter of William and Mary and daughter of Minnie and Vincent. Had Mabel married, these items would be assumed to be wedding presents, but because shenever did, they are “kind of a mystery,” said Lambie.

Lambie speculated that they could have been gifts for a birthday or holiday, or perhaps placed in a hope chest. Hope chests, also known as dowry chests, were once-popular pieces of furniture in which unmarried women would collect items like dishware or clothing for when they would be married.

Items within the collection were labeled as from individual family members, which sparked questionsof why the family would group-fund the gift and the larger question of why it was given in the first place.

Currently display cases for various artifacts are being fabricated, according to Kutcha, but many of the specifics of what will be displayed are not yet clear. Many of the choices on what can be displayed “come down to condition,” said Kutcha. Despite being stored, items can be damaged from mold or rot which not only damages the item itself but could spread to other items.

Upcoming Civil War Weekend

The Hastings Area Historical Society is gearing up for its biggest event of the year: Civic War Weekend at the LeDuc. The weekend of Sept. 6, the grounds of the estate will be taken over  by Union troops, with displays from a cabinet of curiosity to Civil War weapons open to the public.

Members are currently working to make hardtack, the dense cracker-like foodstuff that soldiers ate during the Civil War. It was famous fornot rotting over long periods of time which made it popular for feeding military campaigns, if not so popular with the troops themselves.

Tins of years-old hardtack from previous years’ Civil War Weekends can be seen within theLeDuc, still theoretically edible. The group is seeking volunteers for various positions for the Civil War Weekend, from househosts to kitchen workers