#Hennepin County Library

[hclib]

HCLIB Tumblr Waves Goodbye

After almost 13 years of blogging about Minneapolis and Hennepin County history on Tumblr, Special Collections staff are calling it quits. We've shared some pretty great stories, images, and discoveries through the years in nearly 2,000 posts!

Take a look back at our 10 most liked and reblogged original posts since 2011, which illustrate the wide variety of materials and subjects in our collections.

Audubon's Passenger Pigeons

Sean Daley’s (Slug of Atmosphere) senior portrait

Vice Raid at the Camel's Club

Ukrainian Easter Eggs

First Mailwoman in Minneapolis

John Glanton Photograph Identification Project

Workers of the World Unite

Eloise Butler and Women in Botany

The Traveler's Green Book

House Plans Now Online

Subscribe to our email newsletter, published every other month, to stay on top of what's new and noteworthy in Special Collections.

While we won't be posting new content to the hclib Tumblr, you can continue to browse and search posts in the Tumblr archive. And more permanently in our web archive.

And as always, you can visit us in person at Minneapolis Central Library or contact us via email or phone for assistance with all your Minneapolis and Hennepin County history needs.

Bye bye!

Photo of a group of kids waving to the milkman, from the Minneapolis Newspaper Photograph Collection in the Hennepin County Library Digital Collections.

[petsincollections]

Trade card with cat and paint palette, Compliments of Rothschild's One Price Clothing and Merchant Tailoring House, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1880-1910

Hennepin County Library, James K. Hosmer Special Collections Library

Minnesota Digital Library

[maximizeyourmedicare]

Dumb Rules Are, Well, Just That

Dumb Rules Are, Well, Just That My book is part of the Hennepin County Library System (5 copies across the greater Minneapolis area). My mother and sisters live in the area, I am visiting while working on my book (still, don’t ask). Anyways…I wanted to DONATE a copy to the local branch, which didn’t have a copy. The system had already vetted the book (as have the vast majority of the largest…

[stuffaboutminneapolis]

Rainy Evening on Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis (1910) via Hennepin County Library

[popularsizes]

Cheapo Records, Minneapolis, September 1998. Courtesy of the Hennepin County Library.

[bobcatmoran]

Hey, friends in the Twin Cities! It is supposed to be HOT here the next couple days, like dangerously so, especially for us folks more used to dealing with blizzards than temps nearing 100°F.

If you need a place to cool off, Hennepin County has a map of pools/beaches/air-conditioned places to hang out here.

Ramsey County has a similar map here.

Note that some of the locations are pay-for-play, but all the libraries and marked no-fee Rec Centers on the Ramsey County map are free. The Salvation Army locations are also free, but come with standard LGBTQ discrimination caveats for that organization. Malls and shopping centers are also free to enter, but they're more likely to hassle you if you just come in there to veg out in the air conditioning. One would hope that they wouldn't, but, y'know. Capitalism.

Anyway, stay safe, hydrate, and make sure to check on any vulnerable friends and neighbors!

[threadfall]

Pern Resources

This is an ongoing collection of links* that should cover a whole range of bits and pieces relating to Dragonriders of Pern and Anne McCaffrey – from interviews to interesting articles!

* I check these regularly, but I cannot vouch for if the domains still exist and, if not, what is currently on them. A lot of resources relating to Pern are from the 90s/early 2000s and liable to be replaced by random hosting spam. EDIT: walks-the-ages has added some excellent comments about the Wayback Machine! (And many thanks for backing the pages up on it.)

World Building – Canon

Dragon Lover's Guide to Pern, by Jody Lynn Nye – Link

Hosted by peoplepern.narod.ru, this website is in Russian but has a full English digitised DLG complete with pictures.

All the Songs of Pern – Link

Song Lyrics and Poetry – Link

Music From the World of Anne McCaffrey's Pern by Tania Opland and Mike Freeman – Link

It's worth noting that while the songbooks and CDs are available to buy, all the music is also available through Spotify.

