Arcadia Publishing/The History Press has released my new book on the History of South St. Paul. It’s a brief paperback with lots of previously unpublished photographs and focuses on the last thirty years of the city’s development. It’s a very different publication that the 528-page history of the city that I wrote in 1987. That book included over 1000 photographs and really concentrated on businesses, early pioneer families and the detailed stories of how the world’s largest stockyards industry became the identity of South St. Paul for generations. Today there are no stockyards, no packing plants and no smell of manure wafting over the Mississippi.
Instead, there’s a river trail, public access to the Mississippi, a DNR Boat Launch, an expansive and beautiful new business park and a renovated Exchange Building. The story of how those things happened is covered in this new history.
The first book signing is December 12, 2015, at the Dakota County Historical Society, 130 Third Avenue North, South St. Paul, MN 55075, from 11 a.m. to 2 pm. On December 13, 2015, I’ll be presenting a book talk, slide show and signing at First Presbyterian Church, 530 20th Avenue North, South St. Paul, MN 55075, from 8:30-9:45 a.m.
The book is available for purchase at the Dakota County Historical Society gift shop. The first book signing in 2016 is at the Barnes and Nobel bookstore in HarMar Mall, Roseville, MN 55113, on Sunday, January 10, from 2-4 p.m.
Another book talk, slide show and signing is set for Thursday, February 25, 2016, at the South St. Paul Public Library, 106 Third Avenue North, South St. Paul, 7:00 p.m.
Now that my year working on this publication has ended, I’m looking forward to finding my way back to my Dakota Soul Sisters and continue to tell their amazing stories.
I just bought a couple copies and am really looking forward to reading it, especially since I grew up in SSP. But in my initial scanning of it, I was VERY surprised to not see ANY mention of Divine Redeemer Hospital, which played an important role in the community in the ’60’s and’ 70’s. Why is there such an omission?
Patrick,
I apologize – I never received notification last year that you had left a message on the site for me. I just went in today to check old messages and saw your question. I thought long and hard about including the hospital in my little book but believe me, I had to cut way more than I could include and since the hospital is no more and had a relatively short lived time in the city, it ended up on the cutting room floor. I have written about it for my monthly history column in the South St. Paul Voice newspaper. The 1987 History of SSP that I wrote includes the full story of the hospital plus the stories of thousands of local businesses and families over the years. Obviously this was a very different book that was really meant to focus on the last thirty years of South St. Paul history. Again, sorry you are disappointed. I tried my very best to make the right choices.