ELWYN B. ROBINSON DEPARTMENT OF SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
CHESTER FRITZ LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA
GRAND FORKS, NORTH DAKOTA 58202
COLLECTION: OGL#1476
DATES: 1915 - 1932
SIZE: .75 linear feet
ACQUISITION: The Max B. Kannowski Papers were deposited in the Orin G. Libby Manuscript Collection by Paul Kannowski, Corpus Christi, Texas, on September 5, 2004 (Acc. #2004-2692).
ACCESS: Open for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Department of Special Collections.
RELATED COLLECTIONS:
OGL#566, Grand Forks Park Board Papers
OGL#1454, Frances Kannowski Papers
OGL#683, Paul Kannowski Papers
Max B. Kannowski was the Grand Forks Superintendent of Parks in the 1920s and 1930s. He was known nationally for his pioneering work about a barberry bush being the cause of wheat rust. He was even honored by the Federal Department of Agriculture for this work.
Kannowski was born in Alpena, Michigan on October 17, 1893. He received degrees from the Michigan Agricultural College and the University of Michigan. At the University of Michigan, he was the first student to combine forestry and landscape gardening. He received his degree in 1917.
Kannowski’s first job was in Mitchell, South Dakota as the Park and Street Commissioner. He served in the army during the First World War. In Mitchell he met Frances Burdick, who would later become his wife. In 1921, he took the job as Grand Forks Superintendent of Parks, but continued his courtship of Frances and married her in Chicago, where she was living and working at the time, on February 10, 1923. She moved to Grand Forks and they eventually had two sons, David and Paul. As Superintendent in Grand Forks, Kannowski improved and beautified the city parks, modernized the tourist encampment and introduced city planned playground activities.
Max Kannowski was active in many other Grand Forks organizations, such as the Masons, the Elks, the Legion, the North Dakota Peony Club and the Rotary Club. Kannowski was also active nationally in such organizations as the American Institute of Park Executives.
Kannowski died on July 22, 1933 of leukemia. He was succeeded as Superintendent of Parks by his wife, Frances.
The Max Kannowski Papers date from 1915 to 1932. This collection was donated and organized by Paul Kannowski, the son of Max Kannowski. He provided an itemized inventory of folders two through twenty-four, which were kept in their original order. The primary content of this collection is correspondence relating to Max Kannowski’s position as Superintendent of Parks in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Besides the correspondence, the collection includes other items that relate to the Grand Forks Parks system. There are also materials that relate to Max Kannowski’s college education. The correspondence of the North Dakota Peony Society is included in this collection as well.
Box 1
Folder
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