Minnesota Not So Nice

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"Minnesota Nice" is a bit of a cliche, dontcha think. You betcha. Minnesotans get regularly panned, as if being "nice" is something to be ashamed of. But we mild-mannered folk simply smile back and take the abuse - while we silently seethe.

But Minnesota has and has had its unsavory side. I'm here to debunk a bit of the stereotype. Here's some Minnesota - not so nice.



Back in the prohibition days in Lowry, Howard Lysen sold a lot of pure vanilla extract at McIver's store. And it wasn't used to make sugar cookies. [Editor note: the "pure" vanilla label requires 35% alcohol content]. And rumor has it, there might have been a still in the basement of an east side business establishment.  (Full disclosure: my genealogy research has shown I have 1930's bootleggers in my family tree - not in Lowry however. Grandma Esther's W.C.T.U. would have kiboshed that. See my WCTU post). However, it was Stearns County's Holdingford that was Minnesota's moonshine epicenter, home of a thriving bootleg corn liquor operation during Prohibition. "Minnesota 13" was a highly regarded brew - twice distilled and aged - purported to taste remarkably like Canadian Club. The name "Minnesota 13" was derived from the new 13 week corn developed by the University of Minnesota. If you stop by Holdingford or bike the Lake Wobegon Trail from Albany, you can buy a bottle of Minnesota 13 non-alcoholic water.


In the 1920's and early 30's, St. Paul was known as "crooks haven". There was an agreement - the "Layover Agreement" - between gangsters and the St. Paul Chief of Police John O'Connor that the gangsters would "check in" when they arrived in St. Paul; that they would commit no crimes within St. Paul city limits (Minneapolis was fair game); that the police department would get a portion of their ill-gotten gains. In turn, the police department would turn a blind-eye to racketeering, gambling & liquor operations - and tip-off the gangsters of any FBI raids. John Dillinger, Al Capone & Clyde Barrow/Bonnie Parker are known to have spent some sanctuary time in St. Paul. In 1932, 20% of the nation's bank robberies occurred in Minnesota. Baby Face Nelson robbed a Brainerd bank. There is a lovely lake home on Bemidji's Lake Beltrami that features a watch tower and secret escape passage-ways which rumor has it was a gangster hideaway. See Chad Lewis' book, Minnesota Road Guide to Gangster Hot Spots.

The 1934 kidnapping and ransom of William Hamm (Hamm's Beer mogul) signaled the breakdown of the O'Connor system. And also in 1934, a police and FBI shootout with John Dillinger occurred in his Lexington Ave apartment. Dillinger was wounded but escaped in a high speed car chase on the rural roads of Hastings. See the 1934 St. Paul Daily Press story "Machine Guns Blaze as Jury Whitewashes Police". This press coverage drove a major corruption cleanup with St. Paul politicians and police officials ousted.


Another unsavory era in Minneapolis history centers on that city's discriminatory practices during the 30's and 40's. At that time Minneapolis was known as the most anti-semitic city in the country. Jews were banned from country clubs, service organizations,  and even the AAA auto club. Employment ads regularly stated "Gentiles Only". Most neighborhoods had housing covenants prohibiting sales to Jews. The roughly 16,000 Jewish families were concentrated on Minneapolis' north side. This discrimination was so wide-spread that it led to the establishment of Mt. Sinai Hospital to provide medical care to the city's Jewish population. The ugly 1938 Minnesota governor's race between Harold Stassen and Elmer Benson featured Stassen painting Benson as under the control of the Jews. Stassen won the election handily.

This time period of course corresponded with the rise of Adolf Hitler in Germany and anti-semitism was fed by the likes of Father Coughlin's popular radio broadcasts and Charles Lindbergh's "America First Committee". The University of Minnesota has an exhibit "A Campus Divided" exposing the discriminatory practices of the U of M during this time period. [Editor note: the exhibit is at the Elmer L Anderson library and ends Nov 30, 2017]  

It was not until 1946 and the election of Hubert H Humphrey as mayor of Minneapolis that the tide turned. Anti-semites were ousted from city government and anti-discrimination ordinances were put in place.

At midnight May 14, 1948, the new state of Israel declared its independence.

Copyright © 2017 Dave Hoplin