It's been 40 years since former Star Tribune reporter Peg Meier took a leave of absence from the newspaper, secured a grant and set about researching her first book. That book, "Bring Warm Clothes," was a huge hit, a combination of Meier's lively prose and the Minnesota Historical Society's fascinating photos, letters and diaries from long, long ago. Although the advice Meier got at the time was mostly bad (nobody cares about history, a 10,000-volume print run was way too big), the book has sold 200,000 copies and remains in print (though with its third publisher). This month's issue of Hennepin History magazine devotes four pages to the book's anniversary, with a short piece written in Meier's lively prose and a wonderful array of old photos from the history center. The book's title, by the way, came from a 1908 letter written to a schoolteacher who had accepted a job in Eveleth, on the Iron Range. "Bring warm clothes; for 35 below zero means it is cold, of course." Of course. Happy anniversary, Meier.
LAURIE HERTZEL
