 Today is a perfect day to go to an amusement park, don't you think? Beautiful blue Minnesota skies, high 70s, cool breeze... If only we all could play hooky and ride on a roller coaster or four and eat a funnel cake for lunch.Besides the summer like weather, I can attribute my mood to the serendipitous coincidence of finding out that Valleyfair is now open for the season on the same day I saw this 1948 ad for Excelsior Amusement Park in our files.I wasn't researching Excelsior, but the ad appeared alongside a news clipping from the June 17, 1948 issue of the Edina-Morningside Suburban Press.If you grew up between 1925 and 1968 in the Twin Cities, you probably went to Excelsior for summer fun (unless you were the children of my parents, who thought the place was too run down in the late 60s for little kids.) They may have been right. Excelsior was a teen hangout in the 1960s, thanks in no small part to its Danceland, that booked such big name acts as the Beach Boys and the Rolling Stones. You can read more about the history on the sites listed below, but let's just say cops were called out to the place with some regularity to establish order. Even if you can't sneak out this afternoon, why not take a virtual trip to the bygone days of Excelsior Amusement Park by checking out these links:Presumably, if you're still reading, you decided to stay at your desk today, in which case, I'll leave you with the legendary words of Mr. Jimmy, "You can't always get what you want." See Official Rolling Stones video from live 1975 concert at the LA Forum below.
As always, I love to live vicariously. Tell me about your fun days at Excelsior Amusement Park or any other memory this story brings to mind. Comment here or email me.
Today's sweet story in the Minneapolis Star Tribune about soldier fathers being separated from their babies during war ( "A bond between fathers from one war to another") made me think of a story in our "Growing Up in Edina" exhibit, now on display at the Edina History Museum. Bonnie Ott England grew up on 5524 Brookview Avenue built at the end of World War II. "My parents Bill and Helen Ott built the house at in 1940, one of the first on the block. We had a neighborhood full of kids on that block once other young families moved in. We played outside in all seasons, mostly in our yards, but also roaming the open fields in search of adventure," Bonnie wrote.
Blitzie Halloran, Jackie Simpson, Bonnie Ott play in the new neighborhood.
All of those children were war babies. Her father deeply missed being home to see the first years of his daughter's life; Bonnie didn't realize how much until after his death when she came across a letter he wrote to her on her first birthday.
 "In the 1940s many American families were greatly impacted by World War II and ours was no exception. My Dad Bill Ott served in the U.S. Navy, Pacific Theater. He entered service in September of 1943 when I was just 9 months old. He returned home in November of 1945 as I was approaching 3 years of age.
This was a time of difficult separation, but also of great love and longing, as evidenced by the letters he wrote daily to my Mom Helen. Among those letters is one written to me on my first birthday. It is a gift from him I will always cherish. I read it for the first time at age 59, following my Dad's passing in 2002."
Bonnie was too young to remember her first birthday without her father, but she still has a mahogany child's chair that was given to her as a gift from her family.
And now she knows the gift of a letter, sent before she could read but something she will treasure the rest of her life.
Like the fathers featured in the newspaper this morning, Bill imagined his daughter as she grew: "I still am able to picture you in memory. And more than that, for I can think of you in so many ways, and like for hours to imagine you at different ages ---right up to the time you are twenty-one. But you must know how poor a substitute this is to actually holding you on my lap or in my arms!" What stories do you have about being a war baby in Edina? Or what letters have you saved that tell a piece of history? Comment here or please email me.
I found this on my doorstep this morning.
