BROOKSIDE CIVIC CLUB

The following are excerpts of the minutes of the Brookside Civic Club, originally known as the South Side Civic Club, which was established in the Brookside neighborhood in 1921. The first volume of minutes is in the collection of the St. Louis Park Historical Society.

1921
The first meeting was held on May 4 at Brookside Church, called to order by Mrs. Kate Kercher. Officers were elected as follows:

President: James Henderson
Vice President: Alice Kercher
Secretary: Ted H. Lauer
Treasurer: Mrs. A.M. Engell

Committees were formed that reflected the concerns of the community. It was specifically stated that women as well as men would serve on all committees.

School – Dr. Backus, chair
Membership
Road and sidewalk
Transportation
Council
Program
Picture Machine
Ice
Cleaning
Bus

The name of the organization was debated, with the following considerations:

South Side Civic Club
Brookside Civic Club
Good Neighbor Association
Excelsior Blvd. Association
St. Louis Park Civic Club

One of the most prominent reasons for the Club to start was to lobby for a new school in the neighborhood. The minutes show a resolution to vote against a $90,000 Lake Street Bond issue for a school until Brookside had a school, which was expected to cost $40,000 for the building and site.

Minutes from a meeting that May (advertised by printing “dodgers” to distribute) spelled out the purpose of the organization: “The promotion of civic and social welfare of the south side of St. Louis Park.”

On June 6, 1921, there was a motion to hire someone to clean the school. This may have still been Pratt, since the new school couldn’t have been built so quickly, could it?

At the August 9, 1921 meeting, Mr. Orth replaced Mr. Henderson as President. Mr. Bessel, the architect of the new school, attended the meeting (?). The group expressed a desire for their own polling place, and for street corner signs.

On December 13, members voted on the name of the new school. Choices were:

Brookside
Minnehaha
Taft
Backus (presumably after Dr. Backus, the chairman of the school committee)
Brookdale

1922
On January 14, the group watched a movie from their picture machine, but the movie’s name was not reported. 1922 saw many instances where the members wanted their neighborhood to remain residential, which was an uphill battle since it was surrounded by busy roads. They also wanted better street car service, snow removal for the school, a school bus for the winter, and regulation of the Minneapolis Northfield and Southern Railway. In September 1922, the group discussed obtaining two residential lots to enlarge the school grounds.

President: A.R. Moore
Vice President: Mrs. Sam Bowler
Secretary: Earl L. Clark
Treasurer: S.B. Rees

1923
Officers were:

President: Fred Lupien
Vice President: George Brooks
Secretary: Mr. Hellier
Treasurer: Mrs. A.R. Moore

1924
The group voted to refuse Standard Oil permission to install storage and gas tanks on Excelsior Blvd. They lost that battle. But street car service was improved that year, as did mail service.

President: M.L. Johnson
Vice President: William Martin (“arrived late as usual”)
Secretary: A.L. Blodgett
Treasurer: A.J. Harvey

1925
The name of the group was changed to the Brookside Civic Club. The address was given as Linden Hills, Route No. 2. Under discussion was the need to enlarge the school building.

President: Thomas Reed
Vice President: William Martin
Secretary: Mr. Myers
Treasurer: George Brooks

1926
A bond election of $35,000 to enlarge the school was held on January 15, 1926, and it was approved in a landslide. In another drive to keep residential, the group complained about chicken shacks and the desire to keep them out of Brookside. Tom Reed decried the presence of “dancing in the chicken shacks on the Boulevard. Another concern was that the City of Minneapolis was not paying taxes on the “new golf property.”

President: A. Warren Anderson
Vice President: H.A. Jonas
Secretary: Mrs. W.H.D. Rees
Treasurer: Mrs. Earl L. Clark

Home    St. Louis Park History    History Index    About the Society    Research Resources
Brookside Timeline    Something In The Water    The Re-Echo    Contact Us

This information comes from a variety of sources: newspapers, books, yearbooks, phone directories, interviews, etc. Given the varied sources, we cannot guarantee that all of this information is correct, and welcome any additions and corrections. Please contact us with your contributions and comments.