| Dayton's
Bluff District
Forum September
2007
Volume 20, No. 6 |
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National Night
Out Was a Big Success
By Ed Lambert, Executive Director, Dayton’s Bluff Community Council Some 1100 people participated in the 9 scheduled events in Dayton’s Bluff for National Night Out on August 7. The community’s many ethnic groups were all represented in the free events, which ranged in size from 20 people to over 200. While driving about and taking photographs, I also saw many small groups outside on their porches, or enjoying a front-yard BBQ, as Dayton’s Bluff turned out for National Night Out. As things wound down after 8 p.m., I noticed an unusual number of front porch lights come on throughout the neighborhood. Along with community events and outdoor activities on the first Tuesday in August, putting the front porch light on that night is one of the signature symbols of this National event designed to “take back the night” and support neighborhoods. Read on for a “snapshot” of the 9 events There were pony rides for kids, and all the grilled hamburgers and picnic food you could eat at the event on E. 5th St. between Maria Avenue and Mounds Boulevard. Some 150+ persons participated and enjoyed the great view of the St. Paul Downtown skyline while kids played and the adults talked and got to know one another better. Dayton’s Bluff District Council Board member Sharon McCrae was among the food servers on hand when they got going about 5:00 p.m. On Margaret Street between Johnson Parkway and Atlantic, some 20 neighbors gathered for a street-side potluck, and to take a close look at a St. Paul Fire Truck. A number of firefighters were there also for a nice low-key event everyone enjoyed. This may have been the smallest event, but it also had the feel of a warm and friendly family picnic with tiny children playing out and about, safely, in the street where they live. Bethlehem Lutheran Church, at Margaret and Forest, had fun, food, and entertainment; as well as some police officers and squad cars on hand. Pastor Bob Krueger, and the just newly installed Pastor Nathan Raddatz, joined some 180+ persons in finishing off 240 hot dogs and enjoying a fine evening with congregants and neighbors. Many attendees were wearing green Dayton’s Bluff Block Club T-shirts, produced in the neighborhood by Twin City Tees, a new neighborhood business. Beech/Margaret 654 Block Club members proudly wore their shirts, paid for by funds that block club raised for its activities, including NNO events. Another church in the community, Mounds Park United Methodist at Earl and Euclid, hosted a delightful indoor event at which some 115+ congregants and neighbors played games, ate, and learned about the Scout program for boys and girls at the church. I met some of the staff, including their Youth Director Eric Buck. I learned they just hired a Children and Families Outreach Coordinator to help them ratchet up efforts to get better connected to the people living in the area the church is located in. Alvin Mitchell, a Hamline Graduate from Liberia, the new coordinator, is looking forward to meeting the neighbors of the Church in that part of Dayton’s Bluff. The Margaret Recreation Center at Earl and Margaret hosted what appeared to be the largest event involving some 250+ persons. They had lots of door prizes, an extensive spread of picnic food and deserts, as well as “seemingly unlimited” roasted corn and hot dogs. Garry Fay, Walk the Bluff Coordinator, was roasting some 30 ears on the grill while I was there. I also noticed some 5 police officers scattered about in small groups conversing with the kids and adults as they ate and watched field games at the event. Dayton’s Bluff District Council Board member Roy Carlson helped host a small event for the kids and neighbors on Reaney between Forest and Cypress. Some 30 people watched as a young man named Amman drew amazing images on the sidewalk with colored chalk. Other kids set up hopscotch patterns in the closed-off street and on the sidewalks. As I was leaving I was informed that a magician would later appear to demonstrate magic for the kids, and might make something disappear. One thing that disappeared while I was there was a lot of free school supplies given out to the kids, and many cans of free and cold beverages. Swede Hollow Park at Greenbrier and Margaret had a potluck going among the pine trees, and some 40 people on hand, as I arrived early in the evening. People were settling in to enjoy live music by The Exit Band, who put on a great show from their stage area facing the park. There were tall corn plants behind the bandstand. As the evening went on, and the band played, at least another 40 people (making for 80+) joined the potluck event Mounds Park was also one of the NNO event sites. Some 85+ people gathered in the historic pavilion to enjoy the potluck, and the musicians on hand for the event. Across the street more groups of people gathered about various picnic tables and children’s play areas, listening to the live music from the pavilion, and enjoying the evening. Several Dayton’s Bluff District Council Board members were on hand helping with the event; including Stephanie Harr, John Barbie, Wally Waranka, Aaron Breiwick, and Jacob Dorer. The Celtic Band, Barra, started things off about 5:00 p.m. A solo singer, Sharone LeMieux, and a solo singer and guitar player, Brent Floren, followed them. Definitely plenty of free food and beverages on hand and, while I was there, a number of people were huddled in a corner of the pavilion talking about Dayton’s Bluff history with historian Steve Trimble. 