The History of the Silver Lake Residents Association

Very few houses or cabins sat on Silver Lake's south shore in the early days of St. Anthony Township. From the 1920's to the late 1940s, hog and dairy farms dominated the landscape. The Salvation Army's Silver Lake Camp, which opened in 1921, lay on the northern shore. 

After World War II, however, the south end changed dramatically. Developers bought acres of farmland and built housing for returning veterans and their families. Some of the lots fronted Silver Lake. 

Many people, including the Herringer family, jumped at the chance to live on the lake. Jerry Herringer, whose father Chet Herringer owned an earth-moving business, said his family moved to 4121 Stinson in 1946, when Jerry was in seventh grade. The neighborhood, he added, was in its early stages, without sidewalks or finished streets. 

"In 1946, the roads were so bad that we had to park up on top of the hill at 41st Avenue," Jerry said. "We couldn't get through the mud to get to our house on Stinson. My dad would use one of the excavators to haul stuff from the top of the hill to our driveway. Then as they got the roads built, we were kind of pioneers down there. There were no homes on the lake. 

"The Salvation Army was there but it was completely undeveloped, with a few cabins and a main lodge," he added. "The south shore was vacant land from the early to mid-1950s; it adjoined the Kenny Lee farm, where Apache Plaza [shopping center] ended up." 

Jerry recalls the beauty of meadowlarks singing in the farm fields. Muskrats and mink roamed the woods. "The lake was full of bullheads. We used to catch bass. A buddy of mine and I would row out to the [Salvation Army] bridge, tie up the boat and fish for small crappies and sunfish. In later years, they put walleyes in the lake. 

"In the winter, my dad made a track on the ice, like a racetrack. We kids would tie our toboggan ropes to the bumper of his 1946 Ford station wagon and he'd go round and round. The turns were like water skiing. The centrifugal force would drive you to the outside."

Dick and Gloria Anderson, who bought their house in 1962, remember the early city development days. Dick said the "street" they lived on was a gravel road named Lakeview Terrace. Ramsey County later paved it and renamed it Silver Lane. 

The Andersons were the house's third owners. Through the years they did extensive remodeling of their 1951 home, expanding the west side on both levels and adding an outdoor swimming pool.

Nancy and Vern Hoium moved to the lake several months after the Andersons. Nancy said, "I had grown up on a lake in Worthington, and when we saw the For Sale' sign on Stinson Boulevard, I was very interested." She said there was only one vacant lot left on Silver Lane when they moved in. 

The "house" they bought was actually a three-room cottage. "The garage was bigger than the house and had an attached chicken coop," Nancy said. "There were no chickens, but evidence that chickens had been there. We lived in that for three years while we built our present house farther south on our lot." 

They loved the property, she added, but wanted to change a few things. "When we had our children, we were sorry that our beach wasn't sandy. So, for several years we hired somebody to truck in sand. We didn't want them driving sand trucks on our yard, so they did it in the winter when everything was frozen, dumping sand on the ice ar the shore. Most of it washed away when the ice went out, but it was enough. We continued to do that until a truck fell through the ice. After that, nobody would come to do it."

When the Hoiums' two daughters skied on St. Anthony's cross country ski team, Nancy said the team came to the house. They skiied on the lake and on the Salvation Army Camp trails. 

Some of the houses on Silver Lake date back to the 1920s. In 1968, Dick and Lois Merrill bought one of the old ones from former owner Lillian Stanchfield. The house, at 2405 Silver Lane, was built in 1926. About 30 people had looked at it before the Merrills, but nobody wanted it. "We decided to buy it and keep it," Dick said. "It had good bones." They hired an excavator to flatten out the lawn, and began the work of renovating and adding onto the house. They tore down the garage and a small cabin on the shoreline that Mrs. Stanchfield had rented out. 

The Merrills lived on the lake for 37 years. From the 1970s through the 1990s, they were very involved in the social life, which included parties, golf outings, ski trips and dancing. Lois said, "In the early years, everybody was raising their families and had younger kids. We loved it. It was wonderful and we made good friends. We also enjoyed the lovely view." 

Bob and Dorothy Johnson moved to 2913 Silver Lake Court in 1968. The Court turned out to be a busier street than they expected, and many neighbors agreed with them that something needed to be done. 

