A new feature article from Dolores Ullstrom!
There is a Ringer on Woodhill Drive
Featuring stories and interviews with longtime lake Sarah resident and former Loretto Postmaster Marlys Timm!
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There is a National Champ
Hall of Famer in our midst!
By Dolores Ullstrom
Maybe I’m the only one in the Lake Sarah neighborhood not well acquainted with Joe Knapp’s success in water skiing. But, in case there are a few more of you out there who do not know this very interesting guy, I would like to introduce Joe to you.
To read the rest of Dolores' interview with Joe Knapp click this link (in .pdf)
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LEN'S STORIES
Over the winter of 2018-19 Dolores Ullstrom met with longtime lake Sarah resident Len Nadasdy to share and preserve the history and memories of this storied gentleman. As published in the Spring 2019 LSIA newsletter the article as completed by Dolores with a little help from Jan Daly, Mayor Marvin Johnson, Gene Berthieaume, Jack Leddy, Todd Beamish, Brad Spencer and especially Brian VanBeusekom is presented here.
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| Dolores Ullstron and Len Nadasdy photo taken January 2019 |
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Art Mielke's Ice Harvesting video re-edited to add narration from Art Mielke
From 1939 until 1974 the Mielke family of the Breezy Hill Resort cut ice blocks during the winter on Sarah for use at all the resorts, dance hall, Delano & Rockford creameries & the Delano 4th of July celebration. Art's sister Irene filmed home movies in the 1960's of the Mielkes making ice, combining and transferring them to videotape more recently. Now converted to digital, the movie showing Art's family and friends cutting, loading and storing ice blocks (kegs) can be easily shared. By clicking on the thumnails above you may view larger images with expanded descriptions captured from the original video. The original video has now been edited to add narration from an interview with Art by Brad Spencer and Mark Hodges. click here to view the ice harvesting video including narration by Art Mielke (posted to YouTube). Click here to read the entire Ice Harvesting article as published in the October 2007 Mouth of Lake Sarah newsletter.
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| The Mielke's "Model A" power saw |
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| Art Mielke cutting the ends of the tiers by hand. |
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| To break off a tier (row) of kegs Art uses a spud chisel. |
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| Loading the ice kegs. |
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| Stacking the ice kegs into the icehouse |
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an interview with
LSIA’s good friend and founder
Harold Burrows
By Dolores Ullstrom
After more than 35 years on lake Sarah, Harold and Renee Burrows have sold their home on Fern Drive. Before moving he sat down with Dolores Ullstrom for a conversation about his history and memories of his service to our lake community. click here to view the article in .pdf format.
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| donated by the estate of John W. Thiede |
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| donated by the estate of John W. Thiede |
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History discovered! Two photo postcards (above) from the Shady Beach Inn's early days, one showing the dock & swim area and another showing the playground were recently donated to the website by the estate of John W. Thiede of Portage, Wisconsin. Thomas Pierce of Sun Prairie Wisconsin found these unused postcards among John's possessions and did a little online research to find someone who might appreciate them. These photos are undated so any assistance in identifying a timeframe would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you to Tom for taking the time to find us, we will truly enjoy adding them to our lake Sarah history collection!
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| Anderson Inn / Shady Beach Bell as restored in 2006 |
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| Shady Beach bell next to Ron LaMotte ca. 1950 |
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Calling all history buffs! The newly formed Greenfield Historical Society is looking for history specific to Greenfield / Greenwood area of western Hennepin County www.greenfieldhs.com. They have started building a website and are meeting monthly, contact any member via their website if you wish to participate or have old memories or memorabilia to share!
