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Newspaper Clipping - Newspaper Clipping Scan - Hollie Orr sold land to the City of Eagan and developer - 7/11/1999• a SAINT PAUL PIONEER PRESS THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER- 9, 1999 OBITUARIES v Hoffie Orr, 80; sold farm to Eagan for city campus , AMY SHERMAN STAFF WRITER ollie Orr, who sold his Eagan farm to the city to build its munic- ipal campus, died Sunday of a heart attack. The Cannon Falls resident was 80. Orr was born in Fairmont, Minn., and graduated from La - Crescent High School. He entered the Navy, traveling to Greenland and Japan, and was discharged in 1945. He eventually moved.back to the Twin Cities. In 1952, Orr moved from West St. Paul to Eag- an Township = a place he had never even heard of before, he saw an ad in the newspaper for the farm. Orr . bred horses and raised pigs and cattle, although his main job was working as a. machinist for a couple of companies,. includ- ing Honeywell. After Eagan became a city in 1974, Orr's taxes increased so much he sold the farm by Pilot Knob and Wescott roads. In the 1970s, he sold 40 of his 140 acres to the city and the remainder to a housing developer. Eagan officials wanted : the land because of its central location in the city. Now Orr's former farm is home to city hall, the police station,, civic are- na, pool and county library. Orr was shocked to see how much his farm had changed when he strolled the site this summer with his daughter, Kim White, and a reporter. "It's just like being in another world," he said at the time. "This can't be the same place." In 1978, Orr moved to Cannon Falls. He enjoyed working on his lawn and buying antiques at auc- tions, White said.. "He helped anyone in need," White said, describing how he would plow the snow from his neighbors' driveways •in Eagan withhis tractor. "He was that kind of person, always willing to lend a hand." Kerry -Kisling, who grew up near Orr, said he was like a sec- ond father to her and her siblings. Orr cleared off his pond for the children toskate, made a ball dia- mond on his fields, gave rides in his recreational vehicles and taught her how to ride horses. "He was very good to us, very pa- tient," Kisling said. A wake will be from 5 to 8 p.m. today at Lundberg Funeral Home in Cannon Falls. The service will. be at 10 a.m. Friday at the funeral home with burial at Acacia Park Cemetery. Orr is survived by his daughter,. Kim White, of Inver Grove Heights and his sister, Ha- zel Carson, Sacramento, Calif. He was preceded in death by his wife, Betty. Amy Sherman, who covers Eagan, Inver Grove Heights and • Rosemount, can be reached at asherman @pioneer-. press.com or (651) 228-2174. a t f'ata cite 6T" 11 ' 1111 SAINT PAUL PIONEER PRESS SUNDAY, JULY 11, 1999 OUTH SUBURBAN NEIGHBORS SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF DAKOTA COUNTY SPOTLIGHT: EAGAN V Keeping Up With the Past Hollie Orr, 80, didn't know what was planned for his farm when he sold it to the city of Eagan two decades ago, so he was astounded by the changes he observed recently on a walk through the municipal campus. DAWN VILLELLA/ PIONEER PRESS Kim White and her father, Hollie Orr, recall the days on what used to be their family farm and is now Eagan's municipal campus. When the township became a city, Orr could no longer afford the increased property taxes, so he sold some land to the city and some to a home developer. Today, the family can hardly believe how the site has changed. "Everything looks different," Orr said. Eagan's City Hall, police station, library, ice arena and municipal pool now stand where the family home. barn and fields once stood. Hollie Orr had never heard of Eagan Township before he saw an ad in the newspaper for the farm in 1952. �unuouor1To/u6'.nrr. ,nv/n"y' ' ,�va�bm��to�t�l�v��re Ue',"int` z ' ---�- Perhaps bet w6en the ice arena:and ~^/ �the library. Iluceo that once were ''- . -.- ' By Amy a�e0i' -^replaced -~~-~M�=~ ' -"D'o\ just .like STAFF -.00ing in another WRITER .wozd" said Orr, oo While "This can't bethe same place." /t was ago that u city vo/oa/ went for a stroll with Orr on his farm and casually mentioned that sometimes resi- dents donate land to city. 'I said, 'Well, this is one you're going ~^~`^ to . uo the 1970s, Orr sold 40 of his -/*o acres to the. city and the rest the city Planned to build some sort Today,of public structures, but he didn't know exactly what would become of his farm. He has since moved to Cannon Falls Tow nship, and has only driven by the site a few times isince he left Eagan. busier tbuo it'severbeen with the municipalcampus recent opening of Cascade municipalAquatic Facility, which can iack in up to 2j000 people at a time. The pool was the last piece in the puzzle of a ' that county library, police station and city hall. Some Eagan residents consider the Town Centre area — with its restaurants, shops and businesses already included a civic arena, - ` �. `. �urco� --. __~'' t '^�^ . ' -in � parents, , here youngsters.. or the:fir9t time, sunbathe by. thei pool teen7 agers research .school "rep' , 6rts at AhO.Jibrary,and 'adults hash out issues -at City Hall. It'§ hard to ' that o�y ooe �uro� buodv this _ _ ��mu����h��e��residents in the city of 62,000 *flock. ' �. �..'�bulauu � ' ^ ��dFourth of _ ��.f� \�ul�b4g around �tb8`�t ` - brougyhtback man ` daughterKboin Jnver Grove 'l�dte x�bo�ve cbucbled.u�uuttb��nu' a ' ,horse picked-up`Kbn'by her Orr. was, 'against Eagan becoming 9, city,, but, the state passed a law that made it a city in 1974. Histaxes I hit the roof, -so he sold. The 1106d,right off her tricycle'. bought the land over a few years, buying the last piece in 1978 for $5,000 an acre. Eagan officials were interest- ed in the spot because it's in the center of the city, Tom Hedges, Eagan's city qdminis- trator, said. He has overseen the campus project since the 1970s. Some council members questioned whether -the city needed 40 acres.."At that time we. had no idea how fast the city would develop out," Hedges said. In the '70s, the city ffi�pped the site's future. The only pro- ject that hasn't came to fruition is a civic center with elements like a gymnasium, Hedges said. Orr loved his farm, but he sees how the public has benefit- ed from the :'property. "It's good for the city, for the kids — 11 they have some place to Amy Sherman, who covers Eagan, Inver Grove Heights and nos;moum, can ooreached mashonnav@pio- noo,nreos.vvmo,(uo1)2z8-z1r4. � opened �1O95. .� . N'CityHaU.Second ` story added to Police station ih 1oO3.Remodeled for City Hall func- tions in19S5. m Civic arena: 1S95.expanded in 1998 mCascade Bay &quaticPociU�y: 1999 For acloser look at thoohy'n paot, check out the open house from 1to 3 p.m. today at the 1914Town Hall at Wescott and Pilot Knnbmudu.The one -room building io across the street ` from the current municipal campus. Open houses will also be held Aug. 8 and Sopt.1S. I$ � ` � � - �