Food for the Soul: Historic Photos of Minnesota

A few weeks ago, I was the grateful recipient of Historical Photos of Minnesota, published by Turner Publishing Company with text and captions by Susan Marks. Yes, this is a food blog but nourishment comes from all over and as a non-TV watcher (this horrifies my young performers), books sing to me. As a writer, books claim my heart. And as a playwright, historical photos evoke a time and place instantaneously. My husband and I have dragged our children to every historical sight in Minnesota, New York (my hometown) and across the country. There is nothing like a visual to jump start your interest in the human stories that accompany every historical fact.
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The cover photo (above) is a grand way to discover Minnesota. For while it is the Land of 10,000 Lakes - at least six months of the year - those lakes are frozen! The photo depicting a hockey game outside Burton Hall at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus (1925) brings to life the amazing spirit of the varied populations who moved here and embraced the cold winter. Burton Hall still stands at the University of Minnesota. The University is huge and buildings from every era adorn the campus. My daughter is at the U and the commute to campus includes views of the Stone Arch Bridge (built in 1883 and now a footbridge), as well as the milling district of Minneapolis. It is a commute through time. All these sights are in the book.

The above photo depicts hunters at a campsite along the St. Louis River circa 1890. The river flows into Lake Superior and to me this is vintage Minnesota. Minnesota's rivers and lakes remain popular destinations for many Americans. There are still pristine lakes protected heavily by the state of Minnesota. Whether people go to the lakes for hunting, fishing, boating or just to enjoy each other around the bonfire, the rich natural beauty of Minnesota remains a jewel to the people and they safeguard their wilderness.

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Logging was a huge industry in Minnesota. The northern part of the state is heavily forested and over the years, forests were stripped of their trees. Photos showing log jams, lumber companies and lumberjacks loading felled trees on a sleigh are prevalent in the book. A few years ago, I did tours in Stillwater, MN which focused on the logging industry (and beer - but that's a different book!). Logging and mining was an ideal job for a new immigrant - for the work was physical and knowledge of reading and writing or even proficiency in the English language was not necessary. I did visit the iron-ore mines in Tower, MN. Taking an elevator 5 miles into the earthwas not for the feint of heart! And the sleeping bats we passed on the tour were not there for decoration! I closed my eyes and tried to the listen to the sounds of the men, peering into the dim light and trying not to think of the mass of earth above me.

Ah politics! Some things never change! The above photo depicts William Jennings Bryan (a three time Democratic nominee for President). He had a grand reputation as an great orator but on this trip he chose not to speak. Later, he may have wished that he had. For Bryan lost his presidential bid to William Taft! Other photos of politicians (including one of William Taft) are included in the book. I do enjoy the photos of the politicians on trains - typically outside in the back of the caboose - standing and waving - in the cold. Hoping that's enough to win votes!

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The delight for me in the book is that so many photos can be searched for in the state and found. Minnesota has not erased all its history with "new." Minnesota's "Grand Get-together" (the State Fair), Duluth's aerial bridge, the lock and dams on the Mississippi River, Minnehaha Falls (immortalized by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in 1855), the State Capital, its rich array of colleges and universities, the beautiful lake destinations and so much more all remain.

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I look at the people in the photos and am intrigued. Why is one group smiling and the other group solemn? Who were they? What happened just before the photo was snapped? Where did they later go? What happened to all the people gathered at the Grandstand in the Minnesota State Fair 1930? Who went to war? How did they fare during the depression? Did the polio epidemic later affect them? Who married the love of their life? Who was a published poet? So many people and each one is a separate story.

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The book begins in 1850 and the last photos are from the late 1960's. Photos fluctuate from the Dakota Wars and all the sadness included therein to the struggle for the right for women to vote and then you turn the page and are surprised with a picture of children excitedly ready to frolic into a cool lake on a warm summer day. There's such a connection - the bathing suits have changed - the smiles on the faces of the children shoot to the present. The captions by Ms.Marks are wonderfully concise, informative, dated as accurately as possible and are set to show the evolution of Minnesota from a fur trade stop to the thriving state it is today.

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As a die hard New Yorker who never thought she would live in "flyover country," the treasures in my adopted state continue to astonish and delight me. Historic Photos of Minnesota reminds me of the richness of its cities, towns, lakes, forests, rivers and valleys that lay just outside my door.