Compiled and written by David R. Schleper, 2025.

Janna Marlene Grassel Wood was born June 1, 1988 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, daughter of Vern Frederick Grassel and Tracy K. D’Andrea.

Janna joined the Shakopee Police Department as the first Crime Prevention Specialist in 2013.

According to an article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune on Feb. 16, 2017, Dee DePass noted that Janna was just in the job for six months when Halloween came around. Shakopee Chief Jeff Tate walked into the police station and stopped, shocked. Janna was dressed head to toe in costume.

“I’m Janna Banana. Deal with it,” she noted. Tate recalled Janna “spent the whole day waking around the police department dressed as a banana. She was always just fun. You always felt good when you were around her.”

According to the article, Janna dug in, teaching stoic officers that it was OK to post photos on Facebook so the community could see them playing softball, taking kids shopping, feeding the hungry, and running marathons. The outreach made officers more relatable.

Janna, who graduated in criminal justice from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, used social media and workshops to teach police and residents about background checks, internet safety, tax scams, anti-bullying campaigns and Shakopee’s Citizen Police Academy. For her efforts, she was named Minnesota’s Crime Prevention Specialist of the Year in 2014.

“Her excellent work was recognized far beyond Shakopee,” said Chief Tate. “She really did a lot to change how police across the state communicate with the public through social media. She left more of a legacy in four years than most people would do in decades.”

Janna loved movies, playing board games, and getting together with family and friends. “She did walks for animals, the Polar Plunge for Special Olympics, and events for the hungry,” said her mother.

When she was 28 years old, Janna was 13 weeks pregnant. She told her husband, Erick Robert Wood, that she really wanted to have a child. She had lost twins, Maven and Macie, who were stillborn at 18 weeks, and another child, Littlefoot, in another miscarriage that October, according to the article, “Police, Community Mourn” in the Shakopee Valley News by Pat Minelli. Janna had headaches, and an MRI revealed blood clots. On Feb. 5, 2017, Janna and her unborn baby, Zeus, died.

Every year, the Shakopee Police Department hosts a diaper drive in memory of Janna Marlene Grassel Wood. According to Janna’s mother, Tracy D’Andrea, “If everyone had a Janna, the world would be a kind, kind place to live.”

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Compiled and written by David R. Schleper, 2026.

Helen Agnes Huth was born March 30, 1895 in Shakopee. Her parents were George John Huth, Jr. (1861-1936) and Maria Catharina Kopp (1863-1944.) Her grandparents were George Huth (1823-1883) and Maria Anna Wing Weier (1829-1889); and John Johannes George Kopp, Sr. (1826-1905) and Anna Margaret Everling Kopp (1843-1920).

Helen grew up to charming womanhood, receiving her education at the St. Mark’s Parochial school and graduating from the local high school in 1917.

Helen began teaching immediately following her term at high school, spending five years in various schools of the county, winning many friends by her quiet unassuming demeanor.

Helen Agnes Huth was highly talented in music. For many years she was a pianist at the Gem Theater.

On June 12, 1922, Helen married Walter Casey and they moved to a house in Shakopee, next door to Helen’s parents.

In July 1924, Helen wasn’t feeling well.

Dr. P. M. Fischer was summoned, and when he saw the condition was serious, the doctor called Dr. Yoert of Minneapolis as consulting physician.

Helen seemed to rally in the afternoon, but her condition again became serious by 3 pm.

After only a few hours of illness, Helen Agnes Huth Casey passed away at 4 pm. The cause of death was an embolism due to thrombosis.

She died peacefully in the presence of those near and dear to her.

Her unexpected death caused widespread and profound sorrow and deepest sympathy, including her parents, Walter Casey, and their eight-day-old daughter, Mary Elizabeth Casey Oleson (1924-1989).

Funeral services were held at St. Mark’s Catholic Church, with Rev. M. Savs officiating.

Helen Agnes Huth Casey was buried at the Catholic Cemetery on Tenth Avenue in Shakopee.

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Compiled and written by David R. Schleper, 2026.

