Old Camden

Under the Camden Bridge, Minneapolis, 1973

"Old Camden" referred to an area of a few square blocks next to the Mississippi
River, just down a hill from "Camden", a small business district on Minneapolis' north side. In the late 1800's it had an active mill, with a small dam on a creek named for the shingles which were made there. In the 50's and 60's it was completely undeveloped, the tall Camden bridge over it dominated the area. It remained popular- with fishermen, kids and the occasional wino. There were islands in the river to swim to and explore on a hot summer day, with rope swings out over the water and small sandy beaches.

The gothic-looking bridge had its share of graffiti- mostly just scratched stuff, no real "art". It was cool underneath it, and the years of water seeping through it had caused little limestone stalactites to form in spots. On a Friday or Saturday night there would be teenagers drinking, and playing hide and seek from the police.

The bridge remains, its been rebuilt twice since I used to hang out there, the whole area has been turned in to a park, nicer in some ways, but no longer "Old Camden".

Minnesota

Selected FITK posts on the Professor’s sojourns in the Land of Lakes:

2021

Mysteries of Grand Marais
Wine Tour (Stillwater)

2020

Honky-Tonk Woman (Waverly)
The Last Gig (Northeast Minneapolis)
Jono’s Letter (Grand Marais)
Heroes and Villans (South Minneapolis)
Yard Concert (Robbinsdale)
Nature Preserve (Anoka) 
Prom Nights (Saint Paul)
State Fair Memories (Falcon Heights)
Adventures with the Green Van (Bemidji)
My Last Cigar (Cambridge)

2019

Take-out (Anoka)
Paradise Found and Lost (Minneapolis)
The End of Winter (Anoka)
Small Town Talk (Anoka)
Skaterdater (Minneapolis)
() (Minneapolis)
Halloween Terrors (Anoka)
Weekend in New Ulm

2018

Five From the Frigid Fair (Falcon Heights)
On the Town (Anoka)
Art-A-Whirl (NE Minneapolis)
I Live in a Magical World (Anoka)
I Dig the Nightlife (South Minneapolis)
Savoury Summer (Anoka)
Surreal Saturday (Downtown Minneapolis)
Waseca Wonders

2017

Grand Marais by Night
More Grand Marais
Farewell Grand Marais
Harriet and Desha (Saint Paul)
Food Truck Frenzy (Anoka)
Midnight Serenade (Chatfield)
Purcell-Cutts House (Minneapolis)

2016

Jack Clark’s Bar and Cafe (North Minneapolis)
Transition (North Minneapolis)
Green Lake (North Minneapolis)
Anoka Home Tour
Four More from the Fair (Falcon Heights)
Four from the Fair
Fair Friday Final Four
North (Cook County)

2015

Art-A-Whirl (Minneapolis)
Ergot Museum (Dassel)
Rivertown Ramble (Anoka)
Saturday in the Park (Waseca)
River Rats (Anoka)
Four From the Fair (Falcon Heights)
Four More From the Fair
Further Fair Foursome
Fair Final Four

2014

Trail Center (Cook County)
Young at Heart Records (Duluth)
Country Auction (1970-Upsala)
Art-A-Whirl (Minneapolis)
A Jolly Excursion (Minneapolis-Saint Paul)
From Paradise to Sunrise (Kanabec County)
The Crazy Lady’s House (Kanabec County)
Clambering in the Fog (Anoka)

2013

Street Street (Anoka)
Playing Hooky (Minneapolis)
Art-A-Whirl (Minneapolis)
More from Art-A-Whirl
Mr. Lucky (Minneapolis)
Family Values (Two Harbors)
Stale Pop (Minneapolis)
Mansion on the Hill (Anoka)
Loring Park Girls (Minneapolis)
I Love the Fair (Falcon Heights)
Pipestone

2012

Art-A-Whirl (NE Minneapolis)
Prairie Home Cemetery (Anoka)
Alice in Wonderland (Waverly)
William A. Porter (North Minneapolis)
Frank R. MacDonald (North Minneapolis)
Charles C. Webber (North Minneapolis)

