The story behind Minnesota’s official state photograph
Photographer Eric Enstrom composed “Grace” to represent survival in the face of hardship.
Harris Burkhalter is an intermittent librarian in the Hennepin County Library system and has studied Minnesota history at Minnesota State University Mankato and library science at St. Catherine University. He has presented at the OLAC-MOUG Conference, NAHA-Norway Conference, and Northern Great Plains History Conference, and has served as a judge on Minnesota History Day since 2011.
Photographer Eric Enstrom composed “Grace” to represent survival in the face of hardship.
In 1872, Julia Sears was hired to head the Mankato State Normal School, making her the first woman to hold such a position of power in the U.S. In 1873, the school board replaced her with a man.
By Harris Burkhalter
Oct. 27, 2015