2023 Alumni Awards
Outstanding Citizens Award was given to The Rivard Family (Class of 1929-1983)
Rivard Family – A Taylors Falls Institution
It is difficult to know where to begin in describing this remarkable family and their impact on the community of Taylors Falls. This bio attempts to outline just some of the basic facts of a family who are as much a part of this place as are the woodlands and Saint Croix River itself.
Their earliest roots can be traced to one Nicolas Rivard, born 1617 in Tourouvre, France. His son, also Nicolas, emigrated to Quebec, Canada, and four generations later the family moved to Wisconsin and then Minnesota.
Taylors Falls’ “first” notable Rivard was Arthur “AJ,” who, at age 14, left his family farm in Stillwater and spent the next 22 years learning the trades of logging, railroad work, and buttermaking. It was the purchase of a creamery in Taylors Falls that moved him and his family here in 1923.
Over the ensuing years he and wife, Lillian (Peltier), raised seven children: Earl (TFHS Class of 1929), Evelyn, Kenneth (‘34), Lucille (‘35), Myles (‘36), Lloyd (‘43), and Leland (‘44). Their children proved to be as ambitious and enterprising as AJ and Lillian.
In addition to the Creamery, AJ and his “boys” established the following businesses: Gasoline & Fuel Oil, Pig Farming, Real Estate, General Store, Sporting Goods, Airfield and Flying School, and owned and operated The Dallas Showboat on the St. Croix (later sold to Bob Muller).
Seven miles north of Taylors Falls stood some very hilly acres. With crews of woodsmen, AJ started the Val Croix (originally aka “Val de Croix”) Ski Resort. According to Keith Rivard (Class of ‘60), it was his Grandpa AJ, AJ’s brother, Oscar and AJ’s son, Kenneth, who did much of the initial work in building the ski runs on Val Croix. That included sawing down trees, digging out dirt from around the roots, chainsawing the roots and pulling the stumps out with a tractor. In some instances, they used dynamite to blow the stumps loose.
Kenneth related to Keith that the summer sun was so hot as he lay on the ground in his bib-overalls with a chainsaw he’d used leveling a stump, that he could hear the gas ‘bubbling’ in the chainsaw gas tank.
In the winter of 1957-58, there was a snow drought in Eastern Minnesota. The “beginner hill” with a rope tow installed did not have enough snow on the slope to enable skiing downhill, making a lot of family members anxious. Brothers Myles, Kenneth, Earl, Lloyd, and Leland decided to drive a Farmall H tractor with a frontend loader and a couple of ton and a half trucks with “drop sides” to the nearby ice-covered St. Croix River. There they loaded them with snow scraped from the ice surface. Finally the inspired crew drove to the top of the beginner hill and precariously drove/slid down the hill as other family members shoveled snow off both sides of the truck. According to Keith, they were eventually able to ski that weekend and a couple subsequent weekends.
That story ended with another scenario of Myles sitting on the tractor relatively (too) close to shore where the ice was not thick enough. He and the tractor sat in about 2 feet of water, but were later towed to shore.
Jeff Rivard’s (‘68) dad, Myles, was a WWII Army veteran and was very mechanically inclined. He was often visible on the slopes of Val Croix driving the “Weasel,” an Army surplus tracked vehicle either used for pulling a piece of snow-leveling equipment or giving people a tour.
Val Croix officially opened to the public on Sunday, January 10, 1960. It boasted a notable five ski runs and a one-story 30′ × 60′ chalet built from recovered 19th century lumbered logs out of the St. Croix River. According to family lore, Jeff (‘68) and Ross (‘69) Rivard were not of the age to have driver licenses, but they nonetheless traveled to Never’s Dam with AJ to use “pike poles” to loosen the pine logs from the sand. This was their Grandpa teaching them how to drive.
Around 1963 the chalet was expanded to 120’ x 30’ and eventually would have a second floor dining room added. During the early years Val Croix was opened only on the weekends and on Sunday, only after early mass at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church.
The Rivard Families were greatly involved and supportive of St. Joe’s. Lester V Swanson, St. Croix Standard Press, wrote that “much credit is due the Rivard family for moving the Catholic church from up the hill in Taylors Falls to its current location.” Possibly in appreciation, the local priest held a “blessing of the skis” each autumn prior to ski season.
The Rivard “boys” did indeed do their parents proud, creating and running businesses that kept both their families and the entire community thriving. They did so with the assistance of their wives: Alice, Phyllis, Avis, Mary, and Delores who (wo)manned the Val Croix kitchen, providing meals for hungry skiers. Along with their parents, dozens of Rivard grandkids labored at Val Croix and helped out with other family businesses.
Val Croix was sold to Dennis and Cam Raedeke in 1972 when the name was changed to Wild Mountain.
It is difficult to truly realize the full impact of the Rivard family upon our community, town, and schools, but it certainly would not be overstating to say that they made a huge positive difference.
The above bio was written with the assistance of conversations with Keith and Steve Rivard, and notes by Clayton Rivard and Jack Liljenberg. Additional sources include The Taylors Falls Historical Journal (“Life and Times in Taylors Falls, Spring 2018 Edition, an article by Fay Caneday).
Apologies for any errors.
