In 1959, the citizens of Chelsea went all out with a summer-long celebration of Chelsea’s 125^th Anniversary.  Community members built a log cabin in the parking lot next to Heydlauff’s to act as headquarters for the event planners, who expected the celebration to bring thousands into the town.

July 11-18 was the peak of the festivites with shows, parades, dances, and a carnival.  Throughout the summer (though especially in this final week), citizens were encouraged to dress in the styles of 1834, which included growing old-fashioned facial hair for the men and sporting bonnets and petticoats for the women. 

The entire town got into the spirit, including local businesses, which accepted Anniversary wooden nickels as legal tender and offered special “Old Fashioned Bargain Days” with prices from the past.     

Don Turner brought out his camera and recorded video of the week onto 16mm film, which was later donated to the library.  Highlights include footage of square dances, elaborate parades, and, of course, the eventual shaving of the beards.

Can you identify any of the people in this video? Send an email to sconrad@chelseadistrictlibrary.org with their name and the time at which they show up in the video.  To get you started, is that Bob Daniels at 18:20?

Ever wonder about the history of your house?  It can take some searching to uncover details about houses and their former residents, but the library can provide some tools and tips.

A great starting place is the Internet Public Library’s Guide to Researching the History of a House; it gives a thorough list of internet resources for House Histories.

Another way to gather information about your house is to do research on previous owners and residents.  You can visit the city’s BS&A page and enter your house’s address to get a list of more recent owners.  However, in order to get the names of owners from the more distant past, you will likely need to contact the Tax and Assessing Department of the City of Chelsea.

Once you find out the names of former owners, you can visit the library’s Family History Index and look up their obituaries.  This can give you information about their lives, as well as names of family members who would not be listed as homeowners.

Good luck!                                                       —Emily

The Chelsea District Library owns yearbooks from 1920 to present.  Have a family member you’d like to embarrass?  We’ve got the senior picture for you!  Ask at the 2nd floor reference desk – yearbooks are available to review in the library at any time.

The Chelsea District Library’s Stories of Chelsea project involves conducting videotaped interviews with Chelsea-area residents about specific topics of Chelsea history.

This project is a part of the library’s dedication to preserving a record of American social and family life as experienced in the Chelsea area. The topics covered in Stories of Chelsea are:

• One Room Schoolhouses
• WWII Veterans
• Farmers
• Village Life
• Local Landmarks