Grace Poon and her husband, Kwai, opened the Family Chow Mein Chinese Restaurant and Ice Cream Factory from 1982 to 1984 in Shakopee.

Grace and Kwai’s dream was to open a restaurant in Shakopee, featuring a wide selection of Cantonese, Peking, Shanghai, and Zechuen cooking styles.

When they arrived in Minnesota, Grace worked for ten years at Catholic Charities, as she got a degree and worked with people with disabilities.

While that was satisfying, she wanted a certain amount of independence, to be her own boss, and to run her own business.

There is a concept of Chinese philosophy of keeping everything in balance and to serve others.

“I have always liked to work with people and serve food,” Grace said. She used family recipes she learned as a child in Hong Kong. To insure consistent quality, Grace did all the cooking herself, refusing to let anyone else near her kitchen, according to article, “Stir-fry comes to Shakopee” in the Feb. 24, 1982 Shakopee Valley News.

“I shouldn’t say it, but I don’t trust other people to cook,” Grace explained. “People wait a little while, but it’s worth it for the quality.”

In an article, “Chinese restaurant relocates; gains viability, business,” in the July 25, 1984 Shakopee Valley News, the family decided to move from the Huber Building to 237 First Avenue, where they converted the vacant lot (it had been the Hennen Skelly Station) to Family Chow Mein Chinese Restaurant and Ice Cream Factory.

The Poons originally took over the space at the Huber Building that was The Sweet Treat Ice Cream Parlor. Because of the connection, and because people in Shakopee love ice cream, the family decided to continue to sell ice cream cones, sundaes, shakes and malts.

“The main items on their menu, however, are the Chinese dishes. There are appetizers like egg rolls and fried chicken wings, soups, chow mein, both American and Cantonese (Cantonese chow mein has soft noodles and is stir-fry cooking), chicken, pork, beef, sea goods, and egg foo young. Included on the menu are several American sandwiches, including hamburgers.”

“This is especially for the young people who come in here with their parents and are afraid to try the Chinese food,” said Grace.

Grace spent long hours at the restaurant, often working 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

On Sunday, well, sometimes Grace and Kwai and their two sons, Gary and Raymond rested. But usually, they cleaned the kitchen!

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Compiled and written by David R. Schleper, 2025.

The Greatest Generation is roughly defined as the generation of individuals who came of age during the Great Depression, many of whom went to fight in World War II. What many people might forget is that latter part also included women.

One of the greatest was Georgene Georgina Beckrich, the first member of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) from Shakopee.

According to Lindsay Marshall, executive director of the Scott County Historical Society, in 1941, Edith Nourse Regers introduced the first bill establishing a women’s auxiliary unit. The unit would let women fill non-combat roles, in turn allowing more men to be available for combat responsibilities. On July 1, 1943 the women would attain military status. The Women’s Army Corps (WAC) replaced the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) ninety days later.

According to Marshall, Georgene (sometimes spelled Georgina), was born in 1917 to Mathias and Mary Marschall Beckrich. Mathias grew up on a farm in Eagle Creek Township, later worked as a plumber, a janitor at the church, and then the foreman engineer at the foundry. Mary was the fifth child born to Anthony and Catherine Marschall. The couple was married at St. Mark’s Catholic Church in Shakopee in October 1914 and began their married life in Eden Prairie before returning to Shakopee. Richard was born in 1916, with Georgene following the next year. Gilbert was born in 1919, Mildred followed in 1922, and the youngest sibling, Donald, was born in 1927.

According to the 1930 Federal Census, the family had moved to Eagle Creek Township and had begun farming. But by 1935 they were back in Shakopee living on Sixth Avenue West. In 1940, Georgene worked 65 hours per week doing housework. At this point she was 23 and attended school in Shakopee – graduating from St. Mark’s and attending Shakopee High School. According to Lindsay, “her sister, Mildred (who we will talk about in a moment) was 18 and had gone through two years of high school. At this point, she had received the most education of all of her siblings.

