Henry Colin Campbell, a historian who wrote books on the history of the LakeSuperior region in Wisconsin, including the title "Radisson and Groseilliers." This image is by Arthur Adams, Minneapolis high school teacher, local historian, and photographer. Adams traveled throughout Minnesota, taking photographs to augment his lectures. His studio was located at 3648 Lyndale Avenue South in Minneapolis.
Interview with Williard Badeaux. He talks about some of his and his family's history, including work in the logging and railroad industries. This interview is part of a Works Progress Administration (WPA) in Crow Wing County during the years 1936-1939. This outreach effort sought to record personal accounts of the lives of early Crow Wing County pioneers and settlers.
In this oral history conducted on 1979 - 07-06 Rudy Bagge describes life on the farm in Askov, Minnesota in 1920 - 1940. His father started the Danish colony. He recounts how rutabagas became a cash crop in the area. He recalls the road monkey,the sawmill, moonshine during Prohibition, and selling blueberries.
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.
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.
In an oral history, Mrs. Annie Bragstadt describes her family life in Norway, the journey from there to Minnesota in 1903, and her life as a young adult, before and after her marriage in 1914.
Interview with William E. Brockway. He relates some of his personal and family history. This interview is part of a Works Progress Administration (WPA) in Crow Wing County during the years 1936-1939. This outreach effort sought to record personal accounts of the lives of early Crow Wing County pioneers and settlers.
Judge John R. Carey, an early settler on the north shore of LakeSuperior, wrote this account of the history of Duluth and northern Minnesota until 1870. He describes early exploration of the area, the surveying of the town of Superior, missionary efforts in the area, early elections, the building of railroads, the development of iron ore deposits and interesting anecdotes about residents and events.
In an oral history, Vernon Davis, a local historian, discusses various topics such as people he has known, artifacts he'd found at the site of an old Northwest Trade Post, and logging camps.
Mike Ebersold is a descendant of Chief Wabasha's family and Dakota-French trader, Augustine La Roque. He shares about the Dakota Half Breed Reservation and early history of the Wabasha area. His wife shares about her experiences working at summer camps held at Whitewater State Park. The Whitewater State Park Oral History project began in 2017 to commemorate the Centennial Anniversary of the State Park.
In this interview conducted 1979-06-26, Arild Fredrickson recalls his father having the first barbershop in Askov, Minnesota. Arild was a line type operator for the Askov American. He remember picnics at Low Landing and Rock Dam. There were programs in the park on June 5 and July 4. He described delivering cream to the creamery, which only churned butter for Land o' Lakes. He described meat rings.
Interview with Dudley Gordon. He relates some of his family and personal histories. This interview is part of a Works Progress Administration (WPA) in Crow Wing County during the years 1936-1939. This outreach effort sought to record personal accounts of the lives of early Crow Wing County pioneers and settlers.
Interview with Edward Gustad. He relates some of his personal history, including that he was the first mayor of Cuyuna. This interview is part of a Works Progress Administration (WPA) in Crow Wing County during the years 1936-1939. This outreach effort sought to record personal accounts of the lives of early Crow Wing County pioneers and settlers.
Interview with Sarah E. Heald, cousin of Benjamin Callendar Heald. She relates some of Benjamin's personal and family history. This interview is part of a Works Progress Administration (WPA) in Crow Wing County during the years 1936-1939. This outreach effort sought to record personal accounts of the lives of early Crow Wing County pioneers and settlers.
Interview with Checker Hillman. Checker Hillman was born in Two Harbors in 1911. His maternal grandmother was Irish. His maternal grandfather, William LaBeau (LeBeau), was French and he left home in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan as a young teenager. Family history claims a relative traveled the Great Lakes in "the big canoes," to Grand Portage and Fort William, possibly a voyageur. William and his wife traveled by wagon from Duluth to Tower, Minnesota where their son, William LaBeau, Jr., was born in 1883 - he was the first white child born north of Duluth. William (Sr.) worked for Bob Whiteside as a driller with a team of several men that traveled by canoe form Tower to the Ely area to explore for ore. William never worked as a miner, but he did work as a fireman, the chief of police in Ely, and a policeman for the Oliver Mine. Checker's father, who worked for the D & IRR, died of an unknown illness when Checker was very young. Checker, his two younger sisters, and his mother went to live with his maternal grandparents. Checker discusses early Ely. There was an influx of immigrants after iron ore was discovered in the Ely area, mostly Finnish and Slovenian with Cornish mine bosses. The adult immigrants segregated themselves, but their children later intermarried. Checker discusses mining. There were no unions in the early days. There were safety issues, i.e. workers wore soft hats, no hard-toed boots. The candles and later carbide lamps provided poor light. Conditions in the mines varied. For example, the Pioneer Mine had many mud slides due to the wet, soft, ground conditions. The Zenith Mine, which had harder ground, didn't have issues with mud slides. Techniques ranged from "drifing and slicing" at the Pioneer Mine to "cave" mining at the Zenith Mine. Augers could be used in softer ground (auger ground) instead of drilling with bits. Checker recounts two fatal accidents in the Zenith Mine. One man was killed when an overhead slab fell on him. Mines were like small communities with teams of men doing various jobs: drillers, tuggers, maintenance, electricians, and so on. Underground miners worked in two-man teams. Checker started working about age 15 or 16 at the Pioneer Mine stock pile for $2.50 for a 10-hour day. Older workers could make $3.50 per day. When he started working in the Xenith Mine in the late 1930s or early 1940s, there was no union. As the union began to organize he was reluctant to join because he had promised an uncle and the mine superintendent, Ben Richards, that he wouldn't. He was pressured by a union organizer, George Kochevar, to join, and did eventually - one of the last to sign up.