1330 Conway was the location of our Eastern-most event in Dayton’s Bluff. The St. Paul Federal Credit Union parking lot was the site of a large air-filled bouncing balloon, inside of which scores of kids suspended themselves, temporarily, in mid-air. There was also a fun “money cyclone” that the credit union put on outside display. Several classic old cars were on display near tents set up to shelter people from the sun as they enjoyed free hamburgers, hot dogs, and the other picnic food on hand. The credit union has been sponsoring this NNO event for some 3 years now, and works closely with neighbors to make it a success. Some 120+ people, and one colorful clown, participated in a very welcoming evening on behalf of taking back the night in Dayton’s Bluff. Bluff Vacant House Committee Tries to Save Homes By Nick DuncanThe first home the members of the Dayton’s Bluff Vacant Homes Committee (DBVHC) walked through was a baby blue Victorian Cottage located on Maple Street in the middle of Dayton’s Bluff Historic District. From the street, the home looked in good shape, neatly painted with a gate and well-kept staircase leading to the front door. Inside the home there were obvious issues, much of the plumbing was gone and the side porch was nearly collapsed. But the structural integrity of the home was very much intact. In the basement, the brickwork was exceptional, on the second floor the view from the back window looked out across the bluff to downtown. The house even retained its original pocket doors between the parlor and living room and it’s fine trim work in the dining room. For many on the committee it was hard to believe that this home, dating back to the 1890’s, was one City Council vote away from demolition, a soon-to-be casualty of the city’s newest effort to revitalize a number of St Paul’s more challenged neighborhoods including Dayton’s Bluff. A boom in the number of vacant homes in recent years has led the city government to initiate a new program designed to deal with problem properties. This program is called “Invest St Paul” and is indirectly responsible for the creation of the new Dayton’s Bluff Vacant House Committee (DBVHC). The DBVHC wants to make sure neighborhood residents have some real input into which homes are worth being saved from the city’s wrecking ball. Anyone who travels just a couple blocks in Dayton’s Bluff will soon come across a boarded up house with the familiar blue “Vacant Property Notice” glued to the front door. In a report from August of this year the city’s Housing and Redevelopment Authority cites over 1100 vacant homes in the city with over 80% of those in the four “Invest St Paul” neighborhoods (North End, East Side, Frogtown, and Dayton’s Bluff.) Added to this there has been a staggering 3200 foreclosure notices listed for the city over the last two and a half years. This means there are a lot of empty homes in the city, in general, and on Dayton’s Bluff, in particular. Invest St Paul is the city’s answer to this mounting problem. It’s a comprehensive package which includes everything from educating residents on available city services and programs to assisting homeowners in danger of foreclosure to investing in the rehabilitation of problem properties. The program is designed, in part, to stop the deterioration of the neighborhoods caused by excessive numbers of vacant homes. There is no doubt that Invest St Paul is being put forward with the best intentions, but there are a couple of aspects of the program that concerned local residents enough to form the Dayton’s Bluff Vacant Home Committee. The first is the city’s desire to increase the number of vacant homes they make eligible for demolition. In an April 23, 2007 article in the Pioneer Press by Jason Hoppin, Bob Kessler, who heads the St Paul Department of Safety and Inspections, says the city has doubled it’s staff working on vacant buildings and wants to see the city council vote on the demolition of 20 vacant homes a month, as opposed to the four a month that was the norm last year. It should be noted the last step in okaying the demolition of a property is a vote by the City Council. Though Kessler claims the city’s goal is to motivate non-compliant owners to rehab their properties, he adds that “if (rehab) is not economically feasible, then we tear them down.” This was the scenario in store for the baby blue house on Maple. The second aspect of Invest St Paul that concerns some residents is a policy called “Strategic Acquisitions.” Strategic acquisitions are designed, in the words of the August 8th report of the Housing and Redevelopment Authority, “(to be) a significant tool to stabilize deteriorating blocks. Vacant properties will be acquired that will have a visible and quality of life effect on these blocks.” The report goes on to list the three possible options once a property is acquired by the city. These options include “1) secured and held for rehabilitation until the market changes; 2) be demolished and held for future development; and/or 3) be held and deconverted back to single family use.” The report also notes that Strategic Acquisition would occur ideally in clusters. That is to say, properties in close proximity would be bought up for larger scale redevelopment. “The main reason I wanted to be on the Dayton’s Bluff Vacant House Committee is because I value the wonderful heritage Dayton’s Bluff has of older homes,” said committee member Joyce Danner. Danner, like all the other members of the DBVHC, is a Dayton’s Bluff resident who believes that tearing down old homes is a shortsighted solution to the problem of vacant properties in the neighborhood. Many, like Danner, are not only troubled by the destruction of old, and possibly historically important homes, but have real questions about what will be put up in place of these homes. “Tearing these homes down and putting up three bedroom ramblers or apartment buildings will only destroy the look of the neighborhood,” argues Danner. “Ramblers belong out in the suburbs not in the inner city,” she adds. Indeed DBVHC members question the logic of demolishing vacant homes on many grounds. The lots won’t sit vacant forever. What goes up in place of the destroyed home? Are we really better off with brand new cheap prefabricated, polyboard homes? Wouldn’t a renovated sturdy old Victorian which is made from the strongest brick and old growth hard wood that’s not available to even the most luxurious builder in today’s world, be a better investment? What about the environmental impact of all this new building? Not to mention the impact on the esthetics of the neighborhood? At this point the DBVHC has more questions then answers. But the questions certainly are important ones. The DBVHC is less then six months old and still attempting to find the most effective way to influence the city’s vacant home policy in the neighborhood. Committee member and Dayton’s Bluff Community Organizer Karin DuPaul has arranged for the committee to be notified by the city inspector’s office which homes are in line for the City Council’s final demolition vote. With this information, the DBVHC has been able to do its own inspections of local properties slated for the wrecking ball. However, these inspections have been hampered by city safety codes. The DBVHC has been able to score one early victory. That was the case of the baby blue house on Maple. Lobbying from members of the committee and assurances from the home’s owner that he would make improvements, earned the home an eleventh hour pardon from the city’s wrecking ball. That’s one 116 year-old home saved and an entire neighborhood to go. Anyone interested in more information on the Dayton’s Bluff Vacant Home Committee can contact Karin DuPaul at 772-2075. Interested in Community Garden Plots? For many years there has been talk about starting community gardens in Dayton’s Bluff. At long last we are planning two meetings for interested residents to discuss the possibilities for community garden plots in Dayton’s Bluff. The sites that are being considered for Community Gardens are Skidmore Park, a city park on the 1000 block of East 4th Street, and a large vacant lot at Plum St. and Mounds Blvd. The Skidmore Park area meeting will be Wednesday, September 26 starting at 6:30 p.m. at the Margaret Recreation Center, 1109 Margaret Street. The Plum and Mounds Blvd area meeting will be on Monday, September 24 starting at 6:30 p.m. at the Cerenity Marian Center at 200 Earl Street. Many communities have community gardens for residents to grow plants. Some people are able to grow most of their own vegetables. The Greening Dayton’s Bluff Program is funded by the McKnight Foundation. For more information call 651-772-2075. Local House Gets Makeover for TV Show
Dayton's
Bluff Community Meeting The next Community Meeting is Thursday, September
6 from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. in the meeting room at the Dayton’s Bluff
Community Council, 798 East 7th Street at the corner of 7th and
Margaret. Last
Chance for Small Business Class Class training lasts 8 weeks and includes topics such as operations management, marketing, financial management, one to one assistance with creating a successful business, and preparing a business plan, plus 8 hours of one on one time with the instructor. Those who successfully complete the course and locate their businesses in target neighborhoods are eligible for ongoing business support services. Some examples of businesses started by people who have previously taken this course include graphics, landscaping, photography, food service, restoration of wood furniture and works of art, custom floral design for weddings and events, and exterior and interior painting. The course is sponsored by the Dayton’s Bluff Community Council and the Neighborhood Development Center. There is a small registration fee based on a sliding fee scale. The next session will start in September and class size is limited. Please call Karin at 651-772-2075 or email Karin@DaytonsBluff.org for an application. September at the Mounds Theatre Starting
Gate Productions’ sixth season is devoted to plays written by women
playwrights.
