Category Archives: 19th Century

19th Century, Americana, Culture, History, Intercession, Minnesota, omnipresent history, St. Paul Winter Carnival

First St. Paul Winter Carnival 1886

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February 5th, 1886

“The city that discovered winter” erects an enormous ice palace and crowns Boreas Rex during its first Winter Carnival. Three years later the carnival is canceled because of warm weather.” *

Sometimes, one cannot do better than let a primary source speak for itself! Please enjoy this editorial ca. 1886!

“Minneapolis day at the St. Paul winter carnival was a complete and memorable success. It is estimated that more than ten thousand Minneapolitans visited the neighbor city yesterday afternoon and evening, and St. Paul was thronged with guests from more distant points. It is hard to conceive a more fantastic, extraordinary, and brilliant sight than the “storming” of the ice palace last evening. The great transparent structure was aglow from the foundation to the top of every turret with red lights burning inside. Surrounding it were the many hundreds of brightly uniformed members of toboggan clubs and other organized sporting bodies participating in the parade, all bearing torches. These constituted the besieging army. At a given signal the assailants began to play Roman candles upon the castle, and the assault was soon followed by elaborate and profuse discharges of fireworks from within. There ensued for some time a pyrotechnic display that was indescribably gorgeous. It was a cold night, and the tens of thousands of spectators who filled the carnival grounds and blocked the adjacent streets were pretty thoroughly chilled; but their admiration and ardor triumphed over physical discomfort, and everybody was enthusiastic.

The carnival, it must be owned, is outstripping all anticipations. The people of St. Paul have shown a patriotic zeal in the matter that is simply astonishing. The whole city is organized into uniformed toboggan clubs. Men, women and children alike wear the blanket costumes and parade the streets with torches. Last winter not one of these people in a dozen would have known a toboggan from a gondola; but now tobogganing has become the supreme object of life. Doubtless this amazing and unprecedented devotion to winter sports will be followed by some reaction. But the carnival is certain to have the excellent result of permanently domesticating and popularizing in the Northwest all the healthful out-of-door recreations which are in vogue among our Canadian neighbors. St. Paul deserves the highest credit for having led the way in the promotion of this good cause. Minneapolis has not failed to show appreciation and goodwill. St. Paul will doubtless be ready to return yesterday’s compliment by coming en masse to attend the Exposition opening some months hence.” **,***

Lord, thank You for the St. Paul Winter Carnival. Thank You for the appreciation  of our hearty weather it brought to many, even generations, of Minnesotans. Will You bring us into the future Jesus? Will You lead us to new forms and expressions of gratitude that honor the Creator of Snow and Winter? 

Bless our inheritance to handle the rigors of frigid weather, and make us a people that can share those joys, techniques, and innovations yet unknown!

**http://www.wintercarnivalfanclub.com/saint_paul/winter_carnival/ice_palace/1886_ice_palace.htm

*** Welter, Ben. ”Feb. 5, 1886: St. Paul’s first Winter Carnival”, StarTribune, Mpls.,MN. Internet. 1/30/2011. http://www.startribune.com/local/blogs/114876604.html

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19th Century, Americana, Architecture, Business, Civics, Energy, History, Industry, Intercession, Minnesota, omnipresent history, Real Estate, Science, Technology

Industrial Exposition 1886

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1886

“The Mill City answers St. Paul’s State Fair with the Minneapolis Industrial Exposition. Despite elaborate attractions and the latest wares of 800 exhibitors, the exposition can’t compete with the fair and closes its doors in 1893.” * 

“The idea for an exposition in Minneapolis arose in August 1885, when it became known that St. Paul had secured the permanent home of the Minnesota State Fair. Prominent citizens of Minneapolis such as Minneapolis Tribune owner Alden Blethen felt slighted, and an open meeting was called to gauge public support for an annual Minneapolis industrial fair, or exposition, to rival St. Paul’s agricultural one.” **

 Lord, we are competitors. Competition is not a sin, but the envy or covetousness that often accompany it leads to disunity or complete breaks in relationship. What do You want to reveal in this moment of rivalry in 1886? 

The Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul have had friendly rivalries that go far into our history. Will You forgive, first, the jokes, speech, and written words that have been used to put down the ‘other’ Twin City? Will You forgive the heart it reveals, one of mockery and pride? 

How many actions have resulted in our heritage because one “prominent citizen” felt slighted? There is nothing wrong with a human being of any status in society taking leadership according to their conscience. However, if the attitude of civic pride, in this case personified by Alden Blethen was an offense to You, will You forgive us? Will You forgive us our pettiness over another’s blessing? Will you help us; “seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” Jeremiah 29:7 ***

You have ideas for both of these places that we have not considered. What are they? Will You replace the rivalry of Minneapolis and St. Paul stemming from the Industrial Exposition of 1886 with blessing? Will You download into us a mindset that rejoices at the success of the other? Will You bless us with the kind of competition that brings virtue, excellence, and mutual respect?

* http://www.mnhs.org/about/dipity_timeline.htm

**Learn about the short life of this huge structure?

http://www.mnopedia.org/structure/industrial-exposition-building-minneapolis

***http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/29-7.htm

 

 

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19th Century, Agriculture, Business, farming, History, Intercession, Minnesota, omnipresent history, State Government

Minnesota State Fair Finds a Home at Ramsey County Poor Farm’s Expense 1885

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1885

“The Minnesota State Fair finds a permanent home in the Midway area of Saint Paul. (The 1885 fair was the 27th annual state fair.)” *

Lord, it does help to have more information when interceding; and most facets of life. Even with my limited research, I see a few things: 1. Establishing Fairgrounds was a priority by the city government of St. Paul, and the state government of Minnesota. 2. the Poor Farm and it’s people were clearly displaced. 3. There was a sense of rivalry between Minneapolis and St. Paul. 4. Care for the poor from the county, to the state, and to the Federal government.

To begin, I want to announce to the land formerly known as the Ramsey County Poor Farm the jubilee and blessing of the Lord Jesus Christ! Thank You for this example of caring for the the elderly and poor! I want to bless those generations attached to the Poor Farm whether as employees or residents, and ask that any bitterness on their part be forgiven and removed. 

  Lord, will You forgive our lack of relationship with those in need? Will You heal the rift over HOW we do charity, and WHAT it looks like? Each election, we still battle over WHO gets the credit for being charitable; the State or individuals!?! May this land that is now called the State Fairgrounds be a place where we iron out these differences! May we find Your way of blessing each other; rich to poor, in any state of health!

Also, will You forgive the political and business rivalry between Minneapolis and St. Paul? Will You set us free from the emotions of Alden Blethen? Jesus, will You make these “Twin Cities” live at peace with each other? Holy Spirit, will You inhabit this property now known as the State Fair and bring your life there? Will You dignify the poor and show them their potential to contribute for their loved ones and society, and most importantly, their eternal value to You?

More on how the poorhouse was transformed into the Minnesota State Fair:

**http://www.postcardy.com/msf.html

***http://www.mnopedia.org/structure/industrial-exposition-building-minneapolis

****https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poorhouse

 

 

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19th Century, education, History, Intercession, Minnesota, omnipresent history, Social Studies, State Government

School Required 1885

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1885

“The state legislature passes a mandatory school-attendance law, requiring all children between the ages of 8 and 16 to attend twelve weeks of school a year.” *

Jesus, will You observe this law with me? What is on Your mind when looking at the idea of mandatory school attendance? You don’t use the law forcibly in the New Testament, but did require certain obedience in the Old Testament. You instructed parents to teach, but also said, ‘Let the children come to me” when restrained by the disciples. You demand all from us, but want obedience from the place of lovingkindness rather than empty religious duty.

In any case, I thank You that Minnesotans’ have valued education. I thank You for the heart behind this law that children should be allowed a time and place solely for learning. I thank you that these 12 weeks were set aside to enhance the exposure of young minds’ to the enjoyable discipline of education.

