Wednesday, May 16, 1934

Skated up to Pauline's but she didn't want to go skating.

Open battle between striking teamsters armed with pipes and the police in the streets of Minneapolis

The Minneapolis General Strike of 1934 grew out of a strike by Teamsters against most of the trucking companies operating in Minneapolis, a major distribution center for the Upper Midwest. The strike began on May 16, 1934 in the Market District (the modern day Warehouse District) and ensuing violence lasted periodically throughout the summer. Led by local leaders associated with the Trotskyist Communist League of America, a group that later founded the Socialist Workers Party (United States), the strike paved the way for the organization of over-the-road drivers and the growth of the Teamsters labor union. It, along with the 1934 West Coast Longshore Strike and the 1934 Toledo Auto-Lite Strike led by the American Workers Party, were also important catalysts for the rise of industrial unionism in the 1930s, much of which was organized through the Congress of Industrial Organizations.

Tuesday, May 16, 1933

I went to the school picnic at Fairyland Park with Avonelle Ridenour. I went on the sky rocket, the tumble bug, jumble twice, caterpillar, fun house, and the teeter dip.

Fairyland Park - 1930s
Postcard courtesy of the Missouri Valley Special Collections at
the Kansas City, Missouri Public Library. The Ferris wheel, the whip
and many other rides and concessions of old Fairland Park are pictured
in color on this old postcard from the '30s published by Max Bernstein.

The amusement park was located at 75th and Prospect, at the south end
of the street car line, and is remembered as the place for many a school picnic.
Fairyland always had an pre-season opening for students, when there was no
10 cent gate charge and all rides that day were half price. A huge grassy picnic area
was one of the park's best features and helped make the event a success.

 The park opened in 1923 on 80 acres of farm land. It was damaged by fire in
1938, and lightning struck the towering sky rocket ride in 1942. After years of financial
problems, Fairyland Park closed in 1978. No trace of the park remains today.