Monday is the 78th anniversary of “D Day”. If you have seen the movie “Saving Private Ryan”, you have some idea of how bad it was. It is hard to imagine that anyone who lived through that experience would ever be the same. The many years of living with those memories are hard to imagine.
Aymer Nelson, a farm boy from Upsala, was there. Aymer was also at The Battle of the Bulge, one of the bloodiest of the war. I asked him if he had been wounded and he told me that a 88 mil shell landed next to him, but it was a dud. He lived to the ripe old age of 104. He was truly one of “The Greatest Generation”.
It is also the 33rd anniversary of the day that my son packed all of his worldly goods into his rust free 1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme and headed back to Minnesota from Charlotte, North Carolina. In 1988 I had taken a position as General Manager of an office furniture dealership in Charlotte and it turned out to be a not so fun experience for my family. Erik had worked many late evenings with an office cleaning service to save the $1,000 needed to purchase the vintage Olds. School was out at 2:30 in the afternoon and he headed north at 5 PM. The battery was weak so I told him to not shut the engine off if he expected to start it up soon after the stop.
Early the next morning he ran over a dead deer and when he was pulling the carcass out from under the car he heard a knock in the engine. He made it to the Big Foot Gas Station in Shelbyville, Indiana and called me at 6 AM. He ended up finding a backyard mechanic who changed the timing gear for $400. It was the one and only time I have had to use Western Union to wire money. The mechanic fed him supper and allowed him to sleep on the couch. If I remember correctly he went fishing with the mechanic’s son. They fed him breakfast the next morning and sent him on his way to Chicago to have lunch at Denny’s with my brother Geoff and his wife Susan. Quite the experience.
“Poetry is the one place where people can speak their original human mind. It is the outlet for people to say in public what is known is private.” Allen Ginsberg born on this date in 1947
When I was a youngster in Upsala, we always had a Memorial Day service in the school gym, followed by a parade down Main Street. Sometime after I graduated Upsala High School in 1961, the practice died out.
Then in the 80’s, Lorna Koehn, a member of the American Legion Auxiliary brought back the Memorial Day Celebration in Upsala. I can still picture her marching in front of a group of children, each holding a bunch of lilac flowers.
This year the Memorial Day celebration in Upsala will start with a program at 10am in the school gym. Following the indoor ceremony the celebration will proceed to the Veterans Memorial Park directly across the street for ceremony. There the children will wait in anticipation for the chance to collect the spent brass shells after the 21 gun salute. They make good whistles.
After that, there will be a parade through Upsala, to the City Recreation Building where the `Upsala First Responders’ will serve a picnic lunch. Hopefully there will be some “Bee Bop A Ree Bop Rhubarb Pie”.
Whenever you meet a veteran or a service member, simply say “Thank you for serving”. They all deserve our respect.
“My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Many times we end up taking a path quite by accident. My first career was drafting. I faked my way into that field, but it ended well. In fact in 1965 drafting jobs were so plentiful that Marcia and I were able to take a four week honeymoon knowing that when I got back to Minnesota, I just had to walk into Strom Engineering and they would send me out to Control Data or Univac “on contract”. In 1969 I was involved in the very first computerized drafting service bureau in the world.
Norwood Engineering was founded by a salesman with Twin Cities Blue Printing, Dick Engebretson. He hired my boss, Ron Crew, at Control Data, who in turn hired me. Our plans included franchising service bureaus, so my title was Franchise Manager. We hired General Office Products to design and furnish our offices in Roseville and the one and only franchise that we sold to Bob Johnson in Seattle, Washington.
To make a long story short, the business failed and I ended up as the last General Manager. I had to write a letter to about 14 companies explaining that Norwood Engineering had filed for bankruptcy and we could not pay their bill. I did add my home phone number at that bottom of the letter, in case they wanted to talk it over.