Curses, Oaths, and Maledicta – Links

Pernese Sayings/Curses from Pern Etc. – Links

Anti Fandom Wiki – Link

World Building – 'Fanon'

News From Bree – Multiple links below!

Threadfall Patterns – Link Pern Demographics – Link Can Menolly Outrun Thread? – Link Dragon Demographics – Link Bargaining for Bubbly Pies – Link Originally a Tolkien fanzine between 1970-1988, the site is now a resource that covers multiple topics of interest to Hartley Patterson.

On Impression, by Faye Upton – Link

A multi-part essay on Upton's thoughts about how Impression does/should work, and its relation to the canon of the fanwork Dragonchoice.

Kadanzar Weyr Handbook – Link

While no longer active (since 2013 as of 2024), Kadanzar has multiple articles talking in depth about the 'canon' of their site, which are interesting reads for how Pern may have functioned. The link is specifically to a text page sharing all of the files uploaded to Kadanzar, and may take some time to load. Not all of the files are world building information (some are just site lists), however many are.

Living On Pern – Link

Shoulder Knots by Wicked Zoeygirl on Deviantart – Link

Oath Roleplay Resources – Link

Notable for its page on dragons and its 'non-canon' charter, which collects or infers mentioned rights from the books.

Xanadu Weyrlinghood – Link

Possibly a wiki page for the Xanadu Weyr MU RP, it has a collection of links relating to weyrlinghood.

Dracogenetics - Link (Google Doc)

Apparently a compilation of work by McCaffrey and Dr Jack Cohen, the site still exists on Geocities but is riddled with spam/virus pop ups: here.

Fandom Topics

A Dragonlover's Guide to Pern Fandom from Kadanzer Weyr – Link The Tentpeg Interview (TW for homophobia and rape mentions) – Link

The Renewable Airforce Document – Link

Alliance Atlantis Dragonriders of Pern 'Making Of/Trailer' - Link

Hosted on Youtube, this is apparently from a CD showcasing the short trailer for their version of Dragonriders of Pern

Ronald D Moore on his cancelled Pern adaptation – Link

Dragons Made Me Do It Podcast - Link

Anne McCaffrey – Interviews

Luna Monthly #56, November 1974 – Link

Hosted by FanAc.org, a fan history archive, and conducted by Paul Walker. This heavily discusses gender in the Sci-Fi genre.

Princessions #14, Summer 1983 – Link

Hosted on Google Drive, by this blog runner. Princessions was a Wonder Woman newszine, but switched to being about uplifting women's voices in the Scifantasy space. The interviews take place during the White Dragon book tour.

The Power of Science Fiction and Fantasy with Anne McCaffrey & Elizabeth Ann Scarborough – Link

Hosted on Youtube by A DISCUSSION WITH National Authors on Tour, conducted by Kay Drache of Hennepin County Library.

Collaborating with Anne McCaffrey: An interview with Elizabeth Moon – Link

Hosted on katemacdonald.net, conducted by Kate Macdonald. This talks at length about Moon writing the Planet Pirate series.

Anne McCaffrey - Women Writers, Channel 4 1988 – Link

Hosted on Youtube by Nearrrggghh.

Anne McCaffrey: Norwescon 16 Interview & House Tour – Link

Hosted on Youtube.

Advice from a Master: Anne McCaffrey – Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Hosted on Youtube. Time Out of Mind Episode 4 – Link

Hosted on Youtube, Time Out of Mind was a 1979 BBC 2 series about science fiction.

Anne McCaffrey interviewed by Don Swaim on March 22, 1988 - Link

Very short radio interview recording with transcript.

An Interview With Anne McCaffrey by Lynne Jamneck – Link

Interview with KarsMakers - Link

Interview with SFFWorld – Link

[1900scartoons]

[Untitled]

January 22, 1909

In the top panel, a father and son struggle to keep the side walk shoveled. The panel reads "Wouldn't it make you mad - to keep the walk nice and clean around a corner lot all winter -" In the bottom panel, the father slips on an unshoveled sidewalk. The panel reads "And then have to travel to town over walks where this sort of thing might happen any minute?"

The caption reads "Mr. Shovelhard Would Like the Golden Rule Applied To the Cleaning Of City Sidewalks."

