Interview with Andrew A. Urness, born in 1885. He was a son of the pioneers Andrew J. and Antoinette Jacobson Urness, early settlers of Douglas County, Minnesota. Andrew J. and Ole Urness were brothers and gave their name to Urness Township in Douglas County. Urness was the place they were from in Bergen, Norway. Memories of growing up working on farm. Recounts 1937 trip to Europ. Mr. Urness took home movies of Adolf Hiltler on parade in Germany.
George Torgersen was of Norwegian descent. His spouse was Barbara Eggert Torgeson. He was interviewed at his home at Knife River, Minnesota, by interviewer Barbara W. Sommer.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Duluth, Kathryn A. Martin Library, Northeast Minnesota Historical Collections
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.
This sound clip highlights Civil War, 1929 Stock Market Crash, politics and Icelandic activity in Roseau County. 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.
Ragnvald Sve was of Norwegian descent. His spouse was Ragnhild Jacobson Sve. They were married to each other for 51 year. He is one of several people presently allowed a license to fish trout in LakeSuperior. He was interviewed at the Sve home in Two Harbors, Minnesota, by interviewer Barbara W. Sommer.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Duluth, Kathryn A. Martin Library, Northeast Minnesota Historical Collections
In this interview, Debra Stone (1952 - ) begins by giving some family background as it relates to St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota. In doing so, she tells briefly the story of her Communist father in Minnesota and the interesting circumstances which lead to both sides of her family settling in the Twin Cities area. As an African American, she talks of racial integration as it occurred on the North Side of Minneapolis where she grew up, Jewish life, school on the North Side, reasons for moving from the North Side to Saint Louis Park, school experience in Saint Louis Park, and class issues within Jewish society. 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
In an oral history conducted by St. Cloud State University Professor of History Calvin (Cal) Gower on January 7, 1986, Arnold Schneider detailed his family and educational background. He was born in 1909. He attended high school in Wisconsin, and after graduation went to work for the Great Northern Railroad in Allouez, Wisconsin. He continued to work for the railroad while he put himself through junior college in Duluth, Minnesota, which he finished in two years. He then attended the Iowa State Teacher's College in Cedar Falls, Iowa, where he majored in Business Education. He graduated in 1932. After graduation, he went to Madison, South Dakota, where he taught at Eastern State College. He later worked as Junior Analyst for Merrill Lynch in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and also as an accountant for Ford Motor Company. That variety of work experience, Schneider claimed, made him very versatile and aware of the many different aspects of the business world. After receiving his master's degree from the University of Iowa in 1937, he was offered a position at St. Cloud State to begin a Business Education program. Schneider described how he came to work in Business Education at St. Cloud State. Schneider said that Minnesota had no program to prepare Business teachers until St. Cloud State president George Selke convinced the State University Board to allow St. Cloud to establish one. Schneider was contacted while he was working on his doctorate in Iowa, and jumped at the opportunity to come to St. Cloud. While the program officially began spring semester of 1938, it really took off that following fall. Schneider described the early days of the department, as well as the two other faculty members involved, Clair Dagget and Mary Ferro. Schneider remained in St. Cloud State until 1942, when he joined the Navy. After World War II, he returned the university for a year before obtaining a position at Western Michigan University, where he started a College of Business program. He retired in 1974. Schneider reflected on some of his other experiences, including that of working with World War II veterans. He believed that the GI Bill, which allowed veterans to attend college, had a huge effect on education in the United States. He greatly admired veterans as students, and believed they made his classroom a much more dynamic place than it had been before. He felt that state universities became the ""common man's school."" Schneider also talked about some of St. Cloud State faculty he remembers, such as Clifford Bemis, Herbert Clugston, and Roland Torgerson.
Barbara is a historian and author of the book, "Hard Work and a Good Deal: The Civilian Conservation Corps in Minnesota." She shared memories her experience interviewing some of the African American men who were involved in the CCC in Minnesota.
Lois and her brother, Everett Johnson, share about growing up in the Whitewater Area and history stories they were told about the area. Lois also talks about her husband, Jim Sletten, who was a forest ranger and park manager.
