ALLY People Solutions: 50 Years of Service to Individuals and the Community —Eileen R

RAMSEY COUNTY Building Through the Crash St. Paul’s New Directions in the 1930s HıstoryA Publication of the Ramsey County Historical Society James A. Stolpestad Fall 2015 Volume 50, Number 3 —Page 15

Finding A Way. Together. ALLY People Solutions: 50 Years of Service to Individuals and the Community —Eileen R. McCormack, page 3

Photo collage and images used from ALLY People Solutions 50th Anniversary Groovy Gala 1965–2015. RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORY RAMSEY COUNTY President Chad Roberts Founding Editor (1964–2006) Virginia Brainard Kunz Editor Hıstory John M. Lindley Volume 50, Number 3 Fall 2015 RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY the mission statement of the ramsey county historical society BOARD OF DIRECTORS adopted by the board of directors on December 20, 2007: William B. Frels The Ramsey County Historical Society inspires current and future generations Chair to learn from and value their history by engaging in a diverse program Cheryl Dickson First Vice Chair of presenting, publishing and preserving. Elizabeth M. Kiernat Second Vice Chair James Miller C O N T E N T S Secretary Kenneth H. Johnson Treasurer 3 Finding A Way. Together. Julie Brady, Anne Cowie, Jo Anne Driscoll, ALLY People Solutions: 50 Years of Service to Mari Oyanagi Eggum, Thomas Fabel, Individuals and the Community Martin Fallon, John Guthmann, Eileen R. McCormack Richard B. Heydinger, Jr., David Kristal, Carl Kuhrmeyer, Father Kevin M. McDonough, 16 Building through the Crash Nancy W. McKillips, Susan McNeely, Lisa Dickinson Michaux, Jonathan H. Morgan, St. Paul’s New Directions in the 1930s Robert Muschewske, James A. Stolpestad, James A. Stolpestad Ralph Thrane, Susan Vento, Jerry Woefel. EDITORIAL BOARD 26 Book Reviews Anne Cowie, chair, James B. Bell, Thomas H. Boyd, John Diers, Thomas Fabel, Publication of Ramsey County History is supported in part by a gift from William Frels, John Guthmann, Clara M. Claussen and Frieda H. Claussen in memory of Henry H. Cowie Jr. Douglas Heidenreich, James Miller, and by a contribution from the late Reuel D. Harmon John Milton, Laurie M. Murphy, Robert Muschewske, Paul D. Nelson, Richard H. Nicholson, Jay Pfaender, David Riehle, Chad Roberts, Steve Trimble, A Message from the Editorial Board Mary Lethert Wingerd. HONORARY ADVISORY BOARD n this issue, we are pleased to publish Eileen McCormack’s inspiring his- William Fallon, William Finney, George tory of ALLY People Solutions, a St. Paul organization that assists and Latimer, Joseph S. Micallef, Marvin J. Pertzik, I James Reagan. advocates for people with developmental challenges. It began with a dedi- RAMSEY COUNTY COMMISSIONERS cated group of parents who sought an alternative to institutional care for Commissioner Jim McDonough, chair their children in the 1950s and has now grown into a comprehensive pro- Commissioner Toni Carter Commissioner Blake Huffman gram that partners with businesses, who hire participants for jobs in a com- Commissioner Mary Jo McGuire petitive workplace. We also share Jim Stolpestad’s fascinating history of Commissioner Rafael Ortega Commissioner Victoria Reinhardt St. Paul city planning and development in the late 1920s and throughout the Commissioner Janice Rettman 1930s. The spurt of development taking place then reflected the ideas of the Julie Kleinschmidt, manager, City Beautiful movement that originated with the Chicago World’s Colum- Ramsey County bian Exposition in 1893. St. Paul created a city planning board in 1918, and Ramsey County History is published quarterly by the Ramsey County Historical Society, 323 despite the Great Depression, prior approval of bonding and new govern- Landmark Center, 75 W. Fifth Street, St. Paul, MN ment programs allowed construction of some of St. Paul’s iconic projects, 55102 (651-222-0701). Printed in U.S.A. Copy including the makeover of an outmoded Third Street into the spacious av- right © 2015, Ramsey County Historical Society. ISSN Number 0485-9758. All rights reserved. enue now known as Kellogg Boulevard. Finally, check out our new RCHS No part of this publication may be reprinted website. It is easier to read and navigate, with links to synopses of all of the or otherwise reproduced without written permission from the publisher. The Society magazine articles since we began publishing in 1964. assumes no responsibility for statements made by contributors. Fax 651-223-8539; e-mail address: Anne Cowie [email protected]; web site address: www.rchs.com Chair, Editorial Board

2 RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORY Finding A Way. Together. ALLY People Solutions: 50 Years of Service to Individuals and the Community Eileen R. McCormack orn of a parent’s heart. ALLY People Solutions is building on the wonderful legacy of its founders, never forgetting the mission to see each person as a unique individual worthy of respect and deserving opportu- B 1 nities to live life to the fullest. ALLY People Solutions has a fifty-year parents got together and really started form- history of supporting people with dis- ing organizations like ALLY. abilities. This nonprofit got its start in Our organization, [which] was one of the 1965 when a small group of parents first of this type in the state, started as a pilot opened a day activity center (DAC) in project. A group of moms organized and ul- St. Paul for their adult children with in- timately received some government dollars tellectual disabilities so that they might and these volunteer moms started offering have social interaction with their peers. what was then called a day activity center Over the next fifty years, that small ini- service. It was primarily recreational and tial effort has grown into today’s ALLY social based at first with a little bit of em- People Solutions and ALLY Business ployment training. From families through- Solutions. ALLY now serves 270 people out the state, many organizations like this State institution living conditions. Photo at their two University Avenue facilities started and that’s how a lot of services for from the archives of and used by permis- and branches on White Bear Avenue and people with disabilities became a reality.2 sion of the Minnesota Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities. in Vadnais Heights. Parents who chose to raise their chil- Today adults with intellectual, physi- dren at home rather than being confined cal, and mental health challenges partici- in a state hospital understood that as they —Providing opportunities for work in inclu- pate in life skills programs and employ- reached adulthood their children needed sive, community settings with a dynamic and ment training thanks to ALLY. The goal more than the education provided by flexible approach to services. for people who come to ALLY is to live schools. Although these parents began a —Linking people to volunteer or recrea- a productive, meaningful life. The goal day activity center primarily to fill a need tional options through innovative part- for staff at ALLY is to provide the ser- for recreation and sociability for their chil- nerships and natural supports in the vices and support that will enable people dren, these same parents recognized that community.3 to achieve their dreams. As Bob Brick, their sons and daughters were capable of CEO and President of ALLY notes, much more than society thought possible To better understand the achievements of both people with disabilities and the orga- Throughout our history state hospitals were for people with intellectual disabilities. really the primary place for people with in- An understanding emerged that sociability nizations such as ALLY, we need to under- tellectual disabilities to go. I’ve often chat- was important, but they saw this as only stand the history of what came before 1965 ted with parents who have told me that the the first step toward their children becom- and what has happened since. This brief advice their medical doctor gave them upon ing contributing members of their com- account will mainly focus on the situation the birth of their child with a disability was to munities. Today ALLY People Solutions in Minnesota and the impact that federal turn over custody to the state and forget about carries the work forward with its mission: legislation and national judicial decisions the child and that was, as you can imagine, a have had on our state’s programs. ALLY People Solutions advances the career very excruciating decision for parents. and life goals of people with disabilities. They wanted their children with dis- Institutional Treatment abilities to have the same rights and oppor- It uses these approaches to accomplish the Those who have been involved with the tunities as their children who didn’t have mission: very difficult work of reversing decades disabilities. So some parents ignored that —Assisting people in choosing and advocat- of how people with intellectual disabili- advice, but education services were often ing for their life and career path with indi- ties were viewed by others, and how they not very great and often quite segregated. So vidualized, person-centered services. viewed themselves, have traveled a long

RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORY 3 and winding road. Looking at photo- training, and integration into their com- the civil rights movement was beginning graphs from the late 1940s (and sadly munities. The general public also needed to get noticed and it, and legal decisions much later) that show people in state to be educated to understand both the such as Brown v. Board of Education hospitals, whose purpose was to care for present conditions of institutional and (1954), set the stage for the increased those deemed unable to function in so- sheltered life for their children and how activism of the following decades. By ciety, one would think these images came to push for change. This is where media, 1960, more than a decade had passed from institutions that operated hundreds public officials, courts, and the medical since the Parent Movement got its start. of years ago. Inconceivable as it may and social science communities were The Parent Movement was becoming seem, they were in fact taken during the instrumental as participants in the work well-established and continued its ac- lifetimes of adults living today. of the Parent Movement. Organizations, tivism, including parents independently The conditions in these institutions like ALLY, anti-discrimination lawsuits starting day activity centers as a place for were deplorable and they were kept hid- and court decisions, ensuing lawmaker their family members to have socializa- den from general view. Until these images involvement and eventually new legislation, physical activity, and the beginnings and media reports began surfacing, the tion, and government departments, such of employment training. general public was largely unaware of the as the MNDDC, have slowly changed the Members of the Saint Paul ARC had inhumane treatment of people with dis- lives of countless Americans. the same focus as did their counterparts abilities. In Minnesota, a series of articles In September 1950, ninety parents nationally during the 1950s. Parents lob- in the Minneapolis newspaper by Geri met in Minneapolis for the first national bied for better living conditions at state Joseph led to the start of the public con- convention of the National Association hospitals. Fund raising and volunteer so- versation on improving conditions.4 of Parents and Friends of Mentally licitation were also important and Wieck Colleen Wieck, executive director of Retarded Children (which later became comments on that effort in Minnesota: the Minnesota Governor’s Council on the Association for Retarded Children The parents reached out to a well-known per- Developmental Disabilities (MNDDC), or ARC). Minnesota Governor Luther sonality, Cedric Adams, who was a WCCO remembers: Youngdahl, in his keynote address to radio personality as well as a newspaper the convention, spoke of the rights that . . . she [Joseph] had spent ten days on site columnist, and it was through Cedric Adams should be given to all citizens regardless at institutions and when you look back at who appealed to the general public . . .We of disabilities. Youngdahl’s speech did her news articles you see that people were need gifts, we need money, [and] we need to not result in much immediate change; naked, no shoes, being fed for pennies a day, improve living conditions. Along with that however his participation began a po- being locked up, having one toilet for maybe came the first bill of rights for people and litical dialogue that was taken up by sub- under a hundred people, working on the the first volunteer services office because sequent state governors. farm to keep the institution going. People government [officials] knew they weren’t Despite Governor Youngdahl’s advo- in strait jackets. People milling around … going to [be able to] hire enough staff so they cacy, the methods of patient treatment at those images just come right off the page decided to create a volunteer services office state hospitals continued to include seclu- and you realize how far we’ve come.5 that would bring people into [state hospitals] sion and restraints, and the overall living to improve the conditions.6 The people confined were totally isolated conditions did not improve for decades. from a society that, if they thought of For those who were institutionalized, During this time, there were few edu- them at all, thought of them as incurable their circumstances continued to dete- cational facilities for children with intel- and unproductive; sometimes pitied, but riorate and the time lag for them to move lectual disabilities. “A Study of Public mostly just forgotten. out of a facility to an alternative environ- School Children with Severe Mental We could easily get lost in how the ment was often many, many years. The Retardation,” which was completed by administrative practices of these institu- MNDDC website states: the Minnesota Department of Education tions could function as they did and treat in October 1953, focused on three By 1960, approximately 200,000 people people as they did. For the purposes of schools (two in Saint Paul and one in with intellectual disabilities lived in state telling ALLY’s story, however, this nar- Minneapolis) and it reported: hospitals in the United States. Yet, their care rative will provide an overview of the ac- was grossly underfunded. In 1964, the per Minnesota, along with several other states, tivism that was most often led by families diem rate for a person living in an institu- has recently authorized public school classes of children with intellectual disabilities. tion was $5.57, about one-half of the daily for severely retarded children. These classes This Parent Movement began in the amount allotted to tend animals in a zoo. [in St. Paul] were started in 1934 as a WPA late 1940s. It is the single most impor- project, but were taken over by the St. Paul tant, and most enduring, activist force be- Board of Education in 1937. They have been hind the progress against discrimination. Change Begins in operation continuously since 1934. There Parents recognized that there was more During these years, many people across have been several classes organized in other to do in addition to pressing for laws that the United States slowly grew more parts of Minnesota very recently.7 would provide funding for intellectually aware of issues relating to the “inalien- disabled individuals to receive education, able rights” of all citizens. In the 1950s Reading this 97-page report is difficult

