BEEHIVE UPDATE
From the Re-Echo, March 2008

The big news to report regarding the effort to move the so-called “Beehive” barbeque structure from one Highway 100 Roadside Park to another is that the proposal that Rick Birno and his staff at the City Parks and Recreation Department developed has been approved by the City Council. That means we have a green light to start raising the $30,000 that we have been challenged to contribute.

One of the ways we are thinking about to conduct our drive is to send letters to all of the businesses in St. Louis Park, telling them of the project and asking for a donation. We would then follow up on the letter by conducting a door-to-door campaign – not just to collect money, but also to collect the history of that business. The City will be approaching the larger entities in town, such as Target and Home Depot, so ours will be a grassroots drive from the community. No donation will be too small – even $5 or $10 will be accepted gladly. We will be keeping track of our contributors and organizing a special event with them when the work is done.

Just to remind you, the work will involve moving the Beehive cooker from the Highway 100 Roadside Park at Minnetonka Blvd. Roadside Park (“Lilac Park”) to the Highway 100 Roadside Park at Highway 7 (“St. Louis Park Roadside Park”). Other stone remnants of a place called “Monkey Island” will be salvaged as well. At the Highway 7 site, stone picnic tables and other features will be restored, the path that goes through it will be paved, and more parking spaces will be added.

This is an ambitious project, but we think we can raise the money needed to do the work. All donations will be tax deductible. If you wish to contribute, see the flier inside this Re-ECHO for a donation form. Thanks in advance to everyone who wishes to contribute to save this important historical landmark. To read more about the Beehive, see our website at www.slphistory.org. There are links to three pages about the Beehive on the home page.

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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.