Minnie Salzman Stevens, American operatic soprano as Brunhilde in 1909

Minnie Saltzman-Stevens was born in Bloomington in 1874 and graduated from the 10th grade at Jefferson School in 1888, where her mother, Mena was the janitoress and where they both resided in the basement. Saltzman-Stevens was acclaimed in both Europe and America as a great artist of the operatic stage. Her stunning debut in England, at the Covent Garden in 1909, caused even the orchestra to leap to its feet in ovation. Saltzman-Stevens returned to repeat her triumphs as a member of the Chicago Opera Company. Her voice had a range of four octaves and Saltzman-Stevens always referred to it in the third person, as "the voice." Unfortunately, World War I put a temporary end to performances of Wagner in Europe, and Saltzman-Stevens retired and never returned to the stage.