Because of that letter, my third career was in the office furniture industry. Jim Helstrom, sales manager for General Office Products, received one of those letters and he called me. Of course he wanted his furniture back. I had to explain that the President of Norwood, Ron Crew, had taken a loan out at the bank and pledged the furniture as collateral. The bank took the furniture. GOP did not “have a position” on the goods sold. At the end of the conversation, Jim said, “Well if you ever need a job, let me know.”
I spent 22 years in the office furniture industry and I loved every minute of it. Many years later I called Jim and thanked him for the awesome sales training that he had provided. After Jim passed, I spoke to his son and he told me that his dad talked about that telephone conversation many times. Maybe this week would be a good week to call an old friend or mentor.
“The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.” Vince Lombardi
I hope to get the Yukon Golds in the ground this weekend, in between the rain. A real “truck farmer” told me to just plant them whole. No need to cut them and let them heal for a few days. It cost more, but the result is worth the added expense. I get my seed potatoes from Wood’s Farmer Seed and Nursery next to Fleet Farm in Waite Park. Tell Tom Woods that I recommended him.
The annual Osberg fishing trip is 4 weeks from tomorrow. The opener is tomorrow and I will not participate. I have never been one for getting up early and getting out there before the sun comes up. I prefer to fish in the late afternoon and early evening. I am the only “Osberg” who’s name is not on the traveling trophy.
My interest in fishing is only because of my son Erik and his son Walleye Willie. When we purchased a lake place 49 years ago I bought a fishing license for the first time in my life. Erik was not even two years old the first summer, but his Uncle Duaine made a special short fishing rod for him and soon we were casting for Bass from our sail boat.
Earl Benson, the warehouse manager at General Office Products was the one that taught me how to fish for Bass. Erik hated the process of putting a live frog on a number 2 hook with a slip sinker, but it did produce fish. Today it is almost impossible to find frogs anywhere . Minnows, leeches and night crawlers seem to work best for walleye. Erik is an “ambassador” for Otter Tail County, which has more lakes than any other county in Minnesota. One thousand forty eight at the last count.
Tuesday was a perfect 10. At 10pm I was rocking in my rocker on the back patio with no bugs. Erik and Walleye Wille were catching crappies on “Secret Lake” in Otter Tail County.
“Arrange whatever pieces come your way.” Virginia Woolf
My Dad served in the Pacific during the war. His brother-in-law, my Uncle El, served there also. One of the photos that I had restored is a picture of Dad and Uncle El smoking cigars on an island after V-J Day. You can tell by the look on Dad’s face that the canteens did not have water in them. What are the odds that they ended up on the same island?
After the war Dad had a hard time adjusting to civilian life. One Saturday Dad and Uncle El ended up having a few too many “beer and a bump” and they went into a recruiting station in St. Cloud. Dad enlisted in the Army and a few years later our family ended up in Vienna, Austria. For some reason Uncle El didn’t have to go back in.
One of the items that Ma brought back from Vienna in 1953 was a very old statue. A warrior with a breast plate and a sword on his hip. In 1965 she had her neighbor Harold convert it into a lamp and gave it to Marcia and myself as a wedding gift. It ended up broken and in three pieces in a box in the basement of The Parsonage in Upsala. Ickler Company in St. Cloud soldered it back together and through my connections at The Paramount Center for the Arts, I found a “bronzer” in Howard Lake, INNOCAST Execuline. They refinished it. It turned out that the tip of the shaft and the feather on the cap were gold leaf.
When I was in Germany a few years ago I purchased a BMW model car to add to the collection of Vienna items. The monkey in a top hat was a 25th anniversary gift dated 1923. The inscription, which is in German, states “What a monkey my lover is, like an illness or a fever”. Who gives such a gift?
“Don’t take anything personally. Nothing others do is because of you. What other say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinion and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.” This is the second agreement from “The Four Agreements” by don Miguel Ruiz
This is prom season. For many years now the thing to do is to have a lock-in at the school with games and food all night long. The parents work in shifts to help out. This has proven to be one of the best ways to make sure your children get home safe and sound. Last year my granddaughter Christen had a great time with her pal Will. I like Will. I got to know him when 20 Upsala students and 12 adults went to Europe on an art tour in 2019.
