In 1850, Alec Ramsey was in the middle of a rapidly rising political career. He'd been a U.S. Congressman, and now he was Governor of a U.S. Territory--and it seemed the possibility of being President grew more and more likely. But this meteoric rise was brief. One year later, a crime which one historian called "the monstrous conspiracy" rocked the country, and Alec Ramsey was at the center. At stake: not just Ramsey's career, but his entire project to build Minnesota.

Alexander Ramsey was Minnesota Territory's first governor. He was a congressman, a senator and a secretary of war. He oversaw forced removals and executions. He helped orchestrate three wars. And along the way, he lived a high-octane political thriller of a life filled with backstabbing, unlikely alliances, and tragedy.

In episode three of our analysis of Alexander Ramsey's life, we break down the explosive allegations of corruption, bribery, and fraud that nearly ended Ramsey's political career. To understand the charges, we have to understand the notorious treaties of 1851: Traverse des Sioux and Mendota. How many of the charges were true? And how did Ramsey get away with it? 

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In 1849, a scattered group of settlers and fur traders were granted permission by the U.S. Congress to organize themselves as a political territory. They chose a name for this new territory from a phrase used by its Dakota inhabitants--a name translated variously as "land where the water reflects the clouds," or "land of cloudy lakes," or "sky blue waters"--Mni Sota.

In this episode, we lay out the world of Minnesota politics as Alexander Ramsey learned how to survive as the young territory's first governor.

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When Alec was a small boy, he traveled deep into the woods outside his home in Pennsylvania. With other children, he hoped to catch a glimpse of a man known as the Pennsylvania Hermit, a cave-dwelling old man who had gone insane and hidden himself away from society after his sister was executed for murdering her own children. But when Alec was 6, the Hermit finally died, passing away into legend.

Alexander Ramsey was Minnesota Territory's first governor. He was a congressman, a senator and a secretary of war. He oversaw forced removals and executions. He helped orchestrate three wars. And along the way, he lived a high-octane political thriller of a life filled with backstabbing, unlikely alliances, and tragedy. 

In this episode, we lay out the forgotten fringes of the social and political world that shaped Alexander Ramsey as he took power for the first time, and as he learned how to wield his political strengths. 

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If you sit down for a chat with Donald "Buck" Burkhartzmeyer, there's a good chance you'll be walking away holding a new pair of shoes or a collection of custom-made inserts. When we met him, at age 93, his eyes still lit up when he talked about how shoes are made, and as he excitedly examined our insoles to figure out what kind of orthotic adjustments would make walking more comfortable, he seemed almost like a kid in a candy store.

We interviewed Buck together with his nephew, Bruce Burkhartzmeyer, in 2017, for an episode of our documentary series. Burkhartzmeyer Shoes has been a staple of downtown Faribault, Minnesota since it was founded, when three brothers, all veterans of the Second World War, took on the family business from their father, a Russian immigrant. Through three generations of family stewardship, that business has kept thousands of feet warm and comfortable--a rare example of family retail continuing to thrive even today. We're incredibly happy to publish this interview in full today, so you can get to know the Burkhartzmeyer family for yourself.

We are Logan Ledman and Sam Temple. Over our six years of teaching classes, putting on plays, and creating documentaries, we have come to appreciate history for all of its incredible stories. On this podcast, we share our interview with Donald "Buck" Burkhartzmeyer and Bruce Burkhartzmeyer.

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Watch our full episode on the Burkhartzmeyers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1K2H8b1P7UY...

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There's only one man from a Minnesota school who won the Heisman trophy, the highest award in college football. His name was Bruce Smith.

Bruce Smith came from Faribault, Minnesota, and across a life that included being a three-sport-athlete, a Navy fighter pilot during WWII, spending years with the Green Bay Packers and Los Angeles Rams, playing himself in a movie about his life, and even being nominated for sainthood, Bruce made an incredible impact. Tragically, he died of cancer in 1967, when he was still young. But his legacy in Faribault, his hometown, is still enormous.

Part of the reason why that legacy is still around is people like Bruce Krinke, who for more than 25 years worked in various capacities to memorialize and celebrate Bruce Smith's extraordinary life. In 2015, we sat down with Bruce Krinke for a discussion on the life of a hometown hero. Mr. Krinke was deeply passionate about community, about local history, and we owe an immense debt to him for all the support he showed us in our early years of making historical documentaries. Bruce Krinke passed away earlier this year, and in honor of his kindness and legacy, we're also releasing an interview with him which we conducted in September of 2016, in front of a live audience. We're grateful that we get to share some of our memories of him with you. 

