Lake Elmo history is on the menu

The sign outside Gorman's Restaurant in Lake Elmo should advertise family dining and time travel.

That's because of Ed Gorman, the unofficial town historian whose vast collection of old farm photos and other artifacts decorates his restaurant and invites visitors to peer into Lake Elmo's past.

Nearly every inch of the walls is covered with more than 1,000 pictures of the characters, buildings and struggles that defined Lake Elmo at the turn of the century.

Back then, life revolved around the farm. Today, the farms are quickly disappearing, replaced by housing developments in this fast-growing east-metro community.

How fast and how much Lake Elmo grows continues to be a question passionately debated among the locals. Gorman is an outspoken supporter of planned growth for the city of roughly 7,000.

But the rural character is worth preserving, he says, and that is what drives him to salvage photos and other local, historic treasures and display them in his restaurant.

"Certainly, you have to preserve your past, but you also have to plan your future," he said. "I kind of embrace change. The land is too valuable and the opportunity that we can grow and do something nice is a rare one."

In 1980, he opened Gorman's Restaurant with just 23 seats.

Since then, he has expanded the building four times and the place now seats 250.

The addition in the back is actually a coal warehouse that Gorman bought for $1 in order to keep it from being demolished. It was moved and is now used for additional seating.

Gorman, who lives nearby in West Lakeland, said he saw an ad for a small cafe in a tiny, east metro town and jumped at the chance to buy it.

The original restaurant, built in 1972, was called "The White Hat."

At first, Gorman decorated the place with a few wicker baskets and a bunch of wooden raisin racks.

Decorated by customers

But about 10 to 15 years ago, after the first expansion, his wife, Kathy Gorman, had a suggestion: How about hanging some pictures of local farms?

The first photos were supplied by some of the regular customers.

They dug through their shoeboxes and albums, handing over snapshots. Jess Mottaz, a friend of Gorman's, had them duplicated and blown up so they were suitable for framing.

The old farm pictures were an instant hit. "I started getting some unique comments," Gorman said. "Everybody wanted to be a piece of the historical display here."

Soon, photos started pouring in and filling up the wall space.

All of the families who were a part of Lake Elmo's early days are represented in the collection, Gorman said, ticking off the names of some well-known clans -- Friedrich, Goetschel, Schneider, Kleis, Pierre and Wier. Relatives sometimes visit the restaurant and take pictures, posing next to their ancestors' photos, Gorman said.

Even the frames and shelves used to display the items have historic value. Gorman uses old windows and wood salvaged from barns and chicken coops, swooping in to save the pieces before the buildings are torn down.

His collection also includes furniture and tools once used on the farms.

Alvin Schaefer's old ice box is one example. Built in 1890, the wooden cabinet was used to store ice blocks that Schaefer had cut straight from the ponds.

Gorman spotted the ice box in the back of Schaefer's old barn and asked him about it. "He thought it was junk," Gorman said. "But to me, it's just a statement of time."

Today, the ice box rests in a busy spot in the main dining area. An engraved plate tells curious customers about the piece and its origin.

Next to the ice box is a glass-top counter from Margaret LaRue's confectionary store in downtown Lake Elmo, circa 1900.

Gorman points to the grooves and scratches in the wooden frame surrounding the glass top and ponders aloud: "Can't you just imagine the kids who made these scratches standing here waiting for their candy?"

His most unique piece, he says, is an original tire from a rare, 1898 locomobile steamcar.

The tire is framed and hangs on a wall near the front entrance. It's ripped and twisted in spots, and it still has the original bolts used to attach it to the wheel.

"The Smithsonian doesn't even have some of the stuff I have," Gorman said.

He says he wouldn't want his collection to leave Lake Elmo.

Nor is he interested in selling any of his pieces on eBay. The collection, he says, is priceless and should remain intact. "It belongs here in this town and that's where it will stay."

Allie Shah • 651-298-1550.