Edina Historical Society

When the dark comedy “Harold and Maude” opened in mid-1972 at the Westgate Theater (4500 France Avenue), no one in the audience suspected that they would have another 1,956 opportunities to see the popular film that achieved a cult following.

For more than two years, “Harold and Maude” played at the Westgate – what seemed like a lifetime of missed Disney movies for a Morningside kid.

By the beginning of the third year, disgruntled neighborhood residents picketed the theater with signs reading,  “Our plea to Westgate. Your neighbors want variety” and “Two Years Too Much.”

Robert Owen was at the protest. "My mom and two of her neighbor friends organized it. She said the protestors consisted of the husbands and kids of the three women," he wrote, in answer to a query I posted on Facebook. "I remember booing at Ruth Gordon and the other actor when they showed up. My mom told me to stop that; the protest was not against the movie or actors but to get the theater to run some other films."

The Morningside record-breaking run of “Harold and Maude” brought it – and the movies’ stars Ruth Gordon and Bud Cort – national acclaim. Cort would say later that notice from the Minnesota run would boost his career.

In fact, both stars visited the Westgate Theater: Ruth Gordon attended the first anniversary showing, and both came for the second anniversary. (Picket signs protesting the movie’s long run can be seen in the background of one newspaper photo.)

In all, the movie played for a total of 1,957 showings from mid-1972 until June 1974 setting a new record for number of showings for any movies in the Twin Cities.

Another cult film, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” would break that record in the late 1970s, but the Westgate began the strategy of finding a market to stay alive in a time when multi-plex theaters took most of the movie business from small single-screen operations like Westgate.

"Harold and Maude" merely postponed the inevitable, and the Westgate finally closed in 1977. The building now houses Edina Dry Cleaners.

• For more on the Westgate Theater's history, see this story from Edina Historical Society newsletter, Issue 3, 2010.
• Count Edina native Jim Burke among the movie's fans. According to a recent story in the Star Tribune, the producer of the Academy Award nominated "The Descendants" spent many an afternoon at the Westgate Theater.  The story, written by Colin Colvert, says: Burke, 53, says he didn't plan it, but there is a sense of inevitability about his career. He grew up in a movie-theater family, ushering at his father's theater in the basement of the IDS building and tearing tickets at the old Yorktown Cinema. He displayed symptoms of film addiction early on. While at Edina High School he attended countless screenings of "Harold and Maude," which spent more than 100 consecutive weeks at his neighborhood Westgate Theater on the corner of 45th and France (presently the site of a laundromat). In 1982 he graduated from the University of Minnesota, moved to Los Angeles and landed a film-studio job because "I didn't realize I couldn't do it.
• So, are you a lover or a hater of "Harold and Maude"? Were you among those kids who felt they missed out on years of children's movies? Did you carry protest signs? Or do you belong to the "Harold and Maude" cult following? Email me or comment here.
• For more about the library housed in the theater and librarian Elvira Vinson, see this post
  

If you didn't see "Harold and Maude" one of the more than 100 weeks it showed at the Westgate Theatre, now is your chance to see the movie cult classic on the big screen.

The Heights Theater in Columbia Heights will mark the 40th anniversary of Harold and Maude's historic run at the Morningside theater. Don't procrastinate: the movie will be showing only once on Wednesday, March 21 at 7:30 p.m.  Tickets are $8.

Go to see a cool restored movie house, even if you aren't a fan of the film. The theater opened in 1926 and is (according to its web site) "the Twin Cities' longest continuously operated show house."

See The Heights' web site for more information about the theater's history, location and movie schedule.

Littel Street is a little street in the Morningside neighborhood of Edina. Although the street signs and current map read "Littel" (with the "EL" ending), a map dated 1905 is marked "Little" (with the "LE" ending.) Which is the typo?

I made the mistake of advocating for Little. The oldest map we have calls it Little. Hennepin County property tax records call it Little. What's more, it's a little street. Maybe subsequent mapmakers messed up and now we're calling that short street by the wrong name.

A Morningside volunteer argued just as strenuously for Littel. In fact, he went to the city many years ago when a new street sign showed up with "Little" on it and asked for a correction. (He got it.)

Turns out, he's probably right and I'm wrong. (That didn't hurt too much to admit.) The little street in Edina was probably named for Pauline Littel, a woman ahead of her time. In 1912, she was one of the few women working in real estate in Minneapolis and making a name for herself for more than just her gender. As the April 28, 1912, story in the Minneapolis Tribune put it, Littel was "often taken for the Office Girl, but She Puts Through Some Big Land Deals Just the Same."

