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Honoring the work and contributions of Anthony Paul Schmitz to the Frogtown Neighborhood in the City of Saint Paul.
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WHEREAS, Anthony Paul Schmitz was born on December 8, 1953 and has lived in the Frogtown neighborhood of St Paul nearly all his adult life; and during that time, he has been a consistent, hardworking and effective advocate for his neighborhood; and
WHEREAS, Tony learned his craft at the University of Minnesota, where he majored in journalism and wrote for several local, state and national newspapers and magazines such as: Minnesota Daily, Chicago Reader, Atlanta Journal and Constitution, New York Times, Health magazine; and
WHEREAS, From 1981 to 1983, Tony was editor of City Pages newspaper; and
WHEREAS, Tony could have continued to work at one of the many publications to which he contributed, but in 1993, Tony chose instead to create a Frogtown-specific newspaper, the Frogtown Times; and
WHEREAS, For seven years, Tony was editor, photographer, ad salesman, and frequently delivery person of the monthly Times, which documented the neighborhood’s struggles and triumphs; and
WHEREAS, During the early 90s, Frogtown was beset by disinvestment, crime, drug trafficking and prostitution, and Tony covered these hardships and more, at one point exposing the illegal dealings of a community development organization that purported to address them; and
WHEREAS, In 2000, Tony sold the Times to another local newspaper outfit, and turned back to novel-writing, producing three short, darkly hilarious novels about Frogtown, featuring a wise and world-weary resident known to all simply as “Fatman;” and
WHEREAS, Soon after, he joined with his wife, Patricia Ohmans, and two friends, Seitu Jones and Soyini Guyton, to lead the campaign to establish Frogtown Park & Farm; the campaign made good use of Tony’s persuasive and eloquent writing, garnering a new, 13-acre city-park with an organic farm that has become the neighborhood’s crown jewel; and
WHEREAS, Publicity for the campaign for Frogtown Park & Farm birthed Tony’s second Frogtown newspaper, called Greening Frogtown, a full color, lively tabloid delivered door-to-door to every Frogtown household (often by Tony and Patricia themselves); and
WHEREAS, In 2020, Greening Frogtown will merge with the Monitor newspaper, allowing Tony to retire from his solo work editing and publishing a newspaper exclusive to Frogtown; and
WHEREAS, As the chronicler of neighborhood news for more than 12 years, Tony has ensured that Frogtowners (who are not consistently served by any other community newspaper) stay well-informed, and he has contributed to public awareness that Frogtown is a diverse, sustainable and vibrant community, full of interesting people and places; and
WHEREAS, Nevertheless, it is unlikely that Tony will drop out of community involvement; after all, he still lives in the same Frogtown home where his two daughters Laney and Anna, his various novels, the Frogtown Times and Greening Frogtown were born and raised; and
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the City of Saint Paul thanks Tony for his advocacy on behalf of his adopted neighborhood, congratulates him on his many years of newsgathering in Frogtown, and wishes him the best in his future work and play; and be it further
RESOLVED, the Saint Paul City Council proclaims January 11, 2020 as Tony Schmitz Day in the City of Saint Paul.