St. Anthony Village Historical Society

04/01/2026

The Annual Meeting of the St. Anthony Village Historical Society will take place on Saturday, April 18, 2026, at 10 AM in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 3301 Silver Lake Road.
We encourage anyone with an interest of the history of St Anthony which was established as a township in 1858 by the territorial government and incorporated as a village in 1945. All are invited to this free event and encouraged to bring any artifacts, photos, stories or questions to share. Our agenda will include a brief business meeting to elect our board of trustees and officers and to accept reports from the officers. Our board now has several vacancies, and we need and encourage volunteers to ensure the continuation of our organization. A documentary video will be presented on the rapid growth of St. Anthony in the decades of the 1950s and 1960s which will be followed by sharing and discussion with the audience. Light refreshments will be available.

06/11/2025

According to “History of Hennepin County including the City of Minneapolis” published 1881, the first school built within the current boundaries of St. Anthony Village and within the boundaries of the then St Anthony township school district No. 2, “was built in 1859, on the south-east quarter of section 7, in district number 2. It was a frame, 20 x 30 feet, and located on section 6.” A later source in our archive, a handwritten 1935 “History of St. Anthony Township”, places the first school at Lowry Ave and Stinson Boulevard, which in 1935 was the location of “Mr. Gardner’s store.” Lowry Avenue is the east-west midline of section 7. A 1913 plat map of the township shows that early pioneer Alexander McInnis, who settled in the township circa 1893, was the owner of the parcel of 132 acres which included the area of the first school. The SAV Historical Society does not have an image of this school and has not found any indication of when or why it was discontinued.
Various sources, including the school image shown here, place the second township school at 33rd Avenue and Stinson Boulevard, one mile north of the first school. The 1913 plat map shows that Mr. McInnis also owned the 19-acre parcel on which the second school was located. The 1935 history describes him as a prominent truck gardener, a member of the school board and its chairman in 1935. He, wife Sofia and three children are buried in the township cemetery on Stinson Blvd. Their home still stands at 3149 Stinson Blvd. Early resident, Millie Walquist, interviewed for our book “A Village in the City” started school in 1918 at this second school. Her younger sister Dorothy Offer started school In a new two room school on 33rd and Silver Lake Road. These sisters were daughters of Louis and Flossie Christen who had a large hog farm on the crest of the hill in what is now central park. In the 1935 history, Mrs. Christen was credited as the current President of the St Anthony Women’s Club and also as its first president 15 years before. The club was organized ”...for the welfare of the boys and girls in St. Anthony School. They sponsor the hot lunches, the annual school picnic, and many other incidentals that present themselves during the school year.”

The image of the second school was scanned from a recently found St. Anthony Community Calendar for 1976, a Community Awareness Bicentennial Project, produced and distributed by the City of St. Anthony. The photo shows 34 individuals, roughly 1/3 of the population of that time which was 100 in 1910 and 134 in 1920.
The floor plan of the second school was included in the 1935 handwritten “History of St. Anthony Township”. The final picture shows the school as it sat in the mid-1950s after it was moved several blocks away to Edward St. It had been purchased and repurposed by local florist Leo Hertog for use as a home for his two brothers who had emigrated from Holland. It no longer exists. The Hertog greenhouses and retail store were destroyed by the tornado of April 1984 which is described in our 2018 publication, “Hit the Deck and Pray” which is available for purchase at the City Hall service counter.

05/23/2025

On Memorial Day as we remember and celebrate the lives of those who have lost their lives in support our nation, it is also appropriate to consider the values they fought for through the story of a 16-year-old Estonian refugee Evi Pank who came to the U.S as a teenager, in June 1950 on a transport ship with her mother Maret, elderly grandmother Elvine Oravas, and younger sister Maia. Her life’s journey led to her life with her husband Valentin Karelson, raising their two daughters after moving into St Anthony in 1965. This has been excerpted from our book, World War II: Courage and Survival, Stories from St. Anthony Village, Minnesota, available for sale at City Office service window at the Community Center.
On the night of February 24-25, 1941, in Estonia during the period of the non-aggression treaty between the Soviet Union and Germany, “the NKVD (predecessor to the KGB) knocked on her maternal grandparent’s door…arrested her grandfather and shot and killed him that night.” On June 13, 1941, her father an Army officer in the Estonian Army “was arrested by the Soviets at a military training camp and either killed on the spot or sent to a gulag or slave labor camp. His family never saw him again.” On that same night, “about 10,000 Estonians, including entire families were arrested… Maret’s cousin’s family, including two children, was sent to Siberia. Two of Evi’s uncles were arrested later, never to be heard from again…”
With the Soviets in control, the family went into hiding. After the Germans took control of Estonia, the remaining family was able to return home and for a 3-year period Maret was able to resume her career as a coloratura soprano and sang with the Estonian National Opera and the Vanemuine Theater in the university town of Tartu. On August 16, 1944, while Russian planes bombed the city the family fled with other members of the opera company. First to Tallinn, the capital city, and later in fear of the Russians, to Germany where the “family moved around … depending on where they had friends or with other Estonian artists who had escaped”.
After the war, the Allies created Displaced Persons’ camps to house refugees. “Evi and her family ended up in DP camps…in the British zone.” The family remained in these camps until 1950 when “an actress friend of Maret’s helped them relocate to Tacoma, Washington, assisted by Lutheran Resettlement Services.”
“[Maret] -an accomplished musician …[and fluent in 4 languages] tried to find work as a teacher in Tacoma… ended up working in a broccoli factory. After Evi graduated high school, they moved to Minneapolis. Arriving with no money, they found families who would take them in. Maret “was able to get a part-time office position at the [Lutheran Nurses] Guild in Minneapolis and later at Northwestern Hospital. Eventually, she… was hired by the Minneapolis College of Music, now the McPhail Center for the Arts… She taught voice…for more than 40 years… until having a stroke in 1994 …and died in 1996 at the age of 86.”
“Evi worked, attended night school and began her career in medical records. [Her] sister Maia graduated from Central High School…[completed] undergraduate and graduate studies at the University of Minnesota with scholarships and fellowship. She earned a Ph.D. and became a professor at Ohio State University.”
{From Evi’s Obituary }
Evi (Pank) Karelson, age 87 died peacefully on July 19, 2021.
“In September 1957, thirteen years to the day after her family fled Estonia ahead of the invading Soviet army, Evi married Valentin Karelson, also a native of Estonia, in Minneapolis. (She always said that she knew the first time she met Valentin that she would marry him.) Evi enjoyed a long career in medical records, designing her own degree in the field at the University of Minnesota after her two daughters started school, … She would want it to be said that she always emphasized the importance of education and that she had "the best girls."

