The Century Turns
1900 Census 520 The first decade of the Twentieth Century was a busy one for our “small town.” A library club was formed. An official volunteer fire department was organized. There was an active Commercial … Read more
Commerce
Good Old Gus
1891 Mr. Robbins was interested in attracting people to the village and in order to make it more convenient for those who might live here and continue to carry on business in the city, he … Read more
Our Little Boomtown
1889 Mr. Robbins’ second business in Robbinsdale was a street car factory. It was near the car barn on Hubbard Avenue. The new factory began work on October 15, 1889, and by December 19, … Read more
Haakon and the Village Hall
1888 The late 1880’s were busy ones for this area. Haakon Christensen, born in Oslo, Norway, in 1859, first visited Robbinsdale to attend the laying of the cornerstone of the Seminary. He returned shortly after, … Read more
More Than Just a Barber!
O.T. (Otto) Beaudoin, pictured here with Frank Dillenberg in 1937, was born in Quebec in 1871. He came to Robbinsdale in 1927. Beaudoin operated two barbershops in town and was in business for over thirty … Read more
George Swift’s Drug Store
George Swift was born in Boston in 1848. At the tender age of 13 he enlisted as a drummer boy for Fort Snelling. during the Civil War he marched through Georgia with General Sherman. Swift’s … Read more
Bofferding’s Point
For at least a generation a little tavern on the edge of Crystal Lake greeted folks on the way into Robbinsdale’s business district. I’m not sure where they put the band, but the little place … Read more
True Confessions
In Robbinsdale we usually associate Captain Billy and Fawcett Publishing with our summer civic festival, Whiz Bang Days., but there was another magazine that helped put Robbinsdale’s publishing giant on the map. A couple years … Read more
Robbinsdale’s Most Important Industry
“Robbinsdale’s brick sky scraper, where three million readers all over the United States look to find their jokes, love stories and blood curdling adventure yarns in the three magazines published here- Whiz Bang, True … Read more