Name: Dayton's
Brand: Kristal Leebrick
SKU: 9781609496722
Price: 23.99 USD
Availability: InStock

Dayton's

9781609496722

$23.99

Newsweek called Dayton's the swingingest spot in Minneapolis, and almost anyone living in the Twin Cities during the twentieth century has an anecdote to prove it. At Dayton's, you could buy a cashmere sweater for a song during an Anniversary Sale or commission a Persian silk dress for a society wedding. You could attend an eighth-floor extravaganza like Santabear's First Christmas or catch the occasional circus. Dayton's was the job that put many Minnesotans through college or the career that took them to retirement. From its early days as an innovative dry goods store to a trend-setting company that grew into the retail giant Target, Kristal Leebrick chronicles ten decades in the life of a Minnesota enterprise that defined style, good service and philanthropy.

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Minnesota's Notorious Nellie King

9781626192072

$21.99

From 1887 to 1893, the era Frederick Jackson Turner marked as the close of the American frontier, a young woman scandalized the residents of the Dakotas, Minnesota and northern Wisconsin with her fetching appearance, eccentric behavior and criminal misdeeds. Best known as Nellie King, she employed over a dozen other aliases throughout her career as fake detective, horse thief, laudanum fiend and general disturber of the dubious peace of saloons and brothels across the northern plains. She attracted sensational headlines, love-struck suitors and stray revolver shots with equal abandon; her story's Dickensian cast of characters included a hapless counterfeiter, a dashing physician, a battle-hardened magician and a determined mother. In this engaging narrative, Jerry Kuntz pieces together the clues to her true identity for the first time.

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Hidden History of Twin Cities Sports

9781467153188

$23.99

Twin Cities sports fans are well-versed in disappointment, but the last 120 years of Minneapolis and St. Paul sports have also produced forgotten milestones.

Most know of the Vikings’ Super Bowl woes and the Twins’ record-setting postseason losing streak. Few know that the first full-time college basketball coach originated here and that a Babe Ruth home run record supplanted a local player’s achievement. Fewer still know about near misses like John Wooden almost becoming the University of Minnesota basketball coach in 1948 and Billie Jean King turning down an offer to join the Twin Cities’ World Team Tennis franchise.

Longtime Twin Cities journalist Joel Rippel documents these subjects and other forgotten or unheralded stories.

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The Kashubian Polish Community of Southeastern Minnesota

9780738518855

$24.99

The Kashubian people in Southeastern Minnesota are a small yet distinct group of people; small, because in a world-view they are few in number, emigrated from a small area in Poland, and settled in a relatively small area similar to the area they left; distinctive, because of the cohesiveness of the community, and moreso, because the Kashubian language is unusual even in Poland. This book describes the culture of the Kashubian community, illustrated with over 200 vintage images. It salvages a history that has almost been amalgamated into the swirling melting pot because of the difficulty of their language, the spelling of their names, and the lack of recognition of their efforts. From the first Polish-American fighters who gave their lives to the Civil War, to the lumber mills that offered so many new residents means of survival, these photographs visually outline the experiences of the earliest Kashubian immigrants, and a history nearly lost.

Cover image for The Kashubian Polish Community of Southeastern Minnesota, isbn: 9780738518855

Minnesota Moxie

9781467135719

$23.99

Minnesotans are a tough lot, capable of pulling a house six miles by muscle alone or giving birth to a sixteen-pound boy. In 1921, young Phoebe Fairgrave set a parachute world record, stepping off the wing of a biplane 15,200 feet above the Twin Cities. In 1962, the last powerhouse Gophers football team brought home the Rose Bowl trophy. A year later, thirteen-year-old Jean Webb of Minneapolis risked arrest and refused to leave a segregated restaurant. In 1979, Gerry Spiess crossed the Atlantic alone in a 10-foot sailboat he built in his White Bear Lake garage. These inspiring stories and dozens more, culled from the Star Tribune newspaper archives, are presented in their original form by author Ben Welter, along with in-depth background, fresh interviews and more than seventy-five historic photos.