Sixty two years ago, I was getting ready for my Junior Prom. It was also an “all-nighter”, but it included a fast trip to the doctor in Royalton in a 52 Chevy. I had been messing with “No-Doze” and that combined with the Slo Gin caused some sort of attack.
My buddy Bob put the pedal to the metal. I remember my date, Marcia, screaming: “Slow down Bobby, do you want to kill us all?” as we whisked through the narrow Royalton bridge. Doc Watson administered some sort of medicine and sent us on our way. In those days the local doctor had a shingle hanging outside of his house. I am not sure if he even charged us for the service.
When we dropped Marcia and my sister Kathie off at Marcia’s farm house, we “borrowed” some of her Dad’s smoked white fish off of the kitchen table and my buddy Bob and I had breakfast watching the sun come up in the Burtrum Hills.
Five years later I married that farm girl and we had a grand time raising two beautiful children. Those two beautiful children went on to give us five beautiful grandchildren. Two of which will be graduating from high school this spring. Anna Osberg will graduate from Wadena-Deer Creek and Christen Fouquette will graduate from Upsala High School. They both are planning on going on to college. Anna will attend NDSU and Christen will go attend the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. In Christen’s case she will be going from a class of 33 to a class of nearly 6,000. My high school class in 1961 also had 33 students.
“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called life.” Prince from the 1984 song “Let’s Go Crazy”
Six years ago yesterday, Prince Rogers Nelson died of an accidental fentanyl overdose at his Paisley Park home. He was only 57 years old. His sixth album, Purple Rain was recorded with his backup band the Revolution, and was the soundtrack to his film acting debut of the same name. Purple Rain spent six months atop the Billboard 200. Prince won the Academy Award for Best Original Song Score.
Prince sold over 150 millions records worldwide, ranking him among the best-selling music artist of all time. Source: Wikipedia
Prince was a huge fan of The Current. Six years ago on this day The Current played music by Prince most of the day. Now, if you have the MPR Radio app on your smart phone, you can listen to Purple Current.
My daughter Kerry was a huge fan and she wrapped her Colorado Blue Spruce in purple streamers on April 21, 2016.
The St. Cloud Symphony Orchestra is presenting “Revolutionaries” , tomorrow evening at 7:30 in the Ritsche Auditorium at St. Cloud State University. There is a pre-concert discussion at 6:30 with the conductor Hisham Groover. The Young Performer Competition Grand Prize Winner, Thomas Stang will perform. No Proof of vaccination is required. Tickets at the door or at S T Cloud Symphony dot com.
“Life is one grand, sweet song, so start the music.” Ronald Reagan
In Upsala the Shell gas station is below the hill next to the river. The original building on that site was a blacksmith shop. Perhaps at one time there was even a water wheel to power the many belts and pulleys that hung from the ceiling that operated the various machines. In the fifties, the blacksmith was a jolly Swede, Gust Olafson. In the summer time the huge front door was always open. I can still recall the sounds and smells coming from the shop.
One fine spring day, Gust was busy at the forge and anvil when a crusty old Norwegian bachelor farmer came rushing in, demanding that Gust drop what he was working on and sharpen his plowshares. After many attempts in his loud and demanding voice, the farmer said to Gust: “If you don’t sharpen my shares right now, I will have to take my business to Swanville.” With out even looking up, Gust replied: “Happy yourney”.
Have a wonderful Easter weekend.
“Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind and the third is to be kind.” Henry James
Growing up in Upsala I was a “town kid” not a “farm kid”, but I learned the joy of “tilling the soil” through gardening. I got into gardening by helping my bachelor brother-in-law Jackie with his garden.
