Saint Paul Almanac

Remembering Katie McWatt through Arthurs' Words

By Anura Si-Asar, May 11, 2011

Katie McWatt was about thirty-three years old when she ran for Saint Paul City Council: In March 1964, civil rights activists Reverend Denzil Carty, Kwame McDonald, and Alpha Adkins convinced Katie McWatt to run for a seat on the St. Paul City Council. There had never been an African-American on the Council in the history of the City. Her experience as an advocate for improved educational opportunities, the hiring of more African-American school staff, lobbyist for non-discrimination in housing, employment of African-Americans in the building trades and a dedication to social justice were critical issues for McWatt.

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Filed Under: Memories, People Tagged With: african american, Anura Si-Asar, Arthur McWatt, civil rights struggle, Democratic Farmer Labor Party (DFL), Katie McWatt, Masonic Lodge, Minneapolis Central High School, North Central Voters League, St. Paul City Council, Summit University

Angels in the Skyway

By Terry Ford, April 30, 2011

Waiting in the Skyways. (Photo courtesy: Sharon Mollerus/Flickr Creative Commons)

In April 2009, my wife and I lost our house, then I decided to be homeless, and being depressed didn’t help things. This was a year from hell. Then I met some angels in the skyway of downtown Saint Paul. I did research and found out about the Dorothy Day Center. I stayed there at night, and I met some people I liked. Lindsley was someone I could talk to about religion and baseball—he was the first person to give me hope that things would get better. It was there that I learned a lot about people like myself who are homeless. I got to see that a lot of them are pretty caring people and very intelligent. They’re people just like you and me.

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Filed Under: People Tagged With: Dorothy Day Center, Downtown, hard times, Saint Paul Central Library, Skyways, Terry Ford

High Water

By Captain Bob Deck, April 30, 2011

Pig’s Eye Bridge from southbound towboat Paul Lambert (Photo: Captain Bob Deck)

A grizzled old towboat mate of twenty-six named Steamboat Bill explained the dangers of working in high water to me in very simple, very direct terms. “Rule number-one is: Don’t fall in! If you fall in, you’re dead. It’s that simple. The current will drag you under and you’ll drown!” He told me this from the deck of a barge moored in South Saint Paul in the spring of 1975, when the Mississippi River was rising fast. Years later I watched as another young deckhand learned this lesson.

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Filed Under: Memories, People Tagged With: barges, Captain Bob Deck, Harriet Island, Lafayette Street Bridge, Mississippi, Mississippi River, Pig's Eye Island, Pig’s Eye Lake, Shepard Road, transportation

Building a Bridge with Words

By Wendy Brown-Báez, March 25, 2011

Students at Face to Face Academy Writing Workshop (Photo: Carole Mannheim)

At the writing workshop, I ask the students if they are here because they think writing is important. A couple of them raise their hands. Then I ask if they are taking the workshop because they will receive extra credit, and most of the hands shoot up. I had offered to share my love of language by teaching this workshop at Face to Face Academy, a charter school for homeless youth in crisis, after learning that 70 percent of all teens in foster care end up being homeless for a year or two—foster parents no longer receive help from the government when the child turns eighteen.

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Filed Under: People Tagged With: Face to Face Academy, Wendy Brown-Báez, writers, youth

Not Your Typical Irish Dancer

By Deb Pleasants, March 13, 2011

Deb dancing with Rince na Chroi (Photo courtesy Deb Pleasants)

Grabbing the ballet barre to support myself, I attempted to stretch out my right leg. My thigh felt like a vise was twisting it tighter and tighter. The pain was so intense, I was afraid to breathe. I hobbled out of the dance room and nearly collapsed on the hallway floor. Massaging my cramped leg, I watched those energetic adults and wondered how I, a forty-seven-year-old Black woman with no dance experience, ended up in an Irish dance class.

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Filed Under: People, Things We Love Tagged With: african american, dance, Deb Pleasants, irish, Rince na Chroi

The Hmong Wedding

By Bao Vang, February 27, 2011

Bao and Noah on their wedding day (Photo: Bao Vang)

My wedding day began at 1 a.m., when I got up for work as anchor and producer of Sunrise 7, the morning show on WSAU-TV, based in Wausau, Wisconsin. After my shift ended at 9 a.m., I met up with my fiancé, Noah, to say goodbye until our wedding night, then headed for my mother’s home in Saint Paul. Born and raised in the United States, Noah and I are what you could call a typical American couple. But we also treasure our Hmong heritage and wanted to honor our families by following the tradition that has spanned many generations. Although we’ve been engaged for a year, we can’t get married until our families give their official approval and agree on a dowry. There is no guarantee this will happen.

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Filed Under: People Tagged With: Bao Vang, hmong, tradition, Weddings

25 Random Things About Me And Saint Paul

By Michael Maupin, February 20, 2011

RULES: Once you’ve been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it’s because I want to know more about you. (I was tagged by Kimberly Nightingale, publisher of the Saint Paul Almanac.

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Filed Under: Memories, Other Stories, People Tagged With: memories, Michael Maupin