Robbinsdale Revisited

Episode 29: Did you ever say “My, how I’d like to have lived in the good old days.”? No cares or worries, no electric lights, no gas or oil to heat with, no vacuum cleaner, no automatic washer or dryer, no electric refrigerator or deep freeze, no radio or T.V. and but few telephones, no automobile or airplane, no atomic bomb. If they didn’t have all of these, what did they have, and how did they go about laying the foundation for the life that is ours to enjoy today.  This episode of Robbinsdale Revisited explores the early settlement of Robbinsdale, blending biography with diary excerpts that capture the rhythms of daily life in the late 1800s. It highlights how the Shumway family worked alongside neighbors to build the village, support one another, and establish their church. 

In the 1980s, Robbinsdale faced population decline and an aging community, even as it held tightly to its identity and traditions like its Tree City pride. The decade brought major changes, including failing retail ventures like Ward’s Terrace Mall, the loss of beloved landmarks, and a shifting downtown struggling to redefine itself. At the center of it all was a bitter, emotional battle over school closures—especially the high school—that divided residents and left a lasting impact.

Episode 27:  We follow Edith Robbins, her family, and their historic home,  from a large, active household to a quieter, dispersed legacy. After Andrew B. Robbins’ death, his daughter Edith becomes the central figure, managing the family estate, running businesses, and serving for decades on the local school board. The episode emphasizes her leadership, resilience, and deep involvement in community projects and civic life. It concludes by celebrating her creative legacy, including a reading from her children’s poetry that reflects her love of nature and imagination.

Episode 26: We explore the early life of Edith Robbins Daniel, the eldest daughter of Robbinsdale founder Andrew B. Robbins, and a remarkable figure in her own right. Raised in a pioneering family that helped shape early Minnesota communities, Edith grew into a teacher, writer, and civic leader whose influence reached far beyond her hometown. She taught in Minneapolis schools, served as a principal, wrote widely used children’s songs, and played a central role in local business and real estate. Deeply engaged in public life, she organized wartime relief efforts, supported education, and even penned the epic and sharply witty “Suffragette Salad,” a poem that captures the spirit and arguments of the women’s suffrage movement with humor and bite. Edith’s story is one of leadership, creativity, and determination—a woman who helped build a community while leaving a lasting mark of her own.

Episode 25: We draw on the work and research of Robert B. Porter to tell the story of the five daughters of Andrew B. Robbins—Edith, Amy, Adelaide, Ruth, and Esther. Each woman helped shape early Robbinsdale through her talent, education, and determination. All five attended the University of Minnesota and went on to lead meaningful, impactful lives: Edith in education and public service; Amy in music, writing, and wartime work overseas; Adelaide in the arts as a poet and musician; Ruth through quiet resilience and civic involvement; and Esther as an independent spirit who preserved much of the family’s history. Together, their stories reveal a family of strong, accomplished women whose influence extended far beyond their time.

Episode 24: In this episode of The Mayors of Robbinsdale, Part 2, we explore the leaders who guided the city through decades of growth, change, and transformation. Beginning with Robert A. Merwin’s razor-thin election victory in 1954, the episode highlights key moments like proposed city mergers, post-war development, and evolving community priorities. We meet memorable figures such as Walter Sochacki , a coach and outspoken advocate for equality, and Joy Robb, the city’s first woman mayor, who broke tradition and expanded public engagement. Along the way, the episode traces how each mayor helped shape Robbinsdale’s identity through redevelopment, civic leadership, and a strong connection to the community. Together, these stories paint a picture of a city built not just by policies, but by the people who led it.

Episode 23: They were founders, and they were firebrands. In Part One, we’ll meet the characters who guided Robbinsdale through its earliest decades: immigrants, entrepreneurs, Civil War veterans, and hometown originals. Their stories are colorful, sometimes contentious, and always revealing—not just about the town they served, but about the kind of leadership small communities demanded. This is the story of Robbinsdale before it became a city, when every decision helped shape its identity—and when being mayor meant rolling up your sleeves and getting to work.

