- Minnesota Digital Library Search Results

59201. Interview with Jim Gabriel, World War II Veteran Collection, St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, Minnesota

Creator:: Gabriel, James S.
Date Created:: 1992-08-05
Description:: In an oral history conducted by David Overy on August 5, 1992, James S. Gabriel discussed his experience as an executive officer in the 143rd Battalion of the United States Army during World War II. Raised in St. Paul, Minnesota, He enlisted in the National Guard in 1938 and joined the United States Army in 1941 when the United States entered World War II. In this interview, Gabriel described his experiences in the Battle of the Bulge and the demilitarization efforts of Germany by the Allied Forces. In addition, he discussed his impression of the various foreign civilians that he encountered while serving in Europe. After World War II, Gabriel discharged from the Army, but served on active duty for the U.S. during the Korean War. Lastly, Gabriel recounted his life as a result of his military experience, both good and bad. He had married his wife, Beulah, and had three children. In 1973, Gabriel married his second wife, Joan, and had three stepchildren. Gabriel retired at the rank of Brigadier General (BVT) and was a supervisor at Western Electric for thirty years. He died on December 17, 2001.
Contributing Institution:: St. Cloud State University
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59202. Interview with Clair Dziuk, World War II Veteran Collection, St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, Minnesota

Creator:: Dziuk, Clair
Date Created:: 1992-09-04
Description:: In an oral interview conducted by David Overy on September 4, 1992, Clair A. Dziuk discussed his experiences in the construction of the Alcan Highway, from 1941 to 1943. Dziuk was born April 5, 1907 in Benton County, Minnesota, where he was raised. In this interview Dziuk describes the day to day life of building the Alcan Highway, from working with Canadians and the Army, camp life, and the wildlife of Canada.
Contributing Institution:: St. Cloud State University
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59203. Interview with Walter Gerzin, World War II Veteran Collection, St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, Minnesota

Creator:: Gerzin, Walter
Date Created:: 1991-07-01
Description:: In an oral history conducted by David Overy on July 1, 1991, Walter J. Gerzin discussed his experiences as a bomber pilot and flight instructor during World War II. Gerzin was born on September 4, 1916, and raised Chisholm, Minnesota. In 1939, he graduated from St. Cloud State Teacher's College and enlisted into the flying cadet program of the United States Air Force. After his training, Gerzin flew anti-submarine patrols off the East Coast, until he was assigned to Project X. He described the bombing missions in North Africa, the Middle East, and India. Gerzin was a member of the 513th Bomb Squadron, which was detailed by Captain Rowan T. Thomas in "Born in Battle: Round the World Adventures of the 513th Bombardment Squadron." In 1943, Gerzin became a squadron commander and trained squadrons in Walla Walla, Washington and Avon Park, Florida. Gerzin flew twenty-five bombing missions, earning himself an Air Medal and a Silver Star along the way. Lastly, he discussed the positive outcomes of his military service. It allowed him to travel and live all around the world and gain self-discipline and respect for others. He served in the United States Air Force for twenty-one years before leaving to become a teacher. On September 30, 2013, Gerzin died at the age of 97.
Contributing Institution:: St. Cloud State University
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59204. Interview with Vernon Bigalke, World War II Veteran Collection, St. Cloud State University, Little Falls, Minnesota

Creator:: Bigalke, Vernon
Date Created:: 1990-12-08
Description:: Vernon A. Bigalke was born in Little Falls, Minnesota, on February 18, 1917. Before the war, he served in the Minnesota National Guard and then was drafted into the Army in 1941. For the first years of the war, Bigalke was part of an anti-aircraft artillery unit that guarded American shores. He was reassigned to the 259th Infantry in Mississippi and sent to Le Harve, France in December 1944 as part of the 65th Infantry Division. While at the Seigfried Line he was captured by the Germans in January 1945 and held as a prisoner until the end of the war. He described his treatment by the Germans, his survival mechanisms, and his experiences as a POW until liberation, which included a brief stop at Dachau concentration camp. After the war, Mr. Bigalke became a farmer and raised a family. He died in Little Falls, Minnesota, on November 22, 2007.
Contributing Institution:: St. Cloud State University
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59205. Interview with Stuart Lindman, World War II Veteran Collection, St. Cloud State University, St. Paul, Minnesota

Creator:: Lindman, Stuart
Date Created:: 1991-03-13
Description:: In an oral history conducted by David H. Overy on March 13, 1991, Stuart A. Lindman discussed his experiences both in training and combat as a field-medic in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Born and raised in Minnesota, Lindman enlisted in the Army Reserve Corps in 1943. In this interview, Lindman was assigned to the Pacific Theater where he served on Leyte Island in the Philippines and Okinawa, Japan. He discussed his basic training and the antics some of the soldiers prior to being shipped out to the Philippines. Lindman's primary responsibility was as a litter-bearer who would carry soldiers, sometimes for miles, away from the frontlines to aid stations. On numerous occasions, Lindman discussed his survival of his time in Japan as being credited to luck, narrowly avoiding deadly situations by chance. Lastly, Lindman detailed being hit by a Japanese airplane attack and sent home from the wounds suffered. He concluded with a brief mention of how he and his fellow soldiers coped with combat and some effects he had of post-traumatic stress disorder. After being discharged from the service due to wounds suffered in combat, Lindman returned to earn his college degree in broadcasting and psychology from the University of Minnesota. Lindman then received a job working for what is now television channel KARE 11, retiring in 1987. Lindman was born on August 11, 1922, and passed away on January 12, 2010.
Contributing Institution:: St. Cloud State University
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59206. Interview with William Cheeseman, World War II Veteran Collection, St. Cloud State University, Little Falls, Minnesota

Creator:: Cheeseman, William
Date Created:: 1990-12-08
Description:: William Cheeseman was born in Little Falls, Minnesota, on April 22, 1918. He enlisted in the Minnesota National Guard in 1938 and was called to active duty in 1941. Mr. Cheeseman was part of a transportation company that was attached to the 34th Infantry Division when it was deployed to Ireland for training. Sent to North Africa in 1943, he participated in the North African campaign including the retreat at Kasserine Pass. Cheeseman was given a field promotion and was the supply officer with the headquarters battalion when it moved to Italy in mid-1943. There he experienced frequent artillery bombardments and served on the court martial board. Cheeseman made several comments about the various nationalities he came into contact with including international allies, German and Italian opposition, and civilian population in Ireland, Italy, and Africa. He also made observations about the quality and efforts of the Nisei Regiment and the African American 92nd division. As a junior member of the court martial board, Mr. Cheeseman speculated about the motivations of the many offenders that were tried, the severity and effectiveness of their punishment, and shared some notable cases. He observed the action at Monte Cassino before being shipped home in 1944. He remained with the National Guard and eventually rose to the rank of general. Mr. Cheeseman married and raised a family in St. Paul before retiring to Little Falls. He died in Little Falls, Minnesota, on February 4, 2014.
Contributing Institution:: St. Cloud State University
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59207. Interview with William Chirhart, World War II Veteran Collection, St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, Minnesota

Creator:: Chirhart, William
Date Created:: 1990-12-17
Description:: In an oral history conducted by David Overy on December 17, 1990, William "Bill" Chirhart discussed his experiences as an infantryman in Asiatic-Pacific Theater during World War II. In 1939, Chirhart joined the Minnesota National Guard and called into active duty by the United States Army in 1941. In this interview, Chirhart discussed his training in anti-aircraft defense, searchlight, and automatic tracking. Once deployed to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater, he spent time on and near the islands of the Philippines, New Guinea, Bougainville, and Cebu. Chirhart's division often spent time on ships, doing patrols while on sea duty. He detailed difficulties of living in a tropical climate, the water restrictions, food shortages, body rashes, and interactions with scorpions and beetles. In 1949, he married his wife, Alice Pierkskalla, the couple had four children. Shortly after returning from World War II, Chirhart was deployed as a reconnaissance platoon sergeant during the Korean Conflict. Chirhart concluded that his military experience as a positive one, it gave him discipline that made him the man he needed to be, and allowed him an easy transition into police work in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Chirhart died on September 11, 2008 at the age of 85.
Contributing Institution:: St. Cloud State University
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59208. Interview with Joseph S. Grams, World War II Veterans Collection, St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, Minnesota

Creator:: Grams, Joseph S., 1924-2009
Date Created:: 1990-10-03
Description:: This was an interview conducted on October 3, 1990 by David Overy and Karen Wenz. Joseph S. Grams was born on March 15, 1924 in St. Cloud, Minnesota. After graduating from St. Cloud Technical High School in 1942, Grams was drafted into the Army. After being drafted, Grams trained with the Glider Infantry and flew 52 glider missions. Grams trained in North Carolina at Camp McCall. He was part of the 82nd Airborne Division and was wounded at the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944. Grams went back into action as the Allied forces moved in and captured Berlin at the end of the war. Grams remained in Berlin to aid in the restoration and occupation before returning to the United States. After the service, he worked for the Great Northern Railroad and as a police officer for the City of St. Cloud. Grams retired in 1985 as a captain. Grams married his wife Alma Thielman on November 3, 1948 and had five children together: Timothy, Stephen, Susan, Vivian, and Paul. Grams concluded the interview with a discussion on Vietnam War comparisons to World War II and a discussion of post-war life. Grams passed away on December 12, 2009.
Contributing Institution:: St. Cloud State University
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59209. Interview with Margaret Haverly Theisen, World War II Veterans Collection, St. Cloud State University, Sauk Rapids, Minnesota

Creator:: Theisen, Margaret Haverly, 1914-2007
Date Created:: 1989-11-30
Description:: This interview was conducted on November 30, 1989, by Nancy Baker. Margaret Theisen was born October 12, 1914 in Wesley, Iowa. After graduating from high school, she moved to Iowa City, where she worked for the editor of Better Homes and Gardens. After attending the University of Iowa School of Nursing, she took a position at the VA hospital in St. Cloud, where she met her future husband, Earl Theisen. Both served in World War II, he in Hawaii and she as an Army nurse in England, France, Belgium, and Norway. Theisen discussed her experiences as a nurse with the 46th Field Hospital during World War II. Theisen was awarded the Bronze Star for her service as a surgical nurse during the Battle of the Bulge. After the war, she and Earl were married on November 29, 1945 and then went to work at St. Cloud Hospital. She later returned to the VA hospital, where she worked for another 25 years before retiring in 1978. Theisen passed away on June 16, 2007 and buried at Fort Snelling National Cemetery.
Contributing Institution:: St. Cloud State University
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59210. Interview with Milon George, World War II Veterans Collection, St. Cloud State University, Sauk Rapids, Minnesota

Creator:: George, Milon, 1918-2012
Date Created:: 1989-07-25
Description:: This was an interview conducted on July 25, 1989 by David Overy. Milon George was born on March 17, 1918 in St. Cloud, Minnesota. He graduated from St. Cloud Technical High School and was drafted into the Army Air Corps in 1942. George trained at Randolph Field, Texas, before moving onto Fresno, California. After training, George and his crew spent a little time in North Africa before ending up in Spinazzola, Italy. George was a pilot of a B-24 bomber and was part of 51 combat missions. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross after a mission over Austria in 1944. After the war, Milon worked as a parts manager for Otto Brothers Dodge dealership as well as a rural mail carrier out of Sauk Rapids. George married Margaret Sova, and they had two children, Milon and Janet. George concluded the interview with a summary of his post-combat life as well as his thoughts on Vietnam. George passed away on April 2, 2012.
Contributing Institution:: St. Cloud State University
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59211. Interview with Romuald Thibault, World War II Veterans Collection, St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, Minnesota

Creator:: Thibault, Romauld, 1918-2002
Date Created:: 1989-12-12
Description:: This interview was conducted on December 12, 1989 by David Overy. Romuald Thibault was born on December 22, 1918 in Garden, Michigan. He enlisted in the military twice, first in 1937 with the 7th Tank Company and again in 1942. During World War II, Thibault spent most of his service in Alaska patrolling the North Pacific Ocean with the Navy. His first overseas duty was in the Philippines, and he discussed his interactions with the local civilians and life there before the outbreak of World War II. After the war, Thibault came to St. Cloud where he worked for the railroad, retiring in 1980. He married Rachael Kramer on January 2, 1945 and they had two sons, Jack and Pat. Thibault concluded the interview with his thoughts on the Vietnam War and how he was against the draft process .Thibault passed away on May 28, 2002.
Contributing Institution:: St. Cloud State University
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59212. Interview with Sherby R. Woods, World War II Veterans Collection, St. Cloud State University, Milaca, Minnesota

