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Ramsey County History – Summer 2017: “A Good Turn for the Great Minnesota Get Together: The Boy Scout Service Camp at the Minnesota State Fair”

M.D. Salzberg

A Good Turn for the Great Minnesota Get Together: The Boy Scout Service Camp at the Minnesota State Fair Author: M.D. Salzberg Beginning in 1913 and lasting into the mid-1970s, Boy Scouts from Region 10 camped on the grounds of the Minnesota State Fair and provided a…

Ramsey County History – Summer 2017: “Can America Be Bombed? The St. Paul Science Museum’s Answer”

Brian McMahon

Can America Be Bombed? The St. Paul Science Museum’s Answer Author: Brian McMahon In the spring of 1941, the St. Paul Science Museum (predecessor to today’s Science Museum of Minnesota) opened an exhibit provocatively titled “Can America Be Bombed?” The museum’s president, Charles Lesley Ames, was alarmed…

Ramsey County History – Spring 2017: “Honoring F. Scott in St. Paul: 35 Years of Fitz and Starts”

David Page and Lisa Heinrich

Honoring F. Scott in St. Paul: 35 Years of Fitz and Starts Authors: David Page and Lisa Heinrich In 1982, the University of Minnesota’s Office of Continuing Education organized a conference in St. Paul that focused on the career and accomplishments of literary icon F. Scott Fitzgerald. Since then,…

Ramsey County History – Fall 2015: “ALLY People Solutions: 50 Years of Service to Individuals and the Community”

Eileen R. McCormack

ALLY People Solutions: 50 Years of Service to Individuals and the Community Author: Eileen R. McCormack ALLY People Solutions, a St. Paul nonprofit corporation that serves people in the community with disabilities, traces its roots to a small group of parents who opened a Day Activity Center…

Ramsey County History – Summer 2015: “Carnies and Calamities: A Carnival Midway on the Island at Phalen Park, 1903–1908”

Janice R. Quick

Carnies and Calamities: A Carnival Midway on the Island at Phalen Park, 1903–1908 Author: Janice R. Quick A young entrepreneur, Jacob Barnet, built a carnival midway and amusement park on the island at Phalen Park in 1903. Under contract with the Board of Park Commissioners, Barnett’s midway was successful…

Ramsey County History – Spring 2015: “Growing Up in St. Paul: Payne Avenue: Memories of Morra, Bocce Ball, Shining Shoes, Gardens, and Swede Hollow”

Richard A. Sherwood

Growing Up in St. Paul: Payne Avenue: Memories of Morra, Bocce Ball, Shining Shoes, Gardens, and Swede Hollow Author: Richard A. Sherwood The author fondly recalls his youth as a member of one of the few non-Italian, non-Catholic families living on Payne Avenue on the East Side in the…

Ramsey County History – Spring 2014: “The Birth of the Ramsey County Fair”

James Lindner

The Birth of the Ramsey County Fair Author: James Lindner The person credited with the concept of the original county fair is Elkanah Watson, of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, who, in 1810, started the Berkshire County Fair. Watson wanted to promote ways to improve farm productivity through education, “personal ambition,” and…

Ramsey County History – Spring 2014: “Growing Up in St. Paul: Mike Sanchelli Remembers Swede Hollow”

Steven C. Trimble

Growing Up in St. Paul: Mike Sanchelli Remembers Swede Hollow Edited by Steven C. Trimble This article is drawn from Mike Sanchelli’s first-person (1915–2003) reminiscences of life in Swede Hollow during the 1920s and ‘30s. The Sanchelli’s first home in Swede Hollow cost $20 plus $20 a year for…

Ramsey County History – Spring 2014: “Kisses in the Parks after Dark: Spooners in the News, 1921–1922”

Janice R. Quick

Kisses in the Parks after Dark: Spooners in the News, 1921–1922 Author: Janice R. Quick Author Janice Quick discusses the challenges that couples (spooners) faced when trying to find some privacy in the parks for hugging and kissing. The police were actually given orders to arrest such individuals who…