What's New

Minnesota Witness for Environmental Justice flyer, 1999The rise of rivers due to rapid snow melt this month is a reminder of the power of rivers and the devastating impact flooding can have on communities. The environmental justice papers of Diane Peterson, the focus of this month's post, explores the related topic of the impacts of flooding from man-made means of hydroelectricity. The collection documents her efforts in founding the Minnesota Witness for Environmental Justice (MWEJ) to oppose the partnership and sale of hydroelectricity from Manitoba Hydro to Xcel Energy of Minnesota. Her papers include working notes, flyers and fact sheets, press, correspondence, petitions, statements, and legal documentation that focus heavily on the environmental and social impacts of Manitoba Hydro's dam projects on various Canadian indigenous communities, including the Nisichawayasihk, Pimicikamak, and Tataskweyak Cree Nations located near the areas of Cross Lake, Split Lake, and Port Nelson, Manitoba.

MWEJ protestors, 1999The papers also provide insight into MWEJ's collaboration with various groups, including Twin Cities based Quaker and Mennonite communities, multiple Minnesota and Wisconsin based environmental organizations, and Cree members. Much of this collaboration focused on creating public awareness about the impacts of hydroelectricity and the Manitoba-Xcel partnership, staging protests, and petitioning the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission for blocking the partnership.


New and Updated Finding Aids - March 2019

Name/Abstract File No.
Adjutant General: An Inventory of Its Civil War Pension Files of Pension Agent Charles J. Stees gr00893
Allgour, Franz J.Includes such documents as correspondence, memoranda, proof of disability, widow's and soldier's applications, power of attorney, death certificates, and other related records.

Includes digital content.
Agricultural Society: An Inventory of Its Century Farm Applications gr00094
Century Farm report, 1976 Application forms for residents who wished to have their farms declared century farms, signifying that the farm had been in the same family for 100 or more years. This was begun as a joint project between the State Fair and the Farmer magazine; later the Minnesota Farm Bureau Federation became the co-sponsor. Beginning in 2009, sesquicentennial (150 years) farms forms are included.

Includes digital content.
Carl Almquist: An Inventory of His Amador Township Film Collection sv000289
Video icon Two film reels of footage of Amador Township, Minnesota and surrounding area including Almelund an unincorporated community within the township. Filming by Carl Almquist, a farmer who brought his camera everywhere to document life in the community. Views include but are not limited to threshing, fishing, men driving farm equipment and cars, carnival festivities, winter scenes of skating and ice harvesting, a military funeral, and a burning building. The third reel contains cartoon material from multiple sources that was originally segments in between Amador footage but has since been physically separated.

Includes digital content.
Leslie C. Anderson: An Inventory of His Papers 00741
Assigned Company No. 725 CCCCorrespondence (1934, 1941, 1943-1946), photographs (ca. 1934-1939, 1945-1946), and miscellaneous papers documenting the career and experiences of a Crosby, Crow Wing County, Minnesota, man who served in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and the U.S. Army.

Includes digital content.
The Book Club: An Inventory of Its Records 01303
Interview with Barbara CyrusRecords of an African American women's literary and social club, along with an oral history interview of Barbara Cyrus, a long-time member of the group.

Includes digital content.
Art Brown: An Inventory of His Film Collection sv000027
Video iconA collection of amateur films that showcases small town parades and carnivals, outdoor recreation such as boating, racing, and skating, a storm in Anoka, and local political figures such as Minneapolis Mayor George E. Leach and the funeral of Governor Floyd B. Olson.

Includes digital content.
Chisago County, Minnesota : An Inventory of Telephone Directories lb00091
A collection of telephone directories for cities in Chisago County, Minnesota. Telephone directories are published by telephone companies and include alphabetical listings of residential and business phone numbers and street addresses in the white pages, and a listing of businesses arranged by subject in the yellow pages. Each entry on the inventory lists the city name, year of coverage, and the shelf number of the printed volume or microfiche set which includes that city.
Gratia A. Countryman: An Inventory of the Gratia A. Countryman and Family Papers P0315
Minneapolis, My Home Town NightCorrespondence, speeches, diaries, newspaper clippings, diplomas and appointments, and other papers of Gratia Countryman, head librarian (1904-1936) of the Minneapolis Public Library. Includes some materials relating to her parents, Levi and Alta Countryman, her brother Theophilus, and other family members.

