Saturday, May 4, 2013

On This Date in Minnesota History: May 4


May 4, 1997 - Chicago developer Lee Miglin was tortured and murdered in his home by serial killer Andrew Cunanan. The red Cherokee Jeep owned by his second victim, David Madsen of Minneapolis, was left near the scene, and Miglin’s 1994 Lexus was missing.

http://infoweb.newsbank.com.ezproxy.hclib.org/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_product=AWNB&p_theme=aggregated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=0EB42303D776F34E&p_docnum=2&p_queryname=7


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Andrew_Cunanan_FBI_Wanted_Poster.jpg

Friday, May 3, 2013

On This Date in Minnesota History: May 3

May 3, 1963 – The car believed to have been used in the disposal of the gun used to bludgeon Carol Thompson in her Highland Park home was located. It matches the description of a car seen outside the Thompson home on the morning of the murder.

“A trace of the blue Ford’s ownerships shows that at the time of the crime it was owned by C&M Equipment Co., a car-lease agency” in NE Minneapolis, and had been leased to Harris Construction Co., where alleged murderer Dick W. C. Anderson was working.

St. Paul Dispatch; “Auto Found Linked To Thompson Murder”; May 3, 1963; pp. 1 and 2.


Murder of Carol Thompson; see March 6, 2013 blog


Gun handle pieces found at the scene of Carol Thompson’s murder identified; see April 9, 2013 blog


Thieves admit to stealing and selling gun used in Carol Thompson murder; see April 17, 2013 blog


Suspects arrested in Carol Thompson’s murder; see April 19, 2013 blog


Suspect implicates another as actual murderer in Carol Thompson case; see April 21, 2013 blog


T. Eugene Thompson represented one of the suspects in his wife’s murder; see April 23, 2013 blog


Pistol used to bludgeon Carol Thompson found; see April 30, 2013 blog


T. Eugene Thompson walks out on grand jury; see May 2, 2013 blog


Blood-stained trousers believed to have been worn by Carol Thompson’s murderer found; May 9, 2013 blog



Suspect in Carol Thompson’s murder confesses, implicates T. Eugene Thompson; see June 20, 2013 blog


T. Eugene Thompson arrested in his wife’s murder; see June 21, 2013 blog


T. Eugene Thompson’s role in wife’s murder revealed to public; see June 22, 2013 blog

Minn. Supreme Court affirms T. Eugene Thompson’s conviction; see Jan. 7, 2014 blog

Minn. Supreme Court denies T. Eugene Thompson’s attempt to collect wife’s insurance death benefits; see Feb. 10, 2014 blog


Thursday, May 2, 2013

On This Date in Minnesota History: May 2

May 2, 1963 – “T. Eugene Thompson, who had been testifying since Tuesday, [April 30] before the Ramsey County grand jury investigating the [March 6] slaying of his wife, walked out at 1:35 p.m. today.”

“In a statement to the press, [his] attorneys said they had been informed by Thompson that the questioning before the grand jury ‘had become largely repetitious and narrow in scope.’”

St. Paul Dispatch; “Bulletin! Thompson Walks Out on Jury”; May 2, 1963; p.1.


Murder of Carol Thompson; see March 6, 2013 blog


Gun handle pieces found at the scene of Carol Thompson’s murder identified; see April 9, 2013 blog


Thieves admit to stealing and selling gun used in Carol Thompson murder; see April 17, 2013 blog


Suspects arrested in Carol Thompson’s murder; see April 19, 2013 blog


Suspect implicates another as actual murderer in Carol Thompson case; see April 21, 2013 blog


T. Eugene Thompson represented one of the suspects in his wife’s murder; see April 23, 2013 blog


Pistol used to bludgeon Carol Thompson found; see April 30, 2013 blog


Getaway car in Carol Thompson murder located; see May 3, 2013 blog


Blood-stained trousers believed to have been worn by Carol Thompson’s murderer found; May 9, 2013 blog


