Saturday, September 15, 2012
A 1945 ad for an insurance agent addresses the new Minnesota Motor Vehicle Responsibility Law.
June 1, 1945: In 1945, State Farm was there. Local State Farm Insurance agent Roy Harmer's ad in the Dakota County Tribune attempted to drum up business from automobile owners by mentioning the new Minnesota Motor Vehicle Responsibility law. Though the first car insurance legislation in Minnesota was passed in 1933, the 1945 law that replaced it "required a driver or owner involved in a motor vehicle accident causing personal injury, death, or property damage in excess of fifty dollars to furnish security in an amount sufficient to satisfy any judgment against the driver or owner arising from the accident," according to the paper "A Primer on Minnesota No-Fault Automobile Insurance" by William Mitchell College of Law Professor Michael K. …
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Do you want to share your voice? Email corey.butler@patch.com to get signed up.
Another week and another great slate of Local Voices submissions. This week, Susan Hvistendahl dropped some history on us and wrote about Carleton College's ties to the early days of basketball (including hosting the first state high school tournament); Myrna CG Mibus wrote about her challenge to just sit down and enjoy reading; and Brenton Balvin shared concern over lyrics in a popular song played at a hockey expo attended by young children. Read those and more great posts by clicking the links below. • March is Red Cross Month • Grill Masters, I Need Your Help • Spring is for the Birds! • Carleton Scores in Basketball History • Tim Freeland Magic Tricks with my Daughter • Staycation and Reading • Don't Feed That to the Dog! • Heartworms…
Monday, October 10, 2011
Columbus Day commemorates the arrival of Christopher Columbus, an Italian-born master navigator and admiral, to the New World on Oct. 12, 1492. The day is always celebrated the second Monday in October.
Columbus Day is here and you might not have a clue what that means. Here's a few tidbits to let you know what this day means for America. • Columbus Day commemorates the arrival of Christopher Columbus, an Italian-born master navigator and admiral, to the New World on Oct. 12, 1492. The day is always celebrated the second Monday in October. • Columbus set sail with the backing of Spain's King Ferndinad and Queen Isabella and the intention to chart a western sea route to China, India and other Asian islands. However, he landed in the Bahamas. • Columbus was the first European to explore the Americas since the Vikings set up colonies in Newfoundland and Greenland. • It was celebrated as early as the 18th Century in various cities and states…
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Johnson was active in the labor movement and helped support the formation of the DFL Party.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Chad Roberts
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Saturday, September 3, 2011
Nellie Stone Johnson was born Dec. 17, 1905 in Lakeville. Johnson’s career in activism began at the University of Minnesota during the 1920s. While a college student, Johnson was a member of the Young Communist League, the Young Socialists and the Socialist-Labor Party. From a young age Johnson considered herself a radical, someone she defined as “not satisfied with the status quo.” Johnson’s activism encompassed all points of American culture including politics, civil rights, labor, and education. Along with Hubert Humphrey, Johnson was of paramount importance to the establishment of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party in the 1940s. During the late 1940s and 1950s, Johnson fought for the desegregation of the armed forces as a member of the…
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Dobie notched 14 undefeated seasons coaching college football.
Gil Dobie, born Jan. 31, 1878, survived a childhood filled with tragedy to become one of the premiere college football coaches of the early 20th century. Dobie was orphaned in 1886 after his father, Robert, committed suicide; four years after Gil’s mother died of consumption at age 30. After a brief stay at the State School for Indigent Children in Owatonna, Dobie returned to Hastings and played on the high school’s first varsity football team in 1898. Dobie took his football talents to the University of Minnesota in 1900 where he also earned a law degree. Coaching, not law, became Dobie’s focus after finishing up his on-field eligibility in 1902. He stayed on as an assistant coach at his alma mater for three seasons before leading …
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Berkey helped redefine geology and contributed to some of the largest infrastructure projects in the country.
