1978
Some citizens did not believe governmental assistance should be used for the redevelopment of the deteriorating business sector. The price of the land, with a building on it, was too high for private redevelopment and many businesses had moved out of town as there was no room for expansion. These citizens challenged the Housing Authority because of Amendment 8 in the City Charter, limiting the funds of the HRA. This was brought to the attention of the Charter Commission which asked for an opinion from the Attorney General who replied that redevelopment activities were regulated by detailed state statutes which could not be negated by any local Charter provisions. It was an interesting year for the Charter Commission and this paved the way for the relocation of First Bank Robbinsdale.
On May 31, several women and one man interested in collecting and preserving items, pictures, and papers of historical interest and in researching and recording the history of Robbinsdale, met to form the Robbinsdale Historical Society. They were Christine Gave, Lucille Beebe, Iva Orsinger, Ruth Brown, Madalyn Carpenter, Evelyn and Esther Shumway, Carol Shumway Perrin, Kathryn Pervier, Helene Gerlach, Dagny Cause, Dorothy Hartig, Margaret Van Dyke, Virginia Lukaszewski, Georgette Boies, Gladys Hyde and Victor Hallberg. Virginia Lukazewski was the first president.
This post is part of a series loosely based on the book Robbinsdale Then and Now by Helen Blodgett. The photo at the top of the post features the Lee School Faculty in 1978.