Story of an American Immigrant (55+)

Septimus James Bowler (1858 - 1940) is an archetype of how hard working immigrants left their mark on Minneapolis and challenges and successes of a long life.

He was a 25 year old carpenter when he emigrated to Minneapolis from England. By the 1890's he had begun designing buildings with no formal education, training or an apprenticeship with a prestigious architect.

By the end of his career he had designed over 90 buildings in Minneapolis alone of his generation including two listed on the National Register of Historic Places - the now razed First Church of Christ Scientist and the extant Laurel Apartments at Loring Park. His career culminated with the building of the Mikro Kodesh Synagogue 1926, home of the largest Jewish community in the midwest at that time.

Held at 1000 Oliver Avenue N., at Oak Park Ave. N., the former Mikro Kodesh Synagogue (now Disciples Ministry Church). Part of the presentation will include a tour of the building.

NOTE: Date has changed from original publication. This presentation will be held on October 13, 1:00-2:30pm.

Paul Buck

Instructor

Associate Professor (retired)

I am an anthropologist and educator. My Ph.D. is from the University of Washington. I taught and conducted research while working 32 years in the Nevada System of Higher Education in Las Vegas Nevada. My first taste of anthropology and archaeology happened in my high school Anthropology class in the San Fernando Valley of Southern California when Mrs. Saxe took us on a dig to a supposed Early Man site near Barstow CA. Since then I have conducted research on a wide variety of archaeological and anthropological topics in western North America and Egypt for more than 40 years. My research focuses on hunter/gatherer adaptations in arid and subarid environments of Western North America; the evolution of complex society, agricultural systems and urbanism in the SW U.S. and Egypt; remote sensing and geophysical prospection, including applications of multispectral scanner systems to archaeological site detection and characterization, spectral properties of archaeological materials; and site formation processes, microartifact studies, and reconstruction of regional landscapes and processes affecting sites in arid lands.

I have worked in places as diverse as the New Kingdon tombs in the Valley of the Kings Egypt, the Ancestral Puebloan region of the SW US, and Prince William Sound of Alaksa. My teaching included Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, Introduction to World Prehistory, Cultures through Film, and Archaeology of Ancient Egypt. I have also taught archeological field schools. I have been awarded funding over the past three decades from agencies such as US Department of Education, National Science Foundation, NASA, and the US Department of Defense for archaeological research, remote sensing research, science education, and curriculum development projects. I have published on remote sensing research and other archaeological projects in international, national, and regional peer-reviewed journals.

I have also developed and funded in service teacher training projects in STEM fields including environmental sciences, developed curricula for K-12 students for a planned outdoor science school, and focused on getting more women and underrepresented students into STEM fields. I enjoy running marathons and other distances, and hiking and camping in remote areas.