“Georgene enlisted in the Women’s Army Corps on Dec. 2, 1942 as an Aviation Cadet. The Shakopee Argus-Tribune noted that when Georgene was 25, she took her required entrance and medical exams at Fort Snelling the month prior. She would be sent to basic training at either Daytona Beach or Des Moines. She’s listed as standing 62 inches and weighing 157 pounds.” No more information was available about what she did during her time as a WAAC, but her service ended July 7, 1943 when she was a First-Class Specialist. The WAAC had a variety of fields including administration-related jobs, cooking, motor transportation, and communications.

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Compiled and written by David R. Schleper, 2025.

On Sept. 1, 1925, newspaper headlines in Minnesota included “Veteran Found Slain, Officials Hold Wife” “Veteran Stabbed to Death After Party” and “Man Stabbed to Death; Wife Held—Stocking in Childless Home in Clue.”

According to an article, “Was it Murder, Suicide, or an Accident?” by Lindsay Marshall, in the Scott County Historical Society Gazette, Vol. 4, No. 5, May 2025, Evelyn Maloney Geschwind, born in 1894, was held in the death of her husband, Frank Frederick Geschwind.

Frank was born Dec. 20, 1892 in Sleepy Eye to Peter Wilhelm Geschwind (1852-1938) and Amelia Margaret Piehl Geschwind (1859-1901). Frank’s father was a retail grocer, real estate agent, and postmaster, and a farmer

Peter and Amelia had ten children, with Frank being the eighth child, a twin with his brother, Peter. According to Marshall’s article, Frank was living in Detroit, Michigan working as a metal polisher at Federal Brass. “His military training was with the 247th Aero Squadron.” After a year in England, he flew with the 41st Squadron the remainder of his service before he returned to the Midwest, and in 1922 he joined his brother, Peter, Jr., in Minneapolis.

On Jan. 1, 1924, Frank married Evelyn Maloney in Minneapolis. Frank worked for a short time in Ironwood, Michigan before returning to Minnesota.

“The night prior, Frank and Evelyn Geschwind were drinking with a few friends at their apartment located a few blocks from where the U.S. Bank Stadium sits today. Newspapers reported a few variations on who contacted the police. Some stated that several neighbors heard a fight happening (loud voices, cursing, articles being thrown and finishing with a loud thud). Others stated that a specific neighbor, Mrs. Kenneth Lee, answered the door in the middle of the night to find Mrs. Geschwind on the other side. Either way, police arrived at the Geschwind apartment to find a blood-strained breadknife on the windowsill and Frank lying dead in the kitchen” said the article by Lindsay Marshall.

Evelyn Maloney Geschwind was charged worth murder in the first degree and taken in by police.

Evelyn was allowed to go to Frank’s funeral service accompanied by detectives. On Sept. 4, 1925, the Minneapolis Star reported, “Enroute she was asked buy an officer the nature of her husband’s religion. ‘He didn’t believe in anything,’ she said. ‘That is why I hated him. He didn’t believe in God or anything.’ But after a few moments she came to his defense. “But he was good to me, he never beat me. He never abused me. He was always kind. It was moonshine—moonshine. That was the trouble.’”

According to Marshall, “During the trial, other pieces of her past were exposed, including that prior to her marriage with Frank, Evelyn had a baby whom she deserted. William Geschwind, Frank’s brother, testified that the couple lived at William’s Niagara, WI home the previous year, in 1924. He saw Evelyn attempt to strike Frank with an axe during a quarrel. This story was corroborated by a neighbor, Mrs. Canavara. William bought said axe to the courtroom that day. He also saw Evelyn strike Frank with metal handle of a mop while he was working under his automobile.”

Dr. Folson of the University of Minnesota, who performed the post mortem examination, took the stand next. The physician testified that the knife entered Frank’s heart in an upward movement.

When asked by the prosecutor, “It would take a strong plunge to make a knife cut through the heart and into a rib, would it not?” Dr. Folson responded, “Yes.” When asked, “When anyone plunges a knife into one that knife usually takes a downward turn, doesn’t it?” Dr Palmer, again, responded, “Yes.”

