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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMarch 2012 Gem Lake Newsletter March/April, 2012 Volume 6, Issue 3 Gem Lake News Special Interest Articles: • Car and House Collide • Senior Housing Discussed for Gem Lake • City News Page 4 • Scheuneman's Market Once a Bustling Place Upcoming Recycling Dates: March 21 April 4 April 18 Gretchen Artig-Swomley, Newsletter Editor Residents near the intersection of Goose Lake and Otter Lake Roads got a loud wake-up call in the early morning of February 26. At 2:00 a.m. a 19 year old male driver drove very quickly down Goose Lake Road and crashed into the house at 4180 Otter Lake Road. When the police arrived on the scene the vehicle was still on the scene but the driver had fled, possibly without his shoes on. The police noted substantial damage done to the home's foundation, which is still visible today. No one in the house was injured, according to police reports. The area was searched with the county's K-9 unit, assisted by the State Patrol's helicopter. As of the day after the accident, the suspect was still at large, but the case is now being resolved with charges for Criminal Damage to Property. City Council Member Jim Lindner, who lives across the street said the accident and investigation caused quite a ruckus in the neighborhood. Car Crashes into Gem Lake House Developer Expresses Interest in Hansen Land Initial ideas regarding the building of a senior housing project on open land in Gem Lake were discussed at the City Council Workshop on March 12. The Gem Lake City Council, as well as members of the public, heard a short presentation by New Perspectives, a company that specializes in building assisted living, memory care, and independent living housing options for seniors. The company was established in 1998, is family owned and now owns and manages 12 different senior communities in the upper Midwest. This includes facilities in Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin. Eric Anderson of New Perspectives expressed initial interest in exploring some of the open (Continued on page 5) Gem Lake News Page 2 of 6 Although buying locally grown produce is trendy now, the idea reached its heyday in the 1930's and '40's when Scheuneman's Market was a Hoffman's Corner hot spot. Located on the site of what is now the Gun Shop on County Road E, the market once supplied fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables to thousands of people in the White Bear and Gem Lake area. The market was owned and managed by brothers Charley and Augie Scheuneman and opened sometime around 1928. Charley grew much of the produce on the nearby farm, which was located behind and around the market, approximately in the area of Barnett Chrysler and beyond. The 40 acre farm annually produced tomatoes, carrots, potatoes and all varieties of vegetables. Augie and his wife Rose worked in the shop. The brothers supplemented their extensive crop output with other produce they bought from truck farmers in the Gem Lake and White Bear area. During the summer months, Charley also made daily trips to the St. Paul markets, which were located in the approximate area of the Embassy Scheuneman's Market Once Bustling Place Pictured at top right, Mildred Scheuneman LaBathe and her father Charley on the Scheuneman family farm in Gem Lake in 1929.Old Highway 61 is visible in the background. Pictured above, Scheuneman's Market on County Road E in 1940.The shop was on the site of the present day Gun Shop. Suites in downtown St. Paul. These trips had multiple purposes. They sold their extra produce and purchased varieties of fruits and vegetables they didn't have immediately available. Charley's daughter Mildred LaBathe, who worked at Scheuneman's Market starting at age 12, remembers how (continued on page 3) Gem Lake News Page 3 of 6 her father would load up his truck the night before with various crates of vegetables. He would start the trek downtown at 3:00 a.m., sometimes assisted by the older children in the family. (Mildred was too young to tag along at the time.) On the way back home down Arcade Avenue, they often picked up teens on summer break who wanted to work on the farm for the day and earn some spending money. For a whole day's hard work they could make as much as a dollar. Mildred spent many summers working at the market until she got married during World War II to Bill LaBathe, who was in the Navy at the time. She remembers the shop also sold ice cream, fresh bread and other items. Although there was some degree of competition with the nearby Hoffman's Market, the rivalry was a friendly one. Mildred and her family were good friends with Shirley and Dick Arcand, who ran Hoffman's