I'm hoping that at least some of you know that this is a May basket, although it's much grander than the paper cone of violets and penny candy I left on the doorsteps of my neighbors when I was a kid. Shockingly (to me, anyway) not everyone grew up with this tradition and my online research tells me that the practice is on the wane. May baskets were a big part of my childhood -- we even made our own little baskets in school. One year, we wove strips of construction paper to make a basket; other years we decorated those green plastic strawberry baskets or tin cans. Joan Gage remembered May baskets from her Edina childhood in the 1940s and 50s, and she continued the spring-time ritual with her children. "Some sixty years ago, when I was a little girl in (first) Milwaukee, Wisconsin and then in Edina, Minnesota, on the first of May we would make May baskets out of construction paper and fill them with whatever flowers we could find in the garden or growing wild," she writes on her blog, A Rolling Crone. "We would hang the baskets on the doorknobs of neighbors—especially old people—ring the door bell, then run away with great hilarity and peek out as the elderly person found the little bouquets on their door. "The practice has a long history, stemming from the European pagan festival of spring, Beltane. The more raucous elements were toned down after the continent became Christianized, but the May pole dance and May baskets survived in a more G-rated form. As the blog Old Fashioned Living describes it: Handing out May Day baskets is a charming and gentle activity for children and adults. It's a tradition that Louisa May Alcott wrote of in "Jack and Jill" (Chapter 18): "The job now in hand was May baskets, for it was the custom of the children to hang them on the doors of their friends the night before May-day; and the girls had agreed to supply baskets if the boys would hunt for flowers, much the harder task of the two. Jill had more leisure as well as taste and skill than the other girls, so she amused herself with making a goodly store of pretty baskets of all shapes, sizes, and colors, quite confident that they would be filled, though not a flower had shown its head except a few hardy dandelions, and here and there a small cluster of saxifrage." (a type of herb called Greater Burnet).I like the May basket tradition for a number of reasons: - Giving is anonymous. Reciprocity is not expected. You leave the basket on the doorknob or doorstep, ring the doorbell and run. It's the nice version of "Ding Dong Ditch."
- Children give to grownups, instead of the other way around. On almost every other holiday, only the child receives gifts; they don't get to experience the true joy of unselfish giving. My kids love giving the baskets to the neighbors as much as they enjoy getting candy from them on Halloween. The big part of the excitement has been trying to sneak around undetected.
- It doesn't take much to brighten someone's day. One year, we (okay, I) forgot to get anything for May Day but the neighbors were just as happy with our random assortment of goodies from throughout our house, like leftover sparklers from the Fourth of July, an extra packet of colorful paper napkins, lilacs from our back yard, packs of gum, etc.
- May baskets signal spring in 2012 just as much as they did in 1812.
For more about May Days past, take a look at the Minnesota Historical Society's online photo database. If you can share stories or photos of Edina May Day celebrations, please contact me or comment here.Happy May Day!
1. Memories of a Creston Hills kid: A 2010 post on the Nelson dairy farm located near today's 78th Street and Highway 100 had Jeff Strate remembering growing up in the Creston Hills neighborhood in the 1950s. For me, this photo is hip and cool because it shows a landscape that was part of my youth. We rode bikes to the ends of Dewey Hill Road, Cahill Road and Bush Lake from our Creston Hills neighborhood. I recall the cornfield where Southdale was constructed. Thank you for posting it. Keep 'em comin'. Jeff also commented on the gas station post from last week.I recall this Pure station and the one kitty corner from Clancy's Drugs. We lived closest to the one pictured here. My dad John would stop there for gas and air. In the background on the right side of the station to the west is the Southdale residential subdivision. Further west and of sight was the Creston Hills subdivision. Note the display piles of new tires for sale and the S&H Green Stamps sign ... both common enticements offered by local gas stations back when the price of a gallon of regular was posted for years on signs at 29.9. For anyone reading this post years from now, today's gas station prices are between $3.49 and $3.55 per gallon.Jeff wrote a short memoir "Paradise Lost" about growing up in Creston Hills. The Edina Sun Current published an excerpt (a hilarious story about Jeff's encounters with a bull in his newly built subdivision) in its Oct. 27, 2010, issue.  3. Trading stamps history. Most Generation X and younger folks probably don't remember trading stamps. Like the "Buy 10, get one free" type punch cards, trading stamps were designed to build customer loyalty, but on a bigger scale. Spend more money, get more green stamps and get free gifts like sewing machines and row boats. (At least, a Brady Bunch episode from 1970 had the boys wanting the boat and the girls wanting the sewing machine. They compromised and traded their stamps in for a television set. However, I remember my mom earning only enough to buy a few place settings of dishes.)
 Edina's Curt Carlson, who began his entrepreneurial career as a newspaper carrier in the Morningside neighborhood, created Gold Bond trading stamps. His success with the business helped him launch the multinational Carlson Companies and make him one of the richest men in Minnesota. For more on Curt Carlson, see this transcript of an interesting MPR interview with him. For more on trading stamps history, see this article from Studio Z-7, a publishing company in Minneapolis.
