Posts Tagged ‘Pioneers and Soldiers Cemetery’
Have You Heard the One About…
By Patrick Cabello Hansel A lawyer, a pastor and a saxophone player walked into”¦a cemetery? What”™s the punchline? You”™ll have to come to “QUITTING TIME at a Place of Endless Time,” on Saturday, September 18th at 4 pm at the historic Pioneers and Soldiers Cemetery at East Lake Street and Cedar Avenue in Minneapolis. Patrick Cabello Hansel”™s 2nd book of poetry, “Quitting Time,” is an extended elegy to his father, Walter Hansel. It engages his history from his birth into a German-speaking home in rural North Dakota, through the Great Depression, World War II, and becoming a barber and raising a family in Austin, MN. Patrick retired in 2020 after serving with his wife Luisa for 15 years at St. Paul”™s Lutheran Church in Phillips. He is the author of the poetry collection “The Devouring Land,” and his work has been published in over 70 journals. Twice nominated for a Pushcart Prize, he has [...]
She waited 50 years ”“ and the city kept its promise
Tales from Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery By Sue Hunter Weir 163rd in a Series People often ask whether it is still possible to be buried in the cemetery. The answer is ”“ maybe. It is possible, but not likely. On May 23, 1919, the Minneapolis City Council passed an ordinance that closed Layman”'s (now Pioneers and Soldiers) Cemetery to future burials. They did so in response to a petition circulated by business owners and neighbors from the surrounding area who complained that the cemetery had become an eyesore and a health hazard. The burial ban went into effect on Aug. 1, 1919. The ordinance did not condemn the cemetery, which would have required disinterring the 27,000 people buried there, but simply said that no more could be added; there was enough misinformation and confusion about what the cemetery”'s future that family members arranged for the removal of more than 5,000 people. More that 22,000 remain. The last [...]
Plaque”'s theft is a historically large loss and a petty thief”'s gain
TIMOTHY McCALLSoldier and Pioneers Memorial Cemetery since 1858 had new fence and pillars erected in 1928-29 and plaques soon after as a gift from the Minneapolis Cemetery Protective Association”'s (MCPA) Auxiliary. Someone stole a piece of the City”'s history. It happened on Aug. 30 or 31st, most likely during the night. One of the two bronze plaques that graced the pillars on either side of the Lake Street gates was stolen. The thieves were trying to steal the other but must have been interrupted. Some of the stone that held the plaque was chiseled away but not enough to loosen it. The fence and pillars were erected in 1928-29 and the plaques added either at the same time or shortly afterward. They were a gift from the Minneapolis Cemetery Protective Association”'s (MCPA) Auxiliary. The Auxiliary was a group of women from the association”'s membership who raised funds for many of the structures that have been identified as contributing resources in the [...]