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Dayton's Department Store

9780738550619

$24.99

Dayton's department store, grand in scope and company spirit, enjoyed a century in the limelight as one of the nation's leading retailers. Its disappearance has been a challenge to the community, but it is a sign of the times, as many other urban department stores have shared the same fate. Originally called Goodfellows, the store got its start in 1902 when real estate investor and banker George Draper Dayton became a silent partner in the business. He soon took over the company but had to learn the ropes of retail as he went along since he had never intended to become a merchant. The early years were not without struggles, but Dayton's department store was nevertheless an instant hit with its daylight-filled aisles, generous return policies, and quality merchandise. The Minneapolis store became a vibrant self-contained community with a post office, newspaper, infirmary, laundry, bakery, and even a college. "Daytonians" worked and played together around the clock, in baseball and bowling teams, glee clubs, and orchestras. Over time, the reach of Dayton's extended far into the upper Midwest, with stores in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin, including the development of the nation's first indoor mall.

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Brave New Workshop

9781626196865

$21.99

In 1958, former circus aerialist Dudley Riggs opened a Minneapolis coffeehouse with a stage for performers and created an American comedic institution. What started as a way to draw customers on slow nights became the Brave New Workshop, a comedy theater sinking its satirical talons deep into the culture of Minneapolis–St. Paul for over half a century. This theater helped launch the careers of many talented performers, including satirist-turned-senator Al Franken and his Saturday Night Live partner in comedy, Tom Davis, as well as comedian Louie Anderson, Daily Show co-creator Lizz Winstead, screenwriter Pat Proft of the Naked Gun films and many others. Author Rob Hubbard tells the story of the hilarity, irreverence and imagination of the Brave New Workshop—a funhouse mirror to the world around it. If you've lived in Chicago, you know what Second City is. If you've lived in the Twin Cities, you know what the Brave New Workshop is. Founder Dudley Riggs and the Brave New Workshop played a big part in my comedy career. Read the real history of this company and the actors and writers from it who have influenced comedy on television and the big screen for over 50 years. – Louie Anderson

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Candyland in the Twin Cities

9781626193635

$21.99

When Candyland opened its doors in downtown St. Paul in 1932, it was called Flavo Korn and sold mainly popcorn to office workers and the throngs that lined up outside the many sparkling downtown movie palaces. Streetcars plied the brick-paved streets before giving way to buses, and the corner of Wabasha and Seventh Streets was considered the heart of St. Paul and the city's own movie row. The movie theaters and streetcars are long gone, but over the years, Candyland has survived momentous social change and urban revitalization efforts to become a destination for generations of visitors lured by the store's signature popcorn blends and delectable homemade chocolates and fudge.

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Spring Grove

9780738519494

$24.99

Spring Grove: Minnesota's First Norwegian Settlement is a tribute to the state's earliest Norwegian emigrants, and to generations of Norwegian Americans who have made this small farming community amongst deep valleys, fjord-like bluffs, and winding streams their true vesterheim. It is a tale told through striking historic photographs, many previously unreleased, and personal narratives, often humorous and always insightful.

The area was first settled in the 1850s by pioneers like James Smith, who, inspired by the landscape, named the place Spring Grove. Smith was followed by the likes of "Big" Ole Gulbransgutton, who chased crooked land surveyors out of town with his bare fist; by the innovative Mons Fladager, whose business acumen earned him the title of "Father of Spring Grove"; and by the 20th-century cartoonist Peter J. Rosendahl, whose work gave a comical voice to the challenges of cultural assimilation. Spring Grove: Minnesota's First Norwegian Settlement also conveys the universality of the Norwegian immigrant experience, and anyone with Norwegian roots who desires to learn more about their ancestors will find it an enjoyable read.

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Legendary Locals of Pine City

9781467101196

$24.99

Throughout the history of Pine City, individuals have dreamed, struggled, and created a remarkable place of American culture. Legendary Locals of Pine City represents an amazing mix of talents and activities, sometimes with far-reaching effects. The Pine City story is told here in the faces of its people: the innovators who brought industry and commerce; generous people and institutions who have given back to the community in a variety of ways; participants in Pine City's thriving cultural life embracing a spectrum of interests and enthusiasms; and ordinary people living everyday lives who have done extraordinary things or had remarkable experiences. This book honors such individuals as the renowned Karla Nelsen, the world's most muscular woman; Anna Dickey Olesen, the first woman to break the glass ceiling and run for US Senate; and Shane Bauer's mom, Cindy Hickey, who worked diligently for more than two years to free her son from captivity in Iran, along with many other memorable people.