3. Ray's Dairy Store. In response to this post on Edina's corner stores, Jeff Thompson wrote:I grew up in the sixties near 60th and France Avenue and our "corner store" was Ray's Dairy Store on 54th Street just west of France. It was operated by Ray and his wife Dorothy. I remember Ray always seemed fond of us kids but his wife did not seem very happy whenever we came in. Ray was a small man but his wife was a rather large woman who with one look told us we had better behave while in the store. They lived in an apartment above the store. The building still stands today as a craft or needle point shop. From Jeff's description, it sounds like the store is now the Picket Fence, 3907 West 54th Street, Edina. Am I right?  Did you know: Author Nancy Carlson, who grew up in Edina, wrote Arnie and the Stolen Markers, based on her childhood experience of shoplifting a candy bar from Ray's Dairy Store. (Perhaps Ray's wife had her reasons to give kids the stink eye, huh?) The book is currently out of print, but is available through the Hennepin County Library system and is on display in our current "Growing Up in Edina" exhibit. I would love to have photos and more information about the owners of Ray's Dairy store, as well as the other many small mom and pop stores in Edina (Tedman's, Cameron's, Docken's, etc.) If you have information to share, please email me or comment here.
 Ella Grimes, daughter of prominent Edina landowner Jonathan Grimes, owned this 1880s autograph book. On the last day of school, did your friends sign your:
a. autograph book
b. a "slam shirt"
c. yearbook
d. something else
Your answer likely depends on when you grew up. Even elementary schools publish yearbooks these days, so children of today typically sign yearbooks, or autograph booklets created by their teachers, or both.
If you grew up in Edina in the 1970s, you probably wore your dad's big white shirt on the last day of school and asked your classmates and friends to sign a cuff, a sleeve or a collar. Patricia Bender donated this shirt to the Edina Historical Society with writings from her classmates at Cahill Elementary.
Popular band teacher Hal Freese signed the collar.
This photo, posted on the Cahill Elementary Facebook page, shows the signing party in progress.
I suppose it was difficult to pen a poetic saying on a cloth shirt -- many sported a "kick me" request in the back middle or simple signatures. The same could not be said of the decorative autograph books in the 1880s that contained poems, clever puns or hand-drawn sketches along with the signature.
In addition to Ella Grimes' book (top photo), we also have a 1889 autograph book (below) that was found at a garage sale. The owner is unknown, except for a first name of Katie, but many of the signatures are daughters of prominent Edina farmers of the day: Bull, Fortwinkler (also known as Fortwingler), and Slye, among others.
Mary L. Bull wrote:
"Whether the tempest lull or blow
Whether the waters ebb or flow
In fortunes high or fortunes low
In days of weal or days of woe
This be my motto for friend or foe
Gather the roses as you go.
Your friend and teacher
Mary L. Bull
Edina, Feb. 26, 1889
If a child today has an autograph book, he's most likely collecting signatures of Mickey Mouse or Cinderella at Disney theme parks or autographs of celebrities, rather than his buddies in homeroom
These artifacts are on display in our exhibit "Growing Up in Edina: A Show and Tell Exhbiit." I like them because they show despite changes over the years, many aspects of childhood remain the same. Whether you grew up in 1880 or 1980, you most likely collected signatures of your classmates.
Are we missing anything? Do you remember slam shirts or autograph books, or did you sign something else? I'd love to hear your story - please comment here.
Remember Queen Anne Kiddieland?
If you grew up in the 1950s and 1960s, you no doubt spent some time at the small amusement park located at the southeast corner of what is today Interstate 494 and Highway 100. Although it was just over the border in Bloomington, Queen Anne Kiddieland was a popular destination for Edina youngsters with its pony rides, kiddie rides and miniature Rock Island Rocket, a children's sized train driven by popular children's TV host Casey Jones (played by actor Roger Awsumb.)
Queen Anne had a party room, which was a popular spot for children's birthday parties.
Ron Danly, who grew up on 3 Spur Road, with his brothers Rob and Todd, celebrated one of his birthdays below.
