RIVER FALLS – A new display in the lower level of the River Falls Public Library pays homage to “amazing individuals from River Falls who have embarked on remarkable adventures. These people dared to dream big, explore beyond our community borders, and overcome challenges.”

The exhibit, titled “Spirit of Adventure: Tales from River Falls,” is the brainchild of Historic Preservation Commission members Jayne Hoffman and Julie Huebel. They spent hundreds of hours researching and putting the display together on River Falls individuals who lived fascinating lives.

“Jayne is the idea lady and the researcher, then I do the digital layout. I’m very happy with how it all turned out,” Huebel said.

The display features artifacts and stories about Terry Linehan, Ray Pennington, Fred Currier (a gold miner), Carlotta Blaurock Phillipps (an artist who studied under James McNeill Whistler), Anna Dodge Hernandez (a silent film actress), Noval MacGregor, William Jackman and Joel Foster.

Linehan is the only one featured still alive. Some are obvious adventurers, while the others are a little less well known, Huebel said.

Hoffman marvels over the long list of silent films Dodge starred in and how she came back to River Falls for visits frequently.

“She was a character actress,” Hoffman said. “The impact of how many films she starred in, you can see in the list. She stayed at the Opera Hotel here in town and we have the register.”

Huebel likes exposing attendees to people who did things that were “a little bit extraordinary.”

“It was risky,” she said. “I don’t know how to equate it to something today. Maybe climbing a mountain top somewhere. It’s so fun to tell these stories.”

Huebel is a visual person who loves to see photos and artifacts instead of reading about them solely in a book. Seeing a full-size man in the clothes of his time has a big impact, she said. Hoffman loves the words in the background of the displays, the subtlety in looking at an old plat map or a diary.

“Jayne did so much reaching out to the people’s families,” Huebel said. “You can tell history in who founded the town, but these fun stories and cool people are the best part. Usually, we’re honoring people who have passed and we think about what would they think. With this we’ve seen that extra piece.”

Hoffman said it took time to build relationships with people’s families, most of whom don’t live in River Falls. Persistence paid off and many families gave permission for artifacts to be used. One man brought artifacts from North Carolina; another woman mailed Pennington’s actual journals.

The display also features a peek at many of the city’s firsts: First automobile, first peanut pusher, first motorcycle, first hot air balloon.

“The first people with cars in town, that was in the paper every week,” Huebel said. “For the time that was adventure.”

Both women spoke highly of the collaboration between the library, the City of River Falls, the Pierce County Historical Association and the UW-River Falls Archives. The exhibit’s theme ties in with the library’s theme this year, which is “Adventure.”

“It’s a great collaborative effort. It gives exposure to lots of things that might not be uncovered,” Hoffman said.

With this display up and running (through March 2025), Huebel is turning her focus to compiling Pierce County military information and artifacts. She is working on moving the PCHA’s military display to their Elmwood office in time for Veterans Day, plus digging into veterans from local legions who people want to know more about.

“It’s great to see the reaction from the local legions in being thought of,” Huebel said. “It’s great history to get documented. There are legitimate war heroes with Pierce County ties. A lot of these guys who died young, they don’t have descendants to share their stories and they can be lost.”

The HPC is also working on a kiosk for the Glover Schoolhouse in DeSanctis Park, adding to the city’s interpretive history signage and a display on bridges for Glen Park.

The River Falls Public Library’s lower level gallery is open to the public during library hours, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday.