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The Bryant Boys Club had its first meeting on March 13, 1941 at the Bryant Avenue Precinct.

The meeting began with a snack which we can see from the photograph included hot dogs, buns and pop.

Pictured serving the club members are (L to R) Officer Earl Aitchison, Officer Edward Bolstad, Captain John Finlayson, Officer Phillip Carlson, and Sergeant Charles Gannon.

Photograph courtesy of Hennepin County Library

During the Second World War, most U.S. factories shifted their production lines from manufacturing household goods to producing munitions and military goods.

Formerly common materials such as metal, rubber, and paper became scarce and salvage drives became popular crowd-sourcing events to help address the shortages.

In addition to shoring up supplies of needed materials, salvage drives gave citizens a sense of pride because they were contributing to the war effort.

On April 26, 1944, Minneapolis held the “W-Day Salvage Drive” and asked the community to contribute their waste paper with the goal of collecting 1,000,000 pounds.

The waste paper collected would go on to be used for shell casings, bomb bands, plasma cartons, K-ration boxes, and packing material.

On April 26, 1944, people all across Minneapolis pitched in to make a difference.

In the top photograph, the Boy Scouts of Troop 152, Zion Baptist Church, are shown delivering 700 pounds of waste paper they have personally collected.

In the middle photograph, members of the Chicago-Lake Businessmen’s Association are pictured doing their part.

In the bottom photograph, three tons of ledgers, journals, and confidential files from Northwestern National Bank dating back to 1884 are taken under guard for shredding. Shown L to R are: Minneapolis Police Officer Charles Keehn, Bank Caretaker Karl Karzeniowski, Minneapolis Police Officer Chris Peterson, and Bank Clerk Carole Anderson.

Photographs courtesy of Hennepin County Library

It was two days before Christmas Eve in 1944 when Minneapolis Police Officer Marion Brindley took on the job of moving a cow from a Northeast Minneapolis intersection. The cow had escaped from a livestock truck after the vehicle was hit by a coal truck at the corner of Northeast Harrison Street and 3rd Avenue. No injuries were sustained in the accident.

Photograph courtesy of Hennepin County Library

You may recall the story of Officer Marwin A. Wicklund whom we honored in a post on May 24.

Officer Wicklund was the only member of the Minneapolis Police Department ever to be killed while on military duty.

In this photograph, Officer Wicklund is shown (right) writing a citation for streetcar driver Katherine Hanson (center) as Officer Carl Johnson (left) looks on.

This photograph was taken on June 25, 1944, just five weeks before Officer Wicklund was accepted into the Marines.

Photograph courtesy of Hennepin County Library

In 1942, the Minneapolis Police Department built and configured the Air Raid Control Center which was subsequently staffed and managed by municipal employees.

This photograph was taken on September 11, 1942.

From left to right we see: O. A. Pearson, Chief of the Air Raid Control Center for Minneapolis, conferring with Spencer Brader, his assistant while Nathan Harris, Panel Clerk, records the location and type of incident reported to the telephone bank operators and Herman Olson, Plotter, charts the incident on a large map of the city.

Photograph courtesy of Hennepin County Library

A line of Air Raid Wardens receive instructions at the East Side police station before the first Minneapolis air raid blackout drill in 1942.

Photograph courtesy of Hennepin County Library

Here is a photograph of Officer Melvin M. Gunderson helping push a car uphill on a cold and snowy winter’s night. We think that this photograph may have been taken in South Minneapolis. We do not know what year this photograph was taken and wonder if anyone can help identify the approximate year?

Photograph courtesy of Hennepin County Library