OBITUARY OF JULIA MACDONALD: MINNEAPOLIS STAR AND TRIBUNE SEPT. 18, 1997:
Julia MacDonald, age 97, of Robbinsdale, Preceded in death by husband Allan: son Charles and step-son Sydney. Survived by sons, Allan and Wife Renee, son James and wife, Hattie; daughter, Alice MacPherson and husband Edward; daughter-in-law Donna MacDonald; 19 grandchildren; 2 step grandchildren; 41 great-grandchildren; 9 step-great grandchildren; other relatives and friends. Funeral Monday 11 a.m. at Robbinsdale United Church of Christ, 4200 Lake Rd. Robbinsdale. Visitation Sunday 5-8 p.m. at Washburn McReavy DuSchane Chapel 4239 West Broadway, Robbinsdale, and one hour before service at church. Interment Mound Cemetery, Brooklyn Center. Memorials preferred to Robbinsdale United Church of Christ.
LETTER OF MEMORIES WRITTEN BY JULIA:
I was born in 1899 IN Brooklyn Center. My parents Charles and Louisa Prestidge rented some land and a house from Earl Brown.
We moved to Robbinsdale 44th and Regent Ave. about 1903. It was a very small house. I had three sisters, Louise, Alice and Clarissa. My grandparents Henry Scott and Louisa owned the house. They lived on the Rockford Road back of the school. The house was near Highway 100. He had land on both sides of Rockford Road. As soon as we were old enough we used to weed onions, carrots, beets etc. and help my grandfather turn the cucumber and melon vines while he cultivated them with a horse and cultivator.
My Grandfather Thomas Prestidge used to come often from Rockford in a horse and buggy, with eggs and butter from Rockford. He had customers in Minneapolis. He would come down one day, deliver his things the next day, and then go back the third day.
My sister Alice tried to ride my father's bicycle and fell off and broke her arm. My father went and got Dr. Colp to come and set it. He wasn't licensed then, so he said my father could give him what he wanted to.
My folks used to take us up to the depot some nights so we could watch the train pick up the mail from a [post. They would grab the bag without stopping the train. My older sister and I started school on Regent Ave. Ira Howard was my first teacher. She passed away that year.
About 1908 we moved to 3827 Lee Ave. We had four bedrooms. We thought it was wonderful. We had two lots so my father had a garden. My father worked for Bill Bossert, making cement blocks across the railroad tracks. We used to go there a lot and watch him.
There was no water, bathroom, electric lights when we moved in. There was a pump outside the kitchen door. We didn't have many neighbors when we moved in.
My grandmother and grandfather [Scott] moved in with us about 1910. My grandfather passed away. My parents let my sister Louise and I go to the funeral. The service was at our house. We went to the cemetery, in a carriage called a hack. It was a cold day but we enjoyed the ride.
About 1908 my brother was born. There was four of us girls and we sure spoiled Henry.
There wasn't many cars. Mr. Morse got a car and he used to come and take us for a ride. He had to crank it.
In 1912 my father and mother went to Rockford. His father was real sick. My father got real sick with Typhoid Fever while there. His father died, but he wasn't able to go to the funeral. We stayed home alone. Our neighbor Mrs. Richard cooked a lunch for us at noon as we came home at noon, for lunch. She made some potato pancakes we sure enjoyed. When my father was able to come home, Mr. Priest, school principle offered to go to Rockford and bring him home in his car. There wasn't many cars then. My father was sick at home a long time. Robbinsdale people were so good to us.
I graduated from the 8th grade in 1913 and started North High in the fall. We took the street car down in the morning and walked home at night. In the following spring I quit school and got a job at Power's store in Minneapolis, in the soda fountain. I was there about six months when Allan MacDonald offered me a job in the grocery store that he and J.W. Russ owned on the corner of West Broadway and 42nd Ave. He offered me more money then I was getting at Powers, I didn't have to pay street car fare and I could go home for lunch so I changed jobs. Harriet Russ, Herbert Classen, Allan MacDonald and J. W. Russ worked at the store. Herberth Clasen [Hub] would drive a horse and wagon and take orders around Robbinsdale one day, we put them up and he would deliver them the next day. In 1918 I went to Minnesota Business College and then I got a job at the Federal Reserve Bank.
