THE BROWNDALE PARK/WOODDALE COTERIE

This is the story of a neighborhood organization with tremendous staying power.  It all started in 1917 as the Browndale Park Coterie.  Records going as far back as 1921 show that it was a women’s social club that met twice a month for luncheon and a program.  Club members would discuss books, the arts, travel, religious figures, and world events.  Lunch was held in each other’s homes or in nearby restaurants such as the Colonial Inn.  Membership was open to women who lived on Wooddale Ave. between Morningside Road and 44th Street, and the houses on 43 1/2 Street.  An early constitution states its purpose as “to promote sociability, friendliness, and mutual helpfulness.”

In the 1920s, the Coterie was a member of the Minnesota Federation of Women’s Clubs, and sent representatives to conventions of the Fifth District.  In the early 1930s, invitations of reciprocity were received from other women’s groups, including the Thursday Musical, Ladies of the Roundtable, Phi Mu Lau, and the Linden Hill Study Club.  There are references to a men’s club as well, particularly with regard to sharing the cost of folding chairs for the groups.

Although there was some confusion as to whether Browndale Park belonged to St. Louis Park or Edina (see the Curious Case Browndale Park), by 1931 the ladies were sure they were in St. Louis Park when they held a special meeting on November 3 to pass a resolution urging a recalcitrant Mayor E.F. Martin to run for re-election.  (He did and won by a landslide.)  Around this time meetings were changed to once/month.

Some time in the late 1960s, the name of the group changed to the Wooddale Coterie.  Into modern times, the group has become family oriented, holding picnics and parties in line with tradition.  The group also does volunteer work.