Tag Archives: Minnesota
Selke Field
Saint Cloud, Minnesota
I went to a youth soccer game in St Cloud, and was surprised to find the field behind a 20″ granite wall. The entrances were all gated with wrought iron, leaving the field looking like it was inside the grounds of an old prison.
In addition to the youth soccer fields, Selke Field is also home to the SCSU Husky softball team.
The land was donated to St Cloud State University in 1931, and it became home to the university’s football team. Construction was started on the 35,000 foot wall around the 17 acres in 1934, as a WPA program during the Great Depression. The pink granite is called “reformatory pink”, because it was quarried from inside the St Cloud prison. Five masons spent three years building the granite wall, block by block.
At its height, Selke Field held the football stadium, a baseball diamond, four softball fields, a dozen tennis courts, a cinder track, practice golf tee, an archery range and badminton.
After World War II, with the success of the GI Bill, housing was needed for the veterans attending SCSU. As many as 25 barracks were built at one end of the field to meet that need.
Zen and Life
Robert Pirsig and his son Chris in 1968
Robert Pirsig, the author of the mid-1970’s cultural phenom “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance”, has passed away at his home in Maine.
Part road trip novel, the book is based on a motorcycle trip Pirsig took with his son, Christopher in 1968. The two Pirsigs rode from their home in Minnesota to the Pacific Coast over the course of 17 days.
Pirsig often said that 121 publishing houses passed on “Zen” until William Morrow agreed to publish it. “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” would sell over 50,000 copies in the first month of publication, and over 1 million the first year.
Robert Pirsig was 88.
Minneapolis Auto Show
1948 Chevrolet Official Indianapolis 500 Pace Car
Spent some time with A Sponsor and two of his low level employees at the Auto Show that is taking place in downtown Minneapolis.
It should come as no surprise to anyone, that the classic car section was my favorite part of the show. Not counting the mini-donuts.
VW Double Cab Transporter
A wonderful Diamond T
Brit’s Pub, an Auto Show Tradition
Target Center
Minneapolis, Minnesota
My cousin’s two boys were awarded free tickets to the Target Center to watch a Timberwolves basketball game for getting on the “A” Honor Roll. They needed two “adults” to go with them, and somehow I was picked to attend, as well as my Uncle.
The New Orleans Pelicans were in town on the day that they picked to go. It was also Crunch’s birthday, the mascot of the Timberwolves. Which added to the festivities.
Karl-Anthony Towns, Photo credit: Minnesota Timberwolves
Karl-Anthony Towns had a great game, and put on a show in the first half, but he found himself in foul trouble fairly early in the second half. Towns ended up with 36 points, and 8 rebounds.
Ricky Rubio also played well, scoring 15 and dishing out 12 assists.
The Wolves led at halftime, but their bench left a lot to be desired. When the starters rested or were on the bench due to foul trouble, the Pelicans came back, and led much of the second half. New Orleans would go onto a 122-106 win.
The Golden Voice of the Gophers
Hall of Fame radio broadcaster, Ray Christensen, passed away this week. He was the voice of the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers for 50 years.
Christensen, who served in Europe with the U.S. Army in WWII, graduated from Minnesota in 1949. He had started his radio career at KUOM in 1946. Two years after graduating, the University hired Christensen to call play-by-play for Gopher football. In 1963, Christensen joined WCCO Radio.
Ray Christensen would go on to call 510 Gopher football games and 1309 Gopher Men’s basketball games over his five decade career with Minnesota. He also called hockey games, golf, Minnesota Viking and Twins games over the course of his career. He retired in 2001, but returned for the first game in the new TCF Bank Stadium on campus in 2009.
Ray Christensen was 92.
Mascots on Ice
White Bear Mitsubishi in the Twin Cities area filmed a rather problematic commercial at Mariucci Arena, the home of the Minnesota Golden Gopher hockey team.
The Alaska Polar Bear is much better on ice.
Video tip comes courtesy of Knoxville.
Good night, and good luck… in 2017
Some puck history, as we turn the page on 2016. It’s an old one; that’s the “Gumpster” in the front row.
Happy New Year
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