Posted: 3/24/04
By MaryHelen Swanson
When they took the big bell off the Rush City school building in 1898, there apparently never was a good place to keep it.
The bell, which was kept in the districtís bus garage for many years, was on loan to the county historical society and eventually found a home at the fairgrounds historical building. It was on loan from the school district to the historical society.
Last week, the Rush City school board received a communication from North Chisago Historical Society (NCHS) president Carl Heinrich asking for assistance in finding permanent owners for artifacts and the big school bell.
According to Heinrichís letter to the board, a process is underway to identify articles in the fairground historical building, now being shared by the North Chisago Historical Society and the Chisago County Historical Society.
Some items in the building, Heinrich noted, come from the Rush City schools and from a Community Museum which was organized in 1932.
The NCHS is interested in having the articles that pertain particularly to the north half of the county, specifically Rush City and RC schools, ìgiftedî to them in the identification process.
The school board agreed that the bell would be on ìloanî to the NCHS. Board members suggested that there might be a way to use the bell on school property some day.
They also agreed to have Superintendent Tim Eklund look over the remaining articles under consideration and ìgiftî them to the NCHS at his discretion.
©ECM Post Review
6448 Main Street
North Branch, MN 55056
Telephone: 651-674-7025
Fax: 651-674-7026
E-mail: editor.postreview@ecm-inc.com