4 RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORY One Parent’s Account of Her Daughter’s Experience in the 1950s rowley school in St. Paul was one of the schools specifically men- My day was Tuesday. The elevator tioned in the 1953 report. Sandy Klas shares her experience find- operators knew us. So this particular ing educational facilities for her daughter with intellectual dis- day I walked in and I still remember C walking in. There were two desks right abilities who attended Crowley School and Christ Child School in the there. Of course I’ve got Frances. 1950s and 1960s. This one guy said to the other guy, . . . “Harry, she’s back.” And I said, “Yes Our first daughter, Frances [born in I am and I’m going to come back and 1951], was very slow in developing. So I’m going to come back and I’m going in those days there were no services. [I to come back and I’m going to come took her to] our family doctor, he was back so get used to it.” a general practitioner and he knew The good news is that the chil- all about little kids and big kids and dren and the teachers, at last moved middle-size kids. So he said, “Sandy, to a brand new building. At Crowley I don’t know of anywhere to take her,” School . . . I loved those people . . . they but he said, “You might take her to see just taught kids, which I thought was the psychiatrist for the public and paro- wonderful because there was no money chial schools in St. Paul. Maybe he will for them and no training. But theirs know something.” By then Frances was was, “Honey, you know, Valentine’s Day probably three. is coming up. Wouldn’t you like to make She wasn’t walking yet so I dressed some Valentines?” “Oh, I would.” That her all up and took her to his office and was their approach. All about social sat her in a chair and he asked me a skills, which I felt was excellent. few questions, not many. He looked at During this time I’d been hear- her. Then he said . . . I tell this because ing about the Christ Child School it’s exactly what happened . . . he said, Frances Klas. Photo used by permission of the Klas Family. where there was Sister Anne Marie, “How many normal children at home, she was in a wheelchair. She was a dear?” That’s ’50s language, “Dear.” I St. Joseph nun and she started Christ told him and he said, “If I were you, I’d tion]. There was no training. In find- Child School and she was as tough put this pretty little girl in a place where ing things, I found out about Crowley as all get out, but those kids could do they’ll take care of her. You go home School in West St. Paul. I walked in a whole lot. Boy, did she teach those and take care of the children who need there and this building had been con- kids. I was watching that over there you.” And I said, as young as I was, I demned already and it was in terrible and thinking that is interesting to me. said, “Hell will freeze over before I condition. When I walked out of there The teachers at Crowley School had do that,” and I picked up my kid and I thought this is not going to happen a different method. There was water walked out. That was the end of that. to me or to anyone else. [Frances was in the basement and they were just I knew one thing: it was a long road enrolled at Crowley and Klas became doing what they could do. But what ahead and there was nowhere to go. So very active in the PTA.] Fortunately Sister Anna Marie Meyers was doing I thought, I can’t be the first person I women just ahead of me already had was showing the abacus. It was a to- know in this boat. There has to be other started to fight. They were pioneers. tally different approach to education people like me. So I put an ad in the St. We banded our funny little group to- and both systems were good, but I Paul newspaper and three women an- gether and just went after them. [She wanted Frances to have both systems swered the ad and said they had started and other parent activists lobbied the because I thought . . . they weren’t ARC St. Paul. [We] talked about where superintendent of schools, at his office similar, but they were both good to put [our children] in school and who in City Hall. Not receiving a response, enough to teach these children. So I can teach them. the group decided he needed to be re- was PTA president at Crowley, but I In those days teachers weren’t cer- placed and eventually he was.] Every put Frances in school over at Christ tified [or trained for special educa- one of us [five mothers] had A DAY. Child School.8

RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORY 5 Christ Child School, 1950–1977 hrist Child School was a private school, opened in a and continued its work-training programs there until 1985. Chouse at 2078 Summit Avenue in St. Paul in 1950, In 2005 the school building was razed to make way for a new for children with disabilities. It was founded and operated University of Saint Thomas building.9 by Sister Anna Marie Meyers, a Sister of Saint Joseph of Carondolet. Because there were so few options for children with intellectual and physical disabilities the enrollment was at its maximum on opening day. Richard Lilly, a board member, raised funds for the initial site as well as a new building constructed in 1955. After 1957 Christ Child School was under the auspices of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis; however operating funds came mainly from Lilly and other private donors. In 1960 a nearby house at Cleveland and Summit Avenues was acquired for programs for students ages 16–21. Teaching skills for independent living was the goal of this program that subsequently became an occupational training center. Christ Child School closed in 1977 after IDEA legislation resulted in the implementa- Christ Child School in St. Paul. All photos accompanying this article tion of special education programs in the Saint Paul Public are from the archives of ALLY People Solutions and are used with Schools. The Merriam Park DAC leased space in the school permission. due to both the language used and the activities for those who cannot work and ignorance, prejudice and superstition. Only general assumptions regarding the life they should have fun and then there could be when these are defeated can the law con- prospects for children with intellectual work activities, segregated work, vocational solidate the gains in knowledge which have disabilities that it contains. It includes, rehabilitation, and regular work. So you can been made in our time.11 see the beginnings of how the system was however, studies done at special educa- Those active in the movement were created or formed.10 tion schools in other parts of the country also very concerned about the “thinking” in the areas of life skills, socialization, and Due to public awareness, both from or- of the general public. In Minnesota, the academics. This report, which showed ganized group activism and the public majority of children and adults with in- children often had promising results in unrest that resulted in a government re- tellectual disabilities were living in state the small steps these programs were im- sponse, the 1960s and ’70s were a time hospitals. Prior to the late nineteenth cen- plementing, came more than twenty years when Americans were forced to recog- tury, these individuals would have lived before the 1975 passage of the federal nize and confront areas of discrimination at home, but in the 1880s when the State Education for All Handicapped Children that were present in their world. School for the Feeble-Minded was built Act, later renamed the Individuals with Although gender and race issues in Faribault, the movement to institution- Disabilities Education Act [IDEA]. In gained the most public notice, once alize people with intellectual disabilities 1956 the Minnesota Association for people began thinking about the other got its start. By 1961 there were more than Retarded Children (now the ARC of inequities in society, many came to the 6,500 people with intellectual disabilities Minnesota) hired Jerry Walsh as director realization that although “all people are in Minnesota institutions and 900 more of their organization. Walsh, along with created equal” is the cornerstone of our on a waiting list. In 1962 the Minnesota John Holahan, prepared a “Blue Print” to democracy; not all people were treated Association for Retarded Children and communicate how citizens might create equal. In 1961 President John F. Kennedy the Minnesota Department of Human a system for getting people with disabili- appointed a Panel on Mental Retardation Services asked 900 state households/in- ties out of state hospitals and into their that began making recommendations on dividuals their opinion regarding various communities. Colleen Wieck described research, resources, treatment and care, issues concerning people with intellec- the document in this way, education and employment training, tual disabilities. Colleen Wieck gives an . . . [I]f you look at this blueprint, you can legal protection, and the development overview of that poll and compares it to of federal, state and local programs. The a recent one: see [the] thinking about the flow through of panel’s final report, which was issued in the system. In the lower right corner, you . . . The overwhelming majority of Minne- January 1963, concluded: can see that the two men thought there ought sotans believed in institutions [in 1962]. to be private day schools that included both When dealing with mental retardation, the That was the only thing they knew. They work and day activity. There ought to be day law must combat many years of general didn’t think about schools and when they

