DISTRICT FORUM Volume 20, No. 9 www.daytonsbluff.org December 2007

Community Meeting..........Page 2

Block Nurse Program.........Page 2

Change the World.............Page 2

Access Saint Paul Corner....Page 3

A Christmas Story............Page 3

Snow-Free Hiking.............Page 3

Bluff Hall of Fame............Page 4

Prep for Kindergarten.....Page 6

Our Saviour’s New Pastor...Page 6

69 Years on the Bluff................Page 6

New Mural Proves Pride........Page 7

Bluff Rider Wayne Eddy...Page 7

A Place to Start...............Page 7

Community Gardens ..........Page 8

Position Available................Page 8

Inside This Issue

Dayton’s Bluff District 4Community Council798 East 7th Street

Saint Paul, MN 55106

NONPROFIT ORG.U. S. POSTAGE

PAIDSAINT PAUL, MNPERMIT NO. 3996

A Dayton’s Bluff Christmas Story

ECRWSSPostal Customer

Eastside businesses andorganizations have set up a freebreakfast networking eventfor Eastside Businesses,residents, and organizations. Itwill happen every six weeks orso at each of four Eastsidelocations on a rotating basis in2008. The first one takes placeWednesday, January 16 from7:30-9 a.m. at the MoundsTheatre, 1029 Hudson Roadnear Earl Street. MayorColeman will be at this kick offevent; along with an expected40-80 people. Free coffee andrefreshments provided byevent sponsors. More info?Call Ed 651-772-2075.

EastsideNetworking

Remember how Christmas used to be, with a leg lamp in the front window and an aluminum Christmas tree next to it? Okay, probablynot. But if you’ve been by the Mounds Theatre lately you’ve seen these things in the lobby and it can only mean one thing: AChristmas Story will once again be presented live on stage this December at the Mounds Theatre. See details on page 3.

Photo by Greg Cosimini

By Nick Duncan Damp and dreary fall weather wasnot enough to dissuade dozens ofpeople from gathering in Mounds Parkfor the dedication of Dayton’s Bluff’stwo newest works of public art. On October 16th two newsculptures were officially dedicated inMounds Park. The sculptures,Usumacinta Meets the Mississippiby Mexican artist Javier Del Cuetoand Sacred Bowl by Bemidji,Minnesota artist Duane Goodwin arepart of the Minnesota Rocks!International Stone CarvingSymposium. MN Rocks! was a PublicArt Saint Paul program which broughtin prominent sculptors from aroundthe world to spend six weeks in St Pauleducating the public on sculpture asan art form and in the process creatingworks of art to be placed in publicspaces in the city. The dedication of DuaneGoodwin’s Sacred Bowl sculpture included a number of rituals

highlighting the artist’s Ojibwaheritage. John Romer played NativeAmerican flute, while Goodwin andPau Day burned sage and held atraditional pipe ceremony. The highlight of the dedication wasGoodwin’s words to the crowd. Thesoft-spoken artist talked about howhonored he was to have his sculpturestand in such close proximity to theancient Native American burialmounds of Mounds Park. “Mound,sunset, city,” said Goodwin, gesturingtoward the mounds, the bluff and thecity beyond, with a smile.

Goodwin wants people to seeSacred Bowl as representative of boththe strength and the giving of theNative American people. He hopesthe work will be a catalyst to drawmore Native people to Mounds Parkand, in turn, make them aware of thearea’s rich Native American history.Finally, in a very touching gesture,Goodwin dedicated Sacred Bowl tohis 87 year-old mother. While Romerplayed a haunting version of AmazingGrace on the flute, Goodwin and Daylit an Ojibwa offering pipe. Following the Sacred Bowl cer-emony the crowd boarded the St. Paul

Two Sculptures Dedicated at Indian Mounds Park

L to r: City Council President Kathy Lantry, the artist’s mother, artist Duane Goodwinand the Sacred Bowl at the October 16th dedication. Photo by Nick Duncan

“Dedication” continued on page 6

Page 2 Dayton’s Bluff District Forum December 2007

Church DirectoryAmazing Grace Assembly of God1237 Earl St.651-778-1768Sun 9:30 am - Sunday school allagesSun 10:30 am - morning WorshipSun 6:00 pm - evening Worship

Hmong Asbury UnitedMethodist815 Frank St.651-771-0077

Bethlehem Lutheran Church655 Forest St.651-776-4737Sun 9:00 am - Morning ServiceSun 10:15-11:15 am - Sunday School& Bible HourSun 11:15 - Hmong Service

Faith Temple - Templo De Fe1510 Payne Ave651-778-0096Sun 10:30 am - Spanish BilingualServiceSun 6:00 pm – Spanish BilingualServiceWednesday family night

First Lutheran Church ELCA463 MariaSt. Paul, MN 55106651-776-72101 block North of Metropolitan StateSun 8:00 am - Free Community BreakfastSun 9:30 am – Worship serviceSun 10:45 am - Education for all agesHandicapped accessibleALL ARE WELCOME!

Mounds Park United Methodist1049 Euclid St.651-774-87369:15 am - Sunday School, 4-year-old through Adult10:30 am - Worship

Our Savior’s Lutheran ‘LCMS’674 Johnson Pkwy651-774-2396Sunday Worship - 9:15amEducation Hour - 10:30 amWednesday Worship - 6:30 pm

Sacred Heart Catholic Church840 E. 6th St.651-776-2741Sat 4:00 pm – MassSun 9:00 am – MassMon, Wed, Fri 8:00 am – WeekdayService

St. John’s Catholic Church977 E. 5th St.651-771-3690Mon-Sat 8:00 am – Daily MassSat 4:15 pm - MassSun 9:00 am, 11:00 am - Mass

St. John’s Church of God inChrist1154 E. 7th St.651-771-7639Sun 9:30 am - Sunday SchoolSun 10:45 am - WorshipWed 7:00 pm - Bible Study

St. John Ev. Lutheran765 Margaret St.651-771-6406Sun 9:30 am - WorshipThurs 6:30 pm - Worship

Dayton’s BluffCommunity Meeting

On Friday, December 21 theEastern District Police will host theirmonthly meeting for community mem-bers. The meeting is intended as atime to listen to and address people’sconcerns about crime and other issueson the East Side. The community meetings are heldat the Eastern District police office at722 Payne on the corner of Payne andMinnehaha Avenues on the third Fri-day of each month at 9:30 a.m.

Meet With The Police

The Dayton’s Bluff NeighborhoodMicroentrepreneur Class is starting inApril 2008 This program helps start-up and young businesses on the EastSide. All East Side entrepreneurs arewelcome. Class room training lasts 8 weeksand includes topics such as operationsmanagement, marketing, financialmanagement, how to creating a suc-cessful business, and preparing a busi-ness plan, plus 8 hours of one on onetime with the instructor to work onyour business concept. Those whosuccessfully complete the course andlocate their businesses in target neigh-borhoods are eligible for ongoing busi-ness support services. Some examples of businesses started bypeople who have previously taken thiscourse include graphics, landscaping,photography, food service, restoration ofwood furniture and works of art, customfloral design for weddings and events, andexterior and interior painting. The courseis sponsored by the Dayton’s Bluff Com-munity Council and the NeighborhoodDevelopment Center. There is a registra-tion fee based on a sliding fee scale. Thenext session will start in April. Class sizeis limited, so do not wait to apply. For anapplication, call Karin at 651-772-2075 oremail Karin@DaytonsBluff.org.

Be Your Own Boss

The next Community Meeting isThursday, December 6 from 6:30 to8:00 p.m. in the meeting room at theDayton’s Bluff Community Council,798 East 7th Street at the corner of7th and Margaret. The Dayton’s Bluff Community Councilholds its Community Meeting on the firstThursday of each month. The purpose isto work with block clubs and neighbor-hood residents on problem properties,criminal and nuisance behavior, code en-forcement issues and any other issues,concerns, or new ideas for improvementin Dayton’s Bluff. At the November Community Meetingthere were less problems and issues andmore discussion about engaging others,the need for more youth programs andmore positive interaction with youngpeople. If you would like, you can emailKarin@DaytonsBluff.org or call Karin at772-2075 with addresses of problems be-fore the meeting. If I have the addressesof problems ahead of time I can get themto the police and code enforcement sothey can bring information about the prob-lems to the meeting. Remember, it’s al-ways on the first Thursday of the month.All Dayton’s Bluff residents are welcometo attend. If you need more informationemail Karin@DaytonsBluff.org or callKarin at 651-772-2075.

