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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: “A Legacy of Civic Engagement: The Junior League of Saint Paul, 1917–2017”

Yvonne Hundshamer and Abby Sugahara Moeller

A Legacy of Civic Engagement: The Junior League of Saint Paul, 1917–2017 Authors: Yvonne Hundshamer and Abby Sugahara Moeller In the spring of 1917, Elizabeth Ames Jackson and two other young women founded the nineteenth official Junior League in St. Paul, thereby beginning what has become the organization’s century…

Ramsey County History – Winter 2017: “The US Army’s Air Service Mechanics School in St. Paul’s Midway, 1917–1918”

Roger Bergerson

The US Army’s Air Service Mechanics School in St. Paul’s Midway, 1917–1918 Author: Roger Bergerson When the United States entered World War I in April 1917, it pledged to develop an air force that would sweep German planes from the skies over Europe. Aircraft manufacture and pilot training began…

Ramsey County History Podcast #6 – Fall 2016: Who Was Harriet Bishop?

Paul Nelson and Mary Lethert Wingerd

Who Was Harriet Bishop? Harriet Bishop is the only well-known woman among St. Paul’s early settlers. In fact, she may be the best-known of all. She was Minnesota’s first schoolteacher, yes, but what else do we know about her? Minnesota’s leading historian, Professor Emeritus Mary Lethert Wingerd,…

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 – 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 – Fall 2014: “In Search of Ethel Stewart”

Steve Trimble

In Search of Ethel Stewart Author: Steven C. Trimble Ethel Hall Stewart (1879–1959) is considered the person most responsible for the founding of the Ramsey County Historical Society (RCHS). Steve Trimble wrote a biographical profile of Stewart that was published in the Fall 2012 issue. Here, he revisits Stewart’s…

Ramsey County History – Fall 2016: “Virginia Brainard Kunz and Ramsey County History”

John M. Lindley

Virginia Brainard Kunz and Ramsey County History Author: John M. Lindley John Lindley served as the volunteer chair of the RCHS editorial board between 1989 and 2005. In that capacity, he worked closely with Virginia Brainard Kunz, who was the founding editor of Ramsey County History (published twice a year…

Ramsey County History – Fall 2014: “The RCHS Archives and Collections Since 1964”

Mollie Spillman

The RCHS Archives and Collections Since 1964 Author: Mollie Spillman Collections form the foundation of Ramsey County Historical Society’s (RCHS) history and programs. When RCHS was organized in 1949 by Ethel Hall Stewart and others, it first acquired the Gibbs Farm Museum, which opened in 1954, and began to…