For 25 years, between 1890 and 1915, Moorhead, Minnesota, was infamous for being a rough and rowdy saloon town. The reputation was well deserved, as alcohol sales were the city’s number-one industry. Since the arrival of the first settler-colonists in the Red River Valley in the 1870s, there had been a moral, political, and economic … [ Read more]
Up From Slavery: How early settler James Thompson became a pillar of St. Paul
February 24, 2020 by
In 1849, James Thompson, a citizen of St. Paul, donated the lumber and shingles necessary to construct the city’s first Methodist church. The small brick structure, erected on Market Street, near Rice Park—then little more than a cow pasture—symbolized the stability and sobriety that residents hoped would someday flourish in their community, the newly designated … [ Read more]
Ghosts of Maurer’s Saloon: The surprising history of Cuzzy’s in Minneapolis
July 2, 2019 by
The women in the Maurer family did not choose to become saloon keepers. It was forced upon them when their husbands committed suicide or were sent to prison. Elizabeth Maurer’s husband, Louis, was a German immigrant like her. In 1909, his saloon was a Gluek’s-connected establishment on Washington Avenue North in Minneapolis, a commercial stretch … [ Read more]
Roads to the Past: One man’s mission to document Minnesota’s historical highways
April 29, 2019 by
Andrew Munsch steers a blue late-model Honda Civic to the shoulder and stops beside a snowbank as tall as his car. He zips up his black jacket and slings a Canon EOS digital camera over his arm. After checking the laces on his boots and straightening a pair of black sunglasses, he kills the engine … [ Read more]
New book on Duluth and Superior’s brewing history sets the record straight
September 25, 2018 by
There are lots of stories that people want to believe about history,” says Tony Dierckins, publisher at Zenith City Press in Duluth, Minnesota. “Like the People’s Brewery ‘creation myth,’ for example. It was supposedly started as this socialist movement of tied house saloon-keepers that revolted against the corporate breweries, and all this other stuff, but it turns out that … [ Read more]
Taking a deep-dive into Somali culture at the Minnesota Historical Society
August 16, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Minnesota is home to the largest population of Somalis in the United States. Roughly 57,000 people live here, according to the latest census figures (the actual number is believed to be much higher); most live in the Minneapolis–St. Paul area. The “Somalis + Minnesota” exhibit, organized by the Minnesota Historical Society and the Somali Museum of … [ Read more]
Big Challenges for Small Dairy: Minnesota farmers seek creative solutions in the face of corporate competition
June 11, 2018 by
When I first rang Tom Portner to talk about his dairy farm Port-Haven, he told me to call back in a few minutes—he was in the middle of helping a cow give birth. The third in 24 hours, in fact. “Yesterday I had 24 due, now three of them have calves,” he says when I … [ Read more]
On the Shores of the ‘Great Water’: The Ojibwe people’s migration to Gichigamiing
May 29, 2018 by
To the Ojibwe people, Lake Superior is “Gichigamiing”—the “great water” or “sea.” Today, Ojibwe communities are scattered around the northern and southern regions of Gichigamiing, including throughout Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ontario. The Ojibwe have a culturally and historically significant relationship to Gichigamiing going back hundreds of years, when they first migrated to the region. … [ Read more]
The Inimitable Robert ‘Fish’ Jones: The dandy zookeeper of Minneapolis
April 30, 2018 by
You’re walking down a busy street in Minneapolis in the late 1800s. You have a list of items that you need to purchase, are juggling the parcels you have already picked up, and you are scanning your list to figure out the next place you need to stop. With your head down, ready to fall … [ Read more]
Mindful Consumption: A Minimalist’s Guide to Buying Stuff
March 19, 2018 by
When I was 10 years old, I stumbled into my most prized possession. It was a wallet that belonged to my grandfather. I was young enough when he passed away that I had no memory of him, just some photos of me sitting on his lap, and now this wallet. After dutifully serving me for years … [ Read more]
Craft Culture: 130 years of water and the grindstone at Schech’s Mill
August 30, 2017 by
At first the vibrations in the water are faint. Small ripples break through the surface of the stream as they push out from the base of an old stone building. But the current soon becomes a rapid swirl as more than 8,000 gallons flow into the creek with each passing minute. The disturbance outside is … [ Read more]
Two Visions for the Future of the Ford Site
July 27, 2017 by
The City of St. Paul is close to finalizing a development plan for the long-vacant, 135-acre site of the former Ford Assembly Plant in Highland Park. But not everyone is on board with the vision that the City has proposed. We asked a supporter and an opponent to make their argument for why they think … [ Read more]
Parks—and Water—For the People: The history of Minneapolis’ hand-pump drinking wells
July 13, 2017 by
When Minneapolis resident Jessica Rosenberg was a little girl, she and her brother had a special ritual they shared with their grandparents. They would load up the trunk of the car with empty plastic milk jugs and drive from their St. Louis Park home to Lake Harriet. Once there, they’d unload the jugs and walk … [ Read more]
Craft Culture: Preserving the magic of motion pictures with Bob DeFlores
June 2, 2017 by
When the lights in the room dim and the silver screen lights up, Bob DeFlores doesn’t watch the animated characters that spring to life. As the old film starts to run, he turns his attention toward the hundreds of people sitting in plush theater seats before him. He stares at each face in turn, gauging … [ Read more]
Root beer maverick: How one little, old lady battled the harsh Minnesota wilderness & made root beer for thousands
April 24, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Until 1986, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness was home to hundreds of wild species, including moose, beavers, bears, bobcats, bald eagles—and one little, old lady named Dorothy Molter. Molter was the last legal non-indigenous resident of the BWCAW. She operated a resort that became a legendary destination in one of the most remote parts … [ Read more]