The new Dayton’s Bluff Block Nurse Program has opened its doors in theeducational building at First Lutheran Church, 463 Maria. They are very happywith their new office space where they also hold feet clinics and blood pressurereading events. Clients and volunteers are needed. If you are a senior citizen and need servicesor more information about the Dayton’s Bluff Block Nurse Program pleasecall. Volunteers are needed to help seniors with their needs such as rides to thegrocery store or the doctor, snow shoveling and other chores, friendly visits orcalls, respite caregivers, special projects, administrative help, and governance. Their office is open on Mondays from 9:00 a.m. to noon in the educationalbuilding at First Lutheran Church, 463 Maria. The phone number is 651-776-7210 extension 303.

Dayton’s Bluff Block Nurse Program

Renae Dalluhn and Artemio Alvara looking over paper work in the new Dayton’s BluffBlock Nurse office at 463 Maria Avenue. Photo by Karin DuPaul

Three East Saint Paul projects, two in Dayton’s Bluff, are competing for helpwith projects in nine other cities through HGTV’s new program Change theWorld. Start at Home. The voting public across the country will decide thewinner. The Dayton’s Bluff projects are the Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary and thehome of Kris and Tom Nelson on North St., which was featured in the September2006 Forum. The other project is the Wilder Recreation Center and CityAcademy in the Payne-Phalen neighborhood. Voting is open from November 9 to December 21. PLEASE VOTE for SaintPaul’s projects. You are allowed to vote once per day. The winner will beannounced January 1, 2008 and work on the projects will begin in April 2008. Log onto: http://www.hgtv.com/changetheworld and VOTE TWIN CITIESNOW! Then log in again tomorrow and vote again. Then do the same thing thenext day, and the next day and well, you get the picture. If you’ve ever wantedto stuff a ballot box, this is your chance to do it legally and for a very goodcause.

Change the World! Vote Early - Vote Often!

By Ed Lambert, Executive Director, Dayton’s Bluff District Council The Alliance for Sustainability, based in Minneapolis, has held 2 major conferenceson neighborhood sustainability this decade. Each has attracted some 500 persons(mostly from Minneapolis) and provided excellent contacts, resources, and other infor-mation of interest to those who want to develop or retain liveable neighborhoods. The conferences are free, open to any Twin Cities resident, and the next one takesplace Saturday 3/8/08 at Augsburg College in Minneapolis from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. This advance notice is in this 2007 District Forum issue for three reasons: 1. The District Forum comes out 10 months of the year beginning in March, so a moretimely notice would not be sufficiently in advance to help Dayton’s Bluff residents andbusiness people to plan on attending. 2. The District Council hopes that a substantial number of residents and businessowners will want to attend, thus forming learning groups, which can bring back someinformation and helpful strategies for our community’s development. 3. This conference is particularly rich in workshops, provision of tools, and help withforming action teams to carry productive action forward. Some highlights of this conference are: 1. Participants will receive project tool kits to carry out energy conservation, walkingand biking, tree planting, rain garden and other projects with their block club, business,school, or congregation. 2. A major planned outcome is the formation of some 100-200 teams of urban andsuburban volunteers to use the tool kits and make things happen. 3. Sponsors include Minnesota League of Cities, City of Saint Paul, Friends of theMississippi, U of M Extension Service, and Eureka Recycling among some 15 others. Community Greening, Green Buildings, Gardens, Food, and watershed protection arealso among the topics the conference will focus on. For more information, please visitwww.afs.nonprofitoffice.com or call 612-331-1099x1 (Sean Gosiewski). You can registeron their site and get lots of other information of interest. Hopefully Dayton’s Bluff willhave a substantial group there, which will bring back lots of Green Energy to help“Build the Bluff.”

Springing for Neighborhood Sustainability

December 2007 Dayton’s Bluff District Forum Page 3

A Christmas Story returns to theMounds Theatre for the fourth year,live on stage this December for nineperformances. Humorist Jean Shepherd’s memoirof growing up in the Midwest in the1940s follows 9-year-old RalphieParker in his quest to get a genuineRed Ryder BB gun under the tree forChristmas. Ralphie pleads his casebefore his mother, his teacher andeven Santa Claus himself, atGoldblatt’s Department Store, with thesame and always consistent response:“You’ll shoot your eye out.” All theelements from the beloved motion pic-ture are here, including the family’stemperamental exploding furnace;Scut Farkas, the school bully; the boys’experiment with a wet tongue on a coldflagpole; the Little Orphan Annie de-coder pin; Ralphie’s father winning alamp shaped like a woman’s leg in anet stocking as a major award;Ralphie’s fantasy scenarios and more. Create or continue a holiday tradi-tion at the Mounds Theatre. A Christ-mas Story is appropriate for all ages.Tickets to the play make a great giftfor those “hard to buy for” individualson your shopping list. Purchase yourtickets now. Don’t delay and be dis-appointed.

PerformancesFridays, Dec. 7, 14 & 21 at 7:30 p.m.Saturdays, Dec.8, 15 & 22 at 7:30 p.m.Sundays, Dec. 9, 16 & 23 at 2:00 p.m.

Tickets Ticket prices are $15 Adults; $10Student/Senior (55+); and $5 Children(12 and under). Advance purchasegroup discounts are available. Visit www.moundstheatre.org formore information or to order ticketsor call 651-772-2253 and leave yourname and number. Someone will callyou back to take your order. The Mounds Theatre is located at1029 Hudson Road, St. Paul, MN55106 a half block west of Earl St.

A Christmas Story Returns to theMounds Theatre this December

Join other Dayton’s Bluff residentson Friday December 14th at theMounds Theatre at 1029 HudsonRoad to see the play A ChristmasStory at 7:30 p.m. This is the secondyear Dayton’s Bluff residents areencouraged to join other neighbors andsee this 1940’s era play about Ralphieand his quest for a genuine Red RyderBB gun for Christmas. This is a great way to have fun andsupport your local theater, plus youdon’t have to fight traffic or waste gasdriving across town. If you wish to participate in theneighborhood potluck before the playor need more information about theevening, call 651-772-2075 or emailKarin@DaytonsBluff.org. For ticketsvisit www.moundstheatre.org or call651-772-2253.

Dayton’s Bluff Night atthe Mounds Theatre

By Garry Fay, Walk the Bluff Coordinator Crimson and gold light danced off theWakan Tipi pond as its warmth filteredthrough the sun-drenched leaves. Agaggle of painters were clustered underumbrellas as their instructor promptedthem on how best to capture the moment’sglory. Birds of all sorts were taken to wingand song as the day’s heat greeted us onthe first Saturday of November as“Dayton’s Bluff Take a Hike” nears twodecades of continuous monthly hikesthrough several of Saint Paul’s naturalgems. Every time I head down off the Bluff intothe Vento Park I get rejuvenated as thewonder of discovery reaches out to me.Swede Hollow has a more human feel. Of-ten there are people about bird watching,searching for wildflowers or simply en-joying being themselves in a splendidpark. We are blessed to live in an area withsuch beauty and dedicated civic-mindedpeople who made these public spacespossible. The people I meet inspire me towant to get out and do more. Regardlessof the hour, never have I felt uncomfort-able or threatened by others. On the con-trary, walkers there seem to exude afriendly atmosphere. I wish I knew what to say that wouldmotivate more people to make the effortto enjoy their lives more by getting out-side frequently. Do something good foryourself… vow to get out to walk moreoften. Do it for your dogs, do it for yourhealth, and do it for your community. Justdo. It is one of the ultimate ways in whichwe can BE happy – by being active innature. Now as daylight is fading from the worldwith winter’s encroachment you can notethe low light’s presence outdoors whenyou are out there much more so than youcan from your car or home. Get out there

Take a Snow-Free Hike in Dayton’s Bluffand get going! You’ll find that cabin fe-ver abated and your sense of well-beingincreased. Though the weather is a bitnippy with the brisk breeze and frequentflurries you may find that the gloom anddoom from inside is washed away in thelow light of the day. Look for a comet inthe northeast evening sky or some othercelestial promise. Promise yourself to enliven your dayswith more time outdoors. Look for aproject. Be an anti-litter bug and fill ashopping bag with the detritus of thosewho have gone before and left their markon the landscape. Volunteer your familyand friends to beautify the neighborhoodor volunteer to clean up or help a neigh-bor in need. If you don’t know of anyone in needthen take a walk about your block andsure enough you’ll find a place that needsa bit of attention. Offer to help. Step upto the plate and swing for the fences. Gowith a friend or a block club member. Ifyou don’t belong to a block club yet thenplease email Garry@DaytonsBluff.org orcall 772-2075 and ask for Garry. This winter take your shovel out andmake snow removal your mantra. Cleanyour lot and then look to help out others.Leave them a note if you don’t see themwhen your job is done. Let us know ifthere are people who need help with thiscivic responsibility. Let us know if youwant to help. Complaints may be called into the cityat 651-266-8989 or send them an emailthrough the Dayton’s Bluff website. Goto Links, City of St. Paul, Departments…DSI code enforcement will put out a workorder on the property once they confirmthat there is a snow/ice accumulation.They charge the property owner $140/hourto shovel, sand and ice public walks. Thisprocess with the city takes many days.

