Marcy-Holmes

Minneapolis Historical has identified several interesting looking walking tours of Minneapolis neighborhoods.  A friend and I picked the Marcy-Holmes tour on a bright sunny late winter day for a walk-about.  The Marcy-Holmes neighborhood is the oldest neighborhood in Minneapolis, being part of "St. Anthony" until annexation in 1872.

Marcy - Holmes is on the left bank of the Mississippi, extending from the downtown area to Dinkytown near the University of Minnesota.  It is named for a politician, William L Marcy, and a jurist, Oliver Wendell Holmes.  The whys and wherefores for this combination escape me.

Minneapolis' Marcy-Holmes neighborhood

From the downtown US Bank Stadium light-rail station, we crossed the Mississippi on James J Hill's fabulous Stone Arch Bridge - check out my Bridges of Hennepin County post - and headed up the 6th Ave hill to University Avenue. Lo and behold, lining either side of 6th Ave between Main St & University are a series of bronzes commemorating the historic Marcy-Holmes district. I am embarrassed to say that even though I have biked up that hill dozens of times, I have never taken notice of the sculptures. A note to self: get off the high speed bike occasionally and walk around.



We resolved to find each of the actual "Gateway Sculpture" structures. Unfortunately, some of the bronzes depict buildings that are lost to history and we also missed a few, so another day is needed to complete the tour.

After perusing each of the Gateway Sculptures, we headed for University Ave.

First stop.  Shepherd Manufacturing  129 6th Ave SE
Built in 1884, this factory originally made broom handles.




Next.  Salvage Corps Fire Station #2  528 University Ave SE
Now the quite wonderful Alma Restaurant and Hotel.
 

Next. Woodbury Fisk Home  424 5th St SE
Built in 1869.  He married well.  His brother-in-law was John Pillsbury.



Next.  Octavius Broughton Home  511 4th Ave SE
Built in 1859. Octavius was one of the early lumber millwrights.


Next. Fred Smith Home  419 5th St SE
Built in 1904. Fred was a "printer's devil" for St. Anthony's "Falls Daily News"



Next.  Thomas Andrews Home  527 5th St SE
Built in 1866.  Thomas was a cousin of John Pillsbury and friend of Woodbury Fisk.  Hmm, I sense a theme here.


Next. Horatio and Charlotte Van Cleve Home  603 5th St SE
Built in 1858.  Horatio was a Civil War general, but Charlotte was the star of this family, breaking the stay-at-home norms for women in the mid 1800's.


Next: Peter Lees Home  629 5th St. SE
Built 1894.  Scottish immigrant. An ironworks mechanic who became General Manager of American Bridge Co.


Next: John Dudley Home  701 5th St SE
Built 1856.  John was a lumber baron and real-estate mogul.


Next: First Congregationalist Church  800 5th St SE
The original 1874 structure was destroyed by fire and rebuilt in 1886.



Crossing 35W bicycle and pedestrian overpass ...

Next: Earle Brown Home  925 6th St SE  {Editor note: an early "prairie-style home - now a frat-house if you can believe it}
Built 1903. Inherited money. His grand-father was a millionaire lumber baron.


Next: International Christian United Bible College 1501 University Ave SE
Built 1915.  Originally home to Minnesota Bible College, it now bears the moniker "DinkyDome" based on its proximity to Dinkytown.


If you'd like a deeper dive in the history of these Marcy-Holmes historical sites check out the audio commentaries for each of these - and more - on the Minneapolis Historical site. You will also find pointers to other interesting looking Minneapolis neighborhood walks - all on my to-do list.

And, pick a nice day and take the actual walking tour - you can see it all on a easy 3 mile jaunt.

Dave

Attestation

Attestation. Not a word you run into very often these days.

at•tes•ta•tion

 (ˌæt ɛˈsteɪ ʃən) 

n.

1. an act of attesting.

2. an attesting declaration; testimony; evidence.

[1540–50; (< Middle French) < Latin attestātiōn- (s. of attestātiō). 

at·test

v. at·test·ed, at·test·ing, at·tests

v.tr.

1. To affirm to be correct, true, or genuine: The date of the painting was attested by the appraiser.

2.

a. To certify by signature or oath: attest a will.

b. To certify in an official capacity.

3.

a. To supply or be evidence of: Her fine work attests her ability. 

b. Linguistics To confirm the existence, usage, or currency of (a word, for example), as by being   recorded in writing.