“Frank’s twin, Peter, testified that on the night of Frank’s death, he had driven him home and had just returned to his own home when he received the phone call notifying him that Frank had been stabbed.”

The jury consisted of an even number of men and women. They were Caucasian (as they were the only allowed in the jury pool.). Then women had just allowed women to serve in the jury three years early.

Evelyn believed that with the women jury members, sympathy for the woman would help her case.

According to Marshall, “Judge Baldwin explained to the jury their duties as jurors as well as the difference between first-, second-, and third-degree murder, shall they decided the Evelyn was guilty. He noted that manslaughter did not figure into this case.”

Evelyn’s Sentencing and Life Afterwards

Evelyn was sentenced to a term of no less than seven and no more than thirty years at the Shakopee Women’s Reformatory. During the reading of her sentence, Evelyn reported showed little emotion. Judge Baldwin noted, “Any other person who did not have that background would probably had been acquitted in the fact off the evidence” [Duluth News, Nov. 5, 1925, p.8].

It took three-hours and 25 minutes for the jury to reach a verdict of murder in the third degree.

“Evelyn was sentenced to a term of no less than seven and no more than thirty years at the Shakopee Women’s Reformatory. During the reading of her sentence, Evelyn reported showed little emotion.” Judge Baldwin noted, “Any other person who did not have that background would probably had been acquitted in the fact off the evidence” [Duluth News, Nov. 5, 1925, p.8].

According to Marshall, “each quarter, the state board heard pleas and pardons from previously tried cases. The Star Tribune reported on July 8, 1928 that Evelyn Geschwind’s plea was among the 78 heard that quarter. She stated that she did kill her husband, but claimed it was in self-defense. According to the 1930 census, taken on April 26th, Evelyn was still housed at the reformatory. Her “occupation” on the census showed she was a seamstress. By 1940, Evelyn was no longer at the reformatory.

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Compiled and written by David R. Schleper, 2025

Chhenglim Pay was born July 5, 1940 in Poipet (Phnom Penh), Cambodia. She was the second oldest of four siblings, two brothers and two sisters.

Chhenglim married Kimhout Seng. They had nine children.

Poipet, Cambodia is located on the border with Thailand and is a significant border crossing point. Phnom Penh is the capital and largest city of Cambodia and also the political, economic, cultural, religious and transportation center of the country. Poipet is directly adjacent to Aranyaprathet in Thailand, forming the primary border crossing between the two countries. This border crossing is a key gateway for trade and travel between the two countries.

Poipet’s history includes being a key location during the Cambodian civil war and a center for international relief efforts. Chhenglim and her family survived the Khmer Rouge, a Cambodian genocide that took place from1975 to 1979.

The fate of Cambodia shocked the world when the radical communist political party Khmer Rouge, under their leader Pol Pot, seized power in April 1975 after years of guerrilla warfare, according to the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust website.

The Khmer Rouge ruthlessly imposed an extremist program to reconstruct Cambodia (under its Khmer name Kampuchea) on the communist model of Mao’s China. They aimed to remove social classes and Western influences from the country.

The population was made to work as laborers in one huge federation of collective farms. The inhabitants of towns and cities were forced to leave. No-one was spared: the ill, disabled, old, and very young were also driven out, regardless of their physical condition. People who refused to leave, those who did not leave fast enough, and those who would not obey orders were all murdered.

All political and civil rights were abolished. Children were taken from their parents and placed in separate forced-labor camps. Factories, schools, universities, and hospitals were shut down. Lawyers, doctors, teachers, engineers, scientists and professional people in any field were murdered, together with their extended families. It was possible for people to be shot simply for knowing a foreign language, wearing glasses, laughing, or crying.

It is estimated that well over two million people were murdered during this period, from execution, disease, exhaustion, and starvation.

Chhenglim came to the United States on May 22, 2002. While living in Minnesota, Chhenglim gained citizenship and became an official Cambodian-American.

