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Frances Kannowski Papers, 1933-2004
Collection Overview
Title: Frances Kannowski Papers, 1933-2004
ID: OGLMC1454
Primary Creator: Kannowski, Frances (1898-2004)
Extent: 0.75 Linear Feet
Date Acquired: 10/08/2002. More info below under Accruals.
Subjects: City of Grand Forks, North Dakota, University of North Dakota - Alumni, Women's History
Languages: English
Abstract
Scope and Contents of the Materials
The Frances Kannowski Papers, 1933-2004, are divided into four series:
Series 1: Personal Materials
Series 2: Grand Forks Park Board
Series 3: North Dakota Peony Society
Series 4: Miscellaneous
Eighty four photographs were separated and placed in the Photograph File Cabinets.
Collection Historical Note
Frances Eleanor (Burdick) Kannowski was born January 4, 1898, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and was the youngest of three children. She graduated from high school in Fairmont, Minnesota, in 1916. She attended Russell-Sage College in Troy, New York. She also attended the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks and studied biology and commerce.
Frances Burdick met Max Kannowski in Mitchell, South Dakota. He took a job as the Superintendent of Parks in Grand Forks in 1921, and she worked in Chicago until their marriage in 1923. Following Max Kannowski's death in 1933, Frances Kannowski was appointed to the position and continued working until 1953. She was the first female Superintendent of Parks and Recreation in the United States. After stepping down from her position as superintendent, she was a realtor for Severson Real Estate Company for 28 years. She was the first female realtor in Grand Forks.
Kannowski was an active member and held offices in many organizations including: the American Institute of Park Executives, the National Shade Tree Conference, North Dakota Horticultural Society, the Chamber of Commerce Beautification Committee, and the North Dakota Peony Society. She was also an active volunteer with the Grand Forks Girl Scout Council, Grand Forks National Victory Gardens, and the Women's Army Corps. She organized the Grand Forks Women's Outdoor Sports Club in 1934 and was a strong supporter of the youth ice hockey programs in Grand Forks and North Dakota.
Kannowski received many honors and awards. She was the Grand Forks' Woman of the Year in 1952, the Grand Forks Realtor of the Year in 1973, and a member of the North Dakota Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983. In 1983 the Grand Forks Park Board named Kannowski Park, in honor of Max and Frances Kannowski, in downtown Grand Forks. She also received the Alexander Griggs Award from the City of Grand Forks in 1987, and the Sioux Award from the University of North Dakota Alumni Association in 1995. In 2001 at the age of 103, Frances was inducted into the North Dakota Recreation and Park Association Hall of Fame.
She had two sons, two grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. She died in Grand Forks on November 20, 2004, at the age of 106.
Subject/Index Terms
Administrative Information
Repository: Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections
Additional material was donated by:
Paul Kannowski, Corpus Christi, Texas, on September 9, 2004 (2004-2692) and by Sandy Slater, Department of Special Collections, on November 29, 2004 (2005-2724)
Rose Raymond, Grand Forks, North Dakota on May 5, 2006 (2006-2828)
Access Restrictions: Open for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections.
Acquisition Source: Paul Kannowski, Corpus Christi, Texas
Acquisition Method: Donation; 2003-2606
Related Materials:
Grand Forks Park Board Records: OGLMC 566
Max B. Kannowski Papers: OGLMC 1476
Paul B. Kannowski Papers: OGLMC 683
Preferred Citation: (Description of Item). Frances Kannowski Papers. OGLMC 1454, Box #, Folder #. Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections, Chester Fritz Library, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks.
Finding Aid Revision History: Finding aid added to Archon in April 2014.
Box and Folder Listing
Browse by Series:
[Series 1: Personal Materials],
[Series 2: Grand Forks Park Board],
[Series 3: North Dakota Peony Society],
[Series 4: Miscellaneous],
[Photographs :],
[All]
- Series 3: North Dakota Peony Society
- This series documents the North Dakota Peony Society. Kannowski was an active and long-time member of the society.
- Box 1
- Folder 10: Membership
- Folder 11: Membership card into The American Peony Society
- Folder 12: Correspondence, 1949-1981
- Folder 13: Meeting notes
- Folder 14: Newspaper articles, press release, and Peony Prattle
- Folder 15: Brochures for ND Peony Show, 1957-1964
- Folder 16: Registration Blanks, 1959 & 1964
- Folder 17: Peony Show Schedule, Peony show winners, 1978, 1973 & 1975
- Folder 18: Peony color classification and group E artistic division rules
- Folder 19: Donations to ND Peony Society, 1973
- Folder 20: Planting and care directions for peonies
- Folder 21: Guest book
- Folder 22: Shelterbelt information, 1937-1940
Browse by Series:
[Series 1: Personal Materials],
[Series 2: Grand Forks Park Board],
[Series 3: North Dakota Peony Society],
[Series 4: Miscellaneous],
[Photographs :],
[All]