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Fall, 1999
Tom Melchoir to Speak at Fall Meeting October 13th
The fall meeting of the Society will be held the evening of Wednesday, October 13th in the Minnetonka Community Center council chambers, beginning at 7:00 PM. There will be a short business session, a report on the progress of the Burwell House restoration and a short demonstration of the Society's home page on the Internet. Refreshments will be served and there is no charge.
The guest speaker of the evening will be Tom Melchior, a retired high school teacher. Tom's program will be a presentation from his recently published book, They Called Me Teacher, Stories of Minnesota Country School Teachers from 1915 to 1960. In Tom's quest to tell the country school teacher's story, he traveled more than 17,000 miles throughout Minnesota and interviewed 172 teachers ranging in age from 60 to 102. Tom will share his experiences and stories from two very important characters in America's history, country school teachers and country school students.
Incidentally, a traveling exhibit by the Minnesota Historical Society, Minnesota School Days is still being displayed in the Community Center and ties in very nicely with Melchoir's presentation. This exhibit of historical photographs captures the flavor of school life in Minnesota 80 years ago, from kindergarten to college, in urban and rural settings. You are invited to visit this free event either before or after the meeting.
Burwell House Restoration Nearing Finish
By Kate Magrew
Excitement is building as the restoration project enters its last phase. Burwell is gaining its lustre and dignity through the quality craft work provided by L. S. Black and its sub-contractors.
Work completed to date includes:
House: Mechanical systems, security/fire systems, structural repairs (including returning structures to 1894 configuration), historic hardware, kitchen cupboards both east and west kitchens, infilling of second floor doors and trim due to the 1914 maple flooring, reconstruction of the tower stairs, wheelchair accessibility ramp, east porch, hatches to the cellar, handrails, floor repairs and copper bathtub construction.
Woodshed: Major structural repairs, privy constructed.
Ice house: Structural repairs.
Cottage: Demolition of modern kitchen addition, major structural repairs, re-construct chimney, rough-in for kitchenette and restroom, mechanical systems, sheet rock.
Workshop: Structural repairs.
Site/General: Site grading to establish appropriate drainage, millings to driveway and path, removal of lead based paint and prep for painting,. Poles for parking lot lights are up and tree lights are roughed in, parking lot bollards are in, trash and "porta-potty" enclosures have been built, all shingled roofs and gutters systems were repaired.
Work remaining:
House: Some hardware, paint and trim wood-graining, paint the kitchen and bathroom walls, paint and finish floors, hang wallpaper in remaining rooms [the Society has contributed $10,000 to help defray the cost of historically correct reproduction wallpaper] and install reproduction light fixtures.
Cottage: Install doors and windows and complete interior finishes.
Workshop: Complete exterior finishing, install historic south door.
Site/General: Exterior painting began September 21st and will be completed this fall. Sod will be laid and exterior lighting will be completed.
The community should be grateful for the extraordinary financial support this project has received from the federal ISTEA dollars administrated by the Minnesota Department of Transportation, the City of Minnetonka, the Minnetonka Historical Society, the State of Minnesota through a bond-funded grant administered through the Minnesota Historical Society and the donation of the exterior paint by Lathrop Paint of Hopkins. These dollars and the high quality work of the contractors will soon restore this community treasure. The site will celebrate a grand re-opening in 2000 with on-going tours returning. With the unexpected funding that allowed restoration of the workshop, discussions are underway between the Minnetonka Historical Society and the City to turn that structure into a museum of Minnetonka History and a historical resource center.
Thank you to the Minnetonka Historical Society members for their original grass roots efforts to bring this site into public ownership so that generations to come may experience first-hand the early days of Minnetonka.
Historical Society Home Page Now on Internet
By Mike Wilder
The Historical Society is excited to have a presence on the World Wide Web (WWW). To access the MHS web site, go to www.minnetonka-history.org. There you will find useful information such as how to contact the Society, who your board members are, an update on the Burwell House and membership information. You can even print out a membership form to join the Society or to continue your membership. Another feature is a page of links to other web sites relating to history, preservation and genealogy or family history.
