0:00:02 > 0:00:07I have crossed the Atlantic to ride the railroads of North America
0:00:07 > 0:00:09with my reliable Appleton's Guide.
0:00:12 > 0:00:14Published in the late 19th century,
0:00:14 > 0:00:19Appleton's General Guide To North America will direct me to all
0:00:19 > 0:00:24that's novel, beautiful, memorable - and striking -
0:00:24 > 0:00:26in the United States.
0:00:26 > 0:00:28THEY SPEAK OWN LANGUAGE
0:00:28 > 0:00:30As I journey across this vast continent,
0:00:30 > 0:00:36I'll discover how pioneers and cowboys conquered the West...
0:00:36 > 0:00:39and how the railroads tied this nation together,
0:00:39 > 0:00:43helping to create the global superstate of today.
0:01:05 > 0:01:10I'm embarking on a new American rail journey that begins and finishes
0:01:10 > 0:01:12on the Mississippi River.
0:01:12 > 0:01:16It'll take me 1,000 miles from Minnesota's Twin Cities in the north
0:01:16 > 0:01:19to Memphis, Tennessee in the south.
0:01:19 > 0:01:21- I enjoyed the ride, thank you so much.- Thank you!
0:01:21 > 0:01:25Along the way, I'll step up to the plate with the Slammers...
0:01:25 > 0:01:26Oh!
0:01:26 > 0:01:29..wade into the cranberry harvest
0:01:29 > 0:01:32and become an easy rider on a Harley.
0:01:32 > 0:01:34I'll herd ducks in Memphis...
0:01:34 > 0:01:36- Don't let them get away!- Oh.
0:01:36 > 0:01:37..serve burgers in Chicago...
0:01:37 > 0:01:402.58, your train's never late.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43..and watch bald eagles on the mighty Mississippi.
0:01:44 > 0:01:46Divine.
0:01:46 > 0:01:48TRAIN HORN BLARES
0:01:53 > 0:01:55At the time of my Appleton's Guide,
0:01:55 > 0:02:00that Father of the Waters spurred a rapid Industrial Revolution that
0:02:00 > 0:02:03attracted migrants from back east and from Europe.
0:02:03 > 0:02:07But the paddle steamers were giving way to the locomotives as
0:02:07 > 0:02:10the railroads entered a golden age
0:02:10 > 0:02:13with their unrivalled hub at Chicago.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16I want to discover who were the winners and losers in that period of
0:02:16 > 0:02:21seismic change and how their struggles gave birth
0:02:21 > 0:02:22to the modern Midwest.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29My journey begins in Minnesota's Twin Cities
0:02:29 > 0:02:31and follows the Mississippi River
0:02:31 > 0:02:35south before crossing into Wisconsin at La Crosse.
0:02:35 > 0:02:39I'll head east towards the shore of Lake Michigan at Milwaukee,
0:02:39 > 0:02:42then turn south to the Windy City.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45I'll travel the length of Illinois, through Centralia, to rejoin
0:02:45 > 0:02:47the Mississippi and end
0:02:47 > 0:02:49in Memphis, Tennessee.
0:02:49 > 0:02:51On this leg, it's a tale of two cities.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54I'll explore Saint Paul and Minneapolis,
0:02:54 > 0:02:57which lie about ten miles apart.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00On the way, I witness a true force of nature.
0:03:00 > 0:03:02There wouldn't be a Minneapolis without Saint Anthony Falls.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05It allowed the industry to build here that
0:03:05 > 0:03:06you couldn't do anywhere else.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08I discover the modest background
0:03:08 > 0:03:11of one of America's greatest novelists - F Scott Fitzgerald.
0:03:11 > 0:03:15He maintained the smouldering contempt of
0:03:15 > 0:03:17a peasant for the rich throughout his life.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20Feel the rhythm of a great American epic poem.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24So you get what sounds to us like a tom-tom beat -
0:03:24 > 0:03:28boom-boom, boom-boom, boom-boom... By the shores of Gitche Gumee...
0:03:28 > 0:03:31And experience life as a turn-of-the-century tycoon.
0:03:31 > 0:03:32- Crystal, I take it?- Yes.
0:03:32 > 0:03:35GLASS CLINKS, HE CHUCKLES
0:03:35 > 0:03:37Ah, these people knew how to live.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57I'm making my first visit to the so-called Twin Cities of Minneapolis
0:03:57 > 0:04:00and Saint Paul and, in my ignorance,
0:04:00 > 0:04:03I learnt from Appleton's that they both sit on the Mississippi River
0:04:03 > 0:04:06even though it still has 1,800 miles
0:04:06 > 0:04:09to meander down to the Gulf of Mexico.
0:04:10 > 0:04:15Minnesota is known as the Land of 10,000 Lakes
0:04:15 > 0:04:17and the Mississippi threads between them.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22Flowing south, the river passes through Minneapolis,
0:04:22 > 0:04:25which is the most populous city in Minnesota.
0:04:29 > 0:04:34And 14 miles downstream, it reaches the state capital Saint Paul.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42I'm taking the Metro to Saint Paul,
0:04:42 > 0:04:45which Appleton's tells me is the capital of Minnesota.
0:04:45 > 0:04:50"A beautiful city, situated on both banks of the Mississippi.
0:04:50 > 0:04:54"It has the State Capitol, an opera house,
0:04:54 > 0:04:57"40 churches of various denominations,
0:04:57 > 0:04:59"four libraries, three free hospitals."
0:05:07 > 0:05:12- PA SYSTEM BEEPS - Union Depot station.
0:05:12 > 0:05:14Once the main station for the Twin Cities,
0:05:14 > 0:05:16Union Depot closed in 1971 when
0:05:16 > 0:05:20the newly-formed national rail carrier Amtrak
0:05:20 > 0:05:22based its services in Minneapolis.
0:05:23 > 0:05:25But following a restoration project,
0:05:25 > 0:05:28Union Depot has opened its doors once more.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36There's been a Union Depot station since 1881,
0:05:36 > 0:05:39but this one is less than a century old.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42Like many American railroad stations,
0:05:42 > 0:05:44it has a somewhat ghostly feel,
0:05:44 > 0:05:45but what ghosts!
0:05:45 > 0:05:50At one time, 280 trains a day left here from 21 tracks,
0:05:50 > 0:05:53and at the height of steam technology,
0:05:53 > 0:05:57monstrous locomotives screeched between here and Chicago
0:05:57 > 0:05:59in seven hours flat.
0:06:07 > 0:06:10Saint Paul ranges over several hills,
0:06:10 > 0:06:13and its cathedral stands on top of the highest.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23REVERENTIAL TONE: The city bears the name of Saint Paul,
0:06:23 > 0:06:28named after a log chapel first consecrated in 1851,
0:06:28 > 0:06:31but this is something completely different -
0:06:31 > 0:06:34this is early 20th century,
0:06:34 > 0:06:37modelled supposedly on French cathedrals,
0:06:37 > 0:06:42but with modern technology so that this enormous dome
0:06:42 > 0:06:47floats above us over a great, open space.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55This cathedral, one of the finest in the United States,
0:06:55 > 0:06:59provides an idea of Saint Paul's wealth and importance
0:06:59 > 0:07:01before it was rivalled by Minneapolis.
0:07:05 > 0:07:06Well, I must say,
0:07:06 > 0:07:10that is one of the most challenging church climbs I've done,
0:07:10 > 0:07:16but I'm rewarded with a wonderful view over the city of Saint Paul
0:07:16 > 0:07:21and it strikes me straight away that this wonderful domed building
0:07:21 > 0:07:25is built on a hill high above another wonderful domed building,
0:07:25 > 0:07:28that is the State Capitol.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31You don't need to be a genius to work out the code -
0:07:31 > 0:07:34the church lords it above the state.
0:07:37 > 0:07:41The Roman Catholic cathedral was paid for by donations from
0:07:41 > 0:07:43the great and the good of Saint Paul,
0:07:43 > 0:07:45who located it on their doorstep.
0:07:56 > 0:08:00Summit Avenue, Saint Paul, is remarkable for the scale
0:08:00 > 0:08:04and quantity of its 19th-century mansions.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07The fragrant street trees and gardens
0:08:07 > 0:08:10cannot mask the smell of money,
0:08:10 > 0:08:11which, in the United States,
0:08:11 > 0:08:17was often borne on clouds of smoke and steam from the railroads.
0:08:21 > 0:08:26One of the most imposing residences belonged to James J Hill,
0:08:26 > 0:08:30the child of Irish immigrants who became one of the mightiest
0:08:30 > 0:08:35railroad tycoons in America - the man they called the Empire Builder.
0:08:36 > 0:08:38Hello, Craig. I'm Michael.
0:08:38 > 0:08:39Welcome to the Hill House.
0:08:39 > 0:08:43Thank you very much indeed - what an amazing mansion it is.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46Craig Johnson is an expert on JJ Hill.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50Was there already railroad development in this area before
0:08:50 > 0:08:52- Hill stepped in? - Yes, there certainly was.
