Among the recently cataloged Andersen Corporation corporate records (ca. 118 cu. ft.) are several boxes of photographs that showcase Andersen windows and homes built with Andersen windows. The bulk of the photographs are 8 x 10, black-and-white prints of suburban homes, built in the post-World War II baby boom era, from locales throughout the United States. House historians will find these photographs a valuable source on the 1950s and 1960s that is seldom documented in such quantity and in such detail in one collection.

Minnesota locales, including some from the lake country (see images 1 and 2) are well documented but photographs of residences, businesses, schools, churches, and hotels from over 30 states are also included.

      
(1) Summer home near Perham, Minnesota

 
(2) Camp Widjiwagan, Ely, 1959

While a number of the photographs are of elegant homes of the social elite, most of the photographs are of fairly typical suburban homes of the middle class as shown in the images 3 and 4.

(3) Home near Flint, Michigan

(4) Home in Scotia, New York

There is an equal mixture of interior shots of kitchens, living rooms and bedrooms, and exterior shots, which of course prominently feature a particular line of Andersen window. The photographs are arranged by type of window (casement, flexivent, gliding, strutwall, etc.) and those photographs with a more exact address are arranged by state. As a result, a researcher can quickly zero in on a particular locale or conduct a more general search.

Also included are the expected plant scenes–some as early as 1916, construction photographs showing the installation of various types of Andersen windows (image 5), and trade show photographs showing the marketing of Andersen windows (image 6).

(5) Construction site near Madison, Wisconsin

(6) Trade show display

From the folks at the Gideon Pond House:

Hope you can join us this Sunday for possibly the largest gathering of authors of Minnesota history we’ve ever had at the Gideon Pond House!  Sounds like we’ll also have beautiful weather for a hike on the trails in Pond Dakota Mission Park …

“Trail of Tears: The Minnesota Dakota Indian Exile Begins”         
Sunday October 26, 2:00 pm
This program will be presented by most of the book’s contributing authors:  Thomas Shaw, Stephen Osman, Alan Woolworth, Mary Bakeman, Curtis Dahlin, Lois Glewwe, Carrie Zeman, Walter Bachman, Corinne Marz, and John LaBatte.  The book is a series of essays that extends from Camp Release following the decisive battle of Wood Lake to the Lower Sioux Agency, with two marches from there:  those that were tried and prisoners to Camp Lincoln in Blue Earth County, and their family members-women, children and elders-who were taken to the internment camp at Fort Snelling.  It includes information on Sibley’s army of 1862, the emotional reaction of the white soldiers assigned to guard the Indians, and what has happened over time.  There will be a special mention of the Gideon Pond House in the presentation.  All the authors have made previous presentations at the Pond House or on our tours and are some of the most renowned historians in the state of Minnesota.  The book published by Prairie Echoes Press will be for sale and the authors will be available for signing.  House tours at 1:30 and 3:30 p.m.  Program and tours are free.

The Gideon and Agnes Pond House is located in Pond Dakota Mission Park, 401 East 104th St., Bloomington, between Portland and Nicollet Aves.  For more information contact Mark Morrison at Bloomington Parks and Recreation at 952-563-8693, or after hours call Jay Ludwig at 952-484-0477, or visit our website.