We hope to make this resource easily accessible and fun to use. In the future, we expect to include more photos and documents on-line, so you can see some of the Society's archives right in your own home.
If you wish to contact us about this new web site or if you have some questions or comments, you can e-mail the Society by using the following address:
Nicol Named to Commission Board
Art Nicol, Historical Society treasurer was recently appointed the Society's representative to the Minnetonka Community Resources Commission by the City Council. Nicol replaces Roberta Seefeldt, the former Society representative who has moved from the area.
Mills Walking Tour
The Society, under the direction of board member John Evans, is in the process of publishing a "Walking Tour Guide" of the Minnetonka Mills area. The guide as it is now planned will be an eight page fold-out brochure, containing a map of the area pointing out the locations of historic landmarks of the past and of those that are still standing. There will be descriptions of buildings, roads, railroads, bodies of water, bridges, mills, etc. and the people associated with them. Guides of other Minnetonka areas are being planned as well. You can access and print out a walking tour map right now by going to the "Walking Tour" page.
Are Your Dues Due?
This issue of The Millwheel is being mailed to both members and non-members of the Society. Please look at your address label. If you are a member, there is a date following your name. This is the date your dues are due or will become due. Without the income from the ice cream social, your dues are more vital than ever to fund our activities. Please take a moment to fill out the statement and your check. If your dues are more than a year past due, we will appreciate having them brought up to date. If you are not a member, we cordially invite you to join us. Our dues are very reasonable and are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. You can print a membership form and find out dues amounts here.
Long Time Society Members, Marge Wildberger and Jessie Illies Pass Away
In a previous issue of The Millwheel, we reported the death of Gladys Pettijohn, a long time member of the Society. We have recently lost two more long time members, Margaret (Marge) Wildberger and Jessie (Jet) Illies. Marge died August 10th. She is survived by her husband Richard and other family members. Jessie died August 27th. She is survived by sons Alan, David and Keith, daughters Ruth Ann Licht, and Kathy Kelly, 14 grandchildren, 19 great grandchildren, 1 great-great grandchild and many other family members.
Minnetonka Book in Planning Stage
The Society Board has begun plans for publishing a first class book on Minnetonka. A "coffee table" publication is under consideration; a hard cover with lots of pictures and Minnetonka History, anecdotes, stories and traditions. Material will be taken from the Society's files and archives, but more will be needed. We are asking Society members and non-members for appropriate contributions. We will need pictures of people, buildings, businesses, farms, stories of early life, family histories, etc. Please contact us at mhs@minnetonka-history.org if you have anything to contribute. We also plan to interview the few "old timers" that are still alive. They will have wonderful stories to pass along. "New timers" will not be left out either. They have stories to tell too.
Interior Sub-Committee Hard at Work on Burwell Furnishings
Now that the restoration completion is in sight, the Burwell Interior Sub-committee, made up of Society members David Rasche and Roberta Seefeldt, Community representative Caron Brown and City staff member Megan Schaack is busy planning where furniture and furnishings will go. Careful attention is being paid to the selections so that every piece will be appropriate to the restoration and to the Burwell family. Some of the pieces were originally owned by the Burwells and others are from that period and from the life-style that the Burwells led. The following list is not complete by any means; many pieces will have to be obtained either by donation or purchase. The committee emphasizes that the house will no longer be a collection of mismatched furnishings, but will be a first class exhibition of what life must have been like in the late nineteenth century.
The following room-by-room list is a preliminary plan only, and is made up of artifacts now in the Society's possession.
Kitchen
Dining Room
Bedroom
Parlor
South bedroom
West bedroom
East bedroom
The committee wants to emphasize again that some on this list are not appropriate or are in such poor condition that it would be uneconomical to repair and replacements will have to be acquired.