My grandparents owned this house in the 1950s, and I lived there with my parents when I was born in 1957 for about a year. To me it will always be 51 Lake Ave.
When I was little, I was a frequent visitor to the home, since my grandparents were big advocates of family Sunday evening suppers. I don't recall a lot about the '50s, but I do remember a real in-ground gold fish pond in the back yard, and that my grandma liked to take me out on the lake in a little red snow stroller during the winter.
Local painter Edna Imm did a picture of the house in the early 50s when my Mom and her sister Mary Lynn were young women. The picture now hangs over our family room fireplace and is very special, because Imm included the whole family, including my grandparents Ruth and Chappie (Harvey), sitting in lawn chairs where interestingly many subsequent owners have positioned them, as well. And Cinder the cat and Spooky the dog are also featured along with my Mom Barb Chapman Nelson and her sister Mary Lynn Chapman Hathaway, who now prefers to be called simply Mary.
Pic of 51 Lake aka 4621 Lake Avenue during the 1950s.
My mom remembers cleaning out the house when her parents bought it. She says she had the upstairs bedroom, which faced the lake. When the historical society included the house on the home tour in 2019, I was fortunate to tour the home with my mom, who is an avid historian and has been a member of WBLAHS for many years.
She told us which room was her parents and which room was her father’s office. He was a salesman for Wickes Corporation, who either worked from home or was on the road.
She remembered her and her friends swimming at the beach at the end of Clark Ave. Dad recalls their friends and Mary Lynn's (who were five years younger) cleaning up there with a bar of soap they kept there for just such occasions after working on the railroad.
Barb Chapman Nelson visiting her childhood home (60 years later) during the WBLAHS home tour in 2019.
My grandmother was a big photographer, often causing us to grimace rather than smile by the time she was done taking birthday photos. But it’s been gratifying to find some of those old birthday photos taken in the ‘50s before and after I was born. Some featured my great uncle Fred Bloom, who was my Mom’s great uncle and my grandma Ruth’s uncle and business partner. He was a carpenter, and she fancied herself an interior decorator - they flipped houses before flipping houses was fashionable.
Great Uncle Fred at a birthday dinner with my Mom and Dad and Mom's sister Mary. Mom recalls that Fred Bloom tried to improve the insulation of their home with newspaper and tar paper. This makes more sense now that I've learned it was built as a summer home for someone in St. Paul in the 1880s.
History of 51 Lake (according to WBLAHS home tour brochure)
This prime lot along the lake was transferred throughout the 1850s as part of the land owned by speculators, such as William Freeborn and others who owned much of the lakeshore between Shady Lane and 12th Street along Lake Avenue.
The townsite was platted in 1871 by the Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad (LSMRR), and Clark Avenue (serving as the west boundary of the lot) was named for the LSMRR's president Frank Clark.
John and Mary Elizabeth "Lizzie" Matheis purchased the lot in 1883. John was a German immigrant to Minnesota who developed a prosperous carpet, wallpaper and drapery business in downtown St. Paul.
From a book about White Bear Lake published in 1890 by A. H. S. Perkins, who was affiliated with the local paper called the Lake Breeze.
During the early part of the 20th Century this was the home of Walter and Mattie Whitten along with their daughter Edith. Walter worked as a civil engineer for the railroad.
Harvey and Ruth Chapman sold 51 Lake in 1963 to John and Joan French. Mr. French was a veteran of World War II, who is best remembered locally as a long-time assistant principal at White Bear High School.
Conclusion
The house has changed hands several times in the last 10 or so years.
Comentarios