Sherburne County Heritage Center Interpretive Plan Final Report 2005

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interpreter be stationed in the "Communities and People" section during expected high visitation periods to provide opportunities for human interaction, something SCHS's future audience placed a high value on. Estimated Duration of Visitor Experience: The Heritage Center visitor experience is diverse and multi -faceted. Visitors can choose to visit for various lengths of time or to repeat their visit to see all facets. Depending on which visitor experiences they choose, visitors could spend about an hour in the indoor exhibit and another hour or hour and a half walking the trails and viewing outdoor exhibit components. The total experience is flexible to accommodate a visit of an hour or a visit of two to three or even four hours. The trail adds a seasonal element that will encourage repeat visits to see the changes in the lake and savanna landscape. Special events will also encourage repeat visits. Dramatic Performances or Living History Occasional dramatic performances, demonstrations, or living history programs may be presented at the Heritage Center and grounds. First -person characters will be particularly entertaining for special events or school groups. The history summarized in the interpretive plan suggests several options. Visitors could meet a Red River Ox Cart trail participant (woman or man), who could help them understand the Red River people, the purpose for the trail, and daily life on the trail. They could enjoy an hour with explorers Jonathan Carver or Zebulon Pike, both of whom camped in the area and made observations during broader surveys. These explorer characters could link Sherburne County into the context of larger national survey storylines. It is likely that an overwhelming favorite would be a Vic Peterson character, who could discuss early 20th century auto -tourism, particularly if it could be combined with a visit with a black bear—A.K.A. Johnny Bear. There are several good natural history characters that might be developed or drawn from existing characters that might work in the amphitheatre area or the Clitty Lake Overlook. The Minnesota Naturalists Association would be a good contact for finding these performer/educators. You could also consider creating a Vernon Bailey naturalist character, using the significant amount of information that is available on Bailey's early and later life. A Bailey character would enable you to include local settlement history, yet also be tied to the growth of wildlife management ideas and a conservation ethic. His descriptions of his early fishing and hunting experiences, his detailed stories about the disappearance of the passenger pigeon in Sherburne County all make for great background for a living history character. American Indian characters could be spun off from the Ojibwe section. More research on individuals mentioned by William Warren in History of the Ojibway People will be necessary to make the stories more personal. The Living History Society of Minnesota may be a good resource for large groups of people dressed in period clothing for special events. Finally, you might consider creating a living history character based on someone like Leon Barnier, who has some great detailed stories about ways that he helped educate people about electricity. He could be enlisted to help create the character. If you prefer not to make the character a real person, Barnier and others could be the background documentation for a composite humorous -educational character you could call Willie Wirehand, after the famous early 20`h century electricity advertising mascot. This could be similar to the very successful natural history humorous/educational figures naturalist Denny Olson has created, such as Professor Avian Guano. See his website at http://www.crittennansworld.com/. Sherburne County Historical Society Heritage Center Interpretive Plan, April 21, 2005, page 6