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Growing Up on the Empire Builder

John W. Diers

Photography by Hedrick-Blessing PR By John W. Diers To see this complete magazine article with endnotes and additional images, please view the PDF version. John Diers’ article is reprinted with permission from the publishers of TRAINS magazine, with minimal style adaptations. The original first-person story titled, “A night on…

Rise to the Challenge: A Memoir of Politics, Leadership, and Love

Reviewed by Anne Cowie

Rise to the Challenge: A Memoir of Politics, Leadership, and Love Marlene M. Johnson Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 2024 248 pages; cloth/jacket, 15 b&w plates, $24.95   Marlene Johnson came to leadership early. When she was just thirty-seven, she became Minnesota’s first woman lieutenant governor, assuming that position…

Ramsey County History Spring 2024

Paul Nelson, Drew Ross, Wendy Rossi, Meredith Cummings

Volume 59, Number 2: Spring 2024 Link to download PDF of full Ramsey County History Spring 2024 Articles in this issue: The Fraud of the Century Author: Paul Nelson According to author Paul Nelson, “The human desire for wealth without risk and the capacity for self-delusion make an…

Growing Up In Frogtown: Little Women, Little Houses, Lots of Work, (and a Little Play)

Wendy Rossi

Young Wendy Hams’ Gumpa Guy surprised her with a dollhouse on her third birthday. It was designed to replicate the family home at 435 Charles Avenue. Photo courtesy of Wendy Rossi. By Wendy Rossi To see the complete magazine with endnotes and images, please view the PDF version.  …

Ramsey County History Summer 2023

Kristina Her, John H. Guthmann, Heidi Heller, John Lindley, Dave Beal, Lowell Benson, Don Hall, Jay Pfaender, and Chad Roberts

Volume 58, Number 2: Summer 2023 Link to download PDF of RCHS Summer 2023 Magazine Articles in this Issue: Hmong Foodways in Ramsey County Author: Kristina Her Growing Up at Fort Snelling: Honoring the First Regiment of…

Ramsey County History Summer 2023 – Honoring Minnesota First Regiment

John Guthmann

Volume 58, Number 2: Summer 2023 Growing Up at Fort Snelling Honoring the First Regiment of Minnesota Volunteer Infantry for Fifty Years Author: John H. Guthmann When seventeen-year-old John Guthmann took at summer job as a tour guide at Fort Snelling, little did he know that he’d get “hooked…

Ramsey County History – Fall 2022: Retracing the Red River Trail

Terry Doerksen

Volume 57, Number 3: Fall 2022 A Man, a Woman, an Ox, and a Cart: Retracing the Red River Trail Author: Terry Doerksen Remember your teachers assigning the annual class essay, What I Did on Summer Vacation? Canadians Terry and Patty Doerksen were kind enough to share Terry’s one-of-a-kind…

Ramsey County History – Spring 2022: Grasshoppers in My Bed: New RCHS Children’s Book Coming in May – Kickoff Event at Gibbs Farm

Ramsey County Historical Society

Grasshoppers in My Bed New RCHS Children’s Book Coming in May Ramsey County Historical Society is pleased to announce the much-anticipated launch of a new children’s historical fiction book, Grasshoppers in My Bed: Lillie Belle Gibbs—Minnesota Farm Girl—1877 by author Terry Swanson and illustrator Peggy Stern. Written…

Ramsey County History – Winter 2022: “‘We Learn What We Live and Live What We Learn:’ Growing Up at 1022 Rondo Avenue”

Marion Jones Kennon

“We Learn What We Live and Live What We Learn:” Growing Up at 1022 Rondo Avenue Author: Marion Jones Kennon When reflecting on our lives, our childhood memories often stand out with clarity. For St. Paul-native Marion Jones Kennon, it’s the remembrance of long-ago days growing up…