Creator:: Woods, Sherby R., 1918-2007
Date Created:: 1990-02-18
Description:: This interview was conducted on February 18, 1990 by Richard Olson. Sherby Roy Woods was born August 17, 1918 in Iowa. After moving to Minnesota, he worked in the Civilian Conservation Corps and the lumber industry as a heavy equipment operator in northern Minnesota. Woods was drafted into the Army on October 14, 1941 at the age of 23. During the war, he was attached to Company B, 6th Armored Infantry Regiment, 1st Armored Division. Discharged as a Technician Fifth Grade, Woods worked in heavy equipment and demolitions during campaigns in North Africa and Italy. Woods shared his opinions of Allied soldiers and Axis Power POWs and what he described as the poor training given to replacement troops. He also described how the war changed the U.S. military, including his improvised invention of a more efficient automatic transmission system for light tanks. After returning to the U.S. in 1945, Woods married Cora Lillian Moe, attended heavy equipment maintenance school on the GI Bill, and began a long series of treatments for a facial injury at the Veterans Administration hospital. He worked on heavy equipment for Milaca County until his retirement. Woods concluded the interview with a discussion of contemporary events such as apartheid in South Africa and stated that embargos are a more effective tool than war. He passed away on January 23, 2007 at the age of 88 and is buried in Forest Hill Cemetery in Milaca, Minnesota.
Contributing Institution:: St. Cloud State University
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59213. Interview with Donald U. Weiler, World War II Veterans Collection, St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, Minnesota

Creator:: Weiler, Donald U., 1923-2011
Date Created:: 1989-03-15
Description:: This interview was conducted on March 15, 1989 by David Overy. Donald Ursus Weiler was born July 12, 1923 in St. Cloud. He was drafted in spring 1943 and served as a machine gunner in the 34th Red Bull Infantry Division of the Army National Guard in North Africa and Italy. After being wounded in the leg during the Battle of Monte Cassino, he underwent an experimental treatment using a high-calcium diet at a hospital in North Africa. He spent a significant amount of time discussing how he would climb poles to listen for enemy movements and described at length the ways in which his unit would support riflemen and vehicle convoys as they advanced through Italy. While recovering and working in a military production factory in Iowa, Weiler met Thelma Ruth Lair, whom he married on January 27, 1945. Weiler lived his entire life in St. Cloud and had a long career as a service technician at the Typewriter Shop and later retired as a sales representative of Marco Business Products. As a recipient of the Purple Heart, Weiler dedicated time to supporting wounded and sick veterans at the St. Cloud Veterans Affairs Medical Center. He passed away on March 1, 2011 at the VA Center, and is buried at the Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery at Camp Ripley. He was survived by two sons who followed him into the military; two daughters, and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Contributing Institution:: St. Cloud State University
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59214. Interview with Donald Dean, World War II Veterans Collection, St. Cloud State University, Willmar, Minnesota

Creator:: Dean, Donald
Date Created:: 1989-07-07
Description:: This interview was conducted on July 7, 1989 by David Overy. Donald Dean enlisted into service on July 5, 1942 and joined the 133rd Ordinance Maintenance Battalion as a vehicle repairman. He was present at the Battle of the Bulge as well as the liberation of Mauthausen concentration camp, and described the scene of the former prisoners and their actions towards their former German captors. Dean had gotten married prior to being shipped overseas and had two sons. Dean concludes the interview by sharing a personal story about his son refusing to fight in Vietnam if drafted.
Contributing Institution:: St. Cloud State University
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59215. Interview with Albert Wedell, World War II Veterans Collection, St. Cloud State University, Milaca, Minnesota

Creator:: Wedell, Albert, 1911-2000
Date Created:: 1990-02-11
Description:: This was an interview conducted on February 11, 1990 by Richard Olson. Albert Wedell was born September 29, 1911 in Milaca, Minnesota. He enlisted in the Navy in 1942 and trained in California. He was assigned to the repair division of the U.S.S. Louisville, on which he served in the Aleutian Islands and the South Pacific. He discussed the armaments of the ship, the conditions aboard, men he met in the crew, and some of the attacks on the ship by Japanese ships and aircraft. While in the Navy, Wedell married Velma Swenson on March 14, 1945, and was honorably discharged on October 27, 1945. After the war, he ran a dairy farm near Milaca for 45 years and served on the Chase Brook School Board, the local telephone and creamery boards, and the county ASCA. Wedell passed away on March 16, 2000 and was buried in Borgholm Cemetery in Bock, Minnesota. He was survived by his wife, two sons, two grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
Contributing Institution:: St. Cloud State University
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59216. Interview with Joseph P. Plakut, World War II Veterans Collection, St. Cloud State University, Swanville, Minnesota

Creator:: Plakut, Joseph P., 1921-2005
Date Created:: 1990-10-30 - 1991-01-21
Description:: This interview was conducted on October 30, 1990 and January 21, 1991 by David Overy. Joseph Plakut was born in Swan River Township, Minnesota, on March 17, 1921. He entered the Army in October 1942. Plakut was trained as an airplane mechanic and .50 caliber machine gunner on a bomber plane in England. On his first mission, his plane was shot down while trying to bomb a German plant at Bremen and he spent the remainder of the war in a German prison camp. During a camp evacuation march in 1945, Plakut and the rest of the surviving prisoners were liberated by the American 3rd Armored Division Plakut married his wife Anna Maciej on June 11, 1946 and they had four children: Richard, JoAnn, Kathleen, and David. Plakut concluded his oral history with a discussion about how his treatment as a prisoner and the treatment of prisoners in Iraq were very different experiences. Plakut passed away on June 24, 2005 at the VA Medical Center in St. Cloud.
Contributing Institution:: St. Cloud State University
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59217. Interview with Raynold J. Winter, World War II Veterans Collection, St. Cloud State University, Maple Lake, Minnesota

Creator:: Winter, Raynold J., 1918-2008
Date Created:: 1989-02-19
Description:: This interview was conducted on February 19, 1989 by David Overy. Raynold John Winter was born March 15, 1918 in Watkins, Minnesota. He was drafted into the Army in 1941. His company trained in southern California as military police in the 506th MP Battalion and was assigned to guard Boulder Dam, which was later renamed Hoover Dam. His company, Company D, was reassigned to combat in Europe and retrained as infantry before being shipped overseas. Winter and many others were captured at the Battle of the Bulge. They became prisoners of war in Leipzig, Germany, where Winter was hospitalized for malnutrition before being liberated. Winter described how American planes bombed the prisoner camps and how American POWs got along with each other, the German guards, and French POWs. He was awarded the Bronze Star for his service. After the war, he married Catherine Klein of Watkins, where he worked for Kraft Foods. In 1958, they moved to Maple Lake, where he worked for Tem Tee Bakery. He became a member of the Northstar Baseball Hall of Fame as manager of the local Lakers team. Winters passed away at the age of 90 on December 2, 2008 at the VA Medical Center in St. Cloud and is buried in St. Anthony's Catholic Cemetery in Watkins. He was survived by Catherine, their six children, and many grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Contributing Institution:: St. Cloud State University
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59218. Interview with James A. Grunerud, World War II Veterans Collection, St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, Minnesota

Creator:: Grunerud, James A., 1917-2010
Date Created:: 1990-05-09 - 1990-06-06
Description:: This was an interview conducted on May 9 and June 6, 1990 by David Overy. James Grunerud was born on December 11, 1917 in Waseca, Minnesota. Shortly after his birth, his parents moved back to Saskatchewan, Canada, where he grew up on a farm. After graduating high school, he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Dragoons (First Armored Regiment) in 1940, shortly after the Battle of Dunkirk. Grunerud arrived in England during the height of the Battle of Britain and he described the aftermath of the Germans bombing an elementary school and a movie theatre filled with children. Gross was involved in military action in Sicily, Italy, France (D-Day), Germany, Belgium, and Holland. From September 1943 to May 1944, he saw action in Italy, including at Monte Cassino. He was wounded in action three times. Grunerud told of a visit to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp shortly after it was liberated. After the war was over and while waiting to be evacuated, Grunerud had the opportunity to travel in Europe.
Contributing Institution:: St. Cloud State University
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59219. Interview with Donald E. Anderson, World War II Veterans Collection, St. Cloud State University, Milaca, Minnesota

Creator:: Anderson, Donald E., 1922-1999
Date Created:: 1990-02-11
Description:: This was an interview conducted on February 11, 1990 by Richard Olsen. Donald E. Anderson was born on April 5, 1922 in Milaca, Minnesota. He joined the National Guard in 1939 at the age of 16. Anderson entered World War II assigned to the 34th Division Field Artillery and spent most of his service in North Africa and Italy. Anderson discussed his frustration with ninety-day wonders. Anderson also experienced taking German prisoners, as well as interacted with civilians in Italy. He was also present when the body of Mussolini was hanging from a building. After being discharged from service in 1945, Anderson opened a restaurant as well as worked as a postal worker. Anderson passed away on August 29, 1999 at the age of 77.
Contributing Institution:: St. Cloud State University
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59220. Interview with Norman J. Thomas, World War II Veterans Collection, St. Cloud State University, Sauk Rapids, Minnesota

Creator:: Thomas, Norman J., 1924-2006
Date Created:: 1990-01-28
Description:: This interview was conducted on January 28, 1990 by John Carter. Norman James Thomas was born February 29, 1924 in south Minneapolis. After graduating from Roosevelt High School in 1942, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps. He was deployed to the South Pacific with the 64th Troop Carrier Squadron and later the 13th Air Force Service Command Headquarters. He flew several types of airplanes, primarily C-47s, on 140 missions in Australia, New Guinea, the Dutch East Indies, the Solomon Islands, the Adele Islands, the Halmaheras, and the Ryukyus. In the Philippines, Thomas flew missions in support of the OSS what became the CIA and the Filipino resistance. Shortly after being discharged in January 1946, he met Marjory Brady, and the two were married on June 28, 1947. Thomas remained a reservist for five years after the war until finding a job as a corrections officer at the Minnesota Correctional Facility � St. Cloud. He worked there for thirty years and retired in 1979. After Marjory passed
Contributing Institution:: St. Cloud State University
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59221. Interview with Stewart Gross, World War II Veterans Collection, St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, Minnesota

Creator:: Gross, Stewart, 1921-2013
Date Created:: 1989-12-07
Description:: This was an interview conducted on December 7, 1989 by Nancy Baker. Stewart Gross was born in New England, North Dakota, on November 9, 1921. He moved to Minnesota when he was less than one-year old. He graduated from St. Cloud Technical High School in 1939 and enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corp, trained as a radio operator, in aerial gunnery, and basic navigation. Gross served in both the Pacific and European Theatres as a navigator/bombardier, first with the 20th Fighter Pursuit Group and 14th Fighter Group (China) in 1942-1943. While in China, Gross was shot down twice, once by anti-aircraft and the second time by Japanese fighters. Gross left China in November 1943, having flown 85-90 missions. Later in 1944 he served with the 321st Bomber Group (Italy, Corsica) and the 10th Bomb Division. Near the end of the war, he was transferred to the 15th Air Force. After the war, Gross re-enlisted and was stationed first in Garden City, Kansas, then later in Alaska with the 7th Weather Group. Gross left the military in May 1948. Gross passed away on December 25, 2013.
Contributing Institution:: St. Cloud State University
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59222. Interview with Clara Schrom Gruber, World War II Veterans Collection, St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, Minnesota

Creator:: Gruber, Clara Schrom, 1921-2002
Date Created:: 1989-12-07
Description:: This interview was conducted on December 7, 1989 by Nancy Baker. Clara Schrom Gruber was born in Albany, Minnesota, on July 3, 1921. After graduating high school in 1939, she enrolled in St. Cloud Hospital nurses training at Fort Leavenworth and Fort Riley, Kansas, finishing in 1942. In June 1943, Gruber entered the United States Army Nurse Corps as a first lieutenant. Gruber helped establish two general hospitals, one outside of London, the other near Glasgow, Scotland, where wounded soldiers were evacuated directly from the war zone. In addition to her nursing responsibilities Gruber described the German and Italian prisoners of war who were housed next to the hospital in Glasgow. Upon discharge from the Army in December 1945, Gruber returned to St. Cloud and worked as a private nurse at the St. Cloud Hospital. In 1946, she married Roland Gruber, a paratrooper during World War II, and they raised five children. She worked as a registered nurse at the St. Cloud VA Hospital from 1967 until she retired in 1981. In this interview Gruber also discussed her nurses training at the St. Cloud Hospital and being encouraged to enlist by one of the doctors, the benefits of having served, and life after returning to St. Cloud. Gruber passed away on July 5, 2002.
Contributing Institution:: St. Cloud State University
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59223. Interview with John Voth, World War II Veterans Collection, St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, Minnesota

Creator:: Voth, John, 1921-2013
Date Created:: 1988 - 1993
Description:: This was an interview conducted by David Overy. John Voth was born on February 9, 1921 in Fair Haven, Minnesota. After graduating from St. Cloud Technical High School in 1939, Voth attended St. Cloud Teachers College until volunteering for duty in World War II with the Army Air Corps on October 6, 1942. Voth had experience as a pilot prior to his war years, which led him to the Air Corps. Voth spent time in the south as well as in Minnesota training pilots before moving to airplane maintenance. Voth detailed how students were trained and typical reasons they would washout of school. After the war, Voth owned the St. Cloud Hobby Shop as well as earned his Doctoral Degree in Industrial Education. He taught at both Hutchinson and Sartell High Schools as well as the Minnesota State Reformatory. He was an inductee in the Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame. He was married to Adeline (Dickie) Dickinson and they had two children, Diane and John. Voth concluded the interview by stating he estimate
Contributing Institution:: St. Cloud State University
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59224. Interview with Keith Trimble, World War II Veterans Collection, St. Cloud State University, Milaca, Minnesota

