Catalog
Violet Gould’s Civic Opera Musical Circle
Mady Metzger-Ziegler founded the St. Paul Opera Workshop. Her son, Max Metzger, followed in his mother’s musical footsteps as an orchestra conductor. Courtesy of Minnesota Historical Society. Mady Metzger-Ziegler (1897-1979), mezzosoprano, was a featured performer in the St. Paul Civic Opera Association (Civic Opera) and its associated Pops concerts. She…
Honoring Minnesota History Scholars
National History Day 2024 Team Minnesota Sixty-four “Team Minnesota” history scholars competed at National History Day (NHD) at University of Maryland–College Park in June. Over nine months, students in grades six through twelve identified topics related to the theme, “Turning Points in History,” and created detailed research…
F. Scott Fitzgerald: A Composite Biography
Reviewed by Mark TaylorF. Scott Fitzgerald: A Composite Biography Niklas Salmose and David Rennie, editors Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 2024 448 pages; cloth/jacket, 78 b&w photos, $29.95 Author F. Scott Fitzgerald’s masterpiece The Great Gatsby is still selling 500,000 copies a year,…
Twin Cities Snapshots: History Through the Lens of the St. Paul Pioneer Press
Reviewed by Steve TrimbleTwin Cities Snapshots: History Through the Lens of the St. Paul Pioneer Press St. Paul Pioneer Press, with Nick Woltman and Molly Ballis Vancouver, WA: Pediment Publishing, 2023 160 pages; hardcover, 250 b&w and color illustrations, $39.95 In April 2024, St. Paul’s Pioneer Press marked its…
Ramsey County History Spring 2024
Paul Nelson, Drew Ross, Wendy Rossi, Meredith CummingsVolume 59, Number 2: Spring 2024 Link to download PDF of full Ramsey County History Spring 2024 Articles in this issue: The Fraud of the Century Author: Paul Nelson According to author Paul Nelson, “The human desire for wealth without risk and the capacity for self-delusion make an…
The Fraud of the Century
Paul NelsonSt. Paulite Clarence Cochran was convicted of fraud and reported to Leavenworth in 1930. Mugshot courtesy of National Archives of Kansas City, Record Group 129, Records of the Bureau of Prisons, Leavenworth Penitentiary, Inmate Case Files (1895-1952), National Archives Identifier 571125. By Paul Nelson To see this complete magazine…
Decisions, Destiny, and Dreams: Plympton’s Reserve, St. Paul’s Founding, and Desnoyer’s New Bridge Square
Drew M. RossThe Desnoyer Halfway House located on the St. Anthony Falls-St. Paul Road attracted soldiers from Fort Snelling, residents from growing villages along the Mississippi, and tourists traveling to the area to glimpse the cascading St. Anthony Falls. Courtesy of Minnesota Historical Society. By Drew M. Ross To see this…
Stephen Desnoyer’s Halfway House
Drew M. RossBy Drew M. Ross Stephen Desnoyer is said to be the first permanent resident in Rose Township. He built a tavern on the thoroughfare of the St. Anthony/St. Paul Road which ran roughly along the route of today’s Interstate 94. The establishment was situated just west of what would become…
A Litigious Man: Select Court Cases of Stephen Desnoyer
Drew M. RossBy Drew M. Ross Early St. Paulite Stephen Desnoyer slipped through the cracks of history. For years, we knew little about him. Even now, we have yet to find a photograph of him and know of only two descriptions of his appearance: short, rotund, jovial, fat (a total of four…