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New history article! The Hubert B. Kohnen Memorial Landing was opened to the public on September 22, 1988 on Lake Sarah's west bay. Ever wonder why the landing was dedicated to the memory of Hubert Kohnen? click this link to download the article (large file please be patient) written in March 2011 and published in the April 2011 Mouth of Lake Sarah newsletter. Thank you to the Kohnen family, Loren Kohnen, John McClay, the Delano Sportsmen's Club, Kathy McCullum - city of Greenfield, Paul Purman - Minnesota DNR, and Toni Hirsch - city of Greenfield for their help in researching this piece of Lake Sarah's history! (4/11/2011)
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| Ribbon cutting ceremony September 1988. L to R: C.O. Jim Konrad, Gordy Peterson, Carl Peterson, Mark Bauman, Lawrence Bauman, Kelly Arents (seated), Marlin Kohnen, Loren Kohnen, Agnes Kohnen, Joanne Kohnen, Ervin Kohnen, Andy McClay. |
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| 1969 "peek-a-boo" advertising Calendar from the Shady Beach resort found.
The search for more resort heydays ephemera continues, this months special posting is an advertising calendar from 1969. A little ragged on the edges but all month pages intact and the featured photo in excellent condition. Dubbed a peek-a boo calendar due to the clear mylar film with some "screening" over the photo which when lifted reveals a more "revealing" image of the young lady! Click on the image to view a larger picture. If you discover old advertising or postcards from lake Sarah's resort heydays please let me know so we can archive and share these old reminders of the past.
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More cool Lake Sarah History found! I purchased this old postcard (above) of the Anderson Inn (Shady Beach Resort) postmarked 1918, one of the oldest postmarked cards of this Inn I have discovered so far. The photo is unremarkable as it is very similar to other postcards I own from this Inn during the pre-depression era but I was intrigued enough by the date that I wanted to read the writings from the opposite side. Upon close inspection I could see where the card appeared to be delaminating but to my amazement it was actually a rare folded postcard that unfolds along the short edge to reveal a double size map of the route to lake Sarah and lake Independence with mileage marks to and from the Hotel Radisson, headquarters of the Automobile Club of Minneapolis! As always, should you discover or know of any memorabilia from lake Sarah’s past that can be shared with others I would love to hear from you!
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New Lake Sarah History article! The Railroad at Lake Sarah
by Alton Chermak and Brad Spencer
As published in the October 2008 Mouth of Lake Sarah newsletter. The early history of the railroad and its role in the development of the area during early 1900's as detailed by Minneapolis & Pacific Railway historian Alton Chermak. click here to view the entire story (in .pdf format). Thank you to Alton for his knowledge and experience!
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Do you know who these three sisters are? If you guessed the "Popcorn Girls" from the Lake Sarah Pavilion you're right. Kathy Hahn interviewed these three and put their memories together in an article chronicling some of the history of the dance hall built by Sydney and Ben Mitchell near the Lake Sarah Train platform. To read Kathy's article click on this link. (this is a very large file, 4Mb, it may take a while to download)
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This is the future home of a series of historical articles, interviews, and images pertaining to Lake Sarah's colorful history. Until the content is developed, this page will feature interesting photos and tidbits as they are discovered. Anyone with information regarding any of the images found here or with images or stories to share is encouraged to contact or email Brad Spencer or Dolores Ullstrom. Remember, images on this page are used by this website by permission, any reproduction of the images without the image owners consent is prohibited. Until the website can be constructed with search, it will feature links to files. Text in blue is a link that can be opened by clicking on it.
Did the Shady Beach bell kill Mrs. Lamont? - from the final Lake Sarah News e-newsletter 11/1/10 by Brad Spencer
Old postcards can offer a glimpse of our past - Anderson's Inn, our first image of the lake facing! April 2007 - by Brad Spencer
Levi Bowen's Camp (Bowen's place) and Hillcrest summer resort may have been the same property - by Dr. Perry Buffie.
Lake Sarah History: Art Mielke watches resort community flourish, then die. The missing Dolores Ullsrom interview with Art Mielke from the April 2002 Mouth of Lake Sarah newsletter. (Thanks to Jackie Johnston for finding a copy!)
AJAWAH BEGINNINGS by Ray Hoag - from the Camp Ajawah Alums newsletter Vol.4, No.1 originally published in 1998 and provided to lakesarah.com by CAA Editor Bill Braddock. The story is a personal account by Ray Hoag, who passed on in 2004, of the first year of Camp Ajawah and its beginnings on Lake Sarah in 1923.
