I don't see this posted yet - the German Moll - has got to be Roxanne Schultz from the novel Saint Mudd by Minnesota author Steve Thayer. Roxanne Schultz is a fictional moll who grew up in Swede Hollow. Those who have been researching the ganster history will find all the other real characters in this novel, but Roxanne is the author's creation. I bet Steve Thayer is a Boxmeyer favorite. This is too clean - has to be SH! Lots of colorful details in this book!
Page 26: "Nobody had to tell the girl from Swede Hollow what a living doll she'd turned out to be..."
Saint Mudd begins with a haunting double murder and ends with the discovery of the killers by Grover Mudd. In between, St. Paul, "the poison spot" of the Depression, comes to teeming life. All the legendary gangsters of the era -- Baby Face Nelson, Alvin Karpis, the Barker boys, John Dillinger -- visit St. Paul to play and loot and kill. And they roam free in a city full of corrupt cops, crooked politicians, graft, bootleg liquor, and opium dreams, amid a few failed saints.
The prime would-be saint of the novel is Mudd himself, a St. Paul newspaper reporter who was gassed in the Great War and is now a consumptive, disillusioned by what is happening to his town, and at the same time, suicidally idealistic. One other potential saint is Stormy Day, a gentle black woman whom Grover Mudd has come to love. But he is also attracted to the beautiful blond moll Roxanne Schultz.
The action moves through these pressure points nonstop from beginning to end, in a clamor of high energy and stylized set pieces that will remind readers of E.L. Doctorow's Billy Bathgate, William Kennedy's Legs and the novels of John Dos Passos.
Steve Thayer was born and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Pasadena, California. He spent seven years acting and writing in Los Angeles before returning to St. Paul, where he lives today.
I haven't read the book, but perhaps because "Saint" Mudd, the cop in the story, falls for the Gangster's girl. Lot's of "Sinners and Saints" talk in this book. Each chapter heading lists a sinner or saint character.
Went to SH for a little bit today and had an excellent lunch at Yarussos. There was no one out hunting and lots of virgin snow. I know it is Monday, but I sort of thought with the economy we'd see lots of people in the parks. But, I guess people are sick of hunting early when every clue says, park, park, park and it isn't narrowed down until the end.
Lots more detail on SH in the book. Roxanne is proud to be out of the place, but her heroin-addicted mother still lives there. She envied the luxury of the Hamm's liivng above her as she grew up.
"Yet even in the sweltering heat Roxanne Schulz looked splendid. Nobody had to tell the girl from Swede Hollow what a living doll she'd turned out to be"
I guess that pretty much solidifies that it's in Swede Hollow anyway. Too bad as usual it's "Park Park Park Park Park" with only one or two clue at the end to tell you where.
I'd much rather have a hunt where you get some details about the hiding spot, and then park clues at the end.
Are there any home foundations left? Or perhaps looking at an old map to pinpoint where some of the houses sat would do the trick. It could be right in the middle of a room of one of the burned down houses.
Good thought. I was also thinking that if there was anyway to determine where the church in a BOXcar was-- that would be a good place to look. I found a photo, but can't really tell much of location from it. :frown:
Grover Mudd, Van Meter, Frontier News, Dag Rankin, Nina Clifford, Steff Koslowski, Walt Howard, Grover's Corner, Roxanne Schultz, Jory Ricci, North Star Press, Alvin Karpis, Tommy Carroll, City Hall, Fuzzy Byron, Miss Pearl, Peter Street, Baby Face Nelson, John Dillinger, Big Holy Spook, Freddie Barker, Emil Gunderson, Albans Street, Hollyhocks Club, Miss Clifford
Yes, i had mentioned that there are two at least historical markers at SH honoring the long-ago house. I am not sure where those ex-houses are located.
I can't really point you to a specific house foundation left. As you dig down there, you can find the occasional concrete remnant or cinder block. But it would take an archeological team, I think, to tell you where the houses once stood.
