Edina Historical Society

Most people know Howard Merriman by his name that graces the Edina High School gymnasium or for his 23 years as Edina High School Athletic Director.

But Howard's history in Edina stretches back to 1944.  After teaching and coaching in his hometown of Delano for two years, Howard arrived in Edina as a fresh faced 24-year-old teacher at Edina School (later known as Wooddale), a combined elementary and junior high school.

Not only did he coach junior high athletes, he also worked as part-time recreation director for the City of Edina in the summers. In his first year, he helped establish the first summer baseball program. (For  more, see John Sherman's June 29, 2011 story in the Edina Sun Current.)

During his park and rec years (1947 to 1955), he also helped organize park and rec youth programs for swimming and hockey.

Edina-Morningside Junior-Senior High was built in 1949, and Merriman continued coaching there. By 1955, the athletic program had grown so much that Merriman gave up teaching to become a full-time athletic director -- possibly the first one in the state, according to an Edina Historical Society oral history with former principal Rollie Ring.

Around the same time that Howard first joined Edina Schools, so did a lovely young woman. "Miss Madeline Roth joined the school staff as English teacher in about 1943. We all liked her. So did Mr. Merriman. He married her," recalled her former student Ron Shirk.

Madeline soon quit teaching and began a 60-year career with the American Red Cross. According to her obituary, she "began as assistant director of the Junior Red Cross, working with children in schools around the Minneapolis area. In 1956, she was one of two adults leading a nationwide team of 18 junior leaders to an international Red Cross meeting in the Netherlands and to the Red Cross headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. Over the years, she was promoted to numerous leadership positions in the local and national Red Cross chapters. After retiring, she continued as a volunteer training local chapters how to respond in emergency situations"

During Howard's tenure as athletic director, Edina High School teams won 108 Conference and 27 State titles. Howard was the first class named to the Edina Athletic Hall of Fame and is also honored in the Minnesota State High School Hall of Fame.

These are just a few of the photos in the Merriman collection that I picked up today. The devoted couple did not have children, but their extended family kindly thought of the Edina Historical Society as an appropriate place for the documents, photos and other artifacts that pertain to the Merriman's life in Edina.

The Merrimans made history in Edina and we're glad (understatement) to add their material to our collection. I'll continue to sort and catalog the contents of the boxes, but I thought these photos were too cool not to share right away.

Do you remember the Merrimans? In doing some initial research about the Merrimans, I see that pro baseball player Bob Johnson played for Merriman's midget team. What stories can you share? Please comment here or email me

Edina High School was built at  6754 Valley View Road in the fall of 1972 on the Ernie Davis farm.

The farmhouse, 6740 Valley View, stood on the north side of the road (see below).

Here was the house.

And the barn.

Here's a closer look with what looks like a police or fire vehicle on the left side of the photo. I don't know more without further research, but it looks like the farm was not operating at the time these photos were taken (estimated 1970). The Davis's are not listed in the phone books of that time period, either.

Edina's student population grew rapidly in the 1960s, and overcrowding forced the district to build a second high school. Because the the original 1949 high school was located on the east side of town (5701 Normandale Road), the district looked for land on the west side and selected the Davis property. Logically, the schools were named Edina East and Edina West. (Or for you sports fans, the Hornets and the Cougars.)

The old school closed in 1981 and became the Edina Community Center and Edina once again had one high school.

• For more about the history of Edina Schools, see Joe Sullivan's story in the Spring 2003 issue of About Town, the city's quarterly newsletter.
• For an interesting look at the Edina High School neighborhood over time, take a look at aerial photographs through the years at Historic Aerials. If you zoom out from the high school site, you can see Valley View Stables on the east side of Valley View Road. (Look for the large riding ring.)
• If you know anything about Ernie Davis, please email me or comment here.

When I worked for newspapers, we called the group photo a "stand 'em up and shoot 'em down." Die-hard newsmen hated to see a newspaper loaded with posed photos instead of action shots that depicted real news events. If a football team wins a conference championship, a news editor prefers to run an image of a player scoring the winning touchdown over a group shot showing the entire team.

Readers, on the other hand, would probably pick the portrait. It shows everyone who contributed not just the guy who ran across the goal line. It shows their kid, kids from the neighborhood and helps people put faces to the names in the community.

I have proof that people like portraits. Every time I run a group photo, web traffic spikes. Whether we run faculty photos, American Legion team photos or class photos, people visit -- and tell their friends, who tell their friends... and so on and so on and so on.

(Quick, name that commercial. Sorry, couldn't resist. Back to the main topic...)

So, from time to time, I will publish group photos as I get around to scanning them. Today, we're back to the 1940s and 1950s, brought to you by the Class of 1951, Edina's first high school graduating class.

This photo shows some of them as second graders in May 1941. Children who see this photo are surprised that all the girls are wearing dresses. Some think everyone is dressed up only because it was a special occasion. When I tell them girls were required to wear dresses, they think I'm joking. They're horrified when I point out that kids back then didn't wear tennis shoes to school either.

