Tag Archives: 1886

19th Century, Business, History, Intercession, marketing, Minnesota, omnipresent history

Sears Starts Selling 1886

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1886

“Twenty-two-year-old Richard Sears starts selling pocket watches out of Redwood Falls. Encouraged by his quick success, he opens a mail-order company in Minneapolis. He then moves to Chicago, takes on a partner, and in 1893 forms Sears, Roebuck & Company. 

By the turn of the century, only the Bible has more readers than the Sears, Roebuck catalog. From its pages people order everyday items and oddities including clothing, harnesses, buggies, bicycles, guns, pianos, and parlor organs. 

1897 – Sears, Roebuck sends 318,000 catalogs across the Midwest. 

1908 – 3.6 million people receive Sears, Roebuck catalogs in a single mass mailing.” * 

God bless Richard Sears, and his embrace of the imagination you gave him. Thank you for fulfilling his vision to provide people with a new way to acquire needs, and wants irregardless of geography. Thank you that his catalog was a bridge builder between urban and rural, mountain and prairie, young and old, and many other stratifications of society!

Father You are generous with us. You allow us to express both needs and wants, and are infinitely able to provide for us. Your freedom allows our heart to be tested with what we have been given. Will we share our blessings? We will humble ourselves to make our needs known to others, or pridefully hide our lacking from the eyes of others?

Will you forgive the judgements cast on Richard Sears, his company, his employees, and his astounding success? He put possibilities in front of millions of eyes, and let them decide what was useful, or what was luxury. His business created heaps of jobs, and probably ended many smaller enterprises that could not, or would not, adapt to this new way of doing business. It is hard for us to admit when we have been outdone by another’s incredible effort. Have mercy! Will you forgive us this type of jealousy? Will you release us from the envy of another’s success in Minnesota? Will you give us hearts that rejoice at our brother or sister’s success?

In many ways, the mail order business predicated the modern world of advertising. Through it, we are tested daily to discern between our needs and wants, likes and dislikes. It is a good thing to have a choice! It is wonderful to have a plethora of options for nearly every item we desire.

However, the knowledge of many things often leaves us with a craving for many things. We often feel a lack by the simple knowledge of what we do not yet possess. Again, this option tests our mettle! Is it bad to know what we do not have? Sometimes it inspires us to new efforts. Sometimes a new tool gives us an inspiration for working a new way.

Lord, forgive us for choosing to focus on our discontent. Forgive the pining for something new that will bring us contentment! We too often love things, and use people! Will You break the roots of those cravings that came from the Sears catalog, and still bind us today? Will You help us in this struggle to want everything we see?

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

**More about this extraordinary pioneer of marketing? https://www.britannica.com/biography/Richard-W-Sears

 

 

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19th Century, Health, History, Intercession, Medicine, Minnesota, omnipresent history, University, women

Ripley Maternity Hospital Opens 1886

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1886

“Dr. Martha Ripley opens a maternity hospital for unwed mothers in Minneapolis. A pioneer in combining social care with medical treatment, she teaches new mothers how to care for their babies and helps them find work. 

Martha Ripley’s training was in medicine, but her interest was in the rights of women. She advocated for women’s right to vote and consistently argued against the abuses that led women to her hospital.” *

Thank you, Lord, that your personality is balanced; You are protector and nurturer! Will You bless Martha Ripley and her generations in the imitation of Your character? She expressed the mother nurture for those women and girls who did not have an adequate voice in society, or means for their pregnancy. 

Our society has often skewed into imbalance in its’ emphasis of one gender over the other. We have denied the good attributes and blessings of the opposite sex that You have intended for our state. We have failed to balance our head and our heart! We have failed to balance rational thought with the relational thoughts based on love. Lord have mercy! 

How has this been expressed? In the over emphasis of male political leadership and exclusive male voting rights for much of our history. We have suppressed the benefits of female scholarship, and the Imago Dei that is intellectually expressed best by a female mind. Our churches have too often promoted female submission to male head of households, without equally emphasizing male responsibility to selfless love and leadership. We have negated Your example of humble servant-leadership. Hear our prayer!

Lord, will You forgive us for discounting your voice in the opposite sex? Will You forgive the negation of female doctors, scientists, and cultural leaders like Dr. Ripley? Lord, will forgive us for emphasis on submission rather than freedom? Will You teach us the healthy bounds of submission to one another in choice-based love?

Will You stop us from overreacting and rejecting the opposite sex based on our painful experiences? Will You help Minnesotans’ forgive our mothers or fathers, and deliver us from the cycle of offense, counter-offense? Will You give us the forbearance for our ‘beloved enemies’ of the opposite sex? All our rejections of the opposite sex deny Your masterpiece in each. Will You forgive us?

 

 

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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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