Tag Archives: omnipresent history

19th Century, History, Immigration, Intercession, Israel, Jews, Minnesota

Jewish Refugees Arrive

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When 200 Jewish refugees from Russia arrive unexpectedly at the St. Paul train depot, local residents help out by housing them in tents on the city’s west side. Many of the new Minnesotans settle there permanently.*

Thank you, Lord, that our state was a place of peace for Russian Jews. Thank you that they found help through direct relationships with local residents. Thank you for all who chose to ‘love their neighbor’, and remember that they, too, were once strangers and aliens in this place.
Lord, I’m in awe whenever I hear or read stories of Jews. Why? You are perpetually faithful to your covenant with Abraham and his generations! No tragedy of history has or can erase that name You have assigned; “My People”.

I want to bless the Russian Jews of Minnesota, their generations, and dwellings in the name of Jesus! May they fulfill their purpose in You. May they be strong, like David, in the power of Your might. May any fearful or cynical hearts in their numbers have a new revelation of Your faithfulness. “The Lord answered Moses, “is the Lord’s arm too short? You will now see whether or not what I say will come true for you.” Numbers 11:23

*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!

**Learn more? http://www.mnopedia.org

 

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19th Century, Energy, History, Intercession, Minnesota, Mississippi River

First Hydroelectric Central Station

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1882

“The falls of St. Anthony power the first hydroelectric central station operating in the United States. People had been using water to run machinery for thousands of years, but those machines were located alongside the water. Now, water can generate power for machines far from the river. The new technology changes the shape of the city. Minneapolis industries that had clustered along the waterfront gradually move away. In 50 years, downtown will have turned away from the river to face the inland financial district; the streets closest to the river will be slums. “

We are part of an heritage of innovation: as both your children, and the citizens of this state. Thank you! Because You are present to all times, I ask this blessing on those who conceived, built, and operated the Hydroelectric Central Station. 

May all be blessed in the name and authority of Jesus. May you, your generations past, present, and future be blessed with the infinite power of the Holy Spirit of Hydraulics! May your heritage of science, engineering, and any other technologies flourish in this state and bless the whole world.

Conversely, may our expertise have a balance of humility. May our Hydro-technologists be in awe of Your technology: creation, creatures, and the universe. May they treat each other respectfully and not quash new technologies before they are developed. Amen!

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

**More detail? http://www.mnopedia.org/event/hydroelectricity-minneapolis-september-5-1882

 

 

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19th Century, Agriculture, farming, Food, Health, History, Intercession, Minnesota

Butter and Cheese Organizes 1882

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March 17, 1882

“The Minnesota State Butter and Cheese Association organizes to promote dairy farming in the state.” *

Lord, thanks for blessing the dairy business in this state and throughout the midwest! To a present-day native Minnesotan, it is strange to think that diary farming would need promotion. Lord, will you do your best for this essential business? Will You bless the farms, farmers, their animals, and generations in the name of Jesus?

*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!

Learn more about the dairy industry? http://www.umdia.org/about.html

 

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19th Century, Art, authors, Culture, History, Intercession, Minnesota

Oscar Wilde Speaks in Twin Cities

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“Hear no evil, speak no evil-and you’ll never be invited to a party.” Oscar Wilde

March 15, 1882

“The quotable Oscar Wilde takes his American lecture tour to the Twin Cites. The young Irish writer’s affected speech and knee breeches fail to impress local newspaper reporters who label him an “Ass-thete.” 

“Speaking at the Opera House, his subject “”was ‘art,’ consisting of a sort of lament that there was so little ‘art,’ especially in this country…. He was shocked by our buildings, by the mud in the streets, and especially by the rooms and furniture in the hotels…. 

The lecture was well worded, and at times quite poetical. It was certainly harmless and does not entitle Mr. Wilde to either abuse or ridicule. It was simply the smooth sentences of a languid poet, which strike the ear somewhat melodiously without arousing any overwhelming enthusiasm or creating sufficient excitement in the listener to cause him or her to burst a blood vessel.””

-St. Paul Daily Globe, March 17, 1882″ *

Lord, thank you for poetry and writing! Thanks for the “music of the spheres” and of the universe of words! Thank You for the talents of Oscar Wilde! 

We often love our heroes, perhaps even worship them, and then are disappointed when to find out they’re human. Was this the case when Wilde toured here? Lord, will You forgive the artists and writers of Minnesota any judgments of Mr. Wilde? Will You forgive his assessments of our state, art, and writers? 