0:08:52 > 0:08:57In fact, Hill purchased a bankrupt railway in 1878 with a number of
0:08:57 > 0:09:03other investors, so he had seen rail lines come and go
0:09:03 > 0:09:04and rise and fall in this area.
0:09:04 > 0:09:09I think one of his great geniuses was his expansive vision that
0:09:09 > 0:09:13he had and his great ambition to understand every minute detail
0:09:13 > 0:09:15of the operation of the railway.
0:09:17 > 0:09:22As Hill's empire grew, so did his reputation for ruthlessness.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25He earned his moniker the Empire Builder through hard work
0:09:25 > 0:09:28and the highest standards.
0:09:28 > 0:09:32Talking of metaphors, Hill's house is built on a mount.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35Yes, it is. It's one of the many bluffs surrounding downtown
0:09:35 > 0:09:38Saint Paul and it was chosen specifically by Hill - that way,
0:09:38 > 0:09:42everyone who was in the downtown area could look up
0:09:42 > 0:09:44and see who was living on top of the hill.
0:09:44 > 0:09:45May we continue the tour?
0:09:45 > 0:09:47- Certainly.- Thank you.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50'Hill renamed his company the Great Northern Railway
0:09:50 > 0:09:55'and embarked on what he regarded as the great adventure of his life -'
0:09:55 > 0:09:59a rail line that would reach across the continent and serve
0:09:59 > 0:10:02as the artery for American settlement in the West.
0:10:02 > 0:10:05The railway empire started here in Saint Paul and Minneapolis,
0:10:05 > 0:10:10then went across Minnesota, northward up to Canada...
0:10:10 > 0:10:13and then westward, across the United States
0:10:13 > 0:10:15and eventually connecting with Seattle,
0:10:15 > 0:10:18which opened up the possibility of trade with Asia
0:10:18 > 0:10:19across the Pacific Ocean.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22Now, most railroads were financed with the aid
0:10:22 > 0:10:23of the federal government,
0:10:23 > 0:10:27who allowed a strip of land to be sold off for the benefit
0:10:27 > 0:10:30of the railway. Is that how Hill progressed?
0:10:30 > 0:10:32The first stretch did have land grants,
0:10:32 > 0:10:34but Hill was someone who liked control,
0:10:34 > 0:10:36so he didn't want to do that any longer -
0:10:36 > 0:10:40he wanted to purchase that land outright and then he could make
0:10:40 > 0:10:43full decisions on that whole area, and that's exactly what he did.
0:10:44 > 0:10:49Hill's agents advertised in northern Europe for settler families
0:10:49 > 0:10:52to buy and develop land along his route.
0:10:52 > 0:10:54He offered farming opportunities in the Midwest,
0:10:54 > 0:10:58copper mining in the Rockies and logging in the Pacific States.
0:10:58 > 0:11:03There were many railway tycoons - what's special about Hill?
0:11:03 > 0:11:07Well, I think it's his ability to take a look not only at the area,
0:11:07 > 0:11:11to build something that would work for that particular region
0:11:11 > 0:11:15and then to get people to populate that area right alongside it.
0:11:15 > 0:11:16As he said at the end of his life,
0:11:16 > 0:11:19"I've made my mark on the surface of the earth
0:11:19 > 0:11:20"and they can't wipe it out."
0:11:24 > 0:11:29The streets of Saint Paul retain their genteel Victorian character,
0:11:29 > 0:11:31but in the early 20th century,
0:11:31 > 0:11:34the age of the Empire Builder gave way to something
0:11:34 > 0:11:36altogether more louche.
0:11:39 > 0:11:43One of the United States' most popular novelists gave a name
0:11:43 > 0:11:45to that era in the 1920s
0:11:45 > 0:11:50of prohibition, gangsters, flappers and tycoons -
0:11:50 > 0:11:52the Jazz Age.
0:11:52 > 0:11:57Some of his works are narrated by an outsider looking in to
0:11:57 > 0:11:59a coveted world, and that feeling
0:11:59 > 0:12:01of being from the wrong side of the tracks
0:12:01 > 0:12:05may have begun when F Scott Fitzgerald
0:12:05 > 0:12:07was born here in Saint Paul.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14The son of an unsuccessful aristocrat
0:12:14 > 0:12:16and an Irish Catholic mother,
0:12:16 > 0:12:19Fitzgerald wrote about a generation of
0:12:19 > 0:12:24rich, disenchanted youth and its pursuit of an American dream.
0:12:24 > 0:12:28The decadence and disappointed ideals of the Roaring Twenties
0:12:28 > 0:12:31inhabit his novel The Great Gatsby.
0:12:35 > 0:12:36Hello, Joel.
0:12:36 > 0:12:38Hi, Michael. Welcome!
0:12:38 > 0:12:43'I'm meeting Dr Joel Pace, English professor and Jazz Age aficionado.'
0:12:43 > 0:12:46- Good to see you. - Good to see you, too.
0:12:46 > 0:12:49And I'm very thrilled to be at the birthplace of F Scott Fitzgerald.
0:12:49 > 0:12:51Looks like an enormous house.
0:12:51 > 0:12:55Yes, and in fact Fitzgerald was in only one sixth of this house.
0:12:55 > 0:12:57His family was in dire straits.
0:12:57 > 0:13:00His father's wicker furniture business was soon
0:13:00 > 0:13:02to go out of business, forcing them to move.
0:13:02 > 0:13:05What sort of a neighbourhood is this that he was born in to?
0:13:05 > 0:13:08This neighbourhood is really occupying the space in between
0:13:08 > 0:13:12the beauty and the grand mansions of Summit Avenue and also Rondo,
0:13:12 > 0:13:15the historical African-American neighbourhoods.
0:13:15 > 0:13:19Fitzgerald is poised right between Summit and Selby Avenue.
0:13:19 > 0:13:23And what do you think was the effect on him of being in such a position,
0:13:23 > 0:13:27- geographically?- A lot of his friends were of the set who had their own
0:13:27 > 0:13:29family mansions on Summit Avenue,
0:13:29 > 0:13:32but Fitzgerald was never quite accepted as one of them.
0:13:32 > 0:13:36He maintained the smouldering contempt of the peasant for the rich
0:13:36 > 0:13:37throughout his life.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40And what was the influence of the African-American neighbourhood?
0:13:40 > 0:13:42The influence of jazz.
0:13:45 > 0:13:49The jazz that characterised the age flourished in the Rondo,
0:13:49 > 0:13:54a few blocks from the favourite haunt of Saint Paul's social elite.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01What kind of a place then was the Commodore Hotel?
0:14:01 > 0:14:05The Commodore Hotel, when it opened in 1920, was the talk of the town.
0:14:05 > 0:14:07Underneath the Commodore was a speakeasy. With the right knock
0:14:07 > 0:14:10on the door, you would be ushered into the basement
0:14:10 > 0:14:11where there was live jazz,
0:14:11 > 0:14:15bathtub gin and, perhaps, if you were just lucky enough,
0:14:15 > 0:14:17a little bit of moonshine.
0:14:17 > 0:14:21Now, speakeasies, they were the sort of places that attracted gangsters -
0:14:21 > 0:14:23- were there gangsters here? - Absolutely right.
0:14:23 > 0:14:25The gangsters were on the second floor.
0:14:25 > 0:14:26LIVELY CHATTER
0:14:26 > 0:14:32Scott Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda lived in the luxurious Commodore.
0:14:32 > 0:14:34The ill-gotten gains of the gangsters who feature
0:14:34 > 0:14:36in Fitzgerald's novel
0:14:36 > 0:14:39almost certainly funded the glamorous lifestyle
0:14:39 > 0:14:41of the stylish hero Jay Gatsby.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50- Hello, ladies - may we join you? - Hi, guys.- My name's Michael.- Hello.
0:14:54 > 0:14:55Great band.
0:14:58 > 0:15:00'The bar of the Commodore has been
0:15:00 > 0:15:04'renovated and is once again the place to be and to be seen
0:15:04 > 0:15:06'in Saint Paul.' APPLAUSE
0:15:06 > 0:15:08Well, ladies - what a pleasure. Cheers.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11- Cheers!- The pleasure is ours. - Cheers.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14May I compliment you on your dress? That is wonderful.
0:15:14 > 0:15:15- Tell me about that.- Thank you.
0:15:15 > 0:15:18This was my grandmother's dress.
0:15:18 > 0:15:20Do you think she was what we would call a flapper?
0:15:20 > 0:15:24Was she one of these, you know, It-girls in the 1920s?
0:15:24 > 0:15:25I would have guessed so, yes.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28She was definitely someone who liked a good time!
0:15:28 > 0:15:30She liked to have fun.
0:15:30 > 0:15:31- Hello, guys.- Hi.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34Do you mind if I pop between you for a moment with my martini?
0:15:34 > 0:15:36- Not at all.- Tell me, are you...