Starting Gate begins its third year at the Mounds Theatre with The Little Foxes by Lillian Hellman. It is directed by David Coral. The play runs September 7 – 30, Fridays & Saturdays at 7:30 and Sundays at 2:00. All tickets are $18. Visit www.startinggate.org for tickets. The Mounds Theatre is located at 1029 Hudson Rd., St. Paul, MN 55106. Correction The phone number of the Dayton’s Bluff Living At
Home/Block Nurse Program is 651-757-7958. It was incorrect in the
July/August issue of the Fourm. 840 East Sixth Street St. Paul, MN 55106 September 9, 2007 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Come for FUN, Authentic Mexican Food, American Food, Games of Chance, Children’s Games, Pony Rides, and more!! Huge Garage Sale Saturday, September 8 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Sunday, September 9 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. For more information call 651-776-2741 Fall Walk-A-Thon Fundraising Walk for Dayton’s Bluff District Council. Save the date! Saturday, October 6th 10:30 a.m. start at the Indian Mounds Park Pavilion. Prizes, awards, refreshments! More details to come! The Dayton’s Bluff District Forum is now mailed monthly to Dayton’s Bluff businesses and households FREE !! Your 5” x 4” display ad gets to over 6500 addresses for only 2 cents per address. Your ad is also placed in the online edition of the Forum at no extra cost. Other size ads are also available Include the Dayton’s Bluff District Forum in your advertising plans. Contact Karin@daytonsbluff.org Or call 651-772-2075 Opportunity Knocking! Volunteer Editor needed for this paper. Call 651-772-2075 Don't Forget Run for a District Council seat and help “Build-up the Bluff” You are needed! Filings are open until 9/17/07 Elections on 10/15/07 Contact Karin 651-772-2075 karin@daytonsbluff.org Neighborhood Cleanup Saturday, Sept. 8, 9:00 a.m. to noon, Ray Anderson & Sons More information can be found below or by calling Karin at 772-2075 Dayton's Bluff Recycling Pick Up Every Tuesday. Have your recycling on the curb by 7:00 a.m. If you need recycling bins call 651-772-2075. Student News Harding
H. S. Student Receives Scholarship Samuel E. Murphy of St. Paul, Minnesota, was among 464 graduates to receive a bachelor’s degree May 27 from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, during the college’s 141st commencement exercises. The graduates heard speeches by four figures prominent in their fields who received honorary degrees: Corey Harris, a respected roots musician who graduated from Bates in 1991; children’s book illustrator-author Eric Carle; actress-writer Anna Deavere Smith; and Dean Kamen, inventor of the personal transporter called the Segway. Murphy graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in history. During fall 2005, he studied at the University of Adelaide in Australia. Murphy was a four-year member of the men’s track and cross country teams. A 2003 graduate of Harding High School, he is the son of David Murphy and Jane Prince, 1004, Burns Ave. Bates College is widely regarded as one of the finest U.S. liberal arts colleges. Learning at Bates is honed through seminars, research, service-learning, study abroad and the senior thesis, and a 10-1 student-faculty ratio enables close collaborations in classroom and laboratory. Alumni frequently credit Bates for developing their powers of critical and aesthetic assessment. Bates was founded in 1855 by Maine abolitionists and its graduates have always included men and women from diverse racial, ethnic and