Destined for History

Apparently, some people are just meant to be listed in the annals of history, while others are mentioned in the census and little else. Outside of military and land records, my family generally falls into the latter category.

Did you know that a young boy who innocently and unknowingly gave directions to Northfield, Minn., to the James and Younger Gangs invented puff rice as an adult?  Admittedly, the young boy might—a very big might—have been mentioned in a chronicle of the Great Northfield Raid, but most likely not named. It took the invention of puffed rice for Alexander P. Anderson to get real recognition, and the meeting with the James and Younger Gangs became an interesting backstory.¹ Anderson was truly touched by history twice; he was meant to be remembered, and there are others.

Alexander P. Anderson⁷

Follow the money. That’s what Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein were doing when they discovered and reported in The Washington Post on Aug. 1, 1972, that a $25,000 cashier’s check that appeared to be earmarked for the Committee to Re-elect President Nixon (CREEP) was deposited in the bank account of one of the Watergate burglars, Bernard L. Barker.² 

“The check was made out by a Florida bank to Kenneth H. Dahlberg, the President’s campaign finance chairman for the Midwest. Dahlberg [told The Post] that in early April he turned the check over to ‘the treasurer of [CREEP] or to Maurice Stans [formerly secretary of Commerce under Mr. Nixon] himself.’”²

Woodward would later call “the Dahlberg check the ‘connective tissue’ that turned what they thought was a story about a common crime into one of historic dimensions.”³

“A true American hero in World War II as a highly decorated triple-ace (15 air victories) fighter pilot,”⁴ Dahlberg, who had homes in Boca Raton, Fla., and Deephaven, Minn., “started the Miracle-Ear Hearing Aid Company, which developed one of the first hearing aids to fit inside the ear; it was also one of the first consumer products to use transistors.”³  He also had a connection to another historic Minnesota event. While discussing the cashier’s check, Dahlberg told The Post that “he had just gone through an ordeal because his ‘dear friend and neighbor,’ Virginia Piper, had been kidnapped and held for two days.²  (See July 27, 2012, blog.)

Kenneth H. Dahlberg8

In the early 1900s, Horace Irvine was often mentioned in the St. Paul society pages because his father, Thomas Irvine, was a wealthy lumber baron. But in May 1903, Irvine was no longer just mentioned in the society pages; he was on the front page. While driving some friends up and down Sebley Ave. in St. Paul to show off the new car he had recently purchased, Irvine accidentally hit and killed an eight-year-old girl at the intersection of St. Albans Street and Selby Avenue. This was reportedly the first car fatality in St. Paul.5

 The intersection of St. Albans Street and Selby Avenue, St. Paul, Minn.⁹

Fifty-six years later, the two youngest daughters of Horace Hills Irvine donated their family home on Summit Ave. in St. Paul to the State of Minnesota for use as the governor’s residence.⁶ The mansion was named to the National Register of Historic Places on Dec. 16, 1974.

Minn. Governor’s mansion¹⁰

Some people are just destined for history.

LLet me help you find out what parts of Minnesota history your family played a role in.

Discover your roots and watch the branches of your family tree begin to grow.

pjefamilyresearch@gmail.com

For more information on my Family History Research services, visit TheMemoryQuilt.com and click on Family History Research in the left-hand column.

¹http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_P._Anderson

²The Washington Post; “Bug Suspect Got Campaign Funds”; Washington, D.C.; August 1, 1972; p. 1.

³http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/09/us/kenneth-h-dahlberg-watergate-figure-and-wwii-ace-dies-at-94.html

⁴http://bobmaconbusiness.com/?p=2544

⁵http://blogs2.startribune.com/blogs/oldnews/archives/291

⁶St. Paul Pioneer Press; “Rolvaag Signs Bill for Governor’s Home”; May 25, 1965; p. 13

⁷http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Alexander_P_Anderson_1933.jpg

⁸http://bobmaconbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/KennethDahlberglarge.jpg

⁹Photo taken by Pamela J. Erickson. Released into the public domain Sept. 15, 2013,
 as long as acknowledgement included.

¹⁰http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Minnesota_Governor's_Residence.jpg