V Street

Valentine Ave. Major Valentine Fleming, (1882- 1917) was a British Conservative Member of Parliament who was killed in World War I on the Western Front. He was the father of Ian Fleming, the author of the James Bond books of which occupied a great deal of this author’s under-the-bedcovers reading time in his pre-teens. All Quiet on the Western Front is a novel by Erich Maria Remarque  (1898–1970), a German veteran of World War I. The book describes the German soldiers' extreme physical and mental stress during the war, and the detachment from civilian life felt by many of these soldiers upon returning home from the front. It is considered one of the best literary descriptions of warfare.

Valley St. William Blake (1757–1827) was an English poet and printmaker. He wrote Songs of Innocence which was originally a complete collection of 19 poems first printed in 1789. There are many musical interpretations of the Songs of Innocence. One of this author’s favorites is done by the folksinger, Greg Brown, and released by Red House Records located in  Saint Paul. The Introduction is included here: Piping down the valleys wild, Piping songs of pleasant glee, On a cloud I saw a child, And he laughing said to me: ``Pipe a song about a Lamb!'' So I piped with a merry chear. ``Piper, pipe that song again;'' So I piped: he wept to hear. ``Drop thy pipe, thy happy pipe; Sing thy songs of happy chear:'' So I sung the same again, While he wept with joy to hear. ``Piper, sit thee down and write In a book, that all may read.'' So he vanish'd from my sight, And I pluck'd a hollow reed, And I made a rural pen, And I stain'd the water clear, And I wrote my happy songs, Every child may joy to hear.

Valley View Pl.

Valleyside Dr.

Van Buren Ave. The street was named for Martin Van Buren (1782 –1862), the eighth President of the United States (1837–1841). He was president during the episode of the Amistad slave revolt depicted in the Steven Spielberg movie, Amistad. The screenplay for the movie was based on the 1987 book,  Mutiny on the Amistad: The Saga of a Slave Revolt and Its Impact on American Abolition, Law, and Diplomacy, by the historian Howard Jones.

Van Dyke St. The street was named for a James Van Dyke of whom no information could be found other that what Don Empson includes in his book. Most of us, however, will forever associate the Van Dyke name with Dick Van Dyke and his roles in the movies, Mary Poppins (based on the book by P.L. Travers) and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (based on the book by Ian Fleming).

Van Slyke Ave. Former Saint Paul mayor, Laurence “Larry Ho” Hodgson (1874–1937), lived at 1039 Van Slyke Ave. He was a newspaperman before being elected mayor. His nickname came about when his editor stopped by to ask him a question just as Larry was typing the first two letters of his last name. His editor said stop. The Saint Paul Almanac (saintpaulalmanac.org) (Steve Trimble, January 10, 2015)   has this to say about him, “When there was an open Saint Paul mayoral seat, Larry Ho decided to run. He defended himself against suggestions of inexperience. He said, “The charge against me is that if I write poetry, I must, of necessity, know little about business. However, inasmuch as my poetry is not very good . . . I do not think it should be held against me as a major offense.””

Vance St. Jack Vance (1916–2013) was an American mystery, fantasy, and science fiction writer. He was highly regarded in the science fiction field. Songs Of the Dying Earth: Stories in Honor of Jack Vance, edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois was published in 2009 in his honor.

Vandalia St. Vandalia is a poetic name for Andalusia, a region in Spain, as it had been ruled by the Vandals in the 5th century. It is also the name chosen by the American Southern writer, Flannery O'Connor (1925–1964), for her home outside of Milledgeville, Georgia. Here is the second stanza of the poem, On Visiting Flannery O’Connor’s Grave by the  poet Maxine Kumin  (1925–2014): Here, from the first-floor bedroom window even on those last dark days, she could see her beloved peacocks pecking and fanning, the tribe of philoprogenitive donkeys ambling down to the farm pond in the meadow, a grove of ancient pecan trees bending to be picked. Not antebellum grand, but commodious Andalusia, with real gardens harrowed every spring with real manure, so that it's touching but not surprising that when Mary McCarthy remarked, years before, she had come to think of the Eucharist as a symbol, O'Connor, considerably put out by lapsed Catholic rhetoric, flared, "Well, if it's a symbol, to hell with it." (Mary McCarthy (1912–1989), who spent part of her childhood living in Minneapolis, was an American author who was known for her “lapsed Catholic rhetoric.” O’Connor was a such a strong Catholic supporter that Catholic friends of this author tell him that if you were Catholic in the 1950s or ‘60s then you read Flannery O’Connor. She was at a dinner party with McCarthy and apparently was not amused when McCarthy opened her mouth)

Vernon St. Many readers will recognize the name Vernon from the Harry Potter stories. He is Vernon Dursley, Harry's uncle. Not the greatest role model in literary history.

Victoria St. The street is, of course, named for Victoria (1819–1901) who was Queen of England from 1837 until her death. As much as this author is enamored by the royal weddings, he isn’t quite as fond of imperialism which is the other name for “the sun never sets on the British Empire.” Long live America! Whoops, he thinks we may have had our own issues with the sun. There are numerous books about Queen Victoria. Take your pick. A quick glance at Wikipedia reveals another Victoria: Guadalupe Victoria (1786 –1843), who was a Mexican politician and military officer who fought for independence against the Spanish Empire in the Mexican War of Independence. He also served as the first president of Mexico. He abolished slavery which doesn’t get as much press as it should as an issue behind the Texas war for independence in 1835. There are several English language books about him. There are probably several views about him, as well.

View St. see above

Village Lane Greenwich Village is possibly the most famous village outside of Highland Village in Saint Paul where this author lived for many good years and The Villages in Florida, which is famous to pickleball players. This author would like to be considered an alpha pickleball player but he may not have the time to get the 10,000 hours of practice which is what Malcolm Gladwell says we need in order to be really good (from his book, Outliers: The Story of Success, published 2008). Greenwich Village is where this author’s paternal grandparents lived which gave him many lovely places to hide back in the day. A Freewheelin' Time: A Memoir of Greenwich Village in the Sixties is by Suze Rotolo. She is the woman walking with Bob Dylan  on the cover of his album, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan.

Villard Ave. Helen Frances “Fanny” Garrison Villard (1844–1928) was a women's suffrage campaigner and a co-founder of National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. She was the daughter of publisher and abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison. She was married to Henry Villard (1835-1900) for whom the street is named. They both have fascinating biographies on Wikipedia. Henry has his autobiography available on Wikisource. Their son, Oswald Villard, was a prominent pacifist and civil rights activist and longtime editor of The Nation magazine.

Virginia St. Virginia Eliza Clemm Poe (1822–1847) was the wife of American writer Edgar Allan Poe. They were first cousins and married when Virginia  was 13 and Poe was 27.

Vista Ave.

Vivian Lane Maya Angelou (1928–2014) was an American author, poet, dancer, actress, and singer. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, and several books of poetry, and was credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years. Angelou is best known for her first volume in her autobiography series, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (published 1969). She delivered two presidential inauguration poems. Her mother’s name was Vivian Johnson.