Jeanette May Papers

Collection

Identifier: M/A 0257

Staff Only

Description of Contents

This collection documents Jeanette May and her community activism through meeting minutes, proposals, by-laws, correspondence, brochures, government documents, memos, etc. associated with the following organizations:

St. Anthony East Neighborhood Association (SAENA) Project NEAT Northeast Community Organization (NECO) Project Area Committee (PAC) Capital Long-Range Improvements Committee (CLIC) I-335 Concerned Citizens Committee (I-335 CCC) Alternate to I-355 Land Use Committee

The collection also contains newspaper clippings from local and neighborhood newspapers referring to Jeanette May and projects she was involved with, as well as articles authored by Jeanette May.

Dates

1965 - 1990
Majority of material found within 1970 - 1985

Creator

May, Jeanette (Person)

Access Restrictions

The collection is available for use in Special Collections during the department's open hours.

Biography

Jeanette May (1931-2018) was a long-time resident of Northeast Minneapolis and a community advocate. She was born in Braham, MN and moved to Northeast Minneapolis in 1941.

An active member of the St. Anthony East Neighborhood Association (SAENA), she was involved with several other committees and sub-committees. Her most prominent activism involved her work to save the Grain Belt Brewery from demolition in the late 1970s and blocking the construction of highway I-335 in the mid-1970s. The freeway would have passed through Northeast Minneapolis along Central Avenue. Although land had already been cleared for construction, Jeanette May and the I-335 Concerned Citizens Committee were able to stop the freeway. After the freeway project was halted, Jeanette May continued to work with the Alternate to I-335 Land Use Committee to repurpose the cleared land. May also ran for First Ward city council in 1977.

History

The St. Anthony East neighborhood is located in Northeast Minneapolis. Part of the former Village of St. Anthony established in 1849 on the east bank of the Mississippi River, the neighborhood extends from Broadway Street NE on the northern border to Central Avenue NE on the east and southeast, Second Avenue NE on the south, and Fifth and Washington streets NE on the west. The neighborhood is renowned for its strong Polish, Lebanese, and Ukrainian communities.

Extent

13.75 Linear Feet (7 boxes, 24 binders)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Donor Information

The records of Jeanette May were donated to the James K. Hosmer Special Collections Library at the Hennepin County Central Library by Jeanette May on January 2, 2009 as acccession 2009.03.

Processing Information

Most of the collection was not received in its original order, with the exception of the materials within the binders and three drawers from a cardboard filing cabinet containing labeled file folders. The remaining collection was delivered in random order in plastic storage bins. Material from binders was re-foldered. Duplicate materials were weeded.