The real problem there is the real lack of landmarks in the lower level of the park, south of the stairs. You can see 1st Lutheran church, and its cross. You can see a couple of cellular towers, and metro state university. You can see the creek, and the the NPRy bridge. But a very large section of the southern end is trees, trees, trees, and trees.
Now, I agree that trees are lovelier than poems, but they really don't help you have that clue 12 lineup, and I'm not enough of an arborist to tell in January whether I'm looking at an ironwood or a maple. Not to mention that there are dozens of every species along the east path, and the west path.
My conclusion is that either these clues have omitted the usual "where in the park is it" details, or I just haven't deciphered them correctly, and I'm thinking it's the latter.
With the small number of people there today, it's not going to get found unless someone deciphers the clues accurately, or they just get super lucky. And super lucky works better with more monkeys at more typewriters.
I've been waiting for a cottonwood tree in the clues. :smile:
Cottonwood tree - Populus deltoids
"In an excerpt from The Significance of Trees in Lakota Thought, the author Andrew Smith articulated the following: “In Black Elk Speaks, the sage describes the tree of his vision as a ‘waga chan, the rustling tree,’ also known as a cottonwood. Cottonwood trees have many sacred associations with the Lakota, the most obvious being their use in the sundance ceremony. According to Dr. Zimiga, the cottonwood tree is used in the sundance ceremony because the pith appears as a FIVE-POINT STAR IN CROSS-SECTION, after the tree is cut. In effect, the cottonwood tree contains a sign from the star nations inside it…. The cottonwood tree had to be tall, straight, and slender, with a small fork near the top. After the tree was selected and cut down it was to remain untouched by human hands, for it was sacred.”
 "I recently attended the funeral of Gareth Hiebert, a long-time newspaper columnist who chronicled life in the city and surrounding area for three decades. He died of pneumonia at the age of 83. Under the pen name "Oliver Towne" he explored a variety of interesting and unusual people and places, including Daytot's Bluff."
In his 1958 book, St Paul is My Beat by Gary Hiebert.
He lists landmarks around that area. "I have written about many an old building and landmark [in St Paul]."
More than anybody, Don Boxmeyer was responsible for launching my writing career. In 1988 I self-published a novel about St. Paul's gangster days...Saint Mudd...but I couldn't get anybody to look at it. Then Don got hs hands on a copy. He called me up and said, "I want to help." I'll always remember those words, "I want to help." Saint Mudd got written up in Don Boxmeyer's column and everything took off from there. That was exactly 20 years ago. August, 1988. I go an e-mail from him two weeks ago. He had just started my latest novel, set on our old East Side. I was anxiously awaiting his review when I got word that he he had left us. St. Paul won't be the same without him. Thank you, Don. You made us all proud to be Eastsiders.
Today at SH a guy walked by and said his friend heard on the radio that the medallion had been found. Now I'm hearing that a local radio station hid a bunch of fakes at HI. Any truth? Anyone know the details?
in a small way, could discourse like any farmer on crops and tillage, ...
Page 26: "Nobody had to tell the girl from Swede Hollow what a living doll she'd turned out to be..."
I guess my only question would be why would they refer to SH as a star-crossed place?
.....this new one gives me anxiety every time I call :confused:
The prime would-be saint of the novel is Mudd himself, a St. Paul newspaper reporter who was gassed in the Great War and is now a consumptive, disillusioned by what is happening to his town, and at the same time, suicidally idealistic. One other potential saint is Stormy Day, a gentle black woman whom Grover Mudd has come to love. But he is also attracted to the beautiful blond moll Roxanne Schultz.
The action moves through these pressure points nonstop from beginning to end, in a clamor of high energy and stylized set pieces that will remind readers of E.L. Doctorow's Billy Bathgate, William Kennedy's Legs and the novels of John Dos Passos.
