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Ramsey County History – Summer 2008: “Strike for Better Schools: The St. Paul Public Schools Teachers’ Strike of 1946”

Cheryl Carlson

Strike for Better Schools: The St. Paul Public Schools Teachers’ Strike of 1946 Author: Cheryl Carlson The story of the first teachers’ strike in the US carried out by 1,165 St. Paul educators. The background causes included the lack of support for public schools, partly because around a third…

Ramsey County History – Spring 2008: “Growing Up In Saint Paul: When Selby and Snelling Had a Life of Its Own, 1943–1954”

Bernard P. Friel

Growing Up In Saint Paul: When Selby and Snelling Had a Life of Its Own, 1943–195 Author: Bernard P. Friel The author, who was born in 1930, lived in a three-generation home at 1237 Selby. His first real job was at Park Drug Store at Selby and Snelling, and that…

Ramsey County History – Winter 2008: “Tommy Milton: The Story of ‘St. Paul’s Speed King’”

Steven C. Trimble 

Tommy Milton: The Story of “St. Paul’s Speed King” Author: Steven C. Trimble  While he is rarely remembered except by sports historians, “St. Paul’s Speed King,” Tommy Milton (1893–1962) was one of the most prominent race car drivers in America during the early years of the twentieth century. He…

Ramsey County History – Summer 2007: “Mystery in the Library: The Bishop Jade Books and the St. Paul Public Library”

Biloine W. Young

Mystery in the Library: The Bishop Jade Books and the St. Paul Public Library Author: Biloine W. Young The article revolves around a local library “mystery.” It began in April 22, 1915, when a candy store located in the Market House building caught fire. It spread to the second…

Ramsey County History – Fall 2006: “Memories of Frogtown in the 1930s”

James R. Brown

Memories of Frogtown in the 1930s Author: James R. Brown Poet and playwright James Brown relates vignettes of the life of his family in St. Paul’s Frogtown neighborhood during the 1930s. It was a community that was a mixture of public schools, churches, bars, and gambling houses, with a…

Ramsey County History – Summer 2006: “Fighting Billy Miske: The Heart of a Champion”

Paul Picard

Fighting Billy Miske: The Heart of a Champion Author: Paul Picard St. Paul was known for its champion boxers even before the sport became legal in the city, and bouts had to be fought outside the state. Miske, the “St. Paul Thunderbolt,” was the son of German immigrants. He…

Ramsey County History – Spring 2006: “Growing Up in St. Paul: Stranger in a Strange Land: A Culture That for a Child Was Foreign and Alien”

Bernice M. Fisher

Growing Up in St. Paul: Stranger in a Strange Land: A Culture That for a Child Was Foreign and Alien  Author: Bernice M. Fisher Bernice Fisher started kindergarten at Scheffer School in 1933. A later move to St. Adelbert’s School changed her in ways her parents had not anticipated.

Ramsey County History – Spring 2005: “Growing up in St. Paul: Simple, Carefree Days—Hague and Fry—and the Center of a Boy’s Universe”

James B. Bell

Growing up in St. Paul: Simple, Carefree Days—Hague and Fry—and the Center of a Boy’s Universe  Author: James B. Bell The author lived his first sixteen years at the house of his grandfather, a businessman engaged in finance. Life at 1618 Hague was simple and had many carefree days.

Ramsey County History – Winter 2005: “Curtain Up in 1933: The Legacy of the St. Paul Opera Association”

Steve Trimble

Curtain Up in 1933: The Legacy of the St. Paul Opera Association  Author: Steve Trimble Inspired by a trip to Europe, Mrs. W. Homer Sweeney successfully spearheaded the creation of the St. Paul Municipal Opera. Opening in 1933, it was a “civic opera” that chose to present quality music…