Catalog
Ramsey County History – Summer 2019: “One Hundred Years Serving New Americans: The Centennial of the International Institute of Minnesota”
Krista Finstad HansonOne Hundred Years Serving New Americans: The Centennial of the International Institute of Minnesota Author: Krista Finstad Hanson 2020 Co-Winner of the Ramsey County Historical Society Virginia B. Kunz Award As visitors and clients open the doors to the International Institute of Minnesota in St. Paul, they…
Ramsey County History – Spring 2022: “Growing Up in Ramsey County: With a Dash of Foreign Spice”
Kitty GoginsGrowing Up in Ramsey County: With a Dash of Foreign Spice Author: Kitty Gogins 2020 Co-Winner of the Ramsey County Historical Society Virginia B. Kunz Award Kitty Gogins wrote the companion piece to Krista Finstad Hanson’s International Institute of Minnesota history. Gogin’s family, beginning with her refugee parents, Olga and…
Ramsey County History Podcast #13 – Spring 2019: International Institute of Minnesota
Paul Nelson and Krista HansonInternational Institute of Minnesota The International Institute of Minnesota opened its doors in St. Paul in December of 1919 to serve the needs of recent immigrants and refugees. One hundred years later, the world has changed, but the International Institute is still in St. Paul, still doing…
Ramsey County History – Summer 2015: “Carnies and Calamities: A Carnival Midway on the Island at Phalen Park, 1903–1908”
Janice R. QuickCarnies and Calamities: A Carnival Midway on the Island at Phalen Park, 1903–1908 Author: Janice R. Quick A young entrepreneur, Jacob Barnet, built a carnival midway and amusement park on the island at Phalen Park in 1903. Under contract with the Board of Park Commissioners, Barnett’s midway was successful…
Ramsey County History – Spring 2015: “Growing Up in St. Paul: Payne Avenue: Memories of Morra, Bocce Ball, Shining Shoes, Gardens, and Swede Hollow”
Richard A. SherwoodGrowing Up in St. Paul: Payne Avenue: Memories of Morra, Bocce Ball, Shining Shoes, Gardens, and Swede Hollow Author: Richard A. Sherwood The author fondly recalls his youth as a member of one of the few non-Italian, non-Catholic families living on Payne Avenue on the East Side in the…
Ramsey County History Podcast #3 – Fall 2014: The German Friend; MNopedia
Paul Nelson, John Larson, and Molly HuberThe German Friend; MNopedia Part 1: What can an anti-Nazi writer and intellectual, exiled in the United States, do for his beloved Germany? Nearly eighty years ago, Prince Hubertus zu Lowenstein visited St. Paul and met Hamline University student John Larson. A lifelong friendship and flood of…
Ramsey County History – Summer 2014: “‘A Banner with the Strange Device:’ Longfellow and Saint Paul”
Moira F. Harris“A Banner with the Strange Device:” Longfellow and Saint Paul Author: Moira F. Harris Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is widely known as the poet who wrote “The Song of Hiawatha,” which was inspired by reports of Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis. Although he never visited Minnesota, Longfellow wrote the poem “Excelsior”…
Ramsey County History – Spring 2014: “The Birth of the Ramsey County Fair”
James LindnerThe Birth of the Ramsey County Fair Author: James Lindner The person credited with the concept of the original county fair is Elkanah Watson, of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, who, in 1810, started the Berkshire County Fair. Watson wanted to promote ways to improve farm productivity through education, “personal ambition,” and…
Ramsey County History – Spring 2014: “Growing Up in St. Paul: Mike Sanchelli Remembers Swede Hollow”
Steven C. TrimbleGrowing Up in St. Paul: Mike Sanchelli Remembers Swede Hollow Edited by Steven C. Trimble This article is drawn from Mike Sanchelli’s first-person (1915–2003) reminiscences of life in Swede Hollow during the 1920s and ‘30s. The Sanchelli’s first home in Swede Hollow cost $20 plus $20 a year for…