Lord, I confess that we as a people love to put artists on a pedestal. We invest lots of time, energy, and treasure in those who move us. I believe You are the first artist, and that those who are talented in that arena move us because they wake our slumbering spirits. Jesus, we have made artistic brothers and sisters into gods. Will You forgive us this offense?  Will you bless the artists of this state, their generations, and their creations?

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

** Note: I once was a member of the much-beloved local band “Romantica”. Check out the link to hear their tribute to Oscar Wilde? https://romantica.bandcamp.com/track/oscar-wilde

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19th Century, Art, Culture, History, Intercession, Minnesota, music, women

Schubert Club Formed 1882

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Marion Ramsey

Forty St. Paul Women form the Schubert Club (named for the Austrian composer) “to give concerts and teach people about the joys of music.”*

What a gift You have given this state in the joys of music! Thank You for the diligence of these women, and their heart to bless others! May we excel in our hearts first, the mastery of instruments second, and the expressions of the stories You place within third!

See what’s happened in the past 134 years? https://schubert.org

Learn about its namesake? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Schubert

*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!

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19th Century, History, Intercession, Minnesota, omnipresent history, State Government

State Capitol Burns 1881

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March 1, 1881

“The first state capitol building burns. Three hundred people escape safely, but the building, including the law library, is a total loss. Luckily, most of the Minnesota Historical Society’s artifacts are rescued from the basement.” *

Thanks for the government of Minnesota, Lord. Thank you for the saved lives of the people on this day. May You rewrite any critical laws or ordinances that were lost this day on our hearts’, minds, and once again into law. Thanks that today Your mercy triumphs over judgment for the people of Minnesota!

*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!

**Read more from the Star & Tribune account? http://www.startribune.com/march-1-1881-fire-destroys-the-state-capitol/117267958/

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19th Century, Art, Culture, education, History, Intercession, Minnesota, travel, University

First Female Professor (Maria Sanford) 1880

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1880

“Maria Sanford becomes the first female professor at the University of Minnesota. A legend to her students and an ambassador of learning to the entire state, she gives thousands of public lectures on history, art, and travel. Beneath a statue of her in the U.S. Capitol are the words “the best-known and best-loved woman in Minnesota.” 

In 1899, students at the U of M will nominate professor Sanford for the Minneapolis Journal’s “favorite-teacher” contest. She comes in third, but receives the first-prize trip to Europe after students convince the newspaper to let them make up the difference in cost.” * 

Thank You that our university chose to embrace knowledge whether housed in a male or female body. Thank You for the impact that this single woman created within the U of MN. Thanks that in Your eyes we are not limited by the cultural assessments of our gender. We are free to be Your man; Your woman!

Father, forgive us for any judgements as Your unique people of Minnesota that apply to gender from this time through the present. Forgive the brand of bitterness that holds all males captive for the sins of our fathers’. Forgive the type of bitterness that holds all women prisoner for the separations with our mothers’. 

We hate our fathers’ and their incomplete masculinity! We hate our mothers’ and objectify women. Rescue us from our ungracious and misinformed assessments of our parents. Will You make this state of Minnesota shine with the forgiveness of those who gave us life? Will You help all who wrestle with gender identity? Will You set in balance the influence of mother and father, maleness and femaleness, within all the children of Minnesota!?

Heal the ground below from the words we have spoken against our fathers’. Heal the water from the rejection of our mothers’. Heal the skies from the thoughts of vengeance we have entertained against them! Bring Your chesed, Messiah!

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

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19th Century, Business, Canada, Civics, Exploration, History, Industry, Intercession, Leadership, Minnesota, railroad, Transportation

Hill’s First Railroad 1879

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1879

“James J. Hill and his Canadian partners buy the near-bankrupt St. Paul and Pacific Railroad and rename it the St. Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba. This is the beginning of the railroad career that will earn Hill the title “Empire Builder” and cement the importance of the Twin Cities as a commercial center. 

Hill’s career didn’t begin with railroads. He came to Minnesota at age 18, convincing a steamboat man to hire him as a clerk. From making sure freight reached the right people, he expanded into handling freight by boat, stagecoach, and wagon. By the time his empire was built, he was one of the nation’s leading industrialists. 

In 1891 James J. Hill will crown his success by building a house at 240 Summit Avenue in St. Paul. As massive and well-built as its owner’s railroad empire, the mansion will take three years to build and cost $931,275.01, furnished.” * 

Lord, thanks that You deal with us so patiently. You allow us to learn from our errors and seek You for mercy and truth. Thank You for the blessings of James J. Hill and his railroads.

