New to Dayton’s Bluff: The East Side Freedom Library

Labor Historian Peter Rachleff and Library Founder Hopes to Open in 2016

Retired after 30 years of teaching at Macalester College, Peter Rachleff wanted to continue making a difference in his community.

Starting the East Side Freedom Library in St. Paul’s Payne-Phalen neighborhood in 2014 was a natural progression for the labor historian.

This is part of a mural in the basement of the East Side Freedom Library. It is housed in the same building as the old Arlington branch of the St. Paul Public Libraries.

The difference between East Side Freedom Library and most others is the focus. All books in the collection will have a connection to labor issues, immigration, race and social justice movements. Rachleff wants to use history and storytelling to make these connections, so while the topics are limited, all genres will be accepted including nonfiction, poetry, fiction, plays and memoirs.

The ESFL’s location, housed in the building of the former Arlington Hills Branch of the St. Paul Public Library system, is also appropriate. The area itself illustrates the ups and downs of working-class neighborhoods.

About 15,000 unionized just disappeared when Hamm’s Brewery, American Hoist and Derrick, Whirlpool and 3M left Dayton’s Bluff in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The neighborhood changed as young whites left the area and the older whites who stayed felt abandoned and bitter, Rachleff said.

Of course the library’s collection, which Rachleff estimates its noncirculating collection will total 15,000 volumes, will have a reach beyond St. Paul. That doesn’t mean there will not be a good dose of local flavor in archiving the critical points in labor history. The ESFL will also house the Hmong Archives, a 20-year-old collection that includes musical instruments, videos and story cloths, visual documents Hmong women have created to tell their community’s history.

A batch of feminist literature is another important gift the library is expecting. The impact of women’s rights extends farther than most people realize.

Peter Rachleff, founder of the East Side Freedom Library.

“Women play critical roles in working-class life, in reproductive and waged labor,” Rachleff said. “Further, class relations and identities are gendered—both masculinity and femininity are shaped in terms of labor. Feminism provides us with the theoretical and analytical tools that can help us understand these dimensions of the working-class experiences.”

The ESFL in some ways is a continuation of his work with a Friends of the St. Paul Public Library project called “Untold Stories,” which features stories about working class people who are not traditionally written about.

Volunteers and interns are continuing to catalog the donated materials, which they’ve been amassing since the first of the year. About half of the 12,000 books so far, are from Rachleff himself. Other targeted donations make up the rest. While probably close to capacity (Rachleff thinks the library could hold about 15,000 books), he is expecting gift of feminist literature.

Although the library has yet to open for daily visitors, the ESFL has already been making a difference by hosting events, films and forums. The October events alone included a family-friendly play “Stripe and Spot (Learn to) Get Along,” a production by Off-Leash Area Productions; a discussion with Floyd Williams, author of The Origins of Racism and The Holy Black Papyrus; a school-board candidate meet and greet; and a conversation with film actor Roger Guenveur Smith, who was in town to perform his one-man show “Rodney King” at the Penumbra Theatre.

The space is also being used during the day for educational programming and community outreach. Recent educational events included Rachleff’s six-week course describing how to tell the story of labor through art and music and a journalism workshop by Allison Herrera of “Twin Cities Daily Planet.”

The ESFL performance space also serves as a community resource. Karen women (from Burma) have held regular weaving sessions in the basement. Rachleff offered the library space for the women he met while teaching at the Roseville Adult Learning Center after identifying issues of isolation and depression. The group weaving alleviates both – and the women are also now selling the clothes they are making.

Refurbishing the building itself has been a challenge. Replacing the roof was a top priority, and other renovations are planned, including upgrading the heating and cooling system.

However, the downstairs space will definitely continue to be a performance space, though it may be renovated. A wooden sprung floor rather than the current harder surface will make it better for performances and also suitable for yoga classes.

Rachleff hopes to open up the East Side Freedom Library at the beginning of 2016.

Metropolitan State Students: Opportunities for You

College students receive many questions.  “When will you be finished?” is probably the most popular question you will receive.  These questions, however, will continue.  Eventually you will graduate from college with that coveted degree.  Soon, you will have to answer job interview questions.

In today’s competitive job market, it is important for you to stand out among the other candidates.  It is important for you to have good grades.  It is important for you to have relevant internship experience and references.  It is important for you to show a positive personality and work ethic.  It is also helpful if you participate in enough extracurricular activities and community service programs.

