Item 7-OHPC Otsego ViewItem 7
“The mission of the Otsego Heritage Preservation Commission is to
discover, preserve, interpret and communicate Otsego history and culture to
educate and enhance our sense of connection and appreciation for each other,
our present environment and our legacy.”
Our collection includes hundreds of photographs, audio recordings, self-
published family histories, and books. We have some artifacts from the
McDonald house deconstruction including a hand-hewn beam and assorted small
objects found in the excavation. Much of this collection was established by the
original OHPC members like Elaine Norin, Joy Swenson, Norm Schwanbeck, Arlene
Holen, Freida Lobeck, to name a few.
We are currently digitizing the collection. OHPC-published history books
are scanned and are available on the Otsego city website. Most of the photos are
scanned but are not organized. The audio tapes from interviews done years ago
are also digitized now; we hope to be able to offer their availability to the
interested public sometime in the future.
We have several photos that are not identified or labelled. We will likely
reach out to the public for help labelling those photos, maybe at the Otsego
Festival or through the Otsego View.
COVID interrupted our plans for interviewing more community elders in
Otsego. We hope to start again once it is safe to meet.
History is also happening now, so we are interested in new families, new
businesses, new organizations that are part of Otsego. It is important to record
and recognize this.
We are always looking for photographs, family histories, family stories so if
you would like to share with us, please contact us through the city. We are not
collecting artifacts or physical items. If you have any of those and would like to
donate them, we suggest contacting the Wright County Historical Society.
Our meetings are the second Tuesday of every month at 7 pm. Like most,
we are currently meeting via ZOOM. That information is posted on the city
website, so anyone is welcome to join us.