Market starting in 1950. Hoffman's was located in the still existing strip mall across the street from White Bear Floral. "As a child, I remember going with my mother to buy fresh fruit and vegetables at Great Uncle Augie's," said Tom Hansen of Gem Lake. Augie's sister Clara, who married into the Hansen family, was Tom's grandmother. "Scheuneman's Market was always full of fresh, local produce, grown in the area. As I remember, the market was seasonal, and once the harvest was done, the doors closed for the year. It is another wonderful memory of my life growing up in a small town in the country." The market continued on for decades until it was sold to Clarence Wild following Charley's illness and eventual death. By this time, the emergence of the "supermarket" and major changes in the main roadway had already led to changes in the business. Until the mid 1950's, Highway 61 ran right in front of White Bear Floral, skirting close to Scheuneman's Market, curving around the area of the current day Stadium Bar and Grill and running down what is now Hoffman Road near the White Bear Rental Center. The major shift in the road was done to straighten out the then very curvy Highway 61, but it shifted traffic slightly away from Hoffman's Corner businesses and had an effect on their sales. When Charley died in 1955, his widow Anna sold the family farm to Robert Hansen, who owned Summit Dairy at the time and was Tom Hansen's grandfather. Scheuneman's Market: Hoffman's Corner "Hot-Spot" Pictured above are Charley and Anna Scheuneman, who were part owners of the market. Charley was the son of Albert Scheueman, after whom the road is named. Pictured below, the Scheuneman family home in Gem Lake. This included the family homestead, which was located near the most northern building on the grounds of Barnett Chrysler. The farm had been originally established by Charley's father Albert Scheuneman, after whom the Road is named. The idea of locally grown produce has now come full circle, with the establishment of urban gardens on Hansen land on County Road E. Local gardeners tend the land, growing a huge variety of vegetables for local consumption and for sale at local farmers markets. Gem Lake News Page 4 of 6 BuBu Xcel to Start Project on Big Fox Road Underground cable on Big Fox Road will soon be replaced by Xcel Energy with new cabling that works better and cuts down on outages. When the ground thaws, Xcel will be replacing the transformers in that area. The utility company will be notifying customers in the immediate area when the work is being done, so they can prepare for possible short-term power outages. Stopping Water Where it Drops--A Free Rain Garden for Your Yard Series Learn how to design and build a rain garden this Spring in a series of seminars being sponsored by the Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District and the cities of Maplewood and North St. Paul. You can attend one class or the whole series. The focus of this free training is to move from design principals to hands-on field sessions and finally to teaching you how to assess your own yard. The ultimate goals are to resolve drainage issues, while protecting waters downstream. The first session is "A Rain Garden for your Yard." It will be held Wednesday, April 11 from 6:30 -8:30 p.m. at the Maplewood Public Library at 3025 Southlawn Drive in Maplewood. You need to register by April 2. The class will be taught by a landscape architect and will provide the nuts and bolts of rain gardens and the ability to improve overall water quality. This classroom session will present many design options for rain gardens. The second session is "Rain Garden Site Assessment: Drainage and Soils." It will be held on April 24 at 2278 Ariel Street in North St. Paul, a private home, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Attendance at session one is a pre-requisite for registration for session two. At this session you will learn how to analyze your site, test for soil infiltration and determine your drainage area. You must register by April 12. The third and final session is "Rain Garden Design Workshop: Garden Layout and Plant Design." It will be held on May 8 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Maplewood Nature Center, 2659 East 7th Street, Maplewood. You need to have taken session two to register for this seminar. City News Page Also, you must register by May 1. During this session, a conservation district designer will provide an overview of design principles. You will use the information gathered regarding your own site to design a rain garden. Master gardeners and other gardening specialists will provide one-on-one design assistance. Participants will need to bring a map of their own site