Ramsey County History Fall 2024

Ramsey County History Fall 2024

Volume 59, No. 4: Fall 2024

John W. Diers, Jim McCartney, Adam Bledsoe

Link to download PDF of full Ramsey County History Fall 2024

 

Articles in this issue:

Growing Up on the Empire Builder

Author: John W. Diers

John W. Diers’ “Growing Up on the Empire Builder” invites readers to step into an era when American train travel was more than just a way to get riders from one point to another. Twenty-one-year-old Diers couldn’t get enough of passenger trains (or freight trains, trams, trolleys—you name it). And so, in 1965, he embarked on a solo adventure aboard the Great Northern Railway’s premier train, mesmerized by the rattle of the cars on the tracks, the clink of the stemware in the elegant dining room, and majestic mountain views from the Builder’s observation car. And don’t forget the unexpected guest at his dinner table. This piece is a sensory treat, and you get to go along for the ride.

 

Communist Clarence Hathaway and His Powerful Impact on Minnesota Politics

Author: Jim McCartney

Clarence Hathaway was born in Oakdale Township in 1894—a regular kid who graduated high school and took a job as a machinist. Today, however, one might also call him an influencer. Hathaway wanted to make a difference—change people’s minds. Early union membership soon led to leadership, negotiating for farmer/worker demands in a world on the brink of war and run by bankers and big business. At age thirty, he worked alongside Wiliam Mahoney (future mayor of St. Paul) to help launch Minnesota’s Farmer-Labor Party (FLP)—his communist affiliation unbeknownst to many at the time. And in the midst of the Great Depression, Hathaway and the American Communist Party quietly influenced the FLP by forging alliances with Minnesota governors Floyd B. Olson and Elmer Benson.

 

An Opportunity to Speak, to Act, to Contribute, to Belong

The Everyday Activism of the North Central Voters League in St. Paul

Author: Adam Bledsoe

The Voting Rights Act was meant to prohibit racial discrimination at the ballot box and make voting easier for Black Americans. In the 1960s, many Black citizens were leery about voting, yet their voices needed to be heard. And, so, a determined group of men from St. Paul’s Selby-Dale (Rondo) neighborhood established the North Central Voters League. Dr. Adam Bledsoe at the University of Minnesota writes about this short-lived organization that assembled to get folks to the polls, back Black candidates in local elections, and provide needed community and educational services for residents in “An Opportunity to Speak, to Act, to Contribute, to Belong: The Everyday Activism of the North Central Voters League in St. Paul.”