Chhenglim was a kind and loving person who enjoyed cooking and spending time with her family. Her family and friends favored her cooking and were well fed by her. An avid gardener, she used vegetables she grew for the food she cooked.

Chhenglim loved walking, and would visit her neighbors. Neighbors said she had a friendly nature, and she always smiled and waved She was also a member and supporter of the Watt Munisotaram Cambodian Temple. She spent many afternoons there. The Watt Munisotaram is a Cambodian Buddhist temple in Hampton, Minnesota, about thirty minutes south of the Twin Cities.

Before Chhenglim Pay moved to St. Gertrude’s and the Gardens in Shakopee, she lived in Savage with her youngest daughter’s family. Chhenglim was a daughter, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother.

Chhenglim Pay had a history of type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes means the body cannot use insulin properly. Without treatment, type 2 diabetes can cause various health problems, like heart disease, kidney disease, and stroke. For Chhenglim it caused kidney failure. She spent years on dialysis. Dialysis was often necessary when kidney function declines significantly. Individuals with type 2 diabetes who develop end-stage kidney disease require dialysis or a kidney transplant to survive.

High blood sugar levels over time damaged Chhenglim’s tiny blood vessels in the kidneys, impairing filtering ability.

As diabetic nephropathy progresses, the kidneys may become unable to filter waste and excess fluid, leading to kidney failure, which is what happened with Chhenglim Pay.

Chhenglim died at the Benedictine Living Community-Shakopee at St. Gertrude’s and the Gardens. It is located at St. Francis Regional Medical Center at 1850 Sarazin Street in Shakopee.

Chhenglim Pay was survived by her three daughters, five sons, twenty-five grandchildren, and eighteen great grandchildren.

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Compiled and written by David R. Schleper, 2025

Chelsea M. Henderson was born Feb. 25, 1994, in Corpus Christi, Texas, the daughter of Stalin Henderson and Pamela Brooks Henderson.

She was in employed in sales and an account manager at Stauer in Burnsville. Chelsea was very good at her job, and was very proud of receiving recognition for her top sales with the company.

Chelsea loved music and singing and was a pet lover. When she was younger she had the nickname “Black-Thunder” from her gymnastics family. Chelsea was a spiritual leader, and was a daddy’s girl when she was little, and turned into a momma’s girl when she grew older. She loved her family very much, especially all her nieces and nephews.

Her sister, Ashley, noted, “I was blessed to have Chelsea in my life as a little sister. When I think of her, I see the little girl I met with braces, a ribbon in her hair and a small LV purse.

Chelsea was beautiful and intelligent like her mother and creative and laid back like her daddy; a truly perfect mixture of her parents.”

Ashley said, “She was a wonderful aunt to her nieces and nephews. They knew they called Aunt Chelsea, shows going to make its happen…even if she was living across the country.”

Ashley and her brother, Sabastian Henderson noted that she was a supportive, understanding, and loving sister. As Ashley recalled, “As with all sisters, we had a few disagreements but they were nothing in comparison to the countless good memories.”

The Wabasha Brewer King family noted, “Chelsea will always be remembered as a kind-hearted soul.”

Another friend remembered Chelsea having “such an infectious positive outlook on life and a drive to be successful. I learned so much from her during our training about being a consummate professional and successful employee. Her light will always brighten by day when I think back to how much of a difference she made in my life.”

Chelsea M. Henderson, age 30 of Shakopee, passed away on Saturday, May 18, 2024 at her home, according to McNearney-Schmidt Funeral and Cremation in Shakopee.

Survivors include her mother and step-father, Pam and Kenny Bauer; siblings, Christopher Henderson, Savannah Moore, Sabastian (Ashley) Henderson, and Hailie Ward; nephews and nieces, Kamryn Moore, Kaylie Hannah, Cassi Henderson, Sabastian Henderson, Jr., Anthony Henderson; uncles, aunts, and other relatives. She was preceded in death by her father, Stalin Henderson.

Sabastian Henderson, Chelsea’s older brother, loved being around. “I know you are going to be the angel to us as you always been. Fly high, baby girl. Watch over us all.”

