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Ramsey County History – Spring 1995: “Growing Up in St. Paul: Gas Stoves, Gas Jets, Gas Lamps and Coal through an Open Chute to the Cellar”

Frieda Claussen

Growing Up in St. Paul: Gas Stoves, Gas Jets, Gas Lamps and Coal through an Open Chute to the Cellar Author: Frieda Claussen The author, born in 1897, grew up in a well-to-do German-American home. This delightfully detailed memoir describes life in her privileged childhood milieu, college “out east,” and…

Ramsey County History – Winter 1995: “Growing Up in St. Paul: ‘Grandfather Durkee Was a Crusty Gentleman’”

Rueul D. Harmon

Growing Up in St. Paul: ‘Grandfather Durkee Was a Crusty Gentleman’ Author: Rueul D. Harmon Adapted from an interview with the author done shortly before his death, he recounts his sometimes uneasy relationship with his grandfather during the author’s years growing up in St. Paul. PDF of Growing…

Ramsey County History – Spring 1994: “Growing Up in St. Paul: Yankeedom: Goal of the 19th Century Immigrant”

John W. Larson

Growing Up in St. Paul: Yankeedom: Goal of the 19th Century Immigrant Author: John W. Larson The author’s fond recollections of his Swedish grandparents who when they reminisced would never talk about Sweden and whose ideal was to become a Yankee. In researching his family’s origins in Sweden and their…

Ramsey County History – Winter 1994: “Growing Up in St. Paul:  A Grandchild’s Journey into a Swedish Past”

Growing Up in St. Paul:  A Grandchild’s Journey into a Swedish Past Author: John W. Larson An exceedingly amusing and well-written memoir of the author’s childhood and the mysteries surrounding his Swedish immigrant forebears. PDF of Growing_Up…

Ramsey County History – Summer 1993: “Growing Up in St. Paul: Albert Fuller and the Family Business”

Liz Holum Johnson

Growing Up in St. Paul: Albert Fuller and the Family Business Author: Liz Holum Johnson Excerpts from the diary of Albert Fuller document the early days of the H.B. Fuller Company, and lots more: Archbishop Ireland, mucilage and paste, gambling at the State Fair, patents, and more. The frequently witty…

Ramsey County History – Spring 1993: “Growing Up in St. Paul: Looking Back at the Black Community—Part II”

David V. Taylor

Growing Up in St. Paul: Looking Back at the Black Community—Part II Author David V. Taylor The author, historian and former Dean of the General College at the University of Minnesota, was born in St. Paul in 1945. This memoir recounts his childhood in a close-knit, socially conservative community; Maxfield…

Ramsey County History – Winter 1993: “Growing Up in St. Paul: Looking Back at the Black Community”

Eula T. Murphy and David V. Taylor

Growing Up in St. Paul: Looking Back at the Black Community Author: Eula T. Murphy (with David V. Taylor) The author, born in Alabama in 1919, moved with her family to St. Paul in 1920. She grew up mostly in Frogtown during the Depression. The family suffered unemployment, her mother’s…

Ramsey County History – Fall 1992: “Growing Up in St. Paul: Polish Sausage and Trips on the Streetcar”

DeAnne M. Cherry

Growing Up in St. Paul: Polish Sausage and Trips on the Streetcar Author: DeAnne M. Cherry The author spent many days on St. Paul’s North End in the 1940s in the company of her Polish grandparents. This memoir includes St. Casimir’s Church, Calvary Cemetery, Hank’s Grocery, visits from the rag…

Ramsey County History – Fall 1991: “What’s Historic About This Site? Highland Park’s Reminder of Its Past: The Davern and Colvin Homes”

Robert J. Houser

What’s Historic About This Site? Highland Park’s Reminder of Its Past: The Davern and Colvin Homes Author: Robert J. Couser A profile of neighboring houses in Highland Park built by distinguished St. Paul families. William Davern came to St. Paul from Ireland in 1849. He farmed, became a citizen, served…