Creator:: Trimble, Keith, 1915?-1991?
Date Created:: 1990-02-18
Description:: This interview was conducted on February 18, 1990 by Richard Olson. Keith Trimble was born in Agenda, Kansas and joined the National Guard at the age of 15 by lying on the enrollment form. He went overseas to France in 1943 and worked with Headquarters Company in France during World War II as counter intelligence. Trimble was shot during combat and was put into a Prisoner of War (POW) hospital. After American forces bombed the hospital, Trimble and other patients made an escape towards the woods nearby. Trimble was also involved in the Battle of the Bulge and earned a bronze star for running communications through combat zones.
Contributing Institution:: St. Cloud State University
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59225. Interview with Herbert Blad, World War II Veterans Collection, St. Cloud State University, Hector, Minnesota

Creator:: Blad, Herbert, 1920-1997
Date Created:: 1990-04-07
Description:: This was an interview conducted on April 7, 1990 by David Overy. Herbert Blad was born on January 12, 1920. He joined the Army on March 22, 1942 and served as a 60mm mortarman in the 32nd Infantry, 7th Division. Blad primarily spent World War II in the Pacific theater, where he participated in the Aleutians, Kwajalein, Leyte, and Okinawa campaigns. One of the most shocking things Blad witnessed was the treatment of native civilians by the Japanese military which included mass slaughter and use of civilians for bayonet practice. Blad described an incident when a kamikaze pilot struck the ship he was on, sending one man overboard. World War II concluded with Blad stationed on Okinawa, but he was sent to Pusan, Korea to police the area until the Japanese troops left. He was discharged on November 15, 1945. Blad concluded the interview with his thoughts on those draft-dodging Vietnam, and how he felt they did not appreciate America by their actions. Blad passed away on December 27, 1997.
Contributing Institution:: St. Cloud State University
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59226. Interview with Donald O. Davis, World War II Veterans Collection, St. Cloud State University, Bloomington, Minnesota

Creator:: Davis, Donald O.
Date Created:: 1990-05-07
Description:: This was an interview conducted on May 7, 1990 by John Carter. Donald Davis enlisted in 1942 to serve as a cadet with the Army Air Corps as a pilot. Davis participated in the College Training Detachment (CTD) in Utah. The majority of his time was spent stateside, flying trainers and fighter aircraft. This program exposed Davis to flight testing, and went to Tulare, California for pilot training in a Boeing Stearman bi-wing airplane. While in training, Davis earned the rank of flight officer and wore a blue bar. Three days prior to the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Davis arrived in Spain to assist in pilot training to fight against Japanese forces. Davis was discharged in October 1945 after two and a half years of service. Davis attended the University of Minnesota and graduated with a journalism degree. He worked various jobs within the water conditioning business until retirement. He married later in life. He concluded the interview by stating his favorite plane to fly was the AT-6.
Contributing Institution:: St. Cloud State University
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59227. Interview with Stanley Biniek, World War II Veterans Collection, St. Cloud State University, Foley, Minnesota

Creator:: Biniek, Stanley, 1912-2008
Date Created:: 1992-01-019
Description:: This was an interview conducted on January 19, 1992 by Karen Wenz. Stanley Biniek was born in Raczyce, Poland on November 3, 1912. Biniek and his family were separated in 1939 into concentration camps by the German Army. Biniek recalled witnessing prisoners being sent to killing chambers and the side effects of those on the camps water supply. Biniek spent over three years in Buchenwald before escaping with two other prisoners. After 72 days of travel, Biniek made it safely to Luxembourg, where he married his wife Victoria Adaszak in 1948. Biniek and his wife moved to Minnesota in 1952, and he worked for Woodcraft Industries and St. Regis Paper Mill. He had two daughters and one son. Biniek passed away on June 7, 2008 in Foley, Minnesota.
Contributing Institution:: St. Cloud State University
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59228. Interview with Bohn E. Fawkes, World War II Veterans Collection, St. Cloud State University

Creator:: Fawkes, Bohn E., 1919-2007
Date Created:: 1988 - 1993
Description:: This was an interview conducted in the late 1980s to early 1990s by John Carter. Bohn E. Fawkes was born on September 2, 1919 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was part of the ROTC program when World War II began, and was called to active duty initially in antiaircraft battery, but he took up the opportunity to attend flight school and be a pilot. Fawkes was a B-17 pilot with the 8th Air Force and participated in bombing raids on a manufacturing facility at Schweinfurt, Stuttgart, and Hamburg in Germany. He flew 25 missions before returning to the United States. Fawkes was stationed at Rapid City Airbase in South Dakota as a B-17 flight instructor, and eventually transferred to a B-29 training instructor in Fairmount, Nebraska. Fawkes left the military in 1962 to become a stock broker. He passed away on February 17, 2007 and is buried in Fort Snelling National Cemetery.
Contributing Institution:: St. Cloud State University
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59229. Interview with Edward T. Haats, World War II Veterans Collection, St. Cloud State University, Willmar, Minnesota

Creator:: Haats, Edward T., 1914-1999
Date Created:: 1990-01-20
Description:: This interview was conducted on January 20, 1990 by David Overy. Edward T. Haats was born on February 21, 1914, in Raymond, Minnesota. He entered the military as part of the Army's 105th Infantry Division in 1942. He served in the Medical Corp Detachment. Haats saw action in Saipan and was wounded in battle on July 8, 1944. Haats told of several events he observed where Japanese military and civilians committing suicide rather than surrender. Haats was wounded on July 8, 1944, the day he said that Saipan was secured. Haats was discharged from the military on April 5, 1945, and returned to Minnesota. Haats and his wife, Muriel P. Sell, owned and operated several businesses in Echo and Winthrop, Minnesota. Haats died on January 14, 1999.
Contributing Institution:: St. Cloud State University
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59230. Interviews with Laura Carson Moore, Ralph Carson, and Carson family members, Beltrami County Historical Society Oral History Collection, Bemidji, Minnesota

Creator:: Moore, Laura Carson; Carson, Ralph
Date Created:: 1964-08-17
Description:: The first part of the interview features Laura Carson Moore, daughter of El and Mary Carson and granddaughter of Chief Bemidji. Moore talks about her parents' names, when and where she was born, how her parents met, her family, her childhood, her family's move to Texas, how she met her husband, their golden wedding anniversary, her Ojibwe grandparents, her grandfather drinking, trying to find their homestead, her Carson grandparents, her pet deer, her grandchildren, any artifacts she owns, and how quickly her mother forgot the Ojibwe language. The second part of the interview features Moore's cousin, Ralph Carson. Carson dicusses his history, his early memories fishing, his aunt Jessie Carson Spain and her family, his father's pet bears, and his father stealing feathers out of Chief Bemidji's headdress. Other people during the interview include Moore's husband, William Moore, their daughter Eva Mae Moore Long, Carson's wife Grace White Carson, and a secondary interviewer possibly Theo Johnson. The final part of the recording features Ralph Carson, son of Evan Carson. Carson discusses family stories of his grandmother, Susannah Carson, scaring away a bear and making bread from horse feed; family artifacts; and his family history in newspaper work. Other people present during the interview include his cousin Laura Carson Moore, her husband William Moore, their daughter Eva Mae Moore Long, and a secondary interviewer, possibly Theo Johnson. Carson's wife, Grace White Carson, also briefly speaks about her own family; her memories of Susannah Carson, and two of Susannah Carson's platters.
Contributing Institution:: Beltrami County Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59231. Interview with John G. Morrison, Jr., Part 3, Beltrami County Historical Society Oral History Collection, Bemidji, Minnesota

Creator:: Morrison, Jr., John G.
Date Created:: 1950 - 1959
Description:: John G. Morrison, Jr., discusses the location of the Ponemah school, meeting his wife, Edith E. MacArthur; arriving at Ponemah school; the struggle to get the school supplied and started; about smallpox epidemic around 1901; a battle between Ojibwe and Sioux tribes; what the schoolchildren wore; how Ponemah got its name; a federal lawsuit he filed; his father's store and business practices; his allotment and homestead; and swamp land. In the second portion of the recording, Morrison and a small group of unidentified others discusss his own homestead and ditching around Upper red Lake.
Contributing Institution:: Beltrami County Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59232. Interview with Gus A. Anderson, Beltrami County Historical Society Oral History Collection, Bemidji, Minnesota

Creator:: Anderson, Gus A.
Date Created:: 1950 - 1959
Description:: The interview is with a man, probably Gus A. Anderson. A woman is also present, possibly a niece. Anderson discusses when he first came up into the Bigfork area for hunting; coming up to claim a homestead with a friend in 1902; how he made money while proving up; the lumber camps he worked for; early Canadians driving the Big Fork River; Busticogan helping ill surveyors; who was logging the Bigfork area in the early 1900s; a hoist at Craig; the Farm Camp logging camp; how they got supplies; where sawmills were; and logging his own timber.
Contributing Institution:: Beltrami County Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59233. Interview with an unidentified lumberman Crookston's Lumber Company, Beltrami County Historical Society Oral History Collection, Bemidji, Minnesota

Date Created:: 1950 - 1959
Description:: An unidentified man discusses when he began working for the Crookston Lumber Company's railroad; the Island Lake railroad; going back and forth to short railroad jobs; the spur to Island Lake; the siding at Spaulding; the trestle near August Becker's house; early Holt; and people he worked with. In Part 2 he recounts a Y in the railroad at Kelliher; hauling logs from the Battle River; where Crookston Lumber Company had a camp near Waskish; hauling logs out of Blackduck Lake; an argument with a straw boss at the Taft II spur; and various railroads and projects.
Contributing Institution:: Beltrami County Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59234. Interview with Charles William Vandersluis, Part 2, Beltrami County Historical Society Oral History Collection, Bemidji, Minnesota

Creator:: Vandersluis, Charles William
Date Created:: 1950 - 1959
Description:: Dr. Vandersluis interviews his father, Charles William Vandersluis. Vandersluis discusses a man named Dick Palmer, who had a saloon; when Dick shot a man; when Fred Wightman had his pocketbook stolen at a boarding house; the popularity of gambling; gamblers leaving Bemidji for Nevada in 1915; singer Hank Underwood; when Solway burned down; Sieb Vandersluis, who was a printer in Solway; when Ernie [Flemming or Plummer?]'s logs freed themselves after three years; how Ernie Flemming met his wife; how Ernie made money; a man whose horses froze in Lake Winnibigoshish; how Ernie's daughter got sick with a painful skin ailment; making trips to Canada [to get liquor?]; Joe Markham selling his hotel, then digging a hole to pretend he was building another; Fred Brinkman turning his hotel into a theater; a series of theaters; serving on the building committee for the Elks building; Ernie Flemming helping finance the building; Al Jester and his resort; S. D. [Werks?] bringing in sheep; the area of Guthrie; changes to the city hall building when he was mayor; his memories of Buena Vista; and whether Bemidji put up money to have the terminal of the Red Lake, Minneapolis and Manitoba Railroad.
Contributing Institution:: Beltrami County Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59235. Interview with Louis Otterstad, Beltrami County Historical Society Oral History Collection, Bemidji, Minnesota

Creator:: Otterstad, Louis
Date Created:: 1952-06-23
Description:: Otterstad recounts when he first came to Beltrami County; his recollections on early Bemidji and its settlers, early Fosston, Leech Lake-Red Lake trail used by Native Americans, early mills, steamboats, homsteading, log transportation on Mississippi River, and Tom Joy.
Contributing Institution:: Beltrami County Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59236. Interview with Wellington G. Schroeder, Beltrami County Historical Society Oral History Collection, Bemidji, Minnesota

Creator:: Schroeder, Wellington G.
Date Created:: 1950 - 1957
Description:: Wellington G. Schroeder discusses his building on Third Street; other buildings that were standing when he built it; his recollection of Guy Remore; the area called Moose; selling out to his brother and starting his own store; early livery barns; some immoral business going on in town, possibly prostitution; how strong he was; a dispute with a man over a bridge; his homestead on Lake Hattie; when he began farming; making a profit in the corn market and flour; building the Winter Block; his idea to introduce hydroelectric power; buying up land along the river; the first electric light plant; going into business with the Warfields; constructing the dam; local brick-making; and being injured in a train wreck.
Contributing Institution:: Beltrami County Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59237. Interview with Father Thomas Borgerding, Part 1, Beltrami County Historical Society Oral History Collection, Bemidji, Minnesota

Creator:: Borgerding, Father Thomas
Date Created:: 1956-07-10
Description:: Father Thomas Borgerding discusses where he was born; where his parents came from; his family; when and why they came to Minnesota; his first school in Minnesota; the national secularization of public schools; what languages they spoke at school; his years at St. John's University; training for the priesthood; about his order; going to his first parish at Millerville; his abbott appointing him to mission work; first arrival at Red Lake; and their first church building, the nuns who first came to Red Lake; the nuns' first attempt at a day school in 1888; where the Ojibwe families had sugar camps; financial assistance from the Drexel sisters; whether the church owned its land; how they got lumber to build church buildings; the other government school; the role of missionaries in ""civilizing"" Native Americans; changes in school funding over time; the school's dairy farm; and his role at the school.
Contributing Institution:: Beltrami County Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59238. Interview with Father Thomas Borgerding, Part 3, Beltrami County Historical Society Oral History Collection, Bemidji, Minnesota

