Written by Phil Wala
This week we have video of a 1954 University of Life event, recently transferred from a reel of 16mm film found in the church archives. University of Life was a Sunday evening program of social activities and instructional classes for Hennepin young people, from high school age to young married couples, that began in 1935 and continued into the 1960s. The question mark after “winter” on the title slide might be a reference to the lack of snow that year. In the 1950s, the venue for such events was Camp Ihduhapi near Loretto, about 25 miles west of Minneapolis. Watch below to see what Hennepin youth events were like 71 years ago!
Other events from this week in Hennepin history:
1885 (January 12)
Rev. John L. Pitner became Hennepin Church’s fifth pastor at a time when revival meetings were popular in Methodist churches. During his second week at Hennepin Pitner began a series of revival services, in the old church building at 10th and Hennepin, which began on January 5 and continued every night (except Saturdays) through January 24. The Minneapolis Journal described one of those services, and the aggressive approach Pitner took as he exhorted sinners to repent.

1896 (January 13)
In addition to being a place of worship and religious instruction, Hennepin Church also wanted to be known as a place that offered opportunities to enjoy classical music, art, poetry, and lectures by renowned experts in their fields. So in December 1895, the church launched a series of monthly gatherings called “Mosaics,” designed to offer high quality instruction and entertainment to the Minneapolis community. This was the agenda for the second such event. (Minneapolis Journal)

1904 (January 12)
Harriet Walker Holman, daughter of T. B. Walker and his wife, Harriet Granger Walker, and widow of Hennepin’s eighth pastor, Dr. Frederick O. Holman, died in California. She was only 33 years old. Her husband had died less than six years earlier, at the age of 40. In the church archives, a 1968 recorded interview with Harriet’s youngest brother, Archie Dean Walker, reveals that Dr. Holman died of tuberculosis (then called “consumption”), likely made worse by doctors who recommended “outdoor living” (even in winter) as the best treatment. Both are buried in the Walker plot at Lakewood Cemetery (Minneapolis Journal)

1913 (January 12)
Excavation for the new church at Groveland and Lyndale is underway. The Minneapolis Tribune published an article noting that, “for the first time in the history of the Twin Cities,” horses were “conspicuously absent” from the construction site. Instead, the excavation was performed by a steam shovel, and the dirt hauled away in “automobile trucks.” It was a very cold winter, and excavation had to continue 24 hours a day to keep the ground from refreezing, leading to noise complaints from neighbors.

1982 (January 13)
In local news, the fine print in a small article buried inside the sports section reveals the names of the young players they have chosen in this year’s baseball winter draft. (Minneapolis Tribune)