Suspect in Carol Thompson’s murder confesses, implicates T. Eugene Thompson; see June 20, 2013 blog


T. Eugene Thompson arrested in his wife’s murder; see June 21, 2013 blog


T. Eugene Thompson’s role in wife’s murder revealed to public; see June 22, 2013 blog

Minn. Supreme Court affirms T. Eugene Thompson’s conviction; see Jan. 7, 2014 blog

Minn. Supreme Court denies T. Eugene Thompson’s attempt to collect wife’s insurance death benefits; see Feb. 10, 2014 blog


Wednesday, May 1, 2013

The Cloquet Connection

It’s a curious thing, but nearly everywhere I go I run into someone who knows someone from my hometown, Cloquet, Minn. Is it only me (and my sisters), or does this happen to anyone else? Not necessarily knowing someone from Cloquet, but regularly meeting new people who know someone from your hometown.

It happened again just last week.  I attended a Nordic Genealogy Conference in Inver Grove Heights, Minn., where I met a woman who had started taking Norwegian language lessons, and was telling me about a book she was reading in Norwegian that was about a murder on Minnesota’s North Shore. Similar to “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” series, there are three books that are being translated from Norwegian to English (“The Minnesota Trilogy” by Vidor Sundstol). During our conversation, she asked me where I was from. As soon as I told her I grew up in Cloquet, she asked me if I knew so-and-so. Nope, name didn’t ring a bell. Then she asked if I knew another so-and-so; again, no.  

About six years ago I worked downtown Minneapolis and would ride the bus home with the same group of people every evening. One night the fact that I was from Cloquet came up, and one of the guys said, “My barber’s from Cloquet.” I asked what his name was, expecting to have never heard of his barber, which is usually the case. But this time I not only knew the guy, I’d gone through grade school, junior high and high school with him (Hi, Monte!).

When I lived in Cloquet, the population was around 12,000. A small town, yes, but still too large to know everyone living there−particularly if they didn’t have kids that went to school with me or any of my siblings. I’ve known people who’ve lived in Cloquet most of, if not all of their lives. And yet there must be wanderlust for many residents, because they know so many people from so many different places.

My youngest sister (or as she likes to say, my much younger sister) works at St. Joseph’s Hospital downtown St. Paul as a CT Tech. While making small talk with patients, she often meets people who know someone from Cloquet. The topic usually comes up because she can pronounce their Finnish surnames correctly, and they ask her where she’s from. Most of the time, she doesn’t know the family in question, but sometimes she does.

My other sister lives in Richmond, Va. Seated next to someone she didn’t know at a friend’s dinner party, it turned out he went to college in Minnesota and his roommate was  from, yes, Cloquet. While she didn’t personally know the roommate, she knew I went to high school with his brother.

Does this happen to other people from other towns, or is this a Cloquet connection?

Jessica Lange and professional hockey players Cory Millen, Derek Plante and Jamie Langenbrunner may be the most well-known former residents of Cloquet, but the rest of us seem to know a lot of people. 

Even if you don’t know them, people from your hometown are like family; there’s a connection, a shared history.



The original Cloquet water tower, built in 1908 and torn down in 2004




Built in 2004, new Cloquet water tower holds 1,000,000-gallons of water




Gordy's Hi-Hat, famous for their burgers since 1960




The only gas station designed by Frank Lloyd Wright
was built in Cloquet in 1956




The 1904 Northeastern Hotel on Dunlap Island was used as a
hospital and shelter after the 1918 Cloquet Fire



What is the farthest place you've ever been and met someone who knows someone from your hometown?


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



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



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


Photos taken by Pamela J. Erickson. Released into the public domain May 1, 2013, 
as long as acknowledgement included.