4. To put under oath.

In 1907, my wife's grandmother had decided to leave Norway for Minnesota. She was one of 3 sisters who left Leksvig, Norway for Minnesota in the first decade of the 1900's. In those days, the parish vicar provided a written "attestation" (actually "presteattest" i.e. attestation from the Priest) to the character of the emigrant. It can be considered as a "certificate of good conduct". It was required if you wanted to emigrate or even move to a different church parish in Norway. We recently discovered the original document, complete with the red wax seal that Johanna Killingberg carried with her to Spring Grove, Minnesota.

Translation:

Johanna J. Killingberg, daughter of J.M. Johannesen and wife Marta L. Pedersdatter, was born on February 23rd 1882 and baptized on April 9th, same year. She was confirmed in Leksvik Church on Oct 3rd 1897 with a very positive result.

I do declare that she is not bound by marriage here in Leksvik. I may add that she has had a quiet/humble and Christian way of life here as far as I know. She now wants to emigrate into Minnesota, USA. 

May God's blessing be with her!

Leksvik vicarage, March 30th, 1907.

L.J. Wormdal, Vicar of Leksvik  

Lars Johansen Wormdahl served the Leksvig parish from 1888-1914

The cost of this certification was: kr. 01,00.

Leksvig Church

A few observations.

1. Note the beautiful handwriting.

2. ... a quiet, humble, Christian way of life

3. How do you imagine your "attestation" would read?

Copyright © 2017 Dave Hoplin

Lowry Volunteer Fire Department

LFD - slightly before my time

The Lowry Fire Department is an all-volunteer organization. So when the town siren goes off - except at 12 Noon, which is the call to lunch or 10:00 PM, which is the under 16 curfew notice, it means fire. Luckily - as far as I know - no fire call has occurred at exactly noon or 10:00 PM. Originally, the fire equipment consisted solely of an 1889 horse drawn "pumper" pictured above. The later one below is on display in the Pope County Historical Museum in Glenwood, Minnesota.

Editor note: Check out the "F is for Fire Engine" blog posting from the museum that discusses a 1905 "mutual aid" effort by Lowry to the Glenwood Fire Dept. The pumper was loaded on a railroad flatcar and delivered to Lake Minnewaska to pump water to a fire scene on Franklin Ave.

Lowry Pumper

LFD - modern era

When the siren wailed, all the volunteers within hearing range dropped whatever they were doing: that wrench on the oil-pan nut; writing that charge slip at the grocery store; welding that plow share at the blacksmith shop; stringing wire from an electrical pole; delivering milk; taking a deposit at the bank; unloading lumber from a rail car; pumping gas at the Sinclair Station; sitting in the barber chair; or having a cold one at the tavern ... regardless - the siren rules. While most came sprinting from their workplace, others came screaming up to the Town Hall in their pickups, quickly donning their coats and grabbing fire hats and boots. 3 or 4 guys would ride on the back of the fire truck and others would follow in cars. As kids on bikes, chasing the fire truck was great sport. And, at least once a year, usually in the dead of winter, the siren blared in the middle of the night, a jarring experience. Be careful with that wood stove.

This pumper was also the sole piece of fire equipment available when the entire east side of Main Street burned to the ground in 1911. (This is why all the buildings on the east side of Main are brick.) If there was enough hose to reach the fire scene, the pumper remained in the town hall under a funnel venting to a chimney with water fed from the water tank.  This steam powered - later gas powered - engine could pump 1400 gal/min.

The most famous fire in town history was the complete destruction of the Lowry Roller Mill in 1937. This flour milling operation was the most prosperous enterprise in the town, with "Lowry's Best" Flour sold in a multi-state area. Flour dust can be as explosive as gunpowder and it is believed a spark ignited an explosion.

Mill ashes

The mill was not rebuilt.

The scariest fire I ever was involved in fighting was the Svec barn fire. It was in the evening and the barn hayloft was packed full with hay bales. The barn went up like a torch. By the time the fire truck arrived, there was no hope of saving the barn, rather the struggle was to get the animals out - not entirely successful.  But usually, a fire call was for an out of control grass fire. The standard fire fighting equipment for these fires - before Abednego arrived - was a wet gunny sack.

The Chief

When I was a volunteer, my father was the Fire Chief - also a volunteer position. As with anything he took on, he was conscientious and thorough, arranging for numerous training sessions through the State of Minnesota Fire Marshal's office and organizing "practice fires" wherever he could find them.  If someone wanted to get rid of a dilapidated shed or garage, LFD was at your service. Of course, the conditions had to be right, no wind, low humidity, etc etc.  I hate to say this but these were fun, community events, with plenty of spectators. You get your entertainment where you can in a small town.

