A Rock for the Pond Brothers

In the 1830′s Samuel and Gideon Pond helped establish missions at Chief Cloud Man’s Dakota village on the shore of Lake Calhoun. The Pond brothers came from Connecticut in with high hopes of converting the Dakoyta to Christianity and New England farming practices. They also devised a Dakota alphabet and began translating the Bible into … Read more

My Old Matchbook Collection

I probably started smoking when I was about thirteen or fourteen. I didn’t look like I was any older than I was, but for some reason the guys at the gas station never asked me if I was old enough too smoke. Those were simpler times. I didn’t want my parents to know I was … Read more

Chana Masala Downtown Smackdown

Recently I found myself eating Indian for lunch three times in one week. Since I’d made home made chana masala, chick peas in a spicy sauce, for the first time a few weeks ago, I was curious how the restaurant versions compared. I made the ghee and toasted the spices and it turned out great- … Read more

Peavy Fountain Then and Now

Peavey Fountain was given to the people of Minneapolis in 1891 as a drinking fountain for horses. The monument wast rededicated as a memorial to the horses of the 151st field artillery of the Minnesota National Guard killed in action during the First World War in 1917 and 1918.

Landmark Center

St. Paul’s historic Landmark Center was completed in 1902. Originally, the building served as the United States Post Office, Court House, and Custom House. It was designed by Willoughby J. Edbrooke, who served as Supervising Architect of the U.S. Treasury Department in 1891-92. The exterior is pink granite ashlar with a hipped red tile roof, … Read more