Northwestern Precinct in Saint Paul in Ramsey County, Minnesota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
A Changing World
Photographed by McGhiever, September 28, 2025
1. A Changing World Marker
It was a whole new language I had never heard of a latrine, or a chow line, or a mess hall.
Government campaigns encouraged civilians to be patriotic and support the war effort, despite daily hardships created by the rationing of food, gasoline, and most consumer goods. Children scoured their neighborhoods for materials to recycle. Families grew Victory Gardens so farm yields could be shipped overseas.
Agriculture was dramatically affected. With hands called to the front or moving to war-related industrial jobs, farms utilized every available worker, including German and Italian POWs. The population shift to urban areas accelerated, farms grew larger, and mechanization increased. Women entered the workforce in unprecedented numbers, taking positions traditionally reserved for mennotably in defense manufacturing, shipbuilding, and mining. Sixty percent of the wartime workers at the Twin Cities Ordnance Plant were women. They also served in civil defense, in the Red Cross, and in new and expanded roles in the armed forces.
Europe
1943:
· Allies battle for control of North Africa and Suez Canal
· German an dItalian forces surrender in North Africa
· Allies land in Sicily and mainland Italy; Italy surrenders but Germans continue resistance
1944:
· Allied forces enter Rome
· Soviet forces enter German-occupied Eastern Europe
· June 6: D-Day invasion at Normandy
· Hitler survives assassination attempt
· Paris, Brussels, Athens, Amsterdam liberated
· German Ardennes Offensive beginsthe Battle of the Bulge
Top: At the University of Minnesota, the Army Nurse Corps inducts 3,600 women, 1943.
Inset: Virginia Mae Hope from Winnebago, one of the groundbreaking WASP pilots, 1943. She was killed in a 1944 plane crash.
Quote: Army nurse Avis Dagit Schorer of Bloomington recalling basic training. Her tour included the Anzio front, where the hospital tents were in the line of fire; six nurses died there.
Bottom: Minneapolis kids pitch in to collect aluminum for defense effort, 1941.
Back: Woman "manning" the farm and harvesting grain, 1945.
Erected 2007
this page online
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Agriculture • War, World II • Women. A significant historical year for this entry is 1944.
Location. 44° 57.126′ N, 93° 6.125′ W. Marker is in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in Ramsey County. It is in Northwestern Precinct. It can be reached from W. 12th Street. The marker is near the northeast end of the Minnesota World War II Memorial on the Capitol Mall. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Saint Paul MN 55155, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area. It is also in the American Midwest, in the Corn Belt, and in the Great River Road Region. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once Ruperts Land, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, and the Louisiana Purchase.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Above & Beyond (here, next to this marker); The Cost of War (a few steps from this marker);
Photographed by McGhiever, September 28, 2025
2. A Changing World Marker (2nd from end) on the east side of the Minnesota World War II Memorial
Credits. This page was last revised on September 5, 2026. It was originally submitted on September 5, 2026, by McGhiever of Minneapolis, Minnesota. This page has been viewed 3 times since then. Photos: 1. submitted on September 5, 2026, by McGhiever of Minneapolis, Minnesota. 2. submitted on July 23, 2026, by McGhiever of Minneapolis, Minnesota.
