Pillsbury Mansion

Somewhere someone is saying, "How long can he keep this up?"

OK, so this one is usually known as the Gale Mansion, but it is the next house on the block, next to Alfred's house, two doors down from Charles.And, it is most certainly a Pillsbury Mansion. Edward Chanary Gale was the son of Minneapolis pioneer real estate broker Samuel Gale. His wife, Sara Bell Pillsbury (known as Sadie), was the younger daughter of Governor John S. Pillsbury. That makes her Alfred's sister, cousin to Charles S. (on the corner) and niece of Charles A. (across the street). The Gales lived here until they died, both in 1943. The house is now owned by the American Association of University Women.

From the Architecture Guide to the Twin Cities:

"Beaux-Arts mansions can easily seem overbearing but that's not the case here. This elegant, subtly asymmetrical Renaissance Revival house keeps everything at a human scale. The wrought iron balconies, the intimate colonnade and veranda along 22nd Street East, and the ornament all convey a sense of quiet graciousness, as do the rooms within."

Before I leave this topic here is another interesting Pillsbury family tidbit I acquired during my working life, concerning John Pillsbury Snyder.

John Pillsbury Snyder is a representative of one of the oldest families of Minneapolis. His grandfather, Simon Peter Snyder, established his home in what was then Saint Anthony, in 1885. Soon after his arrival in Minneapolis, Mr. Snyder had purchased eighty acres of land near Nicollet Avenue and Tenth street, which he platted as Snyder's first addition to Minneapolis. Snyder and his wife occupied the first frame house built on the west side of the river and their son Fred was born in 1859 in that house. That house is now referred to as the Stevens house. It is now located in Minnehaha Park.

Fred B. Snyder was married September 23, 1885, to Susan M. Pillsbury, older daughter of Governor John S. Pillsbury. She died in 1891, leaving a son, John Pillsbury Snyder.

John Pillsbury Snyder was married in 1912 to Miss Nelle Stevenson when he was 24 years old, she was 23. They honeymooned in Europe. For the return voyage they boarded HMS Titanic at Southampton. Traveling as first class passengers, they occupied cabin B-45.

Some newspapers reported that after the iceberg had been struck a crewman had called out, "Put in the brides and grooms first!" So Mr. and Mrs. Snyder edged forward. Mrs. Snyder was quite frightened at how far below the decks the water was. Later she said that no one thought it was safe to leave the ship. She described how first class gentlemen, including John Jacob Astor, kept telling them, "Don't get into the lifeboats. This ship can't possibly sink." They heard this over and over again, despite the fact that the crew kept ordering people to abandon ship.

The Snyders boarded the lifeboat which because so few seemed interested in leaving the ship, departed from the Titanic less than half full at about 1:15 a.m. They were both rescued in Lifeboat 7.

John P. Snyder died on July 22, 1959. An avid golfer, he suffered a massive heart attack while playing a round on Woodhill Golf Course in Orono.

Nelle Snyder died in Wayzata on December 9, 1983, at the age of 94.

This afternoon in France, FC Nantes has successfully advanced to the next round of le Coupe de France.

ASC Romagné 1:7 FC Nantes. Nantes led 5 nil at the half.