Charles E. Sampson (son of F.L.) Excelsior book of cider worth 40 cents per gallon. The profit, at 16 to 24 cents a gallon, was signifi-
and the telephone exchanges (both Northwestern and Tri -State companies) were a cant the year that they made 25,000 gallons of cider out of thousands of bushels
total loss. Heroine of the hour was Operator Alfreda Wienholz, who stayed at her post of apples that would otherwise have been a loss.
until overcome by smoke. One of the firemen she had telephoned arrived in time to
carry her safely from the building. August 3. Men of Excelsior received a letter from Captain Richard C. Thompson,
For the next two weeks, people wondered where Robert Cruikshank, janitor of of Minneapolis, inviting them to meet at the high school building two evenings a week
the Wood building, had gone— disappearing without farewells. One day excavators, for company drills. There would be lectures on army matters, from time to time,
removing debris from the basement, came upon his body where he had been trapped and occasional social evenings. "It's a Volunteer Company," the letter stated, "to be
by flames. (HCR) continued throughout the war ... [It's] ideal training for young men who may be
November 9. The funeral of 76- year -old Moses Bickford was held this day. One of called for the present or future wars."
Excelsior's pioneers, Moses had come West, in 1857, with three brothers and home- i December 21. The Citizens' State Bank and the Minnetonka State Bank consolidated. I
steaded on Bickford's Point, now Meadville. He claimed to have built the first hotel at After the old Excelsior bank, at the corner of Third and Water Streets, burned in
Lake Minnetonka. Ed Bickford, another brother, arrived in 1865 with their p arents, 1894, the Minnetonka State Bank was built on Second Street next to Newell's Store.
Eri and Susan Bickford. (MH) This is the bank with which Citizens' Bank consolidated. I
1 Harry B. Wistrand had helped organize the Citizens' Bank in 1911 and was the
�' cashier. Early in 1917, Harry and his brother had purchased the hardware store from
the Fogelmark brothers, successors to the Joslin brothers at 226 Water Street. In
1918, Harry and Ed would merge with R.H. DeGroodt to form the DeGroodt-
J
..: Wistrand Company. (MR)
1 1918
' % r;7' 'N , , ii �_.
i , r/` t' 40.i .
" II , '' .: rt June. The Woman's Club reported that more than 200 •
' e local women resolved to " abstain from use of white
,t ' � �`, i '.�_, G ; I flour as fully as possible, to substitute war bread on I
daily menus, and to send a copy of its resolutions to
President Wilson." (MR)
1
A 4 -H Club meeting on Murray Hill at the home of Prof. Edw. W.D. Holway of the botany dept., July 2. The Council decided to purchase its first
U. of M.: world traveler, plant collector and mountain climber. (About 1917) e automobile directory from W.H. Boone Company.
Seated, lower left, is County Agent Kirkpatrick; Mr. Henry Palmer is in 2nd row, wearing a suit; Ordinances presented during the year aimed to regulate ;
Mrs. Palmer, next to top row, no hat; James Palmer, front row standing, 2nd from right with white automobile traffic on village streets and the operation
tie; Ruth Wilson (Hutton), 7th girl from left, standing, with big white hair bow. Others unidentified of motor buses within village limits. The Age of the .
Automobile was gaining momentum.
1917 Fall. When the boardwalk between the Casino and the
Commons was being removed, schoolteacher Ruth
Mann had a hard time
April. The Council advertised for bids to purchase a horse -drawn street sweeper school keeping the children
recess ng r on the
periods.
for the town's paved streets. Bills from S.S. Smith & Son for feed for the Village of them grounds during o to the lake lunch p tolo Most
o
team, and bills from Excelsior Livery for teams used to pull fire equipment reveal of them dashed off to the lake shore to look for
F
the continued use of workhorses, even while the town was purchasing the first traffic coins under the old boards as the sidewalk was being
removed.
signal to be placed at the corner of Water and Second Street. (VC)
The Excelsior Fruit Growers Association (EFGA) hired a professional manager who 1919
had been working for the Fruit Brokers Company in Spokane, Washington, for the
past decade. Under Oliver C. Skow's leadership for the next seventeen years, the , �
Association of 300 members enlarged both its markets and its membership. Skow's
first move was to purchase a power machine with which to make cider and vinegar out William Way in World War I March 7. Returning servicemen found that C.E. Samp
of second -rate apples. A bushel of apples worth only pennies produced three gallons
77
76