0:15:36 > 0:15:39You're very young, but are you Fitzgerald fans?
0:15:39 > 0:15:41- Big-time Fitzgerald fans.- No!
0:15:41 > 0:15:43- Yeah.- What's that? What is that?
0:15:43 > 0:15:44- A tattoo.- What is it?
0:15:44 > 0:15:48The state of Minnesota with The Great Gatsby cover inside of it.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53- That is a pretty extreme way to show your appreciation...- Yeah.
0:15:53 > 0:15:55..of Scott Fitzgerald.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58- Hello, sir.- Hi, how are you?- May I join you a second?- Please, yes.
0:15:58 > 0:16:02Can I ask you, are you a Gatsby fan?
0:16:02 > 0:16:03Or a Fitzgerald fan?
0:16:03 > 0:16:05Well, yeah... I don't know if fan's the word.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08We live in the neighbourhood and so he's a local boy, right?
0:16:08 > 0:16:11I mean, he... He's one of us.
0:16:11 > 0:16:15Do you think Fitzgerald gets the American relationship
0:16:15 > 0:16:17- with money?- I absolutely do.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20The thing about Fitzgerald is that he understands that we'll never...
0:16:20 > 0:16:22We're so puritan, we'll never
0:16:22 > 0:16:26quite be comfortable with the extent to which we are motivated by money.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29I feel like in a lot of ways he's the quintessential American writer,
0:16:29 > 0:16:32we will never be quite comfortable in our skin.
0:16:33 > 0:16:37Alcohol and depression took their toll on Fitzgerald,
0:16:37 > 0:16:42and in 1940, at the age of 44, he died in Hollywood of a heart attack.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46He believed himself a failure, yet today,
0:16:46 > 0:16:51his work features on school reading lists the world over.
0:16:51 > 0:16:53I think it's time for a little bit of ragtime.
0:16:53 > 0:16:56- What are you going to do?- I think I'm going to go play with the band.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58- Wow!- May as well.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08The Jazz Age came to an abrupt end
0:17:08 > 0:17:11with the Great Depression of the 1930s.
0:17:11 > 0:17:13But here in the Commodore,
0:17:13 > 0:17:16something of the spirit of Scott Fitzgerald lives on.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28Wow, that was great!
0:17:38 > 0:17:42Another day, another cultural experience.
0:17:44 > 0:17:45- Hello.- Hello.
0:17:45 > 0:17:47- What's your name? - Mary, what's yours?
0:17:47 > 0:17:50Michael is mine. So, Mary - I'm an adventurous kind of guy...
0:17:50 > 0:17:53- OK.- ..and there's something here I've never heard of.
0:17:53 > 0:17:54It's a root-beer float.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57- Oh, it sounds good to me. You want it?- Yeah, all right.
0:17:57 > 0:17:59- OK, we'll get it.- All right.
0:17:59 > 0:18:00I've no idea what I've ordered.
0:18:03 > 0:18:04- Oh!- Here you go, Michael.
0:18:04 > 0:18:06Thank you. What have I let myself in for?
0:18:06 > 0:18:09Don't get it on that pretty white shirt!
0:18:09 > 0:18:12In my experience, dining in the United States requires you to summon
0:18:12 > 0:18:15up all your culinary courage - let's see what this is.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21Mmm. This is root beer. Broadly speaking,
0:18:21 > 0:18:23it tastes like thinned-out cough mixture
0:18:23 > 0:18:28and then it's got some vanilla ice cream with it, and the two
0:18:28 > 0:18:30just kind of blend together.
0:18:30 > 0:18:32- Do you ever drink this stuff? - Not really, no.- No.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34I'm not surprised. I'm not surprised!
0:18:34 > 0:18:36I think you've made a good life choice!
0:18:43 > 0:18:48I'm leaving Saint Paul, taking the Metro to Minneapolis.
0:18:48 > 0:18:50- PA SYSTEM:- A northbound Blue Line train to
0:18:50 > 0:18:54downtown Minneapolis is arriving on track number one.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59This modern metropolis takes its name
0:18:59 > 0:19:01from the Dakota Sioux word "minne",
0:19:01 > 0:19:05meaning water, of which there's a great abundance in lakes,
0:19:05 > 0:19:07lagoons and the mighty Mississippi.
0:19:08 > 0:19:13Minnesota experiences an extreme continental climate, which has led
0:19:13 > 0:19:18the cities' inhabitants to devise an ingenious solution.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21The weather in Minneapolis can be inclement.
0:19:21 > 0:19:23In summer, it can be 40 degrees.
0:19:23 > 0:19:28In winter, -18 is not unusual, but never fear,
0:19:28 > 0:19:32they have invented this system of glass bridges,
0:19:32 > 0:19:34heated and air-conditioned.
0:19:34 > 0:19:39Known as the Skyway, the network extends seven miles around the city,
0:19:39 > 0:19:44so you can go from your office to a restaurant to the shops without ever
0:19:44 > 0:19:47experiencing either heat or cold.
0:19:56 > 0:20:00While Saint Paul developed as a trading and commercial hub,
0:20:00 > 0:20:03Minneapolis grew as an industrial centre,
0:20:03 > 0:20:05due directly to its location.
0:20:07 > 0:20:10Appleton's tells me that, "A large part of the city's business
0:20:10 > 0:20:14"prosperity is owing to the Falls of Saint Anthony,
0:20:14 > 0:20:18"which afford abundant water power for manufacturing.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21"The best view is from the centre of the suspension bridge which spans
0:20:21 > 0:20:23"the river."
0:20:23 > 0:20:26Actually, this one used to carry the railroad
0:20:26 > 0:20:28and I can see here the immense power
0:20:28 > 0:20:32of the river hemmed in by civil engineering, and it's given rise to
0:20:32 > 0:20:38this highly attractive cityscape of semi-derelict factories and mills.
0:20:40 > 0:20:45A young entrepreneur named Franklin Steele dammed the east side of
0:20:45 > 0:20:49the river and built the first sawmill in 1848.
0:20:49 > 0:20:51For the second half of the 19th century,
0:20:51 > 0:20:55Sawdust Town led the world in sawmilling,
0:20:55 > 0:20:58and from 1880 until 1930,
0:20:58 > 0:21:02Minneapolis, the Mill City, also led the nation in flour production.
0:21:02 > 0:21:07John Anfinson is a National Park Service superintendent.
0:21:07 > 0:21:09- Hello, John.- Hi, Michael. Great to meet you.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12The falls really are in full spate.
0:21:12 > 0:21:14They are spectacular, they've been spectacular all year.
0:21:16 > 0:21:19What does it mean to Minneapolis to have had the Saint Anthony Falls?
0:21:19 > 0:21:21There wouldn't be a Minneapolis without this falls.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24It allowed the industry to build here that
0:21:24 > 0:21:26you couldn't do anywhere else.
0:21:26 > 0:21:27And what was that first industry?
0:21:27 > 0:21:29The first industry was lumber.
0:21:29 > 0:21:30It was this ancient crop,
0:21:30 > 0:21:33just waiting to be harvested by the millers.
0:21:33 > 0:21:34They didn't need to go grow it,
0:21:34 > 0:21:36they didn't need people to come and plant it,
0:21:36 > 0:21:38it was there already for the taking.
0:21:41 > 0:21:46Flour milling gradually supplanted the sawmills,
0:21:46 > 0:21:50but such intensive use coupled with poor engineering
0:21:50 > 0:21:52caused the falls severe damage.
0:21:57 > 0:22:01What was this magnificent river like before Europeans came here?
0:22:01 > 0:22:03It's hard to imagine, looking at it today, what it was really like.
0:22:03 > 0:22:07It was a series of jagged edges of limestone.
0:22:07 > 0:22:09If you look over here, you can see some limestone slabs that have
0:22:09 > 0:22:10fallen off on that island,
0:22:10 > 0:22:13and the falls retreated up the Mississippi because
0:22:13 > 0:22:16this limestone cap kept dropping off,
0:22:16 > 0:22:19as the sandstone under it was undermined by the falls itself.
0:22:19 > 0:22:22How bad did the damage to the river become?
0:22:23 > 0:22:28It became so bad that the falls almost went away.
0:22:28 > 0:22:30They almost eroded away completely in 1869.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33A huge hole formed underneath the limestone riverbed
0:22:33 > 0:22:36and collapsed into the river.
0:22:36 > 0:22:38So Minneapolis has depended on Saint Anthony's Falls
0:22:38 > 0:22:40and it's had to be saved?
0:22:40 > 0:22:44It did, and so the Corps of Engineers looked at the falls,
0:22:44 > 0:22:46they found out where the edge ended,
0:22:46 > 0:22:47and so they said the only way to save it
0:22:47 > 0:22:51is to build a wall under the river, about 36ft high,
0:22:51 > 0:22:53four-feet wide, the entire width of the river.
0:22:53 > 0:22:56A dam under the Mississippi was what was needed.