2011

Sleepy Eye
Bands, Beer and Birds (New Ulm)
New Ulm
Hot Rods and Custom Dreams (Anoka)
Ye Old Mill (Falcon Heights)
Aprés-Ski (Morrison County)

2010 and older…

Postcards from the Fair (Falcon Heights)
Old Camden (Minneapolis)
Street Corner Philosopher (Minneapolis)
Twilight of the Goddesses (Minneapolis)
Luncheon on the Grass (Waverly)
Mysteries of the North Country
Curiosity Shop (Northfield)
The Interlopers (Lanesboro)
Beaver Flicks (Grand Marais)

Pack Ice

Driving over the Mississippi River (on a bridge) I noticed that the ice had been breaking up and drifting down in floes. That reminded me of a time, some forty years ago, when two of my classmates thought that a semi-frozen river was a good place to play.

Barry and Dan were down by the river at a spot called “Old Camden”, where the remains of a nineteenth-century shingle mill had been located. The weren’t any structures, just a few pieces of concrete here and there, and the sluiceway that fed the old mill. The boys had been poking around the shore and found a dead cat. In an act of idle curiousity they threw the cat on an ice floe that was circling in a back water. The cat and the floe continued in their oscillation. Feeling brave (or was it just stupid) the boys hopped on the floating berg. They too went round and round. Barry, as teen-aged boys are wont to do, grew tired of this activity and leapt on shore. The extra kick from his leap pushed the floe out into the mainstream. Dan was now the captain and crew of the USS Icecube, heading down the river.

Oh, did I mention the waterfall? But that’s getting ahead of the story.

Dan was adrift, and too far from shore to jump and, with the water being a cozy 33° F., swimming was not an inviting option either. Barry was on shore and was, as teen-aged boys are also wont to do, laughing. Dan was getting scared now. A passing motorist saw his plight and phoned police. The fire department brought out a boat to the nearest landing—about two miles downstream. Just before the waterfall. There was quite a crowd when they snatched Dan from what could have been a watery grave.

The next day, there on the front page of the newspaper, was Dan, drifting down the Mississippi on pack ice, in the middle of February. He became a local legend. No one else ever tried to copy that stunt, however.

Most teen-aged boys, thankfully, aren’t quite that dumb.

Mississippi

As a feckless youth, many a fine summer's day was spent on the shores and in the water of the mighty Mississippi river, literally a stone’s throw away from my boyhood home. We were always warned “stay away from the river” and drownings, although not common, were by no means unheard of. In the middle of July the water would usually be quite low so that most of the river, excepting the main channel, was 3 or 4 feet deep. This was the time for drifting. We’d put on our old tennis shoes and shorts, a ripped t-shirt and last year’s baseball cap and hike a couple of miles upstream. There we’d wade in about a third of the way across, and then drift down with the current, bouncing off the bottom for several miles until we reached Old Camden, where the long abandoned shingle mills once stood. There were sand bar islands there, with rope swings or, if we did brave the mainstream and cross to the other side, the city waterworks. We would climb the scaffolding above the water intake, and dive into the only really deep part of the river.

We weren’t totally reckless and we learned respect for the river. We learned the indication of a sunken tree that could trap you underwater, the hazardous current by the islands, and we also learned to most important lesson about swimming in a river:

Always go with the flow. It'’s too hard to swim against the current. If you want to cross, aim downstream, let the river push you and take you where it will let you go. Watch out for hazards, keep your wits about you, but don’t fight it. You’ll get where you want to go, but not by the shortest route. It is dangerous and you will get a little muddy but that’s the joy of it.

Teeny Bopper Field Trip

Minneapolis, 1976

I had been “volunteered” for my little sister's photo class field trip, hosting a mix of boys and girls from 12 to 14. We went down to an area of Minneapolis called “Old Camden” which had once been a thriving business district but had been little used for many years. Part of it was on a flood plain which had reverted to its natural state.

