Cloudy. Raining nearly all day. Working on Muster Rolls. Men fixing gun Racks covering kitchens &c. Promoted Wonger to Sergt. & Downing & Hubbard to Corpls. In Co. “K”. Genl. Ullmann relieved from command of post & succeeded by Gen. Davis.

Citation: February 27, 1865. Diary entry by Thomas Montgomery, Diary, 1864. Thomas Montgomery and family papers. Minnesota Historical Society. [P2812 box 1]

A photograph of an amateur hockey team sponsored by the Schmidt Brewing Company, taken on March 11, 1940.

This image forms part of our Minneapolis and St. Paul Newspaper Negative collection. Additional photographs in this series may be available in the library, please view the finding aid here.

For more information or to purchase a photograph of this item, view this photograph in our collections database.

(Note: The comments section has been temporarily disabled while we upgrade the website. You can always leave comments on our Flickr Photostream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/minnesotahistoricalsociety/)

A color woodcut on paper titled “Trees”, made by Eugene Larkin in 2001.

For more information, view this print in our collections database.

(Note: The comments section has been temporarily disabled while we upgrade the website. You can always leave comments on our Flickr Photostream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/minnesotahistoricalsociety/)

A partial transcription of the letter:

New Orleans, La
Feb 25 1865
My Dear Sister,

[…] We are now in New Orleans, and on the same ground that General Jackson fought over fifty years ago. On the spot now I write on some poor Englishman died, and if we stay on it much longer I’m afraid some of us will die, as the mud is about a foot deep. We arrived here some four days ago, and I think will soon embark for Mobile, or at least that is the talk at present. Everything is very different here from the north. The city looks like a foreign one. Narrow streets and old fashioned houses. There are some of the old Spanish houses left, that were build man years ago. […] Winter and cold weather are far in the rear. I rather dread the warm weather yet to come. But only six months more! Then my time is up (unless the regiment reinlists), and then I hope to see you all. I anticipate a very pleasant spring campaign if I do not get sick.
Good night
Your aff brother
Brewer Mattocks
Direct 16th Army Corps New Orleans

See entire letter here: 1865-02-25_Brewer_combined

Citation: February 25, 1865. Mattocks, Ebenezer Brewer, 1841-1934.  Ebenezer Brewer Mattocks and Family Papers.  Correspondence and related papers , 1830-1911. Minnesota Historical Society, Box 1. [P1452]

A men’s Town and Country melton wool coat with brown leather lining and white/grey collar. Manufactured by Guiterman Brothers, Inc., St. Paul, Minnesota, circa 1930s-40s.

For more information or to purchase a photograph of this item, view this coat in our collections database.

(Note: The comments section has been temporarily disabled while we upgrade the website. You can always leave comments on our Flickr Photostream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/minnesotahistoricalsociety/)

A blue and gold K-shaped felt and chenille Bloomington Kennedy High School letter, embellished with the word “Bloomington” embroidered diagonally across the K. 1960s.

For more information or to purchase a photograph of this item, view this letter in our collections database.

(Note: The comments section has been temporarily disabled while we upgrade the website. You can always leave comments on our Flickr Photostream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/minnesotahistoricalsociety/)

He dreamed of being a big league baseball player, but destiny had other plans for Minnesota Vikings legend Paul Krause.  In the early 1960s the Flint, Michigan native was a two-sport star at the University of Iowa, excelling at both baseball and football.  A dozen major league teams had their eye on the gifted outfielder, but a shoulder injury sustained in a gridiron match against Michigan permanently damaged his throwing arm. The 6’3” Krause refocused on football, playing defensive back for the Hawkeyes starting in 1962.  Blessed with remarkable athleticism and an uncanny ability to read the opposing offense, Krause made 12 pass interceptions in his final two seasons.

Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Drafted by the Washington Redskins in 1964, Krause finished his inaugural season in the NFL with a league-leading 12 interceptions and was a close second in the voting for Rookie of the Year. Krause played four seasons with Washington, racking up 28 interceptions before being traded to the Minnesota Vikings in 1968.  “In 1968, we decided to go almost exclusively to the zone, which was a radical change in the league,” recalled Vikings head coach Bud Grant.  “What we really needed was an intelligent, far-ranging free safety with great hands; in other words, a super athlete.  After surveying the league, we decided that Paul Krause had all those qualities.”

Toiling alongside a celebrated defensive line dubbed the Purple People Eaters, Krause wielded his masterful talent for anticipating plays and became one of the league’s most intimidating safeties. “I try to keep everything in front of me,” he explained, “watching the quarterback, the movement of the backs and the flow of the linemen.”  Krause spent 12 seasons with the Vikings, appearing in three Super Bowls and six Pro Bowls, and retired in 1979 as the NFL’s all-time interception leader with 81 steals. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1998.

Adam Scher, Senior Objects Curator