The daily digest of Twin Cities culture | Secrets of the City

Up to the 1960s, the apron served as a potent symbol of American womanhood. These lovingly adorned little swatches of cloth represented comfort and security and perfectly browned pot roasts. Then the women’s movement came along and the frills fell away. Since then, aprons have mostly been utilitarian and unisex, of the “Kiss the Cook” variety. That’s what makes this collection of oldies so impressive and so fascinating. Pulled together by Dorothy Sauber, a women’s studies professor at Anoka-Ramsey Community College, it includes more than one hundred specimens, on display at the Hennepin History Museum through December 31.