1957-2021
Carol Ann Ahlgren, age 64 of Crystal MN passed away on May 15th with her loving husband at her side. Carol was born on May 8, 1957 to Gordon and Dorothy (Eaton) Ahlgren. She grew up in rural Prescott, and cultivated an early love for both music (band and chorus) and being an active part of organizations while in school. She graduated with the Prescott High School Class of 1975 and maintained friendship with many of the young women she knew from her class and others.
In 1975, she attended Beloit College graduating with a degree in History that would lead to her to an innovative career in Historic Preservation.
In 1983, Carol joined the pioneering graduate program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison focusing on Historic and Cultural Landscape Preservation and Landscape History. Over three years, Carol wrote her Master’s thesis on the history of the Civilian Conservation Corps in building some of the most historically significant and beautiful Wisconsin State Parks including: Wyalusing, Perrot, Interstate, Devil’s Lake, and Rib Mountain.
Carol visited several alumni reunions of former CCC “enrollees” who, by then, were in their early seventies. She conducted oral histories with many of them to gather first-person stories for her thesis that would have been lost without her work.
Preservation Leadership in Highway History After graduating in 1986, Carol joined the Nebraska State Historic Preservation Office in Lincoln to document historic buildings and sites across the state from Omaha to the Sand Hills in the northwest. She became active in the Society for Commercial Archaeology, serving on the board of this national organization dedicated to studying the history of road side motels, gas stations, diners and other pop commercial architecture in American culture.
While in Lincoln, she began an extensive study of the Nebraska segment of the Lincoln Highway (U.S. Hwy. 30)—the first road to run coast to coast. It actually connected several existing roads and was “named” to promote tourism.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower later recalled the endless mud that his WW1-era caravan endured while travelling the Lincoln Highway. Carol soon became a national leader in the history of American highways, serving on the Board of the national Lincoln Highway Association. She pursued some of the first work in studying the topic of “racial segregation in the roadside”—documenting how Black travelers were restricted from almost every hotel, restaurant, and campground along highways across the South and beyond.
Stewarding National Historic Landmarks
In 1997, she joined the Historic Preservation team at the major National Park Service office in Omaha. As the NPS coordinator for the National Historic Landmarks in both Indiana and Illinois, Carol oversaw the preservation of many of the major American landmarks including many works by Frank Lloyd Wright such as Unity Temple in Oak Park and the Farnsworth House by modernist architect Mies van der Rohe in Plano, Illinois southwest of Chicago.
Holding one of the most important federal preservation positions in the country, Carol challenged the Richard Daley Jr. Administration in Chicago over the drastic proposed renovation of Soldiers Field, home of the Chicago Bears. She argued that the addition of massive structural elements for seating and skyboxes would compromise this National Historic Landmark’s architectural integrity.
After repeated pressure from the mayor’s office and their clear intent to pursue their project, Carol “de-listed” Soldier field as a National Historic Landmark—perhaps the most significant preservation action that the federal government can take. The controversy was national news in the historic preservation community and Carol was interviewed in the coverage of the Chicago Tribune
High School Reunion
Carol was lured back to the Twin Cities area in 2006 through meeting her old classmate, Mark Mueske, at their 30th class reunion in Prescott. They had been friends in high school—and rivals too. During their senior year, the two were opponents in the election for Student Council Vice-President. Carol won by one vote— and the validity of that election result remained a topic of debate for several years after they met again.
After seven years together, Carol and Mark finally married in 2013 in front of the stone fireplace in their home. They packed in a lot of fun adventures and coast to coast travel into their years together. Visiting friends and seeing new places brought them much joy. Carol became a Board member of the Jefferson Highway Association, a group celebrating another national “named” tourist road that extended Winnipeg to New Orleans—with it’s slogan: From Pines to Palms.
Several of her road trips with Mark were with the Jefferson Highway group—traveling sections of the road together. In 2017, Carol won a grant from the Minnesota Historical Society to make use of their archives in writing about the Jefferson Highway’s route through Minnesota. She spoke to many groups about her project and published her findings in MNopedia—the Historical Society’s online encyclopedia of state history. [https://www.mnopedia.org/thi ng/jefferson-highway] Carol always loved to be part of something larger than herself. She served as historian for the ongoing preservation effort to preserve Graeser Park, a WPA roadside rest along the old Lilac Way (now Hwy. 100) in Robbinsdale. [see https://restorelilacway. com/parks/graes er-robbinsdale-mn/about/] She was also an active volunteer for PRISM, a charitable shop and service group run by a group of religious organizations. She was active in her church, the Robbinsdale Parkway UCC—helping to organize the church’s archives and community garden. To the end of her life, Carol maintained the perennial garden at the entry to the Pine Glen Cemetery in Prescott. Carol also edited the book, A History of Prescott, Wisconsin, written by her mother Dorothy, and Mary Beeler. She was also the current vice president of the Crystal MN Historical Society.
Art Cars
Carol always had a knack for making friends easily; and she collected friends everywhere she went. One of the most recent groups she met are the folks from the Minnesota ArtCars + Art Bikes Artists who were so supportive of her and the TOY-oh-TAH Art-Car—complete with its own Facebook page. Together they spread much joy to many during their ArtCar Parades and Cruises all over the Twin Cities – and beyond!
Carol is survived by her husband Mark; mother Dorothy; siblings Susan Van Sant, Richard Ahlgren, Mary Taylor, Jon Ahlgren; father-inlaw C.J. Mueske; brother-inlaws Richard (Paula) Mueske and Ben Van Sant; sister-inlaws Mari Jackson and Rita Mueske; nephews Joseph and Jessie Ahlgren, and Chris Mueske; nieces Mary and Sammy Van Sant, Mallory Taylor, Leah Ahlgren, Angie Jackson, and Maria Mueske. She was preceded in death by her father Gordon Ahlgren, brother Chris Ahlgren, motherin- law Donna Mueske, and brother-in-law Troy Jackson.
Services will be held at 1:00 PM on June 12th at Robbinsdale Parkway UCC in Robbinsdale, MN, to be followed with words for and memories of Carol in the church parking lot and then a participatory Art-Car Cruise around the Grands Rounds parkways of Minneapolis.
Memorials may be directed to any of the organizations mentioned above that Carol loved and supported along with the Pierce County Historical Association and the Prescott Area Historical Society.