Jackie and his parents had moved into the original Swedish Mission Church parsonage in Upsala in 1971. It was built in 1892 by members of the church. In the 50s the congregation built a new parsonage east of the original one and they sold the old parsonage to Mary Heisick, my wife Marcia’s grandmother. Her parents Irene and John Rudie inherited the house from Mary Heisick.
Jackie got permission from the church to create a vegetable garden west of the old parsonage. Many years later Jackie was forced to garden with a three wheeler because of bad knees so I offered to help with the tilling only to get yelled at for running over some of the seedlings. The rows that he planted were not straight and I did not know how to distinguish between a weed and a seedling. The next spring I drove stakes in the soil exactly 36” apart and used heavy string to define the rows. I didn’t get yelled at that year.
In 1999 I bought the old parsonage from the estate of my mother-in-law, Irene Rudie, and started to garden in earnest. Most years I had lots of vegetables. Now the garden is taken care of by my daughter. She bought the old parsonage from me a few years ago. We are not likely to get the Yukon Gold potatoes in by Good Friday, as the Farmer’s Almanac suggests, but maybe by May 2nd. There are few joys better than freshly dug Yukon Gold potatoes baked or boiled, with real butter.
Today is the 17th birthday of Allie Sherlock. Allie is a busker in Dublin, Ireland and she has 5.1 million followers on YouTube. This is still one of my favorites. She was only 15 years old when this was recorded. Enjoy.
“Three-fourths of the people that you will meet tomorrow are hungering and thirsting for sympathy. Give it to them, and they will love you.” Dale Carnegie
April Fools’ Day is an annual custom on consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting “April Fools!” at the recipient. Mass media can be involved in these pranks, which may be revealed as such the following day. April 1 is not a public holiday in any country except Cypruswhich is a national holiday (though not for April Fools’ Day but instead for a holiday called “Cyprus National Day“), Odessa, Ukraine and the first of April is an official city holiday.[1] The custom of setting aside a day for playing harmless pranks upon one’s neighbor has been relatively common in the world historically. Source: Wikipedia (Note: I send Wikipedia a check every month.)
It was not broadcast on April 1st , but perhaps one of the biggest pranks ever was “The War of the Worlds” . It was an episode of the American radio drama anthology series The Mercury Theatre on the Air directed and narrated by actor and future filmmaker Orson Welles as an adaptation of H. G. Wells‘s novel The War of the Worlds (1898). It was performed and broadcast live as a Halloween episode at 8 p.m. on Sunday, October 30, 1938, over the Columbia Broadcasting System radio network. The episode became famous for causing panic among its listening audience, although the scale of panic is disputed as the program had relatively few listeners.[1]
The show opens with an introductory monologue based on the beginning of the original novel, after which the program takes on the format of an evening of typical radio programming being periodically interrupted by news bulletins. The first few bulletins interrupt a program of live music and are relatively calm reports of unusual explosions on Mars followed by a seemingly unrelated report of an object falling on a farm in Grover’s Mill, New Jersey. The crisis escalates dramatically when a correspondent reporting live from Grover’s Mill describes creatures emerging from an alien craft and incinerating police and onlookers with a heat ray until his audio feed abruptly goes dead. This is followed by a rapid series of news updates detailing the beginning of a devastating alien invasion and the military’s futile efforts to stop it. The first portion of the show climaxes with another live report from the rooftop of a Manhattan radio station. The correspondent describes crowds fleeing clouds of poison smoke released by giant Martian “war machines” and “dropping like flies” as the gas inexorably approaches his location. Eventually he coughs and falls silent, and a lone ham radio operator is heard mournfully calling “Is there anyone on the air? Isn’t there… anyone?” with no response. Only then did the program take its first break, over thirty minutes after Welles’s introduction. Source: Wikipedia
My mother-in-law Irene Rudie told me that their next door neighbors came over that night so that they wouldn’t have to die alone.
“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes, art is knowing which ones to keep.” Scott Adams
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