At a job interview, interviewers will ask you specific questions about your experiences.  Would it be cool to share examples of positive things you did?  Community service and volunteering is a great way for a college student to gain valuable experience and references.

Besides gaining credentials for future employment, you could also gain a sense of accomplishment and a content feeling by volunteering in your community.  You will likely have fun and make new friends.  Moreover, there will be people in the community whose lives will improve because of you.

Have you ever considered volunteering for Dayton’s Bluff Community Council and their programs?

Dayton’s Bluff Community Council is very involved in their community.  They offer a variety of programs for you to be involved too.  If you have a lot of time or just a few hours a month, the Council is flexible in finding you a service opportunity that fits your life.

A great way to become involved in the Dayton’s Bluff Community is to visit a council meeting.  Council members and residents are very welcoming.  They love to have new guests!  Council meetings are great ways for you to find out what is going on in the community and how you can help.  Meetings take place several times a year.  The Council announces their meetings on their Facebook page.

Besides council meetings, the Council hosts several events throughout the year.  National Night Out and Night Out on E. 7^th Street are two of their most popular programs.  They hold smaller events such as food drives to provide Family Food Boxes to residents in need.  They also organize programs for youth and discussions to improve safety in the neighborhood.  In addition, the Council collaborates with various groups and organizations, such as Community Gardens and Art on the Blocks, to improve the neighborhood.  The Council is looking for people like you to help with these programs.

 

Have you considered being an elected officer of Dayton’s Bluff Community Council?

If you are interested in a leadership position, a role as an elected officer of Dayton’s Bluff Community Council may be for you.  Dayton’s Bluff Community Council will have elections to appoint officers for 2016.  One of these officer positions could go to a college student.  Typically, officers must be residents of Dayton’s Bluff.  The college student, however, is exempt from this rule.

Although becoming a council officer is a great way to improve your resume, it is a decision that you should consider carefully.  Candidates for the college student- officer position should have a genuine interest in helping the people of Dayton’s Bluff.  Dayton’s Bluff Community Council deals with serious issues and the residents they serve need help.

If you are elected to the Council, you will work with qualified individuals that are highly invested in their community.  Many of these individuals are not happy with the way things are in their community.  They are eager to make a positive change.  Council members and residents are interested in more than intentions.  They expect to see measurable results.

As a council member, you will have opportunities to create positive change for Dayton’s Bluff Community.  One of the main goals of the Council is to work with residents to improve the neighborhood.  To help with these programs, the Council needs workers and input.  They would like to attract more minority residents and their input to Council meetings.  Although Dayton’s Bluff is home to many different ethnic groups, the Council meetings fail to reveal this diversity.  Dayton’s Bluff Community Council needs help connecting with underrepresented groups.  Could you play a role in helping the Council connect with more minorities?

Can you start today?

Dayton’s Bluff Community Council is always looking for help.  When you are able to help the Council, they would like to hear from you.  If you are interested in learning more on how you can contribute to the residents of Dayton’s Bluff, please use their website’s contact page.  Their phone number is 651-772-2075 and email is info@daytonsbluff.org.  Their address is 804 Margaret Street in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Urban Roots Stays Grounded in the East Side Community

Every summer, East Side high school students maintain a garden with an array of vegetables on the corner of Third Street and Maria in Dayton’s Bluff, but some people still remember how that location became available in a residential neighborhood.

A fatal gas explosion in July 1993 that was powerful enough to blast a car across the street decimated the area. A grocery store, bookstore and four apartments were reduced to rubble as smoke billowed and flames shot out of the inferno that needed 70 firefighters to contain. Two people died on the scene and seven sustained injuries, though most apartment residents were evacuated in the 10 minutes between the puncturing of the gas main and the explosion.

As the area was rebuilt, Urban Roots, a nonprofit that creates opportunities for teens to gain job experience and develop entrepreneurial skills, partnered with the city of St. Paul to use the lot as a garden for their programming.

Urban Roots has three main programs, where they hire low-income teens on the East Side and teach them job and life skills. They hire around 60 teens a summer, who work about 20 hours per week.

“For many of the teens, it’s their first summer job,” said interim executive director Glen Hill, noting that about 15 students continue to work with Urban Roots during the school year.