Includes digital content.
John R. Cummins: An Inventory of His Papers 01170
Essay bookDiaries, account books, correspondence, and miscellaneous papers of a Minnesota farmer, scientist, and traveler who migrated from Pennsylvania to Eden Prairie in 1857.

Includes digital content.
Arthur Fruen and Reba Watson Fruen Family: An Inventory of The Photograph Albums sv000287
Photograph album, approximately 1885-1960 (bulk 1900-1910)Albums document members of the Fruen and Watson families. Views are in and around Minneapolis including Brooklyn Center, the Stone Arch Bridge, Camden and Bryn-Mawr neighborhoods, Lake Harriet, Minnehaha Falls, as well as Fort Snelling and more. Arthur Fruen's father, William H. Fruen, formed the Glenwood company and Fruen Cereal company (later Fruen Milling), images of the area around the mill are also included. Many of the family, friends, and locations are identified in handwritten notes.

Includes digital content.
Honeywell Inc.: An Inventory of Its Records at the Minnesota Society 00051
Business records, patent files, company-produced newsletters and periodicals, photographs, and sound and visual recordings of a Minneapolis-based multinational company widely known as a manufacturer of thermostats for residential and commercial heating systems, aeronautical devices and controls for military and commercial aircraft, and as a manufacturer of mainframe computers. Includes records of predecessor and subsidiary companies.

Includes digital content.
Isanti County, Minnesota: An Inventory of Telephone Directories lb00122
A collection of telephone directories for cities in Isanti County, Minnesota. Telephone directories are published by telephone companies and include alphabetical listings of residential and business phone numbers and street addresses in the white pages, and a listing of businesses arranged by subject in the yellow pages. Each entry on the inventory lists the city name, year of coverage, and the shelf number of the printed volume or microfiche set which includes that city.
Max M. Kampelman: An Inventory of His Papers 00772
Max M. KampelmanCorrespondence, newsletters, published and unpublished articles, speeches, government reports, press releases, news clippings, television footage, memoirs, interviews, and related materials documenting the public life of Max M. Kampelman as legislative counsel to Senator Hubert H. Humphrey (1949-1955), as a friend and advisor to Humphrey throughout his political career (1956-1978), and as United States ambassador (1980-1992). The papers also reflect Kampelman's activities in professional and community groups.

Includes digital content.
Kanabec County, Minnesota : An Inventory of Telephone Directories lb00063
A collection of telephone directories for cities in Kanabec County, Minnesota. Telephone directories are published by telephone companies and include alphabetical listings of residential and business phone numbers and street addresses in the white pages, and a listing of businesses arranged by subject in the yellow pages. Each entry on the inventory lists the city name, year of coverage, and the shelf number of the printed volume or microfiche set which includes that city.
Betty Kane: An Inventory of Her Papers 01297
Papers of a Democratic-Farmer-Party (DFL) official and activist who lobbied for legislative reapportionment in Minnesota during the 1950s and 1960s. Includes correspondence, news articles, photographs, speeches, DFL publications, and subject files, with information on Kane's involvement with the League of Women Voters, her lobbying efforts and activities, her service on the Governor's Bipartisan Commission on Reapportionment and the Metropolitan Council, and her unsuccessful 1962 campaign for the Minnesota legislature.
F. R. Meisch: An Inventory of His Papers 00835
A Monastic Chapel Personal papers and financial records, professional files, architectural drawings, scrapbooks of photographs, and other materials of a Minnesota architect who was involved in aviation-related projects and in projects for the local Roman Catholic archdiocese, and who was also a watercolor artist active in Twin Cities artists' organizations.

