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Ramsey County History – Winter 2022: “‘We Learn What We Live and Live What We Learn:’ Growing Up at 1022 Rondo Avenue”

Marion Jones Kennon

“We Learn What We Live and Live What We Learn:” Growing Up at 1022 Rondo Avenue Author: Marion Jones Kennon When reflecting on our lives, our childhood memories often stand out with clarity. For St. Paul-native Marion Jones Kennon, it’s the remembrance of long-ago days growing up…

Mairs & Power at 90: A Rich History, A Bright Future

Dave Beal

Over the last nine decades, nearly all the firms in the tumultuous and unforgiving financial services industry have been rolled up, split up, spun out, or blown up. A shining exception: St. Paul’s Mairs & Power, the oldest continuously independent investment management firm in Minnesota and one of relatively few…

Ramsey County History – Fall 2021: “Tikkun Olam: Jewish Women Serving Their St. Paul Community”

 Kate Dietrick, Gabrielle Horner, and Janet Kampf

Tikkun Olam: Jewish Women Serving Their St. Paul Community Author: Kate Dietrick, Gabrielle Horner, and Janet Kampf Question: How do we go about repairing the troubled world in which we live—in which we’ve always lived? Answer: With the help and creativity of one determined person at a time. In this article,…

Ramsey County History – Fall 2021: “Closing the Book: The James Jerome Hill Reference Library, 1921-2021”

Eileen McCormack

Closing the Book: The James Jerome Hill Reference Library, 1921-2021 Author: Eileen McCormack James J. Hill, was a creator of businesses, railroads, banks, trusts, and mansions. In 1912, he set to work on one more creation—a gift to the people of St. Paul. Hill died in 1916 before his dream—the James…

Ramsey County History – Summer 2021: “Growing Up Hmong in the Twin Cities: Gatherings from Before”

Kao Kalia Yang

Growing Up Hmong in the Twin Cities: Gatherings from Before Author: Kao Kalia Yang Large and extended family gatherings are a steadfast tradition for members of the Hmong community in the Twin Cities area. St. Paul writer Kao Kalia Yang reflects on these familial celebrations where aunties and…

History Revealed: Booth Girls

Kim Heikkila

Booth Girls: Pregnancy, Adoption, and the Secrets We Kept Kim Heikkila, PhD History Revealed Series Program Date: Thursday, April 8, 2021 Video on YouTube In partnership with the East Side Freedom Library & Roseville Library “Booth Girls” is a thoughtful, multigenerational story of…

Ramsey County History – Winter 2021: “Growing Up Along the Mighty Mississippi: The Great Depression Through the Eyes of a Young ‘River Rat'”

Harriette Peterson Koopman, with Connie Koopman Pettersen

Growing Up Along the Mighty Mississippi: The Great Depression Through the Eyes of a Young “River Rat” Author: Harriette Peterson Koopman, with Connie Koopman Pettersen When Harriette Peterson Koopman was growing up during the Great Depression, she and her siblings were sometimes called “river rats” by classmates. The derogatory slur…

Neighborhood Architecture–Irvine Park, Saint Paul: a coloring book.

Jeanne Kosfeld, Illustrator and Richard Kronick, Author

Twin Cities-based illustrator Jeanne Kosfeld and author Richard Kronick have together transformed a simple sketchbook featuring pen and ink drawings into a brief storytelling of the Irvine Park neighborhood’s unique 173-year history. Artists of all ages and abilities may colorize their own imagined versions of these historic edifices, including fanciful…

Ramsey County History – Summer 2020: “The View from Summit Avenue: Inspiration Point for Sinclair Lewis’s Main Street”

Ralph L. Goldstein

The View from Summit Avenue: Inspiration Point for Sinclair Lewis’s Main Street Author: Ralph L. Goldstein When a young Sinclair Lewis traveled to Saint Paul at the turn of the twentieth century to take his Yale University entrance exams, he found time to explore the city, marveling at…