June 22, 1921 I married Allan MacDonald. His wife Cora Russ had passed away and we lived in his house on 38th and Noble. He had a son Sydney who lived with us. About 1922 he sold his share of the store to Frank Gfoirer and he got a job at Ralston Purina Co. Business wasn't so good for awhile and he was laid off. My brother had a small restaurant on 41 Ave. Back of the drug store and he bought that. My father was real ill so we moved back home on Lee Ave. So I could help take care of him. In 1932 he passed away.
We heard the Elwood Hotel was for sale. Mrs. Fox had moved out. We called Mr. Lamb, the owner and asked if we could rent or buy it. He said he would call us and in a few days he said we could rent it for a few months and if we got along O.K. he would use the money we would pay for rent as a down payment. Mrs. Rogers and Mrs. Malbon were eating a lot in the restaurant and we told them we were thinking about moving into the hotel. They said they would each rent a room and would help us get started. We moved into the Hotel the first of Sept. 1932 and ran the hotel 25 years, we had to buy furniture, bedding etc for the rooms. We got some furniture from Mrs. Fox and bought more as we rented the rooms. It was slow in starting but wasn't long before we had most of the rooms rented. We got some railroad men, some older people, and business people. We had ten rooms upstairs and five bedrooms on main floor plus the kitchen, dining room, living room and a room for the piano and T.V.
We had four children James, Alice, Charles and Allan Jr. My mother moved in with us also and she was a lot of help. At first we just rented rooms, but soon we sold the restaurant to Victor and Mrs. Hanson who kept the restaurant for a long time. Then we served meals in the hotel and Allan was called back to Ralston Purina Co. It was a lot of hard work. The ladies were good to help us and some neighbors, Mrs. Clasen and Mrs. Goetze used to come to visit and they always helped us when they were there. At first there was people coming to see Dr. Colp so we tried to keep a couple rooms for people stopping overnight.
We always had boys from school My sons brought boys home and Mr. Woodward used to bring boys over for meals and pay for them Vern Gagne [the wrestler] and Dick Eckstrand were with us a long time. So many things happened I will never forget.
I was Banker for a lot of the men. After they paid for board and room they gave me money to keep. It was always gone before the next pay day.
One man came in one night about 11 o'clock and came to our bedroom door and knocked. He said Julia I was shot. My husband and I got up and he was shot in the shoulder as he came down Hubbard Ave. We called the police and they came and took him to the hospital.
My cousins little boy came over one night with his folks. When he came in the back hall he said I didn't know teeth grew with apples. Mac used to often take his lower teeth out and put them in his shirt pocket. He picked up some apples at Dr. Rawson's and I guess the teeth fell in the basket. He had been looking all over for them.
Some of the roomers used to play cards and games in the living room at night.
We served the lunch and dinner at night family style in the dining room. Breakfast we served in the kitchen. The men were always in a hurry to leave. We reset a place as soon as they finished. I put up a lot of lunches for the men.
When my two older sons wanted extra money they would go upstairs and tell some of the boarders they needed their shoes shined. They knew where to go. They made a kit, box with a brush, cloth and shoe polish. They made quite a lot of money.
We had two families come from Holland. The two men came first. Their Uncle brought them to the hotel. He got employment for them at a nursery. I didn't have a room so I got a place for them to sleep across the street and they got their meals with us. About a year later their families came. One family stayed with us and one family stayed where the men had stayed until they bought a house and their furniture came from Holland. It was hard for them as they couldn't talk much English. They got along real well. They went to school. The children were small and enjoyed American food.
In 1956 Father Nolan came over and asked us if we would sell the hotel to the church. They wanted to move the building and build a new Church on the corner. He asked us to think about it and call him. When we decided we would sell we called him. We had asked two different real estate men what it was worth so we told him. He was real happy about it. He said they couldn't get started on it right away so we could stay in there until June 1st 1957. We notified our roomers so they got other rooms. We had bought a house from Mrs. MacLain at 4400 Lake Drive, when she went in a rest home. We moved in there June 1st. Mr. MacDonald passed away on Nov. 26th 1962, but I am still there.
