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Ramsey County History – Summer 2005: “Rendezvous at the Riverbend: Pike’s Seven Days in the Band of Little Crow—the Wilderness That Later Became St. Paul”

Gary Brueggemann

Rendezvous at the Riverbend: Pike’s Seven Days in the Band of Little Crow—the Wilderness That Later Became St. Paul Author: Gary Brueggemann In 1805, Zebulon Pike, a twenty-six year old lieutenant, led the first American expedition to explore Minnesota. A group of twenty-two men came up the Mississippi River…

Ramsey County History – Summer 2005: “Zebulon Pike and James Aird: The Explorer and the ‘Scottish Gentleman’”

Duke Addicks and James Aird

Zebulon Pike and James Aird: The Explorer and the ‘Scottish Gentleman’ Authors: Duke Addicks and James Aird A short piece written by a fur trade reenactor (Addicks) who portrays James Aird, a Scotsman who farmed near Prairie Du Chien, Wisconsin. Addicks states that one of his goals is to…

Ramsey County History – Summer 2005: “Growing Up in St. Paul: I Remember My Aunt: Frances Boardman—Music Critic, Who Covered an Archbishop’s Funeral”

Alexandra (Sandy) Klas

Growing Up in St. Paul: I Remember My Aunt: Frances Boardman—Music Critic, Who Covered an Archbishop’s Funeral  Author: Alexandra (Sandy) Klas Written by the niece of Frances Boardman, the memoir starts with the background of the family. Boardman graduated from Central High School and became a pioneering woman in…

Ramsey County History – Fall 2004: “Hamline University and its Royal Refugee: The Prince and the Pearl of Great Price”

John W. Larson

Hamline University and its Royal Refugee: The Prince and the Pearl of Great Price Author: John W. Larson The author, a Hamline University graduate, recalls the impact of World War II  on the university’s students and the visit of a royal refugee from Germany. Larson, raised in a working-class…

Ramsey County History – Summer 2004: “From Farm to Florence: The Gifted Keating Sisters and the Mystery of Their Lost Paintings”

Margaret M. Marrinan

From Farm to Florence: The Gifted Keating Sisters and the Mystery of Their Lost Paintings Author: Margaret M. Marrinan This article centers on two Irish farm girls, Anysia and Sophia Keating who became nuns and developed into prolific painters. The mystery had to do with a search for information…

Ramsey County History – Spring 2004: “A Quilt and a Diary: The Story of the Little Girl Who Rode the Orphan Train to a New Home”

Ann Zemke

A Quilt and a Diary: The Story of the Little Girl Who Rode the Orphan Train to a New Home Author: Ann Zemke The author made a quilt that is used to tell the story of her grandmother, Margaret Peterson, who was an orphan. From 1854 to 1929, thousands…

Ramsey County History – Winter 2004: “‘He Loved a Tall Story’ The Life and Times of I.A. O’Shaughnessy, the Man Who Happily Gave His Money Away”

John M. Lindley and Virginia Brainard Kunz

‘He Loved a Tall Story’ The Life and Times of I.A. O’Shaughnessy, the Man Who Happily Gave His Money Away  Authors: John M. Lindley and Virginia Brainard Kunz Born in 1885, Ignatius Aloysius O’Shaughnessy was an oilman and philanthropist. His parents, who were of Irish decent, moved to Minnesota…

Ramsey County History – Summer 2003: “The Story of Minnie Dassel: Was She a Mysterious ‘Countess’ Who Settled in St. Paul?”

Paul Johnson

The Story of Minnie Dassel: Was She a Mysterious ‘Countess’ Who Settled in St. Paul? Author: Paul Johnson This is the story of a woman who worked in St. Paul for fifty-five years in the late nineteenth century. Some people thought that Minnie Dassel was secretly a German countess…