St. Cloud Times: Two titles, two very different parts of the Twin Cities and its history.
Two new books from the University of Minnesota Press deal with memories of days gone by in two very different parts of the Twin Cities.
"F. Scott Fitzgerald in Minnesota: The Writer and His Friends at Home" is a coffee table book rich with color photos of places the author frequented, primarily in St. Paul. Most are modern photos; some are historic. The photography by Jeff Krueger is based on research and writing by Fitzgerald scholar Dave Page, who combed through letters, scrapbooks and diaries to understand Fitzgerald's personal connections.
In "Voices of Rondo: Oral Histories of Saint Paul's Historic Black Community," Kate Cavett collects recollections of the urban black experience in the first half of the 20th century. The tight-knit neighborhood named for Rondo Avenue was splintered by construction of Interstate Highway 94 in the 1960s, but connections there are still evident in events such as Rondo Days.
Photos and maps help tell the story of Rondo, along with 36 interviews. Among those who speak in the book is David Vassar Taylor, who also provides beginning and ending comments for the book. Taylor is a professor, historian and higher education administrator whose books include "African Americans in Minnesota."