However, we still feel the weight of the blessing and curses in the wake of his empire building! He was alleged to be duplicitous in his business dealings. He allegedly manipulated land grants or sales from cities, tribes, states, and the nations of Canada and the United States. He may have wreaked havoc on the stock market in his battle with Harriman of the Union Pacific line. **

Hill proved to be cut from a different cloth than the Robber Barons of his age whose modus operandi included manipulation of the stock market, public institutions and opinions, or Federal or State governments. In many ways, he retained the common-sense lessons of his Scots-Irish upbringing in Manitoba, Canada and the Midwestern states. A few examples of his forthright tongue and blue-collar wisdom below.

“Give me snuff, whiskey, and Swedes, and I will build a railway to hell.”

“Work, hard work, intelligent work, and then more work.”

“The wealth of the country, its capital, its credit, must be saved from the predatory poor as well as the predatory rich, but above all from the predatory politician.” ***

Lord, You are the righteous ruler and justice of North America. Will You remove the curses we have laid on James J. Hill and the lines he laid? Will You forgive his debts to the people of North America and the Midwest? Will You forgive us our injustices and betrayals of Your trust?

Like Mr. Hill, we kill our competitors and covet and build empires in our hearts. We plunder our enemies in our thoughts, and do not see our brothers and sisters as precious lives that You died and rose for! Have mercy on us: the ambitious, the coward, the sluggard, and the average! Remove the curses brought on us, our generations, the land, the property, and our homes both now and until Your return! May the pathway of this railway become a track of blessing to both Manitoba and the Twin Cities! 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!

** https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/harriman-vs-hill

*** https://www.azquotes.com/author/6703-James_J_Hill

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19th Century, Art, Awe, Culture, History, Intercession, Minnesota

First Public Art Gallery in Northwest 1879

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1879

“Lumberman Thomas B. Walker attaches an art gallery to his house and opens it to the people of Minneapolis the first public art gallery in the Northwest.

He later deeds his collection and a building to house it to the city, thus laying the groundwork for the famous Walker Art Center.” *

Thank You, Lord, that You created beauty for all to enjoy! Additonally, You have gifted the human race with senses to perceive and receive the exquisite aesthetics of Your Creativity! Thanks for the receptivity to resplendence that Thomas B. Walker practiced throughout his life.

Again, thank You for giving him a generous heart to share his collection with the state of Minnesota. I’m still surprised to learn that the present Walker Art Center was started by a lumberman!?  In this era of our North Star past, most “self-made men” were astonishingly practical and concrete-thinkers. It is a pleasure to find Mr. Walker the exception to the prejudices of Minneapolitans!

Like my own my false assessments of him, our collective normalcy bias would not allow a “doer” the grace to also be an observer. It’s curious that Walker’s generosity seemed to be blocked or otherwise doomed to failure from his contemporaries; precisely those he intended to bless. The city of Minneapolis even refused the gift of his art, and donated land to build a public gallery?! **

Lord, will You soothe the pain of this rejection past, and make opportunities to give publicly smoother and easier in the present and the future? You’ve given authority to city and county government, but forgive our leaders their short sighted choices, and failures of pride. We, too often, have loved things, and used people. Have mercy!

Will You forgive the false assessments made of artists, and artistic movements in Minnesota through the years. Lord, I invite You to re-open the Walker. Holy Spirit will You reside there and make it a praise to You? Will You lead our minds higher and to more reality through visual art?

**You can quickly read a few more of Walker’s rejections at the following link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._B._Walker

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19th Century, Agriculture, Business, History, Intercession, Minnesota, Mississippi River

Washburn ‘A’ Mill Explodes

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May 2, 1878

“The mill explodes when flour dust in the air inside it ignites. The explosion kills 18 workers, destroys five other mills, and decimates the surrounding area. Debris lands in Saint Paul, and the shock is felt in Stillwater. The event brings instant notoriety to Minneapolis.

The tragic explosion leads to reforms in the milling industry. Ventilation systems and other precautionary devices will be devised in order to prevent further tragedy.” *

Lord, this explosion truly impacted our state and city for decades. Will You forgive us our bitter root judgements of this event? Will You forgive any rash words and thoughts spoken by the rivals of the houses of Pillsbury and Washburn that may still be with us today? Will You cleanse the land, and the river from the bifurcations of this blast?

If the root sin of pride is an issue, (because of its largesse), will You forgive and release all the inheritors of this separation? We need You to provide our food! We welcome You to Minnesota, to the Falls of St. Anthony! Come and ‘be present at our table Lord!’

*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!

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