Sky Blue Waters

Shelly Slips into Shingle Creek

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Name: Shelly Age: 122 Neighborhood: Camden Swimming Hole: Shingle Creek Quote: Why don’t elephants go skinny dipping? They can’t get their trunks off.   In 1852 the first shingle mill in Hennepin County was built near the mouth of Shingle creek, giving the creek and the neighborhood its name. Workers from the nearby lumber mills … Read more

Across the Franklin Avenue Bridge

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The Franklin Avenue or F.W. Cappelen Memorial Bridge was designed by and named for Frederick William Cappelen. The bridge was completed in 1923. Cappelen died during the construction of the bridge, and as a memorial to his life and career, the bridge still bears his name. The reinforced-concrete open-spandrel arched bridge took a couple years … Read more

Watching Paint Dry

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Dear Nokohaha, I finally found a job. The Metropolitan Mosquito Control District hired me on for the summer and sent me out to romp and stomp through the muggy marshes and swamps of the western suburbs. I was wandering around Brownie Lake last week looking for puddles and thinking to myself, ” Self, this job … Read more

The Minnesota Soldiers’ Home

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“The first duty devolving on the trustees in connection with the Home, was the selection of a site for the permanent buildings. This proved to be a laborious and difficult task. Patriotic and public spirited citizens in many towns, submitted offers of eligible sites for the Home. The trustees visited, and thoroughly inspected the grounds … Read more