By Laura Oyen
Last summer two St. Catherine University students, Eva Ngono and KC Meredyk and their Advisor, Associate Professor Rachel Neiwert, assisted the Como Neighborhood History Project in historic research and community member interviews in the study of Subdistrict 4. Collecting and recording the stories about the neighborhood and community members who lived in this area, between the railroad tracks, was the focus for the summer of 2023. Documenting stories of our community for future residents is what this project is all about.
The summer’s research started out with a tour of Calvary Cemetery on a very warm day in June and ended with a presentation at the street car station. The students presented both their research about Como, past and present, and a discussion of the history of racial covenants to the attentive community audience.
We are pleased today to roll out the final product of their work with additional stories contributed by members of the History Project:
A special thank you to all the community members who gave their time and stories to this project. Scott Anderson, Michael J. Barnes, Thomas Cathey, Mick Detviler, Roberta Garberding, Alfred and Sharon Kauth, Carol Kmiecik, Lu and Doyle Miller, and Julie Owens.
The Summer Scholars in 2024 will be focusing on Subdistrict 3. Exploring the history from Como Senior High School to Larpenteur and from Victoria to Dale Street. The team is looking for suggestions of folks who have lived a long time, or have deep roots in this area that would be interested in being interviewed for this project.
Please contact us at history@district10comopark.org with potential interviewees or if you are interested in being interviewed as a part of this project.
This volunteer lead project was unable to interview all of the folks who were referred to this project last summer. It is our hope that over time we will be able to reach out and continue to collect these interviews. We are always looking for community members who are interested in working on this project. Please reach out to the History Project at history@district10comopark.org and let us know how you can help.
Do you know some interesting history about your home, your neighbor or about the Como neighborhood? Anyone is welcome to do an interview, share historic photos or do a write up for the Know Your Como segment of our newsletter! For more information on how to submit go to our Know Your Como page.