Posts Tagged ‘Sue Hunter Weir’
What”™s Old is New Again Quarantine and Vaccination
By SUE HUNTER WEIRÂ In January 1900, health authorities were at odds over whether a young girl was suffering from chickenpox or smallpox. Four doctors determined that she had smallpox which would have required her to be quarantined, but Dr. Norton, Health Commissioner, insisted that she had chickenpox and accused Dr. Henry Bracken, Secretary of the State Board of Health, one of those who disagreed with him, of “creating an injurious panic without warrant just to belittle me.” Bracken argued in favor of aggressive steps to contain the spread of the disease, arguing that containing the outbreak was critical for the economy: “An epidemic of this kind stagnates business.” Editors of the Minneapolis Tribune chastised both men in an editorial on January 25, 1900: “It would seem as if two men occupying the important positions which they do would cooperate in matters looking to the spread of disease and the preservation of the health of the [...]
Tales From Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery
179th in a Series By SUE HUNTER WEIR Emeline Baker Balch 1830-1867 The Cemetery is listed in the National Register of Historic Places in part because of its ties to the anti-slavery movement. Its original owners, Martin and Elizabeth Layman, were members of the First Baptist Church of Minneapolis which was closely associated with that movement; and there are several others buried in the cemetery, including a number of women, who had ties to both the anti-slavery and temperance movements. It is hard to gauge the exact nature of their involvement since very few of the women who died during the cemetery”™s early years left first-hand accounts of their lives, but there can be little doubt about what they believed. Emeline Baker Balch was born in Onondaga, New York on 20 March 1830. When she was 14 years old, Emeline and her family moved to Aurora, Kane County, Illinois. The town of Aurora was settled by New Englanders who tended to migrate [...]
Tales from Pioneer and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery
178th in a Series By SUE HUNTER WEIR Lafayette Mason””One Mpls.”™ First Black Firefighters Musician, Artist, and Southside High Football Captain Other than some graffiti on about a dozen fence pillars, the Cemetery was untouched during the protests on Lake Street. The graffiti was gone within a few days but the stories about the lives of those who are buried inside the gates continue. It”™s obvious to passersby that the Cemetery is old. What is less obvious is that the Cemetery is listed in the National Register of Historic Sites because of the people who are buried there. For the most part they were not famous but collectively their stories tell how the city and state were built. Some of them had ties to the early abolitionist and anti-slavery movements in Minnesota and others because it was a favored burial site for members of the early African-American community, many of whom led [...]
