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During Jimmy’s years at Mechanic Arts High School, from 1923 to 1926, the schools records have two addresses for Jimmy: 505 Whitall and 493 Whitall. They resided at 493 Whitall Street in the city’s downtown. The family included Albert’ wife, Mamie, and his sons, Albert Jr. The reason Jimmy left his father, Walter, and mother, Addie Nelley, behind and headed to Minnesota’s capital city is unknown, but we do know that when he arrived, he lived with cousin, Albert McFarland, and his family. During the migration of African Americans to northern cities, Jimmy moved to St. James Hugh “Jimmy” Lee was born on September 24, 1905, in Vicksburg, Mississippi. I truly respected him as an elder of our Rondo neighborhood, and I soon learned that there was so much more to this special man! A St. What I found in my research and interviews took me far beyond baseball and helped me learn more about people like Jimmy Lee.
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Several years ago, that curiosity led me to agree to create an exhibit on black baseball players in Minnesota with Mollie Spillman, archivist/ curator with Ramsey County Historical Society. I’ve always been attracted to history and historical places, always wondering “why” a place, a town, or city had begun in its location. He had a great smile and was always very polite to me, either calling me “Little Pud” or, in later years, “Coach!” Of course, I didn’t know then how important Jimmy would become in my life. Jimmy was the elevator starter (or operator) at the bank. That was the day I met one of those special people from our neighborhood, Jimmy Lee. On one of those occasions that seemed so ordinary at the time, I went with my father to his work at the Hartford Insurance Company, E915 of the First National Bank Building (there were actually East & West addresses), in downtown St. White Jr., somewhere along the line, was labeled with the nickname “Pud.” In fact Jim Robinson, my father’s friend and a long-time Rondo community leader, shared that “Pud” was short for “Puddie Pie.” Who would have ever guessed? My father was my hero! In reflecting on those experiences, I realize today that I met some very important people who lived in the Rondo neighborhood at the time, but I didn’t know who they were because they always spoke to my father, and I was just there as “Little Pud!” My father, Louis V. Growing up, one of my joys in life was hanging out with my father, whether it was watching him play baseball, basketball, or fast pitch softball going to the barbershop or fishing. Contrary to our documented (or lack of it) history, there are many people of color who have contributed to the rich legacies of St. Paul’s past, one might conclude there weren’t significant contributions by African Americans or other people of color to our community. These stories have been kept quiet for too long. If history matters and we can learn from it, I’ve taken on a goal in retirement to share more information about special individuals who lived in the Rondo community of St.