"Cars were coming through here a mile a minute," Bob said. "The drivers wanted to avoid the stoplight on Silver Lake Road." The neighbors went to the city, asking that Silver Lake Court be converted into a cul-de-sac. The city resisted their plan because the police department and fire department opposed it, citing safety issues. 

The neighbors got support from Louie Howitz, chair of the St. Anthony Planning Commission, as well as attorney Ray Haik, a fellow Silver Lake resident and former St. Anthony Justice of the Peace. In the end, the residents prevailed.

Bob said, "The city agreed to build the cul-de-sac. The association donated money to buy trees to plant along Silver Lake Road and at the end of the cul-de-sac. My sons, Tim and Jeff, planted about 200 trees." 

Soon after, another thorny issue arose. In the early 1970s, residents learned that nearby Equinox Apartments developers wanted to build 15 double bungalows on the south side of Silver Lane. The Silver Lake Residents Association vehemently opposed the plan. Bob Johnson, Ray Haik and Dick Merrill, also an attorney, spearheaded efforts to stop it and also build a berm along Silver Lane to provide a buffer between Silver Lake houses, the apartments, and Apache Plaza. 

This time, St. Anthony city officials backed the residents. 

Silver Lake is a small spring-fed lake, popular for boating and fishing. It covers approximately 73.2 acres, with a 1.54 mile diameter. The lake has two islands, a public beach and a public boat launch. Most of the lake is shallow, but at one point, it is about 53 feet deep. 

Silver Lake residents have been observing the lake's water quality for years. Resident Patti Sausser, who moved to Silver Lake in 1996, said that the water quality assessment movement "officially" started in 2000, when St. Anthony, Columbia Heights, the Rice Creek Watershed District, Ramsey County and the Silver Lake Residents' Association each contributed money for a study by the Ramsey County Public Works Lake Management Program. 

The lake quality was terrible, Patti said. "More people were moving in, there was more building, and fertilizers with phosphorous hadn't been banned yet. The runoff was getting worse from Silver Lake Road. The lake was not as nice looking, and the algae was growing." The number of geese on the lake had also been a problem for years, she added. "The morning after we moved into our house, we woke up at 6 a.m. to the cacophony of howling Canada geese. There were at least 50 in our back yard." 

When Patti founded the residents association's Water Quality Task Force, the group used the 2000 study as a baseline. 

The Silver Lake Residents Association has worked with public and private groups including WSB Engineering, Rice Creek Watershed District (RCWD), Ramsey County Public Works, the City of St. Anthony, and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Cleanup efforts have included carp harvests, goose round ups, and chemical treatments of invasive weeds such as curly-leaf pondweed. Many residents have planted buffers of deep-rooted native plants along the shore. 

Stinson Boulevard residents Doug and Linda Jones also keep a watchful eye on the lake. "The staff at the Rice Creek Watershed District helped educate us in what was going on," Doug said. "We had our own ideas about what would improve the water quality, but they had research behind the things that would make a difference." 

Columbia Heights and St. Anthony's public works departments have made improvements, such as St. Anthony's storm sewer near Silver Lake Court, Columbia Heights' catch basins at the boat access and nearby Prestemon Park, and an aerator at the public beach. The aerator provides oxygen to fish when the lake freezes. Holding ponds near U.S. Bank and Salo Park have also helped. 

Three Rivers Park District, which owns Silverwood Park, also works to improve water quality. Brian Vlach, Senior Manager of Water Resources, said staff members helped with carp removal in 2014. Twice a year, they survey aquatic vegetation and, in coordination with the Rice Creek Watershed District staff, perform an annual "turion" survey, monitoring the seeds produced by curly-leaf pondweed. "If the seeds are treated early enough, we start seeing a decrease in the number of turions," Vlach said. He added that future projects might include work to minimize and control shoreline erosion. 

The biggest change on the lake occurred in 2004, when the Salvation Army vacated its camp after selling the land to Three Rivers Park District. Residents with fond memories of the camp say the Salvation Army was a good neighbor. Many remember hearing band music float across the lake in the evenings. On the Fourth of July, campers and lake residents alike joined the annual boat parade. The lead boat was always the Salvation Army pontoon boat, loaded with young musicians. Silver Lake resident Irene Parsons organized a group of residents' children, and everybody practiced diligently before the parade. 

