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RAMSEY COUNTY Ramsey County’s Women Athletes And a A Publication o f the Ramsey County Historical Society Win at Wimbledon Page 13 Summer, 1998 Volume 33, Number 2 Money Belts Stuffed with Gold F. R. Bigelow’s Dash to France in 1914— Page 4 lépxxtâ&tijje,ii/ i> -d 'ÜJLMJLl PASSEPORT A L'ETRANGER VALABLE POUR UN AN ¡yny/fit g -¿ '/ ?iu£àcj&L tslm M toelkaiP^gppM ff ^PASSEPORT IN 1 ? ’PAESEpcipr.a y Eileen Bigelow’s passport. A notation on the back states: “Exhibited at the British Vice Consulate, St. Malo, France, this 9th day of September, 1914, good for the journey, via Southampton and London, to embark for the United States. H.B.M. ’s Vice Consul. ” Her father’s account of his trip to France begins on page 4. RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORY Executive Director Priscilla Famham Editor An Exciting New Book Virginia Brainard Kunz RAMSEY COUNTY Volume 33, Number 2 Summer, 1998 for Young Readers HISTORICAL SOCIETY BOARD OF DIRECTORS John M. Lindley CONTENTS Chair Laurie Zenner 3 Letters President 4 ‘A Wicked Looking Revolver’ and $3,000 in Gold Howard M. Guthmann First Vice President A Dash to France To Rescue His Family in 1914 Evangeline Schroeder Frederic R. Bigelow Second Vice President Richard A. Wilhoit 13 A Win at Wimbledon in 1959 Secretary Links, Courts, Lanes and Diamonds—Ramsey County’s Fred Perez Treasurer Women Athletes And Their History of Success Arthur H. Baumeister, Jr., W. Andrew Boss, Kathleen C. Ridder Lirrlo Bird Thar Richard Broeker, Mark Eisenschenk, Joanne A. Englund, Robert F. Garland, Marshall Hatfield, 24 Growing Up in St. Paul Judith Frost Lewis, George Mairs III, Joseph Porches and Parties Around the Piano A Was Caushr”^ Micallef, Richard T. Murphy, Sr., Thomond O’Brien, Bob Olsen, Linda Owen, Marvin A Year in the Life of Mary Etta Manship Pertzik, James A. Russell, Vicenta Scarlett, Charles H. Williams, Jr., Anne Cowie Wilson. Margaret Manship EDITORIAL BOARD Publication of Ramsey County History is supported in part by a gift from Clara M. Claussen and Frieda H. Claussen in memory of Henry H.Cowie, Jr. John M. Lindley, chair; Thomas H. Boyd, Thomas C. Buckley, Pat Hart, Virginia Brainard and by a contribution from the late Reuel D. Harmon Kunz, Thomas J. Kelley, Tom Mega, Laurie Murphy, G. Richard Slade, Vicenta Scarlett, Laurie Zenner. HONORARY ADVISORY BOARD A Message from the Editorial Board Elmer L. Andersen, Olivia I. Dodge, Charlton Dietz, William Finney, Otis God ith the winding down of summer 1998 and the beginning of another school frey, Jr., Ronald Hachey, Robert S. Hess, year, the lead article in this issue recalls the “Guns of August,” F.R. Fred T. Lanners, Jr., D. W. “Don” Larson, W George Latimer, Frank Marzitelli, Joseph S. Bigelow’s account of his determined efforts in 1914 to join his wife and children in Micallef, Robert Mirick, Samuel Morgan, France and to safely leave that country ahead of the swift advance of the Imperial Marvin J. Pertzik, J. Jerome Plunkett, James German Army in the opening days of World War I. Although the United States Reagan, Solly Robins. Rosalie E. Wahl, didn’t join the war against Germany, Italy, and Austria-Hungary until 1917, Donald D. Wozniak. Bigelow’s story of how he was able to get to France via Spain, find his family in RAMSEY COUNTY COMMISIONERS the maelstrom of a France caught up in fighting a powerful invader, and return to Commissioner Susan Haigh, chairman St. Paul in time for the opening day of school for his young children is not only Commissioner Tony Bennett compelling reading, but also persuasive of where the sympathies of many Ameri Commissioner Dino Guerin Commissioner Rafael Ortega cans would lean as the war went on year after year. Commissioner Victoria Reinhardt Equally as fascinating as Frederic Bigelow’s account of the world in the summer Commissioner Janice Rettman of 1914 is Kathleen C. Ridder’s examination of the notable success of some of Commissioner Jan Wiessner Ramsey County’s women athletes in the middle third of this century. Women such Terry Schutten, manager, Ramsey County as Jean Havlish, Mary Meyers, Jeanne Arth, and Bev Vanstrum achieved promi nence and public acclaim for their victories in softball, bowling, speed skating, ten Ramsey County History is published quarterly by the Ramsey County Historical Society, 323 nis, and golf long before federal legislation prohibited discrimination based on gen Landmark Center, 75 W. Fifth Street, St. Paul, der in educational programs that received federal funds. From “A League of Their Minn. 55102 (612-222-0701). Printed in Own” to the Olympics, these women led the way for the next generation of women Based on a true story about real people U.S.A. Copyright, 1998, Ramsey County His athletes in