From page 2 of the printed Heritage Songbook:

The author would like to thank the following for their help with this project:

The Friends of Fort Snelling, for sponsoring the book.

The Minnesota Sesquicentennial Commission. Without them, there would have been no funding for printing this book.

Informants John Healy and Odell Bjerkness, for family songs (“In Good Old Colony Days” and “Oleana”).

Members of the Ballad-L Internet mailing list, including Deborah Rubin, Simon Furey, Malcolm Douglas, Jonathan Lighter, Paddy Tutty, Ben Schwartz, John Garst, Jerome Epstein, Steve Gardham, and others, who cheerfully can be relied upon to find information about almost any old song, and who all helped to proofread the final draft of this work. Paul Stamler deserves special note in this regard; he truly proofread above and beyond the call of duty.

Stephen Osman, formerly of the Minnesota Historical Society, who guided us to many useful materials in the collection and who personally found and donated the broadside of the First Minnesota Song to the Society.

Deborah Miller of the Historical Society, for help in using the collections. The illustrations in particular owe much to her generous assistance.

David Grabitske of the Historical Society, for making the appeal for Minnesota songs from the local historical societies.

The Historical Society itself, for making available much of the material — and for maintaining the Stanchfield Papers.

Curtis and Loretta, http://www.CurtisAndLoretta.com, for putting together a concert program of songs from the Heritage Songbook.

Ross Sutter, for suggestions about Swedish songs and help in learning them.

Susan Kocher, Marcie Zachmeier-Ruh, and Sharon Wilson, for providing words, music, and literal translation for “Es Klappert die Mühle Am Rauschenden Bach.”

Signe Betsinger and Rita Juhl, for sharing their books and knowledge of Danish songs.

Karen Jacobson, for sharing the songs of her childhood. Linda Radimecky, for books. And, finally, to Fred and Dorothy Waltz, for research assistance, making contact with many of the sources for non- English songs, help in laying out the book, financial support, and even occasional arguments.

None of them, of course, bear any responsibility for any errors remaining in the book.

Robert B. Waltz, September 2008

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Since the above was written, many others have contributed to the Heritage Songbook project. Thanks first to the musicians, Curtis & Loretta, Ross Sutter, Brian Miller, Laura MacKenzie, and Elisabeth Skoglund. Thanks also to my parents for engineering the recordings, as well as for encouraging the ongoing project. Thanks to the Ramsey County Historical Society for giving me the nudge to update the web site. Thanks to the residents of 1666 Coffman for support. And to all the people who have simply been there along the way: Martha Galep, Sarah Cagley, Elizabeth Rosenberg, Jeff Rolfzen, Mollie Spillman, and many more.

Thanks again to my parents, Dorothy and Frederick Waltz, for the support needed along the way; the book is dedicated to them.

And thanks to the Alliance of Local History Museums, which made the Songbook a recipient of a Minnesota History Award recipient in 2008!