From Hennepin County Library

Original available at: https://digitalcollections.hclib.org/digital/collection/Bart/id/5784/rec/2199

[dixkens]

Library support for homeless people at the Hennepin County Central Library in Minneapolis.

[lauren-elizabeth-raheja]

a part of a work in progress

"That bitch? She like made somebody who saw her eat a bagel in the Midwest sign a non-disclosure agreement so she wouldn't be associated with any bagelries outside of New York City."

1.17.2025 (continued) in Saint Paul, MN.

I just became outraged listening to a staffperson in a public library offer directions to a person trying to use the library, directions explaining where different genres of books are in the branch. It isn't that I heard her giving directions I know to be inaccurate. It isn't that I haven't ever been interested in working for a library. It also isn't that I am so possessive of being a librarian because my very first boyfriend (when I was a teenager) saw me in black-framed glasses and called me a "sexy librarian" or said I looked like a "sexy librarian." This afternoon, I had explained to a person sitting at an information desk in the aforementioned branch that I have felt annoyed in libraries because, according to my calculations, different public libraries are violating my civil rights, not only the Hennepin County Library but also the Saint Paul Public Library. I explained that I wasn't really open to having a conversation about it to satisfy anyone's curiosity, and that I could speak with a person working for the library about it if anyone is interested in ending the violations of my civil rights. I didn't get asked to continue. Despite the seething anger I have experienced toward people employed in the Minneapolis police and in the police in Saint Paul, I am aware of how outrageously angry people, in general, have gotten at the police, perhaps because of some of the same things I am angry at the police about, and perhaps at times in ways that are unfair, given anger at the police spilling onto members of the police who haven't necessarily ever contributed to a specific problem. so... I try not to do that. I feel angry about the police not having accepted a report of crime from me, and about the police not having respectfully received that as a complaint. I think the police are violating my civil rights. I think a Saint Paul police officer I spoke with should have taken it upon himself to help communicate with the Minneapolis police. I know that people employed by a public library have obligations toward people who use the libraries if a person who does is experiencing a violation of one's civil rights and brings it up with the library. A book I have been reading and appreciating is The Library Book by Susan Orlean. (I have guessed that the author is hinting at how difficult life might be for people who use the public libraries, while literally brimming with fondness for the libraries themselves, including the people employed to run them.) I suddenly concluded this afternoon that the extent to which people employed by public libraries in the Twin Cities are evasive about civil rights is as bad as the extent to which the police are evasive about civil rights. I thought I should share this immediately.

1.19.2025 (continued) in Minneapolis, MN.

I have heard of Soraya Chemaly. I have read a little bit of Rage Becomes Her. I decided to set it aside in the spring of 2022, actually, wanting to be able to discuss it with a man I had been dating and several different male friends of mine. (I was relying on a long-term bed in a homeless shelter when I was reading it and wasn't able to organize a book group.)

[ryanfrogz]

From time to time I like to browse the Hennepin County Library's collection of old aerial photos just to see what once was. Every time I do, I learn something new. Here's a pretty interesting image from the late 1920s, maybe '27, with some points of interest marked.

The big factory in the center of the photo is the Minneapolis Gas Light Co. The city's last gas light was switched to electric in 1924, but the gasworks provided gas for heating until the 1960s when it was demolished to make way for I-35W. An extensive cleanup of the gasworks was undertaken in the 1980s, but the contamination was so thorough that it's still being removed today. Contaminated groundwater is pumped out and processed before getting discharged into the city's sewer system for further treatment. Coal gasification is a very nasty process and living in the area would've been truly terrible. I don't even want to think about the smell.

Mark #1 is the remnants of the Northern Pacific's "A-Line" bridge. The A-line formed the southern boundary of the U of M's campus, running parallel to Arlington Ave. A good bit of the original grade is still around today, occupied by the U's bus transitway. The bridge was demolished after Bridge #9 (seen below) was built in 1924. The bit seen here was turned into an aggregate unloader for a cement company in the 1930s.

