5141 40th Avenue South - closed, demolished
Minneapolis 17, Minnesota
Minnehaha Elementary School, 1948
On March 1, 2011, it was brought to my attention that the picture I had above for Minnehaha Elementary was not Minnehaha.
(I have since moved the erroneous picture on this website to the Nokomis page on which it belongs.)
"This picture shown is the design of a Minneapolis junior high school.
Minnehaha's two wings to the east and west were much longer than the supporting central corridor.
The central corridor had only a door on the first floor and one set of central windows on second floor.
The center door was recessed the distance of three classrooms and there were exits on the ends of each wing bringing you into the hallway.
On the west wing, the exit facing south had an additional windowed cloak room for each of the two kindergartens.
I attended Minnehaha from September 1965 to June 1972. The reason I remember the school so well is that I have attended Trinity Lutheran Church of Minnehaha Falls, across the street all of my life.
I remember looking over at the school all the time and playing around the building each summer."
~ Text submitted by: Calan Hanzal
Webmaster's comment: I have come to the conclusion that this previous photo was a picture of Nokomis Junior High and not that of Minnehaha Elementary School.
You can now find this other photo on the Nokomis Jr. High page.
Thank you for bringing this to my attention.
Minnehaha Elementary School - Two Views, 1948
"I graduated quite a while ahead of you guys - 1951. What I am writing for is about the pictures of Minnehaha Elementary and Nokomis Jr. High both of which I attended.
We lived right across the street from Nokomis part of kindergarten and all of my first grade of school (about 1939 - 1940). On the picture taken from the alley, our house was on the right where the lilac bushes are.
We moved across the alley and a few houses down for my second grade year still close to Nokomis, and I played over in the playground with my friends.
I think the picture is quite accurate [She's still speaking of Nokomis Jr. I think].
After second grade we moved to 39th Avenue, one block away from Minnehaha (much shorter walk for me) and remained there until I was married. I also went to Trinity before they built the new church.
The school was on one side of 52nd Street between 40th and 41st Avenues. The church was on the other side between 40th and the alley, and a Sunday school building between the alley and 41st.
The streetcar ran on 42nd Avenue. My dad was a streetcar motorman. We carried his lunch bucket to him every night and rode out to Fort Snelling. If it got dark before we got back my dad (because he knew I was scared passing that block) would pull the streetcar up and tell me to run down the middle of the street and he would watch. Believe me I watched that school as I ran, always afraid somebody could be hiding there and jump out at me. You’d think I would have really vivid memories of it but who knows. As far as I’m concerned I really think you have the right picture [of Minnehaha]. There is one with steps and I don’t remember any steps except in the back by the playground. I think there were three or four but even that memory could be wrong. Wish I had pictures. Just thought I would share what memories I have.
Lani, you graduated with my very precious niece, Sharon Ermuth. Don’t know how well you might have known her, but I see you also went to Folwell with her and her husband Jim Broms. She was the first grandchild, niece etc. in our family, born when I was 11 years old. It was during WWII, as you know, and her dad was in the service. She and my sister lived at home with us until Shar was about 2 1/2 years old. I hurried home from school every day just to see her. She was such a special part of our family. Her death was so hard on all of us. Looking at the website reminds me of how happy she was at that time."
~ Text submitted by: Shirley (Mickelson) Erickson ~
RHS 1951
~ ~ ~
~ First Grade - Miss Knutson ~
May, 1951
