SUMMER CELEBRATIONS
From the Re-Echo, June 2009

St. Louis Park’s history of summer celebrations goes back virtually to the beginnings of the City, centering on the Fourth of July.  As far back as the 1880s, John Young remembered getting up at 4 in the morning on the Fourth of July to watch the lighting of the cannon in the town square, waking everyone up. Ben Brown remembered one Fourth of July that included a contest to climb a greased pole to get money at the top. 

One particular Fourth of July was captured by a photograph in 1911. It shows a decorated coal wagon led by a couple of donkeys to make a float for the parade. Village character Dutch Reider is one of three men seen wearing policeman’s uniforms that must have been “borrowed” from Hopkins, as there were three uniforms but only one policeman in the Park at the time. Mrs. Thomas Thompson recalled that the men “got together early in the morning. By noon they were already full of holiday spirit and spirits.” Since it seemed like everyone in town was in the parade, Mrs. Thompson wondered who was left to watch it.

There was also a tradition of Fireman’s Carnivals, which raised money for various purposes every year until 1963.  The carnival in 1913 raised money for a new library, and funds from the carnival in 1914 went to the family of Esther Monson, who was killed in a tornado that year.  Starting during the Depression, the profits from the carnivals were used for the mobile Santa Claus program, in which Santa went around on a fire truck, distributing food to 30-40 needy families. 

There were no fireworks in 1946, perhaps because the returning soldiers had no stomach for bombs bursting in air, or perhaps due to the polio epidemic which kept people away from group events.

Celebrations continued during the modern era.  Robin Hood Days, an elaborate event sponsored the Chamber of Commerce, was held from 1967 to 1971.  Various celebrations were held in the ‘70s, including Olde Time Picnics and Ice Cream Socials sponsored by the Historical Society.  A big event was the Bicentennial and the City’s 90^th birthday in 1976, for which Palm Bakery made a birthday cake for 1,000 people. 

Party in the Park ran from 1980 to 1991, followed by Parktacular, which started in 1995.

There are many more stories about summer celebrations on our web site at www.slphistory.org/history/earlycelebrations.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.