History 21 The Podcast - 2.14 Ham Lake History with Mel Aanerud
The history of Ham Lake’s name begins with Scottish settlers and a town named Glen Carey before Minnesota even became a state. Join Mel Aanerud as he tells stories from Ham Lake’s history including the origins of Soderville and how the construction of Highway 65 demolished the small town within Ham Lake.
Host Sara Given, ACHS Volunteer Coordinator
Mel Aanerud
History of Ham Lake by Mel Aanerud with the Ham Lake Chamber of Commerce book cover.
Soderville General Store built 1926 and the same building as Soderquist’s market in 1996
Anoka County Library Minute
Further Reading:
Ham Lake by Melvin Aanerud (977.665 AAN)
If you want to read the words straight from this episode’s source, check out Melvin’s book entitled “Ham Lake” for more details about the history of the town.
This 2016 book published by a Star Tribune blogger and journalist, highlights newspaper stories of Minnesotans performing great (or at least entertaining) feats of ingenuity, tenacity, and grit.
While this book is geared toward children, as the title suggests, there’s something for all ages here! All kinds of interesting facts can be found throughout the pages of this book regarding one of Minnesota’s most abundant resources.
Small Town Minnesota, A to Z by Tony Andersen (Q977.6 AND)
In this photo journal style book, the author visits one town (randomly selected) per letter of the alphabet in the state of Minnesota to photograph. The only criteria was that the town had to have less than one thousand residents. Stunning photographs are accompanied by quaint stories.
Minnesota “Believe it or not” History by Brett Ortler (977.6 ORT)
The history of the state of Minnesota is certainly of interest to its residents, but this book tells some fascinating tales of the state’s origins which could hook anyone. Readers can locate a particular era on the timeline of Minnesota history, or peruse the sidebars of interesting tidbits.
For Love of Lakes by Darby Nelson (551.482 NEL)
Puzzled by the juxtaposition of peoples’ love of lakes with man-made deterioration of lakes, this Minnesota author set out better understand the relationship that people have with lake ecology.
The Pie Lady of Winthrop, and Other Minnesota Tales by Peg Meier (917.76 MEI)
Originally published in 1985 as a compilation of stories written for the Neighbors section of the Minneapolis Star and Tribune, the heartwarming stories in this book give readers a glimpse into small town life in Minnesota.