As is the case whenever new laws spring up, I’m sure there was an element in the state that was resistant to comply for varying reasons. “What if my child becomes smarter than me? What if the school teaches something that I do not agree with? What is wrong with the way I am raising my child currently? Does the government of Minnesota know better than me? I need my son or daughter at home because they are essential workers on the farm!”

Lord, for these attitudes of distrust from the people to the state, have mercy on our judgements! Lord, for the attitudes of the state to the people, have mercy on our judgements! We are all people capable of misusing our authority. We are all people who capable of using some element of force when we do not get our way. We are not benevolent like You; we often do good things from impure motives. 

Christ, will You have mercy on our motive conflicts? Will You give the correct balance in this contested area of education in the life of our state? Will you give us the grace for our neighbor that is inherent in Your law, and in the laws of Minnesota? How can we expect our freedom of choice to be respected, when we will not even acknowledge our neighbor’s vantage point as one worthy of consideration?

* http://www.mnhs.org/about/dipity_timeline.htm

** Peruse the details of this law? https://www.revisor.mn.gov/laws/?view=session&year=1885&type=0

 

 

 

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19th Century, African American, authors, Black History, Business, education, History, Intercession, Journalism, Minnesota, omnipresent history

Black Newspaper Begins Publishing 1885

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June 6, 1885

“Saint Paul’s ‘Western Appeal’ newspaper becomes a voice against discrimination and proscriptive legislation and an important advertising medium for black businessmen. 

Editor and owner John Q. Adams leads Saint Paul’s growing black community in its struggle for equality through the 1880s and ’90s. “No wrongs are ever righted,” he writes, “except by protest.” “ *

I thank You for the life and discipline of John Q. Adams. I thank You for giving him the desire to write and convey the ideas in his heart that brought a new awareness and significance to black Minnesotans. I thank you that he viewed himself as a man made in Your image and worthy of respect! 

O Father, will you forgive the city of St. Paul, and the State of Minnesota, its judgments of John Q. Adams, “The Western Appeal”, and black Minnesotans? Will you forgive any counter judgments by him, his paper, or the black community of St. Paul, and the State of Minnesota? We often fear other cultures and sub-cultures because we are afraid to know them and experience the vulnerability of allowing ourselves to be known! Christ have mercy on this fear! Past, present, and future! What blessings we have not received here, specifically for this geographic region known as Minnesota, because we have not honored the Christ within our brothers and sisters!

Today, because of Your grace and truth, I ask: “Will You bless the generations of John Q. Adams? Will You bless the black community of St. Paul? Will You bless all African-Americans in this state? Will You reverse the curses of the Enemy on this State of Minnesota? Bring out those who will write the stories of this generation of black Minnesotans! Bring out those who will write in Your image of grace and truth! May we learn to record OUR  history as those who have been betrayed, have betrayed others and ourselves, and most importantly, have betrayed You! May we remember how we have received mercy, have extended mercy to others and to ourselves, and received a perpetual inheritance of mercy from You! 

Lord, because John Q. Adams was an author, I also want to pray a blessing specifically on the impact of his words, and the awareness of his writings and newspaper to all Minnesotans. May they be rediscovered and be a source of continual edification to this state! Amen.

*P.T.H. cites timeline formerly at this URL: mnhs.org/about/dipity_timeline.htm 

The Minnesota Historical Society Web site, http://www.mnhs.org , is fantastic! Check it out! Images are from https://images.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl; again, an amazing resource!

**See an actual copy of the Western Appeal? http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83016811/

 

 

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19th Century, Business, Environment, History, Industry, Intercession, Mining, Minnesota

Merritts Discover Mesabi

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1884

“The Merritt brothers find the largest deposit of iron ore in the world in the red earth of the Mesabi Range. Later they lose their mining company and a fortune to John D. Rockefeller.” *

As we interact with the Merritt brothers story, I ask of You, precious Spirit, to guide my thoughts and actions. Reveal the root issue. According to this snippet above, the Merritts’ were likely dealing with a profound sense of joy at their discovery, followed by the injustice of loss. 