Interview with Nellie (Jerry) Hoffman. She relates the history of her family at Indian Mounds, including the University of Minnesota excavation of second largest Indian Mound Minnesota and the history of woodlands Indians in the area.
Interview with Ole H. Hoff. He relates some of his personal history. This interview is part of a Works Progress Administration (WPA) in Crow Wing County during the years 1936-1939. This outreach effort sought to record personal accounts of the lives of early Crow Wing County pioneers and settlers.
Interview with Urho Hokkanen. Urho was born in Finland in 1909. His family immigrated to America in 1913. His father first arrived in America in 1905, but returned to Finland in 1908, and left again in 1910 for America. They traveled from Helsinki to Copenhagen and on to Hull, England and then caught a White Star ship in Liverpool arriving in Quebec, Canada before making his way to northern Minnesota. His father worked in the lumber camps and occasionally in the Section 30 or Zenith Mine. Urho Hokkanen attended the Winton, Minnesota school through the 8th grade and then graduated high school in Ely. He traveled around a while after high school, but came back to Winton because his mother was so lonely for him. He spent one winter in a lumber camp on the North Shore of LakeSuperior and then was hired at the Pioneer Mine in Ely. Urho talks about working in the underground mine, cave-ins and mud slides, the Great Depression and its affect on the area, unionization of the mines, and what he did after the Pioneer Mine closed in 1967.
Elaine Holst shares information about how her grandparents homesteaded in the Whitewater Valley, the many floods she experienced, and the legacy of conservation farming she and her husband established. The Whitewater State Park Oral History project began in 2017 to commemorate the Centennial Anniversary of the State Park.
This interview contains some outdated information as the research discussed has since been updated. Dr. Jefferson is a retired Winona State University ecology professor and amateur historian. She shared memories how she became interested in researching early abolitionists in the Winona area and what she's discovered about the possible connections to the Underground Railroad in southeast Minnesota.
Interview with Lee H. Johnson. Lee was born January 23, 1894 in a sod house in Windom, Minnesota. He describes his life in the Army during World War I in 1918. He went to work for Coca-Cola in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1924. His first car had the Coca-Cola trademark painted on it. He later opened a Coca-Cola bottling operation in 1936 in Alexandria, Minnesota. In 1952, he opened Sun-Rise Corporation bottling company. He discusses the funding of the Runestone Museum in 1958. He was also involved in the establishment of the television station in 1958. Lee also served as the president of the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce in 1955.
Interview with Emery Ljung, born June 24, 1894. He was the son of John and Mary Ljung. His mother was born in Belle River Township. His father was born in Halsinglund, Sweden. He was raised by Grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Severons (who came from Denmark). He recounts daily life on various farms in Douglas County. His last farm was northeast of Lake Geneva.
R.B. McLean came to Superior, Wisconsin, in June of 1854 on the schooner "Algonquin." McLean recollects several trips along LakeSuperior's North Shore, both before and after the 1854 Treaty of LaPointe, searching for veins of copper. He discusses early settlers on the North Shore, the first election in St. Louis County in 1855, the first mail route from Superior to Grand Portage (which McLean delivered), and the first cabins built in Duluth in the winter of 1854-55.
Keith Meland (1938 - ) grew up in Saint Louis Park and was a long time city council member. In this interview, the history of the development of Saint Louis Park, city policies and goals regarding development and expansion of residential and commercial districts, Jewish immigration into the city during the 1960s and 70s, and relations between Jewish and non-Jewish are discussed. This interview was conducted by Jeff Norman, oral historian from California. "Urban Exodus: The Saint Louis Park Oral History Project" explores the post-World War II migration of Minneapolis's Jewish community from the city's North Side to the western suburb of Saint Louis Park. The 35 oral history interviews, representing diverse perspectives from within and beyond the Jewish community, tell the complex story of how, from 1945 to 1970, Saint Louis Park became a major center of Jewish life in Minnesota.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
This typescript was copied in November 1926 from Alfred Merritt's original 1915 manuscript. The author described his family's experience on the north shore of LakeSuperior from the time of their arrival via steamboat in 1856 until the year 1894, including accounts of pioneers, settlers and land claims, and the discovery of iron ore on the Mesaba Range. Merritt also addressed the creation and demise of the Duluth, Missabe and Northern Railroad.