The biggest training event was the torching of the Molander Apartments. In my youth, this building housed Molander's International Harvester Implement Dealership with apartments on the 2nd level, but in the 70's it had become a hazard.

Molander building control burn

My father had a whimsical sense of humor and a subtle way of imparting knowledge, particularly biblical knowledge. At the time, the department had 3 fire trucks, 2-1940's pumpers and a 4-wheel drive flatbed truck used mainly to fight grass fires. My father named each truck, having a moniker painted on each front fender.  Shadrach, Meschach & Abednego. 

(See photos. Unfortunately, the Lowry Meschach is lost to history, unless someone can come up with a photo.)

Abednego

Shadrach

For the unwashed, here are the relevant verses from Daniel:

 16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.

17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.

Except for the biblical passage Copyright © 2017 Dave Hoplin

Dear Olaf

My theory is that a first born child is an experiment, a practice run if you will. Successors are always improved models-until the fourth, when numbers overwhelm. It seems logical.

Here's a letter from my grandmother to her brother who was still in France awaiting his turn at repatriation to the USA after the end of WWI. I believe this supports my hypothesis.





2nd Born
"... sleeps most of the time"
"...she's alright so far"
"... worry she would turn out a colic baby like ... "


And, by the way, also brighter ..
1st Born  ".. thought she was a cat"

Full disclosure:  I am first-born.



Copyright © 2017 Dave Hoplin

Olaf

Brothers Olaf, Dave, Sam & Gust

I remember my great uncle Olaf Nelson as a quiet, contemplative man, suffering from near blindness due to severe diabetes, but doggedly pursuing knowledge. When he visited his brother and sister in Lowry in the 1950's, often I was in charge of loading the Hi-Fi with Society for the Blind records for him - news summaries, magazine & book recordings.

I wish I had known him in his younger years. By all accounts, Olaf was a remarkable man. He lived for most of his life in New London, Minnesota, working as station-master for the Great Northern Railroad. But this is a small part of Olaf's contributions to his community and the nation.

Family lore tell of the family's immigration from Sweden with a rambunctious set of brothers aboard the Cunard Bothnia in 1886, who climbed the rigging despite the calls of the crew to cease and desist. They of course could not understand the english crewmen. The boys heard the calls "bum bowlo" (actually "down below") and would warn each other with "Här kommer den bumbowlo" to avoid being caught in mischief.  [See post Fageras to Brandon 1886]

Olaf in Montana

As a young man, he left his Brandon, Minnesota home and traveled to northern Montana about 1910, where he worked on a crew constructing the infrastructure for Glacier National Park. From this experience he developed a passion for preserving and protecting the environment, becoming one of the founders of the New London chapter of the Izaak Walton League. Through this organization, Olaf was instrumental in the establishment of Sibley State Park on Green Lake near Spicer, MN.

In 1917, at the age of 38, he enlisted in the American Expeditionary Force and served in France. It seems strange to be accepted into the army at such an age, but his experience with the railroad made him a valued telegrapher.





He was a Boy Scout troop leader and in general devoted his life to the service of others. In the mid-50's, Olaf was honored by New London as Citizen of the Year.  Years later, his younger brother Dave received the same honor from the city of Lowry, Minnesota. In his remarks, he noted Olaf's earlier honor with the words ".. but he was a lot smarter than me."

Olaf married in 1929 at the age of 50. His wife Mathilde developed severe rheumatoid arthritis not long after their marriage and Olaf became a dedicated care-giver until her death in 1954.

This letter from Olaf to father Carl speaks to his character. It is one any father would cherish. Carl Nelson died in December of 1938.

Copyright © 2017 Dave Hoplin

Mother Daughter

Esther

The Nelsons

Along with 5 brothers, my grandmother Esther was the sole Nelson daughter (sister Ida died at age two in 1886 in Minnesota and a brother Nils Gustaf at age 1 in 1885 in Sweden). Esther was dear to her mother Sofia.

Esther and cousin Mabel Carlson abt 1915

The family had immigrated from Sweden in 1886. About 1914, Esther left the Nelson farm in Brandon for Minneapolis. She was 27, seemingly destined for old-maidenhood. In Minneapolis, she boarded at 3045 Harriet Ave where her cousin Martin Carlson, wife Mabel and newborn daughter were also living. I don't know why Esther moved to Minneapolis. 3045 Harriet is 1 block south of Lake Street, an area of Minneapolis at that time largely populated by Swedish immigrants. Perhaps Esther was searching for a nice Swedish boy. Martin & Mabel had their first child early in 1914, perhaps she was helping the family. In any case, she worked as a housekeeper/maid somewhere in the area.

