Bio of QUIST, C. A. (b.1866), Hennepin Co., MN
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EXTRACTED FROM: History of Minneapolis, Gateway to the Northwest; 
Chicago-Minneapolis, The S J Clarke Publishing Co, 1923; Edited by: Rev. 
Marion Daniel Shutter, D.D., LL.D.; Volume I - Shutter (Historical); 
volume II - Biographical; volume III - Biographical
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Vol II, pg 470-473
C. A. QUIST
The foreign born can logically be divided into two classes: Those who are
nothing more than so many foreigners living in America, and those Americans born
on foreign soil who think and live in the spirit of America. The latter class of
Americans as a rule are far more active in civic and political life than .are
the native born in pro­portion to their number, and C. A. Quist belongs to that
class of foreign born who is intensely American in all matters. It appears that
American ideals make a more genuine and lasting impression viewed from a
distance by persons who are to become Americans than on those who had no choice
in the matter.
C. A. Quist was born on a large farm in Lolland, Denmark, May 5, 1866, acquired
his education there in the common schools and in a Lutheran Seminary, where he
also received a limited instruction in surveying and landscape gardening.
Inspired by the vision of a republic and the possibilities America offered, he
came to Minneapolis on April 27, 1883, and with the exception of living in St.
Paul about three years, he has resided in Minneapolis ever since. While in St.
Paul he worked intermittently as a landscape gardener and selling insurance. In
the summer of 1886 he opened a land and ticket office at No. 11 High street,
where he soon formed the acquaintance of Mr. John H. Thompson, at that time a
leading merchant tailor. Through him Mr. Quist formed the acquaintance of Judge
Vanderburg of the Minnesota supreme court, who secured for him free privileges
at the Athenaeum, then the principal library of the city, and he eagerly took
advantage of this offer which to him was at that time a genuine luxury.
Mr. Quist became a member of the local Danish Society (Society Dania) in 1886.
where he soon became active and served in the several offices, including that of
presi­dent. In the panic of 1893, he saved Society Dania from the loss of its
building at Cedar avenue and Fifth street. He also served as president of the
Danish Aid Society for the relief of the needy, during the winters of the panic
in the early '90s. When, in 1891, the national officers of the Scandinavian
Singing Society threatened to take the "Sanger Festival" away from Minneapolis,
for lack of financial support, Mr. Quist came to the front and served as
chairman of the financial committee, whose efforts resulted in the festival
coming to Minneapolis and it was held at the Coliseum on the University campus,
on July 21, 22, 23, 1891, and from a musical standpoint, was one of the greatest
musical events ever held in Minneapolis.
By reading and studying economics Mr. Quist has always been a low tariff man.
and consequently he became a supporter of Grover Cleveland and the democratic
party, in which he has been exceedingly active in an impersonal way, having been
a member of nearly every city, county, and state convention for thirty years and
as a rule served on some committee during the campaign. He was a member of the
Democratic National convention that nominated William Jennings Bryan at Chicago,
in 1896. There are thousands of democrats in Minnesota who believe that except
for Mr. Quist's organizing ability, Woodrow Wilson could never have carried the
Minnesota delegation to the Baltimore convention in 1912, and consequently could
not have been nominated for president. After the Baltimore convention, where
"Woodrow Wilson was finally nominated on the forty-sixth ballot, Mr. Quist was
made a regional director at Democratic National headquarters in the presidential
campaign that followed.
On March 8, 1902, Mr. Quist proposed free music in the public parks, which
resulted in the forming of a commission on April 29th, of which he was made
presi dent, Walter Boutell, secretary, and E. P. Capen, treasurer. The
commission col­lected several thousands of dollars and formed a large municipal
band that played in all the parks during the summer months. This move was the
beginning of free entertainment in the parks. The first concert was given in
Loring Park, on June 16, 1902. It also resulted in taking down "keep off the
grass" signs and the barbed wire fences which surrounded all the parks at that
time. Although not a musician, music is Mr. Quist's hobby, and he is far better
informed concerning the work of most of the great masters than are many
accomplished musicians, and in the winter of 1903 he headed a group of
Minneapolitans who promoted chamber music for several seasons.
In 1903 he was foreman of a grand jury that investigated and unearthed a
municipal scandal in the city council, which resulted in the indictment of
several aldermen, and the escape of one ex-alderman to the Isle of Pines. In
1904, Mr. Quist instigated a public investigation in the city council that
resulted in the imme­diate resignation of the chief of the fire department and
the involuntary retirement of the city attorney and several aldermen soon
thereafter.
In 1913, at the instigation of the committee of Northwest development from the
Civic & Commerce Association, Mr. Quist prepared a pamphlet for distribution
among the members of the legislature then sitting, on the subject of
colonization and a comprehensive plan of developing the state of Minnesota. In
February, 1914, he was elected president of the Danish-American Association, a
national society of about two hundred men, existing purely for cultural
purposes. During his incum­bency as president and at his suggestion, Prof.
George Brandes, the world renowned literary critic, of Denmark, visited America
and lectured at the principal universities. Professor Brandes came as far west
as Minneapolis and was the personal guest of Mr. Quist during his entire stay in
this country, from May 21st, when he arrived in New York on the "Vaterland,"
until his departure for Copenhagen.
Mr. Quist was founder of the Odin Club, which was formed by fifteen charter
members-seven Swedes, seven Norwegians, he being the only Dane. He was the
originator of the Hennepin County Planning Commission, which was appointed by
the board of county commissioners in February, 1922, and of which Mr. Quist was
made a member. The balance of the members are: Russell M. Bennett, E. C. Gale,
William Y. Chute, G. H. Reeves and the board of county commissioners. Mr. Quist
is a member of the First Unitarian church of Minneapolis and of the
International Monist Society.
On the 14th of June, 1899, Mr. Quist was united in marriage to Miss Helen C.
Ryan of Columbus, Ohio.
Although he received a far better education than most immigrants, his
develop­ment being from industrious reading and studying, he should be classed
as a self-made man, before whom the door of opportunity has swung open because
of his persistency and determination, and his activities have largely been
directed along those lines which have for their object public improvement and
the advancement of the general welfare. His life has been an exemplary one in
all respects and the good of others has ever been paramount with him. He takes
the position that any man who fails to be active in public affairs is a public
slacker. At this writing Mr. Quist is engaged in looking after his holdings
accumulated through his many years of activity in the land and real estate
business. Occasionally he also does agricultural efficiency service, a subject
concerning which he is considered an authority.