Twin Cities Information
“What’s new at 909?” Joe asked. That was his name for the Ray house. After Betsy had finished high school, the family had moved from Deep Valley to 909 Hazel Street in Minneapolis. (from Betsy’s Wedding)
Most people on their way to “Deep Valley,” also make a side trip to (or through) Minneapolis to see the neighborhood where the Hart/Ray family lived for several years. While the fictional “909 Hazel Street” house no longer exists, you can still see several of the houses mentioned in Betsy’s Wedding, including Betsy and Joe’s first apartment and house.
You can do just that at the 2012 Betsy-Tacy Convention, which opens Thursday, July 19th in Minneapolis, taking you on a tour of Betsy’s neighborhood, including a peek into the “Bow Street” apartment, a picnic lunch at Minnehaha Falls, and author talks at the Kerlan Collection of Children’s Literature at the University of Minnesota (see the Registration Info page for further details).
Hotel accommodations are available to convention-goers at the DoubleTree Bloomington at a special Betsy-Tacy Convention rate for Wednesday, July 18th. See the Lodging & Transportation page for further details.
A good place to learn more about some of the Twin Cities sites mentioned in Betsy’s Wedding, is the Maud Hart Lovelace Society website, which has pictures of many of the sites, and a great collection of interesting articles.
Kathy Kullberg wrote a series of articles about the Hart (Ray) family in the newsletter of the Lowry Hill East Neighborhood Association (LHENA). This Minneapolis neighborhood is where the Hart family lived for many years, and where the Hart daughters--Kathleen, Maud, and Helen--lived for a time, too, with their spouses.
Kathy was instrumental in proposing, organizing, and finagling the many details of the 2009 Maud event, and was the catalyst in getting the historical plaque marking the site of the Thomas Hart home in Mueller Park.
Below are links to the articles she wrote prior to the 2009 Betsy-Tacy event (just scroll through the newsletters to find the articles):
For information on Minneapolis, (sightseeing, restaurants, lodgings, etc.) go to the Minneapolis Convention & Visitor’s Association web site.
For similar information on St. Paul, go to the St. Paul Visitor’s web site. Further information on tourism in Minnesota can be found on the Explore Minnesota web site.
There are a number of hotels near the airport and the Mall of America, and some have access to the the light rail line, which can take you to downtown Minneapolis and back (it also connects with the airport). There are lots of other hotels in the downtown area, but if you’re renting a car, ask about parking
rates.
10 REASONS TO VISIT MAUD COUNTRY
By Jennifer Marshall, of the Maud Hart Lovelace Society
(Reprinted with permission from the Spring 09 issue of The Agony Column, the publication of the Maud Hart Lovelace Society.)
1. Easy Money. "I went there [to St. Paul] once. Stayed at a hotel. And a man gave me a nickel." (Tom in Betsy-Tacy, p. 90).
2. Minnesota Nice. You "haven't any idea how nice the Middle West is . . . rolling green country, with its generous farms, its groves and fertile pastures, a tree-fringed lake around every turn of the road" (Carney's House Party, p. 6).
3. More water than you can shake a divining rod at. Not only does the mighty Mississippi run through the Twin Cities, but Minneapolis offers a beautiful chain of lakes for your enjoyment. Walk, bike, or canoe on or beside some lakes that Maud loved. Ride the Como-Harriet streetcar Line, listen to live music at the Lake Harriet Bandshell, picnic, and people watch.
4. Theaters and Theaters. Guthrie, Orpheum, State, Pantages, Illusion, Jungle, Park Square, Ordway, Southern, Ritz, Ballet of the Dolls, Frank, Penumbra, SteppingStone, Children's, Theater Latte Da . . .
5. Music, Music, Music. Minnesota Opera, Skylark Opera, Minnesota Orchestra, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Cedar Cultural Center, First Avenue, Dakota Jazz Club, Northrop Auditorium, Fitzgerald Theater . . .
6. Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. More than 40 works on permanent view, including some Alexander Calder creations. And who doesn't love the cherry and the spoon? [A work entitled "Spoonbridge and Cherry."]
7. Minnesota History Center. Retrace Maud's historical novel research. Make discoveries of your own!
8. Many Maud Sites. Minneapolis is riddled with Betsy's Wedding sites. Maud's most popular historical novel Early Candlelight is also set in the Twin Cities area. Fort Snelling is at the heart of the novel, and beautiful Lake Calhoun is where Gideon and Samuel Pond had their mission.
9. Minnehaha Falls. "Fraulein Ray. You have seen de Minnehaha Falls?" "I live there," she proclaimed. It they thought she went over the falls in a barrel every day, who cared?" (Betsy and the Great World, p. 145).
10. Mill City Museum. An attraction for all ages, Mill City Museum chronicles the flour milling industry that earned Minneapolis the name Mill City. [Well, Joe Willard worked with the threshing crews, so there is a slight BT connection!] Next door is the Guthrie Theater, its cantilever offering dramatic views of St. Anthony Falls, the Stone Arch Bridge, and the new and improved Interstate 35W Bridge.
Twin Cities Events
If you are coming "into town" for the convention and have a day or two to spare, check out the following opportunities for fun in the Twin Cities.
Minnesota Centennial Showboat
Celebrate 51 years of the showboat with an adaptation of Moliere's "The Imaginary Invalid." "Is There a Doctor in the House?" offers up music, wit, charm, and laughter. The showboat's interactive style of theater is based on vaudeville traditions and includes delight "olios" (signature Vaudvillesque musical numbers) that you will love. Audience participation is encouraged, and it is like one colossal crowd singing around a communal piano. [http://showboat.umn.edu/ No performances on Mondays.]
The Science Museum is on Kellogg Boulevard in St. Paul and offers many permanent installations, mini golf, musical stairs, and a world class omnitheater. Plenty of interactive options that will appeal to adults and kids alike. http://www.smm.org/
Minnesota's Greatest Generation Exhibit
The Minnesota History Center highlights people who grew up during the Depression, came of age during World War II, participated in the post-war boom, and created a lasting legacy that has shaped all of us who have come after. The Center is located at 345 Kellogg Blvd. West. Admission to exhibits is $10, with discounts for seniors and youth. Minnesota Historical Society members enter free.
http://www.mnhs.org/people/mngg/index.htm