As a fellow Minnesotan to the First Nations’, and the Merritts’, i want to acknowledge before You that this land is Your land! These treasures, whether found in the sky, on the earth, or below it are Yours! Lord, we claim ownership because we don’t know a better way to delegate responsibility for a parcel of land. But I ask You, “Is there a better way?” Forgive the Merritts’, their generations, and Minnesotans’ as a people for our trespass on Your land! 

Lord, You have given us laws, and a system through which we possess the land for a time, with rules and conditions that apply. You allow us to pass down these parcels of land to our progeny for their benefit. Will You bless the Merritts’ for the discovery, and subsequent loss of this treasure?

Oh God, the sadness, anger, and bitterness still in the air is nearly tangible! To be a ‘regular Joe’ and have this loss would be toxic for a man’s soul unless he believes that You are the faithful and true arbiter of the universe! Christ, if the Merritts’, their generations, and we as extant Minnesotans are still legally bound to offense through our bitterness, will You forgive it today? 

Will You be merciful to us as you were to King David so long ago? He was confronted by the prophet Nathan, and told the parable of the rich man with many flocks and herds, who stole the poor man’s sheep. He was, at first, enraged by this breech of justice, but then convicted of his sin of stealing Bathsheba and the murder of her husband. Is this applicable to this circumstance when thinking of the Rockefellers’ actions?

If so, and I am trusting that it is your heart, will You forgive the Merritts’, their generations, and us as Minnesotans our offense to you in judging this very  rich family? Will You bring conviction to their hearts, and a spirit of restitution? Will You bless all involved from the machinations of the enemy to divide and embitter us over this land? Will You bless the Mesabi range, and any other lands that have been held captive by this event of broken trust? Lord have mercy! Christ have mercy!

**Learn about the Merritt family? http://www.mnopedia.org/group/merritt-family-and-mesabi-iron-range

***Want a great read about the mischief on the Mesabi Range? https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/seven-iron-men

 

 

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19th Century, History, Indian, Intercession, justice, Minnesota, Native Americans, omnipresent history, State Government, Treaties

Court of Indian Offenses 1884

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1884

“The Court of Indian Offenses at Red Lake enforces rules forbidding plural marriages, dances, destruction of property following death, intoxication, liquor traffic, interference with the ‘civilizing program,’ and leaving the reservation without permission.” * 

Come Lord Jesus! Share Your heart and mind regarding the Court of Indian Offenses. Your wisdom is invited and needed  to observe this moment in history. Lord, so much of the problem in this relationship is based on sovereignty. What does a dependent sovereign nation within a sovereign nation look like? This appears to be the crux of the matter then and now.

First, as a Minnesotan and as a human brother to the First Nations of this state, I acknowledge that our judgments and counter-judgments are piled high before You! We as citizens of the United States and Minnesota and First Nations have offended Your Sovereignty because our laws are shifting sands. We waver between enforcing the “letter of the Law” and the “spirit of the Law”! We lack the mercy inherent in Your justice, and have often broken relationship with each other! 

Will You forgive the sins committed by the Court of Indian Offenses in Minnesota? Will You reverse the numerous breeches of justice that began in 1884 and taint our relations today? Will You overcome our offenses that make us the prisoner of each other, instead of being the co-beneficiaries of Your unmerited favor? 

By the authority of the Risen Messiah, I pronounce the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit on all inheritors’ of these events! Teach us to live as humble sovereign nations serving under the King of the Universe!

* http://www.mnhs.org/about/dipity_timeline.htm

 

 

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19th Century, Business, Environment, Geology, History, Industry, Intercession, Mining, Minnesota, omnipresent history

Iron Industry Launch 1884

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1884

“With the state’s first shipment of ore from the Vermilion Range, Minnesota’s iron industry is launched. Within 20 years, new immigrants will mine from the region a great majority of the iron for the nation’s industrial boom.” *

Ore is moved by train to ports like Duluth. From there giant ships carry it to the blast furnaces of Ohio and Pennsylvania where it is melted and processed by the heat of burning coal from mines in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio. The result is steel, which goes to factories in cities such as Detroit to become the rails of railroads, the skeletons of skyscrapers, and the chassis of cars. 

