Simmons family still echoes through Forest Lake

File photoAllen “Bud” Simmons was a prominent baker in Forest Lake for many years, and many of his children followed in his footsteps.
Editor’s note: This is the second part of a two-part series about the oft-forgotten influence of the Simmons family on the Forest Lake area. Part one, “A forgotten founding family of Forest Lake” was published here.
Cliff Buchan
ECM Staff Writer
In the mid-20th century, Forest Lake was a bustling town for commerce, and the Simmons family was a big part of it.broadstreet.zone(48036);
“There were four, probably five, grocery stores in Forest Lake at the time,” said Joe Houle, son of Ray Houle, who ran a grocery in the downtown. “There was plenty of competition. They (the Simmons team) were good businessmen.”
Mitt Simmons, who was 82 when he died in 1955, spent time in J.L. Simmons’ dry goods business (covered in part one) and at the turn of the 20th century owned

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