6 RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORY were asked about the individuals them- Public opinion was also affected by zation. This center, begun by parents, selves who had an intellectual disability, the published works of psychiatrists, psy- opened in rooms at Christ Child School. they said they really didn’t know anything chologists, social service professionals, ALLY was progressive from its begin- about causes, they didn’t know what kind of and the reporting by the media. Perhaps ning in serving and supporting adults employee or neighbor such a person might the most influential writing during this with disabilities in the community where be. They felt such folks with intellectual time was The Principle of Normalization they lived. disabilities should live normal lives just as in Human Services, a book written by Pearl Hipp, one of ALLY’s founders, long as they didn’t vote, drink, get married Professor Wolf Wolfensburger. His theory had seven children, four of whom had or have children, drive cars or use regular was that people with intellectual dis- intellectual disabilities. Her husband hospitals. And so it was atypical for all of abilities had the same right to a normal, died while the children were still young. these things. everyday life as everyone else. They Hipp was a tireless advocate for people Fifty years later our council did [a new had the same right to community liv- with disabilities and worked to move poll] and you can see the dramatic contrast ing and activities, education, and work people out of state hospitals and into in public opinion. . . . Minnesota attitudes opportunities.14 their communities. Her activism and in- have changed and Minnesotans are now In the early 1980s a Federal Medicaid novative approach to educational support proud to know and very respectful toward program allowed states to use Medicaid of learning and independence for people employers that hire people with disabili- funds to develop a pay-for-services with intellectual disabilities was critical ties. It’s completely different and that shift model in small group homes (4–5 resi- to the success of ALLY from the begin- is because of nonprofits such as ALLY and dents), without on-site nursing services. ning. She was instrumental in setting the ARC . . . and, of course, . . . people with These smaller residences, in neighbor- up the programs both at Merriam Park disabilities growing up in neighborhoods, hoods, meant increased community in- Community Center and when the DAC going to school, etc. . . .12 volvement for the residents. All of this moved to the Midway Area. She was a activity resulted in the last child leaving constant advocate; she openly shared her Medicaid funding for services and work with her family and friends whether supports for people with intellectual dis- the Minnesota state hospital system in 15 gathered around her dining room table or abilities was made available in the 1970s. 1987 and the last adult in 2000. out in the community. She was a fund- In order to capture those federal dol- raiser and negotiator; she hosted events lars, the state hospitals for patients with The Merriam Park and recruited family members to help out mental illness at Willmar, Saint Peter Day Activity Center with DAC activities. She remained an ac- and Fergus Falls opened units for people In 1961 newly elected Governor tive force on ALLY’s Board until shortly with intellectual disabilities. Faribault before her death in 2011. When inter- and Cambridge state hospitals also re- Elmer L. Andersen listened to the Parent Movement’s call for government sup- viewed, Charlie Hipp, Pearl’s son, gave a ceived that funding. Even though the in- personal account of how the changes his stitutions now had additional funds, the port. Governor Andersen set in motion a pilot project for four funded day activity mother worked so hard to bring about ef- activists knew that conditions remained fected the lives of his siblings: unacceptable and therefore the clos- programs. ALLY’s precursor, Merriam ing of state hospitals remained the goal. Park DAC, started in 1965 and provided I have four brothers and sisters in the [ALLY] Before people could begin to leave in- a place for adult children living at home program. Kathy and Bobby are older and stitutions, sufficient community alterna- to have recreational activities and sociali- Johnny and Rosie are younger [than I]. My tives needed to be built to comply with Medicaid guidelines. These were larger Intermediate Care Facilities with on-site nursing services. In 1972 a media expose produced by ABC News and Geraldo Rivera shed light on the conditions at the Willowbrook State School in New York. It showed a state hospital that housed people with intellectual disabilities in overcrowded conditions, rife with neglect and abuse. This influential investigation, along with the continuing Parent Movement’s activism in the areas of judicial action and self-advocacy efforts, kept the issues of people with intellectual disabilities, if not Merriam Park Day Activity Center was housed in the Merriam Park Community Center at 2000 on the front page, at least in the news.13 St. Anthony Avenue.

RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORY 7 I started in 1975 as a teacher and back in those days we only had thirty-nine participants and five teachers . . . and our main purpose was to provide leisure activities for folks that lived in group homes or lived at home with their parents, people that did not go out to work. We were given three rooms in the basement and that’s where we were for a few years until they built an addition onto the [Merriam Park] Community Center [in 1978] and we moved upstairs to a new [space] that was built for us, facing the park. It contained 3 classrooms, 2 locker rooms, and staff offices for 8. It had “independent living” training space (kitchen, dining room, bathroom, living room, and bedroom). When we moved upstairs things started to change, the County was more involved Pearl Hipp, right, talking with a guest at an MTS event. and they said we needed to have more active programming for the participants. The state expected that we have objectives and goals brothers and sisters went [to Christ Child executive director of United Cerebral for each participant, and that was great. So School] when they were almost babies and Palsy DAC. He had a passion for people we started additional work training and a lot young children. I do remember my oldest with disabilities and advocating for their of the employment projects we got [were brother, Bobby, being up at Cambridge State rights and quality of life to which they done] right at the Merriam Park DAC.18 Hospital. I remember driving up there to see were entitled. Kerner’s strong activism With increased government funding from him on a regular basis and so I was able to in the political area, particularly his skill State sources and from Ramsey County, see the transition from that environment and at lobbying for legislation, funding, and the process for identifying people who watch him blossom into the person he has services, was important experience he needed DAC services became formal- become. It was incredibly drastic. When in brought to his new position. During his the state hospital, he looked dull. He became ized. As the population of those needing fifteen-year leadership at the Merriam services grew, the number of DACs in- healthier and he was vibrant after he came Park DAC, both services and the par- to the group home and to ALLY. John was creased. Initially it was the county that ticipants served continued to increase. worked directly with the DACs to serve always full of energy and had a passion for Lyth Hartz, president of Midwest Special life and I think that blossomed at ALLY. And people living in their county. Normally a Services, who knew and worked with family member would contact the county Rosie and Kathy when they started living to- Kerner for decades, says: gether, it was like a family. I think when they to request services for a person. If the per- got involved in ALLY, they were healthier, In the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s son was determined eligible for services, happier. I watched this happen.16 and mid-1980s the United States led the world the county assigned an employee to work in the development of services for people with the family to identify a program to The parents at Merriam Park DAC re- with intellectual disabilities. Minnesota led best fit the person’s individual needs. alized that socialization was only the be- the United States in the development of these Merriam Park DAC ginning for their adult children. Acquiring services. ALLY (then Merriam Park DAC) Becomes Midway Training living skills and job skills were the next under the leadership of Harold Kerner led Services steps to earning a wage and living in- Minnesota’s effort. Therefore, it could be dependently. In 1970, due to a growing said, that ALLY led the world in the devel- By 1985, the number of participants in number of participants, paid staff, and opment of services for people with intellec- the Merriam Park DAC had increased to volunteers, the DAC moved some pro- tual disabilities. Harold was a great national sixty-five and they were forced to move grams to a separate location at Merriam leader and a mentor to many.17 to a larger space. Both the programs at the Park Community Center. The space at DAC and the work programs still being Christ Child School expanded and was For a firsthand look at the Merriam operated at Christ Child School relocated used for employment training until 1985. Park DAC during this time, we turn to to the Ashton Building at 1549 University In 1975 Harold Kerner became the long-time ALLY board member, Mickey Avenue in the Midway area of St. Paul. Executive Director at Merriam Park Michlitsch, who was a teacher during In 1985, the organization became inde- DAC. Previously he had served as the those early years: pendent of the Merriam Park Community

8 RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORY Center and changed its name to Midway Training Services (MTS), a separate cor- poration. The MTS board of directors included Jean Bell, Dr. Harriet Burns, Lois Chambers, Milt Conrath, Tom FitzGibbon, Louis Furlong, Pearl Hipp, Betty Hubbard, Janet Huizenga, Brad A. Johnson, Dr. Charles Keffer, Harold Kerner, Mickey Michlitsch, Dr. David Paulson, Jan Quast, Dr. Tom Tommet, Irene Young, and Mary Ward. At the time of the move, Michlitsch remembers: The employment part was more active, but we were also known for having participants who were senior citizens. We had people that worked out in the community on projects and usually they would go in groups. There would be a staff trainer [and] five or MTS when it was located at 720 Vandalia Street, St. Paul. six workers and we had jobs at a window company and other companies, like ma- chine companies, and direct mailing com- placed in institutions if they can live in MTS Grows and Moves panies. There was [also] work that we did and be part of a community setting and do At the same time, the Ashton Building right at the Center. At that point we became not oppose community-based treatments. on University Avenue was showing its known for working with people who had be- As stated in the Olmstead decision, age; it was overcrowded with close to havior challenges. So we hired staff trained 100 MTS participants. The building with in that area. . . . Our expertise in working Confinement in an institution severely di- its three floors and small, ancient eleva- with people who had behavior challenges minishes everyday life activities of indi- tor had limited accessibility options. In was very helpful to Ramsey County which viduals, including family relations, social 1993 the MTS board decided to move was bringing people back home from the contacts, work options, economic indepen- its operations to a location that would 19 state hospitals. dence, educational advancement, and cul- work better for its growing numbers of The employment programs included train- tural enrichment.20 staff and participants and increasing employment activities. They moved to 720 ing for both jobs done on-site and at area Throughout the 1990s, MTS increased Vandalia Street, still in the Midway area. businesses. Jobs in the 1980s were often its focus on supported employment in filled on an employer need basis; if, for MTS later added additional space at 760 integrated work environments. Barbara example, the employer had a janitor posi- Vandalia Street and a branch location at tion open, then someone was trained and Kale succeeded Harold Kerner as MTS Hillcrest Shopping Center. placed in that janitor job. There was not Director in 1989. She would serve in that Although employment and volun- much of what has become known now as position until 2005. Under her leadership, teer services training were expanding, “discovery” going on at first. “Discovery” there was a period of accelerated growth in the core MTS programs were then, and is finding out what individuals want to numbers of participants and employment remain, extremely important and active. do; what their skills, talents and interests activities. Employment and volunteer New people were coming to MTS for ser- are. Staff then link program participants to training became more refined and individ- vices; adults who had recently left state businesses seeking employees with those ually focused. MTS identified companies, hospitals (in 1991 there were still 1,100 skills and interests. organizations, and community groups that people institutionalized), those who re- In 1990 President George W. Bush had jobs to do or needed volunteer help cently completed their schooling, and others who were out in the community, signed the Americans with Disabilities and matched them with the interests and Act (ADA). It prohibited discrimina- on their own, for the first time. Senior ser- skills of participants. Employment options tion against people with disabilities and vices, recreational and cultural activities, mandated they had the same rights to ranged from on-site to supported commu- social and life skills development, and employment and access to public facili- nity jobs to independent jobs. Those who psychological services and therapies re- ties as other citizens. In 1999 the United worked in business settings had higher mained an important focus of what MTS States Supreme Court issued a decision earnings and significantly more commu- offered program participants. Knowing in Olmstead vs. L.C. that upheld the ADA nity interactions than people working in how important mobility and access are and confirmed that people should not be the MTS branches. for participants, transportation was al-

RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORY 9 Midway Training Services. We’d send it all over and they did all of the work. Then we were able to convince the State of Minnesota to create master contracts and ALLY [the successor to MTS] has been on the master contract for document imaging ever since. So we’ve been having a campaign of why aren’t other state government entities doing what we did? Why aren’t they converting their records? Why aren’t they employing [people] with intellectual disabilities? First of all, they are faster and quality is higher because the people actually care about doing a good job and I can’t say enough good things.21

More Growth; Another Move After fifteen years in the Vandalia sites, once again in order to relieve overcrowd- An ALLY participant working on a digital imaging job for a county agency. ing, improve services and reach out to areas beyond Saint Paul’s Midway (and in many cases closer to where people re- ways a service offered by MTS. Vans issue was that we had Y2K going on and ceiving services lived), MTS relocated. furnish rides from home to University people were talking about losing all their In July 2007, the Hillcrest site remained Avenue and branch sites, volunteer and computer services and we were also at that in place and the Vandalia operations were recreational activities, and job sites. time converting a lot of records to digital moved to: More and more participants began tak- approaches or digital formats and we were ing advantage of the programs that MTS trying to build our website. We’re going to • Menlo Park Office Building at 1246 had to offer. With the leadership develop- do it digitally. University Avenue ment approach in University Avenue Clean So I became involved with Midway • 1953 University Avenue, which became Team and Chore Services for example, Training Services because we were ex- the MTS Digital Imaging Business participants are trained in the use of equip- perimenting with document imaging. We • The Paul and Sheila Wellstone Community ment, safety procedures, and how to work brought workers into this very room [the Center in West Saint Paul in a crew. They are given the opportunity MNDDC office] and we had it set upas • 380 Oak Grove Parkway in Vadnais to advance to managing the crew and ad- a document imaging site. We brought in Heights.22 vance further to individual employment in people who had never touched a computer, the community. Along the way, they learn never saw a computer and couldn’t read. In 2007 Bob Brick was hired as presi- not only the hard skills needed to com- We wanted to see if it works. There’s a prin- dent and CEO of MTS. Brick had ex- plete the jobs, but also soft skills such as ciple . . . if it works with a person with the tensive experience working as an advo- interpersonal effectiveness, accountabil- most significant disability, [then] it works cate in the disability world. His work ity, and taking initiatives that make them with anybody. And we proved it. At that with public policy issues, developing successful in their work life. time there was an employee from Midway laws affecting people with various dis- In 2005 Barbara Kale retired from Training Services who said, “I want to try abilities, and helping families access MTS and Mickey Michlitsch served as the that.” So he bought what they call a multi- and improve services for their children organization’s interim director until a new functional device and he said let’s see if our gave him an ideal background for his director was hired. During this period of folks can do scanning. And of course they new position. John Hoffman also joined transition, digital imaging services began can do it better than he could. They had fig- the staff in 2007 as the Director of Sales to grow for MTS and this part of the busi- ured it out and they had pressed on and they and Marketing. Prior to digital imaging ness soon proved to be a very successful were doing scanning work. projects coming to MTS, it had a couple initiative. The digital imaging work had So we [at MNDDC] turned to Midway dozen small contracts involving business begun in 2000–2002 with a partnership Training Services for help after we had support work and mailings, both on- and with the Minnesota Governor’s Council done the first experimentation and we were off-site. Digital imaging projects changed on Developmental Disabilities. Again we delivering boxes of files. We went over to the way this part of MTS employment go to Wieck for specifics: the Minnesota Historical Society and began services environment operated. When he I became involved with Midway Training copying every piece of paper dating back was interviewed, Hoffman gave an over- Services, probably 2000-2001-2002, and the to the 1800s on disability and we sent it to view of MTS’s work with law firms:

10 RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORY Seed money was given to the company to VOLUNTEER WORK (2015) look at doing digital imaging or archiving of paper [documents]. The Governor’s Twin Cities East Metro Meals on Wheels • Keystone Community Services Developmental Disability Council had Sharing and Caring Hands • Vadnais Heights Fire Department • Books for Africa done a study of 600 businesses in Cleveland Maplewood Historical Society • Episcopal Homes • Midway Spirit Garden Midway showing the history of how you get people YMCA Community Garden with disabilities involved with the digital imaging and archiving. They had found that PARTICIPANTS along the whole spectrum of digital imaging LYNNE BOESEL businesses from doc prep to the editing side of it, people with disabilities did just as well, Lynne Boesel began attending ALLY in 1994. if not better. The data was there. Then it was Lynne is very ambitious and loves working! In just a matter of taking the data and putting her career she worked, from 1972 until 2004, in that plan into practice. the kitchen and cafeteria at Episcopal Homes. So I came in at a time when MTS had After coming to ALLY, Lynne also worked as just started looking at expanding digital im- an Associate at Wal-Mart. Lynne is now 70 aging services. We didn’t have a real focus and retired a couple of years ago. She loves on how to do it, how to maintain it, but I bowling and joining in community events with came in and started to really look to see how ALLY fellow program participants. are we paying people to do what and how Retirement, however, just wasn’t the same do you know you’re making money in order as working; so she took up volunteering. Today to keep this program alive? Where’s your Lynne is an active volunteer at the Vadnais Lynne takes time to relax after a day of volunteering. tracking system? There was a law firm, the Heights Fire Department and with the Meals Johnson-Condon law firm at the time, which on Wheels program. She states that volunteer- is now O’Meara, Leer, Wagner and Kohl, ing makes her feel good about herself and important to others. and they had some boxes in storage and they And that love of work? Its back! Lynne now works part-time at the ALLY were one of the first to partner with us. We Vadnais Heights Branch for a packaging customer. She loves earning money to ended up, at the end of a five-six year proj- pay for her retirement activities. ect, [digitizing] about 13 million images for ALLY is pleased to have had Lynne part of its organization for twenty-one them. And we evolved. years. She has given to ALLY and ALLY has given to Lynne by offering her a The business model evolved to where it range of services that allow her to be active and valued. is right now because of that work, and we found one niche in the legal field. We also do ROGER YOUNG work for state and local government agen- Roger Young started at ALLY People Solutions in 1972, when he was twenty-one cies, school districts, and other paper-inten- years old. He is very outgoing, and people are attracted to his dynamic person- sive businesses. We’ve been able to build ality. Roger had a career in the restaurant business working sixteen years at two a pretty good book of clients that like [our local restaurants (Chi Chi’s and Taco Bell). work] and that have come back to us.23 His supervisors often described Roger as a In 2012 MTS began a new collaboration great ambassador because he knew every cus- with Dakota County where it provides of- tomer, visited with each, and made them feel fice support services to its Northern and important. Western Services Centers. Roger is now retired and participates in retirement focused activities at ALLY. In MTS Becomes ALLY particular he enjoys coming to the branch 2013 was a year of evolution and and hanging out with friends. ALLY partici- change for MTS. It began with a name pation is a strong family value in the Young change for the organization. Midway family. His mother, Irene, became a Board Training Services became ALLY People member shortly after Roger joined ALLY Solutions. The name change reaffirmed and remained on the Board until her pass- the focus of the organization from the ing. Roger’s brother, Allen, took up the torch beginning; being an ally for families and and was a Board member for several years. participants seeking services that pro- Relationships matter at ALLY and it has been vide assistance and support. In 2013 the very fortunate to have been a major part of Roger Young working at a local Taco Bell. Photo used by permission of the digital imaging site at 1953 University Roger’s life for 43 years and counting! Young Family. Avenue moved to its present location at

RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORY 11 1885 University Avenue and the branch at the Wellstone Center merged with it. This location now serves the Business Solutions branch of ALLY. In this larger space, ALLY also offers arts and cultural opportunities, as well as health and well- ness programs. Musical instruments and art supplies are available for participants. Art and music classes are offered by local cultural organizations. When participants are not working, they can express themselves through the arts and take part in building sessions with certified Personal Empowerment facilitators.24 ALLY Today ALLY made another major change affecting its program participants. After six straight years of earning record setting wages and success in expanding employment opportunities, in 2013 ALLY decided to not renew a Department of Labor Special Minimum Wage Certificate. This certificate enables businesses to pay persons with disabilities less than the minimum wage, based on productivity. Ribbon cutting ceremony at ALLY’s Business Solutions branch at 1885 University Avenue, ALLY’s decision ensures that all pro- St. Paul. gram participants are paid the minimum wage or more for their work, regardless business partnerships and service organiza- ing toward the final goal of full participa- of where it is performed or the type of tion advocates such as the Midway Chamber tion and inclusion in society. That is still work. This action demonstrates ALLY’s of Commerce, the St. Paul Area Chambers the goal; for all people to be identified commitment to program participants and of Commerce, St. Paul Sunrise Rotary, as PEOPLE FIRST. To be identified by business partners. Midway Lions Club, the Midway YMCA, their abilities and not their disabilities. Finally, in 2013, ALLY hired its and Twin Cities Rise! These entities link us Stephen R. Howe Jr., managing partner at first Director of Development and to future business customers, they volunteer Ernst and Young LLP, writes in a tribute Communications, Erika Schwichtenberg, for ALLY to help us extend our human re- to the 25th anniversary of the signing of whose goal it is to fill the gap between sources in serving program participants, and the Americans with Disabilities Act: government funding and the increasing they contribute financially to our organiza- costs of delivering programs of excel- tion. Many of them are truly ambassadors We know that exceptional people come lence at the four ALLY branch locations for ALLY. They communicate effectively to from different generations and ethnicities, and its satellites in Dakota County. other organizations and persons with whom speak different languages and have differ- In addition, ALLY has undertaken they do business the value of hiring and sup- ent spiritual beliefs and sexual orientations. several communication initiatives such porting adults with disabilities. We honor We also know that each one of us comes as electronic and paper newsletters and and hold in great esteem these individuals with differing physical, cognitive and men- social media. They offer great vehicles and organizations who extend our mission.25 tal health abilities. . . . The challenges for for ALLY to communicate to the public all businesses is to find the best people and As with many movements to remedy its mission to advance the career and life help them tap into their full talents to create social and political inequities, changes goals of people with disabilities. As a exceptional value for the organization and have not always occurred quickly. The consequence, a truly qualified workforce career success for themselves. At EY [Ernest incremental steps forward were all vic- and ranks of talented employees are con- & Young, LLP] we like to say we don’t have tories. In the case of public misunder- tributors to our community. In the words a single person with disabilities. Instead, standing of what people are capable of of ALLY’s Erika Schwichtenberg, around the world we have 190,000 people accomplishing and discriminatory prac- with diverse abilities.26 It is a pleasure to connect with community tices against people with intellectual dis- members who are truly dedicated to support- abilities, those victories are celebrated. ALLY continues to work toward that ing persons of all abilities. ALLY has several They served as an impetus to keep mov- ultimate goal. Today it employs about

12 RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORY seventy staff members who aid indi- Business Solutions services while 142 . . . or as expressed by Chanpraney viduals and families in discovering the earned income through contracted inter- in poetry: services that are available to them and nal jobs.27 opportunities that best fit goals, skills, ALLY People Solutions has had fifty The Bird and desires of program participants. years of success as an organization. They The bird is one of the creatures of flight Discovering how to personalize services have often been ahead of accepted meth- When it spreads its wings and flies to reach those inborn skills and talents, ods of integrating those with intellec- It represents freedom those “diverse abilities”, is the goal. tual disabilities into society. But ALLY Free from the stress and constraints of life Program participants continue to set rec- staff would be the first to acknowledge The most gentle of creatures ords in wages earned. They volunteered that it is the individual participants that As gentle as a light summer breeze over 1,200 hours in 2014. They are pur- have carried the effort forward to be- suing artistic talents and they are contrib- The Advocate, coming fully contributing members of June 2015 uting to the success of ALLY’s business their communities. ALLY has provided partners. They are being hired by busi- the structure and support, however it is nesses for competitive jobs. They are the people who have done the hard work to make their own lives not just useful, but joyful as well. As shared in prose by Mikhail:

Summer Thoughts I had a nice Memorial Day. I went shopping at Best Buy. I had an ice cream cone at Cold Stone Creamery. I hung around with my friend Richard and we went for a walk. I’m waiting for the water to warm up so Chanpraney playing keyboard at ALLY’s 2014 fund- raising luncheon—another talent he shares with his that I can go swimming. colleagues and friends at ALLY. I look forward to fishing. The Advocate, June 2015 . . . or in his artworks by Tony:

Mikhail, back, fishing with his brother. Photo used with the permission of Mikhail’s family. also working in jobs with the support of job coaches and performing jobs for business partners at ALLY branches. They are involved in their community, are vital members of the workforce, and valued for their talents. In 2013–2014, forty-one participants in ALLY programs had individual job placements where the business directly hired the individual. One hundred and six worked on Community Crews. Thirty-seven earned income through Tony with his paintings during his 2015 solo exhibition at Vision Loss Resources in Minneapolis.

RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORY 13 Support and training for life skills’ en- We want to create interest and connections Am golf event; Mickey Michlitsch, ALLY hancement and employment initiatives by telling our story, and gain recognition to Board member and volunteer; Erika Sch- are the continuing focus for ALLY in the help us increase both the scope of our work wichtenberg, ALLY Director of Develop- and the opportunities for ALLY Program future. For people at ALLY, getting their ment and Communication; and Colleen story out is an important component of Participants. Wieck, Ph.D., Executive Director of the their strategic plan and mission. The Bob Brick Minnesota Governor’s Council on Devel- “story” is that Mikail, Chanpraney, Tony, President & CEO opmental Disabilities. The author also and others are ready, willing and able, and ALLY People Solutions are taking their place in society by work- acknowledges the great help she received ing in your company, or volunteering to Eileen R. McCormack thanks the fol- from the contextual material on the his- help make everyone’s life better, and fully lowing who agreed to be interviewed tory of gaining intellectual disability sharing in the burdens and rewards of the for this article and were available to rights that is in the webinar “The Fight communities where they live. answer many, many questions. Without for Civil Rights for People with Dis- their contributions this article would not This is a great community organization that abilities” and other materials contained have been possible: Lynne Boesel, an has been around for fifty years. We would ALLY program participant; Bob Brick, on the Minnesota Governor’s Council like for people to say, “How can I help?” President and CEO of ALLY; Shawn and on Developmental Disabilities website,

• Perhaps, if you work in a business that Charlie Hipp, family members of Pearl http://mn.gov/mnddc accessed July- has an employee shortage, you should Hipp, a founder of ALLY; John Hoffman, August 2015. Eileen McCormack is an talk to us. ALLY Director of Sales & Marketing independent contractor who has a Mas- and Minnesota State Senator; Alexandra ter of Liberal Studies in history, museum • It might be that you have some extra time “Sandy” Klas, recipient of the Saint Paul studies, and historic preservation from to volunteer and would like to help. United Way “Outstanding Volunteer • Or maybe you see that we do excellent Award” (1981), longtime activist and the University of Minnesota and collabo- work in the community and can give to ARC member, founder with her husband, rated with Biloine W. Young in publishing help support our mission. Bob Klas, of the Tapemark Charity Pro- The Dutiful Son: Louis W. Hill (2010).

Endnotes 1. From the ALLY People Solutions website, 11. Bazelon, David L. and Elizabeth M. Boggs, “The at Midwest Special Services, St. Paul Minn., August 25, www.allypeoplesolutions.org, accessed June 2015. President’s Panel on Mental Retardation Report of the 2015. 2. Author interview with Bob Brick, CEO and Task Force on Law”. January 1963. 18. Author interview with Mickey Michlitsch, former President of Ally People Solutions, July 9, 2015. Copies www.mn.gov.mnddc.pdf.63-rot-ppmr, accessed June employee and Board member at Ally People Solutions, of all interview transcripts used for this article are in the 2015. July 8, 2015 [hereinafter Michlitsch interview]. files of ALLY People Solutions, St. Paul, Minn. 12. Wieck interview. 19. Michlitsch interview. 3. Ally People Solutions website 2015, 13. The note at the beginning of the citations will point 20. Olmstead Act. Americans with Disabilities Act. www.allypeoplesolutions.org, accessed June 2015. the reader to the MNDDC webinar that shows stud- www.ada.gov, accessed August 2015, 4. Geri Hoffner [Joseph], Minneapolis Tribune, ies, papers, books, articles and media reports from the 21. Wieck interview. 1960s and 1970s that influenced not only public opin- May 13–25, 1948. 22. MTS E-News, “MTS Is On The Move!” March 22, ion, but also the entire thinking on issues surrounding 5. Author interview with Colleen Wieck, Executive 2007. people with developmental/intellectual disabilities. Director of the Minnesota Governor’s Council on 23. Author interview with John Hoffman, ALLY 14. Wolf Wolfensberger, The Principle of Developmental Disabilities, July 24, 2015 [hereinafter Marketing, Public Relations, and Sales Director as well Normalization in Human Services (Toronto: National Wieck interview]. as a Minnesota State Senator, July 17, 2015. Institute on Mental Retardation, 1972). 6. Wieck interview. 24. Jan William, “Ally People Solutions brings solu- 15. Wieck interview. Wieck had the following com- tions to the disabled while solving business needs too,” 7. State of Minnesota, Department of Education, “A ment to add regarding the closing of the state hospitals: Midway Como Monitor, December 2013. Study of Public School Children with Severe Mental “They did reopen a building at Cambridge, which then 25. Erika Schwichtenberg, Director of Development Retardation,” Saint Paul, October 1953. became the subject of a lawsuit in 2009. That’s the same and Communication, ALLY People Solutions, 8. Interview with Alexandra “Sandy” Klas, longtime issues; restraint and seclusion. That was for people with September 8, 2015. activist and SPARC member, August 7, 2015. intellectual disabilities. They opened it at the end of the 26. “Equal Access, Equal Opportunity: 25th ’90s and the lawsuit began in 2009.” 9. Jane McClure, “Christ Child School Provided Early Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act” Education Option,” www.accesspress.org, accessed 16. Author interview with Shawn and Charlie Hipp, (Tampa: Faircount Media Group, 2015), 46. August 14, 2015. July 31, 2015. 27. Employment statistics from ALLY People Solutions 10. Wieck interview. 17. Author phone interview with Lyth Hartz, President records for fiscal year November 2013–November 2014.

14 RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORY Posters such as this one help spread the message that ALLY People Solutions is working to help those with intellectual disabilities. Poster reproduced from the archives of ALLY People Solutions and used with permission.

RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORY 15 NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. Postage Published by the Ramsey County Historical Society PAID Twin Cities, MN 323 Landmark Center Permit #3989 75 West Fifth Street Saint Paul, Minnesota 55102

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

This 1939 postcard shows the skyline of St. Paul from the Mississippi River following the completion of a period of major public and private construction in the city during the 1930s. For more on how St. Paul changed during the Great Depression, see page 16. Photo courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society.