‘Tales from Pioneers & Soldiers Cemetery’ Archives
Cemeteries: The Modern Day Urban Park
TALES FROM PIONEERS AND SOLDIERS MEMORIAL CEMETERY 187th IN A SERIES By OLGA ACUNA Photo by Megan Voorhees What began as a class project addressing environmental injustice in the East Phillips neighborhood steadily flourished into an Arbor Day celebration at the notable Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery on the intersection of Cedar Ave and Lake St. On Saturday May 1st, over 60 volunteers from the surrounding community gathered at the cemetery to aid in the planting of over 50 trees throughout the 27 acres of green space. On one of the warmest days of the Spring season, this resilient intergenerational group of volunteers worked through the heat together to nurture the Earth by planting trees with help from arborists from the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation. Volunteers later gathered around for an ethereal blessing of the tree performance which included two deer puppets, bells, and poetry all done by the Semilla Center for Healing and the Arts. The event [...]
The Forgotten Residents of Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery
Tales from Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery By SUE HUNTER WEIR 1st in a Series(reprint) Editor”™s Note: Tales from the Cemetery is on hiatus this month, so this month is a reprint of the very first Tale. Reprinted from the alley July/August 2003; from alley Archives 186 Tales of Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery Every day tens of thousands of commuters pass through the intersection of Cedar Avenue and Lake Street. Most of them are unaware of the fact that they are within several feet of a major historic site. In June 2002, Minneapolis Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Although Minneapolis Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery is the oldest existing cemetery in Minneapolis, that was not sufficient reason for its inclusion on the Register. In fact, federal historic designation is an honor that is rarely awarded to cemeteries since any cemetery is, by definition, [...]
Tales from Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial Cemetary
By Sue Hunter Weir 186th in a Series Annie Erwin: She Loved Not Wisely Annie Erwin is one of the more intriguing stories in the cemetery although it”™s hard to judge how much of it is true. The source of much of the information about her was an unnamed man who claimed to have been told about Annie by her former lover. This unnamed man, in turn, shared that story with the press. His third-hand account was picked up by the Chicago Tribune on October 21, 1866, two weeks after Annie died. Pollinator alert! Spring is just around the corner. Watch for the cemetery”™sannual opening (weather permitting) around April 15th. Themarker in the forefront of the photo belongs to Magnus Norquist (1822-1901) and his wife Kiasa (1822-1910).PHOTO BY: TIM MCCALL According to Annie”™s lover she was born in England where her family had become members of the Latter-day Saints (Mormons). Annie appeared to be losing faith in her religion so her [...]