3045 Harriet Ave in 2017

Esther and mother Sofia were inveterate letter writers and it might be that without this letter from Mama, I could be someone else.
   


Original letter in Swedish (for Annie)

     

Translated letter - in English for the rest of us

The letter is a weakly disguised appeal to Esther to return to Brandon.  Mama Sofia was none too subtle.

"Dearly loved Esther"
"...do not lift any heavy furniture ...many have ruined their health ..."
"... I shall surely want you to stay as along as you can but I don't know how we can get through threshing without you."
"...Auntie does not want to say whether you should stay or come home to help us ..."
"...we do not want to hire a girl but we'll be fine if we stay healthy."
"... Ole was here on Sunday ..."
"Lovingly , Mama"

And of course, Esther returned to the Brandon farm and in 1916 married Ole Hoplin, my grandfather, and assured my future existence.

Copyright © 2017 Dave Hoplin

Johanna's Journey

My wife's grandmother, Johanna Killingberg, was born in 1882 in Leksvig, Nord-Trondelag, Norway - directly across the Trondheim fjord. Johanna was the 6th of 10 children, although 2 of her older siblings died at an early age. Her older sister, Marie, married in 1897 and in 1904, she and her husband Gabriel emigrated to the USA, specifically to Spring Grove, MN. In 1907, Johanna also emigrated with Gabriel paying for Johanna's passage. Johanna was 25. From the ship's manifest (see below), it is clear that she was traveling with 2 other women (Elise Hanaar(sp?) & Inga Rolle-both from Leksvig and traveling to Spring Grove). Elise & Inga were each traveling with their 2 children and joining their husbands in Spring Grove.

From Hellig-Olav passenger list

In 1909, a third sister, Anne, emigrated, also to Spring Grove.  In 1909 Johanna married Thomas Rosten and in 1919 they moved from Spring Grove to Pope County, Minnesota, where happily I discovered a granddaughter - a number of years later.

Thomas & Johanna - Spring Grove

Immigrants - Killingberg sisters

Spring Grove was the first Minnesota settlement of Norwegian immigrants, with many from the Trondheim area. Norwegian settlement in the area dates from the 1850's, although the first major wave of immigration coincided with the 1862 Land Grant Act, which bestowed 160 acres on settlers who agreed to remain on the land for 5 years. Even now, the area around Spring Grove between the Root River & Iowa River is referred to as "Norwegian Ridge". The 1900-1910 timespan has been tagged as the "3rd wave" of Norwegian immigrants.

"High up on this broad ridge, with a view extending 15 to 20 miles on both sides, lies the village of Spring Grove, perhaps the most thoroughly Norwegian town in the U.S." - Norwegian Ridge website

[Editor note: Here's a plug for the Spring Grove based "Giants of the Earth Heritage Center, a must visit for Norwegian genealogy buffs. "Giants of the Earth Heritage Center is housed in the historic Ballard House at 163 West Main Street. “Giants” was incorporated in 2009 as a non-profit educational institution, dedicated to honoring, preserving, and interpreting the heritage of the immigrants who settled at Spring Grove’s Norwegian Ridge, cited as Minnesota’s first Norwegian immigrant settlement."]

Spring Grove postcard taken from Trinity Church steeple - 1908

I recently discovered a tiny notebook in my wife's Aunt Othelia's effects. (see Othelia's Story posts for a stirring WWII army nurse saga.) The notebook was kept by Johanna during her journey from Leksvig to New York in 1907. It is not, unfortunately, a diary, but it does provide detail on the where and when of her journey.

The translation for p 1-3 is roughly

• The 30th of April I travelled from Leksvik to Trondheim. [Editor note: 1907 - this would have been by ferry across the fjord]
• The 1st of May I left Trondheim! Came to Tynset in the evening at 8pm. [Editor note: this would have been by train. Tynset is a stop on the rail line from Trondheim to Oslo]
• In the morning at 6 AM the 2nd of May we left from Tynset and came to Kristiania(Oslo) in the evening at 7 PM. [Editor note: Norway's capital was named Kristiania  in 1907- renamed Oslo in 1928] 
• From Kristiania the 3rd of May at 10 PM in the evening, we traveled to Kristiansand the 4th of May in the morning, and left from there in the afternoon. [Editor note: Johanna then traveled directly from Kristiansand to New York aboard the Scandinavian-America liner, Hellig Olav.]

