Using Facebook to do a local history project

New Message Reply Date view Thread view Subject view Author view
JANET IRENE SEYMOUR (janet.seymour@wisconsinhistory.org)
Wed, 26 Jan 2022 21:39:46 +0000



From: JANET IRENE SEYMOUR <janet.seymour@wisconsinhistory.org>
Subject: Using Facebook to do a local history project
Date: Wed, 26 Jan 2022 21:39:46 +0000
Message-id: <DM5PR06MB34046D60F1577E4BD32846DF87209@DM5PR06MB3404.namprd06.prod.outlook.com>

Sent: Tuesday, January 25, 2022 8:59 AM SEYMOUR <janet.seymour@wisconsinhistory.org> Subject: Using Facebook to do a local history project

The Sterling Laketown and Eureka Historical Society, located in NW Wisconsin, NW Polk County along the scenic and wild St Croix River, kicked off a project to do a history of a small local town that has mostly disappeared.
   It begins with a Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/History-of-Atlas-Wisconsin-111739398049434/
   We have many clippings and other information and photos from the area, but want to involve the local folks with an Atlas background and possibly recruit them as members and volunteers in our local history society.
   What we did is on January,3, 2022, is create a Facebook page, send invites to the folks already on our history society Facebook pages and then start putting the photos and stories on the page.
   In 20 days we have done about 3 posts per day, now gotten 200 page followers, average 700 views per day and have gotten the names of nearly 100 folks with ties and information about Atlas, with offers to help.
   With Covid still serious here, we are waiting until March (or Covid waning) to kick of a series of informal Atlas programs at the museum where we gather the folks to tell us more (resulting in videos). We also plan to do a few Atlas walks (1/4 mile) with folks explaining what is there.
    If all goes as planned, we will get a new part of our membership from the Atlas area, some volunteers and a theme for the spring and summer as we explore what is left of the tiny town. We even may sponsor a kids fishing contest of the dam millpond!
    The key is providing an intense saturation of the Facebook page with posts, photos, and then get folks commenting on them sharing and giving us new information. So far we have had about 10 stories come in and 30 new photos.
   And of course all of this will go into a book to sell for the local historical society, as one can download the posts and photos that are on the Facebook page and turn them into a document, then edit them.

Russ Hanson Sterling Eureka and Laketown Historical Society Museum in uptown Cushing, WI Polk County on top of the hill where the settler's gathered to defend themselves from the 1870s Indian uprising
(a false alarm!).



New Message Reply Date view Thread view Subject view Author view
This archive was generated on Wed Jan 26 2022 - 15:52:16 Central Standard Time