Creator:: Borgerding, Father Thomas
Date Created:: 1956 - 1959
Description:: Father Thomas Borgerding discusses the first year of the boarding school; enforcing the English-only rule among students; translating letters for people; disease; early doctors; Ojibwe healers; how old the Red Lake settlement was; wildfires; timber on the reservation; other missionaries; how many people spoke English when he arrived; local chiefs; and the Moose Dung section of Thief River Falls and the legal battle around it; lumber drives on the Thief River and Clearwater River; early Redby; the Red Lake Minneapolis and Manitoba Railroad; early Buena Vista; the Red Lake-Leech Lake trail by canoe; his visit to Leech Lake; where Bugonaygeshig lived; his memory of the Battle of Sugar Point; and his opinion of the character of the Red Lake Ojibwe.
Contributing Institution:: Beltrami County Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59239. Interview with Euclid "Ernie" Bourgeois, Beltrami County Historical Society Oral History Collection, Bemidji, Minnesota

Creator:: Bourgeois, Euclid (Ernie)
Date Created:: 1950 - 1959
Description:: This is the recording of a presentation on the history of music in Minnesota presented by an anonymous person. The presenter speaks about music history, sings a song arranged by Frances Densmore in some way representing Ojibwe music, sings a French Canadian voyageur song, and sings a song dating to territorial Minnesota arranged by Bessie Stanchfield called "The Beauty of the West" with the audience joining in. The final part of the recording seems to be Dr. Charles Vandersluis showing the recording device to his family or a private group. This record contains parts of multiple interviews. Please refer to the transcripts for help understanding these.
Contributing Institution:: Beltrami County Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59240. Recording of joint meeting between Chippewa Region Historical Society and Beltrami County Historical Society, Bemidji, Minnesota

Creator:: Chippewa Region Historical Society; Beltrami County Historical Society
Date Created:: 1952-11-11
Description:: The recording is a joint meeting of the Chippewa Region Historical Society and BCHS on Oct 11, 1952, at the Catholic High School; Dr. Charles Vandersluis provides the initial voiceover; a woman talks about two Ojibwe women she knew who were students at a boarding school; a man speaks about the Ojibwe men who studied under Bishop Whipple; another man speaks about Joseph Renville; John G. Morrison, Jr., speaks about the Battle at Sugar Point. This record contains parts of multiple interviews. Please refer to the transcripts for help understanding these.
Contributing Institution:: Beltrami County Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59241. Interview with Father Thomas Borgerding, Part 2, Beltrami County Historical Society Oral History Collection, Bemidji, Minnesota

Creator:: Borgerding, Father Thomas
Date Created:: 1950 - 1959
Description:: Borgerding discusses early non-Catholic churches in the Red Lake area, the Red Lake-Leech Lake Trail, early mills in the Redby area, Moose Dung and the legal battle among his heirs over his land at Thief River Falls, his acquaintance with the Meehan brothers, steamboats on Red Lake, his acquaintance with Joe Jerome, his acquaintance with Bob Neving and his wife, his knowledge of Father Gilfillan, the Episcopal mission west of Cass Lake and the couple who lived there, and biographical information about Father Roman Homar and his great-uncle, Father Pierz.
Contributing Institution:: Beltrami County Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59242. Interview with Charles William Vandersluis, Part 3, Beltrami County Historical Society Oral History Collection, Bemidji, Minnesota

Creator:: Vandersluis, Charles William
Date Created:: 1950 - 1959
Description:: This is the recording of a presentation on the history of music in Minnesota presented by an anonymous person. The presenter speaks about music history, sings a song arranged by Frances Densmore in some way representing Ojibwe music, sings a French Canadian voyageur song, and sings a song dating to territorial Minnesota arranged by Bessie Stanchfield called "The Beauty of the West" with the audience joining in. The final part of the recording seems to be Dr. Charles Vandersluis showing the recording device to his family or a private group. This record contains parts of multiple interviews. Please refer to the transcripts for help understanding these.
Contributing Institution:: Beltrami County Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59243. Recording of John G. Morrison, Jr., birthday celebration, Beltrami County Historical Society Oral History Collection, Bemidji, Minnesota

Creator:: Morrison, Jr., John G.
Date Created:: 1963
Description:: The recording is a 90th birthday celebration for John G. Morrison, Jr., probably featuring members of the Beltrami County Historical Society. Morrison's birthday was October 30, 1963; he died less than three months later. The recording may have been made by Dr. Charles Vandersluis. This record contains parts of multiple interviews. Please refer to the transcripts for help understanding these.
Contributing Institution:: Beltrami County Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59244. Interview with Niels Hakkerup, Beltrami County Historical Society Oral History Collection, Bemidji, Minnesota

Creator:: Hakkerup, Niels
Date Created:: 1953-12
Description:: Photographer Niels Hakkerup discusses how he first came to Bemidji; his acquaintance with Chief Bemidji; taking photographs in lumber camps; his first studio on Third Street; where he got his equipment and training; photographing the Catholic church on Third Street; doing corporate work; burning his hand with magnesium; photographing lumberjacks; and a popular photograph of old John Smith. Hakkerup then discusses a photograph of Little Cloud published in the Minneapolis Journal; Charles W. Vandersluis interjects with a story about Long John dying of diphtheria; an award-winning photo of Mrs. Danielson; other award-winning photographs; a photograph of a young Ojibwe man standing on the shore with his bow in the air; and the lumber waste of undersized trees. He also identies a number of phograph subjects. One background speaker might be Dr. Vandersluis's father, Charles W. Vandersluis. At one point. Dr. Vandersluis addresses his brother, Angus.
Contributing Institution:: Beltrami County Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59245. Interview with Euclid "Ernie" Bourgeois, Beltrami County Historical Society Oral History Collection, Bemidji, Minnesota

Creator:: Bourgeois, Euclid (Ernie)
Date Created:: 1952-06
Description:: Four part interview with surveyor Euclid "Ernie" Bourgeois discusses the logging industry, S.C. Bagley, spur 75, Red Lake steamers, platting and civil engineering, recollections of Farley and Turtle River, histories of local railroads, Markham Hotel, and early Bemidji saloons' involvement with railroads. In part 2, Bourgeois discusses his early memories of Bemidji and Buena Vista, early Bemidji infrastructure, platting and civil engineering, Marcus D. Stoner, the town site of Turtle, and his work on spur 75. In later portions, Bourgeois discusses the evaluation of local land for dairy production and/or clover or seed; logging on Clearwater River; his experience with the Brainerd Lumber Company near LaSalle Lake and log unloading during winter; whether logs were driven on the Mississippi; spreading clover seed on drive to Baudette; name of cruisers for whom creeks might be named; knowledge of surveyor Thomas H. Croswell, plats of small settlements in the area; naming of Buena Vista and plats of Tenstrike, Hidewood, Kelliher, Funkley, and Dexter; the Red Lake Transportation Company; how Bemidji business owners chipped in to induce a railroad to come to town; surveying for a railroad near the Blakeslee farm; breaking out to survey on his own; recollection of the Delphine post office; the Red Lake-Leech Lake trail; early history of Lavinia; platted communities of Jens Opsahl; early history of Grand Forks Bay; and comparing old Nebish to modern Nebish.
Contributing Institution:: Beltrami County Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59246. Interview with Charles Wight, Part 2, Beltrami County Historical Society Oral History Collection, Bemidji, Minnesota

Creator:: Wight, Charles
Date Created:: 1955 - 1956
Description:: Charlie Wight discusses first meeting the McAllister brothers; cruising Balsam Lake with McAllister; his memories of a woodsman named William Taft; the Taft spurs; a spur from Red Lake to Lake Julia and the logging around Lake Julia; hoisting logs out of Mud Lake; what determined whether a company would trestle or hoist logs; Scanlon-Gipson operations around Little Turtle Lake in 1901-1902; his acquaintance with Dave Conners; Irwin and O'Brien landing logs in Whitefish Lake; where lumber was sawed; the first road into Funkley; whether he saw any Native Americans living around Bemidji early on; whether he noticed old native trails; the names of different portages; scouting out homesteads; early logging by the Keewatin Company; the equipment his outfit used on their trips; trying to find a folding-up oven to demonstrate baking biscuits; the length of his first cruising trip; where else he cruised; how Weyerhaeuser moved his timber to Little Falls; the type of ties used for an inland logging railroad; the operation at Cross Lake; how moving logs by rail is like portaging; the amount of timber in the Cross Lake area; who he worked for after leaving Weyerhaeuser and Billy Woods; buying his own timber; losing almost everything in the Panic of 1932; about his family; what he did after the panic; his knowledge of Billy Woods; and his method of cruising. Then Wight discusses how he burnt slash; trying to talk another cruiser out of burning in poor conditions; how state policies hindered safe burning conditions; claims that were heavily timbered, and buyers who sold low; cruising for Clerk of Court Rasmussen; his health; a tree scale table by Frank Hasty; Frank Hasty; his sight; where the best timber was; whether you drive timber from Clearwater to Winnipeg in a year; Eau Claire area timer companies; the interviewer briefly tells about Weyerhaeuser difficulties north of Grand Rapids; Wight's visit at Cloquet; value of stumpage. This record contains parts of multiple interviews. Please refer to the transcripts for help understanding these.
Contributing Institution:: Beltrami County Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59247. Interview with Kate (Mrs. John) Hines Erickson, Beltrami County Historical Society Oral History Collection, Bemidji, Minnesota

Creator:: Erickson, Kate (Mrs. John) Hines
Date Created:: 1950 - 1959
Description:: Kate Hines Erickson is interviewed by an unknown man with Dr. Charles Vandersluis present. Vandersluis refers to man with something rhyming with "rig," possibly Marvin J. Briggs of the Bemidji Pioneer. Erickson discusses where her parents were from and when and where they settled; how her uncle conceived of the Farmer-Hines Railroad; her recollection of the land as a child; her early work for the Crookston Lumber Company; being transferred to Shevlin-Hixon at Blind River, Ontario; whether she remembered the Bemidji mill; the 1924 fire at the Bemidji mill; where lumber milled at Bemidji came from; working for Weyerhaeuser for 9 years; how much lumber Minnesota produced; where Leonard Carpenter might be; how the plant's closing affected Bemdiji; jobs that she said native people preferred; how the Canadian lumber company hired eastern Europeans to build the mill; and Finnish nobility who came to Canada to learn the trade. This record contains parts of multiple interviews. Please refer to the transcripts for help understanding these.
Contributing Institution:: Beltrami County Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59248. Interview with John G. Morrison, Jr., Part 4, Beltrami County Historical Society Oral History Collection, Bemidji, Minnesota

Creator:: Morrison, Jr., John G.
Date Created:: 1950 - 1959
Description:: John G. Morrison, Jr. describes grand medicine item; how Fosston relocated; about Beaulieu family; family relative being near Hole-in-the-Day when he died; father's friendship with Hole-in-the-Day; death of Helen MacArthur and lynching; Red River Trail; Red and Leech Lake trails; other local trails; getting supplies to Ponemah School; how Ojibwe handled being responsible for a death; and style of houses around Ponemah in 1900. This record contains parts of multiple interviews. Please refer to the transcripts for help understanding these.
Contributing Institution:: Beltrami County Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59249. Interview with Charles William Vandersluis, Part 1, Beltrami County Historical Society Oral History Collection, Bemidji, Minnesota

Creator:: Vandersluis, Charles William
Date Created:: 1950 - 1959
Description:: The recording is Dr. Charles Vandersluis interviewing his father, Charles W. Vandersluis (CWV). Vandersluis (CWV) talks about his own father's work as an interpreter at a St. Cloud hardware store; the Red River carts going through St. Cloud; his parents, grandparents, and siblings; their house in St. Cloud; and log drives on the Mississippi. This record contains parts of multiple interviews. Please refer to the transcripts for help understanding these.
Contributing Institution:: Beltrami County Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59250. Interview with Father Thomas Borgerding, Part 5, Beltrami County Historical Society Oral History Collection, Bemidji, Minnesota

Creator:: Borgerding, Father Thomas
Date Created:: 1950 - 1959
Description:: Thomas Borgerding talks about the logging industry. This record contains parts of multiple interviews. Please refer to the transcripts for help understanding these.
Contributing Institution:: Beltrami County Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59251. Interview with John G. Morrison, Jr., Part 6, Beltrami County Historical Society Oral History Collection, Bemidji, Minnesota

Creator:: Morrison, Jr., John G.
Date Created:: 1950 - 1959
Description:: John G. Morrison, Jr., discusses a canoe trail to Winnipeg; part of a voyageur's travel account, explaining why General Pike mislabeled the source of the Mississippi; his ancestors' voyageur activity; some of his siblings' birthplaces; what Red Lake was like in 1893; a "beau gang" or hobos; how Ponemah got its name; stopping place owner Truman Warren and his wife; the distances between cities and stopping places; the area known as Fowlds; steamboats on Red Lake; the Nelson Act; and the origins of the Red Lake Game Preserve. Morrison then discusses the origins of the Red Lake Game Preserve; A. E. Andrews' model farm north of Waskish and boat service for settlers; ditch liens; how Native American land was settled after the Nelson Act; how timber companies worked together to buy cheaper timber land; Page Morris's effort to move from estimators to bank scales; how lumber companies took advantage of settlers selling timber; Native Americans who had lived around Lake of the Woods; whether the people at Pembina were Ojibwe; the Ojibwe reservations; trust patents; whether Allan Jourdain loaned an old Hudson Bay building to the Catholic school; how they kept a fire burning overnight while hauling freight; logging on the Mud River; the Meehans' logging activities; and Episcopal missionaries. This record contains parts of multiple interviews. Please refer to the transcripts for help understanding these.
Contributing Institution:: Beltrami County Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59252. Interview with Reverend Samuel Blair, Beltrami County Historical Society Oral History Collection, Bemidji, Minnesota

