Ramsey County History – Fall 2016: “Streetcars: A Way of Life”

Streetcars: A Way of Life
Author: DeAnne Marie Cherry

Traveling by streetcar in St. Paul was a way of life for DeAnne Marie Cherry’s family at the turn of the twentieth century. Her great-grandparents used them to go to work or shopping. Her grandfather took the trolley to the church for his wedding in 1915, his job in South St. Paul, and outings with his daughter to see baseball games at Lexington Park. Family members continued to use streetcars regularly into the 1930s, and her aunt and uncle took one to Union Depot in 1940 to see their son head off to boot camp as a Marine. Five years later, family members all made their way back to the Depot via streetcar to celebrate the return of this Marine from his service in the Pacific. Today, the streetcars are all gone in St. Paul, but Cherry keeps the memory of them alive with her grandchildren by taking them on rides on the restored Como-Harriet Line.
PDF of Cherry article