Ramsey County and Minnesota. Despite their pioneering efforts, few of torical Society. ISSN Number 0485-9758. AU rights reserved. No part of this publication these athletes are known today because all too often they and their achievements and events that happened. may be reprinted or otherwise reproduced were regarded as exceptions (which they were for their times) rather than as role without written permission from the pub models for those young women who would come after them. lis h e r . The Society assumes no responsibility for statements made by contributors. John M. Lindley, chair, Editorial Board P ublished by T h e Ramsey C ounty RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORY H istorical So ciety A Win at Wimbledon in 1959 Links, Courts, Lanes, Diamonds —Ramsey County’s Women Athletes and Their History of Success Kathleen C. Ridder xcept for a handful of well-known onships in 1964? That Mary Meyers won folded when a business sponsor stopped stars, women athletes have tended a silver medal in speed skating at the underwriting the expenses. Only men to be overshadowed by the male 1968 Olympics? That Bev Vanstrum coached the teams and there were two E won more state golf tournaments than male umpires for the weekly games. For luminaries of the links, courts, lanes, and diamonds. Yet, women have a long his any other woman in Minnesota? most of the women, their years playing tory of success in competitive sports. In Eileen (“Twinney”) McAndrews league ball came after they left high 1898, according to a brief notice in the St. O’Neill, now eighty-seven, remembers school and before they married, but they Paul Pioneer Press, women were playing playing in the Twin Cities Softball started out on the playgrounds main football in the East. In Minnesota, they League in the mid-1930s. At that time, tained by the St. Paul Parks, Playgrounds were playing softball or kittenball, the and Public Buildings department that ran state’s small towns regularly fielding the softball leagues. teams such as the Indoor Baseball Team “Twinney” McAndrews (O’Neill) formed in SpringValley around 1909. In grew up on Van Buren Street in the mid time, their opportunities to compete in way district, close to Horton playground tennis, baseball, skating, bowling and where she began to play organized soft- other sports increased as more facilities ball. Florence (Sis) Olson, another mem were built. ber of several Twin City League softball Ramsey County has had its share of teams, still lives in her family home on athletes who have cornered medals, tro Maryland, close by the Sylvan play phies, and coverage by the press. The fol ground on Rose Avenue West, the place lowing account of some of their achieve of her early softball years. Twinney and ments is based on newspaper clippings her twin, Evaleen, learned the rudiments and the oral histories of six remarkable of the game from their father, a former women whose careers in sport began player. He admonished them, ”If you back in the 1930s and 1940s when few don’t learn to throw, catch, and run like a teams included women and few coaches man, I won’t waste my time.” Of the encouraged women. They are referred to twins, it was Twinney who achieved the here by the nicknames that were often at greater success. She took to the game and tached to them during their playing years. became so adept at running the bases, Those years weren’t easy, those sliding into the bag to beat out a throw, decades before the passage in 1972 of that her mother often moaned to the spec Title IX, which prohibited sexual dis tators, “Is she hurt? Did she get up?” crimination in educational programs that An old news clipping of Alice M iller (Meyers), Sis Olsen also picked up the game, received federal funds. As a result, many left, Twinny McAndrews (O'Neill), center, playing with boys and girls at Sylvan, and teammate Girlie Grant with the mysteri of Ramsey County’s pioneering players, and in time she joined the girl’s team that ous black bottle trophy. Photos with this arti played in the city playground league. By encouraged mainly by their own families, cle are from the women’s scrapbooks. had their starts on the playgrounds of St. 1931 she was on the roster of Progress Paul. Today, with the explosion of girls’ Players of the Twin City League and later and women’s participation in competi the number of softball teams in the Twin joined the teams sponsored by Dockmans tive sports, the past achievements of Cities League varied from six to ten, each Jewelers, Harry Bermans Sports, and women athletes perhaps have been lost. sponsored by a different St. Paul or Min Meyers Dairy. Twinney’s boss at Mont How many remember that Jeanne Arth neapolis business organization.

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