religious backgrounds. In 1975, Minnesota became the first state to pass legislation limiting smoking in the workplace. The historic Minnesota Clean Indoor Air Act required separate no-smoking areas in most indoor work environments with the notable exception of bars Now, Minnesota has passed the Freedom to Breathe Act of 2007, which will extend secondhand smoke protections to virtually all indoor workplaces, including bars and restaurants. The Freedom to Breathe bill was passed by a bipartisan majority of lawmakers and signed into law by Governor Tim Pawlenty on May 16, 2007. The law, which goes into effect on October 1, makes Minnesota the twentieth state to go smoke-free. Highlights of the new law: · No smoking is allowed in bars, restaurants, private clubs or other workplaces. · Smoking is permitted on outdoor patios, but is subject to regulation at the local level. · Indoor smoking is prohibited in public places and places of work, except in special cases such as scientific studies, theatrical productions (by actors), traditional Native American ceremonies, in hotel and motel guestrooms and tobacco shops. Volunteers
Needed at Homework Centers Commitment is two hours a week for a minimum of four months. Homework Centers are open Monday-Thursday 3 to 7 p.m., Saturday 1 to 4 at Dayton’s Bluff, and Sunday 1 to 4 p.m. at Rondo and Sun Ray. Training is provided. This experience has been described by one Homework Center volunteer as “extraordinarily rewarding and energizing.” For more information visit www.sppl.org/homework or contact Emily Lechner, Homework Center Coordinator by calling 651/266-7433 or at emily.lechner@ci.stpaul.mn.us. Glorious Food Giveaway The Food Giveaway takes place on the third
Saturday of the month at Mounds Park United Methodist Church, Earl and
Euclid Streets. Doors open at 8:30 a.m. The Food Giveaway is from 10:30
a.m. to 12:00 noon. Come and receive a free bag of food, no
questions asked. Bethlehem Lutheran Installs New Pastor
On Sunday afternoon, July 5th members and visiting clergy welcomed Rev. Nathan Raddatz to one of Dayton’s Bluff’s historic churches. Rev. Nathan Raddatz was installed as Associate Pastor to serve with Rev. Krueger who has been at Bethlehem for over 25 years. The installation rite was read by Rev. Gerhart Bode, 1st Vice President of the Minnesota South District of the Lutheran Church Missouri, and the preacher for the day was Rev. Daryl Gehibach, the District Secretary. A May 2007 graduate of Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, IN, Rev. Raddatz will join the ministry team at Bethlehem sharing a variety of responsibilities for worship and education, youth and family ministry. Since his vicarage (internship) in Baltimore, Maryland, Pastor Raddatz was introduced to a range of inner city experiences and is willing to apply the Gospel to the needs of our community. Bethlehem offers Divine Worship each Sunday in English at 9:00 A.M. and 11:15 A.M. in the Hmong language. Other services to the community include Joy Preschool and Childcare, offering a licensed Christian daycare experience with preschool component for all enrolled. For more information call 651-776-4737. Church Directory Amazing Grace Assembly of God 463 Maria St. Paul, MN 55106 651-776-7210 1 block North of Metropolitan State University Sun 8:00 am – Free Community Breakfast 9:30 am, - Worship service Sun 10:45 am - Education for all ages Handicapped accessible ALL ARE WELCOME!
Mounds Park United
Methodist Worship times are subject to
change. Please call ahead to confirm.