0:22:56 > 0:22:58And does that survive to this day?
0:22:58 > 0:23:01It does. It holds back the last tick of the geologic clock
0:23:01 > 0:23:02for Saint Anthony Falls.
0:23:05 > 0:23:07In the heyday of flour milling,
0:23:07 > 0:23:1020 mills stood along a covered canal
0:23:10 > 0:23:15through which flowed water drawn from the river above the falls.
0:23:15 > 0:23:17Enough flour was ground in one mill
0:23:17 > 0:23:21to bake 12 million loaves of bread a day.
0:23:22 > 0:23:26Industrial success came at a price, however.
0:23:26 > 0:23:28The number of accidents grew rapidly
0:23:28 > 0:23:31and that provided Minneapolis with another title -
0:23:31 > 0:23:35the artificial limb capital of the world.
0:23:35 > 0:23:38I've come to a suburb of the city to visit
0:23:38 > 0:23:42a family-owned prosthetics company to hear how that began.
0:23:44 > 0:23:46- Hello.- Hello, Michael. Welcome to Winkley.
0:23:46 > 0:23:50'Greg S Gruman is president of the company
0:23:50 > 0:23:54'founded by AA Winkley in 1888.'
0:23:54 > 0:23:56Who was Mr Winkley?
0:23:56 > 0:24:01Mr Winkley was a farmer from about 50 miles south of the Twin Cities
0:24:01 > 0:24:06and was injured in an accident on his farm,
0:24:06 > 0:24:09we believe by getting kicked by a horse,
0:24:09 > 0:24:11broke a bone in his leg that never healed
0:24:11 > 0:24:14and suffered an amputation as a result of that.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17He received a prosthesis from a company where the representative
0:24:17 > 0:24:21would travel up from Chicago, and he was never happy with that.
0:24:21 > 0:24:24And there were no full-time prosthetists here in Minneapolis,
0:24:24 > 0:24:28so he ended up tinkering and modifying
0:24:28 > 0:24:29the prosthesis that he got,
0:24:29 > 0:24:31made it more comfortable for himself
0:24:31 > 0:24:33and basically got the idea,
0:24:33 > 0:24:36"If it works for me, it'll work for other amputees as well."
0:24:36 > 0:24:39In the mills and rail yards of Minneapolis,
0:24:39 > 0:24:41due to poor working conditions
0:24:41 > 0:24:43and the rapid introduction of new machinery,
0:24:43 > 0:24:48it wasn't uncommon for workers to lose limbs in industrial accidents.
0:24:48 > 0:24:53We have some shots of amputees
0:24:53 > 0:24:57in an old catalogue.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00This photo shows a railroad conductor doing his job
0:25:00 > 0:25:03with his pants leg rolled up, showing his prosthesis.
0:25:03 > 0:25:07A foreman on a line crew, he was an engineer,
0:25:07 > 0:25:10and they're all posing on-the-job,
0:25:10 > 0:25:15and every one of them has a comment underneath.
0:25:15 > 0:25:17He says, "I am now able to make my regular run
0:25:17 > 0:25:20"just the same as before I lost my leg".
0:25:20 > 0:25:24The priority for this man and for all these in the book
0:25:24 > 0:25:26was keeping his job, performing his job,
0:25:26 > 0:25:28being able to support himself and his family.
0:25:28 > 0:25:30It's a remarkable publication.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33And maybe just as remarkable, this thing here.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35What kind of vintage is that?
0:25:35 > 0:25:38This particular one is from the 1930s,
0:25:38 > 0:25:44but it was the same as the original patent that Mr Winkley patented.
0:25:44 > 0:25:46This one is for an amputation below the knee.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49This was loaded with a spring mechanism
0:25:49 > 0:25:52through these elastics so that the inner socket
0:25:52 > 0:25:57would function independently and go up and down and absorb the shock
0:25:57 > 0:25:59of you hitting the floor or the ground,
0:25:59 > 0:26:02especially walking over furrowed fields
0:26:02 > 0:26:07or an unpaved factory floor or a rail yard
0:26:07 > 0:26:09where you're stepping on gravel.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12But the technology, even though we view it as an antique,
0:26:12 > 0:26:15was revolutionary for its time.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21- Hello, Mike.- Hello.- Michael.
0:26:22 > 0:26:26'Mike Hodges lost his leg in an electrical accident.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29'He decided to retrain as an engineer
0:26:29 > 0:26:31'specialising in prostheses.'
0:26:32 > 0:26:34What are these items that you have here?
0:26:34 > 0:26:36These look pretty advanced to me.
0:26:36 > 0:26:38These are some of the microprocessor hands.
0:26:38 > 0:26:39Go ahead and stick your hand
0:26:39 > 0:26:42in there and you can feel the contacts in there.
0:26:42 > 0:26:46- And really just the very lightest touch on that contact.- Right.
0:26:46 > 0:26:48Quite a minor impulse for the...
0:26:48 > 0:26:51Right, so the movement in your arm from where your fingers move
0:26:51 > 0:26:54is what is making the contact there.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57That is brilliant. And is this leg similar to the one that you wear?
0:26:57 > 0:26:59Mine has a few more bells and whistles.
0:26:59 > 0:27:03The prosthetic I wear now has four microprocessors,
0:27:03 > 0:27:05an accelerometer and a gyroscope,
0:27:05 > 0:27:07so it's adjusting 100 times a second to if I want to
0:27:07 > 0:27:10walk fast, walk slow, go uphill, go downhill -
0:27:10 > 0:27:12it's constantly making adjustments,
0:27:12 > 0:27:15almost before I can actually make the move.
0:27:15 > 0:27:20And living in Minnesota, the big part of it is it's 100% waterproof.
0:27:20 > 0:27:23So with a little over 10,000 lakes, you're around water quite a bit,
0:27:23 > 0:27:25so it's nice to have that. 25 years ago, you'd have to take
0:27:25 > 0:27:28your leg off to be able to go in a lake or do something.
0:27:28 > 0:27:32You are an inventive guy who, having lost your leg,
0:27:32 > 0:27:34has come into the prosthetics business.
0:27:34 > 0:27:36Your story is awfully like Mr Winkley's.
0:27:37 > 0:27:39You know, I guess it is, when you think about it.
0:27:39 > 0:27:41I knew I was going to have to have a prosthetic.
0:27:41 > 0:27:44I wasn't going to go in a wheelchair or crutches,
0:27:44 > 0:27:47I wanted to get up, get moving,
0:27:47 > 0:27:50and I was one of those guys where, even in physical therapy, I was,
0:27:50 > 0:27:52"Just give me my stuff, I'll figure it out",
0:27:52 > 0:27:56which isn't always the best thing to do, but we do it anyway.
0:28:06 > 0:28:10Everywhere you look in the state of Minnesota, there's water.
0:28:10 > 0:28:14Here in Minneapolis, this is the largest lake in a city of lakes,
0:28:14 > 0:28:16and it's right at the centre.
0:28:24 > 0:28:27Minnesota is famous for its lakes, and although Minneapolis is at
0:28:27 > 0:28:31the edge of the state, the city is no exception.
0:28:31 > 0:28:34This body of water is known in Native American as "Bde Maka Ska",
0:28:34 > 0:28:39or Lake Calhoun, and surrounded as it is by buildings,
0:28:39 > 0:28:41it's one of the things that makes the city
0:28:41 > 0:28:45so very attractive to visitors from all over the United States.
0:28:45 > 0:28:49And although I'm not exactly a round-the-world yachtsman,
0:28:49 > 0:28:51I think I should take to the water.
0:28:54 > 0:28:58- Hello.- Hey, how's it going?- Is that my trusty craft?- Yep, exactly.
0:29:00 > 0:29:03Careful when you step in. Have you ever ridden one of these before?
0:29:03 > 0:29:07Er, no. Or not for about 58 years.
0:29:07 > 0:29:08- LAUGHING:- 58 years? OK.
0:29:08 > 0:29:10- You ready?- Yes.
0:29:12 > 0:29:15- Thank you very much. - Yeah, you're welcome.
0:29:16 > 0:29:19- There you go, have fun. - Thank you.
0:29:26 > 0:29:29What could be more pleasant at the end of
0:29:29 > 0:29:33a day than to enjoy the sunset over the water
0:29:33 > 0:29:35in this lovely city?
0:30:00 > 0:30:05It's a busy morning in Minneapolis, and I'm up early to resume my tour.
0:30:18 > 0:30:22I'm ready for breakfast in one of Minneapolis' favourite haunts.
0:30:24 > 0:30:28This must be the narrowest diner I've ever been in.
0:30:28 > 0:30:30And there's no room at the counter,
0:30:30 > 0:30:33so I guess we just stand here, do we? OK.
0:30:33 > 0:30:34Originally a storage shed,
0:30:34 > 0:30:37made from a corrugated roof over an alleyway,
0:30:37 > 0:30:42this building has been used as an eating place since 1937
0:30:42 > 0:30:45and became Al's Diner in the 1950s.
