‘Tales from Pioneers & Soldiers Cemetery’ Archives
MEMORIAL DAY at PIONEERS AND SOLDIERS CEMETERY Monday, MAY 27 10 AM
145th Memorial Day Observance Join us for the 145th Memorial Day Observance at Minneapolis Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery. There will be speakers, an honor guard firing team, student leaders from the Transition Charter School and the wonderful Seward Community Concert Band. The traditional observance begins at 10 a.m. “Talk” and “Tales” At 1:00 PM, after a short break, attendees may choose to enjoy a “Talk” about the history of the Cemetery and some anecdotes from “Tales” about the lives of some of those people buried there. The talk may extend into a tour for those interested. “The cat”'s out of the bag.” The Annual Memorial Service, Tales from Pioneers and Soldiers Cemetery by Sue Hunter Weir, volunteer Cemetery cleanups, plantings, flower embellishments, flag postings, (more…)
Ada Mollan, a Pioneer of Mental Health Aid
The Mollan family ran a private hospital on land now part of Matthews Park in the Seward Neighborhood. Ada Mollan, the oldest daughter, matron or proprietress, died on April 15, 1959 at the age of 79. Since the cemetery had been officially closed to future burials in the 1920s, the City Council needed to approve her burial in the family plot. Ada Mollan is buried in Lot 105, Block A with two of her nieces, her grandmother, brother, mother and one of two step-mothers.Photo by Sue Hunter Weir By Sue Hunter Weir Imagine that it”'s 1905 and that someone you love is mentally ill. Medical professionals and the courts recognize that there is such a thing as mental illness but they don”'t know what to do about it. There are no medications to prescribe and talk therapy as doesn”'t exist. The only available “treatment” is confinement in a State Hospital for the Insane or, for less serious cases, a private hospital. The Mollan family ran a private hospital [...]
100th Tale: From Pioneers and Soldiers Cemetery
Thank You Sue Hunter Weir Alley Communications, on behalf of hundreds of families and thousands of individuals express our tremendous appreciation to Sue Hunter Weir, local resident historian and writer of 100 “Tales from Pioneers and Soldiers Cemetery.” The lives of many people have been enriched by her extensive research, honoring of personal stories and legacies, anecdotes, statistics, and personal quotations woven into 100 narratives . Each of the 100 Tales has its own engaging stories so it is remarkable that she can end each “Tale”; the secret of anticipation that keeps readers awaiting the next Tale. Readers need not fear the end of the Series because about 28,000 people (7,000 were moved, but their stories remain) have been buried at this place formerly Layman”'s Cemetery at Lake Street and Cedar Avenue. These stories live on in family photo albums and scrapbooks, websites and oral storytelling traditions. Alley Communications is honored [...]