05/12/2025

At its recent annual meeting St. Anthony Village Historical Society commemorated the 100th Anniversary of Gross Golf Course and Sunset Cemetery. Historical Society President Bob Manske presented to Dave Bratland a framed copy of the original architect’s plan for the “New Northeast Golf Course (Armour Tract)” golf course dated January 1925. Denise Huisken and Amy Berry of Sunset received a framed copy of a 1930s era photo of the mall with the reflection pool, Tower of Memories and Administration Building at Sunset Memorial Park as it was named at that time.
“In the early 1900s, the Armour Meat Company of Chicago owned 800 acres of land in southeast St. Anthony Township, with plans to build a major meat packing plant…. Armour’s plans were derailed, however, by two things: they couldn’t acquire enough land in the St. Anthony area, and South St. Paul offered them a larger site…. Their property—which included large and small pieces of land scattered throughout the township—included 440 acres of what would later become Gross Golf Course and Sunset Memorial Park…. Sunset’s records indicate that it was operating as a cemetery as early as 1922, as it grew it adopted a new concept in cemetery planning, the ‘park plan cemetery.’ …Dedication ceremonies were held June 17, 1928 for the 90-acre Sunset Memorial Park.” (from A Village in the City, SAV Historical Society)
“Armour approached the [Minneapolis] park board in 1923 with a proposal to develop a golf course on the property it still owned east of St Anthony Parkway. The company offered very attractive terms: they would provide the land and pay for the development of a golf course and a small club house. Their investment, valued at $150,000 for land and another $60,000 in improvements, would be paid off by the park board over twenty years from the earnings of the golf course.” (from Gross Golf Course History, Minneapolis Park Board website)

04/09/2025

This is a recent collaboration with NineNorth/North Suburban Access Corporation.

04/09/2025

St. Anthony Village Historical Society Annual Meeting
Saturday, April 19, 2025, at 10 AM at City Hall.

This is an exciting opportunity for all community members to come together and celebrate our shared history. Featured this year is the commemoration of 100 years of service by Gross Golf Club and Sunset Cemetery.

Please bring and share your memories, memorabilia, and photos. We look forward to your participation and contributions to make this event a memorable one. Join us in preserving and celebrating the rich history of St. Anthony Village!

A short business meeting will precede the program. Light refreshments will be available.

12/01/2024

Local children and parents learned about our local history at the Chamber of Commerce Small Business Saturday Fair at City Hall. Gail Olson author of "More Pigs Than People" read excerpts and answered the many questions of the kids. The Society provided free copies to the kids and to parents or grandparents who stopped by our table.

08/04/2024

Dr. Dave Abrahamson retired from St Anthony Village/New Brighton Schools in 1996 but that wasn't the end of the story. We created a video documentary of his lifelong service. Dave was our special guest at our Annual Meeting when we first presented this video, a full and documented story of this man and his dedication to kids, teachers, administrators, our community and his family. Many tributes and remembrances were shared by those attending and we would encourage those who view this to share your memories with us below.

07/31/2024

Free Mug!! Visit our booth at Village Fest. A $15 value with your donation of $25 for a NEW 2024 Membership.

This is a limited offer to the first 10 new members.

05/23/2024

In remembrance of Memorial Day, this is the family of J.R. Johnson Sr. and his children, all of whom served in the Navy in World War II. John R. Jr, on the left, died very recently at the age of 101 and served as a flight instructor. Sister Roberta served as a Wave and taught instrument flying on flight simulators in Florida. Brother Robert died of complications of a knotted intestine in a military hospital and did not return home. John Hertog, a lifelong friend of John R. Jr, also was a Navy pilot in WWII. The Johnson and Hertog families operated greenhouse nurseries on opposite sides of Edward Street until devastated by the April 1984 tornado.

04/27/2024

Here's KSTP-TV 5 News' Story on the St Anthony Village 1984 tornado.

The F3 twister, with winds estimated between 150-200 mph, carved a path of destruction, leaving one person dead and 52 hurt.

04/24/2024

Chris Reece, meteorologist for KSTP 5 News contacted the St. Anthony Village Historical Society late Wednesday morning for information and an interview for a news item to be shown on Friday evening, the 40th anniversary of the April 26th, 1984, F3 Tornado that hit St. Anthony Village. We responded to the request with photos for their use and agreed to an on-camera interview. By coincidence, Carol Jensen, former Historical Society board member and photographer, as well as conductor of the St Anthony Civic Orchestra, walked into the City Hall Entry shortly before the KSTP news team arrived to conduct the interview. Carol agreed to our request to also participate in the interview. The news team included Chris Reece and Videographer Jared Bergerson.