Edina Historical Society

08/28/2026

Country Club District Service Company
Vs.
Village of Edina

Last month we gave a rundown of the initial case and decision on the case between the Country Club District and the Village of Edina, filed in 1939 and decided in favor of the district in 1940. The suit claimed the district was owed money from Edina for the use of fire hydrants and sewers in two areas of the neighborhood.
In this 1941 appellant’s brief, filed before the Minnesota Supreme Court, Clarence Holten, Village Attorney for Edina notes the errors that he believed were made in the trial.
Edina disputed the claims on the hydrants and sewers saying that the trial judge should have taken the previous evidence into account but didn’t. The village also said the court committed an error in not resolving the ownership issue by disregarding Edina’s evidence.
The final error claimed was that St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Co. should not have allowed as an intervenor and that the village was not allowed to question their mortgage status and other issues.
Next month, the final decision.

08/15/2026

The Crier
Volume 1 Number 6
August 1930

08/08/2026

Artifact of the month, August 2026

Since the end of August brings us the Minnesota State Fair this month’s artifact is a letter and receipt from the Great Minnesota Get Together.
The letter, dated May 8, 1952, and receipt dated on May 7 from Fair Secretary D. K. Baldwin and sent to Cora Swanson, Secretary of the Minnehaha Grange acknowledges payment of $50 to secure the Hennepin County booth in the Agriculture-Horticulture building at 1952 fair.

See this item and more at the Edina Historical Society at Arneson Acres Park, 4711 70th St.

07/24/2026

Country Club District Service Company, a Corporation, Plaintiff-Respondent
Vs.
Village of Edina, Defendant-Appellant
St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company, Intervenor-Respondent

The Country Club District sued Edina on March 25, 1939 for $38,268.50 (approximately $919,314.10 today) for the use of fire hydrants from 1923 to the date of the suit. The district claimed $50 per year for each hydrant and by 1939 there were 68 hydrants.
A second claim was made for $39,613.00 (approximately $951,715.15 today) for storm sewer rental and maintenance services for the same time period.
Edina denied any liability and filed a counterclaim for a declaratory judgment deciding on who owns the water systems, the residents or the village.
Because ownership was being questioned, St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Company petitioned for leave to intervene and asked the court to determine that its $20,000 mortgage on the water systems was a valid prior lien. This action was filed January 19, 1940.
A bench trial began on January 31, 1940 and ended on February 19.
On March 29, 1941 the findings, conclusions and an order for judgement in favor of the Country Club District and the insurance company. The village moved for amended findings and conclusions or a new trial which was denied on April 26, 1941. The final judgement was entered on August 12, 1941. Edina filed an appeal 2 days later.

Next month we will cover the basis of the appeal Edina cited with an overview of the errors the village said occurred.

Come visit us at the Edina Historical Society at Arneson Acres Park, 4711 70th St

07/21/2026

We will be closed for a staff/administration work week.
July 27th - August 2nd

We will re-open for regular hours on Monday, August 3rd

07/18/2026

What are campers and parents saying about our wonderful camp? 😎Check out our video and find out! 🤠 Ages 4 to 10. We still have spots available on the following weeks: July 27-30, August 3-7, August 17-20, and August 24-27. Register today at www.edinahistoricalsociety.org !!! 👧🦋👦

07/17/2026

The Crier
Volume 1 Number 5
July 1930

Headline Highlights

Page 1
District Awaits Old-Fashioned Celebration on Fourth of July
Population Counted by Census Takers

Page 3
Don’t Forget Fourth of July Celebration

Page 4
Destroy The Leafy Spurge at Once

Page 7
‘Twas a Glorious 4th When I Was a Boy

Page 9
Devastating Fire Ruins Fletcher Meal

We hope you are enjoying this little slice of life from 1930. The Crier was published monthly for the Country Club District between 1930 and 1941.

07/15/2026

We found our soldier!
This is the uniform of Corporal Clement P. Dame.
Clement was born in Michigan in 1895. He enlisted in the Michigan National Guard when he turned 18 in 1913. He was called into active service in March 1919 and assigned to the 167th Transport Company of the American Expeditionary Force North Russia.He was a Private First Class when he arrived in Murmansk. His job as an engineer was to keep the railroad up and running in Murmansk and surrounding areas and facilitate the moving of troops and supplies. Clement P. Damm (this was his original last name) was promoted to Corporal in July 1919. Upon his discharge in September of 1919 he returned to Michigan.
I next find Clement in Duluth where he has changed his last name to Dame in articles from 1936 and 1937 about bridge tournaments.
In the 1950 census he is listed as living in Minneapolis with his wife, daughter and son and is employed with the railroad.
Clement’s daughter, Marjorie, born in 1925, marries Burton Ruedy in 1953 and they move to Edina.
Clement Dame passed away in Ramsey in 1975. Marjorie donated his uniform to us in 1999. She passed in 2013.
This was quite the journey. From me examining and learning about the patches to digging through newspaper archives and finding a small wedding announcement that gave us the last name we needed and lead me to the army rosters of the Polar Bears.
I hope you have enjoyed learning about Corporal Damm aka Dame as I did. As we continue to go through our collection who knows what story will turn up next. Thank you also to those who commented and emailed suggestions.

Come and see the uniform at the Edina Historical Society at Arneson Acres Park. 4711 70th St. Monday 4-8, Tuesday 10-8 and Saturday 12-4.

07/14/2026

Join us for an afternoon behind the scenes in the archaeology lab! This open-house style volunteer session offers a chance to help process artifacts recovered from the Birch Family Fruit Farm archaeological project.

Participants may assist with:

Cleaning archaeological artifacts
Photographing artifacts for documentation
Learning how archaeologists identify and date artifacts
Helping with artifact cataloging and identification
No prior archaeology experience is necessary. Volunteers are welcome to stay for the full session or drop in anytime between 1:00 and 3:00 p.m.

To allow for individualized instruction, registration is limited to 4 volunteers.

If you have a laptop or tablet and would like to assist with artifact identification or cataloging, feel free to bring it along. This is completely optional, and devices will be available to share during the session.

Come learn how archaeologists transform artifacts into stories about Edina's past!

Sign up/ Register today! Spots are limited. https://www.edinahistoricalsociety.org/page/3929365-public-archaeology-days-at-birch-family-berry-farm

Archaeology Lab Volunteer Session

Date: July 15th, 2026 (Wednesday), July 16th, 2026, and July 17th, 2026
Time: 1:00–3:00 PM
Location: Neinow Cultural Consultants, 200 Plato Blvd. East, St. Paul, MN 55107

Events/Programs - Public Archaeology Days at Birch Family Berry Farm - Public Archaeology Days at the NCC Lab- July 15th (Wednesday)