John Vanek

Background

About John Vanek

I am a knowledge omnivore. I live to learn. History, science, gardening—you name it, I am interested in it. But learning is meaningless if that knowledge isn't shared with others. As an exhibit developer at Split Rock Studios, I help create exhibits about all kinds of things, for all kinds of people to enjoy. I am also an avid genealogist. For two-and-a-half years I did genealogy full-time, helping clients answer questions about their family histories. I became an expert at solving complex cases with DNA. I now accept a couple clients per year. Finally, I am a writer. I am currently working on a joint biography of an illiterate French-Canadian couple who were accidental founders of St. Paul and intentional founders of Little Canada, Minnesota. It is a dramatic tale filled with harrowing journeys, untimely deaths, failed business ventures, surprising love stories, and many, many villains. I aim to prove that it is possible to write a compelling, textured history about people who left behind no autobiographies, no diaries, and no letters. In essence, it is a biography built with the tools of social and cultural history, wherein subject and context receive equal weight.