0:30:45 > 0:30:47Right, that seat is yours, sir.
0:30:47 > 0:30:48That one is mine. Thank you very much.
0:30:48 > 0:30:50I will smear the bacteria.
0:30:50 > 0:30:51MICHAEL LAUGHS
0:30:51 > 0:30:53This is a very thin diner.
0:30:53 > 0:30:57- Very, very thin.- This is how big Americans were back in 1950.
0:30:59 > 0:31:03- How many pancakes do you want? - How many do you recommend?- Two.
0:31:03 > 0:31:05- Two.- You've got to keep that girlish figure.
0:31:05 > 0:31:07MICHAEL LAUGHS
0:31:07 > 0:31:09- Short while he blows! - Short while he blows.
0:31:10 > 0:31:13'Doug Grina still operates a system of credit
0:31:13 > 0:31:16'that dates back to the time when the diner catered for workers
0:31:16 > 0:31:18'from the nearby railway yard.'
0:31:19 > 0:31:23These books you see down here, those are prepaid credit for regulars.
0:31:23 > 0:31:27And it started when Al would come in in the mornings and do prep work,
0:31:27 > 0:31:30he would have railroad workers come in about 4.30 in the morning.
0:31:30 > 0:31:33He wasn't ready to open, but he'd have sweet rolls and coffee
0:31:33 > 0:31:35for them and he'd ask them to write down what they ate.
0:31:35 > 0:31:38And he learned very quickly, better get the money first.
0:31:38 > 0:31:40Right. Are you a regular?
0:31:40 > 0:31:41I am not. This is my first time here.
0:31:41 > 0:31:44And what's brought you here? What made you think of coming?
0:31:44 > 0:31:46- All of my friends. - Obviously, it's a great novelty,
0:31:46 > 0:31:49having such a narrow diner, but is the food good too?
0:31:49 > 0:31:50Yeah. Oh, yeah.
0:31:50 > 0:31:54And you get cabaret thrown in from behind the counter, don't you?
0:31:54 > 0:31:57- Voila, your steaming heap. - Thank you very much indeed.
0:31:57 > 0:32:01- Nearly arrived in my lap. - This here is real maple syrup.
0:32:01 > 0:32:02Squeezed from trees.
0:32:02 > 0:32:04Sounds plausible.
0:32:04 > 0:32:09Swimming in butter, glued with maple syrup.
0:32:09 > 0:32:10Stuffed with fruit.
0:32:11 > 0:32:13Mm. Amazing.
0:32:19 > 0:32:21I'm taking the metro south
0:32:21 > 0:32:24to explore the earliest period in the history of the Twin Cities,
0:32:24 > 0:32:29when European fur traders and trappers began to trade
0:32:29 > 0:32:30with Native Americans.
0:32:33 > 0:32:36Appleton's tells me that the first building in Saint Paul
0:32:36 > 0:32:40was erected in 1838 and for several years thereafter,
0:32:40 > 0:32:42it was simply an Indian trading post.
0:32:42 > 0:32:45The first treaty with the Sioux Indians,
0:32:45 > 0:32:49throwing their lands open to settlement, was made in 1837.
0:32:56 > 0:32:58I'm on my way to Fort Snelling,
0:32:58 > 0:33:01which stands on a cliff overlooking the confluence
0:33:01 > 0:33:03of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers.
0:33:05 > 0:33:09It's a sacred place for the Dakota Sioux Indians.
0:33:09 > 0:33:13The fort was built by the United States Army in 1825,
0:33:13 > 0:33:17when white men and Native Americans traded cordially.
0:33:27 > 0:33:30- Hello, Tom.- Michael, how are you? Welcome.
0:33:30 > 0:33:34Tom Pfannenstiel manages the historic site,
0:33:34 > 0:33:37reconstructed as it was in 1825.
0:33:39 > 0:33:42Tom, what was the reason for building Fort Snelling here?
0:33:42 > 0:33:46Part of the reason for building the fort on the confluence of
0:33:46 > 0:33:49the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers
0:33:49 > 0:33:52was basically to protect the fur trade.
0:33:52 > 0:33:57My guidebook talks about a treaty in 1837 with the Native Americans,
0:33:57 > 0:34:00with a view to getting them to give up land for settlement.
0:34:00 > 0:34:03That sort of treaty, was it fair?
0:34:03 > 0:34:05None of the treaties were fair that were done here
0:34:05 > 0:34:07over a period of time.
0:34:07 > 0:34:10Essentially, the US government brought Dakota leaders
0:34:10 > 0:34:14to a location, promised them goods, annuities,
0:34:14 > 0:34:19money and asked the Dakota leaders to sign those treaties,
0:34:19 > 0:34:22which opened up tens of thousands of acres of their homeland,
0:34:22 > 0:34:24and really, none of the promises that were made
0:34:24 > 0:34:26by the US government were carried out.
0:34:28 > 0:34:31When Minnesota became a state in 1858,
0:34:31 > 0:34:34almost all the territory formerly occupied by Native Americans
0:34:34 > 0:34:37was in the hands of the United States government,
0:34:37 > 0:34:41leading to what are known as the Indian Wars of the 1860s.
0:34:43 > 0:34:45And how was war actually triggered?
0:34:45 > 0:34:50War was triggered when the Dakota were moved off this land,
0:34:50 > 0:34:54moved to a very thin strip of land in the southern part of Minnesota.
0:34:55 > 0:34:59They were to basically act as farmers and not really live
0:34:59 > 0:35:02their lives as they did here.
0:35:02 > 0:35:05And annuities did not come, there was a famine,
0:35:05 > 0:35:09they were begging the army to open up the warehouses for food,
0:35:09 > 0:35:11which they didn't,
0:35:11 > 0:35:16which led to a really explosive situation in 1862.
0:35:16 > 0:35:21There were some Dakota who wanted to fight, wanted to fight back
0:35:21 > 0:35:23at the army, the army responded,
0:35:23 > 0:35:26there were hundreds and hundreds killed on both sides.
0:35:46 > 0:35:50These beautiful lands belonged to Native Americans, but when Europeans
0:35:50 > 0:35:53arrived here, hungry for land and wealth,
0:35:53 > 0:35:56they behaved as though the territory was theirs.
0:35:56 > 0:35:58It was an appalling clash of culture,
0:35:58 > 0:36:01the Europeans with their mass production and their rifles
0:36:01 > 0:36:05and their steam engines and their railways,
0:36:05 > 0:36:08the Native Americans advanced philosophically,
0:36:08 > 0:36:11but technologically backward.
0:36:11 > 0:36:13What happened to the Native Americans
0:36:13 > 0:36:17is one of the darkest chapters in United States' history,
0:36:17 > 0:36:21something for which even today they have difficulty in atoning.
0:36:22 > 0:36:26The governor of Minnesota, Alexander Ramsay,
0:36:26 > 0:36:29declared all Dakota must be exterminated
0:36:29 > 0:36:31or driven out of the state.
0:36:31 > 0:36:35Thousands were imprisoned and 38 were killed
0:36:35 > 0:36:39in the largest mass execution in United States history.
0:36:39 > 0:36:42In 1862, 1,700 women and children
0:36:42 > 0:36:45were forced to march 150 miles to Fort Snelling,
0:36:45 > 0:36:48where they were interned in a camp
0:36:48 > 0:36:51before being exiled to western reservations.
0:36:53 > 0:36:56Ramona Kitto Stately is an expert
0:36:56 > 0:37:00in American-Indian culture and language.
0:37:00 > 0:37:03Ramona, we meet in a delightful spot.
0:37:03 > 0:37:04You are Dakota, is that right?
0:37:04 > 0:37:09- Yes, I am.- What is the significance to the Dakota of Fort Snelling?
0:37:10 > 0:37:14Fort Snelling is actually the place of our creation.
0:37:14 > 0:37:16For us, this is the centre of our universe.
0:37:16 > 0:37:19We call it Bdote.
0:37:19 > 0:37:21It is the place of our genesis,
0:37:21 > 0:37:24but it is also the place of our genocide.
0:37:24 > 0:37:26The people who were brought to Fort Snelling,
0:37:26 > 0:37:28the non-combatant Dakota people,
0:37:28 > 0:37:31they were housed in what's been described as a concentration camp.
0:37:31 > 0:37:32Is that a fair expression?
0:37:32 > 0:37:35If you look at what the determinants of
0:37:35 > 0:37:39a concentration camp are, it meets every single one of the criteria.
0:37:39 > 0:37:44And yes, it was a place of holding for our Dakota women and children,
0:37:44 > 0:37:48under very harsh conditions, for the purpose of exile and removal.
0:37:48 > 0:37:50They would have done it probably sooner,
0:37:50 > 0:37:52except this Bdote was frozen.
0:37:52 > 0:37:55So they had to keep them here for six months.
0:37:55 > 0:37:57And the Dakota were literally shipped out.
0:37:57 > 0:38:01The women were shipped out, right here at this landing.
