Backyard History Tour of Mankato
We anticipate that 100% of participants will have learned something new about Mankato history; 75% will spend an enjoyable day with their fellow tour members (fellow community members, friends, family); 25% will want to use library materials to further their own learning; some will want to read a Betsy-Tacy book; for 5% this will be their first library program.
One tour participant discovered why her house from the 1900s has two front doors-one for daily life and one for formal entertaining. Kids on the tour learned the origins of the phrase, "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water." Participants also learned about Maude Hart Lovelace's other works, such as "Early Candlelight," a historical novel about Fort Snelling for which Lovelace received military honors. A tour participant's grandparents lived in that neighborhood and Tom Hagen remembered them. Tour participants saw how houses had changed over time in ways such as carriage houses torn down, wood siding replaced with vinyl siding, etc. One woman saw the tour group passing by and invited the whole tour inside to see how she had renovated her historical home. The group enjoyed ice cream and heard how the owner transformed his historical building. He even has a display case filled with the items he discovered during renovation such as a hitching post, old books, and even a sword. When surveyed, we discovered that 100% of participants learned something new about Mankato history; 100% spent an enjoyable day with fellow tour members; 70% said they were likely to check out library materials relating to Betsy-Tacy or Minnesota history; and 0% said this was their first library program.