Endnotes from winter 2022 newsletter story: Red Wing “Cradle and Original Home of Western Basketball” written by Frederick L. Johnson
[1] For background on Red Wing’s early status as “Minnesota’s First Hoops Hotbed,” see Marc Hugunin and Stew Thornley, Minnesota Hoops: Basketball in the North Star State (St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2006), 12–15. The author wishes to thank Richard Deden for remembrances of Heman M. Bird, the grandfather of his wife Nancy Bird. Deden’s father-in-law, Dick Bird, also passed down information about his athletic father’s involvement in early Red Wing basketball. The Dedens conducted their own study of the Pacific Coast Tour made by the Red Wing Red Men basketball team which is a focus of this article. Deden also provided a wealth of primary-sourced information and Bird family history.
[1] “New Records Made,” St. Paul Daily Globe, July 30, 1899. According to Bird’s son Dick, “He could bike to Lake City and back in three hours,” and, along with ski jumping ace Carl Ek, “once rode a tandem bicycle to St. Paul to watch a basketball game.” Interview with Richard “Dick” Deden, Sept. 29, 2021, notes in author’s possession.
[1] Typically, Heman was identified as “H.M. Bird,” perhaps because whenever his first name got into print, an ‘r’ was invariably added to incorrectly make it “Herman.” Neill, “Red Men Basketball,” 9. “They Brought Bikes to Red Wing,” Red Wing Republican Eagle, Country Edition, May 30, 1978, 1. This article cites Alice Bird Befort, daughter of Heman and Evaline Peterson Bird, as source for this information. St. Paul Globe, April 10, 1898, 19, lists Minnesota “professional” wheelmen, with all three Birds listed. Tom is pictured and interviewed.
[1] Skip Myslenski, “When Company E Beat the Elis: Fond du Lac’s Motley Collection of Scrubs was No Match for the Proud Champions from Yale. So How Come They Won,” Sports Illustrated, Apr. 14, 1969, https://vault.si.com/vault/1969/04/14/when-company-e-beat-the-elis.
[1] “Red Wing Won, Easily Distanced the Championship Team from Fond du Lac,” and “Turned the Tables, Red Wing Foresters Defeated the Strong Team from Fond Du Lac,” Minneapolis Journal, Feb. 1, 1902, 2. These two brief accounts appear adjacent to each other, with one featuring a dateline “Special to the Journal, Red Wing, Minn., Feb 1.”
[1] Here and below, Neill, “Red Men Basketball,” 7–8. “Red Wing’s Famous Basket-Ball Team,” Minneapolis Journal, Dec. 25, 1905, 8. Neill, “Red Men Basketball,” 8. Author Note: Originally limited to whites only when organized in 1834, the Improved Order of Red Men became a popular fraternal organization that had several US presidents as members. The organization eliminated racial restrictions in 1974. The organization also faced questions about its alleged cultural appropriation of the traditions, symbols, attire, etc., of indigenous peoples.
[1] “Red Wing’s Famous Basket-Ball Team,” Minneapolis Journal, (Special to the Journal) Dec. 25, 1905, 8, provides the names of Harris and Kayser as potential team members. “Sigmund Harris, Football, 1902–04,” M Club Hall of Fame, Class of 2007, https://gophersports.com/news/2007/9/6/Sigmund_Harris.
[1] Florence Bird Tracy, “A Bird Family Genealogy,” 4–5.
[1] Neill, “Red Men Basketball,” 8, 9. Dick and Nancy Bird Deden, “The Red Men Basketball Team 1906 Pacific Coast Tour,” 2-3. The Deden account provides a day-by-day account of the tour, the opponents and results of each game played. Neill, “Red Men Basketball,” 10.
[1] Neill, “Red Men Basketball,” 8–10.
[1] Neill, “Red Men Basketball,” 14.
[1] “Red Men Beat in Fargo Game,” (special to the Red Wing Daily Republican), Feb. 1, 1906. The story subhead read, “Another Fierce Game Scheduled for this Evening, The Members of the Team Are Well.”
[1] “Big Five Score At Glendive,” Red Wing Daily Republican, Feb. 6, 1906.
[1] “Red Wing Team vs. Anacoda Tonight, Butte Daily Miner,” Feb. 7, 1906. “Huge Crowd Caught In Whirl Of Play,” Anaconda Standard, Feb. 9, 1906.
[1] Neill, “Red Men Basketball,” 8. Deden and Deden, “The Red Men Basketball Team 1906 Pacific Coast Tour,” 10–13.
[1] Deden and Deden, “The Red Men Basketball Team 1906 Pacific Coast Tour,” 3. For the quotation, see Neill, “Red Men Basketball,” 8.
[1] “Red Wing Red Men Meet One Defeat,” Red Wing Daily Republican, Feb. 12, 1906.
[1] “Red Men Win A Game From Roslyn Team,” Red Wing Daily Republican, Feb. 13, 1906.
[1] Neill, “Red Men Basketball,” 9.
[1] “Red Men Triumph Over Champion California Team by Score of 20 to 14,” and “Red Men Enjoy Sights About Frisco,” Red Wing Daily Republican, Feb. 24 and Feb. 26, 1906.
[1] “The Indians Defeat the Mormon Boys,” and “Provo Team Proves More Than a Match for the Red Wing Indians,” Red Wing Daily Republican, Feb. 28 and March 3, 1906.
[1] “Win Out at Basket Ball Against Mog [sic, Mob] Violence;” Red Men on the Way Home,” and “In a Clean Fast Game Cheyenne Beats Red Wing by The Score of 35–34,” Red Wing Daily Republican, March 8 and 9, 1906.