Page 4 Dayton’s Bluff District Forum December 2007

By Steve Trimble We all know about the sports halls of famewhich occasionally become controversial whenselection time comes around. Minnesota hasits own Hockey Hall of Fame on the IronRange to celebrate famous professionalpucksters and hopefully to convince touriststo visit Eveleth. Our state is filled with various lists ofpeople who local folks feel should be remem-bered for their accomplishments. The Minne-sota Historical Society recently developed anexhibit that picked 150 people, places andthings that shaped the northland. On the lo-cal level, Harding and Johnson, East Side highschools have halls of fame complete with pho-tos and biographies on the wall. So why not a Dayton’s Bluff Hall of Fame?Sounds easy at first glance, but there are somethings to consider. On what basis shouldpeople be included? We certainly have someimportant people who once lived here—ormaybe still do. But should they be voted in ifthey left when they were young and becamefamous somewhere else? Then there is the question of how peopledefine “important.” Does this word reallymean having money and power and influence?What about someone who taught piano les-sons for forty years and influenced hundredsof children but never achieved any recogni-tion outside of the neighborhood? Modern historians have often remarked thatwomen may be overlooked because they weremostly kept out of the “male professions”that were thought to be the most “important.”Attention is given to those few “women wor-thies” who were able to succeed in spheresdominated by men. Perhaps, as the argumentgoes, attention should be given to accomplish-ments made within the “female sphere.” So it is with some hesitation that I am go-ing to write about some Dayton’s Bluffers ofnote. To get the discussion started—I hopethere will be one— here are a few folks whomight be picked for what will likely remain a“virtual hall of fame.” I have tried to include adiverse group of people who lived here duringmany different East Side eras. To provide a shred of neutrality, the nameswill be offered up in alphabetical order. TheForum is hoping that readers will send in theirown suggestions. A handy submission formis being provided next to this article. Pleasewrite!

James R. Anderson James R. Anderson, (1933-2000) a 1948St. Paul Mechanics Arts High School Gradu-ate, a Marine Corps Corporal who served inthe Korean Theater in 1951 and who wasawarded the Silver Star and the Purple Heart,resided at 697 Surrey prior to his death. Ob-viously more research is needed to providemore about why he received the prestigiousSilver Star and what he did in his later years.Richard Arlen Born Cornelius Richard Van Mattimore,actor Richard Arlen (1898-1976) was raisedin Dayton’s Bluff. During World War I, be-fore the U. S. became involved, he joined theRoyal Canadian Air Force and served as apilot. He later went to California and by pureluck was given an opportunity to act. Arlen’sbig break came when he was cast as a pilot inthe 1927 silent film “Wings” which won theOscar for Best Picture. Usually playing tough,cynical heroes he moved easily into sound,but by 1935 he was working in B movies.Would there be any interest in having a Rich-ard Arlen film festival at the Mounds The-atre?Clara Bergmeier Clara and Frederick Bergmeier lived formany years at 614 North Fountain Place, in ahome whose large landscaped yard ran downinto Swede Hollow. Clara, born in Minnesotato German-immigrant parents, worked withher husband Frederick to publish the localGerman newspaper, the Volkszeitung. Afterhe died in 1908 she continued running thepaper until 1923. She was always very activein the local German-American community aswell as church and women’s organizations.Harry Blackmun Harry Blackmun (1908-1999), the son of aDayton’s Bluff businessman lived at 847 EastFourth Street. He attended Van Buren Elemen-tary School (today’s Dayton’s Bluff Elemen-tary) and after graduating from Mechanic ArtsHigh school, he went on a scholarship to

Harvard University and then graduated fromlaw school. Blackmun was appointed to theSupreme Court in 1970 where he remaineduntil 1994. While he had been a good friendwith Warren Burger since they attended gradeschool together, toward the end of their ca-reers they voted together on less than half ofthe decisions and their friendship had cooled.Blackmun is probably most remembered forhis written opinion on Roe v. Wade in 1973but was also very concerned with FirstAmendment rights of free press, Sixth Amend-ment rights of fair trial and the need to endcapital punishment.William Branch In 1861 William Branch built a house at thenortheast corner of today’s Bates and Wilson(between Hudson and Plum). According toone biographer, he “was a medium-sized man,cool and collected, and possessed of consid-erable ability.” Branch was an artisan whoended up being a contractor for large jobs suchas grading the first forty miles of the Superiorand Mississippi Railroad. He was also interested in politics, partici-pating in the territorial legislature and servingas a city alderman from 1856 until 1861, whilealso holding a seat on the county commissionin 1858-59. Branch was also a member of theHouse of Representatives during the 1860’s.His 1873 obituary said he “did not have theadvantages of much education when young,”but was “endowed by nature with a great dealof shrewdness, hard common sense, practicaljudgment and business sense.”Cyrus Brooks Rev. Cyrus Brooks (1811-1902) resided onMound Street from 1875 to 1892. The infor-mation easily available says he was an ener-getic and renowned Methodist minister. Sofar, specifics about his career and writings havebeen hard to find, but perhaps some reader isa distant relative.Warren Burger Warren Burger (1907-1995), was one ofseven children born in St. Paul to a family of

Swiss and Ger-man descen-dants. He livedat 695 Conwayfrom 1914 to1933. He at-tended VanBuren Elemen-tary School andJohnson HighSchool andearned letters in

hockey, football, track and swimming. Hav-ing to work, Burger received an undergraduatedegree at night from the University of Minne-sota, and later earned a law degree at St. PaulCollege of Law, today’s William Mitchell. In1969, President Richard Nixon selected himas United States Supreme Court Chief Jus-tice, a position he held until he resigned in1987. He was considered a very competentadministrator who made the Court’s workmore efficient and was also a tireless promoterof judicial reform.Rick Cardenas Rick Cardenas and his family grew up in ahome under the Third Street Bridge and latermoved up into Dayton’s Bluff as the earlierhousing area was torn down. In addition tobeing a good student, he became a star hockeyplayer at Harding High School. He was seri-ously injured in an automobile accident andwas partially paralyzed and confined to awheel chair. As an adult he became founderand director of a grass roots organization thatwould be run by people with developmentaland other disabilities. The group he createdwas Advocating Change Together (ACT)which helps its members see themselves aspart of a larger disability rights movement andmake connections to other civil and humanrights struggles. While he now lives in a down-town high rise, he often looks out the windowand sees the neighborhood in which he grewup.Marion Carpenter Marion Carpenter studied photography inSt. Paul and became one of the first women tobecome an official White House photographer.She was the only woman among a handful ofphotographers who traveled with Truman. Shewas not as successful in her personal life. Shemarried twice, and by the time she was in hermid-thirties, her marriages and career wereover. Carpenter returned to St. Paul and

worked as a wedding photographer and as aprivate nurse to support herself, her motherand her child. According to the newspapers,she died at the age of 82 in her Dayton’s Bluffhome in October 2002 “on her couch, bundledup tightly against the chill because the ther-mostat had been lowered to save money.”

