Religion and Belief | Page 54

Frank Higgins

Photograph of men waving to Frank Higgins, the lumberjack sky pilot, outside a lumber camp, c.1910.

Frank E. Higgins poster

Poster promoting a lecture by Francis "Frank" E. Higgins, the lumberjack sky pilot, c.1909.

Frank Higgins poster

Black-and-white paper poster advertising a lecture appearance by Frank E. Higgings, c.1909.

Working as a lumberjack in northern Minnesota was a difficult job with poor living conditions. Many loggers blew off steam by drinking, gambling, or visiting brothels. "Sky pilots," or visiting ministers, tried to save the men's souls and put them on the road to holiness rather than vice.

Hennepin at the Falls of St. Anthony, 1680

Painting of Father Louis Hennepin at the Falls of St. Anthony in 1680. Painted c. 1903 by J. N. Marchand.

Father Hennepin statue, Sixteenth Street and Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis

The statue of Father Louis Hennepin at Sixteenth Street and Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis.

Father Hennepin at the Falls of St. Anthony

Painting of Father Louis Hennepin at St. Anthony Falls by Douglas Volk, c.1905.

Hennepin, Louis (ca.1640–ca.1701)

Father Louis Hennepin, a Recollect friar, is best known for his early expeditions of what would become the state of Minnesota. He gained fame in the seventeenth century with the publication of his dramatic stories in the territory. Although Father Hennepin spent only a few months in Minnesota, his influence is undeniable. While his widely read travel accounts were more fiction than fact, they allowed him to leave a lasting mark on the state.