Charles Berkey was born in Goshen, IN in 1866. Peter and Lydia Berkey moved their ten children to Dakota County in 1878. After graduating from Farmington High School in 1887, Berkey attended the University of Minnesota and became the first person to receive a doctorate in geology from the school. Berkey stayed at his alma mater as a professor of geology from 1893-1902. In 1903, Berkey accepted a position at Columbia University where he became America’s premier geologist. Berkey gained recognition for the fieldwork he conducted in the United States and all over the world. He was instrumental in the construction of the New York and Boston aqueducts, the New York Port Authority and the Hoover Dam. Government agencies like the Bureau of …
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Mamer dedicated his life to flight.
Nick Mamer was born in Hastings in 1898 to Jacob and Mary Weber Mamer. In June 1916, Mamer became Minnesota’s first Army Aviator Corps recruit. After studying aviation and mechanics in San Diego, CA, Mamer served as aerial patrol pilot at the United States/Mexico border during the Pancho Villa raids and as an aerial patrol engineer at the Panama Canal Zone. Mamer was then ordered to attend the school of military aeronautics at Princeton University in 1918. Upon graduation, Mamer served in the Army Reserves for one year. Mamer returned to Minnesota in 1919 after his discharge and organized Federated Flyers, Inc. performing flying exhibitions and providing passenger-hops in surplus war aircraft. In September 1919, Mamer piloted the craft …
Monday, July 11, 2011
Check out this postcard of Central High School.
Education has always been a priority for Northfield residents. The first schoolhouse was built because of Ann North less than a year after the town was founded. It is thought to be the first school in Rice County. A few years later the school was moved to the more durable Drake building, located at the junction of County Road 1 and Hwy. 246. The building has since been demolished. In 1874, the building pictured here was built for $35,000 on Union Street. The school’s first class consisted of seven girls, who graduated in 1877. Until the building was badly burned in a fire in 1908, most of the children in the area attended school in the building. Grades one through six attended school on the first floor; high school was on the second floor…
44.45624
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Central Park
421 4th St E, Northfield, MN
/articles/this-northfield-picture-in-history-central-high-school
1718965
/locations/4815332
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Some knowledge to drop on your family and friends while celebrating the Fourth of July.
First: Happy Fourth of July, or Independence Day—the national holiday in which we celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence which more or less officially created our great country. While most Americans will be celebrating this historic anniversary by feasting and sharing time with family and friends, Patch also thinks it's important for the patriots, the flag-wavers, and the pyromaniacs out there to expand their knowledge of this American holiday with a few little-known facts. Note: Some information provided by www.usa.gov, and www.pueblo.gsa.gov. 1. July 4 is not technically our day of independence: On the most semantic level, the original colonies legally broke from England’s rule on July 2, 1776 in a closed session of …
Saturday, June 11, 2011
A little girl from Lakeville grew up to be a star athlete, WWII veteran, and a founder of the LPGA golf tournament.
Patty Berg was born February 13, 1918 in Lakeville. Berg took a liking to golf at a young age as her brother and father (a 10-handicap) participated in the sport regularly. Although it took some convincing from Patty, her father bought her a junior membership to Edina’s Interlachen Country Club in 1931. After only two years of tutelage from Interlachen Country Club head professional Willie Kidd, Jr., Berg won her first of 29 amateur tournaments at age 15. Held at her home course, Interlachen, Berg placed second in the 1935 U.S. Women’s Amateur. Berg went on to attend the University of Minnesota and learned from legendary coach Les Bolstad, who would remain her teacher for 40 years. In 1938, Berg won the U.S. Women’s Amateur. With …
44.89146
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130 3rd Ave N, South Saint Paul, MN
/articles/professional-golfer-patty-berg-1918-2006
/locations/4580720
Chad Roberts
9:14 am on Sunday, June 12, 2011
The first in a series of short biographies that will be published at patch.com. Special thanks to Eric Stoneberg for the initial research and writing. more ›