Aerial view from the south village limits of New Brighton was taken by MacGillis & Gibbs Company, a pole yard company, which is seen in the lower half of the photo. Notable buildings include the First Congregational Church, New Brighton Elementary School, St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, and the New Brighton Village Hall.
The Armistice Day Blizzard of November 11, 1940, hit New Brighton hard. On the day following the blizzard, Phil Hadock and Sid Weber stand behind a big drift next to Butch Schmalzbauer's Jack Sprat Food Store to talk about the weather. Many New Brightonites took stranded travelers into their homes overnight.
The Armistice Day Blizzard of November 11, 1940, found many residents of New Brighton providing food and shelter for storm victims. Many cars were stranded and travelers rescued by New Brighton residents during the fierce storm.
Bell Lumber and Pole Yards began business in 1919, treating telephone poles and lumber. The company hired many local men and is still in business today. In mid-1980s, after being declared a Superfund site by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Bell began the process of cleaning up the hazardous chemicals on its property, spending over $10 million to do so and also to rebuild the plant to treat poles and lumber using environmentally clean processes. This panorama photo shows the pole treating plant and the large telephone poles treated in the process.
The first church in New Brighton was the First Congregational Church of New Brighton, incorporated on September 5, 1890. This church was built in 1892 at a cost of $1500. It was located on the west side of Fifth Avenue and Sixth Street.
Tommy Kowaksi was one of New Brighton's first policeman, but also served as the town street sweeper. This photo was taken on present day Fifth Avenue, facing north, with the Hudoba Building and the Transit House Hotel in the background.
Children of Franklin Searles, New Brighton prominent businessman, are shown: son Coy Searles; daughter Marnie Searles; friend E. Lawrence Haglund; daughter Maude Searles
Among the retail establishments in New Brighton in the 1920s was Frank Zamor's Ice Cream Parlor with Rosina Boryczka working behind the counter in 1925.
Long Lake water had a reputation for its clean quality and the ice-making industry flourished for over sixth years. A conveyer carries the ice up from the water to a platform from where it is loaded on sleighs at the Peoples Coal and Ice Company. Commercial ice houses dating back to the early 1890s were located on the north, east, and southwestern shores of the lake. They flourished until the 1950s when modernized refrigeration made them virtually extinct.
MacGillis & Gibbs Company employees with their horses as they transport telephone poles. The company specialized in the treatment, production and distribution of telephone poles from 1919 and employed many New Brighton men. The firm treated telephone poles and lumber with chemicals to preserve the wood, which ultimately contaminated the soil and made its way into groundwater. In 1984 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) declared both MacGillis & Gibbs Company site and an adjacent pole company, Bell Lumber and Pole, as a Superfund site. The cleanup continued until 1993.
Peoples Coal and Ice Company had five ice houses on the east side of Long Lake which first served the stockyards industry and later provided a busy commercial ice industry for some 60 years in New Brighton. The ice was stored in well-insulated ice houses and covered with sawdust, which helped to insulate the ice and keep the blocks from sticking together. When needed, the 20 x 32-inch blocks were loaded into railroad cars, which held about 140 blocks per car. Any left-over ice went toward filling many a villager's own icehouse.
Sadie and Franklin M. Searles, prominent New Brighton businessman, in front of their 1923 vehicle with their grandchildren, Helen Searles and Donald D. Searles.
The grocery store of Schmalzbauer and Zamor, located on Front Street in the old Transit House building, was operated by Frank (Shorty) Zamor and Anton (Buff) Schmalzbauer, brothers-in law.
Otto Schmalzbauer, Jr. and Anton Schmalzbauer along with Florence Lundgren in the Home Brand Grocery Store, run by Anton and his brother-in-law Frank Zamor in the old Transit Hotel building.
View of the stockyards shows the five ice houses run by Peoples Coal and Ice Company and cattle in pens. This photo is currently being used in the letterhead and logo for New Brighton's civic event, New Brighton Stockyard Days.
William Perry and his family ran Lake Johanna beach facilities in present-day Arden Hills, consisting of concessions, boat and swimsuit rental, dance pavilion, and picnic area. Perry was the son of Mounds View Township founder Charles Perry.