{"id":26583,"date":"2025-01-22T08:04:37","date_gmt":"2025-01-22T08:04:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/160-news\/?p=26583"},"modified":"2026-02-25T16:16:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T16:16:16","slug":"what-payne-avenue-has-to-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/2025\/01\/what-payne-avenue-has-to-say\/","title":{"rendered":"What Payne Avenue Has to Say\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Geography students explore St. Paul\u2019s East Side to learn about its immigrant history, future visions, and what investing in community looks like<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Alexandra McLaughlin \u201916<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professor Dan Trudeau\u2019s course, Qualitative Research Methods in Geography, is taking learning beyond the classroom and into the heart of the Payne-Phalen neighborhood in St. Paul. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Partnering with the <\/span>East Side Freedom Library<\/span><\/a>, the class is creating an interactive digital story map of Payne Avenue, connecting its history with visions for the future. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cThis is an opportunity for students to gain confidence in qualitative research methods,\u201d Prof. Trudeau said. \u201cThese methods, like interviews and observations, are great for answering how and why questions.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is an opportunity for students to gain confidence in qualitative research methods,\u201d Prof. Trudeau said. \u201cThese methods, like interviews and observations, are great for answering how and why questions.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The East Side Freedom Library\u2014co-founded by retired Macalester history professor Peter Rachleff and theater and dance professor Beth Cleary\u2014is a repository for community knowledge and traditions. The project began with a walking tour led by Rachleff, an experience that Caroline Fitzpatrick \u201926 (Moraga, Calif.) called \u201creally special\u201d for setting the tone and inspiring deeper connections to the Payne-Phalen neighborhood. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For over a century, immigrants have shaped the neighborhood, with waves of migration continuing today from Hmong, Karen, and Somali communities.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each student selected a local spot to feature in the story map, from restaurants to community organizations. Fitzpatrick chose Gentleman Cuts, a barbershop owned by Mr. Red, who she described as \u201csuper friendly and supportive of what we\u2019re doing,\u201d and interested in serving as a positive role model for Black youth in the community.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Students visited the Minnesota Historical Society’s Gale Library to conduct archival research in conjunction with the class.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The class explores themes of resilience and community investment\u2014such as through time, funds, or helping out neighbors. They stumbled across a street festival which featured a diverse group of artists, each sharing unique stories and works. Fitzpatrick noted that Mr. Red supported the event by displaying paintings in the barbershop\u2019s front window, contributing to the atmosphere of solidarity. Students also connect with community members through business association meetings and one-on-one interviews. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cInterviewing is a craft,\u201d Prof. Trudeau said. \u201cIt\u2019s about balancing the transactional nature of research with the human need for connection.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fitzpatrick was pleasantly surprised by the enthusiasm the class received from businesses on Payne Avenue as they explored the neighborhood\u2019s history, change, and visions for the future.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was nervous at first, worried they might not want to participate,\u201d they said. \u201cBut most were eager to share their stories.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

She looks forward to class every Tuesday and Thursday. \u201cWe build off each other\u2019s energy\u2014it\u2019s such a collaborative atmosphere.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And Professor Trudeau? \u201cHe\u2019s one of a kind,\u201d Fitzpatrick said. \u201cHe empowers us to pursue initiatives and is supportive, but gives us space to be independent. I\u2019m so happy to be taking this course, but especially under the guidance of Dan.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Geography students explore St. Paul\u2019s East Side to learn about its immigrant history, future visions, and what investing in community looks like<\/p>","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":26585,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[55,46],"class_list":["post-26583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","tag-geography","tag-history","mediatype-articles"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"fields":{"article_type":[8],"flickr_photoset_id":"","youtube_id":"","square_thumbnail":false,"press_photos":false,"story_title":"","story_caption":"","rotations":false,"maps":false,"marker_title":"","marker_text":"","geographic_location":false,"feature_embed":"","custom_link_url":"","news_icon_name":"","image_options":false,"main_feature_story":"","custom_image":false,"custom_feature_title":"","custom_feature_caption":"","custom_markup":"","custom_markup_link":"","custom_markup_title":"","custom_markup_caption":"","byline":"","post_thumbnail_style":"default","press_downloads":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26583"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26583\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29671,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26583\/revisions\/29671"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26585"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}