Chelsea Henderson’s great-great-great-great-grandmother, Morning Mourning Primas Bryan Iverson (1805-1899), was enslaved by the Bryan family, according to “Slavery and the Bryan Family” on the Moments in Time blog.

The Bryan Log Cabin in Bienville Parish was a two-room dogtrot (on page 59 of Louisiana Plantation Homesby W. Darrell Overdyke). In addition to seeing the cabin in this book, a sketch and description can be found in the research paper “Log Houses as Public Occasions: A Historical Theory,” written in 1977. The Bryan Log Cabin was the home of Reddick and Elizabeth Regan Bryan, built after moving to Louisiana from Georgia in the 1830s. The Bryan plantation, owned by Joseph Bryan, a slave dealer in Savannah, Georgia, was the location of a large slave auction in March 1859, where over 400 enslaved people were sold, with the goal of being moved to Louisiana, according to the National Park Service.

Today’s plantation landscape reflects the nation’s reluctance to confront the true history of slavery and its legacy of racial injustice. Amy Potter says telling the truth about this history is a moral imperative, especially now, when there is a movement across the country to limit the teaching of our history.

A “plantation edutainment complex” has emerged, according to a 2018 National Science Foundation-funded study of 15 plantations in Virginia, South Carolina, and Louisiana. Commercialized plantation sites tout luxury inns, Halloween ghost tours, wine and bourbon tastings, strawberry festivals, and plantation weddings. The owner of one site transformed a Louisiana sugar cane plantation, where 800 Black people were enslaved, into what he calls a “Disneyland for adults.” All the entertainment undercuts efforts to tell truthful history.

And so in this brochure, the Shakopee Heritage Society mourned the lost of Chelsea M. Henderson (1994-2024) and her relatives, including Morning Mourning Primas Bryan Iverson (1805-1899).

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Compiled and written by David R. Schleper, 2025

Candelaria de los Ángeles Ruth Sarai Gonzalez was born, raised, and married in San Miguel, El Salvador. She was born in 1944. San Miguel is a city in eastern El Salvador. It is the country’s third most populous city and located 86 miles east of the capital, San Salvador.

When she was born, her parents gave her the name Candelaria de los Ángeles. She was a hard-working entrepreneur.

Candelaria de los Ángeles moved permanently to the United States in 1998 and established her life in Minnesota for over twenty years. When she became a United States citizen, she felt the desire to change her name to a Biblical name. And that is where the name “Ruth” came from. Ruth was known by many as Sister Candelaria and by affection Sister Candita or Sister Cande. She continued to work hard and fulfill all the duties of a true American.

Ruth was always proud to be a member of the Light of the World Church (La Luz del Mundo) for over five decades. An active choir member for over four decades, God gave Ruth the gift of singing. Ruth gave us all an amazing example of faith, perseverance, love, and caring. She was also a member of the local missionaries in Barrio San Nicolas in San Miguel, El Salvador, and Shakopee, Minnesota.

The Light of the World Church (La Luz del Mundo) is located on 502 First Avenue East in Shakopee. The Light of the World is a Christian-based faith. Its practices are based on the biblical teachings of Christian fraternity and solidarity. The church was originally the First Presbyterian Church, which opened in the fall of 1856. Later, a new church was built in 1899 on First and Fillmore Street, which was used until 1967. Then the First Presbyterian Church built on Marschall Road, and the church on First Avenue turned into a bus terminal, a temporary public school, an office building, and in 1987 became the Light of the World Church (La Luz del Mundo).

Ruth created many friendships throughout her life. She was a clear example of unconditional love and generosity towards God, Jesus Christ, the Apostle of God and with every human being. Ruth had many virtues that shone through her works. There are not enough words to describe what an incredible and wonderful human being Ruth was throughout her life.

Ruth had seven children who she loved dearly! Over the years, Ruth’s family continued to grow: her sons-in-law and daughters-in-law joined the family, then came the grandchildren and great-grandchildren, filling Ruth’s life with abundant happiness and joy.