The Maria lot is one of six gardens Urban Roots maintains in the area. Others include plots owned by the Swede Hollow Café, Dellwood Gardens Assisted Living and a church. One plot is owned by a private resident who approached the organization to offer the use of his backyard.

“It’s a nice way to participate in the community,” Urban Roots interim director of programing Patsy Noble said of their partners.

Although the six garden sites total less than three-fourths of an acre, Urban Roots produced more than 8,000 pounds of food last year.

Food is the impetus behind the three main nature-based programs the teens work on: Market Gardening, the Conservation Corps and Cooking and Wellness. All three programs have community partners including area schools and businesses, as well as the city.

Market Gardening

It’s not just about pulling weeds and otherwise digging in the dirt. Participants in the gardening program also learn the mechanics of all phases of the growing and production cycle including planting seeds, transplanting seedlings, pest control, harvesting and even washing and storing the vegetables.

They also have a say in how the gardens are designed. This includes choosing crops to maximize production while also keeping the business side of agriculture in mind. For example, early maturing crops and late- season vegetables could use the same spot of land.

Additionally, having a good mix of plants maturing at various times is an important consideration for the organization’s Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), which has about 30 members. They also have to plan for the fact that their produce will be used in catered events.

Interns at Urban Roots get hands-on experience outside of the garden as well. Market Garden interns had the opportunity to visit Izzy’s Ice Cream in Minneapolis this July. Izzy’s blended this year’s basil crop into their Lemon Basil Ice Cream. While taste-testing the ice cream, they learned how local produce can be distributed to local businesses.

Cooking and Wellness

Cooking and Wellness interns learn about healthy cooking and nutrition through Urban Root’s programing. The Cooking and Wellness division caters and cooks for all 60 participants (plus staff members) every week. The group not only uses their own produce, but the teens develop their own recipes with some guidance from the staff.

Another test of the teen’s knowledge comes during the school year. The high school students teach fifth-graders at JJ Hill, Battle Creek and other East Side elementary schools.

The final way the teens integrate their work into the community is by actually going out and selling it to the public. With a booth at the Mill City Farmers’ Market that the teens staff and a cart at Target Field, from which they also sell premade salads, the teens can receive direct feedback for their efforts. The salads at Target Field feature homemade dressing, using recipes the interns have developed.

Conservation Corps

Restoring natural sites and removing invasive species isn’t directly related to food production, but it is in the larger sense of improving the overall environment.

Students at Urban Roots improve the environment in area parks such as the Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary, Swede Hollow Park and Indian Mounds Park, replacing buckthorn and other unwanted species with milkweed, asters, hyssop and other native plants and grasses.

The Conservation Corps also helps restore shorelines, installs rain gardens and helps build trails. Last season, due to an increasing number of teens participating, Urban Roots created a bike crew to travel to the various sites in a green manner. Allina donated the bikes, Hill said.

This summer, conservation interns participated in several citizen science projects. In one such project, they contributed data to the University of Minnesota’s Wasp Watchers program, which monitors the spread of the Emerald Ash Borer. They captured beetles that may be Emerald Ash Borer for later identification.

Interns also learned about water quality through the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s Citizen Stream Monitoring Program.

Educational Components

Obviously, a big reason for having a job is to earn money, but the teens at Urban Roots also have the opportunity to develop socials skills and leadership skills, gain confidence in public speaking and learning how to be an active team participant.

“I think we see transformation in the youth very clearly,” Hill said. “For some it’s very drastic.”

Hill and the gang also realize that not every participant will end up working in the sustainable gardening and cooking realm. To that end, Urban Roots has an enrichment day each week to enhance participants’ financial literacy, work on building their resumes and explore postsecondary education options, which includes organizing visits to campuses.

They also bring in guest speakers to talk about other careers and give teens a roadmap to achieve it. One Urban Roots alumni got his introduction to Climate Change and policy work from a guest speaker, according to Noble. His involvement continued at St. John’s University — and now he’s going to the Paris conference on Climate Change.

Urban Roots is always looking for new partners in the community. In 2015, they have worked with Pollinate MN to include beehives in their program – which included maintaining a pollinator garden. The teens on the Youth Council are also in the process of starting and alumni group.

Hill said they are also interested in working with Metropolitan State to make use of the greenhouse on Maria Avenue, which has been closed down for a decade. The greenhouse would create more opportunities for teens over the winter.

“It’s a great educational opportunity,” Hill said.