Littel made news because "A $50,000 deal was closed in a real estate transaction one day last summer and a woman was responsible for it. It was Miss Pauline Little, who negotiated what has since been acknowledged as one of the largest deals in land made during the year."

In today's dollars, $50,000 would be more more than one million. The accomplishment had people wondering about the young single woman, and Pauline told the reporter that traffic had increased around her Lake Harriet office because "they just want to see what I look like."

The young and attractive Littel was often mistaken for the "office girl," but she said she won over her clients with confidence, knowledge of the business and honesty. "I know that absolute honesty in real estate transactions is the only sure route to success."

Littel also forged her own path from her male competitors and designed and built her own houses to sell, rather than only empty lots. All her homes sold within a month of their completion, and she credited her "daily work in the kitchen" for giving her the knowledge to design "sane spacing of cupboards, stove, sink and kitchen table."

In other words, Littel was designing work triangles for the kitchen, long before the term was coined in the 1940s.

Littel spent four years working in a real estate office before establishing her own business. She studied law books in her spare time to be prepared to handle real estate transactions. After a year, she began designing houses and overseeing construction.

Good design sells houses, she said. "Wide porches, light, well aired closets and cozy fireplace nooks all make the difference between a home that people want to buy and a rented house that they want to move out of at the first expiration of their lease."

I heard about Pauline Littel when I saw that local historian and architect Peter Sussman was giving a talk about her to the Linden Hills History Study Group. When I asked whether our street was named after her, Peter did a little digging in property records and found that she did, in fact, design some houses in the Morningside area.

He'll talk more about her work in a Morningside walking tour this summer (date TBA). If you would like to be notified when the date is set, please email me with "Morningside Walking Tour" in the subject line.

After her marriage to businessman and fellow realtor L. T. Sheets in 1917, Pauline Littel disappears from the headlines and no longer advertises. In 1919, she is mentioned in a tabloid style story when her husband is sued by a "beauty culturist" (beauty shop worker, I'm guessing) for $50,000 on the charges that Sheets urged her to divorce her husband and promised to marry her. Instead, he married Littel. The court ruled in favor of the woman, and Sheets was ordered to pay $7,500.

Pauline Littel made a name for herself in the real estate field. It's only fitting that a little piece of Edina's real estate bears her name.

1. Jan Riesberg story prompted a couple of comments about the Morningside neighborhood. Jay Magoffin wrote: "Although I did not live in Morningside I have an attachment to the Community. Our family went to the Morningside Church. I was a Cub Scout their and my father was a Boy Scout leader. Many of my class mates lived in Morningside and because our class was so large we went to 5th grade in the new addition of the Morningside school." Kate Genovese commented on Facebook: "I grew up in Morningside! but, I was even north of 42nd... was just back there to visit my folks over Thanksgiving! it's a cute 'hood... changing, but still cute!"

Kate's comment prompted me to correct the border to read 40th Street. John Dudley also pointed out that Morningside was in the northeast corner, not northwest as I had written. I have to admit that directions are my downfall. Even when I know exactly where something is, I am directionally impaired when describing it. (This leads to some interesting detours when I ride shotgun and am in charge of the map, but that is another story....)

Nancy Olmem thought she might be able to find contact information for the Riesbergs. Thank you, Nancy!

2. Highway 100 beehives: John Dudley also commented on a post about Lilac Way (Highway 100), "The Beehive was moved to its final location at the South East corner of Hwy. 100 and Hwy. 7. Right beside the tall cement silo on the property of Nordic Ware. The silo was the very first one made of cement, architects from around the country all agreed - it would collapse because of the weight. It still stands today. Check out this website (St. Louis Park Historical Society) for more details."

Take John's advice and read more about the beehives and Highway 100 (aka Lilac Way). In fact, check out the entire site (see below)....

3. St. Louis Park Historical Society web site: I am a big fan of the St. Louis Park Historical Society web site and webmaster Jeanne Anderson, a volunteer board member who spends an amazing amount of time adding content to the site. (I often tell Jeanne that I want our site to be as complete as hers when "it grows up.")  Jeanne also wrote and continues to add to The Brookside Timeline web site about the neighborhood formed in 1907 around Brookside Avenue, which includes part of Edina. Check out both sites for great stories about our shared history, including Docken's store at 44th and Brookside, Park High School (attended by many Edina residents before our first high school was built in 1949), Bunny's bar (a favorite hangout of Edinans, who couldn't get liquor in their own town for many years) and much more.