The photo below shows the Class of 1951 on the front steps of Edina School (known as Wooddale in later years) when they graduated from eighth grade in 1947. At the time, Edina schools ended in 8th grade. Then Edina kids went to St. Louis Park High School or one of the Minneapolis schools. Some went to a private school like Blake (then all boys) or Northrup (Blake's all girls school counterpart).

These young men and women are now 79 or 80 years old. But when they were middle school age, they could be as silly as kids today. Look at that front row posing like Napoleon Bonaparte.

By the way, those distinctive arched doorways were saved when Wooddale School was demolished in the 1980s and they are now the entrances to our exhibit rooms at the Edina History Museum.

This is Miss Ardus Towler's homeroom class.

In 1949, Edina's first high school opened without a senior class because, understandably, most people wanted to finish out their high school career where they started. The Class of 1951, as juniors, were the leaders at the combined junior and senior high school. (The building now houses Edina Community Education.)

This is Edina's first high school football team. Even without a senior class, the school managed to have enough players to field a full team. For many, this was the first time they competed in an organized sport (in contrast to today, when kids compete on sports teams even before they start kindergarten.)

These photos are courtesy of Frank Cardarelle (#43 in the middle row). The fourth-generation Edina resident, who grew up on a farm west of Valley View Road and today's Highway 62, is one of the children featured in our "Growing Up in Edina: A Show and Tell Exhibit" on display at the Edina History Museum through October 2012.

Now it's your turn. Are you a fan of group photos or do you share the journalism philosophy? Do you have photos to share? And most importantly, can you help identify any of the people in the photos? Comment here or email me.

Everybody remembers their favorite teacher. Many Edina residents fondly reminisce about Miss Bemis or Mrs. Glover, their first teachers. Others credit band teacher Hal Freese for inspiring a lifelong love for music. Several visitors have pointed out teachers in these photos below and admitted that they were their first crushes.

I have been surprised how much emotion these photos from our "Growing Up in Edina" exhibit have evoked. Now that I think about it, I should have expected that teachers would have a lasting impact on the children in their classrooms. I know my teachers did for me.

If you can help identify any of the teachers in the photos below, please email me or comment here. For a figurative gold star or Blues Clues sticker, give a shout out to those teachers who made a positive difference in your life.

(Above) Cahill School faculty 1965.

(Above) Cahill School faculty 1970.

Thankfully, the photography studio printed the names right on the photo  in later years.

We do not have a complete collection of teacher or classroom photos. Students and teachers have donated photos, usually one or two at a time, over the years. Morningside School donated a large number before the building was demolished in the 1970s. I would love to have more photos, originals strongly preferred. (We can provide scans or copies to the donor.) For more information, call me at the museum, 612-928-4577 or email me.

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.

_I had a chance to review our clipping file on the ABC Foundation, when Nancy Otterness came in recently to find information for the group's 40th anniversary celebration in 2012. While the story of pioneer black families in Edina is heavily researched, this story from the modern era is lesser known.

In 1972, a group of residents decided to form a local chapter of the national A Better Chance (ABC) Foundation, which invites academically talented students of color to attend a school district where they can get a quality education and prepare for the challenges of college. ABC students, who transferred to Edina schools from all over the country, have gone on to attend top colleges and assume positions of leadership and responsibility in their community.

The concept was revolutionary in 1963, when the national ABC Foundation formed. Keep in mind that 1963 was the peak of the Civil Rights movement - this was the same year that Alabama Governor George Wallace won  the office on the slogan of "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever." At the same time that Martin Luther King was jailed in Birmingham, thousands marched on Washington for Civil Rights legislation and NAACP field officer Medgar Evars was assassinated, the foundation found ways for students of color to attend top schools throughout the country.

The local program began with a strong base of community support nearly ten years later, and students of color enrolled rather quietly at Edina, Minnesota, schools. Not every resident wanted minorities living next door, however. Edina then, as now, was predominantly white. Establishing a group home for primarily black students on France Avenue generated some controversy. "I thought the worst that could happen would be a black family moving in," said one homeowner to the Minneapolis Tribune. "But that was far from the worst." Other residents said their opposition was not based on race, but rather the number of students in the house.

Despite the initial fears, the program went on to great success. According to the above clipping from the student newspaper in 1982, female students lived in the group home and male students were placed with host families. The program, funded exclusively by donations, paid for food, housing, and plane tickets home during Christmas and summer breaks.

A Better Chance, which will celebrate its 40th year in 2012, is planning a reunion of students, host families, board members, and the public at a Gala Celebration on May 4 at the Edina Country Club. The group is looking for any historically significant information to share about the program (newspaper clippings, photos, or experiences). For more information, contact Sherry Nuness, Executive Director of ABC, at 952-848-3101 or see the organization's web site here. 

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.

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.