The kids had fun. It was an adventure and educational, although the amount of photographic instruction was minimal. It was just an excuse to get out and run around. But in away it was a trick, a trick done to enable these kids to be able to directly apprehend reality.

It was one of my best days.

Mill Dam

Shingle Creek, Old Camden, North Minneapolis, 1974

Took my wheat down to get it ground
The man that runs the mill said the mill’s broke down
What’s the matter with the mill
(oh it’s done broke down)
What's the matter with the mill
(oh it's done broke down)
Can't get no grinding
Tell me what’s the matter with the mill

Dogma

A collection of memorable FITK posts, sorted by year:

2025

Óx Revisited
Willey House
Endless Summer Redux
Orange Crush
Sound 80 and Me
Mosh Pit
I want to…
Strange Santa Fe
Experiments in AI
Market Day
The Eternal Dynamic

2024

Apple Loves Me
Love of an Adolescent
Adventures in Fine Woodworking
Memories Like Jazz
The Camden Motel
Cosmic Appple
Return to Shepherd’s Harvest
Kenergy
Virtual Exercise
The Best Day
Happy New Year

2023

Puzzling Perspective
Iceland 2023 Recap
RLBQ
Mothers and Daughters
Food Truck Frenzy
Clouds Over Grand Marais
Snookies Malt Shop
Finely Drawn
Retro Dance Party!
Móðir, kona, meyja
Love Hurts Twice
Soggy Sharon

2022

Day One
Lifting the Shroud
Flu Shot Saga
Simple Meals Are Best
Modern Problem
Bubble World Revisited
Job Opportunity
The Eagle Has Landed
Suicide Tourist
Another Invitation
French Connections
An Invitation

2021

Time Traveling With Bob
Fun with Dick and Joan and Bob and Mimi
Sandhill Cranes
Adventures in Linguistics
Return to Bubble World
Peggy and Her Pals
Matchbook Masterpieces
Ghost Neighborhood
Arty Party
Audio Artifacts…
Fan Dancer’s Horse
Puzzled

2020

My Last Cigar
Tony Glover Auction
Road Trip
State Fair Memories
Marlene Mania
God in the Garden
Hat Trick
Viral Sharon
Jono’s Letter
The Last Gig
My First Date Redux
Honky-Tonk Woman

2019

Waiting, Wishing, Hoping
Weekend in New Ulm
Dylan Double Down
Four More From the Fair
Bubbleworld
Beat Travel Guide
Arty Afternoon on Willy Street
Authority Figure
Golden Boy Redux
JC Revisited
Dreams on a Winter Afternoon
First Avenue

2018

Ceramic Culture
Airwaves and Gender
Anorexic
Light Birds
Red Sun
Savoury Summer
Hot Fun in the Summertime
Art-A-Whirl
Fade to Black
Godzilla Valentine
Pulp Flippist

2017

Porcelain Queen
Farmers Market
Wednesday Night…
Betra Líf
Twinned
Food Truck Frenzy
Art vs. Nature
Pastoral
Livestock
East Jesus
Baffled by Benchley
Harriet and Desha

2016

Walking with Ms. Lee
Great Minds Think Alike
How Does it Feel?
Through a Glass, Darkly
Missives from the Jazz Age
Learning to Fly
Astronauts: A Love Story
Searching for Shoshanah
Green Lake
Depth of Focus
February Thaw
All those moments…

2015

Proustian Dilemma
The Situation Girls
Fimm Konur
Four From the Fair
Girls’ Night Out
Saturday in the Park
Rivertown Ramble
Flaming Youth
Visions of Shoshanah
Woman Lake - 1980
It’s All Too Beautiful
Endless Summer

2014

Old Friends
Wanda in Art School
The Last Day of Summer
Bayfield 1984
Trail Center
From Paradise to Sunrise
Origami Litter
Art in Bloom
Face at the Window
Wanda Gág Day
Creative Writing
Germanium

