HISTORY OF THE THEODOR S. SLEN PARK and POOL IN MADISON MN By Theodor S. Slen “The way to the full-blown establishment of the park followed a block and a half tract, enclosed with a barbed wire fence around it, and with a low horse stable, a haystack, and a manure pile upon it, and with live horses and mules grazing on it, to a completed public swimming pool as part of it. In the year 1925 the mayor of Madison, Dr. Nels Westby, who was also the Chief of Staff of the Ebenezer Hospital had a vision of Madison's future. Mayor Westby’s great interest was not known to be trees or parks but rather the quality of life in the Madison community. In his many trips to the hospital (then located where the Madison Clinic is now) he could hardly avoid being bothered by the condition of the street as it ran between what is now the pool park and the lots on the west side of the street - water and mud all about, and the barbed wire fence and pasture to the east. Dr Westby suggested to the council to appoint Arthur W. Hauck to fill the council vacancy. Again we have to deal with a lover of trees, and Hauck joined councilman Dr. Peter Wesby in promoting the idea of converting the pasture along First Avenue into a park. The council passed a formal resolution to establish the park on December 7th, 1925. Early the next year, councilman August Johnson was put in charge of the enterprise. By this time a nursery and greenhouse had been established in Madison, from whom trees for planting along the borders of the projected park were bought for $713.00 and Mr. Johnson organized a “bee” to plant trees. The banks and other business places in town released their clerks and other employees to dig the holes for the trees. The trees were planted 30 feet apart, regularly alternating elm and ash in the row. In the interim between the planting of the border trees and the finishing of the pool in 1938, the park itself was planted. Adolph L. Arveson was on the Park Board and knew Theodore Wirth who had been the Superintendent of Parks in Minneapolis. Mr. Wirth came here (to Madison) to help plan the Park layout. Mr. Wirth, a trained landscape gardener, wanted to help plan a park, and not a grove with straight line rows of trees, nor did he want any signs, “Keep Off the Grass”. He had brought with him a bag of walnuts, and from various places on the tract he tossed out walnuts, and where these fell he marked each place with the name of the kind of tree or bush that should be planted there. The only “row” of trees planted was one along the west side of the pool, and here Mr. Soholt planted large elms, with large frozen clods of earth attached to their roots, hauled therein the early spring by tractor and hoist.” Taken from the Madison Historical Album by the Madison Centennial Book Committee Madison, MN
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Think there's nothing to find in your family history? Think again. There are fascinating people, events and facts to find in EVERY family tree.
As a family researcher I've heard every excuse as to why people don't do their family research. "You won't find anything" "There's nothing interesting to uncover" "My family is just boring" I'm always so shocked to hear these responses because every single family tree I've researched had a surprise or shocking element that the client had no idea existed. Often many interesting people pop up and the stories they "tell" are amazing. Some have historical significance or some have a story that relates to the current family member. One example is a client that learned her ancestor not only fought in the Civil War but was a prisoner in the infamous Andersonville prison camp in Georgia. What made this more interesting is that he was also in prison 20 years later in a well known prison that took very detailed information at the time of entry. This included a blue tattoo with numbers that we've concluded could have been from his time at Andersonville. It's these types of records that bring historical events to life and give us more information like the tattoo. "Finding evidence of an Andersonville survivor is rare" Some interesting facts that are learned are much more personal and not really associated to a historical event. Case in point of one ancestor that was listed in military rolls as a musician in the Revolutionary War. This being of personal interest to the current day client who was also a musician into an immediate family of non-musicians. This "connection" brings ancestors to life and certainly in a more personal way. "Finding an unusual craft or profession that links you to the past" Don't ever disregard family research as a waste of time just because you either think you already know all the facts or you think there's nothing to find. I have found in my own personal history that my Grandfather had an older brother who passed away as an infant that no one ever knew about. When we start digging deeper into the facts surrounding individuals it's amazing how the pieces come together like a large puzzle. And now when we can connect on a DNA level, we can find missing facts or clues that bring more history to life. Date: 13 July 1924 Significance: This photograph show the Rev. Marmaduke Carter with three boys—Harold, Charles and Donald Graves—at their baptism at Saint Philip Lutheran Church When I'm doing any type of research and I make a connection, it's definitely a great moment. If I can make a connection that seems so totally out of left field, then it just makes that connection stand out and become personal. This happened last month as I was researching a private family tree. One fellow in the tree stood out and it's a connection from the streets of Chicago to the farmsteads of Minnesota that was a "wow" moment. A little background on my own family. Both maternal and paternal sides included farmers in Southern/Central Minnesota coming from Massachusetts, Illinois, Wisconsin, Canada and Germany to name a few locations. All coming in the land settlements of the 19th century and acquiring land for farming. Many of the Germans preferred to speak their native language especially when it came to church and worship. My research found a Marmaduke Nathaniel Carter II an aspiring Lutheran minister born in Virginia in 1881. Fascinating man. Both of his parents were slaves