This Day in History

This daily column on our website really began with an inquiry from a Historical Society member about having access to information on Little Falls history in chronological sequence. At that time, no such record existed, but longtime mainstay Louie Baum became a MAN ON A MISSION.

Those of you not familiar with our museum facilities, our main archival research room is called the Cooney Room, named after former City Historian Edward Cooney. Years ago, Cooney created eighty large, thick scrapbooks containing local newspaper article clippings about significant events from our past, thousands and thousands of articles in total.

Using this treasure trove, Louie toiled for months creating an over 200-page document with a chronological listing of summarized newspaper articles from the Cooney Files. None of us were quite sure how this document could be utilized. Then Ginny stepped up and re-organized Louie’s research document into a day by day file so that everything significant that occurred in Little Falls history on any given date could be accessed. The incredible result was This Day in History. It is the first Internet stop for many of us each day when we turn on our computers. Thank you to Ed Cooney, Louie Baum, and Ginny Rogers for the hundreds of hours of work on this incredible decades-long project. Enjoy!

Louie researching topics for This Day in History.

Additionally, Louie Baum needs to be hereby recognized and honored for his longtime and ongoing service to our organization.

During his tenure as vice-president and then president, Louie helped transform and professionalize the Historical Society while growing our membership and stabilizing our finances. His mentorship continues to inspire and guide us.

Louie Baum conducting research at the Little Falls Historical Society Museum.