Beltrami County History Center

10/18/2026

https://lptv.org/dan-ninham-named-to-mn-basketball-coaches-association-hall-of-fame/

https://youtu.be/0Uy5BBo4fRM Bemidji's Dan Ninham is being recognized for his contributions to the sport of basketball in Minnesota by being inducted into the Minnesota Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Ninham has spent over 35 years coaching basketball, including four years as the Bemidj...

10/15/2026

Our volunteer researchers are in need of Bemidji phone books from 1998 through 2018. If you have one or more of any of those years, please consider donating to us. 

10/15/2026

Request for yearbook donations to augment our collection & to improve our research library resources:
Kelliher
Blackduck
Red Lake
Saum
Red Lake middle school 

10/15/2026

Volunteer Needs:
a. Cataloging BCHS Hardware/Equipment
b. Collections Cataloging
c. Caboose Information Videos
d. Publications Assistance (writing, design, copy editing, printing/collating, mailing)
e. Volunteer Coordination
f. Program Development/Coordination

10/10/2026

A gentleman recently attended the Beltrami County Historical Society semi-annual meeting at the Saum school last Saturday. While exploring the area he stopped by this church that he said is dilapidating.

10/04/2026

https://lptv.org/golden-apple-st-philips-catholic-school-in-bemidji-celebrating-100-years/

https://youtu.be/Hx9qiGBYhBE

09/27/2026

KELLIHER — The Beltrami County Historical Society and Headwaters Music and Arts will present "Celebrating Americana: A Musical Review" on Saturday, Oct. 3, at Saum Consolidated School, 41982 Pioneer Rd NE.

The event is part of the national America 250 commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

From 11 a.m. to 1:45 p.m., the event will feature local artisans, food vendors and historical programming, and visitors are welcome to tour both Saum schools. Attendees can also browse product vendors and purchase a meal from the Top Hawg food truck.

At 1:45 p.m., BCHS Executive Director Emily Thabes will welcome attendees and share a brief history of Saum and the BCHS' current preservation efforts.

At 2 p.m., Headwaters Music and Arts will present a historical, acoustic program, which traces 250 years of American history through the songs people wrote while they were living it, a release said.

Audiences will hear "Chester," a Revolutionary War anthem by a self-taught Boston tanner, alongside "Battle Hymn of the Republic," "Lift Every Voice and Sing," "Which Side Are You On?," "This Land Is Your Land" and "The Times They Are A-Changin'," written by Bob Dylan. Red Lake Nation artist Thomas Barrett will also perform his original piece, "The Seven Teachings."

Narration between songs will explain where each piece came from and what was happening in the country when it was written. The performance closes with an audience sing-along of "America the Beautiful."

Performers include musicians of Headwaters Music and Arts, including the First City Singers, Thomas Barrett, Mauro Gutierrez, Megan Moen, Mike Naylor, Tamra Ragan, Steve Reznicek and Mary Thoreson, with narration by Emily Thabes.

"We are honored to continue celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence with this program," Thabes said in a release. "It honors both the music of revolution and the innovations in public education and school consolidation that are on display in Saum's history."

This event is free to attend, and free-will donations will be accepted for the preservation of Saum School. No registration is required.

Vendors are still welcome; email [email protected] to be involved. There is no tabling fee for this event.

This activity is made possible by a grant provided by the Minnesota State Arts Board through an appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature, a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, and a grant from the Bemidji Area Arts Endowment.

09/22/2026

On the Street Where You Live
311 13th Street NW, Bemidji

Some houses hold one family for a lifetime. The little house at 311 13th Street NW in Bemidji held the Henry family for sixty years.
Douglas Frederick Henry Sr. was born in Ponsford in 1928, part of the White Earth Chippewa community, and grew up between Ponsford, Ponemah, and Red Lake before finishing school in Bemidji. After serving in the Navy and later the Air Force during and after WWII, he married MaryAnn Neft in 1951. The couple settled into the house on 13th Street NW around 1964, and it's where they raised their nine children while Douglas built a remarkable career — working for Doran Plumbing and the City of Bemidji before spending 40 years sailing the Great Lakes, eventually earning the title of Master of Ships.
Douglas passed away in 1999 at age 70, and MaryAnn continued living in the family home until her own death in 2004 at 72 — remembered by her children for the intelligence, dignity, and patience she brought to raising them, and for a garden she tended with the same care.
Their son Ted stayed on in the house after his parents were gone. A Marine veteran who later trained as a draftsman and machinist, Ted was known as a quiet, thoughtful soul — happiest over a long conversation and a pot of tea. He lived at the 13th Street house until his death in 2018.
And here's the part that makes this house special: when the property was sold in 2019, it didn't leave the family at all. Ted's sister Rebecca — one of Douglas and MaryAnn's own daughters — bought the house with her husband, Earl Felt. The Henry name may have changed to Felt, but it was still a Henry keeping the family home in the family, all the way until it finally sold outside the family in 2024.
Sixty years. Three generations. One house on 13th Street NW.

09/21/2026

Last week, I shared the story of the little store at 1101 Irvine Avenue—the post that brought such a great response, especially from Peter Dicaire's descendants. As it turns out, I had more material than fit in that first post, including two break-ins the store weathered over the years. Here's the rest of the story.

When Charles Hulett built his small general store at 1101 Irvine Avenue in 1903 (with materials supplied by E.J. Swedback), he likely didn't expect his run as a merchant to be so short—or so troubled. In March 1905, thieves broke into the store overnight, making off with about $10 in goods. The local paper reported the break-in was discovered by Nellie Knott, who lived at the corner of Mississippi Avenue and 10th Street and happened by before Hulett or his clerks arrived for the day. Two months later, Hulett was dead, leaving behind a wife and eight children.

That April, Peter Dicaire purchased the building and stock and began transforming it into what would become a neighborhood fixture: the Cottage Grocery Store. The papers noted he "took possession... today and is making a number of improvements to the property."

But the store's troubles with thieves weren't over.

On the evening of February 5, 1921, Peter—by then 69 years old—was working late marking goods for the next day when two men burst through the front door "with military precision." One wore a soldier's uniform, collar turned up, hat pulled low—possibly a veteran struggling in the hard postwar economy. His companion, tall and thin in a mackinaw coat, kept his elbow raised to shield his face.

They ordered Peter to put his hands up. Instead, he grabbed a nearby chair and threw it at them. One man shoved him to the ground while the other struck him over the head—with what Peter believed was a gun—knocking him unconscious.

When he came to, $25 was gone from the till and from his person, along with a valuable wallet and some French money, possibly tied to his Canadian childhood or correspondence with family back home. Most unsettling to Peter: he was certain he'd heard a third accomplice waiting outside, urging the others to "hurry up."

Chief of Police Bailey investigated, but no arrests were ever made. The robbers disappeared into the night, and the corner store's sense of safety took a lasting hit.

Despite it all, Peter kept the Cottage Grocery Store running until his death in 1932. His wife Alice carried the business forward briefly in the mid-1930s before passing it on to new owners.

09/18/2026

https://lptv.org/oak-hills-fellowship-in-bemidji-set-to-celebrate-100-years/