Jeanne wrote about her memories about growing up on Highway 100 for our blog here, and has given me permission to use some of her material from time to time. I am happy that I am surrounded by so many great colleagues at the historical societies at our borders: Richfield Historical Society, Hopkins Historical Society, Linden Hills History Study Group, Eden Prairie Historical Society and the Bloomington Historical Society. Although we each focus on our particular communities, topics don't always fall neatly within city borders and we work together when possible.

4. CSI and Ralph's update: I wasn't the only one wondering about the CSI episode that mentioned Edina cake eaters. People searched for "csi edina" and "cake eater CSI" and other variations and landed on our site, making it our top blog post for the month of December.  For those who missed the outcome of the Ralph's Shoe Repair story, see the Star Tribune story and the Sun newspaper story on its move from Southdale mall to Richfield.

Happy Monday, everyone!


_

People who complain about "big government" probably never heard of the tiny Village of Morningside, which operated with two employees, no village hall and a few contracted services from its larger neighbor, the Village of Edina.

Morningside, the far northwest corner of present day Edina, needed little government as the smallest village in Hennepin County. Its borders extended just a few blocks in either direction: approximately 42nd Street and Sunnyside Avenue at the north and south, and France Avenue and Oakdale Avenue to the east and west.

Council meetings were held at the Odd Fellows Hall at the northwest corner of 44th and France, but otherwise, village business was conducted from the basement of Village Clerk Janet Riesberg's at 4003 Lynn Avenue.

From her informal home office, Riesberg typed council minutes, sold dog licenses and even registered candidates for elections sometimes minutes before midnight, the deadline for filing. A widow with three daughters, she was happy to be a “work-at-home” mother. Her children were trained in to answer the phone and assist residents.

Some Morningsiders viewed Janet’s marriage to Edina City Manager Warren Hyde as prophetic – not long after the couple’s wedding, Morningside voted to rejoin Edina in 1966 after 46 years of independence.

The other employee, Harold Schwartz, conducted his city business from a snow plow or truck. The lone Public Works employee took care of the city's ice rink at Weber park, plowed streets, and repaired roads. (Well known police officer George Weber had retired by this time. He quit patrolling for speeders in 1954 at approximately 80 years old, after 28 years on the job.)

Former neighbors of the Riesbergs visited the Edina History Museum today to see the current "Growing Up in Edina" exhibit. As we talked about the days of the tiny village, I recalled this article in our collection. If you know where the Riesberg daughters are today, the former neighbor girls would love to talk to them. Please email me if you have contact information.

Do you remember the kids who were in your kindergarten class? Today, most school photos are done by companies that specialize in school portrait photography and the class photo is printed with every child's name. Heck, even elementary schools have yearbooks these days. But in 1948, class photos were not that fancy: just line the kids up against a classroom wall, try to get them to look at the camera and hope they keep their eyes open and their fingers out of their mouths.

Bonnie Ott England submitted this photo of her 1948-49 Morningside kindergarten class for our "Growing Up in Edina" exhibit -- that opens on Oct. 29 -- along with her nap-time blanket. This was a time when children weren't expected to know their colors, numbers and letters before they walked in the door. They went to school just a couple of hours a day, and part of the day's activities included a nap. (Makes you want to go to kindergarten again, doesn't it?)

She and her sister Sherry could come up with many of the names of her classmates. If you can help identify these youngsters, please comment here.

Left to Right:
Top row: (1) ?  (2) Kathy McKeon?  (3) ?  (4) ?  (5) ?  (6) Ann Fenger  (7) Mark Hanson
2nd row from top: (1) ?  (2) ?  (3) Nancy Hallberg  (4) ?  (5) ?  (6) Carolyn Tews  (7) Jacque Simpson  (8) Bonnie Ott  (9) ?
3rd row from top: (1) ?  (2) ?  (3) ?  (4) ?  (5) ?  (6) Sarah Hawthorne  (7) Rodney Brown
2nd row from bottom: (1) Carole Blandin? (2) ?  (3) ?  (4) Vicki Dahlberg  (5) ?  (6) ?  (7) Pat Kennedy?
Bottom row: (1) Danae Edwards  (2) ?  (3) ?  (4) ?  (5) Marilyn Holtze?  (6) ?  (7) ?  (8) Jane Parker

We have several class photos in our collection; volunteers are working on putting some on poster board for exhibit visitors to view as part of the exhibit. Thanks to retired teacher Bernice Amacher, we also have several faculty group photos from Cornelia and Cahill Schools. At this point, most have only the school and year identified. We'd like to ID the people in the photos with visitors' help.

