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By Marvin Lamppa. Lake Superior Port Cities Press, 2004.
Northern Minnesota is a land of beauty and heritage but also a land overflowing in natural resources. Its rich iron ore has shaped the destiny of the United States and in times of war helped to protect the world. This book is an exploration of Minnesota's Iron country-revealing the lives of a remarkable people and many of the industrial and political forces that built a region and a nation. This 288 page soft-cover volume includes a glossary of terms and a full index. It is richly illustrated with more than 175 photos, maps and artworks. It was 2005 Northeastern Minnesota Book Award Winner.
By D.J. Tice. University of Minnesota Press, 2001.
One hundred years' worth of incredible Minnesota tales are brought together for the first time in
Minnesota's Twentieth Century. A collection of writings and interviews that originated with the popular feature "A Century of Stories" in the
St. Paul Pioneer Press, this book includes a chapter on the Milford Mine Disaster, the story of the "Iron Lady" Chisholm reporter Veda Ponikvar, as well as other stories from around the state.
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By Frank A King. University of Minnesota Press, 2003.
In 1865, the nation's largest iron ore deposits were discovered in northern Minnesota, and life in the area was irrevocably altered as an economic boom transformed the region. In the 1880s and 1890s, two railroads, the Duluth and Iron Range and the Duluth, Missabe and Northern (which later merged), moved massive shipments of ore to the docks on Lake Superior. The Missabe Road tells the complete story of the DM&IR: its construction, early operation, line extensions, passenger service, rolling stock, steam locomotives, and today's modern diesels. Frank A. King examines underground and open pit mining operations, modern-day taconite mining, the handling and transportation of ore to the docks, and the loading of boats.
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By Richard Hudelson and Carl Ross. University of Minnesota Press, 2006.
The authors trace seventy years in the lives of Duluth's multi-ethnic working class—Scandinavians, Finns, Italians, Poles, Irish, Jews, and African Americans—and chronicle, along with the events of the times, the city's vibrant neighborhoods, religious traditions, and communities. But they also tell the dramatic story of how a populist worker's coalition challenged the "legitimate American" business interests of the city, including the major corporation U.S. Steel. From the Knights of Labor in the 1880s to the Industrial Workers of the World, the AFL and CIO, and the Democratic Farmer-Labor party, radical organizations and their immigrant visionaries put Duluth on the national map as a center in the fight for worker's rights—a struggle inflamed by major strikes in the copper and iron mines.
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By E.W. Davis, Edward H. Davis. Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2004.
With humor and insight, E. W. Davis tells the story that begins with the discovery of then-valueless taconite on Minnesota’s Mesabi Iron Range in 1870 and several decades of attempts to process taconite commercially. Davis details the ups and downs of the exciting, decades-long research effort that resulted in a workable extraction method, followed by frustrating attempts to form the concentrate into small pellets. Finally, Davis describes building the first successful commercial processing plant at Silver Bay in the 1950s and the contributions by various companies to the birth of the industry.
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By Edmund J. Longyear and Grace Lee Nute. Minnesota Historical Society, 1951.
The author covers his experiences in helping develop the area from the sinking of his first diamond drill hole through to seeing the Mesabi Range emerge into one of the most highly industrialized section of Minnesota.
By Paul de Kruif. University of Minnesota Press, 2007 (reprint).
In the tradition of great American rags to riches stories, Seven Iron Men weaves together the history of how the seven Merritt brothers discovered iron ore on the Mesabi Range. In 1890 they were poised to become one of the wealthiest families in America but lost it all to industrialist John D. Rockefeller.
By David A. Walker. Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2004.
David A. Walker tells the story of the opening of the last iron- ore frontier in the United States on the Vermilion, Mesabi, and Cuyuna ranges of Minnesota--the nation’s largest ore deposits. Walker explores the formative years from the 1880s to the early 1900s in the development of the state’s mining industry, the “iron men” it produced, the new towns it spawned, and the railroads it built to transport the new-found wealth to growing ports on Lake Superior. Drawing on manuscripts, newspaper accounts, and business and financial records, Walker’s study provides an economic history of an industry whose dimensions reached far beyond the borders of Minnesota.