By Sue Richter and Wally Waranka Streets
of the Bluff... And Other Good Stuff - Part V In the last few months in the Forum I have been listing, adding to and sometimes commenting on the origins of the street names of Dayton’s Bluff as listed in Don Empson’s newly issued book, The Street Where You Live. We made it from A to Z. But the books subtitle is “A Guide to Place Names of St. Paul,” so for the encore, let’s take a look at the non-street names that are included in the Empson volume. Some of the places listed in the book—such as Carver’s Cave, Swede Hollow and Indian Mounds Park—have been written about in past issues of the Forum, so they will be mentioned but not covered extensively. As before, I am making this in the form of an extended book review and adding new information so it doesn’t look like I am a plagiarist historian. We made it from A to the start of the M’s last issue. So here we go with the rest of the ponds, parks and places of Dayton’s Bluff: McLean Township Though urban dwellers today aren’t all that familiar with them, townships were one of the important early forms of government. McLean Township dated back to 1858 and its boundaries were roughly today’s Minnehaha Ave., the Mississippi River and the eastern boundary of Ramsey County. It was named after early settler Nathaniel McLean who came to St. Paul in 1853. He was already covered in the article that included McLean Street. By 1887 it was all annexed into the city Municipal Forest Most of the twenty-acre forest was given to the city by the state in 1920. It had been part of the fish hatchery property but it was either too hilly or too far away from the main headquarters to be useful. Empson decided to write about one of the more unusual aspects of this area’s history—the story of “Matron’s Grove.” It seems that in 1916, the local chapter of a woman’s club called the Order of Eastern Star wanted to plant memorial trees for its past matrons in the public park. If you go down to “Six Corners,” the old name for the intersection of Burns, Point Douglas and Clarence and head up the hill and look to the south, you can still see the star pattern of trees that were planted in “Matron’s Grove.” Anyone have any photos of the Grove that we could print in future editions of the Forum? Phalen Creek Empson’s section on Phalen Creek is fairly lengthy, so you’ll have to read it all for yourself. But here are some of the highlights. He correctly points out that it was named for Edward Phelan (sometimes spelled Felyn), a discharged Ft. Snelling soldier who staked a claim in the area between today’s Case and Minnehaha Avenues. Phelan was arrested for the murder of his partner. He was found innocent for lack of evidence and then re-indicted. This time he fled to California before a new trial and was supposedly killed by his traveling companions who were acting in self-defense. Empson does a good job telling this fascinating story, but doesn’t have room to also point out the importance of the waterway to the early development of the neighborhood. It made its way from Lake Phalen to the Mississippi, snaking through the neighborhood. Though not large, Phalen Creek was a source of waterpower for a number of businesses, ranging from saw mills to flour mills and was the site of Hamm’s, one of the most famous breweries in history. Of course, its flow over the years created the ravine that housed the community that was known as Swede Hollow. But you’ll have to read on (or scroll down if you’re on-line) to get that story. Post Side Track Also referred to as Post Siding, this railroad-oriented place was on the north side of Seventh, between Earl and Frank. It was named after a Dr. Post who had ownership of land in the area and is sometimes mentioned in early accounts of the city. The importance of the site is that it had a small railroad depot that served the area in the 1870’s and 1880’s. It was sometimes used as an early form of commuter rail for workers who came to toil at the industrial and manufacturing concerns there—a lumberyard, a terra cotta factory, the St. Paul Plow Works, to name a few. Because of the jobs, many people also started to live nearby on Ross, Beech and other streets in small workers cottages many of which are still there. It was not until the late 1880’s that the streetcar took over the job of transportation in the Post Siding area. Rifle Lake Rifle Lake and Rifle Park were once located in the area around Hancock, Conway, Griffith and Earl where Parkway Little League and Mounds Park School is today. The park sported a private club and the lake was around fifteen to twenty feet deep according to city records. It got its name from the fact that many shooting clubs used the area. There are frequent short notices of turkey shoots and other events there before the area was developed into housing. Shared a passage from the Sacred Heart diamond jubilee book that said “Rifle Lake and Rifle Park…was the scene of many a parish picnic and also several unfortunate drownings.” Skidmore Park Empson refers to the third-of-an-acre Skidmore, on Fourth east of Earl Street, as a “ghost park” that was never developed and more of less forgotten. Most people probably think of it as an empty lot. New York residents Skidmore and Cassidy presented it to the city in 1886 as part of their real estate addition. They may have had friends or family in the area because they also had