Middle schoolers campaign to save South St. Paul history
SOUTH ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - The last pieces of a South St. Paul landmark have caught the eyes of some developers. But the Armour Gates has also captured the hearts of middle school students.
Armour built its factory in South St. Paul's stockyards during World War I, but the last business to use the stockyards left in 2008.
The view through the arches of the old Armour Factory gatehouses is a look back through the history of South St. Paul. For 70 years, thousands of employees walked through the gates to go to work at one of the biggest meat-packing plants in the country.
The city saved only the 20-foot-tall gatehouses when it demolished the rest of the Armour complex in 1990. But in the last couple of years, it’s considered knocking them down or moving them to make way for commercial development. However, some middle schoolers think the brick and limestone gatehouses are worth saving.
Mark Westpfahl’s South St. Paul Middle School history students weren’t alive to see Armour in action, but they want the city to keep the gates.
"I think we should save them just because they’re so historic," said seventh grader Destiny Sadler.
"I don’t want them to be destroyed because it looks cool," added fellow seventh grader Angel Aranda.
The children rolled out alternatives, drawing designs for possible parks or a sports complex on the four-acre site — all with the gates still intact.
"It would be able to preserve the city’s roots," said seventh grader Lucy Belmores.
"What was the biggest thing that some of the critics said?" Westpfahl asked his class. "You guys are just…"
"Kids!" they exclaimed.
They may be children now, but some of them see how long the gates have stood even after Armour’s departure and hope the structures stay there long enough for them to get elected to the city council to decide the future of the gates.
"We have all the knowledge from being in school doing this because we’ve learned about it," Belmores said.
Their teacher started a change.org petition to save the gates. More than 1,300 people have signed it, including all the students.
"I hope we’ve been convincing," Sadler said. "I mean, this looks convincing, I feel like."
FOX 9 reached out to the mayor and all city council members and heard back from a couple of them. Council member Lori Hansen said she’s convinced they should save the gates. Council member Tom Seaborg said the kids have caught his attention, and he’s now open to discussing alternatives for the site.