Edie

Minnesota is also an Indian word from the Sioux/Ojibwe/ AnishinaabeChippewa meaning "Mnisota - Sky-Tinted Waters". Over 10,000 Lakes like Hiawatha, Nokomis, Winnibigoshish . We have towns like Wanamingo, Waskish, Nay-Tah-Waush. We also have the Scandinavian names, the German names, French names and good old American names like Prosper, Walnut Grove, Sacred Heart, Faith, and, of course, the ever popular PROSIT! A toast to Minnesota----my state, St. Paul - my city named after the Saint Paul. St. Paul was originallly named Pigs Eye after Pigs Eye Perrault, a French river man and gambler and all around ne-er do well. He lived in a cave by the Mississippi River here in St. Paul. Well, apparently St. Paul was a better person than old Pigs Eye and there is a dump named after him not far from downtown St. Paul. So Pigs Eye went to the dumps and St. Paul took over the name of the Capitol City of Minnesota. I love state stories.

My mother was born in Wisconsin and didn't speak a word of English until my grandmother was chastised for not teaching Mom English (this goes back to the early 1920's. There was some dislike of the Germans/Prussians during WWI and so rather than be ostracized from the town, Mom learned English.) My father's parents were from Sweden and my father's mother never spoke a word of English. My grandfather did learn English as he was owner of a mill and a lumberjack (they were from Michigan (Yooper). My father went through confirmation class in total Swedish and with the exception of a few words, he never spoke the language. That makes me 1/2 German and 1/2 Swede and my husband was 1/2 German and 1/2 Norwegian. So we complemented each other just perfect, almost - he was Norwegian and I was Swede. It's a Minnesota thing - Swedes and Norwegians. And to cap this all off, my Swedish grandpa's name was Ole. Honest and truly.

Thank you for bringing up the subject. Edie