Steve Thayer was born and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Pasadena, California. He spent seven years acting and writing in Los Angeles before returning to St. Paul, where he lives today.
By Steve Thayer
Edition: reprint
Published by Penguin Group USA, 1994
ISBN 0451176820, 9780451176820
416 pages
thanks!
http://www.stevethayer.com/saintmuddhistory.html
His homepage
:wink: IncredibleMagpie will hence be known as "Pixie" :goofy:
Gotta be Box
I will be out in full effect tonight.....Need to get a hard ice pick of sorts as the snow is pretty hard.
I guess that pretty much solidifies that it's in Swede Hollow anyway. Too bad as usual it's "Park Park Park Park Park" with only one or two clue at the end to tell you where.
I'd much rather have a hunt where you get some details about the hiding spot, and then park clues at the end.
"You'll find it really quite roomy"
Are there any home foundations left? Or perhaps looking at an old map to pinpoint where some of the houses sat would do the trick. It could be right in the middle of a room of one of the burned down houses.
I can't believe I didn't think of this book when I referenced Silent Snow earlier in the hunt. Nice find.
Places and characters in Saint Mudd.
R
It's not going to be figured out by me, anwyay.
Now, I agree that trees are lovelier than poems, but they really don't help you have that clue 12 lineup, and I'm not enough of an arborist to tell in January whether I'm looking at an ironwood or a maple. Not to mention that there are dozens of every species along the east path, and the west path.
My conclusion is that either these clues have omitted the usual "where in the park is it" details, or I just haven't deciphered them correctly, and I'm thinking it's the latter.
With the small number of people there today, it's not going to get found unless someone deciphers the clues accurately, or they just get super lucky. And super lucky works better with more monkeys at more typewriters.
I think I have that area picked out - just got back from there...
long walk to/from there, right now....
ugh...
Cottonwood tree - Populus deltoids
"In an excerpt from The Significance of Trees in Lakota Thought, the author Andrew Smith articulated the following: “In Black Elk Speaks, the sage describes the tree of his vision as a ‘waga chan, the rustling tree,’ also known as a cottonwood. Cottonwood trees have many sacred associations with the Lakota, the most obvious being their use in the sundance ceremony. According to Dr. Zimiga, the cottonwood tree is used in the sundance ceremony because the pith appears as a FIVE-POINT STAR IN CROSS-SECTION, after the tree is cut. In effect, the cottonwood tree contains a sign from the star nations inside it…. The cottonwood tree had to be tall, straight, and slender, with a small fork near the top. After the tree was selected and cut down it was to remain untouched by human hands, for it was sacred.”
http://www.hackensackriverkeeper.org/newsletters/Winter2003/16_Winter_2003.htm
Another St Paul book for armchair hunters:
 "I recently attended the funeral of Gareth Hiebert, a long-time newspaper columnist who chronicled life in the city and surrounding area for three decades. He died of pneumonia at the age of 83. Under the pen name "Oliver Towne" he explored a variety of interesting and unusual people and places, including Daytot's Bluff."
In his 1958 book, St Paul is My Beat by Gary Hiebert.
He lists landmarks around that area. "I have written about many an old building and landmark [in St Paul]."
Minneapolis, MN
More than anybody, Don Boxmeyer was responsible for launching my writing career. In 1988 I self-published a novel about St. Paul's gangster days...Saint Mudd...but I couldn't get anybody to look at it. Then Don got hs hands on a copy. He called me up and said, "I want to help." I'll always remember those words, "I want to help." Saint Mudd got written up in Don Boxmeyer's column and everything took off from there. That was exactly 20 years ago. August, 1988. I go an e-mail from him two weeks ago. He had just started my latest novel, set on our old East Side. I was anxiously awaiting his review when I got word that he he had left us. St. Paul won't be the same without him. Thank you, Don. You made us all proud to be Eastsiders.
http://www.topix.com/forum/sports/swimming/TQMGVIDEJISHRV907
JOE!!!