The Murray County Historical Society invites the public to attend its March Lunchbox Lecture on Thursday, March 13th, 2025, in the 4-H building on the Murray County Fairgrounds in Slayton starting at noon. This month’s lecture will feature our very own End O Line Site Supervisor Jake Halverson.
Far from the rolling hills of Murray County, this lecture will have actually nothing to do with the history of Southwestern Minnesota -or the United States, for that matter. Instead, it will focus on a word that has been used often in the last few months -”oligarchy”. What is an oligarchy? How does one form? What are the economic and social outcomes of an oligarchy? And how, if at all, is oligarchy tied to the concept of nationalism and national identity? These questions will be examined in this lecture under the lens of modern Russian history. By surveying the last 40 years of Russian governance and domestic restructuring, we will attempt to shed light on, and gain understanding of, this now often-discussed style of rule.
About the Presenter: Jake Halverson is currently the Site Supervisor at End-O-Line Railroad Park & Museum (EOL), located in Currie, Minesota. He moved to Murray County from the cities with his wife and young daughter in November 2023 in order to raise sheep. As this endeavor in animal husbandry began to take off, Jake decided to embrace his new community by involving himself with the local historical institutions -namely, the Murray County Historical Museum and EOL. Jake studied Russian history at the University of Minnesota -Twin Cities, where he then went on to work for the University of Minnesota Libraries the ten years prior to his move to Murray County.
The cost of the talk is $3.00 per person or Historical Society members get in free. Attendees are welcome to bring their own lunch. Refreshments and light snacks are provided. For more information about this and other museum events, call 507-836-6533 or email museum@co.murray.mn.us”
