Catalog
A Life on the Middle West’s Never-Ending Frontier
Reviewer: Meredith CummingsA Life on the Middle West’s Never-Ending Frontier Willard L. “Sandy” Boyd Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 2019 394 pages; hard cover; 22 b&w photos; $35 A Life on the Middle West’s Never Ending Frontier is a well-written and sometimes humorous and self-deprecating memoir by St. Paul native…
Ramsey County History – Summer 2008: “Our Courage and Cowards: The Controversy Surrounding Macalester College’s Neutrality and Peace Association, 1917”
Emily SkidmoreOur Courage and Cowards: The Controversy Surrounding Macalester College’s Neutrality and Peace Association, 1917 Author: Emily Skidmore When eighty students sent a petition to Woodrow Wilson in support of neutrality from the World War, Macalester College found itself enmeshed in what became a national controversy. The students formed a…
Ramsey County History – Summer 2008: “Growing Up In Saint Paul: Love in Bloom”
John L. RelfGrowing Up In Saint Paul: Love in Bloom Author: John L. Relf This is an excerpt from the author’s book My Story, published in 2007. John Relf was born in 1927 and first lived on Portland Avenue near Fairview. He graduated from Central High School, entered the army and later…
Ramsey County History – Fall 2005: “Ramsey County’s Distinguished Agriculturist: Willet M. Hayes, the Scientist Who Saw ‘Shakespeares’ among His Plants”
Harlan Stoehr and Forrest TroyerRamsey County’s Distinguished Agriculturist: Willet M. Hayes, the Scientist Who Saw ‘Shakespeares’ among His Plants Authors: Harlan Stoehr and Forrest Troyer Willet M. Hays (1859–1928), the first head of agronomic research at the University of Minnesota, is arguably the greatest all-time contributor to the advancement of agriculture in Minnesota.
Ramsey County History – Spring 2005: “A Novel Look at History”
Steve TrimbleA Novel Look at History Author: Steve Trimble There are some historians who believe that in many cases novels can give readers the real feel of a city—its smells, sounds, and landscape. This article looks at four novels set in St. Paul. Mr. White’s Confession by Robert Clark is set in…
Ramsey County History – Fall 2004: “Hamline University and its Royal Refugee: The Prince and the Pearl of Great Price”
John W. LarsonHamline University and its Royal Refugee: The Prince and the Pearl of Great Price Author: John W. Larson The author, a Hamline University graduate, recalls the impact of World War II on the university’s students and the visit of a royal refugee from Germany. Larson, raised in a working-class…
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 – Winter 2004: “‘He Loved a Tall Story’ The Life and Times of I.A. O’Shaughnessy, the Man Who Happily Gave His Money Away”
John M. Lindley and Virginia Brainard Kunz‘He Loved a Tall Story’ The Life and Times of I.A. O’Shaughnessy, the Man Who Happily Gave His Money Away Authors: John M. Lindley and Virginia Brainard Kunz Born in 1885, Ignatius Aloysius O’Shaughnessy was an oilman and philanthropist. His parents, who were of Irish decent, moved to Minnesota…
Ramsey County History – Fall 2003: “St. Paul Underground: The University Farm Experimental Cave and How St. Paul Became the Blue Cheese Capital of the World”
Greg A. BrickSt. Paul Underground: The University Farm Experimental Cave and How St. Paul Became the Blue Cheese Capital of the World Author: Greg A. Brick Willes Combs, a professor of Dairy Industry at the University of Minnesota, was buying mushrooms at a West Side cave and saw that the humidity…