We are Logan Ledman and Sam Temple. Over our six years of teaching classes, putting on plays, and creating documentaries, we have come to appreciate history for all of its incredible stories. On this podcast, we share our interviews with Bruce Krinke.

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If you live in Minnesota, there's a good chance you've heard of Liz Strohfus.

Elizabeth "Betty" Wall Strohfus served in the Women Airforce Service Pilots during World War II. She had an early fascination with aviation, encouraged by members of the Faribault Sky Club to pursue flying. As a woman in the 1930s, societal barriers made following that dream difficult. Liz, and others like her, were granted the unique opportunity to fly for the military when the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) was formed during World War II. That's where the crux of our story is today-- as told by Liz Strohfus herself. 

We were lucky enough to interview Liz for a documentary in 2014. She passed away in 2016, so it was incredibly moving to revisit this conversation and share it with you now. 

Like you, we are fans of history; we are Logan Ledman and Sam Temple. Over our six years of teaching classes, putting on plays, and creating documentaries, we have come to appreciate history for all of its incredible stories. On this podcast, we share our interview with Liz Strohfus.

To watch our documentary all about Liz Strohfus, go here: https://youtu.be/21XMF9GcFd8 

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Learn more about the WASP with Sam's student film, featuring Liz, here: https://vimeo.com/133404514 

The Faribault Woolen Mill is a Minnesota icon. A major employer of Faribault residents for over 150 years, the business has faced highs and lows with support from the community. Its story is one of adaptation, opportunity, and passion.

In 2017, we released a documentary on the history of the Faribault Woolen Mill. For that documentary, we had the pleasure of interviewing Lisa M. Bolt Simons, author of Faribault Woolen Mill: Loomed in the Land of Lakes. Today, we share a few snippets from that interview.

To watch the full documentary featuring Lisa M. Bolt Simons, go here: https://youtu.be/DLbNwzNLtiU 

Like you, we are fans of history; we are Logan Ledman and Sam Temple. Over our six years of teaching classes, putting on plays, and creating documentaries, we have come to appreciate history for all of its incredible stories. On this podcast, we share our interview with Lisa M. Bolt Simons.

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Ten weeks later, we have finished our review of Ken Burns' 1990 Civil War documentary series. And what a journey it's been. As always, there is a lot to say--even thirty years after this series came out, much of what Burns tells us about the Civil War is relevant, contentious, and fascinating. 

We summarized the ninth and final episode of the series, which covers the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, the fate of the documentary's main characters, and the legacy of the Civil War. 

Thanks for joining us, and for the exciting discussions we've had with you all the past ten weeks. On this podcast, we discuss the last episode of The Civil War: A Film by Ken Burns.

Catch up with us as we go through the series. All episodes are available for free here: www.archive.org/details/ken.-burns.-the.-civil.-war.

Keep your eyes open for our next series!

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1865: William Sherman finishes up his conquest of the South, the Confederate government falls apart, and Lee and Grant finally shake hands at Appomattox Courthouse. It's a lot to talk about. How does Ken Burns do it?

We break down the the eighth episode of Ken Burns' Civil War documentary series, which covers the Georgia and South Carolina campaign, the surrender of Lee's Army, and John Wilkes Booth's team of conspirators.

We're Logan Ledman and Sam Temple, and we've made it to our penultimate review of Ken Burns' 1990 documentaries series. Today we're tackling episode 8 of The Civil War: A Film by Ken Burns. Next week: the grand finale.

Watch along with us as we go through the series. All episodes are available for free here: www.archive.org/details/ken.-burns.-the.-civil.-war.

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Ken Burns is a talented documentarian--maybe the best in the biz. So how did he screw up this episode so bad?

We've been going through Ken Burns' Civil War series recently, and we sat down to watch its seventh episode, which covers... well, it's hard to say exactly what it covers.

We're Logan Ledman and Sam Temple, and after learning to love the Ken Burns style, we are confused about why, sometimes, it just doesn't work. Let us know what you think.

This episode attempts a discussion on the Battle of Atlanta, POW camps, the Fort Pillow Massacre, and Nathan Bedford Forrest.

Watch along with us as we go through the series. All episodes are available for free here: www.archive.org/details/ken.-burns.-the.-civil.-war. 

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