Ramsey County History – Winter 2010: “Growing Up in St. Paul: The CCC, Flying Hands, and the Armistice Day Blizzard”

Growing Up in St. Paul: The CCC, Flying Hands, and the Armistice Day Blizzard
Author: Norman C. Horton Sr.

Norman Horton’s family moved to St. Paul at the onset of the Great Depression eking out an existence and moving often. After graduation from high school, Horton served in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), starting in northern Minnesota in the early 1930s. He describes the bitterly cold weather and the hard work. He was finally able to get a good job at the Ford plant in 1938 and tells how, during this time, he experienced the wrath of the legendary blizzard of Armistice Day 1940. He and his family eventually moved to 2186 North Rice Street near Highway 36, where he started a successful auto parts and repair shop. Horton later served briefly in the army in World War II.
PDF of Horton article