Bring Warm Clothes: Letters and Photos from Minnesota's Past

by Peg Meier

The earliest European visitors to Minnesota marvel at the area's flora and fauna. A soldier at Fort Snelling contemplates deserting. Swedish settler Andrew Peterson makes a daily record of his haying schedule, dropping in, without comment, a note of his marriage. Sarah Christie pleads with her father in the 1880s for a chance to go to college. Turn-of-the-century accountant Walter T. Post keeps his family informed of his saving and spending habits. In the 1920s, the Pioneer Press publishes recommendations for young ladies seeking a spouse.

These stories and more emerge from select diary and journal entries, from published accounts and business records–the experiences of ordinary Minnesotans. Matched with drawings and photographs that capture a way of life at a particular moment, these impressions offer a telling history of the state in the words of its people.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

322 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1981

About the author

Peg Meier, a longtime and award-winning reporter for the "Minneapolis Star Tribune," is the author of "Too Hot, Went to Lake: Seasonal Photos from Minnesota's Past "and "Bring Warm Clothes: Letters and Photos from Minnesota's Past."
"

Reviews

[emyrose8 · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5- Not as many pictures as Too Hot, Went to Lake. This one has more writing/information and is laid out according to date (pre-history to WWII). I recognize some of the photos from my Minnesota history textbook!

[Janel Cox · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining and illuminating bathroom reading. In other words OK to read periodically a few pages or pictures at a time.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun to read letters and diary entries from MN’s past.

[Susan Fetterer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is Peg Meier's first-published book about Minnesotans. From the 1700's to the Second World War, this collection of photos, diary entries, newspaper articles, and personal papers weaves a tapestry of life in the upper midwest. If you're a history buff or purely interested in what people in the past had to say, this is wonderful! Have fun!

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book brings Minnesota history to life.

[Gaile · Rating 5 out of 5]

Photos and tales of Minnesota's winters from Pioneer times.

[Patty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice history book of Minnesota’s past, short period details with neat photos.

[Samantha]

I read this several years ago for a college course on MN history. The letters are very interesting, both the content, the context, and the things they reveal about life in MN in the recent past. There is some striking xenophobia in some of the letters which is enlightening. Many people of European descent have chosen to forget or ignore that our ancestors were also made to feel unwelcome here.