History of Troop 33 - the founding of Camp Ajawah - excerpted from the story by Ty Lilja with quotes from Wilford H. Lauer & Charles Reif. includes an account of naming of the camp after the troops HAM radio call letters W9AJA.
Articles submitted by visitors and residents:
Researching lake Sarahs name - (paragraph added 4/8/06) Dr. Perry Buffie
Memories of Elm Beach Resort - Denny & Jackie Johnston
Memories of Lake Sarah - Denny & Jackie Johnston
The Bell from Shady Beach Inn - Denny & Jackie Johnston
Did you know that lake Sarah once had it own post office? - LAKE SARAH, post office, 1895-1906; now an area of Greenfield. (source Minn. Historical Society)
The Dolores Ullstrom Lake Sarah History articles and Interviews from past Mouth of Lake Sarah newsletters:
Shady Beach Inn: A story too good to be forgotten! Interview with Florence Jacobs - April 1998
The Bukowski Farm and Willow Beach Resort. Interview with Lambert Bukowski - October 1998
Wally’s Resort: A great place to visit! Interview with Louise Georges - October 1999
The Old Vander Hagen Place. Interview with Marie Vander Hagen - April 2000
A Visit with Dorothy Jacobs: Historical Nuggets. October 2000
The Chongs Leave Lake Sarah. Interview with Stanley Chong - April 2001
Breezy Hill Resort Memories. Interview with Art Mielke – October 2001
The Klaers Farm has a long history. Interview with Eileen Klaers – October 2002
Camp Ajawah. Passages from Charles B. Reif
Thank you to Sue and Tom Mizell for providing the old newsletters and of course Thank you to Dolores for her wonderful articles!
Below is a photo of an old map which has the resorts and attractions of Lake Sarah from Kathy Hahn. I am not yet sure of the time frame but it is prior to Wally's resort (Jacobsens property). Click on the photo to enlarge image.
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| Here is a photo of an old map which has the resorts and attractions of Lake Sarah from Kathy Hahn. Click on the photo to enlarge image. |
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| Perry Buffie forwarded a photo of the old advertising postcard above for the J.H. Eschman resort (click on the thumbnail photo to enlarge image) to the website. Dr. Buffie thought someone might know more about this former area resort. Coincidentally, I just recently acquired an unused copy of this postcard on Ebay. The back of the card reads; A delightful place on the north shore of Lake Sarah, Minnesota for a vacation or a day's outing. Twenty two miles northwest of Minneapolis via Minneapolis bus or Soo Line railway. Furnished housekeeping cottages with electricity, ice, use of boat or canoe, fishing rods, sandy bathing beach, and swings at $8.00 to $20.00 per week, $30.00 to $60.00 per month, $75.00 to $100.00 for the entire season. Driving distance on the North Shore we conduct an equipped camp and picnic grounds with free auto parking, sandy bathing beach, water toboggan, boat livery, tackle and live bait. Drive out via Robbinsdale and Hammel. Minneapolis address, 4280 Queen Avenue South, Telephone Walnut 1333, or Rockford 11-4 . (Brad 12/12/03) The Escman postcard is reportedly an image of the John Wise' property on North Shore Drive. He writes; I don't know a lot about the resort but I do know that the picture is of our property. When we purchased the property in 1975, we still had the two cabins on it. When we tore them down in 1983 to construct our house, we found writing in the wall dating back to the early 1900's with visitors coming out via train from then North Minneapolis. We did save a couple of the boards with the writings. Most of the houses on the far west North Shore Drive were from the divided resort. Parsons was the first house to be built and I believe it was 1965 when they built it. Marge Parsons, who turned 85 this past summer, still lives in the house and would be able to tell you more I am sure. The cabin on the left was on Joey Schmit's property. The Ollingers built that house in 1971. Don Ollinger died in 1991 and Lorraine moved to Robbinsdale. Their daughter was Mary Lou who married Greg Ebert - a name familiar in the area "Ebert Construction". (John Wise 12/18/03)
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