John H. Colwell John Colwell of 257 Johnson Parkway wasraised in Sherburne County, got a job on therailroad and moved to the Twin Cities at ageeighteen. He became a fireman and eventuallyadvanced to engineer. In 1911 he was ap-pointed state boiler inspector. Colwell was aprominent member of the Fraternal Order ofEagles and active in the Dayton’s Bluff Com-mercial Club. He was also the first president of theMounds Park Improvement Association. Itwas the group that, in 1913, conducted a suc-cessful, year-long quest to re-discover anduncover Carver’s Cave. According to one his-torian “Colwell was born and reared in theDemocratic Party, but his fine broadmindedness, a mark characteristic, has madehim independent, and he endeavors to sup-port the man and the measure most likely toprove the friend of the people.”Harold Dahlquist While Harold Dahlquist may not be foundin any history books, he is well known as thefounder of one of the community’s most suc-cessful ventures. In the mid-1950’s, as con-cerns over juvenile delinquency were abound-ing, he led a group of people who decided tostart a local baseball program. Parkway LittleLeague was formed and held its first game onJune 6, 1955. Dahlquist donated money andwork and located land for the group’s homeon Third Street just east of Earl. In June, 1956the new fields, which are still being used to-day, were opened.Lyman Dayton Naturally Lyman Dayton-and perhaps hiswife Maria Bates Dayton-would be amongthe chosen few. Since a great deal has beenwritten about both of them in past issues, noneed to repeat the facts again.Edward James Devitt Edward Devitt (1911-1992) came from Irishworking class stock. He was born in St. Pauland was another major judicial figure to at-tend Van Buren Elementary School. He wentto St. John’s University and then earned aBachelor of Law degree at the University ofNorth Dakota in 1935. Devitt was elected tothe U. S. House of Representatives as a Re-publican from St. Paul in 1946, but was de-feated for re-election by Eugene McCarthy.He was later appointed a federal judge on theU. S. District Court for Minnesota in 1954and retired in 1981. Judge Devitt was the co-author of Federal Jury Practice and Instruc-tions and chaired the American Bar Associa-tion Legal Advisory Committee on Fair Trial-Free Press. His most notable cases were the1961 racketeering trial of Minneapolis gang-ster Isadore “Kid Cann” Blumenfeld, and theReserve Mining environmental pollution trialof the mid 1970’s.Dr. George Earl George Earl was a physician who, along withhis brother, founded the Mounds Park Sana-torium in 1906. Born in Iowa, he built a houseat 935 Hudson Road in 1913. One of the roomson the first floor was the examination roomand waiting area. Earl was also involved in theMounds Park Bank, and the Midway Hospi-tal, as well as Gillette Children’s Hospital.Marie Dreis Giesen Marie Dreis Giesen lived with her hus-band, Peter J. Giesen in a brick Queen Annehouse at 827 Mound Street from 1892 to 1908.She was born in Germany and came to theUnited States in 1850 and to Minnesota fouryears later. Marie was a costume and dressdesigner with a shop at 37 W 3rd St (now

Kellogg Ave). Both Marieand her son Martin wereinvolved in the GiesenCostume Company. Herinterest in German lan-guage theater was behindthe formation of Giesen’sCostumes which becamethe largest of its kind inthe Midwest. She ran itfrom 1872 until 1901 and

it was subsequently operated by her son andhis wife. The St. Paul Municipal Opera relied

heavily upon the Giesen’s to outfit their vari-ous operas. It remained in operation until the1960’s.Father Gleeson Thomas F. Gleeson came from Northfieldin the 1890’s to be the third head of St. John’sCatholic Church at Fifth and Forest. It was apost he was to hold for thirty-five years.Father Gleeson found in his new charge achurch, a rectory and a new school, but alongwith these, a heavy indebtedness. But underhis leadership the heroic little parish of some300 families held its own during a series oftrying years. As the congregation, grew, therewas a new church and a new parish house.Father Gleeson lived for only two years in hisnew home, however, and died after a shortillness on March 3, 1929.William Hamm William Hamm, the son of brewery founderTheodore Hamm, was active in the businessworld as well as participating in communityaffairs. He was very active in local Demo-cratic politics. William Hamm served on theCity Park Board and the Common Council, asthe City Council was then named. In 1892 hebuilt a large frame house at 668 Cable Streetfor his new bride, Marie Scheffer in the sameyear that Hamm’s Brewery underwent a dra-matic expansion. Hamm was a mainstay ofthe Dayton’s Bluff Commercial Club, helpedorganize the first St. Paul Winter Carnival in1886 and was the Carnival’s first Borealis Rex.Laura Hand Laura Hand’s career at Van Buren Schoolspanned two centuries. From 1893 to 1917,she was the school’s principal. Miss Handwas especially interested in art and broughtback many beautiful prints from Europeantrips. She bought the school’s first Victrolaand electric lantern (an early version of a slideprojector) with a collection of a thousandslides. Miss Hand introduced home economicsand manual training classes at the school.Raised in an earlier era, she tried her best toprovide quality education and to continue anolder set of social values into a new century.The Hand Memorial library was started inher memory at Van Buren School on May 24,1928.Alfred J. Hill Alfred Hill (1833-1895) the archaeologistand philanthropist, was born in London andwas trained as a civil engineer. He emigratedto the United States in 1854, moved to St.Paul, lived at 406 Maria (now part of the Met-ropolitan State University parking lot) andspent much of his career in the State LandOffice. After a stint in the Civil War, Hill joinedthe Minnesota Historical Society and servedas a member of the Committee on Archaeol-ogy and subsequently as treasurer. Because of his interest in history, Hill en-tered into a formal contract with professor T.H. Lewis to begin the Northwestern Archaeo-logical Survey. From 1883 to 1895 the sur-vey, which was conducted out of Hill’s house,catalogued more than 12,000 Indian burialmounds in Minnesota, surrounding states andparts of Canada. Hill died suddenly of ty-phoid pneumonia, bringing an abrupt end tothe Northwestern Archaeological Survey.Orvin Hull Orvin Hull, who lived at 913 Fremont, neverhad a college degree but came to value educa-tion as he observed people around him as along-time maintenance employee at 3M. Hebegan gathering the company’s stock in itsearly years and during the Depression andwhen he died in 1961 left an endowment of amillion dollars for a scholarship fund for EastSide youth. The money was to go to gradu-ates of Johnson and Harding High schools-where his own children had gone-for tuitionand fees at state-run schools. Over the lastfour decades over a hundred young peoplewere aided in their quest for higher education.Herbert Keller Herbert Keller was the son of the Dayton’sBluff pioneer who built a stately home onEichenwald Street. A strong Republican, hebecame mayor of St. Paul and later a RamseyCounty Commissioner. One of his avid inter-ests was developing the area’s park systemwhich helps explains why they named KellerLake and Keller Golf Course after him.

Should Dayton’s Bluff Have a Hall of Fame? And Who Might Be In It?

“Hall” continued of page 5

December 2007 Dayton’s Bluff District Forum Page 5

Oscar E. Keller Oscar Keller. (1878-1927) came to St. Paulin 1900 from Wisconsin, starting out as a clerkfor a downtown company. He later opened agrocery store at 863 East 7th while living at

308 Bates Avenue. Astrong supporter ofunions and progres-sive in his ideology,Keller was a memberof the city council ofSt. Paul from 1910 to1914, was a St. Paulcity commissionerfrom 1914 to 1919,and the commissionerof St. Paul public utili-

ties from 1914 until July 1, 1919 and alwaysfought for lower gas and electric rates. He hada reputation as a fighting public official andopenly attacked the city railway system He was an Independent Republican U.S.Representative from the St. Paul area in 1919,appointed to fill the vacancy caused by thedeath of Carl C. Van Dyke. He was then re-elected as a Republican. He lost in 1926 anddied a year later.William King William King came to the U.S. from En-gland and settled in Dayton’s Bluff in 1872where he purchased five acres of land and builtthis home in the same year. The house wassmall, with a kitchen, a parlor and three bed-rooms and a bathroom out back. He set up aflorist business. The house of this “typicalEnglish gentleman,” as his granddaughter de-scribed him, still stands at 1150 Pacific. In 1866 King platted the land into lots, butthey did not sell well and he still owned mostof them when he died thirty-six years later.He opened a retail shop on Seventh Street inLowertown in 1877. Even after Pacific Streetwas graded to his house, it took many yearsfor city water to arrive. All of the hundreds ofplants had to be watered by hand from a pump.He retired in 1912 at age 68 and died on Janu-ary 10, 1922.Michael F. Kinkead Kinkead was a First Lieutenant during WorldWar I and lived at 695 East Fourth in 1919.This 6' 2 3/4" veteran, who was born in Lim-erick, Ireland, was a self-employed lawyerwho worked out of the Exchange Bank Build-ing after the completion of military service.He became active in the community and wasone of the organizers of the Polish AmericanClub in 1927. Kinkead was most well-knownas the Ramsey County Attorney who pros-ecuted the Green Lantern murder case in 1931,shortly after taking office. He successfullyprosecuted the local mob that was involved ina murder outside this notorious gangster hang-out. Kinkead left the County Attorney’s of-fice to become a probate judge in 1939.Ed Krahmer Ed Krahmer was born in 1905 on Hope Streetand lived all of his life in the neighborhood.

