Walter O’Meara

Walter O’Meara (1897-1989) grew up in Cloquet and took a leave of absence from studying at the University of Minnesota to serve in the Army during World War I. Afterwards, he continued his education at the University of Wisconsin, earning a degree in journalism in 1920. O’Meara spent several years writing for the Duluth News Tribune and then began an advertising career in Chicago with J. Walter Thompson. He relocated to New York where he worked until 1952, at which point he retired to focus on his writing.

Some of O’Meara’s books include Minnesota Gothic, Grand Portage, and We Made It Through the Winter. Minnesota Gothic and Grand Portage were bestsellers when they came out in the 1950s. We Made It Through the Winter was a memoir describing O’Meara childhood in Cloquet. He wrote several other novels and also a book about women in the fur trading industry. He wrote sixteen books of fiction and historical nonfiction.