Episode 22: Join us and explore how racial covenants shaped the development of neighborhoods in Robbinsdale during the early 20th century. We discuss how these discriminatory clauses appeared in property deeds, how developers used them when marketing new subdivisions, and how projects like Mapping Prejudice and the Just Deeds Project are helping uncover and address this history today. By examining local examples, we look at how these policies influenced who could live in the community—and how their legacy still affects the Twin Cities today.

Episode 21: Founded by a determined group of women in 1907, the Robbinsdale Library began as donated books in borrowed storefronts and grew into a beautiful Tudor-revival building in 1926. Under librarians like Frances Pollard, the library became a bright, neighborly hub for reading, events, and fundraising traditions. After decades of service the branch closed in 1976, but the building was preserved, placed on the National Register, and repurposed as the Robin Gallery and home to the Robbinsdale Historical Society. Today it celebrates a century of community memory and continued public use.

Episode 20: Crystal traces the rise and fall of Golden Valley's Glenwood Hills Hospital, from its beginnings as a pioneering psychiatric facility to its expansion into a full-service hospital and eventual closure. Nestled in the woods between secluded lakes and parkland, the hospital felt more like a retreat than an institution. Our story highlights changing approaches to mental health care, the hospital’s role in the community, and the property's later redevelopment into housing and other medical sites.

Episode 19: Pete swaps stories with Ron Johnson, Adam Fesenmaier, and Jimmy Swan as they revisit the chaotic fun of growing up in Robbinsdale in the 1970s and ’80s. Climb aboard and let these guys give you a buck through the years of box hockey, Brookdale, and basement kegs. Their memories capture a rough-and-tumble, unsupervised era, right around the corner in Robbinsdale.

Episode 18: In this episode, we're heading back to Sacred Heart, where Lou Ambrose remembers the overwhelming presence of the legendary Father Nolan. We walk through 1960s Robbinsdale, recalling creaky wooden floors at the Ben Franklin. Getting a dress and a guitar from Monkey Wards. Terrace Dairy treats and the lost pond of Sleepy Hollow.  

Episode 17: Lou Ambrose lives in her grandfather Thomas Herbert Girling’s 1917 home on Crystal Lake. In this episode, she shares stories of his life. Born in Nottingham, England, in 1865, Girling got things going in the early days of Robbinsdale. Through Lou’s memories, we explore shifting shorelines, deep roots, and the history we drive by every day.

Episode 16: In this second part, multi-faceted storyteller Kathryn Leigh Scott discusses her pivotal role in restoring the legacy of Coya Knutson, Minnesota’s first congresswoman, through biography and historic reunions. Beyond her acting and publishing career, Scott reflects on her own roots in the Robbinsdale and Minneapolis area, sharing how a community-focused upbringing shaped her lifelong passion for preservation. Ultimately, the conversation explores the importance of saving endangered history, from political reputations to landmark buildings, before the human stories behind them are lost.

Episode 15: Kathryn Leigh Scott grew up on a farm in Robbinsdale when the city still felt rural, shaped by Norwegian immigrant parents, strong community values, and an early encouragement of creativity. At Robbinsdale High School, her talents in writing and performance stood out, setting the stage for a leap from small-town Minnesota to New York City and a life in the arts. She gained national fame as Maggie Evans on Dark Shadows, launching a career that spanned acting, writing, and publishing. Despite decades of success, Scott continues to credit Robbinsdale as the foundation of everything that followed.

Episode 14: Before Robbinsdale knew it was a wrestling town, it was a town of kids reenacting wrestling in backyards and playgrounds, where someone was always the villain, someone always won the belt, and wrestling somehow already mattered. That sense of toughness was forged at Robbinsdale High School, home to one of Minnesota’s hardest wrestling programs and the training ground for Verne Gagne, whose success and founding of the AWA helped turn the town into a wrestling pipeline. From Larry Hennig and Curt “Mr. Perfect” Hennig to Rick Rude, Barry Darsow, Madusa, and many others, Robbinsdale proved that those childhood matches sometimes grew into legends—and a whole lot of flying elbows.