[1] Hugunin and Thornley, Minnesota Hoops, 12–15. Frederick L. Johnson, “Red Wing: The Cradle and Home of Western Basketball,” 2021, 1–19; notes in author’s possession. See “H.M. Bird,” Catholic Bulletin (St. Paul) Dec. 8, 1917, 6, for an advertisement describing Bird’s business. [1] “Nancy Bird Deden, A Title IX Pioneer and Trail Blazer,” copy in author’s possession.
Other Goodhue County Resources
Goodhue County Courthouse
509 W. 5th Street, Red Wing, MN 55066
(651) 385-3000–information line
Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Resources:
Recorders Office: Marriage records, 1854-1968; Birth and Death records, 1870-present; Land Deeds (available with legal description), 1855-present; Mortgage and Miscellaneous records, 1870-1945
Probate: Probate records, c.1860-present
Auditor: City plat maps (updated editions only)
Copies of records are available for varying fees. The public can research records, and the courthouse staff will answer short research questions.
Goodhue County Abstract Company
433 W. 3rd Street, Suite 100, Red Wing, MN 55066
(651) 388-8891
Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Resources:
Abstracts to platted county land with tract index (lists previous owners). You must have a legal description of the property to locate records (i.e. block/lot, quarter section)
The public can research records. Call ahead if possible.
Goodhue Area Historical Society
105 East Fourth Ave, Goodhue, MN 55027
Hours: June 1st – August 30th, Thursday 1-4 p.m., Sunday 1-4 p.m.
To make an appointment to visit at other times call 923-4629, 923-4870, 923-4302, or 923-5117
Pine Island Area Historical Society
314 N Main St, Pine Island, MN
(507) 356-2802
Hours: Closed during winter months. Beginning in March, first Sunday of the month 1-3 p.m., all Mondays, 8-11 a.m.
Cannon Falls Area Historical Society and Museum
PO 111: 206 W Mill St Cannon Falls, MN 55009
Resources: Cannon Falls area history and the Cannon Falls Beacon on microfilm.
(507) 263-4080 email: cannonfallsmuseum@gmail.com
Zumbrota Area Historical Society
55 East 3rd St Zumbrota, MN 55992
Hours: Saturday 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. or by appointment (507) 732-7333
Visit the website at www.zumbrotahistoricalsociety.org
Resources: Area information and almost every Zumbrota newspaper dating back to 1890 on microfilm.
Florence Township Town Hall Museum
33923 Highway 61, Frontenac, MN
Contact Friends of Florence Town Hall
Visit the website at friendstownhall.wordpress.com
15235 Norelius Rd, Welch, MN 55089. Located on the Vasa Lutheran Church grounds.
(651) 258-4327 (Church Office)
Red Wing Public Library
225 East Avenue, Red Wing, MN 55066
(651) 385-3645 email: rwpl@selco.info
Hours: Monday-Wednesday, 10 a.m. – 8 p.m., Thursday, Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., Closed Sundays.
Resources:
Genealogy index to Red Wing newspapers, 1857-1967 (alphabetical name index to birth, death and marriage notices in Red Wing papers)
Red Wing Newspapers, 1857-present
Federal and State censuses for Goodhue County
Dakota Tribal Annuity Rolls, 1849-1935
Directories, phonebooks and plat books, years vary
General Goodhue County references
The public can research records. A microfilm reader/printer is available.
Red Wing City Hall
315 West Fourth Street, Red Wing, MN 55066
(651) 385-3600
Resources:
Cemetery records for city-owned Burnside and Oakwood Cemeteries.
Family History Center – Red Wing
580 Hi Park, Red Wing, MN 55066
(651) 267-2455 email: redwingfhc@yahoo.com
Hours: Wednesday, Thursday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., Friday, 6 p.m. – 9 p.m., Saturday, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Resources:
Genealogical general reference books and aids
Area books and information
Software put out by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (U.S. 1880 census, Pedigree Resource File, Ancestral file, IGI, etc.)
Access to over 2 million records on microfilm/microfiche from main FHL in Salt Lake City.
Services: Internet access and free Ancestry subscription; capability to order microfilm on short term loan; ongoing classes on genealogy
Cannon Falls Library
306 W. Mill Street, Cannon Falls, MN 55009
(507) 263-2804 e-mail: cfl_ill@selco.info
Hours: Monday & Friday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, 12 p.m. – 8 p.m., Saturday, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Resources:
Cannon Falls Beacon, 1874 – present on microfilm
Cannon Falls Beacon index for birth, death, and marriage notices, 1876-1992
Select church and cemetery records
Federal and State censuses for Goodhue and Dakota Counties
1870 census index
LDS Family Search Computer Program
Naturalization records for Goodhue and Dakota Counties
County histories and select family histories
A microfilm printer/reader is available.
100 W. Ave, Zumbrota, MN 55992
(507) 732-5211 e-mail: zpl@selco.info
Hours: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, 12 p.m. – 8 p.m., Tuesday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., Friday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., Closed Sunday
Resources: See Local History Guide on Zumbrota Library website
Van Horn Public Library – Pine Island
115 3rd Street SE, Pine Island, MN 55963
(507) 356-8558
Hours: Monday & Friday, 12 p.m. – 6 p.m., Tuesday & Thursday, 12 p.m. – 8 p.m., Wednesday 9 a.m. – 6 p.m., Saturday, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m., Closed Sunday
(651) 345-4013
Hours: Monday & Thursday, 10 a.m. – 8 p.m., Tuesday & Wednesday, 12 p.m. – 8 p.m., Friday 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., Saturday, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m., Closed Sunday