investments downtown, including a Skidmore Block at Fourth and Minnesota. Stone Arch Minneapolis is not the only city to have an important stone arch bridge. This one in our neighborhood is also on the National Register of Historic Places. Officially known as the Seventh Street improvement arches, the structure was built in 1884 to replace an earlier wooden bridge that spanned the railroad tracks. According to Empson, the technical description of it is “skewed double arched limestone highway bridge constructed according to the helicoidal or spiral, method.” Some architectural historians consider it ”the most important piece of masonry in the city.” Swede Hollow This East Side legend, as most readers know, was in a ravine carved by Phalen Creek. Filled first with Swedish squatters and as time went on Polish, Italian and Mexican-American settlers, it was a cheap and sheltered place for newcomers to live. However, there were no city services such as water or sewer and as people prospered most moved up onto Payne Avenue. The last fourteen remaining houses were burned by the city in 1956. Empson cautions his readers that one should not be too nostalgic about the hollow and would do well to read the 1917 Wilder Housing survey that said that “Phalen Creek and the banks of this stream, are ideal for park purposes, while in their present state they constitute a menace to the health of the residents and to the community at large.” In October 1976, a new Swede Hollow Park was dedicated as a nature center and now has trails and other amenities. Many reminiscences of life in “the hollow” have been printed. Do you have any to share about yourself or your family? Territorial Road In 1850 Congress gave money to the War Department for a road from Point Douglas, where the St Croix meets the Mississippi, to Fort Ripley via St. Paul. Empson states that except for a section of a Van Buren Avenue alley, “all that remains of this early road between the Twin Cities can be found in the few blocks now labeled Territorial Road” near highway 280 and University Avenue. Here is one of the few places that I think he may have made a mistake. Territorial Road cut across Dayton’s Bluff on its way downtown. Unless my facts are wrong, the section of Point Douglas Road from Obb’s Bar west to Johnson Parkway follows the diagonal path that was once taken by Territorial Road. Three Judges Park This is a proposed park on Third Street just east of Maple that is currently an empty lot. The land, which had a tiny dilapidated house, was bought with plans to make it a tribute to three famous judges—Warren Burger and Harry Blackmun, who both served on the United States Supreme Court and Edward Devitt who presided over a U.S. District Court. All of them lived in the area and attended Van Buren Elementary School, the precursor to today’s Dayton’s Bluff School. The funding for the final creation of the park and the plans for this landmark have been on hold for a time, but there is still hope that the original dream may become a reality. Want to help? Upper Swede Hollow This is a term that used to refer to the area north of Seventh Street around Greenbrier, Bates and Maria and North. Empson calls this a neighborhood “rich with history” that includes part of the Dayton’s Bluff Historic District in the area southeast of and above Swede Hollow itself. A group called the Upper Swede Hollow Neighborhood Association (USHNA) was started by the residents and initiated many useful projects. The portion of Hamm’s Park there used to be called Upper Swede Hollow Park and was actually designated as parkland earlier, but to avoid confusion, the city decided to call the whole thing-both above and below- Swede Hollow Park. So it is. Weld’s Bluff The last place to be covered-at least alphabetically- is also one of the first, chronologically speaking. And in his book, Empson even gives credit to me. “According to local historian Steve Trimble,” he states, “the area now known as Dayton’s Bluff was once was known by this name.” It’s true. I found a very early newspaper article that referred to the bluff lands by that name. Eben Weld was one of the earliest European-American residents who came in the early 1840’s from the East. In 1848 he purchased the claim of an even earlier man named Mousseau. Two years later Weld sold the land and went to California to try his luck in the gold fields. Lyman Dayton then bought much of the land and as a result, we now know our neighborhood as Dayton’s Bluff. There you are, from A to Z, Dayton’s Bluff as included in The Street Where You Live. What historical people, events or places do you think should be written about next? By the way, feel free to send in your own articles. We know there are some of you who have been doing family and house histories. Why not share them? If you want to buy your own copy of The Street Where You Live by Donald L. Empson, the University of Minnesota Press publication is available at most bookstores as well as the Ramsey County Historical Society and the Minnesota History Center. Or even better, you can order an autographed copy of the book directly from the author. Send a check or money order to Donald Empson at P.O. Box 791, Stillwater, MN 55082. The price is $19.95 + $1.30 sales tax + $4.00 for postage and packaging for a total of $25.25. If you do, please tell how you would like the book dedicated. Visit Empson’s website at www.empsons.com. Greening Dayton's Bluff Had a Busy Year