On This Date in Minnesota History: May 1

May 1, 1914 – “Construction of the First National Soo Line Building [501 Marquette Ave. S.] began on [this date] and was completed March 1, 1915. At nineteen stories, it was Minnesota’s tallest building and remained Minneapolis’ tallest building until the construction of the 26 story Foshay Tower in 1929.”

http://www.placeography.org/index.php/Soo_Line_Building,_501_Marquette,_Minneapolis,_Minnesota





Soo Line Building


Photo taken by Pamela J. Erickson. Released into the public domain May 1, 2013,
as long as acknowledgement included.

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

On This Date in Minnesota History: April 30


April 30, 1963 – The Luger pistol used to bludgeon Carol Thompson during her murder on March 6 in her Highland Park home was found in a farm slough near Elk River in Sherburn County based on information supplied by a man whose name authorizes refused to release.
St. Paul Dispatch; “Auto Found Linked to Thompson Murder”; May 3, 1963; pp. 1 and 2.





The pistol handle pieces shown in newspapers.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-media/product-gallery/087542290X?ie=UTF8&index=1
Oct. 1963 issue of Front Page Detective




Murder of Carol Thompson; see March 6, 2013 blog


Gun handle pieces found at the scene of Carol Thompson’s murder identified; see April 9, 2013 blog


Thieves admit to stealing and selling gun used in Carol Thompson murder; see April 17, 2013 blog


Suspects arrested in Carol Thompson’s murder; see April 19, 2013 blog


Suspect implicates another as actual murderer in Carol Thompson case; see April21, 2013 blog


T. Eugene Thompson represented one of the suspects in his wife’s murder; see April 23, 2013 blog


T. Eugene Thompson walks out on grand jury; see May 2, 2013 blog


Getaway car in Carol Thompson murder located; see May 3, 2013 blog


Blood-stained trousers believed to have been worn by Carol Thompson’s murderer found; May 9, 2013 blog



Suspect in Carol Thompson’s murder confesses, implicates T. Eugene Thompson; see June 20, 2013 blog


T. Eugene Thompson arrested in his wife’s murder; see June 21, 2013 blog


T. Eugene Thompson’s role in wife’s murder revealed to public; see June 22, 2013 blog


Minn. Supreme Court affirms T. Eugene Thompson’s conviction; see Jan. 7, 2014 blog

Minn. Supreme Court denies T. Eugene Thompson’s attempt to collect wife’s insurance death benefits; see Feb. 10, 2014 blog

Monday, April 29, 2013

On This Date in Minnesota History: April 29

April 29, 1971 – Thomas Joseph Williams was indicted by a Carlton County grand jury for the deliberate, premeditated “assault on Susan Poferl with [a pair of] nylon pantyhose with intention to cause her death.” The following day, Williams was arraigned in District Court, and pleaded not guilty to a charge of first degree murder. Williams was appointed a district public defender, John D. Durfee of Duluth, as he claimed “he did not have the necessary funds to hire his own attorney.”

Williams was one of the last persons seen with Poferl at the Cloquet Labor Temple on March 21, the morning she was murdered.

The Pine Knot; “Williams Pleads Innocence In Susan Poferl’s Murder”; Cloquet, Minn.; May 6, 1971; p. 1.





Cloquet Labor Temple


Photo taken by Pamela J. Erickson. Released into the public domain March 25, 2013, as long as acknowledgement included.  



Murder of Susan Poferl; see March 21, 2013 blog
Body of Susan Poferl discovered; see March 25, 2013 blog
Thomas J. Williams acquitted of the first degree murder of Suan Poferl; see November 24, 2013 blog

Sunday, April 28, 2013

On This Date in Minnesota History: April 28

April 28, 1864 – Exactly three years after many of its men had enlisted, the First Minnesota held its final parade and was dismissed from [Civil War] service.”
http://www.mnopedia.org/group/first-minnesota-volunteer-infantry-regiment


A regimental battle flag of the First Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment, presented to the regiment by Governor Alexander Ramsey in April 1863.

http://www.mnopedia.org/multimedia/battle-flag-first-minnesota-volunteer-infantry-regiment