and the results of their soil infiltration test. All sessions are free, but pre-registration is required. Please register by phone at (651)-792- 7965. For specific questions about the content of these classes, contact Sage Passi at the Watershed District. The phone number is (651- 792-7965. Mayor on the Mend Mayor Bob Uzpen spent much of February and March recovering from back surgery. He is on the mend and the council wishes him a speedy recovery! Gem Lake Scholarship Program Deadline Approaches The deadline for applying for the Gem Lake Scholarship Program is March 28. The program, which is in its third year, is designed to award $500 scholarships for post secondary education to graduating seniors who live in Gem Lake. Last year Gem Lake gave out four awards to local seniors. To apply, obtain an application form from your high school counselor. Gem Lake News Page 5 of 6 Developer Expresses Interest in Hansen Land (continued from page 1) land along County Road E, which is owned by Tom Hansen, as a potential site for a senior housing complex of some kind. No specific plans were discussed, such as exactly how big the complex might be or exactly where on the open land it might by situated. In order to get the conversation underway, Eric reviewed recent building activity by the company, which showed the facilities tend to house between 80 and 150 residents, spread out between the categories of independent living, assisted living and memory care. Most of the company's complexes offer all three options, which provides seniors with a continuum of care as they age. New Perspectives is now constructing a 151 unit community in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin and recently opened a 145 unit community in West Bend, Wisconsin. Most of the facilities are between three and four stories high, include some underground parking and are rich in on-site features such as beauty salons, exercise rooms, movie theaters, on-site restaurants for residents. Some facilities include swimming pools that allow for physical therapy. Eric fielded a variety of questions from citizens including concerns over traffic, building height and security. He stated that traffic volume is usually not a concern, as residents typically no longer drive and on-site parking needs are fairly modest. Regarding security, he emphasized that the New Perspective model usually includes an on-site reception area that is staffed 24-7, which cuts down on security concerns. Regarding height, he explained that it is very important to reduce the distances that senior citizens have to walk to navigate a senior living facility. This can mean building up rather than out. Everyone concerned with this idea session emphasized that discussions were very initial and that no specific plans were underway. City Council members and the Gem Lake Planning Commission will discuss the idea in more detail at future meetings, in order to evaluate how such a facility might fit into the Gateway Zoning District, which covers the land where such a facility might reside. Although there are no specific drawings or plans, the developer stated that it would be most practical to locate the facility along County Road E on perhaps 5-8 acres of land, rather than moving it to the back portion of the open land. Comments from the public are welcome at anytime. Bob Uzpen-Mayor Phone: 651-492-5083 City Council Members: Gretchen Artig-Swomley Phone: 651-260-9742 Rick Bosak 651-426-9695 Jim Lindner Phone: 651-429-7597 The following Gem Lake Meetings will be held at Heritage Hall for the next few months: March 20, 2012 City Council Meeting at 7:00 p.m. April 2, 2012 City Council Workshop at 7:00 p.m. Meetings: March and April 2012 Meeting Dates Your Gem Lake City Council The City of Gem Lake PHONE: (651) 747-2790 FAX: (651) 747-2795 City Hall Address: 4200 Otter Lake Road Gem Lake, MN 55110 GENERAL E-MAIL: City@gemlakemn.org Newsletter e-mail: gretchenas@comcast.net Kiki Sonnen: 651-747-2790, or Kiki.Sonnen@CO.RAMSEY. MN.US To report incidents for the Neighborhood Watch program or for information on that program contact Block Captain Chuck Watson 651-653-8319; Charles.Watson@bdk.com We’re on the Web! See us at: www.gemlakemn.org CITY OF GEM LAKE 4200 Otter Lake Road Gem Lake, MN 55110 April 3, 2012 Planning Commission Meeting at 7:00 p.m. April 17, 2012 City Council Meeting at 7:0 p.m. Tom Rasmussen Phone: 651-426-8854 For more information on meetings, city ordinances, recent events, permit procedures, etc. please consult the Gem Lake web-site. The address is www.gemlakemn.org Each Gem Lake Newsletter is also posted on the web-site under the news section. Please email your ideas, comments and suggestions. See box at left for detailed contact information.