More boulevard and rain gardens are popping up in Dayton’s Bluff. It has been a good year for gardening. Gardening is one of the best ways of improving the curb appeal of homes. Workshops offered by Greening Dayton’s Bluff included “How to Grow Salsa”, “Test Your Soil”, and “Gardening for Wildlife.” Neighborhood Garden Tours are popular with gardeners and would-be gardeners who like to meet each other and see beautiful gardens. This year there were gardens with beautiful terracing, lovely patio areas, water features, and gorgeous plants. When Cheryl Regan was asked how she got such beautiful gardens she said it was, “going and getting compost and wood chips from the compost site.” Thirty-two flowering pots have been placed on the business areas of East 7th and Hudson Road. The plan was to have 24 but then a number of business people on East 7th between Arcade and Minnehaha pleaded for more. So eight more were placed on the street. The businesses on Hudson Road are doing a great job of caring for their plants also. The business people agreed to water the plants. The Community Design Center’s youth program plants the pots and places them along the business streets. The Ramsey County Sentence to Service Crews have also helped with watering the plants and picking up trash along the way. In the fall the pots will be picked up and stored until next spring.. Walk the Bluff Gets
Tough on Weeds Canada thistle, bull thistle pull them up and throw them into the ever growing pile of unwanted weeds, thistles in the breeze, wild prairie flowers were woven in our thoughts as we uprooted invasive species of all sorts such as wild garlic and burdock. With gloved hands and firm resolve our hearts were protected by the knowledge gained from Thomas Ibsen of the National Park Service from the thorny stalks and doubts of newly learned plant identification. From young to old people went at this labor of love for 2 1/2 hours secure knowing that many hands make light hearts while enjoying the outdoors. Over fifty people gathered in Indian Mounds Park under a muggy, rain laden sky to remove thousands and thousands of weeds from our precious park prairie flowers and grasses well planted not so many years ago. Until established, prairie plantings require a little maintenance to protect them from invasion – invasion by non-native species. When the planting matures, the native flowers and grasses will be able to hold their own against these invaders. Ranger Ibsen presented some short informative displays on wildflowers and invasive weeds as well as local history: human and geologic. Questions were asked by young and old alike throughout the day. An invaluable education in the field was had. We were in a field that had been planted in hope and now given new life. The prairie was being reclaimed for our enjoyment from the unwelcome addition of non-native species. Walk the Bluff was thrilled for the opportunity to join over fifty people from REI outfitters and NPS on the morning of August 4th, 2007. Prairie restoration is a labor of love and working the land with dozens of friends – old and new – connects you to the community and to the landscape that existed in Saint Paul into the 1880’s. Although the park prairie plantings looked a bit trampled when the masses finished, they will bounce back and we knew that we had removed nearly fifty million new invasive plant seeds this morning alone. REI Recreational Equipment Incorporated Outfitters generously donated a shirt and meal for every volunteer. Next time you enjoy a flower in the park remember that loving, hard working, volunteer hands made it possible. Join in with your community. Build a better park – funding is down to cutting grass and not too much of that in these drought ridden summers. To paraphrase John F. Kennedy’s admonishment, “Ask not what your parks can do for you, ask what you can do for your parks.” Join Walk the Bluff and help create, maintain and envision a better neighborhood with the communal efforts of your friends and family here in Dayton’s Bluff. Contact the Dayton’s Bluff Community Council at 798 E. 7th St., call 651/772-2075 or e-mail Garry@DaytonsBluff.org. To learn more about how you can get involved in restoring native habitats along the Mississippi River, contact Tom Ibsen of the National Park Service at thomas_ibsen@nps.gov or call 651/290-3030 ext 233. There are activities available for individuals and groups of all ages and abilities including growing native plants by seed or helping to recruit additional volunteers! Learn more about how to help the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area by visiting the Mississippi River Fund at www.missriverfund.org REI can be contacted at their website www.rei.com or call 1-800-426-4840. Keep Walking with Walk the Bluff This Fall Upcoming Special Events Ongoing Activities A Christmas Story returns to the Mounds Theatre
for the fourth year, live on stage this December for nine performances
On Friday, September 21 the Eastern District
Police will host their monthly meeting for community members. The
meeting is intended as a time to listen to and address people’s
concerns about crime and other issues on the East Side. Past issues of the Dayton's Bluff District Forum |
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| Past issues of the Dayton's Bluff District Forum |