Scandinavian-America Liner Hellig-Olav

Saturday the 5th of May [Editor note: aboard Hellig-Olav]

Monday the 6th

Tuesday the 7th

Wednesday the 8th

Thursday the 9th

Friday the 10th

Saturday the 11th

Sunday the 12th

Monday the 13th

Tuesday the 14th [Editor note: Arrival in NY]

Wednesday the 15th [Editor Note: travel by train to Spring Grove]

Thursday the 16th

Friday the 17th

Saturday the 18th

Sunday the 19th Pentecost

The 14th of May we came to New York in the morning and did not leave from there till the 15th of May at 9 in the evening.

Page 4 of the little diary is a bit mysterious. It is in a different handwriting and appears to be a poem or hymn. Something like:"Oh God, your mercy and Holy Spirit helped us through so we kept up the hope and good spirit."

I'd like to think it was a blessing and prayer from her mother.

Johanna 1956 

Johanna's parting gift to Sister Ingeborg - "to remembrance"

Johanna never returned to Norway.

Copyright © 2017 Dave Hoplin

Workup

I grew up before the days of "organized" sports. No Little League, no Pop Warner football, no Pee Wee hockey programs. Just us. And I truly believe I am the better off because of it. Self sufficiency, inter-personal and organizational skills - self taught.

Back in 1957 Lowry, when that 10 year old yearned to play baseball, he had to:
1) Find at least 4 other like-minded 9-13 year olds in a town of 300 souls. (Later - how you play a baseball game with 5 people)
2) Come up with the equipment. 1 ball , 1 bat. Most kids had their baseball glove on the handlebars of their bike.
3) Decide on the location. Either the ice rink with the stone chimney of the warming house for a backstop. Or the school field with the hazardous Highway 114 parallel to right field.  Not hazardous in terms of physical danger, but hazardous in that if a ball were hit onto the highway, it could conceivable roll south all the way down Hedlin's hill and travel fully a mile from home plate. Not even the Babe could hit like that.
4) Divide into teams, although that required 8 people which was hard to come up with.

Lowry School - east side

Otherwise - workup. Workup rules for a 5
person baseball game on the school yard:

1) There are 2 people "at bat". The person not batting serves as the catcher. A runner on base must score on the 2nd batter's hit or he's out. Force out at home. (For some reason, the fielding ability of the catcher was dramatically worse than when he was in the field)
2) There is a pitcher, a shortstop and an outfielder in the field.
3) There is no first baseman, rather a "cross out" rule applies. On a ground ball, if the ball is thrown on the home plate side of first base and between the approaching runner, the runner is out. (This of course puts the ball onto Highway 114, so the thrown-out runner is also responsible for cutting off the ball before it gets a head-of-steam toward Hedlin's Hill. It also keeps the runner alert. No helmets. If you hit the ball onto the highway, you're out - and you get to retrieve it.)
4) In some cases, we agreed that catching a fly ball on the first hop makes an out.  Being a baseball purist, I always fought that rule.
5) No walks.
6) When a hitter made an out, he moved to the outfield, the shortstop to pitcher and the pitcher to hitter. i.e. Workup - work your way to the right to hit. (If a dominating hitter, e.g. a 13 year old playing with 9 year olds, a 3 run limit was put on each hitter.)


A variation of this took place on the skating ring. This could be done with as few as 3 kids. The stone chimney served as backstop. First base was directly behind the pitcher and also served as 3rd base, just as home plate also served as 2nd base. In this configuration, there was no cross-out as the pitcher could become the first baseman by running back 20 feet or so. It was also best if a rubber ball was used, preferably one that had the simulated seams that mimicked a real baseball, so better to break off that Warren Spahn curve ball. When we resorted to the 29¢ baseball from Hoplin & Nelson, it soon became a coverless string-mush from hitting that WPA stone backstop. Then I had to pilfer my father's black friction tape and wrap the ball to extend its life. This was great sport with a single downside. Directly across the alley from the rink stood Henry Brandt's massive garden. Hank was very protective of his garden and if a ball was fouled off and ended up amongst the pumpkins, there was hell to pay for the kid trying to retrieve it. I think Hank had quite a baseball collection. We sometimes waited until dark to try to retrieve the lost.

And the same organizational skills were required for a football game, a hockey game, basketball game.  Soccer, tennis golf - way outside our experience.

Copyright © 2017 Dave Hoplin