Three Rivers spent $14 million and five years turning the property from a camp into an arts-themed park named Silverwood. Workers tore down 22 buildings, including the dormitories, a chapel, and many small cabins. Ann Coleman, Silver Lake Residents Association treasurer, said, "The use of the lake as a recreational entity continues to be popular. The number of children on the lake has increased, and the park has enhanced that effort. The Salvation Army didn't have boats to rent and the park does. Three Rivers has actually made the lake friendlier." The Silver Lake Residents Association holds its two main annual events, a summer potluck and a December holiday party, at Silverwood.

• In 2007, Sal and Wesley Robertson came back to Silver Lake. In the 1940s, long before there were other houses in the area, Sal's father John Cowle had lived in a mobile home on the lake. In 1949, Sal and Wesley moved into the mobile home with their son Wesley Keith. Their son Dale was born in 1950. The family moved away in 1951. When the Robertsons decided to return to Silver Lake (56 years later!), the house they chose was very close to the old trailer's location. In 2014, Dale Robertson and his wife Donna acquired his parents' home on Silver Lane. Sadly, Dale passed away 14 months later. Donna still resides at the family's beautiful, treasured location. 

• Better Homes and Gardens magazine featured two Silver Lake houses in different issues in the 1960s. Homeowners at the time were the Zahhos family, 2919 Silver Lake Court, and Dr. and Mrs. Berglund, 2909 Silver Lake Court. 

• In the 1970s, many couples enjoyed cross-country ski outings led by Vern and Nancy Hoium. They traveled to Aspen, Vail, Salt Lake City, and Minnesota's north shore. The annual golf outings were another popular group activity spanning 41 years, from 1971 to 2012. The three-day events (held over weekends) were held at golf resorts in Minnesota and Wisconsin. The Johnsons, Merrills, and Schreiners ran the golf outings; 12 to 16 couples would attend.

• Also in the 1970s, about 20 Silver Lake couples took dance lessons from Earl Bakken, a famous local inventor. Bakken, who founded Medtronic and was worth millions at the time, charged his pupils $7 a lesson. Various homeowners hosted the classes, which many described as being more like parties.

• Twice in the 1970s, seaplanes landed on Silver Lake and took off the next day. One had engine trouble. The other plane stopped at a pier to drop off a businessman with a brief case. He got on a bus and went to town.

• Lake homeowners made annual contributions to the Salvation Army. Dr. Bill Carr, a highly esteemed local physician who lived on the lake, served on the Salvation Army's board of directors. In 1992, a small one-bedroom home at 2413 Silver Lane owned by the Bloom family went up for sale. Bill and Kay McReavy bought it, planning to build a larger home on the site. They donated the small house to the Salvation Army; Kay said that camp officials had it moved to the camp one morning about 3 a.m. The McReavys also donated a pontoon boat to the camp.

• In the early 1970s, Dr. Carr offered weekly Butterfly sailing lessons for everyone on the lake who wanted to learn to sail. He provided 10 boats each week.

• In the early 1980s, The Silver Lake Singers (comprised of Silver Lake homeowners) were invited to sing for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor at the University of Minnesota law school. Lois Merrill and Robert Schreiner had solos. Edith Wargo, a Silver Lake resident who was prominent at the law school, issued the invitation.

• Doctors, college professors, teachers, lawyers, small business owners, and others have all made their homes on Silver Lake. Some of the notable residents have included a judge (Edward Wargo), three St. Anthony Village mayors (Sally Haik, Randy Hodson, Jerry Faust), a State Senator (Vern Hoium), and Medal of Honor winner Rick Sorenson. The area has also drawn a collection of writers through the years, including novelist Irene Parsons, poet Lucille Broderson, children's book authors Marianne Richmond and Dr. Robert Schreiner, and Dr. Gregory Stone, who wrote sports-related books.

• In the late 1960s, residents raised their mailbox flags to indicate that they would welcome people in for coffee. Those coffee klatches evolved into weekly lunches at Culvers. Other gatherings have included International Dinners on Silver Lake Court, in the early 1970s. Residents blocked off the street and set up tables for it. For many years, the Merrills hosted a Labor Day picnic and the Andersons ran the softball game at Prestemon Park. Several families hosted Christmas parties before the celebration moved to Silverwood. In recent years, Bob and Susan Goldstein have hosted National Night Out.