Laughter, Falling Water and Time
Built in 1864, the yellow limestone walls of the Frederick Spangenberg House came from banks of the Mississippi River. The rocks were hauled up on a sled by oxen. Frederick Spangenberg was a German immigrant dairy farmer. His 80-acre farm become the best part of Saint Paul’s Highland Park neighborhood. When August Spanburg died at … Read more
In the late 1880’s, T. B. Walker’s brother-in-law, Andrew B. Robbins gathered a group investors and built the Hubbard Specialty Manufacturing plant in what would become Robbinsdale. The firm made chairs, wheelbarrows, camp furniture, grocery boxes and wooden washing machines. In 1891 Robbins sold the company to Sweatt Manufacturing. A year later, the Robbinsdale building … Read more
Wanda Gag was born March 11, 1893 in New Ulm, Minnesota. Her parents, Elisabeth Biebl Gag and Anton Gag, were artists and photographers of German and Bohemian descent. Her father died when she was 15 leaving her to support her ailing mother and six younger siblings. The Gag family was near destitute, but Wanda managed … Read more
Park Avenue— in the 1870s this lovely thoroughfare was better known as Russell Street it was renamed Park Avenue in 1888. A stylish boulevard of urban estates offering a wide street, generous setbacks, and spacious lots, the handsome residence street corresponds to 7th Av. S., south from 10th St. Park Avenue is 100 feet wide … Read more
Above the southern entrance to the Minnesota state capital building is a gilded quadriga called “The Progress of the State”. Standing upon a triumphal car drawn by four spirited horses, is the figure of “Prosperity,” holding in one hand the horn of plenty, in the other a banner with the symbols of state. The horses … Read more
I have the great fortune of working in the Wells Fargo Tower which places me at Food Truck Ground Zero in Minneapolis. The other day when I headed out to grab something for lunch on a too busy day I picked the shortest line, which happened to be at Sushi Fix. The menu at Sushi … Read more
SKYLINE FROM THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER St. Paul. Minnesota The impressive Saint Paul Skyline. from the Mississippi River showing Federal Building, right; First National Bank Building in the background and Court House at left. The excursion Steamer “Avalon” at the dock. FIRST NATIONAL BANK ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA This skyscraper. 502 feet in height, has dominated the … Read more
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
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