Number 229 from Tales from Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery…
By SUE HUNTER WEIR
Where to begin? October 2024 was one of the most exciting months in the Cemetery’s recent history. People, some born almost 200 years ago, finally received the recognition that they deserve for their bravery and resilience. There were three major events, each worthy of its own Cemetery Tale and those will appear in future issues of the alley. In the meantime…
Cemetery as Classroom
On October 12, 2024, the Cemetery served as a classroom. Rethos and Northern Bedrock offered a class on marker restoration and repair. There were two sections of the class. The first was reserved for the Minneapolis Chapter of Wounded Warriors and the second for members of the general public who are interested in learning how to make sure that some of our fragile markers last for many more years. One of the markers that was restored belongs to Solomon Hare, an African-American Civil War veteran and Buffalo Soldier. His four-foot tall-marker, which was likely set around 1900, was reset and stabilized. Mr. Hare was born in Virginia in the 1840s, and was, most likely, enslaved. Mr. Hare died on October 10, 1898. Attendees also cleaned lichen and soot from more than a dozen other markers.
Cemetery on Exhibit
On October 19, 2024, In Memoriam: Residents of Minneapolis Pioneers and Soldiers Cemetery, an exhibit at the Hennepin History Museum opened. The exhibit is stunningly beautiful and captures the essence of the Cemetery’s 170-year history through text, photos, and artifacts. It highlights not only the history of the Cemetery and its 22,000 residents but also the Cemetery as a green space and a community gathering place. The exhibit will run until sometime next year and is well worth seeing. The Museum is open from 10 to 3 on Thursdays and Fridays and from 10 to 5 on Saturdays. There is no entrance fee but donations are always welcome.
Cemetery Listed
And last, on October 25th, we received word that the Cemetery has been listed on the National Park Service’s Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. It is only the second site in Minnesota to receive this honor. (The other is Pilgrim Baptist Church in St. Paul). The designation acknowledges the bravery and courage of those who fled from slavery in search of their freedom.
We have so many people to thank. Elyse Hill of Hill Research, who specialized in African-American genealogy, and is passionate about telling the stories of freedom seekers and African-American veterans. She nominated the Cemetery for the Underground Railroad Network to Freedom—a very big honor. It has been a pleasure to work with her and the work will continue as we try to identify and tell the stories of all of the African-Americans who are buried in the Cemetery.
The exhibit at the Hennepin History Museum was curated by Alyssa Thiede. Her thoughtful telling of the Cemetery’s story and some of its many residents is inspiring. The exhibit features photography by Tim McCall, one of our long-term volunteers, who has captured the Cemetery’s history over the past 20 years in thousands of photographs. And, thanks to the staff and Board of the Museum for giving us this wonderful opportunity to share the stories of our residents.
Thanks also to the Wounded Warriors, Emily Noyes, Erin Hanafin Berg, Laura Leppink and others from Rethos and Northern Bedrock for helping us to preserve this amazing space and to protect the stories that it holds.
And to our volunteers from Friends of the Cemetery and to the alley for always being there, thank you. We couldn’t do it without you.
Sue Hunter Weir is chair of Friends of the Cemetery, an organization dedicated to preserving and maintaining Minneapolis Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery. She has lived in Phillips for almost 50 years and loves living in such a historic community.
