Dr. Glenn D. Braatz was one of, if not the first chiropractor to practice in St. Louis Park, and maintained a presence here for 35 years.
Braatz was a native of Wisconsin who graduated from Hopkins and took his training at the Logan School of Chiropractic in St. Louis. He came to St. Louis Park and practiced briefly from his home, then served in the Army during the Korean War. In September 1953 he set up practice in the Excel Building in Miracle Mile. While practicing in Miracle Mile he met his wife, who worked at York’s Frocks.
In about 1957 he moved to Joe Billman’s new office building, formerly the site of Lilac Way Mortuary and then La Miracle Dining. Dr. Braatz started out on the first floor but moved to larger quarters as he took over half of the second floor. He stayed at the Wooddale Professional Building until it was demolished in 1988. It was then that he sold his practice to Dr. Jeff Schramm and went into semi-retirement, returning to assist Dr. Schramm during the summer.
Dr. Braatz is perhaps the first chiropractor in the Park, and when asked why there are so many chiropractors in St. Louis Park, he said that Northwestern College was producing interns who had to go somewhere, so many of them went to him to train.
Dr. Braatz was an active member of the Rotary and also participated in the Elks downtown.