Mentioned above, mark #2 is the Northern Pacific's Bridge #9. As the university grew, train traffic and pollution became increasingly problematic, so the line was rerouted to the north and a new bridge was built. Bridge #9 saw rail traffic up to 1981 and is now a pedestrian/bike path.

Mark #3 (in the top left) is the Milwaukee Road's former coach yard. Passenger trains would get prepared here before making the short trip north to the Milwaukee's depot downtown. This site is now home to Metro Transit's main light rail maintenance facility.

Mark #4 is the 10th Avenue Bridge, a vehicle bridge whose construction began in 1926 and what I used to date the photo. Rather confusingly, there was another 10th Avenue Bridge at the time, located a bit to the west (the new one connects to the north bank's 10th Ave, the old one connects to 10th Ave on the south bank). Not quite as trainy as the others but something fun worth pointing out.

Mark #5 was a small engine house, possibly owned by the Minnesota Transfer RR. Steam engines needed a lot of attention & maintenance, and as such small engine houses popped up all over the place. A 1912 Sanborn map shows it being used as an oil warehouse, with oil tanks occupying the former turntable pit, which would've been in the empty lot left of the number.

Mark #6 is an even smaller engine house, owned by the Minnesota Transfer RR and built in the late 1800s. It didn't last nearly as long, disappearing before a 1945 aerial. That's about all the info I have on it.

Lastly, mark #7 is the north approach to the Minneapolis Western Railway's bridge into the Mill District. MWR was formed in 1884 to provide switching services for the mills, and was acquired as a subsidiary of the Great Northern in 1890. The bridge was built shortly after this in 1891, serving as an important link between the riverside mills and the massive grain elevators of St. Anthony and GN's Union yard.

With milling on the decline and NP's bridge just to the east, this bridge was considered obsolete by WW2 and was demolished in 1952. Unlike most things in this photograph, part of the north abutment still remains, hidden beneath I-35W's river crossing. Special care was taken to not damage it during demolition & rebuilding following the 2007 collapse.

And here's another picture from a few years later. The 10th Ave bridge is complete, the A-Line bridge remnant has been converted to a coal unloader, and the Bohemian Flats are still intact.

Bohemian Flats (also called Little Bohemia) was a riverside shanty town inhabited mostly by immigrants from central Europe. Many of its residents worked at nearby breweries and Minneapolis's famous flour mills. Over time, the community was slowly demolished to make way for a municipal port, which imported things like coal and oil. Grain was also loaded into barges at the site and shipped down river. This area was also quite polluted and received an extensive cleanup. It's now home to Bohemian Flats park. Mark 5* is the oil refinery which used the former engine house. Another reason to live anywhere but this area.

[hclib]

H C L

Welcome to Hennepin County Library, where insurance, electricity, football, and antiques are top of mind! *wink*

This 1970s graphic covers one side of a large mailing envelope and was found in the Hennepin County Library Communications Records. This collection contains brochures, booklists, flyers, reports, posters, strategic plans, event and program calendars and other publicity documents from the library's Communications Department, from 1952-2022. The purpose of the envelope is unknown, as is the designer "SJ."

Edit 12/27/23: Thanks to an HCL retiree (and newsletter reader), SJ has been identified as Sheila Jorgenson, who worked on and off for both Minneapolis Public and Hennepin County Libraries in the publicity departments and as a librarian from the 1960s through 1990s.

[petsincollections]

Cat Comforts Dog at Hospital, 1949

Doody, a Dalmatian recovering at Blue Cross Small Animal Hospital, is comforted by Kathleen, a male cat who just came to support a friend. Both animals are owned by Dr. Leo Fink (not pictured), and the two regularly play together at the Fink home.

Minneapolis Newspaper Photograph Collection

Hennepin County Library Digital Collections

[thaoworra]

ICYMI Details on the Laomerica 50 exhibit!

[stuffaboutminneapolis]

7th Street Near Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis (1967) via Hennepin County Library

[popularsizes]

Entrance to Woolworth's Cafeteria in the IDS Center Skyway, Minneapolis, 1973. Courtesy of the Hennepin County Library.