Meet the new Warroad Museum Manager Brady Swanson 'We lucked out in recruiting Brady Swanson to move back north from Minneapolis,' said Warroad Heritage Center Board member Cyndy Renfrow. 'Look for a lot of fun events to come from the Warroad Heritage Center and Warroad Historical Society in the coming months!'
'What impressed the board members was the fact that Brady had museum experience,' explained Warroad Heritage Center Board member Ron Tveit. 'Brady has a degree in history from the University of Minnesota Morris and work experience at the Oliver H. Kelley Farm in Elk River. The Oliver H. Kelley Farm is a living history museum farm where we would take our Warroad sixth grade classes on field trips.'
Other board members who took part in the hiring process include Warroad Heritage Center board members Marg Marvin and Bob Evans.
'While I was attending college, I was fortunate to get a two-year internship at the Stevens County Museum,' said Brady. 'I'm thankful the curator there gave me the opportunity for hands-on experience at collecting, organizing, and documenting artifacts.'
Brady recalls the time he spent working at the Oliver H. Kelley Farm in Elk River.
'I worked at the Oliver H. Kelley Farm for three seasons, from the spring of 2019 to the fall of 2021,' said Brady. 'I was an interpreter there. We dressed and worked as they had in the 1860s. I was a teamster and worked with a team of oxen and two teams of horses. We farmed like they did in the 1860s and had kids and adults joining us in farming.
'The people and the work were so cool, but interpreting to kids was always my favorite,' continued Brady. 'You don't just give kids answers because kids don't learn that way. A kid will ask 'why does the farm have oxen?'. You ask them questions back and see them work it out. Eventually you will see the lightbulb turn on in their eyes and they excitedly shout out their answer. That was the favorite part of my job!'
Brady Swanson was born in Thief River Falls but spent the first five and a half years of his life in Warroad. 'My mom was the manager at the old nursing home and my dad worked at Marvin,' said Brady. 'My dad was big into history and passed on his love of history to me. Our family moved to Grygla in 2001, where I graduated from Grygla High School in 2014.
'I was working for Namsa Medical Research when my mom sent me a newspaper clipping about the museum manager position at Warroad Heritage Center. I'm excited to be in Warroad and working in the museum,' said Brady.
'I'm presently getting everything in order and setting things up the way I would like to run the museum. I'm immersed in the history of Warroad. There's much to unpack and learn. The Warroad Museum has files on hundreds of families. Everyone is welcome to come in and research their families. A good chunk of what is in the museum is what area residents have collected. Working in a museum means I am constantly learning new things,' continued Brady. 'I will come across some obscure fact and research it and learn about the bigger meaning.'
'Currently our office hours are weekdays, Mon.-Fri. from 1-5 p.m., but we are hoping to expand those hours. If the library is open and I am in the museum working, I have an open door policy. Come in and explore,' said Brady. 'For those wanting to keep up on future events planned at the museum, it's a good idea to follow the Warroad Heritage Center on Facebook. We will be holding special events. For instance, Trivia Night will soon be returning to Lake of the Woods Brewery.'
The Warroad Heritage Center is located at 202 Main Ave. N.E. Brady Swanson may be reached at the Warroad Heritage Center Museum at 218-386-2500 during office hours or warroadheritagecenter@ gmail.com