Beginning in 1998, the City of Duluth (Minn.) Sister Cities Commission collaborated with the Iron Range Research Center to record a series of oral history interviews. Independent scholar Dr. JoAnn Hanson-Stone acted as the lead interviewer. The voluntary, self-selecting participants were second-generation Swedish Americans whose parents settled in northeast Minnesota in the early 1900s. The interviews were initiated to create supplementary material for a planned exhibit, "A Long Way Home: Swedish Immigrant Life in Duluth and Northeast Minnesota, 1890-1940."
Shah's parents came from India to the United States where he attended high school and college in Minnesota. He works as an institutional investment consultant. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Family life - importance of education to family - cooperation within the Indian community in the Twin Cities - learning Indian languages - growing up in Minnesota - frequent trips to India - an appreciation for one's roots - memories of elementary school - value of hard work and intolerance of violence - family relationships - Jainism - involvement in the School of India for Languages and Culture - high school memories - outdoor activities - traveling abroad - high school and college experiences - tracing Gandhi's footsteps - race relations on campus and in the United States in general - realities in dealing with both American and Indian culture in the second generation.
Edward P. Schwartz was born in Minneapolis in 1903. He was a newspaper reporter, weekly newspaper publisher and publicist, particularly for show business. He inherited and expanded his father's business (Schwartz Printing and Ad Art Advertising). Schwartz played a leadership role in the Variety Club of the Northwest and the Variety Club Heart Hospital. He was also involved with the fund drive for building Mount Sinai Hospital, with Temple Israel and with Democratic Farmer Labor politics. He was also a founder of the Henry Miller Society. Schwartz and his wife, Mae, were married in 1928, and they have one daughter. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Family background - his working career - intermarriage - anti-Semitism in local business and city affairs - the 1930s Depression - Temple Israel - the Variety Club of the Northwest and the founding of the Variety Club Hospital - Mount Sinai Hospital - the 620 Club and other Minneapolis restaurants - DFL politics, Hubert Humphrey's early career - and the Henry Miller Society. COMMENTS ON INTERVIEW: Schwartz bar mitzvahed with Ernie Fliegel, who was also interviewed for this oral history project.
Schroeder Area Historical Society, Schroeder, Minnesota
Date Created:
2000-09-20
Description:
The oral history of Nancy Gunderson Lindquist describes the emigration from Sweden of her grandparents, home birth with doctor and midwife, favorite foods, bachelor fishermen, The Cross River Coffee Shop, Girl Scouts, religious life and music.
Schroeder Area Historical Society, Schroeder, Minnesota
Date Created:
2006-06-22
Description:
The oral history of Martin Coyer describes forestry, the summer sport fishing life, Dyers Lake, Cook County, Minnesota, Nine Mile Lake, Lake County Minnesota, Doc Allard, bear meat and cabin building.
Biographical Information: The Rutledges were farmers in Lowry, Minnesota. They were members of the opposition groups Families Are Concerned Too and Save Our Countryside. Subjects discussed: Learning about the powerline project. Becoming involved in the controversy. Involvement with Families Are Concerned Too. Issues in controversy-changes in; section lines; health concerns. Science court. Involvement of legislature-Power Plant Siting Act. Reaction of power cooperatives to opposition. Reasons for confrontations. Governor's Anderson and Perpich. Court involvement. Necessity for line. Power needs-necessity for line; alternatives. Working with the government. Role of the media. Implications of powerline issue for more lines. Living with the powerline.
In this interview, Manual (Mandy) Ruder (1914 - ) gives an account of his life as a Jewish Minnesotan. Special attention is afforded to his family background, including information about his Romanian and Zionist parents farming in Palestine, their settlement in North Dakota, and eventually settling with his mother in Minneapolis after the tragic death of his father. The focus moves to Ruder's childhood in a Romanian Orthodox community near downtown Minneapolis, roughly during the period of 1910 - 1920, to his education at the University of Minnesota in the 1930s, Navy career, career in American National Bank, and copious family details. This interview was conducted by Dr. Linda Mack Schloff, former director of the Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest, in effort to document the stories of Jewish immigration to and community leaders in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
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.
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.
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 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 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 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 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.