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The Journals of Matti Hallila Pelto. Translated from the original Finnish by Vienna C. Saari Maki
in 1966 translator Vienna C. Saari Maki returned from a visit to Finland with three essay books containing the handwritten memories of her aunt's husband, Matti Hallila Pelto, of his experiences as an underground miner on Minnesota's Iron Range. There were no labor unions and no workers compensation. But there was work, plenty of it, and company bosses with production quotas to meet at any human expense. The immigrant miners risked their lives daily and sought respite in the boarding houses, workers halls and saloons. Documenting a time when workers were useful only as long as their bodies held out, Pelto's narrative is unique in its scope and vivid detail.
By Mary Nemanic. Ohio University Press, 2007
Just before the turn of the twentieth century, immigrants from eastern and southern Europe who had settled in mining regions of Minnesota formed a subculture that combined elements of Old World traditions and American culture. Their unique pluralistic version of Americanism was expressed in Fourth of July celebrations rooted in European carnival traditions that included rough games, cross-dressing, and rowdiness.
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By Berger Aulie. Cuyuna County Heritage Preservation Society and W.A. Fisher Company, 1994.
On February 5, 1924, mud and water from a nearby lake flooded the Milford Mine near Crosby, Minnesota, drowning 41 of the 48 men working underground. Thirty-three were married, and this left 88 children fatherless. The Milford Mine Disaster is a story filled with details undisclosed for almost 70 years. Publication was funded by a grant from the DeWitt and Caroline Van Evera Foundation.
Edited by Clifford E. Clark, Jr. Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1989.
As the 20th century nears its close, 17 essayists look back over a hundred years of dramatic change in Minnesota. Drawing upon their expertise in such fields as historical geography, social history, and American studies, these writers create a multifaceted view of the ways in which Minnesotans have reshaped their state. Included in the book is Marjorie Bingham's essay devoted entirely to Minnesota women of the 20th century and their active role working for the right to vote, equal education, equal working opportunities and pay, and involvement in politics and religion.
Especially focus on"Years of Change on the Iron Range" by Arnold R. Alanen on pages 155-194. Click here for Googlebooks preview.
By John Caddy. Milkweed Editions, 1989.
The Color of Mesabi Bones centers on the survival and healing strategies of a boy trying to become a human being in an alcoholic, violent family, set in a mining town which mirrors and encourages this kind of family. Caddy's poems carefully detail the milieu of several generations of Minnesota miners.
This book is a collaborative effort by many residents and friends of Embarrass, past and present. The book is not intended to be a comprehensive telling of the township's centennial story. Rather it is a collection of pictorial glimpses into various aspects of the people, places and events that have shaped Embarrass and its neighboring communities during the last 100 years. The authors hope to have captured the character and flavor of everyday life and celebrated some of the heritage which makes Embarrass unique.
By Barbara Milkovich. Magarac Books, 2001.
This book chronicles the development of a town in the iron-mining region of northern Minnesota. Franklin was incorporated in 1915 along the city of Virginia’s northeastern border. Numerous small mining communities, called locations, were located within the boundaries of Franklin, each successively mined out as the size of the open pits in the area grew. Today, only a small group of houses remains on the fringe of Virginia as a reminder that Franklin ever existed.
By Workers of the Writers' Program of the WPA, Writers' Program of the Work Progress Administration in the State of Minnesota, Workers of the WPA Writers Program. Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1988, 2008 (reprint)
Special features include 15 canoe trips; 5 maps; 37 photographs; 47 city, town, and village profiles; 4 road tours; a chronology; a glossary; and a bibliography with updated suggestions for further reading in fiction and nonfiction about the region.
