The Aggie Foundation supports the preservation of Velva and surrounding area history.
MINOT, North Dakota – Thanks to the Aggie Foundation, a $1,000 donation to Velva Area History Museum was made in an effort to help support the cause of preserving history in the Velva area.
Keith Cederstrom, President of the Velva Area History Museum, shared the efforts involved in maintaining history.
“We noticed that some of the pioneers were dying off and their families would come in from the middle of nowhere and just take everything to the garbage. My wife works for the paper and we own the building so we just started hanging pictures on the wall as people were bringing them into us and then more and more people started showing up,” Keith said.
“We are getting a lot of stuff brought in and we are trying to organize it…We got so many of them (boxes), that some of them have never been gone through, so it’s time. It’s amazing, it’s overwhelming.”
The Velva Area History Museum is an organization that is making efforts to preserve the history of Velva and the southern part of McHenry County. The non-profit organization has been restoring this history since 2019. Between the open-cut mine and the coal power plant, the board has a plethora of history to go through. Check out their Facebook page to keep up with what they are discovering while going through the donations.
“Preserving the past begins with recognizing its importance,” said Terry Peterson, Aggie Foundation Board President. “Keith and the board of Velva Area History Museum saw that importance and did something about it.”
The Aggie Foundation supports a broad spectrum of local organizations in fulfilling their missions in North Dakota. In just the past year, the Aggie Foundation has donated over $9,000 in Velva. Velva Alumni make up 7 of the Board of Directors for the Aggie Foundation.
The Aggie Foundation was established in 2012 by a group of friends from Velva, ND. The Foundation initially supported its mission of charitable giving via a modest, yearly scholarship provided to a Senior from Velva who excelled in Biology. They began to help raise funds for citizens in need, schools, youth sports, and local organizations or groups doing good things in Velva and the surrounding communities. Their expansion as a broad grant-provider and community partner allows them to support organizations across North Dakota working with community leaders to identify which organizations are in need of economic assistance.
For more information regarding Aggie Foundation, e-mail aggiefoundation@gmail.com. Visit Aggie Foundation’s Facebook page (@AggieFoundation) or website (aggiefoundation.com) for updates and information about the communities they’re currently active in and ways they are supporting local organizations.
