Ann Paulson Graves and Carlton Graves Oral History

Authors

St. Cloud State University

Document Type

Interview

Publication Date

12-6-1984

Abstract

Biographical Information:

Ann Paulson Graves

Ann Paulson Graves was born on April 28, 1894 in St. Paul, Minnesota, to Frank and Ingrid Paulson. Attending a teachers college within the St. Paul school district, Ann taught in an elementary school for 10 years. In 1925, she married Stewart Graves in St. Paul. They moved to St. Cloud in the early 1930s after spending some time in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. She was an active member of many women’s’ organizations including Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, American Association of University Women, and League of Women Voters, as well as the St. Cloud Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. Ann and Stewart had three children – Ruth, Carlton, and Irving. She died on February 26, 1985 and is buried in St. Cloud’s North Star Cemetery.

Carlton Graves

Carlton Graves was born May 4, 1929 in St. Cloud to Stewart and Ann Paulson Graves. He received his Bachelors’ of Arts degree in 1951 and his doctorate degree in veterinary medicine in 1959, both from the University of Minnesota. He worked at the University of Minnesota and later moved to Graves family farm in Rice, Minnesota, where he worked as a veterinarian. He was a member of the St. Cloud Unitarian Fellowship and Religious Society of Friends. Carlton married Brenda Ott Lakes in 1989. He died on December 23, 1999 at the age of 70.

Transcript Summary:

In an interview conducted on December 6, 1984, Ann Graves talked about her parents, how they moved to Minnesota from Sweden and about her education in the St. Paul school district normal School system where she got her teaching degree and, later, genealogy of the family. She then taught for 10 years in Smith School in St. Paul. Ann recalled how she met her husband Stewart at a New Year’s Party in 1925 and married right after. She discussed her involvement in the peace movement where she was also the president for some time during 1930s, which was influenced by her husband’s experience as a soldier in France during World War I. Ann recounted the activities of the various peace movements in St. Cloud, including during World War II. Ann touched upon the Unitarianism religion. She recalled when the first Unitarian Church was opened in St. Cloud. Ann mentioned how her husband first became a Unitarian and how they practiced it for the rest of their lives.

Interview by Cal Gower

Comments

Image ID: 15537

See additional files below for full transcript.

Recommended Citation

St. Cloud State University, "Ann Paulson Graves and Carlton Graves Oral History" (1984). General. 9.
https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/gen_oh/9