Catalog
Ramsey County History Spring 2023 – Billy Williams
Frank WhiteVolume 58, Number 1: Spring 2023 From a Star on the Ball Diamond to a Star at the Minnesota State Capitol Billy Williams Author: Frank M. White In 1904, Billy Williams would have been happy making a living playing baseball. He loved the sport. He was good…
Ramsey County History – Summer 2022: “Traveling Without Aggravation: How Victor H. Green Changed Travel for Black Americans: Green Book Locations in the Historic Rondo Community (1940-1956)”
Nieeta L. PresleyTraveling Without Aggravation: How Victor H. Green Changed Travel for Black Americans: Green Book Locations in the Historic Rondo Community (1940-1956) Author: Nieeta L. Presley Traveling, especially with young families, is never easy. Scheduling, packing, locating gas stations, and securing reservations can be a challenge. Traveling for…
Diesel Heart: An Autobiography
Reviewer: Mary Lethert WingerdDiesel Heart: An Autobiography Author: Melvin Whitfield Carter, Jr. St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2019 256 pages; soft cover; 27 b&w photos; $17.95 Melvin Carter and I both grew up in Saint Paul in the 1950s and ’60s. But Carter’s hometown was a world away…
Ramsey County History – Fall 2007: “Growing Up in St. Paul: Frogtown’s Arundel Street”
James R. BrownGrowing Up in St. Paul: Frogtown’s Arundel Street Author: James R. Brown Driving through his old neighborhood brought back memories to James Brown, especially while he was looking at the Edmund Street home where he lived in the 1920 and ‘30s. One of his recollections was about climbing up…
Ramsey County History – Fall 2006: “Memories of Frogtown in the 1930s”
James R. BrownMemories of Frogtown in the 1930s Author: James R. Brown Poet and playwright James Brown relates vignettes of the life of his family in St. Paul’s Frogtown neighborhood during the 1930s. It was a community that was a mixture of public schools, churches, bars, and gambling houses, with a…
Ramsey County History – Winter 2006: “Rabies Scare in St. Paul ‘Mad Dog on the Loose.’ Panic Prevails as Fear Rips through the City in 1910”
Susan DowdRabies Scare in St. Paul ‘Mad Dog on the Loose.’ Panic Prevails as Fear Rips through the City in 1910 Author: Susan Dowd A short article that looks at two weeks of fear that began in St. Paul on April 13, 1901. On that day, a dog was reported…
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…
Ramsey County History – Summer 2004: “The Rondo Oral History Project Beulah Mae Baines Swan Remembers Piano Lessons and a ‘Nice Vegetable Garden’ Out Back”
Kate CavettThe Rondo Oral History Project Beulah Mae Baines Swan Remembers Piano Lessons and a ‘Nice Vegetable Garden’ Out Back An Interview by Kate Cavett This article is from an oral history interview with Beulah Mae Baines Swan, who was raised near Como and Dale in a very small…
Ramsey County History – Winter 2002: “A Memoir: Jimmy Griffin, St. Paul’s First Black Deputy Police Chief, Remembers His First Years on the Force”
Jimmy Griffin with Kwame J.C. McDonaldA Memoir: Jimmy Griffin, St. Paul’s First Black Deputy Police Chief, Remembers His First Years on the Force Author: Jimmy Griffin with Kwame J.C. McDonald In this excerpt from his autobiography, Jimmy Griffin, one of St. Paul’s best-remembered police officers, tells some of his stories. Born in 1906, Griffin grew…