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East Side Oral History Project: Interview with William C. Godwin

Titles: East Side Oral History Project: Interview with William C. Godwin (Supplied title)

Description: BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION: William C. Godwin was born in White Bear, Minnesota. After high school, he became a mechanic and eventually manager of Finch Chevrolet. In the mid-1950s he bought Payne Avenue Hardware, which he still ran at the time of the interview. He was an East Side activist who had worked on the Winter Carnival, published the "Eastsider" newspaper and been involved in community groups like the Phalen Area Community Council and the East Side Improvement Association. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Detailed history of the East Side starting with early Italian settlers in the 1850s and the immigrant waves that followed. Descriptions of the early East Side and some detail on the business evolution there. Mention of the gas lights, old homes, old cow paths, the size of Lake Phalen. Details of Godwin's neighborhood activism including his interaction with various government agencies. Starting and running the "Eastsider" newspaper. His plans for the East Side and dealing with the absentee landlords. Changes in the hardware business between the 1950s and present. Comments on building codes, city inspectors and the city council. The Payne Arcade Festival, The St. Paul Winter Carnival. Lake Phalen Ice Palace. Working with 3M and the Ford Foundation.

Dates

  • 07/26/1991 (Creation)

Creation

Identifiers

  • Library Call Number: OH 99
  • Accession Number: AV2003.92.7

Holding Type: Oral History - Interview

Project

Quantity: 1.5 hours sound cassette 21 pages transcript

Format

  • Content Category: sound recordings
  • Content Category: text

Measurements

  • 01:31:10 running time

Subjects

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Documents

Audio:

Audio Part 1

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Audio Part 2

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