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On Wednesday, Aug. 21, at 7 p.m., at the Vermilion lecture hall, the Ely-Winton Historical Society will be welcoming Hibbing historian Mary Palcich Keyes to the Summer History Night lecture series. All are welcome to attend this presentation.
Keyes is familiar to northern Minnesota residents for her “Years of Yore” weekly page about aspects of Iron Range history which is published in the Mesabi Tribune and affiliated papers. She holds leadership roles in the Hibbing Historical Society and represents that Society on the St. Louis County Historical Society Board of Governors.
Keyes is the daughter of two Iron Rangers who were outstanding teachers. After graduating from Hibbing High School in 1975, she attended the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul, MN, earning degrees in English, Speech/Theatre, and Secondary Education.
Keyes taught for 18 years at Hill-Murray High School in St. Paul where she taught mostly 12th grade literature, writing and media classes, and developed the English Advanced Placement course. Then, for four years, she taught classes about Minnesota history and research at the Minnesota Historical Society’s History Center in downtown St. Paul.
She and her husband Joe returned to her hometown in 2003 where they owned and operated Howard Street Booksellers until 2015. Although they retired from running the brick and mortar storefront, they continue to order books for individuals and organizations.
They also give tours of historic Hibbing, Bob Dylan’s Hibbing, and Hibbing’s magnificent High School.
“I was very honored to be asked to speak in Ely,” said Keyes, “and I am looking forward to sharing these stories about the Iron Range schools and how they helped immigrants to become Americans. I think it is one of the most wonderful stories about the Iron Range.”
The presentation is titled “The Schools That Did It All.” Keyes has presented a version of this program several times, including last summer as part of the Northern Lights Music Festival, at Hill-Murray as part of their Founders Speaker Series, and for several historical societies. She also gave this presentation most recently in July at Hibbing High School during the 100th Anniversary Celebration of the school.
The presentation is accompanied by a number of historic photographs of schools from several Iron Range communities, including Ely, as well as teachers and students from those schools.
Keyes said she hopes that many of Ely’s citizens and visitors will come to learn about and celebrate the history of the wonderful Iron Range schools.