Julia Agnes Prestidge MacDonald was my double first cousin once removed.
Julia MacDonald, age 97, of Robbinsdale, Preceded in death by husband Allan: son Charles and step-son Sydney. Survived by sons, Allan and Wife Renee, son James and wife, Hattie; daughter, Alice MacPherson and husband Edward; daughter-in-law Donna MacDonald; 19 grandchildren; 2 step grandchildren; 41 great-grandchildren; 9 step-great grandchildren; other relatives and friends. Funeral Monday 11 a.m. at Robbinsdale United Church of Christ, 4200 Lake Rd. Robbinsdale. Visitation Sunday 5-8 p.m. at Washburn McReavy DuSchane Chapel 4239 West Broadway, Robbinsdale, and one hour before service at church. Interment Mound Cemetery, Brooklyn Center. Memorials preferred to Robbinsdale United Church of Christ.
LETTER OF MEMORIES WRITTEN BY JULIA:
I was born in 1899 IN Brooklyn Center. My parents Charles and Louisa Prestidge rented some land and a house from Earl Brown.
We moved to Robbinsdale 44th and Regent Ave. about 1903. It was a very small house. I had three sisters, Louise, Alice and Clarissa. My grandparents Henry Scott and Louisa owned the house. They lived on the Rockford Road back of the school. The house was near Highway 100. He had land on both sides of Rockford Road. As soon as we were old enough we used to weed onions, carrots, beets etc. and help my grandfather turn the cucumber and melon vines while he cultivated them with a horse and cultivator.
My Grandfather Thomas Prestidge used to come often from Rockford in a horse and buggy, with eggs and butter from Rockford. He had customers in Minneapolis. He would come down one day, deliver his things the next day, and then go back the third day.
My sister Alice tried to ride my father's bicycle and fell off and broke her arm. My father went and got Dr. Colp to come and set it. He wasn't licensed then, so he said my father could give him what he wanted to.
My folks used to take us up to the depot some nights so we could watch the train pick up the mail from a [post. They would grab the bag without stopping the train. My older sister and I started school on Regent Ave. Ira Howard was my first teacher. She passed away that year.
About 1908 we moved to 3827 Lee Ave. We had four bedrooms. We thought it was wonderful. We had two lots so my father had a garden. My father worked for Bill Bossert, making cement blocks across the railroad tracks. We used to go there a lot and watch him.
There was no water, bathroom, electric lights when we moved in. There was a pump outside the kitchen door. We didn't have many neighbors when we moved in.
My grandmother and grandfather [Scott] moved in with us about 1910. My grandfather passed away. My parents let my sister Louise and I go to the funeral. The service was at our house. We went to the cemetery, in a carriage called a hack. It was a cold day but we enjoyed the ride.
About 1908 my brother was born. There was four of us girls and we sure spoiled Henry.
There wasn't many cars. Mr. Morse got a car and he used to come and take us for a ride. He had to crank it.
In 1912 my father and mother went to Rockford. His father was real sick. My father got real sick with Typhoid Fever while there. His father died, but he wasn't able to go to the funeral. We stayed home alone. Our neighbor Mrs. Richard cooked a lunch for us at noon as we came home at noon, for lunch. She made some potato pancakes we sure enjoyed. When my father was able to come home, Mr. Priest, school principle offered to go to Rockford and bring him home in his car. There wasn't many cars then. My father was sick at home a long time. Robbinsdale people were so good to us.
I graduated from the 8th grade in 1913 and started North High in the fall. We took the street car down in the morning and walked home at night. In the following spring I quit school and got a job at Power's store in Minneapolis, in the soda fountain. I was there about six months when Allan MacDonald offered me a job in the grocery store that he and J.W. Russ owned on the corner of West Broadway and 42nd Ave. He offered me more money then I was getting at Powers, I didn't have to pay street car fare and I could go home for lunch so I changed jobs. Harriet Russ, Herbert Classen, Allan MacDonald and J. W. Russ worked at the store. Herberth Clasen [Hub] would drive a horse and wagon and take orders around Robbinsdale one day, we put them up and he would deliver them the next day. In 1918 I went to Minnesota Business College and then I got a job at the Federal Reserve Bank.
