DONATIONS RECEIVED
From the Re-Echo, June 2009

Ardyce Eckdahl donated a 1968 Echowan.
 

The new owner of the Palm Bakery building found some artifacts from the bakery. He gave them to City Inspector Manny Camilon, who gave them to the Historical Society. If and when we get exhibit space, this will make for a great display!
 

John Billman donated various news clippings. Mr. Billman, who owned Park Funeral Home at Excelsior Blvd. and Highway 100, made many contributions to life in St. Louis Park, working with the Community Fund and other charitable causes. His picture was on the front of the St. Louis Park Directory for many years and is one of the best-known faces in the Park!
 

McCarthy’s Restaurant was a fixture in St. Louis Park, located on the north side of Wayzata Blvd. (now Highway 394). Keith McCarthy, a pilot for Northwest Airlines, was the owner and namesake. But they say the real power behind the throne, so to speak, was a notorious gangster named Tommy Banks. Meredith McCarthy, Keith’s brother, has donated a hat that Tommy Banks wore, as evidenced by his initials in the band. What a great artifact! Mr. McCarthy remembers that Banks was mean and cruel to him and others (particularly his wife), and tried to make up for it by tipping generously.
 

Not a donation but related to gangster ties, a production company has approached us for information about Kid Cann, king of the Minneapolis underworld. We referred him to Paul Maccabee, author of Dillinger Slept Here, a book about Twin City gangsters. Maccabee is the expert on Kid Cann, and will be interviewed for the production. For information on Kid Cann, see our website at www.slphistory.org/history/kidcann.asp

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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.