Interview with Ella McCarville Merwin. She relates some of the history of her family, her husband's family, and her personal history as well as a family genealogy. This interview is part of a Works Progress Administration (WPA) in Crow Wing County during the years 1936-1939. This outreach effort sought to record personal accounts of the lives of early Crow Wing County pioneers and settlers.
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.
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.
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.
Morton Galetto, Jane; Morton, Charles; Galetto, Peter
Date Created:
2018-07-14
Description:
Jane Morton Galetto and her uncle, Charles Morton, and husband Peter Galetto, share family stories about Minnesota conservation icon Richard J. Dorer. Charles is a nephew of Richard J. Dorer and Jane is a great niece. The Whitewater State Park Oral History project began in 2017 to commemorate the Centennial Anniversary of the State Park.
This sound clip highlights the Joseph and Mary Rankin and Robert and Mary Rankin families of Badger MN. The Roseau County Historical Society prepared this radio script to share county history through broadcasts on KJ102 FM in Roseau. The topics highlight the history of Roseau County and the people that lived there.
This sound clip highlights the lives of Olaf and Elizabeth (Oie) Hildahl of Greenbush. The Roseau County Historical Society prepared this radio script to share county history through broadcasts on KJ102 FM in Roseau. The topics highlight the history of Roseau County and the people that lived there.
This sound clip highlights the lives of Andrew M and Anna Pearson of Malung Township. The Roseau County Historical Society prepared this radio script to share county history through broadcasts on KJ102 FM in Roseau. The topics highlight the history of Roseau County and the people that lived there.
This sound clip highlights Frank Hawley of Clear River Township Warroad and Sven and Magda Hoakanson of Moranville Township. The Roseau County Historical Society prepared this radio script to share county history through broadcasts on KJ102 FM in Roseau. The topics highlight the history of Roseau County and the people that lived there.
This sound clip highlights Gust Nyquist, an amazing entrepreneur with only 3 years of formal education. The Roseau County Historical Society prepared this radio script to share county history through broadcasts on KJ102 FM in Roseau. The topics highlight the history of Roseau County and the people that lived there.
This sound clip highlights Jake Nelson an early pioneer settler in the Roseau River Valley .The Roseau County Historical Society prepared this radio script to share county history through broadcasts on KJ102 FM in Roseau. The topics highlight the history of Roseau County and the people that lived there.
This sound clip highlights the lives of Roger Jamison and Virginia (Richards) and Freda (Sjoberg) of Roseau MN and Robert and Mabel (Stenberg) and Carol (Hagen-Schwichtenberg) Bell. The Roseau County Historical Society prepared this radio script to share county history through broadcasts on KJ102 FM in Roseau. The topics highlight the history of Roseau County and the people that lived there.
This sound clip highlights the Anders Martinson and Martha (Mattson) Landby family of Moranville Twp. The Roseau County Historical Society prepared this radio script to share county history through broadcasts on KJ102 FM in Roseau. The topics highlight the history of Roseau County and the people that lived there.
This sound clip highlights early logging in a story written by Rudy Billberg.The Roseau County Historical Society prepared this radio script to share county history through broadcasts on KJ102 FM in Roseau. The topics highlight the history of Roseau County and the people that lived there.
This sound clip highlights the History of Polaris Industries written by Mitchell Johnson for the Roseau County Centennial Book 1995. The Roseau County Historical Society prepared this radio script to share county history through broadcasts on KJ102 FM in Roseau. The topics highlight the history of Roseau County and the people that lived there.
This sound clip highlights the Polaris Story told by David John's grandson. The Roseau County Historical Society prepared this radio script to share county history through broadcasts on KJ102 FM in Roseau. The topics highlight the history of Roseau County and the people that lived there.
Interview with Minnie Osterholt. Minnie was born in 1912. She discusses her jobs during the Great Depression. Minnie worked as a nanny in California. She also worked at Old Denmark, a delicatessen in New York where she met her husband, Frank, who was a chef from Denmark. She returned to Minnesota and became a cook at Nelson School. Minnie is a charter member of the Douglas County Historical Society (DCHS). She recounts her memories and the early years of the DCHS, including the acquisition of the Knute Nelson home as the new site for DCHS.
Interview with Ole Peterson. He gives a lengthy account of some of his personal history and family genealogy. This interview is part of a Works Progress Administration (WPA) in Crow Wing County during the years 1936-1939. This outreach effort sought to record personal accounts of the lives of early Crow Wing County pioneers and settlers.
