Document - Historical interview notes - Information on Emil Jandric from Ray Wade - 7/1/2008
I don't know why I thought of Emil Jandric tonight, but the
memories should be of interest to the Eagan History Society. He
advertised the sewer and water were in and paid for. Yes, he did
have a water system and a purification system. A salesman once
told me that the water was so pure, the head of the department
would drink a glass to prove it's purity.. That head of the water
department was Bill Branch and in later years, I asked him if this
was true and he said no, I wasn't about to drink that.
During the first years in Cedar Grove, Emil's crew would back-
flush the system, forgetting to mention this to the house wives so
the week's laundry would turn out brown. He built four hundred
homes and did not require a building inspector because his size of
lumber was always two inches in excess of the required size. His
carpenters followed the plans, roughly, with some interesting
results. The Adams family and the Wades supposedly had the same
model, but there was a difference of one foot in the ceilings of the
second floor. Another difference was that he was not required to
place his studs and rafters sixteen inches to the center. Insulation
comes in two sizes; 16 inch and 24 inch. Neither fit the expansion
on our dormers.
Maybe a bit more than a year after he finished building, one of the
houses caught fire, Fire protection did not exist in Cedar Grove so
if the fire was on the north side of the main street, [now Diffley]
the fire department from Mendota Heights came., If the fire was on
the south side, Rosemount responded. In the case of the first
fire, we could have roasted marsh mellows by the time the
equipment arrived.
That experience prompted some of the residents to attend the next
Town Board meeting and request fire protection. One member of
the township got up and said, in a short speech, NO! So, that was
the beginning of West Eagan Civic Association, more commonly
known as WECA. WECA was successful in getting a volunteer fire
department for the township.
When Jandric was done building the homes, he went to the Town
board and SOLD the water and sewer system to the township.
Each of the four hundred homes was billed for their share of the
cost. A Class action suit was brought against Jandric and the
Town board, but that action died on the vine"
The add that those systems were "IN AND PAID FOR' COST
EACH HOME OWNER $2000 MORE THAN THE ORIGINAL
PRICE.
Cedar Grove ers were Pioneers!
Ray Wade
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