Episode 13 The 1970s brought both loss and renewal to Robbinsdale, as beloved institutions closed while new civic investments strengthened the community. Growth and change were reflected in the demolition of the historic Parker School and the expansion of Robbinsdale Junior High. The decade also saw social progress, including Heidi Houck breaking barriers in Little League baseball. For many children, it was an era of wide-ranging freedom, adventure, and unsupervised exploration throughout the neighborhood.

Episode 12: Milo M. Mielke, who retires as principal of Robbinsdale High School after 39 years, arriving in 1929 when enrollment stood at 900 and retiring in 1968 as it surpassed 20,000. The era saw heated debates over school curriculum alongside voter approval of an $11.5 million bond issue. Robbinsdale Historical Society board member Dave West, Class of 1968, shares his memories and we reflect on civic growth in the 60s.

The 1960s were a time of rock and roll, rebellion and sweeping change all over the country and right here in Robbinsdale. The school district kept building out to provide for the baby boom and Robbinsdale reached peak population.

Episode 10: In 1956,  enrollment in our schools soared and 1400 kindergartners made triple shifts necessary. A new Robbinsdale Senior High School opened at Toledo and 37th Avenues. The old high school on Regent became Robbinsdale Junior High, and our School District 24 was changed to School District 281. 1957 was the first year the school district’s budget climbed over a million dollars.

Episode 9: Nestled into the rolling hills north and west of Minneapolis, the City of Robbinsdale slept soundly through the first half of the twentieth century. In the years following World War II, residents of the little bedroom community woke up to a building boom. During the 1940s and 50s, Robbinsdale added over 10,000 souls. Inside the city’s three square miles, houses, schools, and shopping centers appeared overnight. 

Episode 8: In this episode, we dive in with the Gause brothers, fly high with the Robbinsdale Civil Air Patrol, and tell the remarkable tale of Herb Schaper, the game of Cootie, and Schaper Manufacturing. 

Episode 7: The Armistice Day Blizzard brought over 16 inches of snow to downtown Robbinsdale and crippled transportation throughout the region. The decade of the “forties” will never be forgotten because of World War II. Local events included the opening of a hospital in Robbinsdale, municipal liquor, and the opening of Lee Elementary School.

Episode 6: This decade will be remembered for the Great Depression; the WPA (Works Progress Administration); the PWA (Public Works Administration); highway construction; the development of our own wells for water; and a strong spirit of “helpfulness to others.” On November 7, 1938, the vote to change from a village to a city was approved. On December 8, 1938, at 8:00 p.m., the new charter was officially adopted, and the City of Robbinsdale was born.

Episode 5: Our dream of a high school in Robbinsdale came true in 1935, when the federal government’s Public Works Administration (PWA) program added $135,000 to the $124,000 approved by taxpayers for construction. Ground was broken in March 1936, and the building was dedicated with impressive ceremonies on May 19, 1937.

Episode 4: Robbinsdale had an unprecedented building boom in the 1920s. The population of the little village swelled to just under 5,000 souls. Robbinsdale got a public water supply. Gas stoves were replacing the old iron wood stoves. and gas furnaces began replacing coal furnaces. Times were looking up, and people thought it would last forever.

Episode 3: The 1920s brought big changes to Robbinsdale. Women bobbed their hair and shortened their skirts. Whiz Bang magazine was started by Captain Billy shortly after he got out of the army. It was full of jokes for sailors and soldiers. It made no pretenses at being ‘literary’, but it tried hard to “give the boys a kick in every line.” The magazine defined the fun of the era and launched a publishing empire.

Episode 2: Robbinsdale grew up in the 20th century, but with the old neighborhoods and the little main street on West Broadway, it still feels like a small town. These days, the Andrew B. Robbins name has been all but forgotten. In a metropolitan area with suburbs with names like Golden Valley, Richfield, and Eden Prairie, most people think our city was named for a bird.

Episode 1: Robbinsdale Historical Society president Pete Richie kicks off our first episode. We discussed the Robbinsdale Historical Society, its projects, museum, and mission before beginning our story in the 1850s.