Lake Avenue Victorian home to four generations

Editor's note: This chapter has been published in the Spring 2024 issue of The Laker.

Generations that share ancestry have lived at 4601 Lake Ave. since it was built in the 1890s.

Colleen and Fred Espe have lived in the house for 13 years. Before they bought it, Fred’s parents, Fred, senior, and Gerry Espe, lived there for 37 years. 

Below, Fred and Colleen Espe at 4601 Lake Ave.

According to Colleen, four families have lived in the lovely Victorian during the past 130 years.  “Fred’s Great-Aunt Abby (Amundson) Howe’s grandparents built it as a summer home.” 

Abby’s paternal grandfather was Gus Amundson, who founded the original boat works in White Bear Lake in 1887. He lived at 403 Lincoln Ave. and opened his first shop behind his homestead before relocating his boat works to the lake. It was the family of Abby’s mother, Helen Torinus, who built the Lake Avenue home. They were in the lumber business in Stillwater, which was pretty industrial at the time, and quite fond of their lakeside getaway. 

“Abby’s dad Fritjof Amundson, Gus’ son, was a banker, and eventually this was their home,” Colleen said. “One interesting fact is that Abby’s mom got engaged to Fritjof on the porch swing, which is still in the same spot.”

A visit with ‘almost-centenarian’ Howe

Colleen and Fred were kind enough to arrange a visit with Fred’s Great-Aunt Abby, who lives at St. Andrew’s Village in Mahtomedi. A delightful woman, she is “almost 100”, and full of knowledge. 

Howe recalled that her grandfather Gus Amundson joined the Norwegian Navy when he was 13, leaving his home in Vanersborg, Norway, which she has visited. He started Amundson Boat Works in White Bear Lake in 1887 after immigrating to America five years earlier at age 22 and was involved in the business until he died in 1937. 

“I loved going to the boat works and smelling that wood,” Howe recalled. “They had a big barrel of steam water, and they would dip slabs of wood in it to bend them.

“I also remember going to their house on Lincoln Avenue. They owned the small house on the corner. My uncle lived on another corner, and my aunts lived nearby.”

Below, L-R, Fred Espe, Abby Howe and son Paul.

 When Abby married Richard (Dick) Howe, she lived on his family farm on the west side of White Bear. They had five boys, and eventually sold 20 acres of land to the City of White Bear Lake for Podvin Park, which was named after Al Podvin, who also lived on Lake Avenue.

Podvin was a civic leader, and according to the White Bear Press, owned White Bear Motor Sales from 1925 to 1955 at Fourth and Cook Avenue. In 1945, he opened the area’s first Ford dealership, which he later sold to Herb Tousley. He died in 1981 at the age of 89. 

Howe’s other Lake Avenue remembrance was of her uncle Al Warner who lived at 4763 Lake Ave., across from Matoska Park. “He got shot in a bank robbery in 1931 when he tried to stop it,” Howe recalled. That house was eventually sold to William and Violet Wahlquist. After they passed, the house was torn down and a new home was built there in 2022. (There is a great account of the bank robbery from the White Bear Press on p. 188 of Cynthia Vadnais’ book “Looking Back at White Bear Lake.”)

Family preserves home’s features

Much of the Amundson home has been preserved, yet it exudes the clean, open look so many homeowners seek today. And the wrap-around porch provides a rare, almost 180-degree view of the lake.

“The home has been remodeled, but many of the features that make it so charming remain,” Colleen said. “Our oak floors have been redone, and the plaster walls have been skim coated.” 

Fred still has a bottle, which hasn’t been uncorked, from one of the walls, found when remodeling.

“There are tip-outs for flour and potatoes, and a trap door to a cistern.”

The dining room is now in the former living room, and the windows on the wraparound porch have been replaced. While some things have changed at 4601 Lake Ave., one thing has remained very much the same, the family’s care for their home and their heritage.