As a child he contractedpolio and walked with aslightly noticeable limp.As a youngster he gainedstrength working for asister on her farm nearHighway 61. This expe-rience nurtured a life-longlove of gardening. He attended Sibley El-ementary. In 1937 hemarried Helen Albrechtand they both moved

into the family home on East Fifth Street thatEd’s father had built in 1907. He worked as afreight salesman for several different railroads.He was very active in community affairs in-cluding Peace United Church and CommunityCouncil. He spearheaded the successful op-position to the building of Highway 212through the neighborhood.Walter T. Lemon Walter Lemon, a resident of 755 East Fifth,graduated from the University of MinnesotaLaw School and served in the MinnesotaHouse of Representatives from 1903 to 1906.He was a very important member of theDayton’s Bluff Commercial Club and a mem-ber of the St. Paul Curling Club.Nathaniel McLean Nathaniel McLean (1787-1871) was an Ohionewspaperman, an elected member of the OhioLegislature and an officer in the War of 1812.He moved to St. Paul in 1847, and embarkedon the newspaper business, publishing the

Chronicle & Register at the age of 60. He wasan abolitionist and was active in the early Re-

publican Party inM i n n e s o t a .McLean then be-came federal In-dian Agent for theSioux, and in1855 was electeda RamseyCounty commis-sioner. He lived in ah o u s e — n o w

gone— near the corner of what is now Moundand McLean Streets. McLean Township in-cluded all of today’s Mounds Park area. Hedied of cancer in 1872.Adolph Munch Adolph Munch was the president of DieVolkszeitung Printing & Publishing Companyand resided at 653 East Fifth Street.Catherine Filippi Piccolo Catherine Piccolo, a long-time resident at397 Maple Street, grew up on the Iron Rangeand enlisted in the military in 1942. Shequickly advanced to master sergeant by Feb-ruary of 1944. She ended up in charge of theWAC contingent that handled secret docu-ments at Oak Ridge for several years. By thetime she left the service in 1950, she was acaptain. After leaving the service, Piccolo stayedvery active in the St. Paul area. She workedfor several companies including two stintswith 3M, interrupted when she was raisingher three children. She became the businessmanager at Hill-Murray High School for eightyears, and was elected to the St. Paul SchoolBoard for two terms. She served on the St.Paul Civil Service Commission and the St. PaulPlanning Commission. She is buried at FortSnelling Cemetery.Dr. Frederick Plondke Dr. Plondke, who lived at 705 East FourthStreet, was associated with a downtown in-stitution but felt there was a need for a com-munity-based hospital on the East Side. Heapproached a group of business people, pas-tors and members of the Lutheran churchesand in 1911, they founded of St. Johns Hos-pital at Seventh and Mounds Boulevard.Plondke was its Medical Director for overthirty-five years. He introduced the use ofspinal anesthesia during operations, using thedrug Stovain.Madgdelana Rau Magdelana Rau grew up in a German-Ameri-can family in South Dakota but left to go toSt. Joseph’s School of Nursing in Minneapo-lis. She graduated in 1908 and was hired to bethe Superintendent of St. John’s Hospital inDayton’s Bluff. It was a job that that endedup lasting forty-two years. They say she wasa model of efficiency and a stickler for detail.Did any of you work with her? Send in yourexperiences.Angelo Rulli Angelo Rulli, who lived for a good manyyears in Dayton’s Bluff, was a probation of-ficer and member of St. Ambrose CatholicChurch. He started collecting music boxes andorgans in 1971 and developed a reputation asan expert in the history of this form of music.He often appeared on A Prairie Home Com-panion in the mid-1980s as an organ grinder.He tired of life as a probation officer, andfrom 1986 to 1988 he joined a St. Louis-basedcircus in the summers. Albert Scheffer Albert Scheffer (1844-1905) was born inPrussia and came to Minnesota in 1850. Hewas a businessman and was involved in bank-ing for many years. He was on the St. Paulschool board, in the state legislature, in theGrand Army of the Republic and was a founderof the St. Paul Winter Carnival and served aspresident of the St. Paul German InsuranceCompany. He and his family lived on Moundand Maria Streets and a St. Paul school wasnamed in his honor.Ilma Scheffer Growing up at 267 Maria Avenue, Ilma andher sister Martha taught dancing in their homeand at the Dayton’s Bluff Commercial Clubduring the 1920’s. For many years she wenton to run one of the better downtown restau-rants, appropriately named Café Ilma.William Schornstein William Schornstein was a grocer whostarted out working for others and eventuallyopened the Schornstein Grocery and Saloonat 707 Wilson in the late 1880’s. He and his

family resided there as well. The establish-ment was especially popular among the area’sGerman-Americans and there was a large hallon the third floor that was a place for meet-ings and special events.John A. Seeger John Seeger was a longtime Dayton’s Bluffresident who lived on the 600 block of EastFifth Street. He was born in Kentucky andmoved to St. Paul in 1868. He was a contrac-tor and builder from 1872 to 1905, and spe-cialized in manufacturing refrigerators after1905. The Seeger Refrigeration Company de-veloped the first electric refrigerators and be-came the nation’s largest manufacturer of pri-vate-brand refrigerators and was a majorDayton’s Bluff employer. The company waseventually merged into Whirpool.Jennie Siebold Jennie Siebold lived with her family at 778East Sixth Street in a block now filled by

Metropolitan StateUniversity between1881 and 1930. Shebecame a nurse and wasemployed at the MillerHospital Clinic. Sheeventually was at theUniversity of Minne-sota where, for a time,she was head of the

nursing team that went to the World AmateurSoftball Tournament.Margaret Sieland Known to all by her nickname “Mike,”Margaret Sieland grew up in Dayton’s Bluff

and was alwaysinvolved in ath-letics. She begancoming to theMargaret Recre-ation Center toplay diamondball, an earlyname for soft-ball. She was atop-notch swim-mer and came

close to going to the Olympics in that sport.She chose recreation as a career and appropri-ately ended up being the director at MargaretPlayground for several decades. This life-longresident of the East Side is currently living atthe Cerenity home on Earl and Thorn. In 1985the Minnesota Sports Federation inducted herinto their Hall of Fame. That must make her ashoe-in for our possible list.Taoyateduta Taoyateduta, often referred to in an Englishtranslation as Little Crow, was an important

Dakota leader. Hewas born around1810 in Kaposia,then located alongthe MississippiRiver on the west-ern edge of whatwould becomeDayton’s Bluff.He learned to speakand write Englishand served as a

spokesman for his people. Even after the Da-kota left for their reservation along the Min-nesota River in 1850’s, he visited St. Paul andhis name occasionally appeared in the news-papers. He was the reluctant leader of the1862 Dakota Conflict.

Steve Thayer Steve Thayer grew up in Dayton’s Bluffand graduated from Harding High School. Hewent to college and became interested in act-ing and went to California. He eventually de-cided that writing was his career of choice andreturned to St. Paul. His first novel, St. Mudd,set mostly on the East Side, had to be self-published, but a national publisher picked itup. He has since gone on to write several othernovels and is considered one of the state’sleading writers.Truman Smith Truman M. Smith who once lived at 908Mound Street, began his career as a bankerand was once among the richer men in thecity. He had a love of gardening and his homesite was adorned with a variety of flowers.Smith was wiped out in the 1857 financialpanic, his house went on the auction block,and his career as a banker was over. To survive, Smith turned his green thumbinto a livelihood and was soon a major gardenfarmer, put out a catalog that listed a wideselection of small fruits and other plants forsale, had a vineyard, raised pears, apples, andnearly forty types of grapes. He was electedpresident of the Minnesota Grange and of theMinnesota State Horticultural Society, movedto San Diego, California, in 1888, but died in1909 in St. Paul.Milhailo Temali Mike Temali, as he is usually known, grewup on Mounds Boulevard. Temali, a graduateof Harding High School, has his Master’s de-gree in Public Affairs from the HumphreyInstitute at the University of Minnesota. Heis the founder and executive director of theNeighborhood Development Center (NDC)and the founder and president of Western Ini-tiatives for Neighborhood Development(WIND), both in St. Paul, Minnesota. Previ-ously, he was executive director of North EndArea Revitalization, Inc. He served on theGovernor’s Minority Business Workgroupand has been a Bush Leadership Fellow. Sister M. Theonilla Sister Theonilla was a member of the orderof Sacred Heart sisters of Notre Dame. Shecame to Dayton’s Bluff on November 21,1882 and started teaching at the new schoolthe next day. At the start, there were eighty-six students. She remained at the school forforty-five years until she left for the motherhouse in August, 1928. Are there differentnuns who should be considered? Perhaps Sis-ter Giovanni who was at Sacred Heart Churchbefore serving on the West Side? Emil Ulrici Emil Ulriici was a well-known architectwho once lived at 619 North Street and de-signed a number of structures in Dayton’sBluff. He was associated with Millard, Ulrici& Eltzner.

