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Ramsey County History – Fall 1988: “A Record Setting Winter—And the Ice Harvest on Lake Owasso”

Neill J. O’Neill

A Record Setting Winter—And the Ice Harvest on Lake Owasso Author: Neill J. O’Neill As a lad in the mid-1930s, the author worked three seasons harvesting ice on Lake Owasso in suburban Ramsey County. He recalls in detail how the ice harvest worked—the equipment, the procedures, the job hierarchy,…

Ramsey County History – Spring 1988: “George H. Trout and the Corner Grocery Store”

Karl Trout

George H. Trout and the Corner Grocery Store Author: Karl Trout This memoir from the son of a grocer in the Dayton’s Bluff neighborhood is filled with delightful details: how the commodities were delivered and sold and how customers tasted the butter before buying. According to the author, “the…

Ramsey County History – Fall 1985: “Growing Up on Dayton’s Bluff—A Turn-of-the-Century Boyhood”

Karl H. Trout

Growing Up on Dayton’s Bluff—A Turn-of-the-Century Boyhood Author: Karl H. Trout The author recalls the everyday life of a boy who lived in the Dayton’s Bluff neighborhood. His family lived on Burns Avenue in a home with no central heat, gas, or electric heat. Warmth was provided from coal…

Ramsey County History – Fall 1981: “1910s ‘One-Horse’ Gladstone Recalled”

Lucile Arnold

1910s ‘One-Horse’ Gladstone Recalled Author: Lucile Arnold A memoir of the vanished hamlet of Gladstone along Frost Avenue in today’s Maplewood. The writer recalls its two-room schoolhouse with its bell tower and spiral fire escape, swimming in Gladstone Lake, childhood games, the frequent railroad traffic and streetcar service, Mrs.

Ramsey County History – Spring 1979: “A Grandson Describes: The O’Briens’ House on George Street”

George A. Rea

A Grandson Describes: The O’Briens’ House on George Street Author: George A. Rea The author remembers his grandparents, Patrick and Fannie O’Brien, and their big house (still standing) at 255 George Street. Initially they lived on Irvine Park, but grandfather “decided to move the day a neighbor’s bantam chickens…

Ramsey County History – Spring 1979: “The Ghost of the Roaring Twenties”

Lucile Arnold

The Ghost of the Roaring Twenties Author: Lucile Arnold Lucile Arnold grew up in Gladstone, now vanished into Maplewood, in the 1920s. She and her friends danced the Charleston, rode the streetcars, shopped (and worked) at the Golden Rule, talked about Babe Ruth and Nazimova and Charles Lindbergh, saw…

Ramsey County History – Spring/Summer 1975: “Volstead and Prohibition: A Roaring ’20’s Memoir”

Helen Warren Pfleger as told to George A. Rea

Volstead and Prohibition: A Roaring ’20’s Memoir                                                                                       …

Ramsey County History – Spring 1972: “A Teacher Looks Back at PTA, 4-H—and How a Frog in a Desk Drawer Became a Lesson in Biology”

Alice Olson

A Teacher Looks Back at PTA, 4-H—and How a Frog in a Desk Drawer Became a Lesson in Biology Author: Alice Olson The second of two parts (see Fall 1971) based on the author’s memoirs of her 50-year teaching career. In this part, the author has returned to teaching,…

Ramsey County History – Spring 1971: “The Letters of Samuel Pond, Jr.—Exams: ‘The Terror of the Students’”

Ramsey County Historical Society

The Letters of Samuel Pond, Jr.—Exams: ‘The Terror of the Students’ Samuel Pond Jr., attended the University of Minnesota in the 1870s and wrote many letters to his family. Those excerpted here were written in 1870. They deal with school matters, college activities, lectures and sermons, and Pond’s cross-country walks.