Photo: Maple Grove Historical Preservation Society
By mid-December, kids today count down the days until winter break, anticipating holiday time with family and friends at home. In the mid-1900s, elementary schools often held holiday programs where proud parents and grandparents watched children sing songs like Jingle Bells and Frosty the Snowman. In 1950, at Maple Grove’s one-room Eagle Lake School, children from the Emans, Gelle, Grambart, Jobes, Koehler, Loeffler, Mack and Waschek families performed beneath festive crepe paper streamers and a construction paper bell. The clock behind them shows nearly 3:30 p.m. After their final song, they likely hurried home for the holidays.
Kate Wodtke is a research and inventory specialist with the Maple Grove Historical Preservation Society and a Minnesota Author Project judge. Discover more at maplegrovemnhistory.org.
