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Ramsey County History – Winter 2003: “Slunky Norton: The Chimney Sweep Who Rocked the Rafters with His Buglers”

Albert W. Lindeke Jr.

Slunky Norton: The Chimney Sweep Who Rocked the Rafters with His Buglers Author: Albert W. Lindeke Jr. By the late 1880s, coal had become the predominate fuel but had some problems. It could create a buildup of creosote that might break into flame, so people needed the periodical employment…

Ramsey County History – Fall 2002: “Lost Neighborhood: Borup’s Addition and the Prosperous Pioneer African Americans Who Owned Homes There”

David Riehle

Lost 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 – Fall 2002: “Fur Trader, Banker, Danish Vice Consul: This Was the Borup of Borup’s Addition”

Virginia Brainard Kunz

Fur Trader, Banker, Danish Vice Consul: This Was the Borup of Borup’s Addition Author: Virginia Brainard Kunz A short biographical sketch of Danish-born Charles William Wulff Borup, a man with a medical degree. He came to the Midwest in 1835 as an agent for the American Fur Company and…

Ramsey County History – Fall 2002: “Growing Up In St Paul: Seeing, Talking to, Calling on Sprits: Grandma Minda’s Adventures in Spiritualism”

Joanne Englund

Growing Up In St Paul: Seeing, Talking to, Calling on Sprits: Grandma Minda’s Adventures in Spiritualism Author: Joanne Englund This is the story of Minda Sands, a Scandinavian woman as remembered and written by her granddaughter. Minda and her husband bought a lot on Edmund Street between Albert and…

Ramsey County History – Fall 2002: “Those Squealing Red River Ox Carts: Norman Kittson and the Fur Trade”

Clarence Rife and Holly Walters

Those Squealing Red River Ox Carts: Norman Kittson and the Fur Trade Authors: Clarence Rife and Holly Walters In 1830 at the age of sixteen, Canadian-born Norman Kittson joined the American Fur Company and headed west. He eventually arrived in Minnesota, where he joined Henry Sibley in the fur…

Ramsey County History – Summer 2002: “Growing Up In St Paul: Manager, Fight Promoter, Minnesota Game Warden—Johnny Salvator and His Impact on Boxing in St. Paul”

Paul R. Gold

Growing Up In St Paul: Manager, Fight Promoter, Minnesota Game Warden—Johnny Salvator and His Impact on Boxing in St. Paul Author: Paul R. Gold The young German, Johann Salwetter (b. 1891 in Serbia), came to St. Paul around 1910 and became, in time, Johnny Salvator—boxer, trainer of World War…

Ramsey County History – Spring 2002: “Donations and Their Own Pockets—An Orphanage’s Roots in 1869 St. Paul”

Paul D. Nelson

Donations and Their Own Pockets—An Orphanage’s Roots in 1869 St. Paul Author: Paul D. Nelson This article examines the St. Joseph’s Orphanage by looking at the experiences of the Postlewaite family. In the early days, it was a German institution which bought a forty-seven acre plot of land at…

Ramsey County History – Spring 2002: “Doing History in Ramsey County and St. Paul: A Review Essay”

John M. Lindley

Doing 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: “Tubal Cain in New Brighton: The Harris Forge and Rolling Mill Company”

Leo J. Harris

Tubal Cain in New Brighton: The Harris Forge and Rolling Mill Company Author: Leo J. Harris Abraham and Mark Harris were immigrant brothers from Russia. They founded Harris Forge and Rolling Mill, and, by 1891, it had more than 200 workers. It was one of the earliest concerns that…