Includes digital content.
Minneapolis Public Schools Neighborhood Survey: An Inventory of The Collection sv000286
Views of residential, industrial, commercial, and public buildings in Minneapolis, Minnesota; arranged by neighborhood. Many of the images have more detailed location information on the back of the photoprint.
Minnesota Geographic Society: An Inventory of Its City of Minneapolis Documentary Photography Project Collection sv000284
Bus kidsPhotographs taken by the Minnesota Geographic Society as part of a nine-month long project to document Minneapolis in 1978, headed by Michael O'Neil and Tim Strick. Images highlight many activities in the city including downtown and neighborhood street scenes, equipment and employees of various companies, schools, theaters, parades, and more. Project portfolios of nine photographers are included: Randy Croce, Joanne Denzer, George Heinrich, Olof Källström, Craig Litherland, Shelley McIntire, Gerald Norrgard, Bob Olsgard, and Tim Strick. Also included are a photograph of eight of the project photographers and an issue of Minneapolis Star Tribune's Picture magazine which featured the project in January 1979.

Includes digital content.
Out-And-About Theatre: An Inventory of Its Records 00692
Articles of incorporation, bylaws, minutes, correspondence, several scripts, programs, reviews and articles, photographs and slides, a video recording, newsletters and fliers, a poster, and other records of a theater founded in 1977 to seek out and produce plays that dealt with the gay/lesbian experience in a positive way.

Includes digital content.
Diane J. Peterson: An Inventory of Her Papers 01294
Opposition to Northern States Power (NSP) 
                                                and Wisconsin Energy Corporation activities, 1995-1999Environmental justice papers of Diane J. Peterson, a citizen activist from White Bear Lake (Minn.). Peterson's papers mainly relate to her work with Minnesota Witness for Environmental Justice (MWEJ), an organization she founded in 1999 to oppose the sale of power generated from electric power and gas utility Manitoba Hydro to Xcel Energy of Minnesota (formerly Northern States Power Company). Peterson particularly focused on the environmental damages done to lands of First Nations band governments, the Nisichawayasihk, Pimicikamak, and Tataskweyak Cree Nations, resulting from Manitoba Hydro's dams.

Includes digital content.
Leonard M. Phillipich: An Inventory of His Visual Materials sv000030
Video iconIncludes films, photographs and negatives associated with Leonard Phillipich, his family, the Potocnik family, and his photography studio, Thomas-Leonard Photography. Many of the materials are of the communities of Eveleth and Gilbert, the former where Phillipich had his studio and the latter where his family lived. Film views include home movies, fishing, basketball and the 401st Bomb Group. Photo and negative views include family portraits, views of Eveleth and Gilbert including Gilbert High School, parades, parties, Special Olympians and a 1952 visit by President Harry S. Truman in Hibbing.

Includes digital content.
Pine County, Minnesota : An Inventory of Telephone Directories lb00079
A collection of telephone directories for cities in Pine County, Minnesota. Telephone directories are published by telephone companies and include alphabetical listings of residential and business phone numbers and street addresses in the white pages, and a listing of businesses arranged by subject in the yellow pages. Each entry on the inventory lists the city name, year of coverage, and the shelf number of the printed volume or microfiche set which includes that city.
Re-imagining Community: An Inventory of its Records 00874
Headphones iconChronological files, conference programs and materials, audio recordings, minutes, articles and clippings, newsletters, and other records of a Minneapolis-based non-profit Ecumenical Christian movement working to challenge patriarchy in the church and society.