in the south and eventually his father became an early Lutheran minister. Carter began his career as a student pastor in 1906 and delve into the teachings of Martin Luther. He became so intrigued with Luther's writings that he taught himself German so he could study Luther's writings in the original German text. By 1921 he was so proficient in Luther's teachings, that the Evangelican Lutheran SynodicalConference decided to send him on a missionary tour of the Midwest preaching to the German farmers in Nebraska, Minnesota and Iowa. I have to believe that some of my ancestors heard a sermon or two by Pastor Carter and deeply appreciated hearing those sermons in their native language. Making them feel connected to their home once again. Carter went back to Chicago and eventually founded St. Phillip's Lutheran Church on Chicago's south side. An article about Pastor Carter was published in the Chicago Tribune in April 1955 describing not only his "...selfless struggles to establish the Lutheran religion in Chicago" but that he was "...perhaps more distinguished as an authority on the life and theology of Martin Luther." Researching family trees and ancestors is so much more than writing down locations and dates. It's looking at the life going on with each person. When you can find a glimpse into the life of just one person you'll find links to historical events or locations or to others that further connect the stories of each person. Absolutely fascinating. Pastor Carter passed away at the age of 80 years old after a life time of teaching, preaching and writing. A special person indeed. Hopefully his descendents will agree. ANDERSONVILLE PRISON CAMP - South view of Stockade Taken about 1864 (note the "latrine" which was also the water supply) Nov 2016
While researching a family tree recently I happened upon a family member's muster roll from the Civil War of the 103rd Pennsylvania Infantry Company K. Interesting in itself and looking closer there were many "dittos" across half the company which was out of place. Looking closer it showed that all of these men were captured in North Carolina and sent to a prison camp. Handwritten on the notes area was the location destination: ANDERSONVILLE . With some additional research I found his name on the camp prisoner list. It's times like this that having a background in history brings this all to life just reading that one name. In college I spent an entire semester learning Civil War Battle formations...not the most interesting but it served a purpose in that it taught the thinking behind the battles. But my favorite semester was learning Civil War Social History. This included home life, society and also included prison camps. Learning about how people were living was fascinating. Social history is something that brings those facts and dates to life. So now on to some facts about Andersonville. This Confederate prison of war camp was opened in February of 1864 in southeast Georgia to house Union soldiers who couldn't fit in the already crowded Virginia camps. Originally about 16 acres in size, that number was increased to 26 acres in June 1864. So within just 4 months, we see just how many soldiers were put into this camp. No barracks were ever constructed so they were forced to find their own protection from the sun, rain and cold. The Civil War was really the first time in history that the general public witnessed the horrors of war because of the new invention called the camera. So many pictures were taken of the Civil War that historians still say that more photos were taken during this time until the advent of WWII. Photos were seen by the public and the horrors of seeing dead and dying brothers, fathers, and sons increased the tensions of the time. Conditions at the camp were so horrible that's it'shard to even image. Inadequate food supply, little wood for cooking or keeping warm and inadequate water made such unsanitary conditions that at one point an "expert" with the Confederacy was brought in to find out why so many were dying. At one point it was 100 men per day that were dying due to scurvy, diarrhea and dysentery. Inadequate food supplies in the South during the war created an even more scarce supply for the prisoners. Rations consisted of some milled corn flour and because little fire wood was made available for the camp, nothing could be cooked or boiled. The only water source was a small stream that came through the camp after coming by the neighboring Confederate Army camp. This water was the only source for drinking, sanitation, bathing and cooking. It's no wonder that the unsanitary conditions quickly created a perfect disease environment. The camp was created to hold about 10,000 soldiers but grew quickly to over 32,000 and over 13,000 men died from exposure, disease and starvation who were buried nearby in a mass grave. The atrocities of the camp were slow to reach those outside the camp but a poem in the POST newspaper from May 1865 highlights the outrage of the time. “In the Prison at Andersonville” - by Phila H. Case “He faded day by day—a prayer Upon his lips for one sweet breath-- What wonder when the reeking air Was chill and dank with dews of death. But why delay my tale—he died And careless hands bore him away, For what was one when, side by side, Hundreds were dying every day?” The camp was finally liberated in May 1865 at the end of the war. To think that the camp was only active for about 14 months and in that time so many died is hard to fathom. The camp commander, Captain Wirz was put on trial immediately following the war's end and the only Confederate official convicted of war crimes. He was hanged in November 1865. The site of Andersonville Prison is now a memorial to all prisoners of war and is run by the National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov/ande/index.htm Today, this National Historic Site comprises three distinct components: the former site of Camp Sumter military prison, the Andersonville National Cemetery, and the National Prisoner of War Museum, which opened in 1998 to honor all U.S. prisoners of war in all wars. |
AuthorTeri Patterson writes on all things pertaining to history. Many blog posts are references to family tree information Archives
July 2020
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