Patches the Clown, nearly as famous as Casey Jones among the elementary school crowd, made an appearance.
These photos were taken from a video donated recently by the Danly family that features riding on homemade go carts, playing in the back yard, and celebrating holidays. I wanted to show you the video, instead of the above still photo clips. And let me assure you that I spent waaaaaaay too much time trying to do just that. I successfully edited it, and can see it on my computer but I get an (deep sigh) error message when I try to upload it to the blog. Take my word for it, the movie is very fun. I will seek help and try again... because, I assume you would rather see it yourself than just take my word for it. Note: I wrote about Queen Anne for Edina Magazine. See that story here.
If you grew up in the 1950s and 1960s, your childhood was recorded on 8 mm film or Super 8 film... and if you're like most people, you haven't looked at those home movies for years. Even if you have a projector, who wants to haul it out, set up a screen and run those short reels in the dark? You don't have to go through all that work, if you transfer your movies to DVDs. Our friends at the Peggy Kelly Media Arts Studio at the Edina Art Center can help you get your movies out of storage and onto your TV and computer screen. The Studio is open to the public for do-it-yourself media projects. You don't even need to take a class; staff will get you started and are available to answer questions along the way. In an hour or two (depending on much film you have), you can have your entire movie collection transferred to DVD. Appointments are required. For more information and fee schedules, call 952-903-5782. The Art Center recently helped us transfer some home movies of Nancy Carlson, featured in our "Growing Up in Edina" exhibit. The movies tell more than the history of her family - Christmas mornings, birthday parties, summers at a lake cabin -- they also tell the history of Edina. The film shows images of her newly built Chowen Circle neighborhood in the 1950s and 1960s, swimming at the new Edina pool, climbing onto the school bus on the first day of school, and skating lessons at Pamela Park (below).Nancy recalls that she was about 7 years old in this circa 1960 film. She is seen leading the line of skaters in a tan skirt and red sweater.I want to note that the full-size video looks much better in real life. Blame me for any quality issues; I'm just learning how to upload and edit photos to the web. I hope to get better with practice, as I hope to upload more images from our "video vault" in the coming months.
Do you have old film gathering dust in a closet? Transfer those movies and you might be surprised at what you find. If you see anything that tells Edina's history, please consider sharing a copy with us.
The most frequently asked question lately at the Edina History Museum: Is it too late to get something in the "Growing Up in Edina" exhibit? The answer: you can submit your stories, photos and childhood treasures at any time, and in fact, we hope you do. Several visitors, inspired by what they've seen, have promised to participate.
Our exhibit room is pretty packed, but we can still make room for additional items. We also hope to continue to publish stories here on the blog and in our newsletter, so keep 'em coming.
Here's one story recently submitted by Bob Herman, who recalled childhood in Edina in the 1950s and 1960s.
 The author in about 1955 on his front steps at 5412 Oaklawn, where he lived until he was five years old. The family then moved to Lake Cornelia area. By Bob Herman, Edina HS Class of 1969 (Married to Karen Gaasedelen, Edina class of 1978) I am now 60 years old and I spent 1951 to 1974 and 1991 to present time in Edina. I have great memories growing up in Edina.... - The big white flocked, revolving Christmas Tree at Southdale.
- Walking to Ray's dairy store at 54th and France to buy penny candy.
- Getting my first haircut at Joe's barber shop (that became Marty's barber shop)
- Going to movies at the Edina Theater and the France Avenue Drive In.
- Having Mike or Pete make a hamburger for me at the Convention Grill.
- Walking to school and crossing at the light at Willson Road and Normandale Road to go to School at Our Lady of Grace.
- All of us jammed into a very crowded Southview Junior High in 7th grade, one year before Valley View opened.
- Having our senior class party theme "out of this world" and then having the first moon landing about six weeks later.
- Being in Mr Downey's 7th grade math class when the announcement came over the PA that President Kennedy was assassinated and we were all sent home early.
- Watching fireworks from the Edina Country Club every 4th of July until they accidentally caused a fire in the Boys Pool locker room and from then on, we had to watch elsewhere.