There you have it. Some of my suggestionsfor a Dayton’s Bluff Hall of Fame—if thereever is one. More research needs to be madeon most of them. It is obviously incompleteand many names could probably be added ora few subtracted. Hopefully some of you read-ers may make suggestions. If there are anymistakes or corrections that need to be made,please contact us. Please consider clippingout the nomination form and sending it in orjust jot down your ideas on paper or in an e-mail. Please consider helping out. The Forumwill do its best to publish what is sent in.

“Hall” continued from page 4

Who would you like to nominate to theDayton’s Bluff Hall of Fame?

Person’s Name __________________________________________What did they do? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Your Name _____________________________________________Your Address ___________________________________________Your Phone _____________________________________________Your Email _____________________________________________Email to Karin@DaytonsBluff.org or mail to Dayton’s Bluff DistrictForum, Attn: Karin, 798 East 7th Street, Saint Paul MN 55106

Page 6 Dayton’s Bluff District Forum December 2007

Trolley and rode down the hill to thesite of Javier Del Cueto’s sculptureUsumacinta Meets the Mississippi.Cueto, a Mexican artist, was not ableto attend the dedication but the Mexi-can and Aztec culture were well rep-resented by the Aztec MeciaCuctemec dancers. The dancers, de-spite the chilly weather and a steadydrizzling, did a number of impressivesynchronized Aztec dances in tradi-tional costumes and bare feet. According to the artist, UsumacintaMeets the Mississippi is meant torepresent the ties between the waters

“Dedication” continued from page 1

By Mary Ann Cogelow As Thanksgiving approached, fourand five year olds in the Dayton’s BluffEarly Childhood Family Education“Preparing for Kindergarten” classwere learning about the third bird inthe series of nine Minnesota birds theywill learn about this school year. Guesswhat? It’s that all American bird –the wild turkey! Beginning with the chickadee inSeptember and the American crow inOctober, children are learning basicfacts about a “Bird of the Month.”They are becoming familiar with thecalls the bird commonly makes. Theycan tell you how many eggs the fe-male bird typically lays at one time,what kind of nests they have, whatkind of diet they eat, and other inter-esting facts. Crows, for example,decorate their homes with shiny ob-jects, which seem to provide a purelydecorative function. While this unit is rich in many kindsof science experiences, their study ofbirds enhances the children’s devel-opment in many other school readinessareas simultaneously. When thechickadee was being studied in Sep-tember, the children cooperated to helpthe teachers build a manikin holding atray on which they put seeds to at-tract chickadees. They named him“Freddy, the Feeder.” They played sohard at the “work” of stuffing his bodyparts and putting him together thatthey had almost no time for other self-initiated play that day, but theystruggled together to carry “Freddy”outside (not an easy a job when youare transporting an object twice as tallas you are and floppy to boot) and sethim up outside the school near the rain

garden. They did similar group workin creating “Lola, the Scarecrow” inOctober. Each of the children is also creatinga bound Bird Book which has a clearpicture and brief description of thebird of the month, a sample of some-thing that bird typically eats, a num-ber line on which the child can circlehow many eggs are laid in a brood,and a tree outline where the child canindicate where that bird might nest.By June of this school year all mem-bers of the class will have a book anda lot of information about familiar birdsas well as a record of their own in-creasing skills in printing some or allof the letters of their names, counting,and drawing. As the months go by children willhave an opportunity to dissect an owlpellet, use carpentry skills to build atray feeder, make feeders using pi-necones and peanut butter, examinethe ways birds are feathered by look-ing at real bird specimens, providenesting materials and discuss the waysin which birds build nests, and muchmore. Through these and other birdfocused activities children are build-ing their physical ability in the use oflarge and small muscles. They are in-creasing their scientific knowledge ofthe world in which they live and prac-ticing ways to enjoy and care for thatworld. They are using social skills likecooperation, turn taking and sharing.They use language and print and num-bers to make meaning and record in-formation. In the process they areengaged and empowered. Guess what the bird of the monthwill be in December! Hint: it’s a redone.

Preparing for Kindergarten

These proud four and five year olds pause for a photograph to document their goodwork in creating and setting up “Freddy, the Feeder.” Come and get some seeds, youchickadees!

of Mexico City and the waters of theMississippi River. Indeed, thesculpture’s location on the bluffs over-looking the Mississippi River is idealto that purpose. Anyone who wants to see ourneighborhood’s newest public artworks for themselves can find SacredBowl near the corner of Mounds Blvd.and Earl. Usumacinta Meets the Mis-sissippi is located along Mounds ParkBoulvard across from the intersectionwith McLean. Visit www.minnesotarocks.org. formore info on these or other sculpturesin the Minnesota Rocks! project.

On Monday, Oct. 29 Kathy Lantry con-vened a meeting about the Hospital Linen Siteon East 7th Street between Maple and Bates.The purpose was to update neighbors whohave been actively involved in this project fora number of years. The 7th Street Partners arethe developers of the Hospital Linen Project.They plan to build condominiums. The Hospital Linen building was removedover a year ago and the houses and buildingson the west end of the property have beenboarded and vacant for a number of months.

Over the next few months Dayton’s BluffCommunity Council volunteers and staff willbe going door to door in the Lower Bluff, thearea between East 6th Street, Mounds Blvd.,Hudson Road and Maple Street. They willask residents to fill out surveys that will helpthe Community Council determine what im-provements the residents would like to see intheir neighborhood. This is part of MayorColeman’s Invest Saint Paul Initiative. Invest Saint Paul is an intensive examina-tion of several small areas in several Saint Paulneighborhoods, including Dayton’s Bluff. Theidea is to get a close look at what the residentsin each area identify as things that should beimproved. Then, working with the residentsand other agencies, come up with a list ofthings to deal with and work on them over thenext several years. The Community Council volunteers startedthe door-to-door work on November 10th andwill continue over the next few months. Whenresidents complete the survey their names willbe entered in a drawing for prizes. If you would rather come to the Commu-nity Council office or a community meetingto fill out the survey, emailKarin@DaytonsBluff.org or call Karin at 651-772-2075 to schedule a time.

Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church has anew pastor. Reverend Brian Scoles is nostranger to St. Paul, but is new to the EastSide. Pastor Brian is a native of Iowa, butlived in St. Paul from 1993 to 2004. From1993 to 1996 he attended Concordia Col-lege (now University), located in theHamline-Midway part of town. From 1996to 2004 Pastor Brian served as the Minis-ter of Discipleship and Outreach at BethelLutheran Church in the Como Park-NorthEnd area. Rev. Scoles was ordained andinstalled at Our Saviour’s on June 24th ofthis year. Pastor Brian not only serves anEast Side congregation, he lives in thearea with his family as well. He and hiswife Alaine have one daughter and a son. Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church hasbeen serving the East Side community foralmost a century now. For several de-cades the church was located on the cor-ner of Earl St.and Minnehaha Avenue, butis now situated at 678 Johnson Parkway.The church relocated to its current loca-tion fifty years ago, and is part of the EastSaint Paul Lutheran School Association. Since Pastor Brian’s arrival, OurSaviour’s has re-doubled its efforts atbeing a neighborhood church. OurSaviour’s hosts an annual Block Party inlate summer. This year it also held its firstannual Operation Backpack ministry,which provided sixty backpacks filled withschool supplies for kids and teens in thecommunity. The congregation is serving a free com-munity Thanksgiving Day meal this year.Our Saviour’s is the host for the EastMetro Christian Fellowship for the Visu-ally Impaired, a support group that meetsonce a month for a free meal and a shortprogram. Finally, Our Saviour’s shares itsfacility with Cristo El Redentor, a Spanishspeaking Lutheran congregation.

New Pastor at OurSaviour’s Lutheran

Pastor Brian Scoles

Invest Saint Paul is Coming

By Shannon Ritchey Every wondered what it was like 30, 40, 50or more years ago on the East Side of SaintPaul? Well, one resident has live here for sixty-nine years, sixty-seven of those years in thesame house on Beech Street near MargaretRecreation Center. Marcella Rydel, orGrandma Marcie as our family calls her, is, asfar as we know our longest living resident onthe East Side and is a wealth of knowledgeabout our neighborhood! She was born in 1938 to John and IreneRydel, the youngest of four children. Whenshe was born they lived just two doors downfrom her current home. In 1940, along withher father, mother, Brother John (Jake), andsisters, Rita and Francis, she moved to hercurrent home. She attended Sacred HeartCatholic School, now known as Trinity Schooland then Harding High School when it was atEarl and Third. She talks about walking to school in all kindsof weather because in those days there didn’thave buses to pick them up and she despisedthe flying nuns, which is why she choseHarding over a private Catholic high school.While at Harding, she worked at Mounds ParkHospital as a nurse’s aid until she graduatedin 1957.