0:38:01 > 0:38:06They were boarded on steamboats and taken to Crow Creek and then
0:38:06 > 0:38:10eventually Santee, which is where my people live in exile today.
0:38:10 > 0:38:11- In Nebraska?- Yes.
0:38:11 > 0:38:14- A long way from here. - A long way from here.
0:38:14 > 0:38:17What do you think were the consequences for the Dakota
0:38:17 > 0:38:20of the Indian War of 1862?
0:38:20 > 0:38:25The consequences were exactly what they were meant to be,
0:38:25 > 0:38:27which was exile, loss of land.
0:38:27 > 0:38:32There's no faster way to bring the hearts of people to
0:38:32 > 0:38:36their knees than to separate them from their language, their culture,
0:38:36 > 0:38:38their medicines, their food supply,
0:38:38 > 0:38:43their water AND all of their ancestors,
0:38:43 > 0:38:45who are buried along this beautiful river valley.
0:38:47 > 0:38:50Since 2002, every other year,
0:38:50 > 0:38:53descendants of the Dakota prisoners have retraced
0:38:53 > 0:38:56the steps of the forced march to Fort Snelling.
0:38:56 > 0:39:01Placing prayer flags at every mile, singing traditional songs,
0:39:01 > 0:39:04and telling stories of their ancestors.
0:39:04 > 0:39:09One of the ways for us to even be able to begin that healing is to
0:39:09 > 0:39:14bring back the language, to bring back the culture, to remember,
0:39:14 > 0:39:18to put back together the oldest cultural knowledge
0:39:18 > 0:39:20on this continent.
0:39:20 > 0:39:24Go back to that point where our mothers lost their voice
0:39:24 > 0:39:26and reclaim it.
0:39:36 > 0:39:41European migration to the Midwest eased during the Dakota War,
0:39:41 > 0:39:44but grew steadily after the Dakota were exiled.
0:39:44 > 0:39:49I've come to South Minneapolis and the American Swedish Institute,
0:39:49 > 0:39:52where I'm meeting current president Bruce Karstadt
0:39:52 > 0:39:56to find out how this community keeps its heritage alive.
0:39:57 > 0:40:00- Bruce, hello.- Michael, welcome to the American Swedish Institute.
0:40:00 > 0:40:02- A pleasure to have you here. - Thank you. Great to be here.
0:40:02 > 0:40:05- Let's go up. Yep.- What a pile.
0:40:05 > 0:40:08This extravagant French-style chateaux was built by
0:40:08 > 0:40:11Swedish newspaper baron Swan Turnblad,
0:40:11 > 0:40:13who left it to the Institute
0:40:13 > 0:40:16to be used as a museum and cultural centre.
0:40:16 > 0:40:17So, when was the peak period
0:40:17 > 0:40:20of Swedish immigration into the United States?
0:40:20 > 0:40:23It was between 1860 and 1910.
0:40:23 > 0:40:25About 20% of Sweden's population
0:40:25 > 0:40:29or 1.2 million of a five million population country
0:40:29 > 0:40:33left Sweden for principally North America and the United States.
0:40:35 > 0:40:38The majority of these emigrants were farmers,
0:40:38 > 0:40:42attracted to Minnesota by its familiar landscape and climate.
0:40:42 > 0:40:45They built hospitals, churches, and schools
0:40:45 > 0:40:50that upheld Swedish values and reinforced ties with their homeland.
0:40:51 > 0:40:53And what about food?
0:40:53 > 0:40:54When Swedes came here,
0:40:54 > 0:40:59packed in their trunk were recipe cards and pots and pans
0:40:59 > 0:41:00and other kitchen utensils.
0:41:00 > 0:41:04You will find cherished recipes for Swedish meatballs,
0:41:04 > 0:41:09for baked rye bread, lutefisk
0:41:09 > 0:41:12and all sorts of other delicacies that were important to them.
0:41:12 > 0:41:17- What on earth is lutefisk? - Reconstituted dried cod.
0:41:17 > 0:41:22So, drying of fish, like meat, is a way of preserving food.
0:41:22 > 0:41:25And so, one way in which today's Swedish Americans
0:41:25 > 0:41:28honour that tradition and that past is
0:41:28 > 0:41:30by having lutefisk at Christmas time.
0:41:33 > 0:41:36It's closer to Midsummer than Christmas, but tonight,
0:41:36 > 0:41:41the Institute is holding a special dinner and lutefisk is on the menu.
0:41:42 > 0:41:45Nordic food specialist Patrice Johnson is head chef
0:41:45 > 0:41:48and I'm going to lend a hand.
0:41:48 > 0:41:50Hello. Are you Patrice?
0:41:50 > 0:41:52- I am.- I'm Michael. - Hi, Michael. Nice to meet you.
0:41:52 > 0:41:56I've come to help you... Help you, make lutefisk.
0:41:56 > 0:41:58I'm happy for your help.
0:41:58 > 0:42:00Lutefisk kind of makes itself.
0:42:00 > 0:42:02- Oh.- But you have to keep an eye on it.
0:42:02 > 0:42:04- OK, good. - So you can help me with that.
0:42:04 > 0:42:09Now, what I've heard about this dish does not encourage me at all.
0:42:09 > 0:42:10Do you know how it's made?
0:42:10 > 0:42:13Well, I believe you start with dried cod, is that right?
0:42:13 > 0:42:16It is, that's true. And then they soak it in lye.
0:42:16 > 0:42:18Isn't that stuff you use for making soap?
0:42:18 > 0:42:19Yeah. That's the same stuff.
0:42:19 > 0:42:21But you can see that the lye in the water
0:42:21 > 0:42:25has made it a little bit gelatinous.
0:42:25 > 0:42:27Oh. It has.
0:42:28 > 0:42:31Ah, I'm relieved. Not too smelly at this point.
0:42:31 > 0:42:32I'll pop that in there, shall I?
0:42:32 > 0:42:35Yeah. And we are going to put some salt and some white pepper on this.
0:42:35 > 0:42:38And I'm going to put a little bit of allspice on there as well.
0:42:38 > 0:42:41Allspice is indicative of lutefisk.
0:42:41 > 0:42:43Now, that is really nice.
0:42:43 > 0:42:44- Isn't that nice?- Yeah, yeah.
0:42:44 > 0:42:47I'm relieved that we've got some of that in there as well.
0:42:47 > 0:42:50'The fish is covered in unsalted butter and steam cooked
0:42:50 > 0:42:53'in the oven until it flakes.
0:42:53 > 0:42:55'Overcook it and it turns to mush.'
0:42:55 > 0:42:57Goodbye, little fishy.
0:42:57 > 0:43:00'30 minutes later and it's ready to serve.'
0:43:00 > 0:43:03Smell it.
0:43:03 > 0:43:06MICHAEL COUGHS
0:43:06 > 0:43:08Yeah... I-I can smell it.
0:43:08 > 0:43:10'Outside in the garden,
0:43:10 > 0:43:13'13 hungry Swedish-Americans are waiting to tuck in.'
0:43:14 > 0:43:17Hey, everybody. The lutefisk is here.
0:43:17 > 0:43:19THEY CHEER
0:43:19 > 0:43:23Happy Christmas to one and all.
0:43:23 > 0:43:25There we are. You're going to have a big piece.
0:43:25 > 0:43:28- You're a brave man.- Thank you.
0:43:28 > 0:43:31'Lutefisk is traditionally served with boiled potatoes and either
0:43:31 > 0:43:34'a butter or a cream sauce.'
0:43:34 > 0:43:36Would you like some fish with that cream?
0:43:37 > 0:43:40- Sorry.- I did put rather a lot of cream on.
0:43:40 > 0:43:42Also to deaden the taste.
0:43:47 > 0:43:50Hm! THEY LAUGH
0:43:50 > 0:43:51Hm!
0:43:53 > 0:43:56What a very interesting texture.
0:43:56 > 0:43:59- Memorable, isn't it?- Memorable.
0:43:59 > 0:44:00'I'm not alone.
0:44:00 > 0:44:03'Not everyone here is a lutefisk fan.'
0:44:03 > 0:44:07Oh. Oh, you're exporting...
0:44:07 > 0:44:08- Yes.- ..yours.
0:44:08 > 0:44:10Are you not too keen on it?
0:44:10 > 0:44:12No, I'm not, but I love making it.
0:44:12 > 0:44:14I've made it for over 40 years.
0:44:14 > 0:44:16When we lived away from Minnesota,
0:44:16 > 0:44:17I would have it shipped in overnight,
0:44:17 > 0:44:19so he could have it for Christmas Eve.
0:44:19 > 0:44:21And you really do like it.
0:44:21 > 0:44:22I do like it. Yes. Absolutely.
0:44:22 > 0:44:25I grew up with it and, yeah,
0:44:25 > 0:44:28it brings me back to Christmases of long ago
0:44:28 > 0:44:30and parents and grandparents.