June 22, 1921 I married Allan MacDonald. His wife Cora Russ had passed away and we lived in his house on 38th and Noble. He had a son Sydney who lived with us. About 1922 he sold his share of the store to Frank Gfoirer and he got a job at Ralston Purina Co. Business wasn't so good for awhile and he was laid off. My brother had a small restaurant on 41 Ave. Back of the drug store and he bought that. My father was real ill so we moved back home on Lee Ave. So I could help take care of him. In 1932 he passed away.
We heard the Elwood Hotel was for sale. Mrs. Fox had moved out. We called Mr. Lamb, the owner and asked if we could rent or buy it. He said he would call us and in a few days he said we could rent it for a few months and if we got along O.K. he would use the money we would pay for rent as a down payment. Mrs. Rogers and Mrs. Malbon were eating a lot in the restaurant and we told them we were thinking about moving into the hotel. They said they would each rent a room and would help us get started. We moved into the Hotel the first of Sept. 1932 and ran the hotel 25 years, we had to buy furniture, bedding etc for the rooms. We got some furniture from Mrs. Fox and bought more as we rented the rooms. It was slow in starting but wasn't long before we had most of the rooms rented. We got some railroad men, some older people, and business people. We had ten rooms upstairs and five bedrooms on main floor plus the kitchen, dining room, living room and a room for the piano and T.V.
We had four children James, Alice, Charles and Allan Jr. My mother moved in with us also and she was a lot of help. At first we just rented rooms, but soon we sold the restaurant to Victor and Mrs. Hanson who kept the restaurant for a long time. Then we served meals in the hotel and Allan was called back to Ralston Purina Co. It was a lot of hard work. The ladies were good to help us and some neighbors, Mrs. Clasen and Mrs. Goetze used to come to visit and they always helped us when they were there. At first there was people coming to see Dr. Colp so we tried to keep a couple rooms for people stopping overnight.
We always had boys from school My sons brought boys home and Mr. Woodward used to bring boys over for meals and pay for them Vern Gagne [the wrestler] and Dick Eckstrand were with us a long time. So many things happened I will never forget.
I was Banker for a lot of the men. After they paid for board and room they gave me money to keep. It was always gone before the next pay day.
One man came in one night about 11 o'clock and came to our bedroom door and knocked. He said Julia I was shot. My husband and I got up and he was shot in the shoulder as he came down Hubbard Ave. We called the police and they came and took him to the hospital.
My cousins little boy came over one night with his folks. When he came in the back hall he said I didn't know teeth grew with apples. Mac used to often take his lower teeth out and put them in his shirt pocket. He picked up some apples at Dr. Rawson's and I guess the teeth fell in the basket. He had been looking all over for them.
Some of the roomers used to play cards and games in the living room at night.
We served the lunch and dinner at night family style in the dining room. Breakfast we served in the kitchen. The men were always in a hurry to leave. We reset a place as soon as they finished. I put up a lot of lunches for the men.
When my two older sons wanted extra money they would go upstairs and tell some of the boarders they needed their shoes shined. They knew where to go. They made a kit, box with a brush, cloth and shoe polish. They made quite a lot of money.
We had two families come from Holland. The two men came first. Their Uncle brought them to the hotel. He got employment for them at a nursery. I didn't have a room so I got a place for them to sleep across the street and they got their meals with us. About a year later their families came. One family stayed with us and one family stayed where the men had stayed until they bought a house and their furniture came from Holland. It was hard for them as they couldn't talk much English. They got along real well. They went to school. The children were small and enjoyed American food.
In 1956 Father Nolan came over and asked us if we would sell the hotel to the church. They wanted to move the building and build a new Church on the corner. He asked us to think about it and call him. When we decided we would sell we called him. We had asked two different real estate men what it was worth so we told him. He was real happy about it. He said they couldn't get started on it right away so we could stay in there until June 1st 1957. We notified our roomers so they got other rooms. We had bought a house from Mrs. MacLain at 4400 Lake Drive, when she went in a rest home. We moved in there June 1st. Mr. MacDonald passed away on Nov. 26th 1962, but I am still there.
Julia Agnes Prestidge MacDonald was my double first cousin once removed.
