Ticks and Bricks: A Rivalry
The more I dance between what Sara has shortened to “Ticks and Bricks,” the more I realize the two languages the buildings speak. I’m also coming to realize how this could create a one epic personality clash.
On one corner (for now) stands the Bricks —-known as an enthusiastic historical society with fun, innovative programs, thoughtful staff who listen to stories and get excited when you want to track down dead people or property mysteries, and as we often say…engage in shenanigans. It boasts a lively energy, a full calendar, and if you’ve ever tried to catch me without an appointment, you tend to resemble a looney toons tornado.
On the other corner—well, not really. Ticks is a little more standoffish and even uses a cloaked address (the driveways are on Jefferson and Adams) to make sure you don’t just stumble across it. Then there’s the calming blue color, the spacious lawn, and the turret where many a storybook character have gone to find solace and peace (ignore the wicked step mothers, please!). One step through the door and it’s evident Ticks ain’t no Bricks for practicality. Here, it’s charm and gentleness—there’s space for the florals and delicacies we don’t take time for in our daily drive through lives. It is the place where the porch always has a chair for you, the glass can always be refilled, there’s always an extra half hour for the extra thought, and the cookie jar never empties. The time/space continuum stops, realty suspends, and whatever is “out there” doesn’t come “in here” to pester you. It’s truly a sacred space of sorts. Honestly, even the deer and birds hover a bit closer in the background.
I’m only just coming to realize the magic Ticknor House may lose when the Anoka County Historical Society comes crashing through the door to set up a research library. It will certainly gain a renewed energy of community involvement and support, a vibrant culture of collaboration, and a renewed awareness of how we move through history every day. But the folks coming for the bed and breakfast magic, that unmatched first step into the “relaxation experience” and not just “functional sleep space” where “ooooo we get to stay HERE?!” giggles out and eyes sparkle…that’s all going to have to somehow survive in the same airspace as, “print that out quick, I’m late for my program!”
Even just comparing the small sample size of programs we have hosted, Ticks vs Bricks: there isn’t one. I’ve never in 11 years heard anyone walk into the museum and say, wow, this place is beautiful! The building is literally invisible. People drive by it all the time. They DO walk in and express gratitude for the restrooms, see something in the display case and dash over, or respond to Cindy’s grin behind the desk. But look up at the wall sconces? No.
So now I wonder: how can ACHS maintain its personality and at the same time preserve not just the structure of Ticknor House, but also its spirit and identity as the storybook home.