0:44:30 > 0:44:32- Now, that's nice.- Yes.
0:44:32 > 0:44:36'No Swedish feast would be complete without aquavit.'
0:44:36 > 0:44:37Oh, thank you very much.
0:44:37 > 0:44:39'A spirit flavoured with herbs and spices
0:44:39 > 0:44:43'first distilled in Sweden in the 15th century.'
0:44:43 > 0:44:44We are going to do a skol.
0:44:44 > 0:44:47THEY SING IN SWEDISH
0:45:02 > 0:45:04Skol!
0:45:04 > 0:45:05Skol!
0:45:11 > 0:45:12And it's not over yet.
0:45:12 > 0:45:15The Swedish fiddle group Spelmanslag
0:45:15 > 0:45:17plays songs based on traditional melodies,
0:45:17 > 0:45:21sung by Swedish maidens to their cattle in the pastures.
0:45:21 > 0:45:24And by miners and loggers as they walked to work.
0:45:30 > 0:45:33My dear American-Swedish friends,
0:45:33 > 0:45:37what a memorable evening this has been and thank you so much.
0:45:37 > 0:45:38Skol!
0:45:38 > 0:45:39- ALL:- Skol.
0:45:44 > 0:45:46APPLAUSE
0:45:55 > 0:45:57I'm up early and back on the Metro,
0:45:57 > 0:46:00which is taking me out to the west of the city
0:46:00 > 0:46:04to a place that has been on the tourist map for over a century
0:46:04 > 0:46:06and is still attracting visitors today,
0:46:06 > 0:46:09thanks in part to its literary connections.
0:46:10 > 0:46:13Appleton's tells me that the Minnehaha Falls,
0:46:13 > 0:46:17"which were immortalised by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow,
0:46:17 > 0:46:22"are picturesquely situated, but hardly merit the prominence
0:46:22 > 0:46:25"that Mr Longfellow's poem has obtained for them."
0:46:25 > 0:46:27Nonetheless, I'll go and have a look.
0:46:27 > 0:46:31Where would I be now if I'd been put off by mediocre reviews?
0:46:34 > 0:46:36In the early 19th century,
0:46:36 > 0:46:40a pioneering landscape photograph of the falls gained
0:46:40 > 0:46:43wide circulation in the United States.
0:46:43 > 0:46:46It may have inspired Longfellow to write his epic poem,
0:46:46 > 0:46:47The Song Of Hiawatha.
0:46:49 > 0:46:52Enchanted by the name Minnehaha,
0:46:52 > 0:46:56Longfellow used it for his Native American hero's beautiful lover.
0:46:58 > 0:47:00To hear more, I'm meeting Charles Calhoun,
0:47:00 > 0:47:03who has written a book about Longfellow.
0:47:05 > 0:47:07Welcome to Minnehaha Falls, Michael.
0:47:07 > 0:47:10Thank you very much. Did Longfellow come here to study...?
0:47:10 > 0:47:13No, no, no. He was very desk-bound in his very beautiful house
0:47:13 > 0:47:16in Cambridge, Massachusetts, near Harvard, where he had been teaching,
0:47:16 > 0:47:18but he had a wonderful imagination
0:47:18 > 0:47:21and he could take what he read in these books about Indian legends
0:47:21 > 0:47:24and more and this wonderful array of Indian place names
0:47:24 > 0:47:27and personal names and turn it into a great epic.
0:47:29 > 0:47:32The poem tells of the life of Hiawatha,
0:47:32 > 0:47:35a mythical Native American warrior and leader,
0:47:35 > 0:47:37from his birth to manhood,
0:47:37 > 0:47:41and the tragedy of his love for the beautiful Minnehaha.
0:47:41 > 0:47:46Hiawatha performs brave and magical deeds, slays foes
0:47:46 > 0:47:48and woos his lover, but she dies.
0:47:48 > 0:47:52He quits his people, sailing into the sunset.
0:47:52 > 0:47:55Do you think he had an intention with the poem?
0:47:55 > 0:47:58Yes, he was one of these 19th-century poets
0:47:58 > 0:48:01who wanted to write a great bardic epic that would summarise
0:48:01 > 0:48:04the history of this country and bring its peoples,
0:48:04 > 0:48:06its varied peoples, together.
0:48:06 > 0:48:10And he saw that the obvious material wasn't in New England,
0:48:10 > 0:48:14it was in the West, where the Native Americans were still thriving.
0:48:16 > 0:48:19The Song of Hiawatha became an instant bestseller
0:48:19 > 0:48:22and made Longfellow one of the wealthiest
0:48:22 > 0:48:24and best-known authors of his day.
0:48:24 > 0:48:29But many Americans criticised his choice of subject matter.
0:48:29 > 0:48:31As you read it,
0:48:31 > 0:48:35what attitude from him towards Native Americans do you infer?
0:48:35 > 0:48:38Well, I think he was sympathetic, certainly,
0:48:38 > 0:48:40or he wouldn't have launched such a huge project, but he,
0:48:40 > 0:48:41like many people in his time,
0:48:41 > 0:48:45he saw them as noble savages and he stressed the noble part of it.
0:48:45 > 0:48:48Yet, for most Americans at that time,
0:48:48 > 0:48:51it was the savage side of that phrase that really predominated.
0:48:51 > 0:48:55It is so strange, the poem comes out and has this huge readership,
0:48:55 > 0:48:57yet within a generation,
0:48:57 > 0:49:02so many of the Native Americans in this country have been wiped out.
0:49:02 > 0:49:05Tell me about the sound of the poem. It has a very specific metre.
0:49:05 > 0:49:09Yes, it's written in a metre called trochaic tetrameter.
0:49:09 > 0:49:11Which means a strong beat, a soft beat,
0:49:11 > 0:49:14a strong beat, a soft beat, over four measures.
0:49:14 > 0:49:17So you get what sounds to us like a tom-tom beat.
0:49:17 > 0:49:19Boom-boom, boom-boom, boom-boom, boom-boom.
0:49:19 > 0:49:21"By the shores of Gitche Gumee."
0:49:21 > 0:49:23You might be surprised to know that I,
0:49:23 > 0:49:27brought up maybe 4,500 miles from Minnehaha Falls,
0:49:27 > 0:49:29was taught the poem at school.
0:49:29 > 0:49:32Excellent. That makes my day to hear that.
0:49:32 > 0:49:34And how much of it do you remember?
0:49:35 > 0:49:37Ah! THEY LAUGH
0:49:37 > 0:49:40Well, what I remember is precisely the beat.
0:49:40 > 0:49:42- It's hypnotic.- I remember the metre.
0:49:42 > 0:49:45But now, it looks like you've got a copy of it there.
0:49:45 > 0:49:48Yes, a very nice early edition.
0:49:48 > 0:49:50- Please, help yourself. - Thank you very much.
0:49:52 > 0:49:56"There the ancient Arrow-maker Made his arrow heads of sandstone.
0:49:56 > 0:50:00"With him dwelt his dark-eyed daughter,
0:50:00 > 0:50:02"Wayward as the Minnehaha,
0:50:02 > 0:50:05"With her moods of shade and sunshine,
0:50:05 > 0:50:08"Eyes that smiled and frowned alternate,
0:50:08 > 0:50:10"Feet as rapid as the river,
0:50:10 > 0:50:12"Tresses flowing like the water,
0:50:12 > 0:50:15"And as musical a laughter.
0:50:15 > 0:50:19"And he named her from the river, From the waterfall he named her.
0:50:19 > 0:50:22"Minnehaha, Laughing Water."
0:50:22 > 0:50:24- Well done.- It's lovely. Absolutely lovely.
0:50:24 > 0:50:28I could read from the railroad timetable now, if you'd like.
0:50:28 > 0:50:32Now the 0800 passes, now the 0805 approaches.
0:50:32 > 0:50:34- Choo-choo.- Choo-choo.
0:50:43 > 0:50:44At the time of my guidebook,
0:50:44 > 0:50:47freight accounted for the largest share of railroad
0:50:47 > 0:50:51business in the United States, as it does today,
0:50:51 > 0:50:55but a new era of opulent passenger travel was dawning.
0:50:58 > 0:51:00Although I've grown fond of the Metro,
0:51:00 > 0:51:05it's not hard to imagine a more luxurious railway carriage.
0:51:05 > 0:51:07In the heyday on the railroads
0:51:07 > 0:51:09between the Twin Cities and Chicago -
0:51:09 > 0:51:14what was known as the Milwaukee Road - prestigious trains ran.
0:51:14 > 0:51:18Special cars catered for the pre-jet jet set -
0:51:18 > 0:51:21the rich, the famous, the glamorous.
0:51:28 > 0:51:31I've come to a rail yard in north-east Minneapolis,
0:51:31 > 0:51:35home to a collection of beloved relics of the Milwaukee Road.
0:51:36 > 0:51:41Rail enthusiast Steve Sandberg will be my guide to the golden age
0:51:41 > 0:51:43of luxury train travel.
