ERNIE'S BELTLINE PAY DUMP
By Bob Reiss, From the Re-Echo, Summer 2002

Taking your disposables to Ernie's Beltline Pay dump was a fun experience for many people.  Even today, when reminded about the dump, they smile and say, "Sometimes we brought back for than we left." 

In about 1954, Ernie's Beltline Pay Dump was located in the northeast corner of Excelsior Boulevard and Highway 100.  The entrance to the dump was at the northeast corner of Highway 100 where Wooddale, at that time, crossed at grade level.  Wolfe Lake (then Johnson Lake) was its eastern border.  It was right in the center of what is now downtown St. Louis Park!

The site started out as a potato field but in the 1940s, Rice Sand and Gravel excavated sand to approximately the same elevation as Byerly's and the Target store.  Dumping eventually filled it back up to its current level.

"Ernie" was Ernie Jacobsen, who with his partner, Cliff Andraessen, were the owners and operators of the dump.  They took over the ownership in 1952 from William Smith after the City fathers threatened to close it down because it was a nuisance.

Ernie and Cliff were determined to be good neighbors.  They drilled a well and used water to keep the dust down.  They allowed no garbage to be dumped.  They bought bulldozers and graders and made sure they ran a clean dump.  They sprayed for flies and provided rat control.  They planted trees and bushes to make the place look better.

The original plan was to fill the land back up to its original elevation so it could be used for commercial development and make a profit selling the land.  Between the dumping fees (35 cents per carload) and the salvage, the dump turned out to be very profitable.  Sometimes as many as six people were employed to pick out the copper wire, aluminum pots and pans, cast iron, steel and rags that were thrown away.  The dump made the partners a great deal of money.
 

A story that may be true is that Ernie, in his dirty overalls, came into a real estate office to buy a house.  No one recognized him and none of the four agents wanted to be bothers with this type of customer.  Imagine their surprise when he paid cash for the house he purchased.  Ernie and Cliff thought that people were very careless about what they threw into the dump.  They spent many hours searching through the trash to find diamonds, $100 bills, valuable scientific instruments, wallets and a wide variety of things that were accidentally thrown out.  Many of these items were never found and are still buried there.  The most expensive item that was never found was $7,000 worth of radium lost by a medical firm.  It had been sealed in a lead box and was never found even though Geiger counters were used in the hunt.

The biggest mystery was a full size casket that showed up.  Many caches of jewelry settings without stones were found and assumed to be from stolen jewelry.  There is probably more history buried in this land than we have in the Historical Society.

In 1959, the dump reached its capacity and was closed.  Ernie and Cliff started another dump but were not as lucky or successful, perhaps because of location. 

AAA and Park Nicollet purchased six acres on this site in 1966 and built their respective buildings.  Ernie Jacobsen successfully ran for the Minnesota Legislature and served St. Louis Park very well.

 

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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.