From the Region 7 President
As I look at the unit calendars I see a host of up-coming events. The camping season is upon us. Take a look at the region/unit websites to find a rally that fits your style. It is also time for the unit spring business meetings. You will need to elect a member to act as the delegate at the International Rally. There will be a number of things for the unit presidents to do to get ready for the International rally. Headquarters will be corresponding with you.
All the pieces for the 2017 Region 7 Rally are falling in place. A registration coupon is available on the Region7 website and in the Blue Beret. (Click tab in top row) We will be camping at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds June 5th thru 11th. It is a short registration window. They need to be received by May 1st. Do not delay. Registration coupon is attached.
St. Paul in the late 1920s and early 1930s was known as a “‘crooks’ haven”—a place for gangsters, bank robbers, and bootleggers from all over the Midwest to run their operations or to hide from the FBI. The concentration of local organized crime activity prompted reformers and crime reporters to call for a “cleanup” of the city in the mid-1930s.
St. Paul earned its reputation as the “sanctuary for criminals” in the Midwest with the help of corrupt politicians and police chiefs who agreed to turn a blind eye to gangsters’ underground activities, which included smuggling, racketeering, and gambling.
We will explore the Wabasha Street caves and see the finished caves (once a romantic night club called The Castle Royal). Hear the legends of the mobster massacres and ghostly lore in the most unique setting from Chicago to San Francisco. We will also take a guided motor coach tour led by a nefarious gangster hood or his moll. Explore with us the sites of nightclubs, kidnappings, and gun battles associated with the 1930’s gangsters like John Dillinger, Ma Barker and Babyface Nelson.
We will also see where some of them were brought to justice. Imagine that you’re living in St. Paul’s tumultuous era of prohibition and gangsters. As costumed guides who adopt the personae of the infamous gangsters who resided in St. Paul during the 1930s and whose path took them (perhaps unwillingly) into the Federal Court House (now Landmark Center). Guides tell of their “lives as gangsters” and how the criminal justice system functioned during that era.
A luncheon cruise on the Mississippi to take in the beautiful sites along this historically narrated cruise, which travels through the Ford Lock and Dam – Lock #1, from St. Paul into Minneapolis and returning to Harriet Island. Delight in live Dixieland music while you feast on a buffet of BBQ chicken, pulled pork with buns, green chili cheddar corn bread, potato salad, coleslaw, watermelon wedges, cookies and coffee that is sure to leave you satisfied.
The Minnesota State Capital has just completed huge remodeling project and we will get a tour.
Musing……………..
Kathy and I have learned that when we attend an event the best thing we can bring is a good attitude.
Pete Yanke, Region 7 President