The oldest granddaughter is 42 years old, and the youngest great-granddaughter is two years old. The children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren always gladdened her heart. Ruth was loved by all her family! Ruth was always so happy and proud of her grandchildren who graduated from university and those who are in the process of graduating. Ruth was also proud of her grandson who served in the United States Navy.

Ruth Sarai Gonzalez, age 81, entered eternal life on Saturday, March 8, 2025, surrounded by all her loved ones. Her departure leaves a void in people’s hearts. It is also a comfort, because she no longer suffers from health problems.

Ruth is survived by her loving family. Not only did she give us an example of a wonderful and amazing human being, but she also left us a wonderful legacy of love. She may no longer be with us on Earth, but she will forever remain in our hearts. Her legacy will remain forever; because women like Ruth teach the world that by serving God, one can maintain a life filled with peace and carry forward the hope of eternal life and a legacy filled with love!

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Compiled and written by David R. Schleper, 2025

An ad from the Shakopee Valley News on Dec. 6, 1956 noted that Aunt Jemima would be serving free pancakes from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Shakopee Red Owl Store on Lewis Street. “Yes, the Famous Pancake Queen will be here to serve you with her mouthwatering pancakes.  Come in for your free hot pancakes served with hot syrup!” said Leo Robeck, owner of the Red Owl store, located next to Bill’s Toggery in downtown Shakopee in 1956.

Aunt Jemima was an American breakfast brand for pancake mix, table syrup, and other breakfast food products. The Pearl Milling Company advertised it as the first “ready-mix” cooking product. The original Aunt Jemima pancake recipe, made from four types of flour, was rather nutritious. The current owners (Pepsico) have turned the mix into a one-flour mix, filled with chemicals.

Aunt Jemima was modeled after, and has been a famous example of, the “Mammy” archetype in the Southern United States. Due to the “Mammy” stereotype’s historical ties to the Jim Crow era, Quaker Oats announced in 2020 that the Aunt Jemima brand would be discontinued.  In June 2021 the products rebranded to Pearl Milling Company. The Aunt Jemima name remains in use in the brand’s tagline, “Same great taste as Aunt Jemima.” Other similarly motivated rebrandings include Uncle Ben’s rice (which was renamed Ben’s Original), the Mrs. Butterworth’s pancake syrup brand and bottle shape, and the “Rastus” Black chef logo used by Cream of Wheat.

Nancy Green, a former enslaved person of Montgomery County, Kentucky, portrayed the Aunt Jemima character at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Subsequent advertising agencies hired dozens of actresses to perform the role as the first organized sales promotion campaign.

Beginning in 1894, the company added an Aunt Jemima paper doll family that could be cut out from the pancake box. Aunt Jemima is joined by her husband, Uncle Rastus (later renamed Uncle Mose to avoid confusion with the Cream of Wheat character, while Uncle Mose was first introduced as the plantation butler). Their children, described as “comical pickaninnies”: Abraham Lincoln, Dilsie, Zeb, and Dinah. The paper doll family was posed dancing barefoot, dressed in tattered clothing, and the box was labeled “Before the Receipt was sold.”

Rag doll versions were offered as a premium in 1909: “Aunt Jemima Pancake Flour / Pica ninny Doll / The Davis Milling Company.” Early versions were portrayed as poor people with patches on their trousers, large mouths, and missing teeth. The children’s names were changed to Diana and Wade. Although the Aunt Jemima character was not created until nearly 25 years after the American Civil War, the clothing, dancing, enslaved dialect, and singing old plantation songs as she worked, all harkened back to a glorified view of antebellum Southern plantation life as a “happy slave” narrative.

Aunt Jemima became one of the longest continually running logos and trademarks in the history of American advertising. The earliest advertising was based upon a vaudeville parody, and it remained a caricature for many years.

Rosie Lee Moore Hall, the last “living” Aunt Jemima, was born in Robertson County, Texas on June 22, 1899. She was working in the Quaker Oats’ advertising department in Oklahoma when she answered their search for a new Aunt Jemima. Hall portrayed Aunt Jemima from 1950 until her death (on her way to church) from a heart attack on Feb. 12, 1967, according to Marilyn Kern-Foxworth in 1994. This was probably the woman who played Aunt Jemima in Shakopee in 1956.