Includes digital content.
Renville County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Minutes gr01558
Minutes of the Renville County District Court.
Steele County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Civil Case Files gr01554
Case file nos. 299-9599. Files numbered prior to 299 are included among the Civil case files (miscellaneous).
Steele County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Plaintiffs and Defendants Indexes gr01551
Plaintiffs and defendants indexes; entries may include case file number, parties to the case, type of action, date and amount of judgment, and citation to the register of action volume and page number indexed.
Steele County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Real Estate Tax Judgment Books gr01552
Real estate tax judgment books of Steele County District Court.
Steele County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Torrens Records gr01553
Torrens case files (1939-1981); land registration docket No. 1, file nos. 1-124 (1913-1982); and decree record No. 1, (1913-1975).
Transportation Association of America: An Inventory of Its Records 01296
Records of a national lobbying and research organization formed to advocate for private ownership of the nation's transportation systems and to conduct research on transportation issues.
Traverse County, Minnesota : An Inventory of Telephone Directories lb00070
A collection of telephone directories for cities in Traverse County, Minnesota. Telephone directories are published by telephone companies and include alphabetical listings of residential and business phone numbers and street addresses in the white pages, and a listing of businesses arranged by subject in the yellow pages. Each entry on the inventory lists the city name, year of coverage, and the shelf number of the printed volume or microfiche set which includes that city.
Waseca County: School District No. 9, Iosco Township: An Inventory of Its Records gr01555
Includes clerk's books (1926-1956), treasurer's books (1925-1956), classification and term registers (1917-1950), attendance registers (1938-1950), and school census (1938-1954).
Waseca County: School District No. 10, Iosco Township: An Inventory of Its Records gr01556
Includes clerk's books (1946-1956), treasurer's books (1941-1947, 1955-1956), and teacher's reports to county superintendent of schools (1944-1956).
Waseca County: School District No. 11, Iosco Township: An Inventory of Its Records gr01557
Includes clerk's books (1938-1956), treasurer's records (1955-1956), teacher's reports to county superintendent (1940-1956), attendance registers (1942-1955), and school census (1955).
Washington County, Minnesota: An Inventory of Telephone Directories lb00113
A collection of telephone directories for cities in Washington County, Minnesota. Telephone directories are published by telephone companies and include alphabetical listings of residential and business phone numbers and street addresses in the white pages, and a listing of businesses arranged by subject in the yellow pages. Each entry on the inventory lists the city name, year of coverage, and the shelf number of the printed volume or microfiche set which includes that city.
Women's Art Registry of Minnesota: An Inventory of Its Records 00101
Video iconRecords documenting the members, activities, and philosophy of a women's art collective in Minneapolis.

Includes digital content.

New and Updated Catalog Records

Jacob Wales Bass and family portrait collection, approximately 1850-1855.
Collection of portraits related to Jacob Wales Bass family of Saint Paul. Includes portrait of Jacob Wales Bass; family portrait of Bass with his wife, Martha, and their sons Edgar Wales and Franklin Burr. Two unidentified portraits are believed to be Bass's niece Mary Bass and a third is believed to be her husband, John Riddle Upton.
Margaret Gallagher's 50th anniversary at the Dayton Company album, 1953.
Album presented to Margaret Gallagher at a party in honor of her 50th anniversary at Dayton's on November 12, 1953. She was the first Dayton's employee to work for the company for 50 years. Gallagher had worked in the china department throughout the span of her career. Album includes greeting card with newspaper clipping highlighting the anniversary party.
St. Paul Police Department Traffic Squad portraits, 1916.
Portraits of thirty-four members of the St. Paul Police Department Traffic Squad 1916. Images were framed together for display and are identified from signatures on the photographs.
Minnesota. District Court (Steele County), Registers of criminal actions, 1858-1923.
Volume A (1858-1893) and Volume B (1893-1923). Both volumes indexed. Volume A includes unnumbered cases (pages 1-195), and case numbers 1-59 (1885-1893). Volume B includes case numbers 60-402.
World War I Liberty Loan Bond drive train and parade photograph collection, approximately 1917-1919.
Snapshots of Liberty Loan drive via train, organized by Frank H. Nutter, Jr. Includes views from Detroit Lakes, Fergus Falls, Glenwood, and Webster. Also included are views of a parade in Minneapolis after the war concluded.

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