Creator:: Blair, Reverend Samuel
Date Created:: 1952 - 1953
Description:: Reverend Samuel Blair discusses when and how he first came to Bemidji; what Bemidji looked like when he arrived; the service he held the first night he arrived; the timeline of his work; the first Presbyterian church in Bemidji; patroness Mrs. Cyrus H. McCormick; the first ministers; services in tents; his memories of Chief Bemidji; memories of Reverend Frank Higgins; his service in Buena Vista; his service in Nebish; the Presbyterian church in Kelliher; Higgins' sled dogs; and the Bemidji overreaction to the uprising at Leech Lake. In the next part of the recording, Blair discusses his recollection of Moose; when Malzahn building was finished; when the Northern Hotel was finished; the territories that he and Dr. Adams covered; whether any Sunday Schools have persisted without parent churches; how modern roads are changing church-going habits; why he quit the American Sunday School Union; his personal background; his blacksmith work in lumber camps; and working his way through Moody Institute. This record contains parts of multiple interviews. Please refer to the transcripts for help understanding these.
Contributing Institution:: Beltrami County Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59253. Interview with Harry Carson, Earl Geil, Carl Warner, and an unidentified man, Beltrami County Historical Society Oral History Collection, Bemidi, Minnesota

Creator:: Carson, Harry; Geil, Earl; Warner, Carl
Date Created:: 1950 - 1959
Description:: There are at least four men in the group being interviewed, including Harry Carson and Earl Geil, and a man named Warner, probably Carl Warner. Quote attributed to "unkown" may refer to more than one man. One of the unidentified men could be a brother of Geil's, possibly Harry Geil. The group discusses the names of Chief Bemidji's children; the relationship between the Carsons and Chief Bemidji; a man named Hinch sketching Chief Bemidji for a statue; coming to Bemidji before the mill started; whether early Bemidji was safe for women; when the Geil family came to Bemidji; the Geils freighting for the Carsons; the Geils building a house; Geil and McTaggart purchasing the Remore Hotel; about Guy Remore; running the Remore Hotel; fleas, lice and bedbugs; the Markham Hotel; settlers who were in Bemidji before the Geils; hauling in a boiler from Park Rapids; working at the Steidl mills; the Swedback mill; about Warner's travels from North Dakota by covered wagon; Earl Geil stopping Willis Brannon's runaway team; their memories of the local panic about the Leech Lake uprising; when a group of Ojibwe raided a liquor delivery; the mission between Lake Andrusia and Cass Lake; the city opera house; early doctors, hospitals, and smallpox; the origin of the Bemidji fire department; and the fire on Whiskey Row. This record contains parts of multiple interviews. Please refer to the transcripts for help understanding these.
Contributing Institution:: Beltrami County Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59254. Interview with John Van House, Beltrami County Historical Society Oral History Collection, Bemidji, Minnesota

Creator:: Van House, John
Date Created:: 1955
Description:: Van House recalls businesses in Kelliher, Cann and Whitting, Beltrami Timber Company, toting freight from Solway to Red Lake, homestead rush after reservation opening, Bob Nevins, and many various lumber companies and their camps in the Kelliher area; Joe Jerome's post office at Battle River; when he homesteaded; the locations of Craig's Hotel, Linnon's saloon, and other saloons and businesses in Kelliher; a flowing well near Foy; and the steamboat Dahlburg, on which he ran the engine for three years. The woman speaking in the interview is probably is his wife, Catherine Van House. This record contains parts of multiple interviews. Please refer to the transcripts for help understanding these.
Contributing Institution:: Beltrami County Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59255. Interview with John G. Morrison, Jr., Part 2, Beltrami County Historical Society Oral History Collection, Bemidji, Minnesota

Creator:: Morrison, Jr., John G.
Date Created:: 1950 - 1959
Description:: Morrison discusses his arrival at the Ponemah school; orders from the agency to break up Native American customs; a smallpox epidemic at Ponemah; and a doctor teaching him to pull teeth, establishing a post office at Ponemah; a storm that left a windfall of trees in the early 1900s; memories of Billy Burce; the dock at Ponemah; vaccinating people against smallpox; the lack of law and order; steamboats and other boats on Red Lake; A. E. Andrews' attempts to settle Upper Red Lake; Morrison's opinion of how the government handles its interactions with Native Americans; gardening habits of the Red Lake Ojibwe; the decline of basket weaving and beadwork on the Red Lake Reservation; local produce theft; his opinion on compelling families to garden; his opinion on the work ethic of Native Americans; and his opinion on the quality of education provided to Native American children; his opinions about reducing economic support for Native Americans; resources available to Native Americans on the reservations; the fishing industry on the Red Lake Reservation; early staff members at the Ponemah school; his store, Chippewa Trading, at Red Lake; early law enforcement on the reservation; his time as a traveling salesman; his time at Nett Lake; his time at Onigum, including WPA work; whether Native Americans can get jobs; Native American population in the Twin Cities, and the regulations and challenges for traders on reservations. This record contains parts of multiple interviews. Please refer to the transcripts for help understanding these.
Contributing Institution:: Beltrami County Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59256. Interview with Charlie Wight and unknown others, Beltrami County Historical Society Oral History Collection, Bemidji, Minnesota

Creator:: Wight, Charlie
Date Created:: 1950 - 1959
Description:: The recording is an interview with Charlie Wight and unidentified others. Due to glitches in the recording, the content is disjointed, but includes some discussion of snowshoes and possibly horse bridles. This record contains parts of multiple interviews. Please refer to the transcripts for help understanding these.
Contributing Institution:: Beltrami County Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59257. Interview with Sam Dolgaard, Beltrami County Historical Society Oral History Collection, Bemidji, Minnesota

Creator:: Dolgaard, Sam
Date Created:: 1950 - 1959
Description:: The recording is a multi-part interview with Sam Dolgaard, early resident of Saum area. Dolgaard talks about the location of Saum, the Matsons donating land for a school; Matson's sawmill; the election of 1903; the names of various Saum residents; whether Foy had a Post office; and starting a post office at Saum; scouting out his land prior to homesteading; arriving at Battle River, where Joe Jerome had a store and post office; his work contracting with logging companies; switching to work in scaling; building the Battle River dam; where he got materials to build his house; working for the Thief River Falls Lumber Company; wildfires; his recollection of J. J. Upsahl; timber moving from Funkley to Kelliher by railroad; the cedar business; how Kelliher got its name; early residents of Woodrow and Battle townships; what the area looked like when he arrived; getting merchandise from Golden and Thompson in Blackduck; what livestock they brought to Saum; and early schools. This record contains parts of multiple interviews. Please refer to the transcripts for help understanding these.
Contributing Institution:: Beltrami County Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59258. Interview with an unknown lumberman #1 working near Grand Forks, Beltrami County Historical Society Oral History Collection, Bemidji, Minnesota

Date Created:: 1950 - 1959
Description:: The recording is an interview with an unkown lumberman who worked near Grand Forks. This record contains parts of multiple interviews. Please refer to the transcripts for help understanding these.
Contributing Institution:: Beltrami County Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59259. Interview with Evan Carson, Jack and Vera Falls, and Mary and Eva Carson family, Part 1, 1953, Beltrami County Historical Society Oral History Collection, Bemidji, Minnesota

Creator:: Carson, Joseph Evan; Falls, Jack; Falls, Vera; Carson, Mary; Carson, Eva
Date Created:: 1953-03
Description:: The first part of the recording is a group interview with Joseph Evan Carson and family. Those speaking include Evan Carson; his wife Jennie (Newell) Carson; their daughter Leonore (Carson) Gardner; and Leonore's husband, Gordon Gardener. They discuss Chief Bemidji's real name; where Chief Bemidji's family went to after Bemidji started to grow; Chief Bemidji's children; Chief Bemidji's death; the Carson Brothers' trading posts and how they started; Jessie Carson hauling mail and El Carson as first postmaster; the Carsons' homesteads; Bemidji's first school; the first brickyard; a Bemidji swimming hole; Harry Geil's dairy; who owned Bemidji townsite; Evan Carson learning printing business; origins of Beltrami Eagle; Mrs. Carson building a hotel; where Willis Brannon had his first hardware store; early schools and teachers; Mrs. Carson selling out to Charlie [Miles?]; and Evan Carson's pet bear cubs. Then members of Evan Carson family record greetings to family of Mary Carson. The next part of the recording is an interview with Jack and Vera Falls of Mission, Texas. They discuss a group of photos; Bank of Bemidji; Charlie Schroeder and his building; when Vera began teaching and her schoolhouse. They discuss a group of photos; what Charlie Schroeder's business sold; early Bemidji fire department and loss of Rex Hotel; Vera's family arrival in Bemidji; memories of John Smith; beginning of Falls and Cameron Store; where Vera taught school; the town pump in Bemidji; and the background of Judge Spooner. The final portion of the recording is an interview with Mary Carson, widow of El and daughter of Chief Bemidji, with her daughter, Eva Carson Woodson. Carson discusses where Chief Bemidji was born; who her brothers and sisters were; whether there was a Native American village on the south shore of Lake Bemidji; where they lived in summer and winter; what foods her family ate; making maple sugar; her father making canoes; how they harvested rice; why Chief Bemidji went to the eventual Bemidji area; the first white settlers; what they bought from the Carson brothers; when she was born and where she was registered; how much they got for rice, sugar, and hides; whether her brother Canoe took over after her father's death; a group of photographs; and about Eva's schoolhouse. This record contains parts of multiple interviews. Please refer to the transcripts for help understanding these.
Contributing Institution:: Beltrami County Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59260. Collections Tour 2 with John G. Morrison, Jr., Beltrami County Historical Society Oral History Collection, Bemidji, Minnesota

Creator:: Morrison, Jr., John G.
Date Created:: 1963
Description:: The recording is John G. Morrison, Jr., providing a tour of a museum in Bemidji, featuring artifacts he donated, probably to members of the Beltrami County Historical Society. On the tour, he describes a violin that belonged to his father; his collection of pipes; Navajo rugs; his grandfather's snuffbox and wallet; an assortment of drums and their purposes; bowls; a shopping bag; a battle flag; baby boards; snowshoes; a model tipi; a gambling game; tools and utensils; buckskin bags to carry food; a flint-lock musket; lacrosse sticks; war clubs; powder horns; a quiver; the knuckle game; sashes; headdresses; a stick detailing the training of a warrior; necklaces; and tobacco pouches. The tour continues as he describes necklaces; ladies' gowns; a beaded sack; a skirt; a doll; a necklace made of human bones; ladies' shopping bags; more beaded sacks; leggings; gloves; a dancing costume; a display of sugar-making equipment; baskets; birchbark floral designs; moccasins; belts; moose hides; sweet grass blankets; grand medicine bags and paraphernalia; and drums of medicine men. This record contains parts of multiple interviews. Please refer to the transcripts for help understanding these.
Contributing Institution:: Beltrami County Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59261. Interview with Charlie Wight, Part 1, Beltrami County Historical Society Oral History Collection, Bemidji, Minnesota

Creator:: Wight, Charlie
Date Created:: 1953-03-14
Description:: Vandersluis speaks with Charlie Wight, timber cruiser, on March 14, 1953, in the doctor's office. Wight talks about where he was born; his family's move to Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin; lumbering activity in Western Wisconsin; whether there were any Native Americans living at Chippewa Falls; birch bark canoes on the Chippewa River; his grandfather helping install the first turbine wheel at the Chippewa River; his grandfather helping install the first turbine wheel at the Chippewa Falls mill; the reaches of the Weyerhaeuser company; how they moved lumber down river by rafts; brailing logs; and pool companies that took over on the Mississippi. Wight then discusses working as a cookee at a camp in Wisconsin; driving a one-horse tram car at the mill; where men from the mills went in the winter; toting supplies; learning the timber estimating business as a compass man with Billy Woods; how they travelled to the land they were cruising; supplies they packed; what areas they cruised; finding section corners scribed into trees; seeing the Red Lake-Leech Lake trail and other trails; what they saw on the north shore of Lake Bemidji; a bridge near Lake Andrusia and any other bridges; about the Farmer-Hines railroad; where he went after that first trip; mills and bridges at Brainerd; the Gull River Lumber Company's narrow gauge railroad; other cruising jobs; and early fires. Next, Wight discusses his acquaintances with Marcus D. Stoner and Sam Dolgaard; some logging operations around Turtle River; Dan Freeman logging at Long Lake; Freeman and Gray splitting up; where Bagley started working for Walker; about S. C. Bagley; Bagley's nephew, Buzzle; where logs went from Mallard Lake; and which loggers collaborated. This record contains parts of multiple interviews. Please refer to the transcripts for help understanding these.
Contributing Institution:: Beltrami County Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59262. Interview with Roy Bailey, July 1952, Beltrami County Historical Society Oral History Collection, Bemidji, Minnesota

