‘Miscellany’ Archives
A Forgotten Scandal
from the series Tales from Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery... Number 219 By SUE HUNTER WEIR Sometimes stories take a disturbing turn. This one started out as a biographical sketch of Sumner Cutter who was described in his obituary, published in the Minneapolis Tribune on April 14, 1902, as “one of the most prominent members of the older generation of contractors.” His friends described him as a “man of quiet, steady disposition and never addicted to displays of violent temper.” He was credited with having built several of the city’s early flour mills and having helped dam the falls in the river. But, according to several newspaper stories published in 1864, there’s a darker side to his story.*On February 24, 1864, Cutter shot and killed George Littlefield, the man who he believed was having an affair with his wife. The story was a major scandal. There was no mystery, no question that Cutter shot Littlefield. Sumner Cutter, his wife Pamelia, their [...]
Book Review: Enough
from the series Something I Said... By DWIGHT HOBBES Dwight Hobbes Cassidy Hutchinson flipped everyone out, breaking ranks with Donald Trump at the House Committee hearing over January 6th’s insurrection debacle. Here, she had been White House chief of staff Mark Meadows’ assistant, knew all the dirt and came clean. Trump claimed he didn’t even know her. Former White House deputy press secretary Sarah Matthews tweeted, “Anyone downplaying Cassidy Hutchinson’s role or her access in the West Wing either doesn’t understand how the Trump worked or is attempting to discredit her because they’re scared of how damning this testimony is.” Enough (Simon & Schuster) puts the lie to Trump’s dismissing Hutchinson and traces, from her perspective, just what went on before, during and after the attempted insurrection. At length, Hutchinson’s testimony detailed Meadows’s, Trump’s, and other White House officials’ knowledge of the danger the January 6, 2021 [...]
We Need Each Other
from the series Peace House Community- A Place to Belong... By MARTI MALTBY Marti Maltby Among my other duties, I help coordinate the adult education series at the church that I attend. This fall and winter we have had various congregation members speak about the intersection of their vocation and their faith. In other words, how does their faith affect their work, and how does their work help them see God. When the idea for the series came up, I imagined people speaking about the satisfaction they get from their jobs. While that’s happened, we’ve heard more about enduring difficult times than celebrating joys. Teachers have spoken about schools that are so cash strapped that they don’t buy curriculum for the students, instead telling the teachers to use whatever they can find online. A 22 year old camp counselor told about overhearing a 15 year old begging her friends to break her leg so that she would not have to complete a four day canoe trip. The counselor [...]