What apple did Edina pioneer Jonathan Grimes develop?
A. Jonathan
B. Grimes
C. Jonagold
D. A and C
E. None of the above

 Although a local newspaper once quoted Grimes descendants as crediting Jonathan Grimes as the developer of the Jonathan apple, horticultural sources say otherwise.

“I think that’s some family folklore that just isn’t correct,” said Grimes' great-grandson Boyd Phelps. The claim is not substantiated by any source, including Jonathan Grimes’ daughter Ella Grimes Eustis, who wrote a memoir Out of My Mind.

“My grandmother was a stickler for detail, and she never mentioned the Jonathan apple,” Phelps said.

The fact that Jonathan Grimes shares the name of the above apple breeds is a confusing coincidence, especially since Grimes was a prominent Minnesota horticulturalist and apple grower. From 1866 to 1883, he owned the Lake Calhoun Nursery, (later subdivided into the Morningside neighborhood.)

Hardy trees
Although Grimes did grow apple trees, he achieved his greater fame developing shade trees hardy enough to withstand Minnesota winters.

As his daughter writes, “My father’s evergreens and shade trees were sold and planted in many parts of Hennepin County. The large shade trees that adorned Nicollet, Hennepin, Lyndale and University Avenues came from his nursery.”

Grimes imported some exotic – for the times – tree varieties, including the ginkgo tree from China. “Only one of these trees survived,” Eustis writes. “… (The tree) was only a few blocks from Central High School, and for many years the botany classes came to study it. It grew about fifty feet high... Now ginkgo trees may be found in nurseries but they are scarce.”

If Jonathan Grimes did indeed create any new apple variety, Ella Grimes Eustis had the perfect opportunity to mention his accomplishment when she writes of Peter Gideon, a fellow horticulturalist who bred the Wealthy apple.

But she mentions only Gideon’s well-known eccentricities.

Peter Gideon and the Wealthy apple
“In connection with his nursery and his experiments with new and hybrid shrubs, trees, etc., my father became acquainted with Peter M. Gideon, later the originator of the Wealthy apple. He lived on the west side of Gideon’s Bay, Lake Minnetonka, where he had his orchard. With horse-drawn vehicle it was a long, slow trip to Minneapolis from his home, so he planned his trips very nicely by arriving at our house always just before supper and staying overnight with breakfast included.

“Mr. Gideon was a great talker and bragger, and a strong spiritualist. Mother took his all too frequent visits in her stride, but, having been brought up in a strictly orthodox faith, she did not relish his enthusiastic harangues on spiritualism – especially with children of impressionable ages sitting around with their ears wide open. The last straw came when he claimed he could cure anybody or anything by laying his hands on the individual and calling up on the Spirits. Father had had a prolonged case of rheumatism, so at the height of this emotional discourse my mother said, ‘Mr. Gideon, if you can cure anybody, I wish you could cure Mr. Grimes of his rheumatism.’ This came as a surprise, and Mr. Gideon’s reaction was terrific. He jumped up and down in a combination of excitement, hysteria, anger, and apparent insult; and uttering a tirade of unprintable words, he flew out the door and down the road. Mr. Gideon never returned – but the rheumatism never returned either….

“Mr. Gideon had to find another free lodging to take the place of ours. He selected the Hankes’ on the Excelsior road. As it was late and dark when he knocked on their door, Mr. Hanke opened a window to ask who was there. The answer came. ‘I’m Gideon.’ ‘Who?’ ‘Gideon!’ Whether or not Mr. Hanke wanted to understand I do not know, but his reply was, ‘No, you don’t gid in.’ ‘Don’t you understand – I’m Gideon!’ whereupon Mr. Hanke (a German) said in his broken English, ‘You tank you gid in, but you no gid in!’ And down went the window. Where Gideon went from there, we never knew.”

Despite their disagreements, Jonathan Grimes praised Gideon in his eulogy to colleagues of the Minnesota State Historical Society , saying Gideon would be “known by his fruits” and his perseverance in creating a hardy Minnesota apple, the Wealthy. “…This tree alone would stand as a monument to his memory.”

Addendum: "An Orange Social"
As for Jonathan's daughter Ella, she was more intrigued by a strange new fruit: the orange. In 1876, she attended an "Orange Social," a gathering of more than 200 people who saw an expert demonstrate how to peel the exotic citrus.

She was not alone in her fascination: the Minneapolis Tribune reported on several such functions during this period.

For more information on Peter Gideon, see MNopedia website created by the Minnesota Historical Society.