Laughter, Falling Water and Time
The 63 room Rufus R. Rand mansion in Minnetonka was about half completed when it was destroyed by fire. It was eventually completed and crowned the “Still Pond” estate on 250 acres west of Gray’s Bay. Built at the height of the Great Depression, this amazing French Chateau style house had 14 bedrooms, 13 fireplaces, … Read more
The Franklin Avenue or F.W. Cappelen Memorial Bridge was designed by and named for Frederick William Cappelen. The bridge was completed in 1923. Cappelen died during the construction of the bridge, and as a memorial to his life and career, the bridge still bears his name. The reinforced-concrete open-spandrel arched bridge took a couple years … Read more
I have to admit, I’ve been driving right by this remarkable little church for years without ever once pausing to appreciate Ralph Rapson’s humble work. Until recently I would not have considered myself one of Rapson’s fans. Those awful Brasillia like towers on the West Bank have always irritated me. I can’t believe Mary Tyler … Read more
I never thought I would be the sort of blogger that blogs about what they had for lunch. I never imagined myself typing slowly, thinking about food. The rain drove me out of the swamps today and I settled in for brunch at Stabby’s Cafe on Cedar and 42nd. I’ve been eating at Stabby’s on … Read more
Bob made it on to Michael Medved’s show this afternoon. Michael was interviewing Burt Prelutsky, author of “Liberals: America’s Termites (It’s A Shame That Liberals, Unlike Hamsters, Don’t Eat Their Young)”. I like Medved. He invites debate and is generally upbeat. Bob called up and asked; If Liberals are the termites of America, then who … Read more
In the early part of the 20th Century, the Oriental rug business in Minnesota was booming. Behind this huge success were the Armenians. As early as 1903, advertisements were placed in the local papers in Minneapolis to mobilize hard-working Armenian men to assist with rug repairs. Many of these early pioneers then went on to … Read more
Dear Nokohaha, I finally found a job. The Metropolitan Mosquito Control District hired me on for the summer and sent me out to romp and stomp through the muggy marshes and swamps of the western suburbs. I was wandering around Brownie Lake last week looking for puddles and thinking to myself, ” Self, this job … Read more
“The first duty devolving on the trustees in connection with the Home, was the selection of a site for the permanent buildings. This proved to be a laborious and difficult task. Patriotic and public spirited citizens in many towns, submitted offers of eligible sites for the Home. The trustees visited, and thoroughly inspected the grounds … Read more
Dear Mounds, You should have been there! Greenjeans and I were jumping off the bridge on the west side of Lake of the Isles. It was probably ninety degrees and the water felt so good! After about a dozen jumps we saw the PARK POLICE car coming around the lake and one of the cops … Read more