The growth of iron mining brings tens of thousands of new people to northeastern Minnesota. They come from almost every country in Europe and elsewhere, bringing different languages and cultures from places like Canada, Wales, Ireland, Sweden, Finland, Belgium, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Italy, Greece, Syria, Russia, and China. 

Father, we adore You! You have given us an earth full of blessings! We thank You for the gift of iron ore. We thank You for the impact of this gift on our state and peoples!

Father, we are full of bitter roots and rusty hearts! This blessing has been corroded by our mis-dealings. We are guilty of judging the owners of the steel business: Carnegie, Morgan, Rockefeller, etc. We have stolen and tainted the land of the individual, the Indian nations, our neighbor’s business, our state, and our nation. 

We have judged our fellow workers on the basis of his race or culture: Canadian, Welsh, Irish, Swedish, Finnish, Belgian, Lithuanian, Romanian, Slovakian, Slovenian, Hungarian, Italian, Greek, Syrian, Russian, Chinese, and Native American! We have offenses based on interstate prejudices: Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, Michigan, Sioux, Dakota, Ojibway. 

Lord, will You have mercy on our humanity? Will You replace this heritage of curses with blessings for us? Will You reverse the curses against the land, and all the pathways it has travelled out this state through out the world? I want to pronounce the blessing of the Lord to every molecule of steel that has passed, is passing, or will pass from this state!  May You grant us humility, wisdom, and imagination to properly use the resources of this state! May the iron of Minnesota, regardless of its present use or form, ring with the unlimited, infinite blessings of its’ King! Hallelujah!

* http://www.mnhs.org/about/dipity_timeline.htm

 

 

 

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19th Century, Architecture, History, Intercession, Minnesota, Mississippi River, omnipresent history, railroad, Transportation

Stone Arch Bridge Opens 1883

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November 23, 1883

“The Stone Arch Bridge spans the Mississippi below St. Anthony Falls. Once called “Jim Hill’s Folly,” the bridge provides a crossing for trains and becomes a Minneapolis landmark.”

First, I need to confess my bias against the railroad barons based on my reading in college to You. Will You forgive my assumption that Hill was a “Robber Baron” like many of his peers; captains of industry synonymous with trains? The rails in this era often made choices that yielded pain for the Midwestern farmer, manufacturer, or anyone who wasn’t in partnership with them. (They gained sweetheart deals for themselves and their allies, and charged exorbitant prices to the farmer whose harvest would spoil if they waited for better. I do not abhor competition, but bristle when I sense oligarchic or monopolistic control.) 

Digging into my assumptions, I found that I had wrongly placed all capitalists of this epoch in the same camp, but this is inaccurate. May I elaborate? Market capitalism is based on building a better product, and selling it at a voluntarily determined price. State capitalism twists the arm of government to sell an inferior product at an involuntary price. 

Clearly, Hill belonged more to the former camp than the latter according to Loyola economics professor Thomas J. DiLorenzo. Here lies evidence of Hill’s opposition to the state capitalism of the “Robber Barons”.

“Hill’s rates fell steadily, and when farmers began complaining about the lack of grain storage space, he instructed his company managers to build larger storage facilities near his rail depots. He refused to join in attempts at cartel price fixing and in fact “gloried in the role of rate-slasher and disrupter of [price-fixing] pooling agreements,” writes historian Burton Folsom. After all, he knew that monopolistic pricing would have been an act of killing the goose that lays the golden egg.” **

Additionally, the following quote of Professor DiLorenzo hints at why Hill’s competitors mocked the Stone Arch Bridge as “folly”, and his own internal motives.

