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Perennial Ceremony: Lessons and Gifts from a Dakota Garden

Reviewed by Renoir Gaither

Perennial Ceremony: Lessons and Gifts from a Dakota Garden Author: Teresa Peterson Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2024 224 pages; hard cover; 34 b/w photographs, $25.95 Perennial Ceremony: Lessons and Gifts from a Dakota Garden highlights Dr. Teresa Peterson’s gifts as purveyor of rituals; canny, earthbound observations; and spiritual wisdom.

March of the Governors: Mark Dayton

Tom Beer and Paul Nelson

Mark Dayton, Minnesota’s fortieth governor, was the oldest to assume that office for the first time at sixty-three. He stepped into the role with vast political experience. In the 1970s, he served as legislative aide and Minnesota Economic Development commissioner and later worked four years as state auditor and six…

Deeper Blues: The Life, Songs, and Salvation of Cornbread Harris

Reviewed by Tom Eggum

Deeper Blues: The Life, Songs, and Salvation of Cornbread Harris Andrea Swensson Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 2024 200 pages; cloth/jacket, 50 b&w illustrations, $22.95   Andrea Swensson’s Deeper Blues: The Life, Songs, and Salvation of Cornbread Harris is a biography of James Samuel Harris II (Cornbread Harris) and…

Ramsey County History Summer 2024

Haley Prochnow, Cherelle Swain, Christine Podas-Larson

Volume 59, Number 3: Summer 2024 Link to download PDF of full Ramsey County History Summer 2024 Articles in this issue: Rondo Recreation in the St. Croix River Valley, 1909-1977 Author: Haley Prochnow For some Minnesotans with a little extra disposable income, “summertime” can translate to “cabin time.”…

Rondo Recreation in the St. Croix River Valley, 1909-1977

Haley Prochnow

The Silverbrook Estate/St. Croix Valley Country Club. Courtesy of Interstate State Park. By Haley Prochnow To see this complete magazine article with endnotes and additional images, please view the PDF version. The thermostat is set at 55°F during the winter in the Baker Land and Title Company…

A Family Reclaims Its Heritage: Growing Up with Anna Belle Rideaux

Cherrelle Swain

Anna Belle Rideaux. Courtesy of Rideaux, Edmond, Swain Family Archives. by Cherelle Swain To see this complete magazine article with endnotes and additional images, please view the PDF version. Whether material or spiritual, experiencing loss changes people, families, and communities. This article examines how losing a matriarch impacted her…

Violet Gould’s Civic Opera Musical Circle

Mady Metzger-Ziegler founded the St. Paul Opera Workshop. Her son, Max Metzger, followed in his mother’s musical footsteps as an orchestra conductor. Courtesy of Minnesota Historical Society. Mady Metzger-Ziegler (1897-1979), mezzosoprano, was a featured performer in the St. Paul Civic Opera Association (Civic Opera) and its associated Pops concerts. She…

Ramsey County History Spring 2024

Paul Nelson, Drew Ross, Wendy Rossi, Meredith Cummings

Volume 59, Number 2: Spring 2024 Link to download PDF of full Ramsey County History Spring 2024 Articles in this issue: The Fraud of the Century Author: Paul Nelson According to author Paul Nelson, “The human desire for wealth without risk and the capacity for self-delusion make an…

Growing Up In Frogtown: Little Women, Little Houses, Lots of Work, (and a Little Play)

Wendy Rossi

Young Wendy Hams’ Gumpa Guy surprised her with a dollhouse on her third birthday. It was designed to replicate the family home at 435 Charles Avenue. Photo courtesy of Wendy Rossi. By Wendy Rossi To see the complete magazine with endnotes and images, please view the PDF version.  …