1905
Robbinsdale pioneer, Alfred Parker passed away on April 7th. Compass Lodge 265 A. F. & A. M. was organized September 6, George Swift, Sr. as first master. The charter was granted in January, 1906. The Temple, built in 1922, was dedicated September 30. In January, Gus Urban was again President of the Village. Other officers were N. F. Russ, Recorder; John Trump, Treasurer; and A. M. Gullette, R. D. Smith and Henry Scott, Trustees. Robbinsdale became a bustling village on Sundays, as reported in the Minneapolis Tribune on November 17, 1905. “Since the Sunday closing rule went into effect in Minneapolis, the north-end village has found that it is about the busiest place in the county on Sunday.” When Gus Urban told the village saloon men they had to be good, “They shut their front doors, but [with] the stream of patrons that poured in and out of the side doors…the cash registers rang up dollars where they took in nickels before.” In December, Urban announced that the conduct of the saloon owners was disgraceful and that Robbinsdale would follow the example set by Minneapolis and close saloons on Sundays.
1906
Robbinsdale’s Northside Street Railway Company purchased four new double-truck cars and improved the road bed with heavier steel. April Village Council minutes mention that a dog shot in the village was found to have rabies and all dogs should be either muzzled or tied up for 60 days. Council minutes record Robert Gifford asking for a road in Manitoba Park; A. B. Robbins for grade establishment for a sidewalk, also a cement curb; liquor licenses to remain at $650 per year; cost estimates to be obtained for a parkway between Crystal and Twin Lakes as requested by A. B. Robbins; the appointment of Ralph Stipe, a trustee on the council, to be janitor and lamplighter. There were many applications for street lighting and the janitor was paid $10 a month for lighting the lamps. In November, shortly after Andrew B. Robbins had secured franchises from Anoka to Osseo, the Wall Street Journal reported that Twin City Rapid Transit had purchased the Robbinsdale Trolley line.
This post is part of a series loosely based on the book Robbinsdale Then…and Now by Helen Blodgett. An early 20th century view of Robbinsdale from Crystal Lake is featured at the top of the post.