To many, much of St. Michael’s history revolves around the last 25 years. After all, that’s when the city exploded from a village of just a couple thousand people to the largest community in Wright County, added several schools and created a major commuter highway.
But for those who have called St. Michael home for decades, it’s been a community with deep roots, families dedicated to financial and social success, and a place to they’re proud to call home.
Over the last 10 years, the St. Michael Historical Society has worked to preserve some of that history, reaching back to the city’s incorporation around the turn of the 20th Century, several years after the first St. Michael Catholic Church was built on an old county road atop a hill with a view.
The 1900s would see storefronts – including the Corner Bar, Dehmer’s Meats and eventually buildings like the old Texaco and the St. Michael Cafe. Cars and family businesses made the town change, and provided the first level of today’s St. Mike.
But it’s the St. Michael of the 1950s and 1960s that is commemorated in a 10th anniversary print commissioned by the Historical Society, created by renowned Minnesota artist Ken Zylla. “St. Michael, USA,” as Zylla has christened it, contains many references to popular history here, including stories that have been handed down from generation to generation.
“We’re incredibly happy with it,” said St. Michael Historical Society’s president Sheldon Barthel. “I think, what’s most exciting, is Ken is, too. This is going to be a big part of his repertoire down the road, he’s said. Including a spot on the calendar he puts out every year.”
Zylla’s print shows longtime business, including the Texaco Station (now a parking lot area for the Corner Bar and Walgreen’s, the former Hotpoint (now Domino’s) and the old 66 C-Store, which is currently the St. Michael Liquor Store.
This Ken Zylla original, “St. Michael, USA” now hangs in the offices of the St. Michael Historical Society. Prints of this work can now be ordered via the society’s website.
There is a reference (notice the two boys walking near the pink car) to a great tale about Joe Dehmer and a handful of buddies who once tried to light off some (harmless) explosives in downtown during a dance. The so-called silver salutes all went off at once, left a crater in the road and shattered out several windows downtown. You can see the two boys carrying their supplies in Zylla’s print.
An homage is also made to H.G. Sipe on one of the vehicles – an old red truck on the side of the road. Sipe didn’t have a red truck, but his name was prominent around the community in 1955 and on, serving as an area entrepreneur and investor in local businesses.
Prints are available to purchase now, via the St. Michael Historical Society’s website. Unframed, they’re running for less than $100. Triple-matted and oak-framed, the print is still a “deal,” Barthel said, at just $165.
A formal unveiling of the painting will take place at 8 p.m. Monday, July 13 at St. Michael City Hall, immediately following the historical society’s 7 p.m. monthly meeting.
“I think it’s a print that will rekindle a lot of memories for people here,” Barthel said. “There’s a lot of history in it, which is what we wanted. And there’s a lot of Ken’s special touches and his color, which is what he wanted to do. I think it worked out so well because we have him some ideas and some photos and really let him run with it. It’s his impression of what historical St. Michael, around that late 1950s early 1960s time frame, was really like.”
For more, visit the St. Michael Historical Society’s website. An online area to purchase the print can be found here. A note – framed prints can not be shipped to customers outside the area.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct some history including the silver salute explosion downtown.