And sparked our interest in Route 66!
An Appreciation of Elmer Wind Jr
Elmer Wind Jr was born in the upstairs living quarters of the building we now know as the Wedge. After myself and others had begun the creation of the Maplewood Historical Society in 2002, Elmer was one of the first original Maplewoodians that I met. His family had owned and operated EJ Tire Company for over 50 years. Sadly, their landmark building, situated right on the wedge formed by the intersection of Manchester and Southwest Avenue, was removed in 1973 to make room for an ill-fated development plan.
Click on this sentence for more history about the Wedge.
Elmer was an enthusiastic supporter of anything that would improve life in Maplewood. He had been a member of the Renaissance Society whose members were very active in the revitalization of our town. They had house and garden tours. They put out a call for historic photographs and preserved copies of them in slides. I digitized all of them once I had figured out how to do it, helped more than just a little by Kathy Whipple at the Chamber. They also made a video which survives in the archives of our library on a VHS tape. Hey librarians, here is a project for us. Wouldn’t it be swell to digitize it and put it on YouTube?
But back to Elmer. His wife had passed before we met. But when I first visited his home in 2002, it looked like she had just stepped out for a bit. She had a large collection of glass things that were prominently displayed everywhere. Her voice was still on his answering machine. This I understand completely.
Elmer’s house was a fascinating museum. He loved to show it off. He had a wonderful collection of antiques of all varieties including a player piano, a cash register, one of the original gas pumps from the family business, a pool table, a collection of old license plates from the family vehicles and he even had two of the family vehicles. One was a 1955 Oldsmobile bought new by his Dad. The other was an AMC Javelin.
Elmer was a friendly, entertaining fellow and lonely. He loved company. It could be tough to leave him there alone. I used to advise friends headed in his direction that they had better have a pretty well thought out exit strategy. A planned 15 minute visit could easily turn into 45 or an hour.
Elmer was happy to let me copy his family photographs. He had a lot of them. Many were stored in the bottom drawers of a built-in sideboard in his dining room. It was on one of those photographs that I discovered the only image I have ever found of a Route 66 sign on a utility pole in downtown Maplewood. Truly a thrill.
It was from Elmer that I learned that our town was on “the original route” 66. You may have seen that on some of the banners on our light poles. Thank Elmer for that.
Elmer Wind Jr, at home on Gayola. Two copies of his incredible family business images are on the wall behind him.
His front door was a standout.
His front room.
Much of the glass collected by his late wife was on display in the dining room.
The built-in sideboard in the dining room. Many of the historic photos of the Wind family business (EJ Tire) were stored in the bottom drawers.
Elmer had outfitted the entire second floor of his house to look like a speakeasy. He had this player piano…
…and a real Wurlitzer jukebox! That’s a Victrola on the left. In the far corner…
…was this gas pump, salvaged from his family business, EJ Tire Co. and gas station.
This vintage cash register was also a survivor from the family business.
The family license plate collection.
The Goodyear Tire Company awarded EJ Tire with this Margaret Bourke-White photograph of their signature blimp for outstanding sales of their products. The frame is made of the same aircraft grade of aluminum as the blimp.
Signed R. Wind 1970, a family member made this painting of their business just three years before the building once know as the Wedge was forever gone.
Click on this sentence for more history of the Wedge and EJ Tire Company.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at a genuine Maplewoodian. RIP, old timer. Thanks for all you shared with us.
The number of swimming days at the outdoor pool are dwindling fast. I’ll see you down there.
Doug Houser August 8, 2025
Hi Doug, Gary here with a question, can you reveal the address of Mr. Wind’s home? Also, do you know its present owner and if they left the interior intact?
Hey Gary, I do not know the present owner. A neighbor once told me that the home was emptied by the family after Elmer’s passing. The house is on my regular bike route. I’ll stop on my next ride and get the latest or whenever I can catch someone at home.
Hi! I’m the new owner of the house. Most everything was left in tact on the house except for all the wallpaper. The archway was also taken out and the linoleum peeled off the kitchen floor. You can find a lot of photos of the interior on Zillow; the address is 7307 Gayola.
It is a beautiful house, Constantino. You probably already know that the home was built by Elmer Wind, Sr. I remember admiring a lot of the original hardware such as the screen door closer that is partly visible in my photo of the front door. I thought that the arch separating the living room and dining room was interesting. I’m not sure why that was removed. It is a great home in a great neighborhood.
Thanks, Doug!