 Miss Black's 2nd grade class at Our Lady of Grace, circa March 1959.  Miss Black and some of her students at recess at Our Lady of Grace, circa 1959.  Bob Herman's sister Ann (Johnson) and father Neil playing hockey on frozen Lake Harvey. Their house (4802 Golf Terrace) is in the background on the left. "My father paid for a light to be installed on the lake so we could skate at night, and the city of Edina plowed the ice," Bob Herman recalled.
 The Lonsbury family: John, Ann, Joan and Mark. Photo by Jay Magoffin. Our flyer advertising our "Growing Up in Edina: A Show and Tell Exhibit" invites the public to "bring your friends, bring your family" and I've enjoyed seeing people do just that. The Lonsbury family visited the museum last week and let us take their photo at the old Wooddale School auditorium door. Siblings John, Ann and (far right) Mark accompanied their mother Joan (in doorway) and strolled down memory lane together. We invite you to bring the whole family in on the Saturday following Thanksgiving. We'll be closed on Thursday for the holiday, but stop in before or after your holiday shopping on Saturday morning. The museum will be open from 10 a.m. to noon.I especially get a kick out of neighborhood pals that have come in. Decades may have passed since they rode their bikes together or sat in an Edina classroom, but they have the greatest time as they remember relive their childhood together.Admission during regular hours is free. If you can't come in on a Thursday or Saturday, we will open the museum by special appointment for a small fee ($5 per person, $25 minimum per group). Call 612-928-4577 at least two weeks in advance to arrange a showing.
Normally, today I would bring you our popular feature "Photo Friday." Today, I'll tell you the story of the photo I wish I had.
One of my regular volunteers Larry Nickander grew up in the Morningside neighborhood, joined the military during the Korean War, moved around the country for his job, and then returned to Edina while his two children were in elementary school.
Many more people had the same idea in the 1960s. Following the construction of Southdale mall (1956) and major freeways in the 1960s, Edina's population boomed, as this 1964 story in the Edina-Morningside Courier (June 4, 1964) shows. The headline: "Playmates Number 97. Little Girl Has Friends, And Friends, And Friends".
Larry recalls that a reporter, who must have heard that this new neighborhood was full of children, stopped by with a camera and told one of the youngsters to find as many of his friends as he could. When a crowd showed up, he instructed them to run down a hill and snapped their photo. Larry's son was one of those children.
I wish we had the original photo, but newspaper ownership has changed over the years and the old photos aren't in the Edina Sun-Current's archives.
Isn't it a great photo? It really illustrates the population boom in Edina at the time. (My photo of a photocopied newspaper isn't particularly fabulous, but it's the best we can do unless this magically prompts someone to come forward with the real thing. Hey, you never know... )
 The story reads: "When eight-year-old Janet Stoddard climbs a tree in the nearest vacant lot this summer vacation, she may discover more playmates than woodticks.The latest census on woodticks is unavailable, but the neighborhood kids number 97.Janet, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ray Stoddard of 5605 Countryside Rd., lives in a block-and-a-half section off Tracy Ave. where 30 houses line the cul-de-sac road. Janet regularly calls on the B.F. Woodcock family at 5609 Countryside Rd., where youngsters Nancy, 7, Jeff, 9, John, 11, and Lynn, 13, live. The five of them visit the tree house and climb trees next to the Woodcock's. The lot has such significance as a playground to the children that when its sale was once a neighborhood rumor, the Woodcock children ran to their mother to see "how much money does daddy make." They wanted to buy the lot. To add to the neighborhood confusion, two Dunn families reside in it. So do the Stoddards's and the Stoddart's."Larry and I talked about this story a few times over the years - prompting me to search our archives, call the newspaper for the photo, search the Minnesota Historical Society archives... to no avail. Microfiche copies of the newspaper are available, but since Larry couldn't narrow down the date, I wasn't looking forward to searching several years' worth of newspapers.Then, just before our "Growing Up in Edina" exhibit opened, Larry brought in the clipping. I asked him how he found it. His answer: "I asked my wife." Thank you to Larry (and Larry's wife who knew exactly where the clipping was located) for bringing the story in.For another photo that illustrates Edina's huge number of kids, see this post. (One day, I'll have to look up the exact census figures...I'm guessing a bazillion isn't quite accurate.)
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