Did you know the official St. Paul Winter Carnival legend is 15 pages long?
The convoluted tale of Boreas, the Winds and princesses was written by Frank L. Madden and published in a small chapbook in 1941.
A copy of Madden’s book is among carnival-related documents in the St. Paul Public Library’s St. Paul Collection, housed in a climate-controlled balcony room above the Nicholson Information Commons of the Central Library, 90 W. Fourth St.
“Medallion seekers who know about this collection use it to find clues in their search,” said library spokeswoman Sheree Savage.
To help carnival treasure hunters search public parks, the St. Paul Collection includes several editions of a guide that shows detailed maps of parks, right down to the locations of lamp posts and benches, as well as a list of where the treasure was found each year. A history of the Treasure Hunt, which is sponsored by the Pioneer Press, explains past clues.
The collection also includes picture scrapbooks of past royalty and visiting celebrities, newspaper clippings that include obituaries of men who were King Boreas, and visitor guides from various years. You can even read the minutes of the 1886 carnival’s executive committee.
Carnival materials are just a small part of the St. Paul Collection, which librarian Greg Simpson estimates has hundreds of other books and documents about the city’s history.
“These materials were scattered around the library until the renovation (in 2002),” Simpson said. “Now they’re all in one place.”
Simpson carefully pulls out the “Dual City Blue Book” of 1887, a guide to St. Paul and Minneapolis society that included rules of etiquette and addresses of prominent families. He points out long shelves that hold reports from city government, including the proceedings and ordinances from 1856-57 and the annual report of city officers from 1884-85.
The collection includes copies of 19th- and 20th-century city budgets, codes and charters as well as reports from police and fire departments, schools, libraries and city officers. Public works documents show maps of St. Paul in the past, including streets that have disappeared, and fire insurance company maps show locations of commercial buildings.
Among the most-used materials, Simpson said, are yearbooks from St. Paul’s private and public high schools.
The St. Paul Collection is open from 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays, 5:30 to 8 p.m. Mondays, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays. At other times, a staff member can retrieve items from the collection.
Mary Ann Grossmann can be reached at 651-228-5574 or mgrossmann@pioneerpress.com.
Copyright 2008 Pioneer Press.