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Compiled and written by David R. Schleper, 2025

Anicka Delgado was born June 13, 2002 in Shakopee. She is an American and Ecuadorian swimmer. Born in the United States, she represents Ecuador internationally. Anicka is a swimmer who has competed for Ecuador. She competed at the 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympic Games.

Her father, Felipe Delgado, is a two-time Olympian in swimming, while her uncle, Jorge Delgado, competed at the Olympic Games in 1972 and 1976.

According to an article at Evolution Swim Academy, Felipe noted, “My brothers and I are second-generation Americans … My mother, a high school graduate, would end up working at a place where she worked with sheet metal (not sure exactly what she did) and would later go on to work the graveyard shift at a cemetery … My father, who did not graduate high school but has a PhD in street smarts, worked ramp at Western Airlines at LAX. ‘Ramp’ is a fancy name for the guys that unload the baggage and sanitize the plane in between flights. We lived in Los Angeles, Watts and South Gate to be exact. There were four boys, mom, dad, a nanny and a dog in our family.

“We should have never been swimmers. Neither of my parents were swimmers and if it had not been for a second cousin who excelled at the sport, we may have never ended up being swimmers … My parents, as first-generation Americans, would have to learn the language and culture all while raising four boys in a country that at the time, was not as accepting of Latino families as it is today. It was only after our car was set on fire in South Gate by gang members who were soured by my older brothers’ decision not to join their gang did my parents decide that enough was enough and ended up moving our family to Mission Viejo. That was in 1981.

“Although this move was great for the four boys, it created more chaos and uncertainty for my parents. My parents would have to drive a combined 180 miles round-trip per day to and from work. This forced us to take “Dial-a-Ride” to swim practice, accompanied by our nanny. Her job was to make sure that we got to school on-time, got home in one piece, didn’t get in trouble, ate and made our swim practice commitment.

“We, the boys, were the reason that my parents were ‘displaced’ from what little they knew about this country and I learned at an early age that we could not let them down.

“…My parents never had expectations for us when it came to swimming. All they wanted was to keep their boys active, out of trouble and to keep them far away from the car burning freaks that caused us to move in the first place. This was their reality. This is the reason we swam.

“My parents always supported us and so to this day, I only now realize why swimming was so important to them. It wasn’t because they had Olympic or scholarship dreams. It was because they needed to find a way to keep their four boys safe and out of harm’s way while they were out trying to make ends meet.”

harm’s way while they were out trying to make ends meet.”

Felipe married Megan Delgado, and they have three daughters and one son; Anicka and Valentina, who both currently swim; for the Gators Swim Club, Francesca and Luca, both in learn-to-swim lessons at Evolution Swim Academy.

Anicka Delgado, who was born in Shakopee, moved with her family to California, where she lives in Laguna Hills. She went to Santa Margarita Catholic High School. Delgado was an NISCA All-American and California CIF State Champion while prepping at Laguna Hills High School … Most recently, Delgado was a three-time finalist at the 2020 Speedo Champions Series, finishing fifth in the 100-yard fly (53.95), sixth in the 50-yard free (23.34) and eighth in the 200-yard free (1:50.05) … At the 2019 CIF State Championships, Delgado captured a title in the 50-yard free (22.54) and was second in the 100-yard fly (53.49). Earlier In 2019, she was a two-time champion at the California CIF Southern – Division 1 section Championship, taking home titles in both the 50-yard free (22.55) and 100-yard fly (53.33).

Anicka Rain Marie Delgado Kotek, born in Shakopee, is a graduate student. She represents Ecuador internationally. She competed in the women’s 50 meter butterfly and women’s 100 meter freestyle events at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships held in Gwangju, South Korea. In both events she did not advance to the semi-finals. Anicka represented Ecuador, again, in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, competing in the 50M freestyle.

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