The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-10-01
BREEZY JUDGE FLANDRAU.
Entertains Il Large Audience at
Dayton Avenue Church.


Hon. Charles e. F'landrau delivered
his lecture on "a Little of Everything
but Very Little of Anything" at the
Dayton Avenue Presbyterian church
last evening before an elite audience,
which completely filed the lecture
room of the. church. The audience
was made up principally of prominent
Episcopal churchmen, many old set
tiers also being present. The lecture
was given under the auspices of ST
Pauls church and was for the benefit
of the Altar guild.
Mr.. Flandrau said in part:
I thought at first of chatting about
the early. days of ST. Paul, relating
some Of the many anecdotes which eX-
list about our pioneer residents, but on
reflection, and recalling what my old
friend, Joe Relette,- once said, IF these
old settlers ever collide with me I'll
write, a book" I deemed it delicate
ground to tread upon. l may, how
ever, mention some without treading on
any ones toes. l am rather inclined
great deal more fun than we have now,
but perhaps our pleasures are not
curbed with the same bit as they are
at present. On New Years day the
whole town used to be alive with sport
Everybody kept open house and expect
ed everybody to come and see them
The principal houses were the Ram
seys, the Germans, the Borups, the
Cakes, the Warrens, the Coxs, the Rob-
ertsons the Rices. DR.. Patterson, rec
tor of st. Paul's church, lived out
where Hamms brewery now stands.
We also had Fort Smelling, with its old
army officers, famous for their courtesy
and hospitality, and the delightful
household Of Frank" Steele, the SUI
Ter, and there was Henry H. Sibley, OF
Mendoza, to whom the finest amenities
of life were a creed, all Of whom assist
ed on New Years day. My first New
Years day in ST. Paul was in January
1854, fcrty-three years ago. 1t was my
entree to st. Paul society. Three of us,
all young and frisky fellows, started
out together with a good team
and made one hundred and fifty
calls by midnight. The party was
composed Of H. L. Moss, Horace Bige-
low and myself. Whether we drank at
every fountain which gushed for us on
that day I leave for your Imagination,
after saying that only the most de-
lightful impressions Of the event linger
in my memory. The custom died out
only a dozen years ago. The Sioux
used to call New Years day kissing
day"
ST. Paul from it's earliest settlement
was a social phenomenon. Our ideas
Of a frontier Mississippi river town Of
forty years ago, naturally suggest any
thing but culture, refinement and ele
gance, yet st. Paul possessed them all
in very marked degree. The early
settlers who gave ST. Paul its social
tone and character were cultivated
ladies and gentlemen. Besides the do
nestle nuclei, we had a host of single
gentlemen. young and old, who would
have adorned the society Of any city.
OF course, we were not lacking in the
rough and vicious element, but it never
dominated to the extent of giving COL
or to our society. The many delightful
families who adorned our city in its
infancy had impressed upon it the in
delible stamp Of cosmopolitan excel
lence. I never knew an army officer
who was stationed here that did not
want to remain.
Judge Flandrau then gave a vivid
description of the early struggles of
the Episcopal church in Minnesota, and
told many pleasing incidents about his
early acquaintance with the clergy Of
that faith.