OBITUARY OF JULIA MACDONALD: MINNEAPOLIS STAR AND TRIBUNE SEPT. 18, 1997:
Julia MacDonald, age 97, of Robbinsdale, Preceded in death by husband Allan: son Charles and step-son Sydney. Survived by sons, Allan and Wife Renee, son James and wife, Hattie; daughter, Alice MacPherson and husband Edward; daughter-in-law Donna MacDonald; 19 grandchildren; 2 step grandchildren; 41 great-grandchildren; 9 step-great grandchildren; other relatives and friends. Funeral Monday 11 a.m. at Robbinsdale United Church of Christ, 4200 Lake Rd. Robbinsdale. Visitation Sunday 5-8 p.m. at Washburn McReavy DuSchane Chapel 4239 West Broadway, Robbinsdale, and one hour before service at church. Interment Mound Cemetery, Brooklyn Center. Memorials preferred to Robbinsdale United Church of Christ.
LETTER OF MEMORIES WRITTEN BY JULIA:
I was born in 1899 IN Brooklyn Center. My parents Charles and Louisa Prestidge rented some land and a house from Earl Brown.
We moved to Robbinsdale 44th and Regent Ave. about 1903. It was a very small house. I had three sisters, Louise, Alice and Clarissa. My grandparents Henry Scott and Louisa owned the house. They lived on the Rockford Road back of the school. The house was near Highway 100. He had land on both sides of Rockford Road. As soon as we were old enough we used to weed onions, carrots, beets etc. and help my grandfather turn the cucumber and melon vines while he cultivated them with a horse and cultivator.
My Grandfather Thomas Prestidge used to come often from Rockford in a horse and buggy, with eggs and butter from Rockford. He had customers in Minneapolis. He would come down one day, deliver his things the next day, and then go back the third day.
My sister Alice tried to ride my father's bicycle and fell off and broke her arm. My father went and got Dr. Colp to come and set it. He wasn't licensed then, so he said my father could give him what he wanted to.
My folks used to take us up to the depot some nights so we could watch the train pick up the mail from a [post. They would grab the bag without stopping the train. My older sister and I started school on Regent Ave. Ira Howard was my first teacher. She passed away that year.
About 1908 we moved to 3827 Lee Ave. We had four bedrooms. We thought it was wonderful. We had two lots so my father had a garden. My father worked for Bill Bossert, making cement blocks across the railroad tracks. We used to go there a lot and watch him.
There was no water, bathroom, electric lights when we moved in. There was a pump outside the kitchen door. We didn't have many neighbors when we moved in.
My grandmother and grandfather [Scott] moved in with us about 1910. My grandfather passed away. My parents let my sister Louise and I go to the funeral. The service was at our house. We went to the cemetery, in a carriage called a hack. It was a cold day but we enjoyed the ride.
About 1908 my brother was born. There was four of us girls and we sure spoiled Henry.
There wasn't many cars. Mr. Morse got a car and he used to come and take us for a ride. He had to crank it.
In 1912 my father and mother went to Rockford. His father was real sick. My father got real sick with Typhoid Fever while there. His father died, but he wasn't able to go to the funeral. We stayed home alone. Our neighbor Mrs. Richard cooked a lunch for us at noon as we came home at noon, for lunch. She made some potato pancakes we sure enjoyed. When my father was able to come home, Mr. Priest, school principle offered to go to Rockford and bring him home in his car. There wasn't many cars then. My father was sick at home a long time. Robbinsdale people were so good to us.
I graduated from the 8th grade in 1913 and started North High in the fall. We took the street car down in the morning and walked home at night. In the following spring I quit school and got a job at Power's store in Minneapolis, in the soda fountain. I was there about six months when Allan MacDonald offered me a job in the grocery store that he and J.W. Russ owned on the corner of West Broadway and 42nd Ave. He offered me more money then I was getting at Powers, I didn't have to pay street car fare and I could go home for lunch so I changed jobs. Harriet Russ, Herbert Classen, Allan MacDonald and J. W. Russ worked at the store. Herberth Clasen [Hub] would drive a horse and wagon and take orders around Robbinsdale one day, we put them up and he would deliver them the next day. In 1918 I went to Minnesota Business College and then I got a job at the Federal Reserve Bank.