0:51:43 > 0:51:47- Hello, Steve.- Welcome to Minnesota, the Land of 10,000 lakes.
0:51:47 > 0:51:48MICHAEL LAUGHS
0:51:48 > 0:51:51And of beautifully restored rolling stock.
0:51:51 > 0:51:53How come they are in such great condition?
0:51:53 > 0:51:55Well, they've been wonderfully restored
0:51:55 > 0:51:58by the members of the Friends of the 261,
0:51:58 > 0:52:01which is a non-profit railway heritage organisation,
0:52:01 > 0:52:03here in the United States.
0:52:03 > 0:52:07What was the origin of luxury travel on American railroads?
0:52:07 > 0:52:12Well, really, post-1900 was when most of your families,
0:52:12 > 0:52:15the Carnegies, the Vanderbilts, the Woolworths,
0:52:15 > 0:52:17all of those famous families,
0:52:17 > 0:52:19owned fleets of private Pullman cars.
0:52:19 > 0:52:21It's like a corporate jet in today's era.
0:52:21 > 0:52:24And all of America's wealthiest people
0:52:24 > 0:52:28would have not only one but several Pullman private cars.
0:52:28 > 0:52:30Pullman is an iconic name and brand,
0:52:30 > 0:52:34- may we start with the Pullman car, please?- Absolutely.
0:52:34 > 0:52:36- Come this way.- Thank you.
0:52:38 > 0:52:41With the advent of the sleeper car,
0:52:41 > 0:52:45express transcontinental rail travel was reduced from weeks
0:52:45 > 0:52:47to a few days.
0:52:47 > 0:52:51- Thank you very much. - Welcome aboard the Lambert's Point.
0:52:51 > 0:52:54Ah! Beautiful luxury.
0:52:54 > 0:52:57Well, if we come this way, we've got bedrooms, dining room and kitchen.
0:52:57 > 0:53:01- Come on in.- Oh, look at this one. - And this is the master bedroom.
0:53:01 > 0:53:04Oh, beautiful. Let's bounce on the bed.
0:53:07 > 0:53:10- These people knew how to live. - Yes, absolutely splendid.
0:53:10 > 0:53:13This is how some of America's wealthiest and famous people
0:53:13 > 0:53:16would have travelled cross-country at the turn of the century.
0:53:16 > 0:53:20'Then, like today, the dining car was the heart of life on board.'
0:53:20 > 0:53:22Ah, yes. Look at this.
0:53:24 > 0:53:25Isn't that beautiful?
0:53:25 > 0:53:27'And on the Lambert's Point,
0:53:27 > 0:53:30'private chefs prepared everything from scratch,
0:53:30 > 0:53:33'from turtle soup to porterhouse steak.'
0:53:33 > 0:53:35- Crystal, I take it?- Yes.
0:53:35 > 0:53:36GLASS CLINKS
0:53:37 > 0:53:39BELL RINGS
0:53:39 > 0:53:43So, when the airplane starts to compete in the post-war years,
0:53:43 > 0:53:45how do the railroads respond?
0:53:45 > 0:53:48Well, right after World War II,
0:53:48 > 0:53:53railroads started to go with more luxury travel for the masses.
0:53:53 > 0:53:55They thought that they would actually just put
0:53:55 > 0:53:57the airline industry right out of business.
0:53:59 > 0:54:01From the mid-1940s,
0:54:01 > 0:54:03railroad companies all over the United States
0:54:03 > 0:54:07launched new high-speed services with Pullman cars
0:54:07 > 0:54:10to attract upmarket passengers and business travellers.
0:54:12 > 0:54:13On the Pennsylvania Railway,
0:54:13 > 0:54:15they've put a new cheap-fare luxury train into service
0:54:15 > 0:54:17between Chicago and New York.
0:54:17 > 0:54:20It's the company's answer to the competitive Western Railway scheme.
0:54:20 > 0:54:22And though the fares are reduced, the comfort has increased.
0:54:22 > 0:54:25They're trying the Pullman appeal.
0:54:25 > 0:54:28Here in the Twin Cities, they went one better.
0:54:28 > 0:54:31The Hiawatha was an entirely streamlined train
0:54:31 > 0:54:34with a distinctive orange and grey livery,
0:54:34 > 0:54:37including the world's first double-decker car,
0:54:37 > 0:54:38topped with a glass dome,
0:54:38 > 0:54:42custom-built for the Milwaukee Road rail company.
0:54:44 > 0:54:47What amazes me about these cars is the size.
0:54:47 > 0:54:51They are so wide, they are so high, and of course,
0:54:51 > 0:54:54you've got the beautiful vista of the countryside passing.
0:54:54 > 0:54:55Yes, this car, when it was built,
0:54:55 > 0:55:00it was the heaviest passenger rail car ever built, at 248,000lb.
0:55:00 > 0:55:0316ft tall, 85ft long.
0:55:03 > 0:55:06So, what does the Hiawatha train really consist of?
0:55:06 > 0:55:08Well, in 1934,
0:55:08 > 0:55:11the concept was developed for a high-speed train
0:55:11 > 0:55:15that would operate at speeds of 110-120mph,
0:55:15 > 0:55:17from Minneapolis to Chicago.
0:55:17 > 0:55:21There was two each day that ran out of Minneapolis and two that departed
0:55:21 > 0:55:23each day out of Chicago.
0:55:23 > 0:55:26They had the morning Hiawatha and the afternoon Hiawatha.
0:55:26 > 0:55:29And it's so interesting to see the way that luxury
0:55:29 > 0:55:33has been developed for a fairly mass market here.
0:55:33 > 0:55:35So, this was competing with the airplane?
0:55:35 > 0:55:38Yeah, this was all about space, luxury, and speed,
0:55:38 > 0:55:42and when you were travelling in 1948 on an airplane,
0:55:42 > 0:55:44it was very cramped, it was very noisy,
0:55:44 > 0:55:47and it was an unpressurised cabin that didn't go very far
0:55:47 > 0:55:48between fuelling stops.
0:55:51 > 0:55:53Frankly, I need no more persuading.
0:55:53 > 0:55:57I'm booked on the afternoon Hiawatha out of Minneapolis,
0:55:57 > 0:56:00which today is pulling a piece of railroad history.
0:56:00 > 0:56:03- Hello.- Good morning. Welcome aboard.- Thank you.
0:56:03 > 0:56:07And I've bagged the back seat for the ride of a lifetime.
0:56:08 > 0:56:12Designed by famed industrial designer Brooks Stevens,
0:56:12 > 0:56:15the Cedar Rapids car is one of only four
0:56:15 > 0:56:19Skytop observation parlour lounges ever built,
0:56:19 > 0:56:21and the only one still gracing the rails today.
0:56:23 > 0:56:25And so, a dream come true.
0:56:25 > 0:56:30Riding on the tracks of the old Milwaukee Road in a Cedar Rapids
0:56:30 > 0:56:33observation car from 1948.
0:56:33 > 0:56:35That moment in history
0:56:35 > 0:56:38when the design of airliner and train collided
0:56:38 > 0:56:40to produce this beautiful object.
0:56:44 > 0:56:47The airlines won the war against the railroads.
0:56:47 > 0:56:51But in the modern world, when the greatest luxury is quality time,
0:56:51 > 0:56:54you're hard pressed to beat this.
0:56:59 > 0:57:03The phenomenal growth of Minneapolis and Saint Paul from nothing
0:57:03 > 0:57:08to major cities resulted from the power of the waters
0:57:08 > 0:57:11and the enterprise of the American tycoon.
0:57:11 > 0:57:18Wealth and luxury mesmerised F Scott Fitzgerald and the American public.
0:57:18 > 0:57:22The land and the waters had once belonged to the Native American.
0:57:22 > 0:57:27The poet Longfellow was far ahead of his time in showing respect,
0:57:27 > 0:57:29even if a little patronising,
0:57:29 > 0:57:32for a civilisation that was squashed
0:57:32 > 0:57:34as the railroads rolled west.
0:57:38 > 0:57:44Next time, on my travels, I immerse myself in Native American culture...
0:57:44 > 0:57:47- How do you like it? - I love it.- Yeah?
0:57:47 > 0:57:48TRAIN HORN BLARES
0:57:48 > 0:57:52..take a crash course in lacrosse.
0:57:52 > 0:57:55- Oh.- That's all right. We got a helmet for a reason.
0:57:55 > 0:57:57CHUCKLING: Didn't even see it.
0:57:59 > 0:58:02I bury myself in a Thanksgiving harvest.
0:58:02 > 0:58:07We are moving a vast number of cranberries.
0:58:07 > 0:58:10And find out how the railroad spread the joy
0:58:10 > 0:58:12of the greatest show on Earth.
0:58:12 > 0:58:14Here comes the train and there's an elephant trunk
0:58:14 > 0:58:16sticking out of one of it,
0:58:16 > 0:58:19there's a clown sitting on the vestibule of another.