New book highlights WSCO’s origins

The book was written by longtime West Siders and married couple Ralph and Judy Brown as their “gift to the community.” It’s available free for download or reading online at healthyagitation.com. Beginning in mid-November, a limited number of print copies will be given away at local events. The title stems from an article in the long-gone East Side Star newspaper that praised West Siders way back in 1901 for their community activism. The article concluded with “There is a disposition amongst the people across the river to build up their section of the city, and this can be accomplished by a healthy agitation.”

The book is a collective memoir with information from people who were involved in community affairs during pivotal moments of change. The authors say they tried to reflect the differences of opinion that arose during times, which were accompanied by a gamut of emotions, from anger and fear to humor and joy to frustration or satisfaction. In addition to saving Humboldt and becoming the city’s first district council, other notable West Side community efforts recounted in the book include stopping Xcel Energy from releasing cancer-causing chemicals into the air; initiating major housing rehabilitation and development projects; creating The Voice community newspaper (today’s St. Paul Voice); securing funding and support for a new Smith Avenue High Bridge; blocking highway plans to demolish Our Lady of Guadalupe Church and surrounding homes; preserving public access to Harriet Island and starting new neighborhood parks; launching Prescott House programs, leading to the state’s first Spanish-language AA group; organizing Riverfront Days and RiverFest festivals along the Mississippi River; starting Teens Networking Together youth group; and preventing the closure of the Riverview Library.

The Browns had a front row seat at many of those events. At one point, each worked as a community organizer for WSCO, but not at the same time, and Judy served as executive director from 1992-96. Over the years the couple has never strayed from WSCO’s reach. They have served on committees and the board of directors, and Ralph has attended every one of
WSCO’s annual meetings; Judy missed just one due to the birth of one of their children. In 2023, the Browns agreed to serve on a committee to organize WSCO’s 50th anniversary celebration. It was then that it became apparent that no written history of the organization existed. To rectify the problem, the other committee members cajoled them into taking on the task. It proved to be a herculean effort.

“I was apprehensive for a couple of reasons. One is, I knew it would take a lot of time,” said Ralph, who understood what he was getting into. During his career he worked as a consultant writing analytical reports for state government. “The data sources were not that great. They were there but there were gaps.” The lack of information concerned him as he wanted to accurately present all sides of events that took place up to 50 years ago.

In 2023 he was a regular fixture at the Gale Research Library at the Minnesota History Center, combing through a mountain of newspaper archives and scores of other documents. He estimates that he and Judy spent 3,000 hours on research, analysis and production, and about $10,000 to see the project to fruition. A $3,600 grant from the Minnesota Historical Society helped pay for an illustrator – West Side native Richard Schletty – and some production costs, including printing 500 copies. Otherwise, the rest came from their own pockets.

In a recent interview, the couple shared their thoughts on why people became involved with WSCO in the early years and why community advocacy remains important today.

“The times WSCO did its best work is when people [leaders in education, government and big business] did something that made people angry,” said Ralph. For him, a tipping point came in the early ’70s when St. Paul Public Schools purchased new auditorium seats for Highland Park High School, located in an affluent area of the city.

“What do you think they did with the old seats?” he asked rhetorically. “Well, they put them in Humboldt…. Our kids got the secondhand stuff that other parents didn’t want even though we’re all paying taxes. That made people angry.” The Brown’s four children all graduated from Humboldt.

While anger often sparks action, Ralph was quick to point out that it must be bridled to be effective.

“Of all the emotions, anger is the most powerful, and if you control your anger it’s an amazingly creative force. But if your anger controls you, then you’re done for,” he said. “You cannot be controlled by your anger. We know through experience that if you expect City Hall, the school district, county board and everyone else to make the decisions that affect your life, you’re going to be very frustrated with some of the decisions. You ought to be in a position where you can respond as well.”
Judy said WSCO and other district councils are most effective when an issue to be addressed originates from a resident or group of people.

“We had a rule that a person had to come to a committee, and then the committee had to get WSCO board members to agree to work on it,” she said. “It was always generated by a person in the community that had an issue.” If enough people felt the issue was valid, WSCO would get behind it.

Even today, the Browns continue to encourage residents to make their voices heard.

“Are there things in your community that could be better than they are and are you willing to spend time with neighbors who share that opinion to try to make it the way you want it to be?” said Ralph. “All of those things can be accomplished if people get together and work on them, and we know that because we’ve done it.”

Book signing events:
3-5 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 9, at Riverview Library
5-7 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 2, at Riverview Library, 1 E. George St.
5-7 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 6, at the West Side holiday boutique at the Church of St. Matthew social hall, 510 Hall Ave.
11 a.m.-1 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 7, at the West Side holiday boutique at the Church of St. Matthew social hall

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