June 22, 1921 I married Allan MacDonald. His wife Cora Russ had passed away and we lived in his house on 38th and Noble. He had a son Sydney who lived with us. About 1922 he sold his share of the store to Frank Gfoirer and he got a job at Ralston Purina Co. Business wasn't so good for awhile and he was laid off. My brother had a small restaurant on 41 Ave. Back of the drug store and he bought that. My father was real ill so we moved back home on Lee Ave. So I could help take care of him. In 1932 he passed away.
We heard the Elwood Hotel was for sale. Mrs. Fox had moved out. We called Mr. Lamb, the owner and asked if we could rent or buy it. He said he would call us and in a few days he said we could rent it for a few months and if we got along O.K. he would use the money we would pay for rent as a down payment. Mrs. Rogers and Mrs. Malbon were eating a lot in the restaurant and we told them we were thinking about moving into the hotel. They said they would each rent a room and would help us get started. We moved into the Hotel the first of Sept. 1932 and ran the hotel 25 years, we had to buy furniture, bedding etc for the rooms. We got some furniture from Mrs. Fox and bought more as we rented the rooms. It was slow in starting but wasn't long before we had most of the rooms rented. We got some railroad men, some older people, and business people. We had ten rooms upstairs and five bedrooms on main floor plus the kitchen, dining room, living room and a room for the piano and T.V.
We had four children James, Alice, Charles and Allan Jr. My mother moved in with us also and she was a lot of help. At first we just rented rooms, but soon we sold the restaurant to Victor and Mrs. Hanson who kept the restaurant for a long time. Then we served meals in the hotel and Allan was called back to Ralston Purina Co. It was a lot of hard work. The ladies were good to help us and some neighbors, Mrs. Clasen and Mrs. Goetze used to come to visit and they always helped us when they were there. At first there was people coming to see Dr. Colp so we tried to keep a couple rooms for people stopping overnight.
We always had boys from school My sons brought boys home and Mr. Woodward used to bring boys over for meals and pay for them Vern Gagne [the wrestler] and Dick Eckstrand were with us a long time. So many things happened I will never forget.
I was Banker for a lot of the men. After they paid for board and room they gave me money to keep. It was always gone before the next pay day.
One man came in one night about 11 o'clock and came to our bedroom door and knocked. He said Julia I was shot. My husband and I got up and he was shot in the shoulder as he came down Hubbard Ave. We called the police and they came and took him to the hospital.
My cousins little boy came over one night with his folks. When he came in the back hall he said I didn't know teeth grew with apples. Mac used to often take his lower teeth out and put them in his shirt pocket. He picked up some apples at Dr. Rawson's and I guess the teeth fell in the basket. He had been looking all over for them.
Some of the roomers used to play cards and games in the living room at night.
We served the lunch and dinner at night family style in the dining room. Breakfast we served in the kitchen. The men were always in a hurry to leave. We reset a place as soon as they finished. I put up a lot of lunches for the men.
When my two older sons wanted extra money they would go upstairs and tell some of the boarders they needed their shoes shined. They knew where to go. They made a kit, box with a brush, cloth and shoe polish. They made quite a lot of money.
We had two families come from Holland. The two men came first. Their Uncle brought them to the hotel. He got employment for them at a nursery. I didn't have a room so I got a place for them to sleep across the street and they got their meals with us. About a year later their families came. One family stayed with us and one family stayed where the men had stayed until they bought a house and their furniture came from Holland. It was hard for them as they couldn't talk much English. They got along real well. They went to school. The children were small and enjoyed American food.
In 1956 Father Nolan came over and asked us if we would sell the hotel to the church. They wanted to move the building and build a new Church on the corner. He asked us to think about it and call him. When we decided we would sell we called him. We had asked two different real estate men what it was worth so we told him. He was real happy about it. He said they couldn't get started on it right away so we could stay in there until June 1st 1957. We notified our roomers so they got other rooms. We had bought a house from Mrs. MacLain at 4400 Lake Drive, when she went in a rest home. We moved in there June 1st. Mr. MacDonald passed away on Nov. 26th 1962, but I am still there.
