2023 Hall of Fame

Two athletes and a team were inducted into the Edison Hall of Fame at the induction dinner held October 16^th. A small but enthusiastic group welcomed Lowell Mielke (65), Tim Schnieder (76), and the baseball team from 1979 into the hall as its newest inductees.  Championship teams from 1977 were honored in the sports of football, girls and boys swimming, wrestling, boys skiing and boys’ gymnastics.

Lowel Mielke, Class of 1964

Lowel Mielke spent 3 years at Edison High school. In those 3 years he was a member of three organizations: The Order of DeMolay, The Senior Boy Scouts of America, and the Hall Monitors. In his 3 years at Edison High School, he earned 8 letters in 3 sports, 2 letters his Junior and senior years in football and was co-captain his senior year. The awards in football were earned his senior year. Lowel also earned a Sports Award for Minneapolis City Lineman of the Lineman of the week September 25, 1964. He was voted Minneapolis City Most Valuable Football Player of Edison 1964 by my teammates and was selected a member to the Minneapolis All-City Football Team by WCCO and was also selected to the WCCO All State Football Team. In addition to these awards, he received The National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame Scholar-Athlete Award of the Minneapolis Chapter of the National Football Foundation. Mielke received the Ray Perkins Award. The last award he was given was a full football scholarship to play football for the University of Minnesota where he played 3 years of Hockey and lettered all 3. He was team captain senior year and elected to WCCO Minneapolis All-City Hockey Team. The last sport played was track and field and on the team 3 years, lettering all 3 years. His biggest achievement were medals received at the all-city track meet at the end of the year. At that time there were 11 high schools in the City of Minneapolis. He earned a 3rd place medal in the high hurdles and 3rd place medal in the low hurdles and a 3rd place medal in the shotput. None of these achievements would have been possible without the fantastic team members he played with and the best coaching staff in the city. Pete, Woody, Dave and Mr. Parsons. When attending the University of Minnesota, Lowel played football and received a letter sweater his first year. He also played hockey and received a letter sweater. While attending the University of Minnesota, he met his wife of 55 years and were married in 1968 and moved to Mankato.  There he started working at ADM. They have three wonderful children. Mielke joined the Army Reserves in 1969 and in 1971 attended OCS at Fort Benning Georgia and commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army Reserves. He reached the rank of 1st Lieutenant before being honorably discharged in 1982. Then, worked for Archer Daniels Midland Company for 37.2 years and was the maintenance superintendent for ADM West Plant in Decatur Illinois. In that time period he coached several different hockey team levels:  mini-mites, squirts, bantams and midgets. The most enjoyable time was with the mini-mites. Lowel played hockey until the age of 60 and was also an avid skeet, trap and sporting clays shooter and is a life member of the National Skeet Shooting Association, a life member of Pheasants Forever, a Life Benefactor of the National Rifle Association, a life Member of Bassmaster, a member of Ducks Unlimited, a member of the American Legion Post 46 for 23 years, a member of The Elks for 11 years and a present member of Tarpon Springs BPOE 1719. He has held several positions in local government as a council member in three different cities: Eagle Lake Mn, Forsyth Il and Kimberling City MO. Today he still dabbles in politics as board director for their Condominium Association Windrush North II Tarpon Springs FL

Tim Schneider Class of 1976

Tim Schneider, class of 1976, was a 4-year letter winner in swimming and diving. He captained the team along with Teammates David Krepis, Jay Johnson, and Tom Anderson. He competed in the State Championships for 3 years and was a bronze medalist in the 50-freestyle sprint as a senior and state AAU champion. At St. Olaf College he captained the team and helped the Oles achieve its first of many MIAC championships and was a conference champion in the 100-yard backstroke and competed in 3 NCAA championships. After college, he entered Mayo Medical School then Johns Hopkins for an ophthalmology residency, and finally a fellowship in Cornea and Anterior Segment Surgery. He is currently in private practice in Jacksonville Florida and serves as the chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board for Three International. He is active in Volunteers in Medicine in Jacksonville, serves as an advisor for the Ponte Vedra Beach Concert Hall, and is active in The Church of Eleven 22, fulfilling his love of God, community, and music. He is grateful for the community of Northeast Minneapolis, and the coaches and teachers that motivated him to achieve and aspire to faster times not only in the pool but in the realm of academics. Coach Steven Hirsch, Coach Pat O’Keefe, and teachers Mike Minema, Mel Pibal, Dr. Bates, Mike Doyle, and Roger Harmon will always be his heroes.

1979 Baseball Team

The 1979 baseball team continued the winning tradition at Edison by winning the 8th title in 9 years. They completed city play with a 10-2 conference record. They were co-champions with Washburn. In 12 conference games, the average score for those games was 9-3 in Edison’s favor. The Tommies had a winning combination of good hitting, solid defense and great pitching. In the region tournament, Edison won games against North 13-3, Henry 10-6, and Brooklyn Center 3-2. They played Fridley for the Region 5 championship. In a close game, the Tommies defeated Fridley 3-2 to move on to the State Tournament. Key players for the Tommies included pitchers; Pat PetKey players for the Tommies included pitchers; Pat Petrowitz (6-1), Tom Kazrowski (4-0) and Blaine Wakaruk (1.88 ERA). The hitting leaders were Tom Jaremko (.400), Jim Wentland (.377), and Jim Burns (.344)

Circle of Champions

1977 Football – The football team completed a city championship campaign(9-1) by going undefeated during the regular season. Their loss was in the Twin City game against St. Paul Johnson. Highlight victories were against Apple Valley and a one point victory over rival Washburn. Tim Femrite was an all-state selection Boys Swimming – The Tommies finished second in the city during the dual meet schedule but rallied to take first in the conference meet by winning 8 of the 11 events. The team finished third in the region meet and qualified 4 swimmers to the state meet. Girls Swimming – The girls swim team won the city conference title this year with Margaret Brandes. Lisa Harstad, and Judy Johnson being top performers. Judy and Lisa qualified for the state meet. Boys Gymnastics – The squad won a piece of the title for the second consecutive year. Jim McNeal, Rich Rorem, Parry Rawlings and Bill Macko were top performers. Wrestling – The team won the city Title and 6 wrestlers were selected to the all-city team. With many underclassmen, the team was led by seniors Mike Neeb and Scott Masica. Boys Skiing – The Tommies were the undefeated conference champs and city meet champions. The Jumping squad also won the District III title and finished third in the state meet. Bob Maxwell repeated as District III champion.