Sixty-Nine Years inDayton’s Bluff

She then worked typing policies and doingcomputer work for a number of different in-surance companies until she retired at the ageof fifty-five. She says she always wanted tobe a ditch digger (road construction wouldprobably be the comparable job today) but inthose days there were few options for girlsafter high school and ditch digging would nothave been a job available to women. She con-tinued to live at her parent’s home and takecare of them until they passed away. She alsotook care of the yard, household maintenanceand the different dogs they had over the years.She always preferred to work on the house orthe yard over cleaning and inside housework,which she still hates to this day. She loves the outdoors and loves dogs evenmore. She never married nor had children soher dogs were her kids! You may rememberher walking by your house with the late Mr.T, a large, very friendly, collie mix. She hasalways walked the East Side (she never learnedto drive-even though I have offered to teachher), and she made it a point to talk with allthe neighbors as she went. She was an avidwalker up until she broke her ankle in thespring of 2006. She continues to enjoy takingcare of her yard, her beautiful rose garden,reading, and babying Duke, her next-doorneighbor’s dog! She also enjoys going with meon daily car rides, shopping trips and going toGrand Marais when we go. We are very luckyto have Grandma Marcie in our neighborhood!

1957 Harding Graduation photo

Hospital Linen Site

“Hospital Linen” continued on page 8

December 2007 Dayton’s Bluff District Forum Page 7

By Alvin Mitchell, Outreach Coordinator,Mounds Park United Methodist Church Saint Paul’s East Side continues to makeheadlines and the majority of the newsreflects negatively on this sector of thecity. There are reports about gang activi-ties, shootings, drug dealings and rape,among other things. Some residents feeltheir only alternative is to relocate to anewer community, a suburb or any com-munity that is not clouded with negativenews. All is not lost however; there is aplace to start. Over the last two months, I have at-tended a few of the East side’s Block Clubmeetings, including that of the Dayton’sBluff Community Council. Topics thatsurfaced throughout these meetingsrange from meeting codes on rental homesand apartments to community crimes. Lo-cal police are usually invited to speakabout their role in providing security. OnNovember 1st, the Dayton’s Bluff Com-munity Meeting reflected on what, as acommunity, we can do together to add tothe positive changes we would like to see.We decided to start with our youth. The police relate the easiest target groupfor well-established gangs is our adolescents.The vulnerabilities adolescents face nowadaysare many. What this means is that we need toreach our youth before they become trappedin gangs, branded as contributors to society’stroubles. Our community can provide a struc-tural environment such as a program whereyouth can feel safe, supported and cared for.This environment, as anticipated, will furtheryouth’s potential to become productive mem-bers of our community and the larger society.Potential Program Basics: 1. The program is geared toward middleschool youths. 2. Approximately 3 hrs/day & 3 days/week. 3. Community helpers will be primary staff,including volunteers and retired individuals.Skilled staff members (businessmen, artists,cosmetologists, teachers, etc.) are encouragedto plan and lead special activities. 4. Provide academic and social support forour youth. 5. Seek resources and partnerships to en-hance its effectiveness. 6. The program will provide snacks as well. Establishing a middle school youth programis an achievable goal. Other communities havesuccessfully implemented such a program. Iurge you to consider the possibilities of thisinitiative. Send your ideas about effectivelyengaging our adolescents through this program.Attend Block Club and Community Councilmeetings to share your thoughts on how pro-active this community can be.

By Che Xiong As you walk along the street, just beforeArcade, you will come upon the newest mu-ral that East Side St. Paul has to offer. Themural is located on the wall of the Size Mat-ters Fashion Shop and was created and de-signed by students from the City Academycharter school. It represents the diversity ofcultures on East Side St. Paul and the pridethat we have for it. The idea for the mural began when the ownerof the shop, Mee Thao, decided to renovateher building with the help of Historic SaintPaul and City Academy. The actual projectbegan in the spring of 2006 and took severalmonths to complete. A second component tothis project: two paj ntaub made from ceramictiles will be placed at the front of the buildingwhen completed. If you haven’t seen the mural, it consists ofa large rectangle and six circles overlapping iton each corner and sides, with hands extend-ing from each circle into the middle of therectangle, which also has a triangle in themiddle of it. But what do they stand for? The circle at the top represents people ofHispanic heritage, symbolized by the Aztecface. To the right of it is a Scandinavian de-sign. Underneath that one, is a simple designfrom Hmong paj ntaub, representing Hmongpeople and other Asian cultures. The verybottom circle signifies people of Europeanancestry. Next, is the circle that stands forpeople of African-American ethnicity. It is anAfrican person’s silhouette behind an Africanstyle shield. Last, but not least, is the circlethat represents Native Americans, a wovenbasket with feathers projecting from the edgeof the basket. Each hand is reaching into thecenter of the triangle within the rectangle, asif they are about to shake hands with eachother, depicting the varieties of cultures onthe East Side coming together.

By Ed Lambert In October of this year, the MinnesotaBroadcasters Association inducted 8members into their Minnesota Broadcast-ers Hall of Fame. Among those inducted,along with Dan Shelby and other majorbroadcasters, was a “Bluff Rider,” formerresident Wayne Eddy. He is the first BluffRider to be profiled in this series. Waynelived in several locations in Dayton’sBluff during the 50s and 60s, including inthe back of the old Rocco’s grocery storeat 4th and Forest. He also worked in theBluff making “Pronto Pups” (a kind ofEmpanada. or rolled up Pizza, looking abit like a hot dog shaped turnover) at abusiness located at the corner of 4th andCypress.

“Bluff Riders” is a series of occasionalarticles in the Forum about persons whopresently live or work in Dayton’s Bluff,as well as persons who once lived orworked in Dayton’s Bluff, published whenwe get news of a recent award or recogni-tion they have received. The award or recognition may be for asport, their business or profession, an edu-cational achievement, a hobby, or some stu-dent activity. Our profile will briefly re-view their accomplishments and backgroundand their connection to the Bluff. We want a recent photo of the personbeing profiled. Concerning past Bluffers,we seek not only a current, or contempo-rary photo, but would also like a photo orsnapshot of them when they were residentor working in the Bluff, if possible. These “Bluff Riders” help us recognizethat many people have helped “Build theBluff,” and others are doing so every day,thus becoming members of the “PositiveForce Gang (PFG)” whose riders have rid-den on (or will ride on) to make contribu-tions in business, education, sports, thehobby world, or their professions. Someare very young, others much older, yet allcome from the rich heritage of Dayton’sBluff - the neighborhood that “Saint Paullooks up to.” Send your suggestions for future profilesto ed@daytonsbluff.org (please includecontact information) or call Ed at 772-2075.

What is a Bluff Rider?New Mural Proves the East Side Has Pride

When I began this project I was enrolled inthe Mural class at City Academy. My firsttask was to make the ceramic tiles that wouldbe placed at the storefront. I was also en-rolled in City Academy’s Construction class,which was asked to help in the making of themural. We gave the wall a new paint job witha beige colored concealer. The basic design forthe mural was drawn onto the wall by stu-dents in the Mural class and the painting wasdone by both classes. It was a long process,working under the blinding sun and the sum-mer heat for three hours a day, but many stu-dents helped out, whether or not they were ineither class. Of course, there was bound to be some kindof dispute, seeing as there were so many dif-ferent and talented artists involved. One ofthe clashes developed over the original outerdesign of the bottom circle, which was unfor-tunately, my design. Most of the male artistshad felt that the design was too feminine andcolorful. In the end, we agreed on white roseson a black background. Another issue con-cerned whether or not to paint the hands dif-ferent colors. Some of us wanted to and someof us did not. At the time they were still thebeige color of the concealer. So, what did wedo about it? Our teacher, Mem Lloyd, had usstand around a table, pull our sleeves up, andput our hands out into the middle. We sawthat even though we were all a different race,our skin colors were actually quite close incolor. The colors of the hands in the muralwere chosen to stay as they were. This experience was very new to somepeople, thinking that they would never be art-ists or that they didn’t even have a single ar-tistic bone in their body. We learned that nomatter what skills you possess, or don’t pos-sess, in painting or drawing or any kind of art,when it comes to making a difference in yourneighborhood, every little bit of help counts.