Creator:: Bailey, Roy
Date Created:: 1952 - 1953
Description:: In the first section of the four-part recording, Roy Bailey discusses the owners of the Red Lake railroad having found iron there; his arrival at Redby and the condition of the railroad then; how that railroad used to dump logs into the lake; how they loaded logs onto the train; Molander's background; early challenges with the Crookston Lumber Company; where logs hauled to Bemidji were landed; the railroad's ownership of a steamboat, the Michael Kelly; summer excursions to Red Lake from Bemidji; what early Redby was like; the relationship between the railroad and the post office in Redby; friends from Wahpeton telling him that Red Lake was a hard country; selling partridges to out-of-towners at a profit; trouble with a man named Joe Jourdain; and annoyances with cattle running wild in Redby area. Next, Bailey discusses a dispute between Newman and Pat Cassin; a prank he pulled on Charlie Vandersluis and Bill Browning; the layout of the Redby depot; stops and fares along the railroad; government waste in shipping items to the school at Ponemah; when Captain Eberhard gave him a boat; memories of the boat the J. P. K.; a description of the steamboat the Mudhen; what happened to some of the steamboats; the background of the Thief River Falls Lumber Company; the first automobile in Redby; local saw mills; memories of A. C. Goddard; the robbery at Puposky; and killing bedbugs at the depot. There are two additional portions of the recording.
Contributing Institution:: Beltrami County Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59263. Presentation on the History of Music in Minnesota, Beltrami County Historical Society Oral History Collection, Bemidji, Minnesota

Creator:: Beltrami County Historical Society
Date Created:: 1958 - 1959
Description:: This is the recording of a presentation on the history of music in Minnesota presented by an anonymous person. The presenter speaks about music history, sings a song arranged by Frances Densmore in some way representing Ojibwe music, sings a French Canadian voyageur song, and sings a song dating to territorial Minnesota arranged by Bessie Stanchfield called "The Beauty of the West" with the audience joining in. The final part of the recording seems to be Dr. Charles Vandersluis showing the recording device to his family or a private group. This record contains parts of multiple interviews. Please refer to the transcripts for help understanding these.
Contributing Institution:: Beltrami County Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59264. Interview with Father Thomas Borgerding, Part 4, Beltrami County Historical Society Oral History Collection, Bemidji, Minnesota

Creator:: Borgerding, Father Thomas
Date Created:: 1950 - 1959
Description:: The recording is an interview with Father Thomas Borgerding. He discusses whether the Indian agencies are effective; whether he thinks the Ojibwe are more impoverished than the average white family; and whether an increasing number of babies are born out of wedlock and Catholic views related. This record contains parts of multiple interviews. Please refer to the transcripts for help understanding these.
Contributing Institution:: Beltrami County Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59265. Collections Tour and Native American Music with John G. Morrison, Jr., Beltrami County Historical Society Oral History Collection, Bemidji, Minnesota

Creator:: Morrison, Jr., John G.
Date Created:: 1955 - 1963
Description:: The recording is a tour by John G. Morrison, Jr., of items he donated to the BCHS, before a small group. Morrison discusses baby boards; snowshoes; an item that depicts the life of a Sioux hunter and warrior; war clubs; a tomahawk; a Paiute root that was chewed; a doll; moccasins; dancing regalia; several pipes; tobacco pouches; and grand medicine paraphernalia. In the middle of the recording, a man is singing Native American (probably Ojibwe) songs. Brown Oak Grove could be the man singing or drumming. Morrison discusses headdresses; the knuckle game; dancing regalia; a water drum; and other drums. Next, one man is singing Native American songs; either the same man or another person is drumming. One of the songs was written by Robert Gibbs about his son, who died in World War II. Finally, a man demonstrates a water drum and Morrison answers a few questions. This record contains parts of multiple interviews. Please refer to the transcripts for help understanding these.
Contributing Institution:: Beltrami County Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59266. Interview with John G. Morrison, Jr., Part 1, Beltrami County Historical Society Oral History Collection, Bemidji, Minnesota

Creator:: Morrison, Jr., John G.
Date Created:: 1950 - 1959
Description:: John G. Morrison, Jr., shows a group some of his collection, tells them about his forefathers who were among the earliest European settlers in Minnesota; and reads a list of family births and deaths. Morrison then discusses his family and their move from Crow Wing to White Earth; when he first came to Red Lake and his movements before settling in Ponemah; the trail to Detroit Lakes; steamboats on Red Lake; the remainder of his freighting betweeen White Earth and Detroit Lakes; his recollections of early Bemidji and Chief Bemidji; a legend of Nanabozho; the earliest settlements at Red Lake; a local caucus in 1894; a pipe he received from a grave near an Episcopal church; "Grandma How" Josette Jourdain Warren How; early settlers on Upper Red Lake; and early Catholic priests. This record contains parts of multiple interviews. Please refer to the transcripts for help understanding these.
Contributing Institution:: Beltrami County Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59267. Interview with Fred E. Cyr, Beltrami County Historical Society Oral History Collection, Bemidji, Minnesota

Creator:: Cyr, Fred E.
Date Created:: 1952-06-27
Description:: Fred Cyr discusses biographical information; memories of logging drives on the Clearwater River when he was a child; how logging drives worked; his experience toting supplies for J.C. Parker; what wanigans were like; how logs were sorted; and the role of the swamper. The recording continues with Cyr's experience in logging industry; when Cyr's father came to Red Lake Falls; locations of high and low water on the Clearwater River; his experience in a logging camp in winter; how lumberjacks dealt with lice; delays at a sorting gap; his experience with Native American loggers; logging near Cass Lake; and whether logs were transported on the Mississippi River. In the final portion of the recording, Cyr discusses logging at Portage Lake near Bena; how logs were hoisted onto trains near Cass Lake; getting injured as a lumberjack; driving on the river, possibly Clearwater; knowledge of J. C. Parker; how lumberjacks ate; the contents of some unidentified photographs; and fishing on the Battle River. This record contains parts of multiple interviews. Please refer to the transcripts for help understanding these.
Contributing Institution:: Beltrami County Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59268. Morrison Collections Tour 1 with John G. Morrison, Jr., Beltrami County Historical Society Oral History Collection, Bemidji, Minnesota

Creator:: Morrison Jr., John G.
Date Created:: 1950 - 1957
Description:: The multi-part recording is John G. Morrison, Jr., showing a small group his collections, which were the basis for the original BCHS collections. On the tour, he describes a violin that belonged to his father; his collection of pipes; Navajo rugs; his grandfather's snuffbox and wallet; an assortment of drums and their purposes; bowls; a shopping bag; a battle flag; baby boards; snowshoes; a model tipi; a gambling game; tools and utensils; buckskin bags to carry food; a flint-lock musket; lacrosse sticks; war clubs; powder horns; a quiver; the knuckle game; sashes; headdresses; a stick detailing the training of a warrior; necklaces; and tobacco pouches.He discusses headdresses; water drums; grand medicine; beading; what the Ojibwe used before beads; a doll; dancing regalia; a bead sack; the differences between Sioux and Ojibwe beading designs; how different tribes recognized one another; a battle between the Sioux and Ojibwe; how Red Lake got its name; how the Ojibwe tanned leather; a tobacco sack; a shopping bag; a medicine rattle; a deer tail headdress; and the knuckle game. This record contains parts of multiple interviews. Please refer to the transcripts for help understanding these.
Contributing Institution:: Beltrami County Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59269. Interview with Elizabeth Ridenour Arnold, Beltrami County Historical Society Oral History Collection, Bemidji, Minnesota

Creator:: Arnold, Elizabeth Ridenour
Date Created:: 1950 - 1952
Description:: This is the recording of an autobiography of Elizabeth Ridenour Arnold. She discusses her arrival in Bemidji in 1898 and the local overreaction to an Objibwe uprising (Battle of Sugar Point) at Leech Lake. This record contains parts of multiple interviews. Please refer to the transcripts for help understanding these.
Contributing Institution:: Beltrami County Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59270. Interviews with Joseph Evan Carson, 1951, Beltrami County Historical Society Oral History Collection, Bemidji, Minnesota

Creator:: Carson, Joseph Evan; Carson, Jennie Newell
Date Created:: 1951-08-01
Description:: The first part of the recording was made August 1, 1951, in St. Paul. Ralph Carson interviews his father, Joseph Evan Carson, about when his mother died; and where his parents came from. Ralph then reads the flyleaf of the Pondsfordian, by Reverend Benno Watrin, regarding some Carson family history. Evan then talks about the names of his family; their leaving Carsonville; when and where his brothers started their stores where they got their stock; when and where his father built a stopping place; the Beltrami Eagle; his mother's hotel; early Bemidji buildings; earliest Bemidji residents; the Alex Cameron family as the first family at their hotel; memories of Chief Bemidji; where the first school was and early teachers; receiving Chief Bemidji's gun from Mary Carson; and the swimming hole. Evan's wife, Jennie Newell Carson, makes a few suggestions. The recording then transitions to an interview of Evan Carson by Dr. Charles Vandersluis in Bemidji. Carson describes some photographs; street grading; unmarked burials; lumberjacks trying to protect their money; his father serving as probate judge. This record contains parts of multiple interviews. Please refer to the transcripts for help understanding these.
Contributing Institution:: Beltrami County Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59271. Interview with Carl J. Otterstad, Beltrami County Historical Society Oral History Collection, Bemidji, Minnesota

Creator:: Otterstad, Carl J.
Date Created:: 1957
Description:: Otterstad discusses his family's arrival in the Turtle River area in 1900; the early buildings of Turtle River; the logging industry; the town of Farley; the Red Lake-Leech Lake Indian trails; and early Turtle River newspapers. This record contains parts of multiple interviews. Please refer to the transcripts for help understanding these.
Contributing Institution:: Beltrami County Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59272. Interviews with Charlie Wight and Albert D. Johnson, Beltrami County Historical Society Oral History Collection, Bemidji, Minnesota

Creator:: Wight, Charlie; Johnson, Albert D.
Date Created:: 1950 - 1959
Description:: Several different clips of interviews are present in the first quarter of the recording; the bulk of the recording is an interview with Charlie Wight. The first clip of significant length is an interview with a man, possibly Albert D. Johnson, who tells Vandersluis about the men who helped prepare legislation for the state game preserve. The recording then jumps to an interview between Vandersluis and timber cruiser Charlie Wight. Wight talks about S. C. Bagley's work on the Schoolcraft River, and what other companies Bagley worked for. Then the recording returns to Johnson, about how Lake of the Woods County was also invested in a state game preserve; whether beavers spoiled the ditches; and the boundaries of the game reserve. Finally, Wight discusses how the Wells brothers owned the Brainerd Lumber Company; how Clark and Dempsey sued the Brainerd Lumber Company for damage on a drive; a narrow-gauge railroad built by the Gull River Lumber Company; conversion to standard gauge; working for Irwin and O'Brien; early history of the Duluth and Winnipeg right-of-way; other trails and canoe routes; how the dam affected Lake Winnibigoshish; what other companies he worked for; working for the Crookston Lumber Company; about R. E. White and White and McDevitt; the Freestone boys; Old Man Dixon; how settlers used scrip; bits about early Kelliher; and other early loggers he knew.
Contributing Institution:: Beltrami County Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59273. Presentation on the History of Red Lake Fisheries, Beltrami County Historical Society Oral History Collection, Bemidji, Minnesota

Creator:: Morrison, Jr., John G.
Date Created:: 1953
Description:: The recording is presentation before the BCHS about the history of the Red Lake fisheries with John G. Morrison, Jr., and an unnamed fishery employee. Morrison explains how the Ojibwe kept fish for winter use; and how he helped write a bill regulating the fishing industry on Red Lake. Morrison discusses consulting with state officials to get the fisheries set up. The unnamed fishery employee discusses a lawsuit in 1927 accusing the state of participating in a competitive enterprise; the first board of directors; total fish produced; condition of fish; fishing nets; types of fish in the lake; the current number of participating fishermen and employees; how Native Americans get paid; decreasing demand for whole fish; how fish are shipped; how much ice they harvest; the threat of the lamprey eel; and a cash journal in his possession from the fisheries in 1919. This record contains parts of multiple interviews. Please refer to the transcripts for help understanding these.
Contributing Institution:: Beltrami County Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59274. Architectural drawing for 73 foot Express Boat "Excelsior" on Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota

Creator:: Harding, F.T.
Date Created:: 1915-02-18
Description:: Architectural blueprint for the 73 foot Express Boat "Excelsior" that was built and added to the Twin City Rapid Transit Company's Lake Minnetonka steamboat fleet in 1915. The vessel was decommissioned in 1926 and eventually scrapped.
Contributing Institution:: Lake Minnetonka Historical Society
Type:: Still Image
Format:: Architectural drawings (visual works)

59275. Architectural drawing for the tugboat "Hercules" on Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota

Creator:: Harding, F.T.
Date Created:: 1917-02-26
Description:: Architectural blueprint for the tugboat "Hercules" that was built by the Twin City Rapid Transit Company in 1917. The vessel was scuttled to the bottom of Lake Minnetonka in 1926.
Contributing Institution:: Lake Minnetonka Historical Society
Type:: Still Image
Format:: Architectural drawings (visual works)

