On This Date in Minnesota History: November 1

November 1, 1875 – Charles Frederick Ingalls, the son of Charles and Caroline Ingalls and little brother of author Laura Ingalls Wilder, was born on this date in Walnut Grove, Minn. He died approximately nine months later on Aug. 27, 1876, in South Troy, Minn.

http://www.discoverlaura.org/history_ingalls.html

Charles and Caroline Ingalls
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Ingalls

On This Date in Minnesota History: October 31

October 31 - November 2, 1958 – The grand opening of the Lindstrom Phillips 66 gas station designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in Cloquet, Minn., was held on these dates. It is the only gas station that Wright designed.

“The station was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 11, 1985, for its architectural significance.”¹

The Pine Knot; Cloquet, Minn.; October 28, 1958; p. 1.

¹http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._W._Lindholm_Service_Station

Frank Lloyd Wright Gas Station in Cloquet, Minn.
Photo taken by Pamela J. Erickson. Released into the public domain Oct. 31, 2014,
as long as acknowledgement included.  

On This Date in Minnesota History: October 30

October 30, 1904 – Daisy, the St. Paul Union Depot cat, is dead. The little life that helped make the lives of others brighter was crushed out by the cruel wheels of a passenger engine this evening.

Daisy was of the common everyday cat variety. She wandered into the depot sheds one day last spring, and with a plaintive call announced that she was hungry. A kind-hearted brakeman was eating his lunch and the newcomer fared on the remains of cold chicken. The place looked good to her and she immediately took possession of everything that is near and dear to the cat heart.

Day after day she made her headquarters in the freight shed, and night after night she slept in the express warehouse. Daisy became a familiar figure to the workmen, and her bright and sunny ways, her fondness of a caress and uncomplaining acceptance of the occasional kick delivered by a stranger, caused her to be a part of the depot life.

One day she went missing and for several days afterwards the men wondered what had become of their pet. Daisy herself solved the mystery by turning up with a little family by her side, and with motherly pride showed her kittens to her old friends.

Unfortunately, those in authority deemed the presence of more than one cat a menace to the welfare of the depot, and it was decreed that Daisy must part with her brood. One morning they were gone, and Daisy walked up and down the platform, searching for the little ones who were never to return.

She never recovered from the loss. Day after day she showed that her thoughts were still on her kittens. Her sorrowful meows echoed and re-echoed throughout the sheds and caused those within hearing distance to think of their own little ones at home, for everyone knew Daisy’s story.

This evening a giant engine from the Great Northern road was slowly making its way to its terminal in the depot. The bright gleam of the headlights showed a forlorn mother cat standing hopelessly on the rails—then it was all over. Daisy had joined her kittens.

The Saint Paul Globe; “Joins Her Kittens. Union Railway Station Cat Run Down By Engine”; Oct. 31, 1904; p. 2.

Built in 1881. Photo of first St. Paul Union Depot in 1890.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Paul_Union_Depot

On This Date in Minnesota History: October 29

October 29, 2000 – “Political activist Winona LaDuke, campaigned for Green Party ticket Ralph Nader/LaDuke president and vice president candidates at UMD” in Duluth.

http://www.thehistorypeople.com/data/docs/timeline-part3.pdf

http://billfrawley.com/portfolio/pages/nader2000.html

On This Date in Minnesota History: October 28

October 28, 1894 – After the Democratic rally at the Dakota County Courthouse in Hastings this evening Congressman O. W. Hall, of Red Wing, went to the depot to board the midnight freight for home. He was escorted by a number of prominent Democrats, including R. C. Libbey, Hastings’ well-known lumber merchant. The party started for the railroad drawbridge and in endeavoring to reach the caboose stepped off the trestle in the darkness, falling a distance of 20 feet. Mr. Hall was badly bruised about the face and head and sustained an injury to the hip. Mr. Libbey received a severe shock and injury to his back. Mr. Hall was removed to the Gardner House Hotel, where he is at present receiving medical attendance.

Because of his injuries Mr. Hall will be unable to fulfill his engagements in Meeker County. He expects to be able to be out on Wednesday, Oct. 31, and meet his Faribault engagement, and probably all following appointments.

St. Paul Daily Globe; “Hall Seriously Hurt. The Congressman Steps Off a Trestle and Falls Twenty Feet. Face, Head and Hip Hurt. Receiving Medical Attention at the Gardner House, Hastings. Ludwig on the Situation.”; October 29, 1894; p. 1.

Hastings Lift Bridge

Photo taken by Pamela J. Erickson. Released into the public domain October 28, 2014,
as long as acknowledgement included.

On This Date in Minnesota History: October 27

October 27, 1849 – Established on this date, Dakota County, Minn., “was named for the Dakota people, meaning an alliance or league.”

Upham, Warren; Minnesota Geographic Names, Their Origin and Historic Significance; Minnesota Historical Society (St. Paul, Minn., 1969); p. 164.

On This Date in Minnesota History: October 26

October 26, 1950 – “Mayo Clinic doctors Edward C. Kendall and Philip S. Hench, and Swiss doctor Tadeus Reichstein, get the Nobel Prize in Medicine for development of cortisone”¹ and "its application for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.”<sup>2

1</sup>http://www.thehistorypeople.com/data/docs/timeline-part2.pdf

²http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Showalter_Hench

Edward C. Kendall
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Calvin_Kendall

Philip S. Hench
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Showalter_Hench