Julia Agnes Prestidge MacDonald was my double first cousin once removed.
Julia MacDonald, age 97, of Robbinsdale, Preceded in death by husband Allan: son Charles and step-son Sydney. Survived by sons, Allan and Wife Renee, son James and wife, Hattie; daughter, Alice MacPherson and husband Edward; daughter-in-law Donna MacDonald; 19 grandchildren; 2 step grandchildren; 41 great-grandchildren; 9 step-great grandchildren; other relatives and friends. Funeral Monday 11 a.m. at Robbinsdale United Church of Christ, 4200 Lake Rd. Robbinsdale. Visitation Sunday 5-8 p.m. at Washburn McReavy DuSchane Chapel 4239 West Broadway, Robbinsdale, and one hour before service at church. Interment Mound Cemetery, Brooklyn Center. Memorials preferred to Robbinsdale United Church of Christ.
LETTER OF MEMORIES WRITTEN BY JULIA:
I was born in 1899 IN Brooklyn Center. My parents Charles and Louisa Prestidge rented some land and a house from Earl Brown.
We moved to Robbinsdale 44th and Regent Ave. about 1903. It was a very small house. I had three sisters, Louise, Alice and Clarissa. My grandparents Henry Scott and Louisa owned the house. They lived on the Rockford Road back of the school. The house was near Highway 100. He had land on both sides of Rockford Road. As soon as we were old enough we used to weed onions, carrots, beets etc. and help my grandfather turn the cucumber and melon vines while he cultivated them with a horse and cultivator.
My Grandfather Thomas Prestidge used to come often from Rockford in a horse and buggy, with eggs and butter from Rockford. He had customers in Minneapolis. He would come down one day, deliver his things the next day, and then go back the third day.
My sister Alice tried to ride my father's bicycle and fell off and broke her arm. My father went and got Dr. Colp to come and set it. He wasn't licensed then, so he said my father could give him what he wanted to.
My folks used to take us up to the depot some nights so we could watch the train pick up the mail from a [post. They would grab the bag without stopping the train. My older sister and I started school on Regent Ave. Ira Howard was my first teacher. She passed away that year.
About 1908 we moved to 3827 Lee Ave. We had four bedrooms. We thought it was wonderful. We had two lots so my father had a garden. My father worked for Bill Bossert, making cement blocks across the railroad tracks. We used to go there a lot and watch him.
There was no water, bathroom, electric lights when we moved in. There was a pump outside the kitchen door. We didn't have many neighbors when we moved in.
My grandmother and grandfather [Scott] moved in with us about 1910. My grandfather passed away. My parents let my sister Louise and I go to the funeral. The service was at our house. We went to the cemetery, in a carriage called a hack. It was a cold day but we enjoyed the ride.
About 1908 my brother was born. There was four of us girls and we sure spoiled Henry.
There wasn't many cars. Mr. Morse got a car and he used to come and take us for a ride. He had to crank it.
In 1912 my father and mother went to Rockford. His father was real sick. My father got real sick with Typhoid Fever while there. His father died, but he wasn't able to go to the funeral. We stayed home alone. Our neighbor Mrs. Richard cooked a lunch for us at noon as we came home at noon, for lunch. She made some potato pancakes we sure enjoyed. When my father was able to come home, Mr. Priest, school principle offered to go to Rockford and bring him home in his car. There wasn't many cars then. My father was sick at home a long time. Robbinsdale people were so good to us.
I graduated from the 8th grade in 1913 and started North High in the fall. We took the street car down in the morning and walked home at night. In the following spring I quit school and got a job at Power's store in Minneapolis, in the soda fountain. I was there about six months when Allan MacDonald offered me a job in the grocery store that he and J.W. Russ owned on the corner of West Broadway and 42nd Ave. He offered me more money then I was getting at Powers, I didn't have to pay street car fare and I could go home for lunch so I changed jobs. Harriet Russ, Herbert Classen, Allan MacDonald and J. W. Russ worked at the store. Herberth Clasen [Hub] would drive a horse and wagon and take orders around Robbinsdale one day, we put them up and he would deliver them the next day. In 1918 I went to Minnesota Business College and then I got a job at the Federal Reserve Bank.