59276. Architectural drawing for 73 foot Express Boat "Excelsior" on Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota

Creator:: Harding, F.T.
Date Created:: 1915-02-26
Description:: Architectural blueprint for the 73 foot Express Boat "Excelsior" that was built and added to the Twin City Rapid Transit Company's Lake Minnetonka steamboat fleet in 1915. The vessel was decommissioned in 1926 and eventually scrapped.
Contributing Institution:: Lake Minnetonka Historical Society
Type:: Still Image
Format:: Architectural drawings (visual works)

59277. Architectural drawing for the restored Express Boat "Minnehaha" on Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota

Creator:: Scheftel, Steve
Date Created:: 1993-05-23
Description:: Architectural blueprint for the restored Express Boat "Minnehaha", which was raised from the bottom of Lake Minnetonka in 1980 and restored 1990-1996.
Contributing Institution:: Lake Minnetonka Historical Society
Type:: Still Image
Format:: Architectural drawings (visual works)

59278. Architectural drawing for 100 foot Express Boat on Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota

Creator:: Harding, F.T.
Date Created:: 1915-01-04
Description:: Architectural blueprint for the proposed but never-built 100 foot Express Boat that would have been part of the Twin City Rapid Transit Company's steamboat fleet on Lake Minnetonka.
Contributing Institution:: Lake Minnetonka Historical Society
Type:: Still Image
Format:: Architectural drawings (visual works)

59279. Architectural drawings for the original 6 Express Boats on Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota

Creator:: Smith, J.H.
Date Created:: 1908-04-17
Description:: Three part set of architectural blueprints for the six original, 70 foot Express Boats built by the Twin City Rapid Transit Company in 1906. Designed by Wayzata boat builder Royal C. Moore, these boats were in service on Lake Minnetonka until 1926. Three of these boats (Como, Minnehaha, and White Bear) were scuttled to the bottom of Lake Minnetonka in 1926, while two others (Harriet and Stillwater) were scrapped. The "Hopkins" was sold and used as an excursion vessel until it was scuttled in 1949. The "Minnehaha" was raised in 1980, restored 1990-1996, and returned to passenger service May 25, 1996.
Contributing Institution:: Lake Minnetonka Historical Society
Type:: Still Image
Format:: Architectural drawings (visual works)

59280. Interview with Clem Miller, World War II Veteran Collection, St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, Minnesota

Creator:: Miller, Clem
Date Created:: 1992-07-23
Description:: Clem Miller was born on May 5, 1922 in Duluth, MN. He joined the Minnesota National Guard in 1939 and was inducted into the Army in 1941. He and his unit, the 125th Field Artillery in the 34th Infantry Division, were sent to the European theater, and he saw action in North Africa and Italy. Miller directed artillery fire on the battlefield as a surveyor had a wide variety of combat experiences including artillery barrages, air raids, sniper fire, minefields, and friendly fire. In North Africa he patrolled the battlefield after the Allied victory and guarded POWs. In Italy, he served with the 100th Infantry Division and the 92nd Infantry (segregated units of Japanese Americans and African Americans, respectively). Throughout the interview, Miller gave his opinions on the quality of American troops as well as the German and Italian soldiers, their respective armaments, and the civilians he encountered. Miller wrote about his military experiences in a book entitled Some Things You Never Forget. He died on August 27, 2008 in Hermantown, MN.
Contributing Institution:: St. Cloud State University
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59281. Interview with Chester Judd, World War II Veteran Collection, St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, Minnesota

Creator:: Judd, Chester
Date Created:: 1992-11-12
Description:: Chester Judd was born on Apr 2, 1916 and served as a first lieutenant in the Air Force during World War II. . He was stationed in England from September 1944 to late 1945 and was a B-17 copilot on 35 missions. Judd described camp life, including food and lodging, and explains how the planes were organized for actual missions. He described several combat experiences and how pilots and crew dealt with the strain, particularly flying his final mission. He returned to the United States and flew C-47 cargo planes to transport wounded veterans to hospitals across the country. After the war he became a farmer. He died on November 15, 1995.
Contributing Institution:: St. Cloud State University
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59282. Interview with Esther Sirott and Ethel Levy, United Jewish Fund and Council Oral History Project Phase 1, St. Paul, Minnesota

Creator:: Sirott, Esther, 1908-1993; Levy, Ethel, 1904-1982
Date Created:: 1978-05-04
Description:: Audio file of an interview with Esther Sirott and Ethel Levy conducted by Steve Foldes and Shirley Milgren. Esther Sirott was born in Lithuania and settled with her father and brothers on lower West Side of St. Paul. Ethel Levy was born in Iowa and lived briefly on the West Side of St Paul before moving with her family to a dairy farm where her father hired out as a tenant farmer. In the interview, the women discuss life on the West Side of St Paul, including employment opportunities for Jews, Jewish Socialists, keeping kosher, Jewish neighborhoods and social strata and the meaning of Yiddishkite. The interview is part of the United Jewish Fund and Council Oral History Project, Phase 1. The location of the interview is unknown: the interviewers are Steve Foldes (SF) and Shirley Milgram (SM).A PDF version of the transcript available at http://reflections.mndigital.org/cdm4/pdf-assets/jhs-sirott-levy.pdf
Contributing Institution:: University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59283. Interview with Joseph Leibman, United Jewish Fund and Council Oral History Project Phase 1, St. Paul, Minnesota

Creator:: Leibman, Joseph
Date Created:: 1976-01
Description:: Leibman's account of his journey to the United states and experiences entering the country, traveling by train to St Paul to join his brother, his first home on the Lower West Side and a detailed description of the neighborhood. A PDF version of the transcript available at http://reflections.mndigital.org/cdm4/pdf-assets/jhs-leibman.pdf
Contributing Institution:: University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59284. Interview with William "Bill" Weaver, Regional Oral History Project, Fargo, North Dakota

Creator:: Weaver, William "Bill"
Description:: Bill Weaver discusses his career as a local radio and television personality with WDAY in Fargo from 1953 to 1964. He describes the early days of television, and his activities as a sportscaster and talk show host. Mr. Weaver also discusses his political and business careers and his military service in the US Air Force during World War II.
Contributing Institution:: Heritage Education Commission
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59285. Interview with Wilbur D. Mortenson, Regional Oral History Project, Moorhead, Minnesota

Creator:: Mortenson, Wilbur D.
Description:: Wilbur Mortenson is a Moorhead native and a veteran of WW II. He has worked in the Moorhead Post Office and has been a member of the American Legion since 1946 and served in a variety of offices including Commander and Adjutant. Mr. Mortenson tells of the very beginnings of the Legion formed in 1919. He describes how the Legion clubs are organized into local posts, state departments, and on a national level. The goals and purposes of the Legion are also discussed.
Contributing Institution:: Heritage Education Commission
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59286. Interview with Helen Peterson, Regional Oral History Project, Moorhead, Minnesota

Creator:: Peterson, Helen
Description:: Helen Peterson was born in Kenmare, ND on April 24, 1904. Mrs. Peterson and her husband Wayne owned the Moorhead Daily News from 1930 to 1944. She discusses various features of the paper and how the business has changed over the years.
Contributing Institution:: Heritage Education Commission
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59287. Interview with Gertrude Saxman, Regional Oral History Project, Moorhead, Minnesota

Creator:: Saxman, Gertrude
Description:: Gertrude Saxman lived on a farm near Georgetown, Minnesota. Dr. Saxman discusses her experiences in medicine and her medical practice in Ulen, MN from 1960-1983.
Contributing Institution:: Heritage Education Commission
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59288. Interview with Alice Polikowsky, Regional Oral History Project, Moorhead, Minnesota

Creator:: Polikowsky, Alice
Description:: Alice Polikawsky was born in 1904 in Moland township. In 1951, she joined the Moorhead Daily News Staff as their first full-time alumni director. From 1957-58, she was instructor of Home Economics at Concordia and became chairman of that department until her retirement in Nov. 1974. Mrs. Polikowsky discusses her education and teaching experiences in home economics.
Contributing Institution:: Heritage Education Commission
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59289. Interview with William M. Jones, Regional Oral History Project, Moorhead, Minnesota

Creator:: Jones, William M.
Description:: William Jones' career was as an educator. He first taught in Thief River Falls. He conducted the band there. He had various jobs in other towns until they came to Moorhead in 1972. He is presently the Academic Vice-President of Moorhead State University and his wife is director of External Studies also at MSU. They both are planning to retire at the end of the 1984-1985 school year.
Contributing Institution:: Heritage Education Commission
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59290. Interview with George J. Benson (1898-1982), St. Cloud State University Oral History, St. Cloud, Minnesota

Creator:: St. Cloud State University
Date Created:: 1981-01-21
Description:: In an oral history conducted by St. Cloud State University Professor of History Calvin (Cal) Gower on January 21, 1981, George Benson described his family background. Born in 1898 in St. Cloud, Benson's parents immigrated to the United States in the late 1880s from Sweden. His father worked as a blacksmith in the St. Cloud quarries, while his mother worked as a maid for the Alice and Albert Whitney family. Benson discussed his relationships with several teachers as well as his participation in and recollection of extracurricular activities. He graduated from the St. Cloud State in 1920. Benson had short-lived teaching experiences in both North and South Dakota before receiving his B.S. from Bradley University in Illinois. He then moved to the Panama Canal Zone to teach for five years, where he and his wife started a family. Benson discussed his time in Atlanta, where he received his Master's Degree and taught for 25 years in the same room. Later Benson described his return to St. Cloud, as well as the education of his two sons, who also attended St. Cloud State University.
Contributing Institution:: St. Cloud State University
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59291. Interview with Robert Coard (1921-2001), St. Cloud State University Oral History, St. Cloud, Minnesota

Creator:: St. Cloud State University
Date Created:: 1990-05-21
Description:: In an oral history conducted by St. Cloud State University Archivist Jerry Westby on May 21, 1990, Robert Coard discussed his educational background. He detailed his college and graduate educational background at the undergraduate and graduate level. Before arriving at St. Cloud State in 1960, Coard described his various teaching experiences, and explanations for why he chose to move on. After five years at the Minot State Teacher's College in Minot, North Dakota, he taught for three years at the University of Alabama, but grew ever more uncomfortable with the tense racial situation and integration. Needing a more stable work environment, Coard accepted a position at St. Cloud State. Coard described his time at St. Cloud State and the changes that occurred on campus. He said that there was no English department when he first arrived, and discussed the power George Budd had in expanding the curriculum and faculty. He also described the physical changes undergone by the campus. Coard briefly described what the campus looked like when he arrived and then what changed. He also mentioned Fifth Avenue South, where he lived for 30 years, and how it really went from a peaceful residential area to what he terms an area in ""shambles."" Coard explained his ideas about students at St. Cloud State University, and how they have changed. He claimed that the university used to be much stricter with students, taking attendance and sending grades to parents if the student was under the age of 21. Overall, he felt his work with these students was a positive experience. Coard retired in 1990.
Contributing Institution:: St. Cloud State University
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59292. Interview with Ludmila (Mil) Voelker (?- ), St. Cloud State University Oral History, St. Cloud, Minnesota

Creator:: St. Cloud State University
Date Created:: 1990-06-11
Description:: In an oral history conducted by St. Cloud State University Archivist Jerry Westby on June 11, 1990, Ludmila (Mil) Voelker discussed her background. She was born in Dodge, Nebraska in the 1920s. Her father emigrated from Czechoslovakia, settling in Nebraska and later South Dakota, where he lost his farm during the Depression. The family eventually moved to Litchfield, Minnesota. Voelker attended the College of Saint Benedict, where she received her Bachelor's degree in English, with a minor in speech and philosophy. She then taught English for three years in Holdingford, Minnesota, until 1954 when her future husband Fran, returned from Korea. They married that December, and for the next 10 years Ludmila stayed home to raise their five children. In 1965, she began working part-time at St. Cloud State while also beginning work on her Master's degree. She eventually began teaching full-time at the St. Cloud State. Voelker worked as teaching assistant while pursuing her master's degree, but because of the surge in enrollment, had to take on more freshman composition classes than originally planned. Voelker discussed how important it was for faculty to be involved in other activities besides teaching. This led to her involvement with the Inter-Faculty Organization (IFO), as well as the publication of a book on Mass Media with her husband Fran. Voelker talked about the changes undergone by the university as well as the impact of some important national events, such as the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Voelker chronicled the highs and lows of her career at St. Cloud, claiming that being selected as the university's affirmative action officer was a great high, while getting burnt out on teaching was her low. She then discussed the rise in percentage of women professors on campus as a result of affirmative action, and her feelings on that subject in general. Finally, she offered some thoughts on the progress St. Cloud State University has made, calling it a wonderful institution, but also suggested some areas for improvement.
Contributing Institution:: St. Cloud State University
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59293. Interview with Alan Phillips (?- ), St. Cloud State University Oral History, St. Cloud, Minnesota