 “In building his transcontinental railroad, from 1886 to 1893, Hill applied the same strategy that he had in building the St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Manitoba: careful building of the road combined with the economic cultivation of the nearby communities. He always built for durability and efficiency, not scenery, as was sometimes the case with the government-subsidized railroads. He did not skimp on building materials, having witnessed what harsh Midwest winters could do to his facilities and how foolish it was for the NP (Northern Pacific Railroad – his competitor) to have ignored this lesson. The solid granite arch bridge that Hill built across the Mississippi River was a Minneapolis landmark for many years.” ***

G-d, did I have it all wrong! I find myself humbled to discover that Hill is a good man, who built a better railroad. Will You honor those like him, who love their work, and offer it back to You and society as an act of worship?!

Will You free those of us harboring bitterness towards the state capitalists, and towards this spirit in man that is willing to use the law in self service? Will You free us from the admonition “Good enough for government work”? Will You lift this spirit of the slacker: up, out, and onto the Cross of Christ?

Lord, quite honestly, I hate the heritage of price fixing and theft! I abhor the curse that these judgment’s have put on our state, its’ people, our freedom of travel, and all lands that were granted, bought or stolen by the railroad lines. I  despise how the rails withheld the good that they could have chosen to perform for their fellow man, and still yielded a generous profit!

Yet, I am a man of mixed motives just like them. I withhold from doing the good I know I can do, and sin against my brother in my heart. I judge them. I think evil of them in my thoughts. I harbor resentment. Lord Jesus, King of the Universe, have mercy on me a sinner for my judgments!

Will You bring blessing to every rail, every piece of land, every train, every rail employee, and all the cargo that enters or exits this state of Minnesota? Will You profoundly bless the Stone Arch bridge, and esteem its’ symbolism? Will You be the bridge and span this rift between free-market entrepreneurs and fixed-market magnates? Amen!

* http://www.mnhs.org/about/dipity_timeline.htm

** DiLorenzo, Thomas J. “The Truth About the “Robber Barons”” excerpt of Chapter 7 “How Capitalism Saved America”. Internet. MIses Institute. 11/01/2017. https://mises.org/library/truth-about-robber-barons

*** DiLorenzo citing Burton W. Folsom Jr., “Entrepreneurs vs. the State: A New Look at the Rise of Big Business in America”, 1840 — 1920 (Herndon, VA: Young America’s Foundation, 1987

**** Read more about these lovely arches? https://www.minneapolisparks.org/parks__destinations/historical_sites/stone_arch_bridge/#group_2_150339

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19th Century, Catholic, Christian, Health, History, Intercession, Jesus, Medicine, Minnesota, Natural Disaster, omnipresent history, Weather

Tornado Kills 31 in Rochester 1883

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August 21, 1883
“A tornado sweeps through Dodge County, killing five, and then lands in Rochester, killing thirty-one. Mother Alfred Moes and the Sisters of St. Francis convert their school into an emergency hospital, with Dr. William Mayo supervising.

Realizing the need for a permanent hospital in the city, Moes establishes St. Mary’s Hospital on October 1, 1889. This facility would evolve into the Mayo Clinic.” *

This story is just like You Eternal Father! You turn a curse into a blessing, and usually use ordinary people in the process. Thank you forever for having a greater perspective on life than us! Thanks that You give insight.
I bless the benefits of the tragic tornado that struck Dodge county! Will you forgive any curses past or present on Dodge county? I ask for insight of the root sins of the county, and the future of Rochester and the Clinic. I bless the city of Rochester, the clinic, it’s employees, clients, in the authority of Jesus!

I know that Your favor remembers both before our sense of time begins, and will continue after the end. May Your favor rest in perpetuity for the faithfulness of theses sisters’, Moes, and all who volunteered to work in the emergency hospital. Amen!

*http://www.mnhs.org/about/dipity_timeline.htm

**The rest of the story?  http://history.mayoclinic.org

*** Learn about Mother Alfred Moes; and incredible woman! https://www.jolietfranciscans.org/our-foundress/

 

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