June 22, 1921 I married Allan MacDonald. His wife Cora Russ had passed away and we lived in his house on 38th and Noble. He had a son Sydney who lived with us. About 1922 he sold his share of the store to Frank Gfoirer and he got a job at Ralston Purina Co. Business wasn't so good for awhile and he was laid off. My brother had a small restaurant on 41 Ave. Back of the drug store and he bought that. My father was real ill so we moved back home on Lee Ave. So I could help take care of him. In 1932 he passed away.
We heard the Elwood Hotel was for sale. Mrs. Fox had moved out. We called Mr. Lamb, the owner and asked if we could rent or buy it. He said he would call us and in a few days he said we could rent it for a few months and if we got along O.K. he would use the money we would pay for rent as a down payment. Mrs. Rogers and Mrs. Malbon were eating a lot in the restaurant and we told them we were thinking about moving into the hotel. They said they would each rent a room and would help us get started. We moved into the Hotel the first of Sept. 1932 and ran the hotel 25 years, we had to buy furniture, bedding etc for the rooms. We got some furniture from Mrs. Fox and bought more as we rented the rooms. It was slow in starting but wasn't long before we had most of the rooms rented. We got some railroad men, some older people, and business people. We had ten rooms upstairs and five bedrooms on main floor plus the kitchen, dining room, living room and a room for the piano and T.V.
We had four children James, Alice, Charles and Allan Jr. My mother moved in with us also and she was a lot of help. At first we just rented rooms, but soon we sold the restaurant to Victor and Mrs. Hanson who kept the restaurant for a long time. Then we served meals in the hotel and Allan was called back to Ralston Purina Co. It was a lot of hard work. The ladies were good to help us and some neighbors, Mrs. Clasen and Mrs. Goetze used to come to visit and they always helped us when they were there. At first there was people coming to see Dr. Colp so we tried to keep a couple rooms for people stopping overnight.
We always had boys from school My sons brought boys home and Mr. Woodward used to bring boys over for meals and pay for them Vern Gagne [the wrestler] and Dick Eckstrand were with us a long time. So many things happened I will never forget.
I was Banker for a lot of the men. After they paid for board and room they gave me money to keep. It was always gone before the next pay day.
One man came in one night about 11 o'clock and came to our bedroom door and knocked. He said Julia I was shot. My husband and I got up and he was shot in the shoulder as he came down Hubbard Ave. We called the police and they came and took him to the hospital.
My cousins little boy came over one night with his folks. When he came in the back hall he said I didn't know teeth grew with apples. Mac used to often take his lower teeth out and put them in his shirt pocket. He picked up some apples at Dr. Rawson's and I guess the teeth fell in the basket. He had been looking all over for them.
Some of the roomers used to play cards and games in the living room at night.
We served the lunch and dinner at night family style in the dining room. Breakfast we served in the kitchen. The men were always in a hurry to leave. We reset a place as soon as they finished. I put up a lot of lunches for the men.
When my two older sons wanted extra money they would go upstairs and tell some of the boarders they needed their shoes shined. They knew where to go. They made a kit, box with a brush, cloth and shoe polish. They made quite a lot of money.
We had two families come from Holland. The two men came first. Their Uncle brought them to the hotel. He got employment for them at a nursery. I didn't have a room so I got a place for them to sleep across the street and they got their meals with us. About a year later their families came. One family stayed with us and one family stayed where the men had stayed until they bought a house and their furniture came from Holland. It was hard for them as they couldn't talk much English. They got along real well. They went to school. The children were small and enjoyed American food.
In 1956 Father Nolan came over and asked us if we would sell the hotel to the church. They wanted to move the building and build a new Church on the corner. He asked us to think about it and call him. When we decided we would sell we called him. We had asked two different real estate men what it was worth so we told him. He was real happy about it. He said they couldn't get started on it right away so we could stay in there until June 1st 1957. We notified our roomers so they got other rooms. We had bought a house from Mrs. MacLain at 4400 Lake Drive, when she went in a rest home. We moved in there June 1st. Mr. MacDonald passed away on Nov. 26th 1962, but I am still there.
Julia Agnes Prestidge MacDonald was my double first cousin once removed.
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