Creator:: St. Cloud State University
Date Created:: 1982-05-14
Description:: In an oral history conducted by St. Cloud State University Professor of History Calvin (Cal) Gower on May 14, 1982, Alan Phillips provided a brief account of his educational career. Phillips received his undergraduate degree from Knox College in Illinois. Phillips attended the University of Chicago Divinity School for a year before dropping out and joining the army for two years. He then went to Michigan State where he got his master's and doctorate degrees in philosophy. He taught for one year at West Virginia University, and came to St. Cloud State in September 1966. Phillips chronicled how he became involved with the Faculty Association and collective bargaining. He devoted a great deal of time to discussing the election of 1975, a process he calls very difficult. Phillips discussed his opinions on the Inter-Faculty Organization (IFO) joining forces with the Minnesota Education Association (MEA), as well as what he considers to be the biggest differences between the IFO and the American Association of University Professors (AAUP). He talked about the strengths and weaknesses of the AAUP and what may have cost it the election. Phillips talked about the effects of the IFO/MEA's victory and how successful collective bargaining in general was for St. Cloud State faculty. He was reluctant to join the IFO after the AAUP was defeated. Phillips believed that more people should be able to join voluntarily, believing that forced membership was not as effective. He believed that collective bargaining was good economically for the faculty, but not been great for local decision-making. Phillips discussed his involvement on the IFO's Academic Affairs Committee. To end, he offered some suggestions for improving the IFO and current collective bargaining situation at St. Cloud State.
Contributing Institution:: St. Cloud State University
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59294. Interview with Herb Goodrich (1926-2006), St. Cloud State University Oral History, St. Cloud, Minnesota

Creator:: St. Cloud State University
Date Created:: 1990-05-15
Description:: In an oral history conducted by St. Cloud State University Archivist Jerry Westby on May 15, 1990, Herb Goodrich explained his family and educational history. He was born in Manhattan, and raised in Brooklyn, New York. His father emigrated from Russia, while his mother was from Poland. Goodrich attended the City College of New York, where he received his bachelor's degree in Education. Goodrich then went to Penn State, where he received his master's degree and then earned his doctorate in Mass Communications from the University of Illinois. He highlighted his upbringing in the very urban Brooklyn, New York, and the vast differences between that world and St. Cloud, Minnesota. Goodrich arrived at St. Cloud State in 1964. He discussed his first years at St. Cloud State, comparing them with the university in 1990. For instance, he talked about how the huge growth in student population was accompanied by a failure of the state of Minnesota to provide sufficient funds and resources to deal with that growth. He claimed that the growth contributed to a decline in familiarity and personal connections among staff, as well as a greater focus on publishing rather than the classroom. Goodrich described how the students themselves changed during his time at St. Cloud State. He claimed that when he arrived in the 1960s, students were very demanding and not afraid to question what was being taught. In 1990, he felt that students were much quieter, and that there had been somewhat of a withdrawal from active learning. Goodrich discussed the St. Cloud State's perception as a ""party"" school, and how that has affected both students and faculty. Goodrich discussed the relationship between the university and the community of St. Cloud. Here he felt his ideas about universities was often seen as a threat to a conservative community, and how St. Cloud State fit into that idea. Goodrich discussed the highs and lows he experienced as a teacher, and how both relate to his impact, or lack thereof, on his students. Overall, he gave an insightful analysis of how the school changed, both on a large scale, and on a smaller scale by discussing changes within his own department, and credited the university for 26 years of wonderful academic and teaching experience. Goodrich retired in 1990.
Contributing Institution:: St. Cloud State University
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59295. Interview with William Whitaker (1910-?), St. Cloud State University Oral History, St. Cloud, Minnesota

Creator:: St. Cloud State University
Date Created:: 1982-05-29
Description:: In an oral history conducted by St. Cloud State University Professor of History Calvin (Cal) Gower on May 29, 1982, William Whitaker described his family history and educational background. He was born on September 26, 1910, in Rockville, Minnesota. His father worked for the granite industry in Wisconsin, St. Paul, and then Rockville. Whitaker graduated from St. Cloud Technical (Tech) High School in 1927. He knew he wanted to be a teacher, with a long-term goal of becoming a college professor, so he immediately began taking classes at St. Cloud State. Before he graduated, he took a year off to teach in Wabun, Minnesota, before returning to the university to finish his education. Whitaker talked about his time off from his undergraduate work to tour with a Chautauqua group, and later to teach in Wabun, Minnesota, near Detroit Lakes. Whitaker described his time at St. Cloud State. He claimed that the majority of students at the time he attended were from small towns and farming families. He mentioned George Selke's great oratorical ability and the success it had at bringing many young people from the Iron Range to the university. Whitaker said he had to work to put himself through school, even holding three jobs at one time. He also discussed his impression of the relationship between the city of St. Cloud and the college. Whitaker also remembers some of the professors he worked with, including St. Cloud State president George Selke and Evelyn Pribble. Whitaker talked more about his work and education experiences after graduating from St. Cloud State in 1932. He discussed that the Depression made it very difficult to find work, and was the reason why he went to Brooklyn for a few years before finding a teaching job back in Minnesota. Whitaker also discussed his time in the Navy, which led him to serve in both World War II and the Korean War. Whitaker described some of his travels, including time spent in Singapore, as well some of the duties he had as an officer in the Navy.
Contributing Institution:: St. Cloud State University
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59296. Interview with L. Ruth Cadwell (1897-1987), St. Cloud State University Oral History, St. Cloud, Minnesota

Creator:: St. Cloud State University
Date Created:: 1981-10-23
Description:: In an oral history conducted by St. Cloud State University Professor of History Calvin (Cal) Gower on October 23, 1981, L. (Lucy) Ruth Cadwell chronicled her family background, including a brief history of how her family came from Ireland and Massachusetts to Iowa. She was born on December 4, 1897, in Boone, Iowa. After receiving some teacher education at her high school, Cadwell decided to pursue teaching as a career. She attended Iowa State Teacher's College in Cedar Falls, Iowa, earning a bachelor's degree in 1923. She taught for a few months in Oxford, Ohio, before finding a position teaching geography and supervising students at St. Cloud State in 1924. Cadwell discussed her time at St. Cloud State, which began in 1924. Cadwell addressed what some of the faculty were like, including Albertina Anderson, and also mentioned many changes the university and the city of St. Cloud endured during her 42 years working there. Cadwell discussed World War I and II, the Dust Bowl, and the Depression, stating that her salary was cut during that time. She also mentioned her work with the Army Air Corp during World War II. In addition, she explained her impression of students she worked with throughout her long career, including her attempts to create more social activities for them, along with her ideas about how the community of St. Cloud interacted with the college. After retirement in 1966, Cadwell taught Adult Basic Education courses, while also helping assemble "The Centennial History," a nine volume collection detailing the history of St. Cloud State University. Cadwell received several civic awards for her work in the community, especially her work teaching adults how to read and write.
Contributing Institution:: St. Cloud State University
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59297. Interview with Marie Petit Hinkle (1887-?), St. Cloud State University Oral History, St. Cloud, Minnesota

Creator:: St. Cloud State University
Date Created:: 1981-07-24
Description:: In an oral history conducted by St. Cloud State University Professor of History Calvin (Cal) Gower on July 24, 1981, Marie Petit Hinkle described her early education and family. She was born on September 10, 1887, in Verndale, Minnesota. Her parents came to Minnesota in 1880 from Iowa and her father worked on the grain elevator in Verndale his entire life. Hinkle also mentions that Verndale High School, which she attended, was not accredited, so she had to make up some science classes when she went to St. Cloud State. Hinkle arrived at St. Cloud State in 1906 and graduated the next year. She discussed some of the teachers she remembers, such as Isabel Lawrence and Jason Keppel. Hinkle mentioned social activities, such as playing cards with Mrs. Shoemaker, Waite Shoemaker's wife. She also played basketball, and attended parties in Lawrence Hall. Hinkle discussed her life after graduating from St. Cloud State. She taught for a couple of years, including in Pine River, Minnesota, and later in Verndale, before getting married in 1912 and having a family. She talked of her volunteer work, as well as the many moves she and her family made, from Fargo to Minneapolis and finally to Detroit Lakes. Hinkle believed that the St. Cloud State prepared her wonderfully for teaching in the real world.
Contributing Institution:: St. Cloud State University
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59298. Interview with Francis (Fran) Voelker (1931-2012), St. Cloud State University Oral History, St. Cloud, Minnesota

Creator:: St. Cloud State University
Date Created:: 1982-03-30
Description:: In an oral history conducted by St. Cloud State University Professor of History Calvin (Cal) Gower on March 30, 1982, Francis (Fran) Voelker gave a brief history of his education and background. Fran was born in Thorp, Wisconsin. He went to St. John's University, then entered the military for a few years. When he got out of the service in 1955, he accepted a job teaching high school English in Foley, Minnesota, where he stayed for four years. During that time, he pursued his master's degree, which he received in 1959. Voelker discussed his experience with the Faculty Association and collective bargaining in general. Voelker chronicled his early experiences with the Minnesota Education Association (MEA) in Foley, as well as the motivations of St. Cloud State faculty to actively pursue collective bargaining. Voelker believed that many faculty members felt that salaries were bad and their voices were not heard, so frustration began to build until they decided to do something about it. Voelker said the reasons to join the MEA was good, claiming that they had a good training program and a professionalism that really helped the Inter-Faculty Organization (IFO). Voelker focused on the election in 1975 and said that even if the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) won the election, he would have joined, as most faculty simply wanted some form of representation. Voelker discussed the work he did with the IFO after the election, including lobbying during state legislature to get funding and meet negotiation deadlines. Voelker believed that collective bargaining was very successful in defining roles. He said the adversary relationship that resulted between administration and faculty was unfortunate, but did not have to be a result of collective bargaining. It was something he hoped would be amended in the future.
Contributing Institution:: St. Cloud State University
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59299. Interview with Inez Kronenberg (1937- ), St. Cloud State University Oral History, St. Cloud, Minnesota

Creator:: St. Cloud State University
Date Created:: 1989-05-05
Description:: In an oral history conducted by Robert Nelson on May 5, 1989, Inez Kronenberg described her family history and early life. She was born in 1937 in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Her family had a farm in St. Augusta, Minnesota, where they had been since the 1850s. Her family farmed until her father lost an arm in an accident, after which he became an auctioneer. Her mother died when she was 12. Kronenberg addressed the reasons she chose to begin working after high school rather than attend college. She claimed that despite the fact that she had a scholarship, she did not feel prepared, or confident enough, to attend college. When she obtained a clerical job at St. Cloud State in 1955, she was very proud of that accomplishment. Kronenberg discussed that she slowly attended classes while she worked, and was able to eventually obtain an associate degree in 1974 and a bachelor's degree in 1979. Kronenberg discussed on her work at St. Cloud State, her responsibilities in the academic dean's office, where she spent the majority of her career, along with her reasons for eventually leaving that position. She described the many moves within St. Cloud State that she made, including stints in the library, International Studies, and Career Planning and Placement, which were largely due to personal reasons. Kronenberg chronicled her involvement with the union of ""classified"" employees, the Local 753, Council 6. She mentioned her role in the statewide strike of 1981, and the fact that she was in charge of putting out the newsletter. She believed that there needed to be more uniformity in terms of pay, and felt that the strike was successful in getting closer to that goal. Kronenberg described her impressions of how students, governance, and other aspects of the university have changed during her time spent working for the institution. She discussed veterans, both from the Korean and Vietnam wars, and her thoughts on how they adapted to college life. Kronenberg talked about the idea that the easy availability of financial aid has made students, to some extent, less hardworking and focused. However, she also credited current students with being more confident and aware of what was going on in the world. She also discussed the drinking habits of students, along with her ideas about international students, non-traditional students, and racial tension on campus. Kronenberg explained the ways in which she believes the relationship between the university and the city of St. Cloud has been strengthened in more recent years.
Contributing Institution:: St. Cloud State University
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59300. Interview with Carl J. Buckman (1897-1988), St. Cloud State University Oral History, St. Cloud, Minnesota

Creator:: St. Cloud State University
Date Created:: 1981-04-28
Description:: In an oral history conducted by St. Cloud State University Professor of History Calvin (Cal) Gower on April 28, 1981, Carl Buckman discussed his parents and their years working at the St. Cloud State Normal School. Buckman detailed his father John's work as Superintendent of Building and Grounds, as well as information about many of the school presidents and teachers, such as President Waite Shoemaker, who were influential to the school and the city. He also chronicled his schooling, which was interrupted both by the necessity to work as well as a stint in the Navy during World War I. In addition, Buckman provided insight into school teachers, such as Albertina Anderson and Darius Steward, personalities, teaching styles, and anecdotes. He touched on extracurricular activities at the Normal School, from sports (mainly football) to the drama club, of which he was a part. In addition, he discussed the relationship between the school and the St. Cloud community, claiming the school was the lifeline of the city. Buckman graduated in 1922. After graduation in 1922, Buckman detailed his teaching and educational experiences. He taught 20 years at South and Edison High Schools in Minneapolis before he and his wife Benita moved to Tucson, Arizona, where he stumbled upon a teaching position at the University of Arizona. He also discussed the effectiveness of the teachers at Normal School in preparing him and other students for the future, especially in terms of disciplinary matters. After 14 years in Arizona, Buckman returned to Minnesota.
Contributing Institution:: St. Cloud State University
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

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