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The roofline of the Hjemkomst Center is so iconic in its evocation of Moorhead’s history and culture that it’s become the official logo of the City of Moorhead. Inside the Hjemkomst Center, at the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County, two Moorhead High School alums—Markus Krueger (Class of 2000) and Petra Gunderson-Leith (Class of 2013)—work every day to preserve that history and culture and keep it accessible for generations to come.

Both Markus and Petra attended  Minnesota State University Moorhead. During their respective undergraduate studies they took a job at the Historical and Cultural Society and never left.

“I’ve always been fascinated by the cultures of the world,” said Krueger. “The great thing about going to Moorhead High is that everyone goes to Moorhead High; everyone is a Spud. And that environment really exposes you to new and different cultures.

“My senior year, I took a creative cooking class with several Kurdish students, which sparked a lasting interest in Kurdish culture.”

Now Markus is the Historical and Cultural Society’s Programming Director, arranging events and  guided tours of the museum for groups across the region.  He hosts a popular monthly “History On Tap” series at Junkyard Brewing to share lesser-known stories of Moorhead’s past.

Similar to Markus, Petra’s interest in history was also cultivated by her time as a Moorhead student.

“I’ve always loved history,” explained Gunderson-Leith. “I remember school projects where we’d do historical research into our own family, that was always the most exciting thing for me. I had some great history teachers at Horizon and Moorhead High that made the subject matter very approachable.”

Today, Petra is the Clay County Archivist for the Historical and Cultural Society. She and her staff log items that come through the museum to preserve them for future use. Recently, they processed the Flaten-Wange photo negative collection which contains more than 10,000 glass plate negatives of photos from the region, from 1879 up until the 1930s, many of which are more than 100 years old.

“The archives are the home of many of the resources that help us create exhibits and tell these interesting and important stories,” she said. “They offer first-hand insight into what life was like at a given time in history that offers a unique glimpse into our local history.”

Krueger and Gunderson-Leith were able to team up in the fall of 2025 to help the cast of Frozen, this year’s MHS fall musical, connect with the Scandinavian roots of the story and the costumes they’d be wearing.

“It was so fun being able to bring in the cast like that,” said Gunderson-Leith, a former student of longtime MHS drama teacher Rebecca Meyer-Larson. “It was a blast to see her group getting excited about how local history connects to the art that they’re producing.”

Krueger added, “I do school tours for schools from all over North Dakota and Minnesota. However, there’s something special when Moorhead kids come here. I see myself in them. And now that I’m older, I’m starting to see my friends’ kids in those classes!”

Moorhead’s standing as a place where immigrants gravitate toward when they come to America gives it a unique place in local history, one which Krueger thinks is a great place for future generations to start when learning about the subject.

“I’d tell people that they live in a weird place in the world—in the best possible way,” he said with a laugh. “I think this is the most fascinating place on earth. We have a viking ship built by a local school teacher to sail to Norway. We have food traditions from all over the world. Moorhead has Minnesota’s oldest Hispanic community. We punch way above our weight culturally, artistically, musically, even with Winter Olympics sports! There is, and always has been, fascinating things going on here.”

While some Spuds’ journeys take them long geographical distances from Moorhead, Markus and Petra have instead journeyed far into Moorhead’s past to keep it alive for generations to come– because once a Spud, always a Spud!