In honor of the 56^th National American Turner Festival in New Ulm this summer, the Brown County Historical Society museum is opening two exhibits, Gut Heil! New Ulm as a Turner Town, and Bridge of Friendship, Ulm and New Ulm. The public is invited to the grand opening of the exhibits on June 8. The grand opening will be free to the public from 10 am to 6 pm.

The grand opening will include a lecture by the exhibit’s designer, Dan Hoisington. He will be giving our June Lunch and a Bite of History presentation on New Ulm’s history as a Turner town, from noon to 1 pm. The BCHS popcorn wagon will also be selling popcorn that day.

The Gut Heil exhibit explains the history of the New Ulm Turner Society from its organization in 1857, as well as the formation of Turnerism in Europe and its beginnings in the United States. The exhibit will feature artifacts from New Ulm’s Turnverein, and on loan for the exhibit are a Turner flag and several items from Ted Marti. Marti participated in Turner Hall’s gymnastics program and while in college at the University of Michigan. He even competed in the U. S. Olympic gymnastics trials in the early 1970s.

Bridge of Friendship, Ulm and New Ulm will show the artifacts previously displayed in the “Ulm Room” at the museum. These artifacts include antique furniture, photographs, prints, and figurines from Ulm, Germany. The artifacts were donated to New Ulm by the City of Ulm, Germany. The Ulm Room was dedicated in August 1984, and remained on display until 2017.

The two exhibits will be on display through spring 2024 on the second floor of the Brown County Historical Society’s museum. For more information on the exhibit, please contact the BCHS at 507-233-2616.