Catalog
Ramsey County History – Summer 2006: “Fighting Billy Miske: The Heart of a Champion”
Paul PicardFighting 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: “Mary Hill’s Lowertown, 1867–1891”
Eileen R. McCormackMary Hill’s Lowertown, 1867–1891 Author: Eileen R. McCormack Mary Mehegan Hill lived most of her early life in St. Paul’s Lowertown and was there with her husband, James J. Hill, from the time of their marriage until the Hills moved to Summit Avenue in 1891. Surrounded by prosperous families…
Ramsey County History – Spring 2006: “Lowertown: Another Perspective”
David RiehleLowertown: Another Perspective Author: David Riehle Fire insurance maps are valuable resources that can reveal some of the patterns of economic class. For instance, pink coloring on the plats is reserved for stone and blue for frame homes. The Hills, Gotzians and Uphams were socially active with each other,…
Pearl and the Howling Hound Farm
Pearl Marea SchenkBorn in 1911, Pearl Marea Schenk grew up on a farm in rural Anoka County, Minnesota, and received her early education in a one-room schoolhouse similar to the one that Ramsey County Historical Society has preserved at Gibbs Farm. She became a classroom teacher in several Minnesota districts and later,…
From Arcade Street to Main Street: A History of the Seeger Refrigerator Company, 1902-1984
James B. Bell“St. Paul has long been famed for its Winter Carnival, but another sort of chill was big business for more than three-quarters of a century on the city’s East Side. There, in a sprawling plant operated by the Seeger Refrigerator Company along Arcade Street, thousands of workers produced iceboxes and,…
Ramsey County History – Fall 2005: “Stonebridge: The Story of a Lost Estate and Oliver Crosby, the Inventive Genius Who Created It”
Jay PfaenderStonebridge: The Story of a Lost Estate and Oliver Crosby, the Inventive Genius Who Created It Author: Jay Pfaender Even in the Groveland neighborhood, little is remembered about Stonebridge, an estate built by St. Paul businessman and civic leader Oliver Crosby. A New Englander from Maine, he came to…
Ramsey County History – Summer 2005: “Growing Up in St. Paul: I Remember My Aunt: Frances Boardman—Music Critic, Who Covered an Archbishop’s Funeral”
Alexandra (Sandy) KlasGrowing Up in St. Paul: I Remember My Aunt: Frances Boardman—Music Critic, Who Covered an Archbishop’s Funeral Author: Alexandra (Sandy) Klas Written by the niece of Frances Boardman, the memoir starts with the background of the family. Boardman graduated from Central High School and became a pioneering woman in…
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. BellGrowing 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 – Fall 2004: “The Rondo Oral History Project Kathryn Coram Gagnon: Operettas, Dances, Parties, and a Growing Love of Music”
Kate CavettThe Rondo Oral History Project Kathryn Coram Gagnon: Operettas, Dances, Parties, and a Growing Love of Music Interview by Kate Cavett Based on oral history interviews, this is the story of Kathryn Coram Gagnon, an African-American woman who grew up in St. Paul’s old Rondo neighborhood. The interview…