By Richard W. Ojakangas and Charles L. Matsch. University of Minnesota Press, 1982.
Have you ever wondered how the Mississippi River was formed? Or why shark teeth have been found in the Iron Range of the Upper Midwest? Towering mountain ranges, explosive volcanoes, expansive glaciers, and long-extinct forms of both land and sea life were important parts of Minnesota's ancient history. Today the evidence of this remarkable heritage is revealed in the state's rocky outcroppings, stony soils, and thousands of lakes. Minnesota's Geology provides a history of the past 3.5 billion years in the area's development. In accessible language, Minnesota-based geologists Richard W. Ojakangas and Charles L. Matsch tell the story of the state's past and offer a guide for those who want to read geological history firsthand from the rocks and landscapes of today.
By Joe Paddock. Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2001.
Ernest Oberholtzer (1884-1977) is one of the great unsung heroes of the American conservation movement of the twentieth century.Keeper of the Wild is the first book to document and explore the life of the man who led the fight to save the area that eventually became Voyageurs National Park and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (today the most visited wilderness area in the United States).
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by James Kates. University of Minnesota Press, 2001.
By 1910, the forest region of the Great Lakes states was largely denuded, logged over by industrialists who coveted its timber, particularly the giant white pine. After unsuccessful attempts to farm this cutover region of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, a group of visionaries began to dream of restoring the North Woods as a place of solace and beauty, of recreation and retreat, for the benefit of people ever more remote from the splendors of nature. What ensued was an extraordinary campaign to recreate the original Midwest forest-the Great Lakes Crusade that James Kates chronicles in this book.
By Jeff Forester. Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2009.
From early settlers and industrialists seeking wealth to modern visitors valuing tranquility, the region known today as the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness has a fascinating ecological history. Jeff Forester shows how the global story of logging, forestry, conservation, and resource management unfolded in northern Minnesota.
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By Ann L. Burckhardt. Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2004.
A portrait of the festivals, specialities, places, and people behind the state's great food traditions, featuring over 160 recipes. Organized into four sections: Celebrations and Festivals, Savory Specialities, Memorable Places, and North Star Cooks -- these forty essays include interviews, historical background, food trivia, cook's tips, and kitchen-tested recipes that will appeal to food lovers of all backgrounds and interests. Adventurous cooks will delight in preparing a variety of Minnesota foods to be shared in many settings: soups for busy family dinners, quick breads for mornings up at the lake, prize-winning desserts for holiday potlucks. The book also includes an up-to-date appendix with tourist and Web site information.
BOOKS FOR YOUNGER READERS
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By William Durban. Scholastic Books, 2000. Young Adult.
Fifteen-year-old Otto Peltonen, with his mother and two sisters, leaves his home in Finland to join his father already working in the iron mines of Minnesota. It is May of 1905, and the two-week crossing is wretched, with seasick passengers crowded into steerage, "the lowest compartment of the ship." Yet the promise of a better life in America, where there are "big, white houses and broad, tree-lined streets," gives the family hope.
The Reader's Guide includes discussion questions, student activities and an interview with the author of thebook.
This is a handout to give to students helping them respond to literature through writing and discussion. It gives seven possible responses to selections from the book and does not specify how many are required. Adaptable for grades 6-12.
By Mary Jane Finsand, Illustrated by Reg Sandland. Carolrhoda Books, 1983. Children's picture book.
Finsand's book explains how the citizens of Hibbing,Minnesota, discovered Iron Ore beneath the town, then slowly jacked up their houses and businesses off of their foundations and rolled the entire town to a new location two miles away.
By Ann Nolan Clark. Viking Juvenile, 1976. Young Adult
Arriving in Minnesota in the late 1800's with plans to homestead, a Finnish family is faced with the problems of starting a new life.
By William Durbin. Wendy Lamb Books, 2002. Young Adult.
