Catalog
Ramsey County History – Summer 2004: “The Rondo Oral History Project Beulah Mae Baines Swan Remembers Piano Lessons and a ‘Nice Vegetable Garden’ Out Back”
Kate CavettThe Rondo Oral History Project Beulah Mae Baines Swan Remembers Piano Lessons and a ‘Nice Vegetable Garden’ Out Back An Interview by Kate Cavett This article is from an oral history interview with Beulah Mae Baines Swan, who was raised near Como and Dale in a very small…
Ramsey County History – Spring 2004: “Growing Up in St. Paul: Mechanic Arts—An Imposing ‘Melting Pot’ High School that Drew Minorities Together”
Bernice FischerGrowing Up in St. Paul: Mechanic Arts—An Imposing ‘Melting Pot’ High School that Drew Minorities Together Author: Bernice Fischer After seven years at St. Adalbert’s School, in classes of thirty consisting of all white Catholic children, the author entered Mechanic Arts High School with its four floors, many nationalities,…
Ramsey County History – Fall 2002: “Lost Neighborhood: Borup’s Addition and the Prosperous Pioneer African Americans Who Owned Homes There”
David RiehleLost Neighborhood: Borup’s Addition and the Prosperous Pioneer African Americans Who Owned Homes There Author: David Riehle The story of a vanished neighborhood populated, though not exclusively, by pioneer African Americans, many of whom arrived around the time of the Civil War. This nineteenth-century community was located in Borup’s…
Ramsey County History – Summer 2002: “‘Hang Him! That’s the Best Way:’ A Lynching in St. Paul? Almost, in 1895, an Era of ‘Vigilante Justice’ in the Nation”
Paul D. Nelson‘Hang Him! That’s the Best Way:’ A Lynching in St. Paul? Almost, in 1895, an Era of ‘Vigilante Justice’ in the Nation Author: Paul D. Nelson Twenty-five years before the infamous Duluth lynchings, itinerant African-American Houston Osborne narrowly escaped lynching in St. Paul. This piece describes the near-lynching, the…
Ramsey County History – Spring 2002: “Doing History in Ramsey County and St. Paul: A Review Essay”
John M. LindleyDoing History in Ramsey County and St. Paul: A Review Essay Author: John M. Lindley Like the late nineteenth century spate of local history books about St. Paul, the author comments on a similar recent flourishing of St. Paul history and gives several short summaries of the works. Among…
Ramsey County History – Winter 2002: “A Memoir: Jimmy Griffin, St. Paul’s First Black Deputy Police Chief, Remembers His First Years on the Force”
Jimmy Griffin with Kwame J.C. McDonaldA Memoir: Jimmy Griffin, St. Paul’s First Black Deputy Police Chief, Remembers His First Years on the Force Author: Jimmy Griffin with Kwame J.C. McDonald In this excerpt from his autobiography, Jimmy Griffin, one of St. Paul’s best-remembered police officers, tells some of his stories. Born in 1906, Griffin grew…
Ramsey County History – Winter 2000: “Architect to the Kings of the Carnivals: ‘Cap’ Wigington and His Ice Palace ‘Babies’”
Bob OlsenArchitect to the Kings of the Carnivals: ‘Cap’ Wigington and His Ice Palace ‘Babies’ Author: Bob Olsen A chronicle of Clarence W. “Cap” Wigington’s designs for the St. Paul Ice Palaces of the 1930s and ‘40s. Financed by the US Works Progress Administration during the years of the Great…
Ramsey County History — Winter 2000: “A Water Tower, a Pavilion and Three National Historic Sites: Clarence Wigington and the Architectural Legacy He Left to the People of St. Paul”
David Vassar TaylorA Water Tower, a Pavilion and Three National Historic Sites: Clarence Wigington and the Architectural Legacy He Left to the People of St. Paul Author: David V. Taylor Clarence Wesley “Cap” Wigington was the first licensed African-American architect in Minnesota, whose career with the City of Saint Paul extended for…
Ramsey County History – Winter 1999: “‘300 Afro-American Performers:’ The Great Cuba Pageant of 1898: St. Paul’s Citizens Support the Struggle for Civil Rights”
Dave Riehle‘300 Afro-American Performers:’ The Great Cuba Pageant of 1898: St. Paul’s Citizens Support the Struggle for Civil Rights Author: Dave Riehle In November 1898 the Twin Cities African-American community put on a grand show of patriotic enthusiasm, entitled “Cuba,” celebrating the U.S. victory in the Spanish-American War. Its cast of…