When and What:  Around 1953. Mound, Minnesota looking south on Highway 110 (Commerce Blvd.) in the middle of town. On the left side you can see a parking area for Dr.W.Davis, later Romness, Carlson, and Minder. The Warhol Drug Store which I believe had a soda fountain later becoming Mueller Drug (without soda fountain) then there is The Eleanor Shop which sold women's apparel. Next is the White Bakery which sold pastries the likes of which you can't even think about buying anywhere today. Did this become Elkins Bakery? Next is the glass block fronted U.S. Post Office (before the new one was built in the early 60's on Shoreline Drive). This post office then became Shepard's Laundry. Next was the Red Owl Food store which became Jeff's Fairway and later Jeff's Super Fair.

Notice the incandescent street lighting before white mercury vapor fluorescent lamps came into use in the 60's and long before modern sodium vapor lighting as is almost the rule today. Also the power distribution transformers are suspended from two polls above, and in front of, the bakery, something you would never see today. You can see the chimney of the incinerator rising from the back of the buildings as was the rule before the early 1970's when almost all trash was burned.

Then continuing south on the left side we cross Lynwood Blvd, which until at least the 1970's or later was north of where it is today. If we were able to look a hundred feet to our left we would see the old red brick schoolhouse and hear the din of Tonka Toys stamping machines making the very earliest model types of Tonka's which were almost unchanged in the first few years. Tonka Trucks built where the Thrifty White Drugs stands today in Mound became world famous and made Mound the undisputed "Truck Capitol of the World" in an age before large metal toy vehicles were churned out in vast quantities as they are today. If we walked just a short distance to our left we could walk behind these stores and look through the wide open doors into the NOT air conditioned building and actually watch the trucks being created. (See my Tonka site).

Next we reach the Chevrolet dealer. The gas pumps which had been there for so many years are now gone but their location is still evident. I'm not sure about the next location but then we have the Mound Lumber Company which was one of the oldest businesses in Mound I believe. You can't see much more in this photo other than the Mound Dry Goods where in an age before discount houses like Wal-mart, K-mart, or Target you would probably get some of your clothing you didn't buy from the Wards or Sears catalog or make yourself.

Crossing 110 to the right side of the road you can see a large peaked roof on a building which was an old tavern in Mound for many years. Later it became the parking lot between the Rexall drug store and new Mound bank. This old tavern played a major roll in much of Mound's history. The Tavern had several owners and the last one was Fritz Olson a colorful wooden legged veteran of the North Africa campaign against Rommel "The Desert Fox". He left Minneapolis with a group of 140 men and was one of 6 to survive, he knew the other 5 by name and they held reunions. He had many great "true" stories to tell, and I was mesmerized by it all many times as I sipped on my Grape Crush.

Then heading north again you can't see the Rexall Drugs (Pete Sorenson's), which later became Thrifty Drug. You can however make out the first few letters on the MOUND movie theater, which later became Netka's Audio, TV, and Furniture. After a couple other businesses I don't remember and crossing the railroad tracks was there a large Ben Franklin Five and Dime with old warped wooden floors? It must have been a pretty old building but I believe it was wrecked for a Piggly Wiggly but I'm not sure. (Does anyone remember?) This Piggly Wiggly may have also been a Super Value at one point (?) but now is a lawn and garden type business Then a couple of hardware stores and the Standard Station which was across from the Old 1917 school not shown here. I believe this same gas station had been there since the early 1920's continually expanding. Here you'll notice they have a large service garage. around the early 1960's they sold to a company which if not new was at least new to us. These people tore down the big Standard station and built one little building with no service garage. They filled the station with food, like milk, bread, and hostess twinkies. All very strange but we thought it was a cool idea ... unless you needed to get your car repaired then you were out of luck. The company was called Super America. Now these types of fuel stops are the rule. S.A. is now across from the old, but newer, Tonka plant. No fuel is sold across from the school anymore.... well actually the school isn't there anymore either. Kids tell me "NOTHING EVER CHANGES" in Mound, yet I can barely keep up with it. The last thing we see on the right side of 110 is the NEW high school (1938) which is connected to the old high school (1917) not in this picture which is itself of course the new school relative to the older Mound red brick school house across the street which was taken over by Tonka.(Mound Metalcraft). Yes ... which is of course the NEW school relative to the original school... about which I know nothing, but I would like to see a picture of it if anyone has one.