Experience a memorable time of relaxation, enrichment and rejuvenation.

by Rosemarie Vezina Braatz

    The "Thompson House," on the corner of North Washington and Maryland Streets, was home to Helen Donalds for 90 of her 97 years. The house was built in 1906 by Helen's father, George W. Thompson (1862-1947).

Helen Donalds enjoyed relaxing on her porch.

George was proprietor of a pioneer grocery and general merchandise establishment in St. Croix Falls. The business had been established by his father, Thomas Thompson, in 1866 shortly after Thomas arrived in St. Croix Falls with his brothers, James and William. George Thompson took over the business when his father retired in 1895, and George's son, James (Helen's older brother) later assumed the business when George became ill after the financial crash of 1929 and the subsequent failure of the Bank of St. Croix Falls in which the family had been heavily involved.

    George Thompson and his family lived in quarters above the store until the completion of the house on Maryland Street. Helen liked to point out the corner of the store building where she was born in a front upstairs bedroom in 1898, on December 7 -- "The Day of Infamy," she would quip, after the Pearl Harbor attack that launched this country into World War II. Her three brothers, James Moore, Robert Clendening and Charles Thomas, were also born there. The store building, prominent in the earliest photos of St. Croix's main business district, now houses the Video Vault and Pizza Man, at 112 North Washington Street, with apartments upstairs.

    Helen's mother, Edna Eliza Moore (1870-1930), was teaching school and boarding at the hotel in Turtle Lake, Wisconsin, "when she met my father, George Henry Thompson, who had gone there to buy a team of horses."  They were married in June, 1895.

    Helen's grandmother, Margaret Flora Weston Moore, came to St. Croix Falls after "Grandpa Moore," died in 1904. Grandpa Moore had been a sheriff in Barron County and a State Assemblyman. "Grandma Moore," as she was fondly known, built a house just uphill from the Thompson house on Maryland Street. She died in 1948, 18 years after the death of her daughter, Edna.

    The progress of the Thompson house construction can be traced through the local newspaper of 1906, from the laying of foundation May 3 to the announcement on November 1: "Geor. H. Thompson's new residence is ready for occupancy, and it is expected his family will be located in it this week." The reports also told of his building a "very nice barn" near the new residence, which now stands as a residence at 309 North Adams Street.

Architect Bill Scott, of Taylors Falls, describes the style of the Thompson/Donalds house as "early Colonial Revival, combining Queen Anne and 'four-square' features," referring to the square design of the main house (a kitchen wing is attached at the rear), the arched windows on the third floor, and the six-pane over single-pane windows on the second floor.

George Thompson had the house wired in anticipation of electricity from the hydropower plant which was under construction at the time the house was being built.

The family was proud to have the first actual indoor tap water and flush toilet in town. A cistern on the third floor was filled by rainwater and, when necessary, by arduous pumping at the well by the Thompson boys..."and Helen, too, when they could find her," says Reggie Miller, longtime friend of Helen. Reggie says, "Helen told me she would run and hide when the youngsters were called to do this chore--she was a real little devil!"

Nancy Thompson, of Cumberland, a niece of Helen, (Robert's daughter), remarks that she has a "grinder" that was unearthed when the ground was excavated for the house. "It's about 10 inches in diameter, perfectly round, a reminder that the glacial river St. Croix once covered this ground." Grinders are rocks that were swirled around in the turbulent water, grinding out the potholes in the river bottom, such as those we see on the bluffs in both Interstate Parks.

Helen was postmaster of the St. Croix Falls Post Office for 34 years, from 1934 to 1968. As postmaster, Helen became acquainted with Wally Peterson and Lee Rogers, rural mail carriers who devised a plan to build a ski resort at Dresser. She encouraged and backed their venture, and in the early 1960s, Trollhaugen was opened. "Helen became their accountant," Reggie Miller says, "and in return, she could do all the skiing she wanted."

Helen's brother, Robert, a physician in Cumberland, Wisconsin, suffered a debilitating stroke in 1956, and Helen opened her home to him and his wife, Alberta, so that she could help care for him. Robert died in 1964, and the two women remained close companions until Alberta's death in 1967. Sadly, Alberta's lifetime memorabilia--her photographs, letters, keepsakes--all were lost in a fire on the third floor of the house. The fire is thought to have occurred in the mid-1960s according to Nancy Thompson.

Reggie Miller recalls the fire, which broke out in a closet when lightning struck Helen's house. "I was on my way to visit them when I saw the flames, and the firemen and trucks. After the fire department left, Helen, Alberta and I were sitting on the porch, waiting for the electricity to be restored when friends Helen and Joe Rendle approached. 'Come on in,' Helen called. 'We've just had a fire!' 'You've still got a fire!' the Rendles said. And sure enough, flames were shooting out the third floor windows.

Helen traveled extensively with Reggie, taking five freighter trips, two in her later years, when "she had to lie about her age because they wouldn't take anyone over 80 years," Reggie says.

Helen had successfully battled a form of bone cancer when she was in her 80s and was quite blind from macular degeneration, but still retained her good spirits, enjoying books on tape and visits with her many friends. She managed nicely in her house, until a January day in 1996 when she tripped over the rocker of a chair and fell. Determined not to be "a burden" to her friends and family, she entered the Good Samaritan Center in St. Croix Falls. "I've just plain worn out my body," she had declared. She died on February 22, 1996.

Helen might well be pleased that the Thompson House is still beautifully appointed to offer solace to others. The Majestic Falls Aveda Concept Spa was opened in 1998, two years after Helen's death. The present owner-manager is Jacki Curry. Jacki had been trained and employed for nearly eight years at the Aveda spa in Osceola which owner Horst Rechelbacher closed in 1997 after selling his cosmetic line to Estee Lauder. "Horst has been very supportive of this effort," Jacki says. "In fact, he's been really inspirational in making this dream a reality. Horst taught us to create an experience as well as a treatment."

Jacki says she and other former Horst employees from the Osceola Aveda Spa were drawn to the Thompson/Donalds house not only because of its location just a block above what had been the Falls of the St. Croix River--but also because of the homey, yet elegant, ambiance. "It fulfilled our vision of the perfect place to continue our work."

Her initial partners have since branched off into other fields, but many former Osceola spa employees are still working at this location. The spacious living room, which had originally been two parlors and easily accommodated Helen's grand piano, is now a reception area. Two fireplaces, one in the living room, the other in the front hall, offer comforting respite from harsh weather. A silent meditation area, formerly a bedroom, has been established on the third floor. There are three massage rooms and two facial rooms in addition to the salon on the second floor. The river can be view from many of the windows.

Jack Liljenberg, of the Taylors Falls Historical Society, deserves much credit for his assistance in finding information about the Thompson house construction.

 (Excerpt reprinted from The Dalles Visitor, Taylors Falls, MN.)