2013

The Artist and the Collector
The Divine Mrs. M
45th Parallel
Blooms
I Love the Fair
The Mansion on the Hill
Iceland for Night Owls
Two Tickets to Paradise
Missed Connections
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
Playing Hooky
Chanteuse

2012

Cindy Sherman
Sunday Night Shopper
Silent Movie
Last Days of Summer
Alice in Wonderland
Night at the Improv
Love Letters Straight from Your Heart
Howie’s
The Maestro's Farewell
Fathers and Daughters
Oral
The Wallflower

2011

Convergence
Book Review
Batty Visits Development Hell
Bill
Best Friends Forever
When Cars Had Tits
Batty’s World Tour
Patina
The Mystery of Ye Old Mill
Rituals of Courtship
Joni Mitchell’s Coyote
Walking on Thin Ice

2010

The Music of Failure
Postcards from Chennai
Sharon as Salome
Cosmic Call
Summer Hiatus
Camping With Sharon
Not Jim
Archie
Loss of a Pet
Pascal Pinon
January Thaw

2009

Mál og menning
Bill Holm's Last Reading
The Pastels
L'Opera dei Dannati
Sod
The iPad™
Haunted Castle
Ensculptic
Sex Dreams
Invader
Black Forest
Iceland at the Crossroads

2008

Saturday Matinee
Cold Comfort Farm
Richmond
Elizabeth the Great
Oh! Those BC Girls
Desperately Seeking Sharon
Milestones in haberdashery
Summer Love
Soliloquy
Door
The Visitor
Soft-core

2007

Cold Night
Single Mother
Amiina Now
Beautiful Kisses
Comica's Temptation
Green Lake
P.A.F
Twinned
Sweet Rolls and Silence
A Familial Misunderstanding
Found Object

2006

700 Year Old Disclaimer
The Boat of Longing
Hippies in the Heartland
Fine, I won’t walk around at night...
lines.
Smoking Lessons - The Pipe
Family Values
Hau Tree Lanai
Seasonal Equipoise
Water
Garden Party
More Postcards From Calcutta

2005

The bigger picture
My Funny Valentine
A day in my life
Sex-Ed 101
The Door
Button Jar
Dondi and the Waitress
Dance Party
The Accidental Traveling Companion
Ghost Blog
River Reverie
Red Zinger Tea

2004

Salome’s Dance
Mel Jass and Me
Coconut Oil
Gym Class
Flippist Industries, Inc.
José Loves Betty
Pink ‘n’ Black
Lesbians taking over the world?

Saturday Matinee

There were dozens of neighborhood theaters in my hometown. With names such as The Alhambra, The Empress, The Capri and my own favorite The Camden. My mother had sold tickets there before I was born, she would let my dad and my older sister in free. These small theaters were of a different scale than their mighty downtown brethren, and they only ran second or third run movies. On Saturdays there were matinees. Some times these were just collections of cartoons, or theme-less groups of comedy shorts from the thirties and forties. We went anyway, entering through the dingy art-deco lobby, quickly gobbling our candies and popcorn. For when the lights went down and the curtains opened we were taken away to another world- a world were everything was larger than life, where the men all wore suits and the ladies fancy gowns and pearls and every one was beautiful. Our parents in real life wore work clothes and print dresses and were plain. Our parents in this "alternate reality" were named Brando, Monroe. In it we visited Oklahoma! and took in a West Side Story. We fought world War Two and settled the Wild West. The Beatles even appeared, in a Yellow Submarine!

By the early seventies most of them had closed. The Broadway (pictured) stored appliances and household furnishings. The Empress hung on for a while, playing porn films like "Deep Throat" to furtive businessmen on extended lunch hours (there was an illuminated clock next to the screen!) Finally, the oldest of them all, my beloved Camden, was bought out by a Jesus People church. When they tired of taking care of an old, run-down auditorium it was demolished.

There are far more movie screens now, in multiplexes in the suburbs. Nowadays, in those parts of town where my old haunts were, people don't go out much after dark.