For Matti Ojala and his family, Finnish immigrants in Minnesota, starting a new life in America is both a hardship and an opportunity. When their beloved Uncle Wilho is killed in a tragic mining accident, the family decides they must realize their dream of owning a homestead in the wilderness. This means constant hard work and new challenges for the entire family. But it also means that Matti, the "in-between" child, has his chance to shine. Whether he's looking after his younger sisters, clerking in a general store, teaching English, or clearing the land with Father, Matti strives to prove himself to Father and escape his older brother's shadow.
By Mavis Hiltunen Biesanz. North Star Press of St. Cloud, 1989. Child-Young Adult.
This book describes the struggles faced by the northern Finnish communities to maintain their uniqueness as Finns while embracing the American way of life. The author describes her life between the ages of eight and twelve and the effect of conflicting Finnish and American values on her childhood.
By Janet Beeler Shaw, editor Jeanne Thieme and illustrators Renee Graef and Paul Lackner. American Girl Publishing, 1990.
Kirsten Larson is a pioneer girl of strength and spirit growing up in Minnesota in 1854. After a long, dangerous voyage with her family from Sweden to America, Kirsten finds it difficult to get used to a new country and a new way of life. But as she makes friends and discovers what her new land has to offer, she learns the true meaning of home - and that love is the same in any language. Kirsten does not grow up on the Iron Range, but rather on the western plains of Minnesota.
By William Durbin.Wendy Lamb Books, 2003. Young Adult
Thirteen-year-old Ben works at Blackwater Logging Camp as cook's helper to his Pa. Long days of flipping pancakes and peeling potatoes with his ornery Pa make Ben long to be out in the woods with the lumberjacks. Felling trees, sawing logs, driving a team through the snowy woods . . . that's what Ben wants to be doing. But the long cold winter in a camp filled with outlandish characters teaches Ben a lot about himself. Especially when an orphan boy called Nevers arrives in camp. When Nevers signs on to work with Pa, Ben makes a friend and a rival, too.
By Isabel R. Marvin. Illustrations by Kay Sather. Milkweed Editions, 1994. Ages 8-12
In 1907 in the iron-range town of Chisholm, Minnesota, 13-year-old Anna Kallio has taken over the household responsibilities since her mother's death the summer before. Caring for her nine-year-old brother, Matti, and her blacksmith father does not leave her with much time for school or play. She yearns for life as it once was and tries to arrange for a mail-order bride for her father so that she can continue her education. When Papa begins to take an interest in the widowed school teacher, however, Anna begins to have second thoughts about having a stepmother. The difficulty of mining town life is emphasized throughout as the girl's family struggles through a strike, loss of income, accidents, and a frightening episode in which Matti playfully explores a dangerous mine shaft.
By William Durbin. Orchard Publishers, 2004. Young Adult.
Jake's life is turned upside down when his father gets caught up in the Socialist fervor washing over their Finnish mining community in Minnesota. His father decides to move their family to a new, Finnish state inside the Soviet Union, a change that fills Jake with dread. His father dreams of creating a worker's paradise, but Jake and his family find disappointment and hardship. The story culminates with a thrilling, mid-winter attempt to escape - on skis - from Russia to Finland.
Grandfather's Journey
by Allen Say. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2008. Children's Picture Book
Although not directly about the Iron Range, it does depict the dilemma of the immigrant who remains loyal both to his home country and his new country. The story is about a young man who leaves his homeland in Japan to travel to America. He falls in love with the country and its beautiful sights. When he begins to miss his homeland, he decides to travel back to Japan to see all the beautiful sights he has missed and to marry his sweetheart. Later on, he begins to miss his second home of California and takes his wife and child to America to live. When his daughter is grown, she leaves America to travel to Japan and raise her own family. She loves Japan and her son grows up hearing about his grandfather who lives in America. This boy ends up writing the story and eventually travels to America. It is in America that he comes to an understanding about how his grandfather felt about his travels.