By Joyce Danner This was my first time in attending theNational Trust Preservation Conference.There were so many choices of things to do,historical housing/building tours all over theState of Minnesota and workshops on everypossible housing topic. Some days I wasbusy from 8:00 a.m. to midnight. I thoroughly enjoyed the workshops I at-tended. It was great to see the slide shows ofneighborhoods from all over the country be-ing revived to their former splendor and lis-tening to how people of like mind got to-gether to save a building that had meant some-thing to the history of the community. It was also nice to listen to people fromother states talk about how lucky we werehere in Minnesota to have such beautiful ar-chitecture and that we have been able to pre-serve it. It also gave me a fresh look at whereI live. Sometimes it takes someone else’s per-spective to give us a good reminder of whatwe are so lucky to have. Dayton’s Bluff is a wonderful place to live.We have the largest pocket of Victorian homesin the state of Minnesota, as well as otherhistorically beautiful homes. There is won-derful history here to teach our children andgrandchildren. The early residents, both thewealthy and poor, helped build Minnesotainto the thriving community it is today. The Preservation Alliance of Minnesotasponsored a scholarship program and offered100 scholarships to Minnesota residents whowanted to attend the conference.

By Karin DuPaul A number of Dayton’s Bluff residents at-tended the National Trust Preservation Con-ference in October. They all learned a lot andenjoyed the conference. In the poster presentation area some of theDayton’s Bluff attendees met a representa-tive from the Historic Properties web site(www.historicproperties.com) and they wereencouraged to submit photos and informationon homes for sale, including vacant homes. I purchased a copy of “Buying Time forHeritage - How to Save an Endangered His-toric Property” by J Myrick Howard. Thisbook goes into great detail about saving andmarketing vacant and endangered properties. Bus trip field tours were very popular. Itwas a great way to show off history in Min-nesota. There were a number of Historic SaintPaul bus tours that featured several projectsthey helped fund in Dayton’s Bluff along withthe Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary, SwedeHollow Park and the Swede Hollow Cafe.Some of the other tours went to Duluth,Owatonna, Red Wing, and Minneapolis andcovered subjects like Adapting Historic Build-ings for Artists and Fort Snelling – Changesand Challenges to a Minnesota Landmark. One educational sessions gave many ex-amples of how communities market their as-sets and detailed how some have turned thecommunity around by increasing tourist trade.Here in Dayton’s Bluff we are starting a mar-keting program to highlight the unique fea-tures of Dayton’s Bluff.

National Trust Preservation Conference - Two Reviews

A Place to Start

Former Bluff RiderGets Inducted

Wayne is also a member of the Minne-sota Softball Hall of Fame, and the ElkoSpeedway Hall of Fame; and has receivednumerous professional and businessawards in the Broadcasting Industry. He left Saint Paul in 1964 to pursue acareer in radio and TV broadcasting. Hisfirst job was in Tomah, Wisconsin; thenmoved on to several TV and radio posi-tions finally settling in Northfield Minne-sota. For 39 years he was associatedwith KYMN-AM Radio 1080 in Northfield,about 50 miles south of the Bluff on StateHighway 3. He eventually rose to becomethe station’s owner some years ago. Lastyear he sold the station and now focuseson public speaking and his work as afundraiser for several Northfield areacharities. Wayne was a “rider” for Northfield aswell, having been a member of their fa-mous “Jesse James Gang” riders for over20 years. He’s now hosting a Radio show calledthe “Wayne Eddy Affair” on KYMN –AM1080 from 9-11 weekdays. Bluffers rela-tively close to the Mississippi can oftenreceive KYMN’s AM signal, and listen tothe old Bluffer interviewing his guestsand talking about Northfield and his manyother interests; sometimes including sto-ries about Dayton’s Bluff and his timehere. It’s a call-in show, so check it outand call in.

1960 Harding Graduation photo

Wayne Eddy Today

Page 8 Dayton’s Bluff District Forum December 2007

Dayton’s Bluff District Forum

798 East 7th StreetSaint Paul, MN 55106Phone: 651-772-2075FAX: 651-774-3510E-mail: karindupaul@comcast.netMonthly Circulation: 6,500.Also available online at www.daytonsbluff.org This is a publication of HopewellCommunications, Inc. and is intended to provide a forum for the ideas andopinions of its readers and to be an instrument for developing communityawareness and pride. No material contained in this paper may be reprinted withoutconsent of the editor. Articles and letters to the editor are welcome and may beemailed to KarinDuPaul@comcast.net or faxed to 651-774-3510. The Dayton’sBluff District Forum is delivered to every home in the Dayton’s Bluff area. Outsidethis area, subscriptions cost $12 and may be arranged by calling 651-772-2075.Board of Directors: Allen Clausen, Greg Cosimini, and Karin DuPaul. Editor &Layout: Greg Cosimini.Next issue: March 2008. Deadline for material: February 5, 2008.

The Food Giveaway takes place onthe third Saturday of the month atMounds Park United MethodistChurch, Earl and Euclid Streets.Doors open at 8:30 a.m. The FoodGiveaway is from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.Come and receive a free bag of food,no questions asked. Listen to music while you wait.Communion is served at 10:00 a.m. forthose who wish to participate. Callthe church at 774-8736 for more in-formation.

Glorious Food Giveaway

The Dayton’s Bluff CommunityCouncil office is looking for a specialperson to join the staff team to helpanchor Council programs, andstrengthen overall administration at atime of substantial growth and changein Council operations and communityexpectations. Engaged in a substantial and excit-ing initiative called Invest Saint Paul,the Council needs an Admin Assistantcapable of taking on important respon-sibilities; while also providing closeworking support to the Executive Di-rector and the Senior Community Or-ganizer in a multi-tasking office envi-ronment involving extensive contactand communication with the public,with various agencies and businesses,and with people from various back-grounds and ethnicities. Attention to detail and a reliablecompetence with office administrationis required. The person must haveexperience working with PCs,Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, Ac-cess dbase, website maintenance, andvarious forms of email communicationprograms. A bi-lingual person resid-ing in Dayton’s Bluff is preferred. 20 hrs per week, usually 5 days aweek; including some evenings andweekends. $11.50-14.00 per hr withpaid vacation, holidays, and sick leave,among other benefits. Resumes by 12/12/07 to KarinDuPaul, 798 E. 7th St.,Karin@daytonsbluff.org, 651-772-2075. Position starts in early January2008.

Position OpeningExecutive Admin Asst

In last month’s issue (November 2007)the front-page article on the Dari-ette onMinnehaha Ave. reported that thefounders, Mike and Sarafina Fida, had aconstruction company which built theDari-ette; and that it built the Post Officeacross the street, as well as Aldrich Arena.The article should have said the founderscontracted with the James SteeleConstruction company to build the Dari-ette, and that they went on to build thePost Office and Aldrich Arena.

Correction

The Bluff’s NEW email newsletter,The DBDF EXTRA, is now availableby visiting www.daytonsbluff.org andsigning up on our home page. It’s free,interesting, and keeps you informedabout happenings in Dayton’s Bluffbetween issues of this newspaper.Unsubscribing is easy anytime, just byclicking on the unsubscribe link inevery issue of the free EXTRA. It’syour quick and easy connection toDayton’s Bluff.

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Join us if you are interested increating new gardens for food, flowersand/or art. Help change the world onegrowing creature at a time. We cangrow more of our own good food, feedthe hungry, connect with our neighborsand across generations, cultures andlanguages and so much more! Help make it happen. We arerecruiting growers, chefs, eaters andthose who for whatever reason wantto gather for good. Come one, comeall, to our community gardendiscussion and later the garden’s table.Call Garry or Karin at 651/772-2075or e-mail Garry@DaytonsBluff.org.

Community Gardens The remaining buildings at the west end ofthe site should be removed in the next fewmonths. One of the homes is in the HistoricDistrict so the Heritage Preservation Com-mission will be involved before the house canbe removed. More environmental clean up isplanned for the site in the spring to removeash, coal, metals, and dry cleaning chemicals. The plan for the site has been condomini-ums, but with the changing housing marketdevelopers would need between 80% and 90%commitment of sales before any constructioncan start. Given today’s market the develop-ment plans for the site may change. The de-velopers assured everyone that they wouldwork with the community if it changes. The community residents asked that greengrass and possibly other amenities be installedif the site stays vacant for a length of time.

“Hospital Linen” continued from page 6