Outstanding Citizens Award was given to Muller/Raedeke Family (Class of 1937-1981)
History of Muller & Raedeke Family Taylors Falls Recreation Businesses
1906 The Muller Family started what is now the Taylors Falls Scenic Boat Tours 1910 Taylors Falls Canoe & Kayak Rental began
- Carl & Katy Muller Generation 1
- Bob & Ann Muller Generation 2
- Dennis & Cam Raedeke Generation 3
- Dan/Sanna Raedeke & Amy/Scott Frischmon Generation 4
- Dominick Raedeke Generation 5
1972 Dennis & Cam Raedeke bought Val Croix from the Five Rivard brothers and renamed it Wild Mountain
1973 1st chair (currently chair 3) was installed
1977 2nd chair was installed (chair 4)
1978 3rd chair and the Alpine Slide were installed(chair 2)
1985 4th chair was installed (Chair 1)
1985 Water park was built
1987 Ron Raedeke joined Wild Mountain/Taylors Falls Recreation 1989 Lazy River was added
1989 Dan Raedeke joined Wild Mountain/Taylors Falls Recreation full time
1995 Amy Frischmon joined Wild Mountain/Taylors Falls Recreation full time
1999 Ron Raedeke left the company to work as an Engineer in Stillwater
2004 Wild Adventure Island added
2005 Snow Tubing added
2020 Dan & Amy sold Wild Mountain to Sara Larsen
2021 New Scenic Boat Stand and the River Rock Patio built
117 years, 5 generations of family running recreational businesses in Taylors Falls
HISTORY OF THE TAYLORS FALLS SCENIC BOAT TOURS
(MULLER BOAT COMPANY)
Prior to the first year of the Muller Boat Company in 1906, two brothers named Kennedy rowed tourists around the Dalles of the St. Croix pointing out the famous rock formations. The story goes that the Kennedys became religious and would not make boat trips on Sundays. This being the best day for giving boat rides, they could not make a living. The Park Commissioner sent word to the Mullers in Stillwater and asked if one of the boys could come to Taylors Falls to give tourists rides through the Dalles. The Mullers sent Carl, their son, who was 16 at the time.
The first boat was the Pinafore, a small powerboat that carried just eight passengers. In 1910 Carl Muller added canoes and rowboats for rent. Some canoes were rented in Taylors Falls and were paddled down river, some all the way to Stillwater. Carl would drive the tour boat down the river after a day of tours and bring back the canoes late at night. This was the start of the Taylors Falls Canoe Rental which is still in existence today as the Taylors Falls Canoe & Kayak Rental.
Carl was successful in the business and soon needed a larger boat. His father then built the Duck. Carl was courting Katy Campbell at the time and Duck was her nickname. The Duck carried 32 people. In the early twenties a man named Carlson bought a 40-foot boat carrying 60 passengers and started to compete with Carl. After a short time Carlson had a hard time operating the boat and Carl purchased The Dalles from Carlson. Business was getting good and Carl needed another boat so his father built the 40-foot “Robert C” in 1925. This is the boat that is featured in Mary Pettis’ mural “River Memories” that is on the new boat stand. Bob Muller (Class of 1937), namesake of the Robert C and son of Carl, was seven at the time.
In 1931 the 47-foot Dalles Showboat was built. She was a much larger vessel and could carry over 100 passengers. Carl, with two boats and a shallower draft, made frequent trips and lowered the price. Bob Muller was on the boats with his father during all of his free time and made his first solo trip with passengers when he was just 15. Bob graduated from Taylors Falls High School in 1937. Carl and Bob worked the boats till Bob went in the Navy in 1943. Bob was back in late 1945 and things went along until 1959 when Bob acquired the boat company from his father.
In 1960 Dennis Raedeke married Bob’s daughter, Cynthia (Cam), and joined the company in 1961. One can observe in the 2022 Mary Pettis’ mural on the back of the Boat Stand, the father and daughter along the railing. They are Cam Muller Raedeke (1959 TFHS Graduate) with her father, Captain Bob Muller.
In 1965, the 48-foot steel hulled Kathy M, named after Bob’s daughter, Kathy (1968 TFHS Graduate), was built. She was powered by a stern-drive, but carried a current-driven, non-driving paddle wheel for appearance effect.
Bob Muller continued to drive the boats through his 87th year, assisted by manager Mike Kelly, who was trained by Bob Muller 24 years earlier.
In 1980 Dennis Raedeke built the 80-foot Taylors Falls Queen in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. She was a much larger vessel that could carry 150 passengers with facilities for dinner cruises and large enough for weddings and receptions in times when regular sightseeing trips weren’t scheduled. The shallow draft of the vessel and the functional paddle wheel, which actually drove the boat, allowed it to make a roundtrip of seven miles downstream. As time went by, the need for the older boats was eliminated by the newer ones. The Dalles was sawed up, the Robert C was sold to a man from Lake Okoboji, Iowa, and the Dalles Showboat was donated to the Sea Scouts in Stillwater.
As business continued to grow, there was a need for an additional boat. In 1985 Dennis Raedeke built another boat in La Crosse, Wisconsin. The Taylors Falls Princess was also 80-foot long and held 250 passengers. Even with her larger capacity, her ultralight aluminum construction and shallow draft made her the superior passenger boat in seasonal, low-water conditions on the St. Croix.
In 1989 Cam and Dennis Raedeke retired from active management of the boat company to circumnavigate the world aboard their sailing catamaran, Wild Wind III. Their children, Dan Raedeke (Class of 1981) & Amy Frischmon purchased the business and are now co-owners/operators of Taylors Falls Recreation. Taylors Falls Recreation encompasses the Taylors Falls Scenic Boat Tours, Taylors Falls Canoe & Kayak Rental and Wildwood RV Park & Campground. Dan and Amy are the 4th generation of family members to own the business.
Bob Muller passed away in 2010.
The Taylors Falls Scenic Boat Tours is proud to continue to operate after 117 years with the same family.