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This weekend I plan on visiting “Hippe Landing” west of Upsala next to the American Legion Memorial Park on Cedar Lake.  The park has one of the best swimming beaches in central Minnesota.  There are camping spots also, but I understand there is a long waiting list. 

Next to the entrance to the park there is a Public Landing with a sign “Hippe Landing”. There used to be an old store, without any signage, located where the landing is now.  At one time it was called Cedar Lake Pavilion. The store was owned and run by Emie Hippe. Emie was a real character and for many years she served ice cream, candy and pop to kids from the park and 3.2 beer to the adults. The PayDay candy bar was a favorite of mine.

Strangely, you could not buy a Coke there and I always wondered why. One day my brother Craig and I went in to have a drink and I finally had the nerve to ask her, “Emie, why don’t you serve Coca Cola?” She slammed her hand on the bar and said “The dirty rascals.  My husband Ben used to travel all the way to Brainerd with the empty bottles and bring back the full ones. Then during the war, they asked us to simply hold on to the empties and they would pick them up later.” So, what happened Emie? “The dirty rascals changed their mind and would not pick them up.” “What did you do with them Emie, they would be worth a lot of money?” “You will never find them!” she proclaimed, “We buried them under two ton of rock!”

For over 60 years no Coca Cola products were sold from this store, all because someone broke a promise. I am sure that the Coca Cola route driver tried a few times when he would see the Pepsi truck out front, but she never let them put Coke back on the shelf.

“In the best institutions, promises are kept no matter what the cost in agony and overtime.”  David Ogilvy

Category : General

Comments Off on May 31, 2024

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 Upsala 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. The Upsala American Legion has constructed a monument to Veterans from the Upsala area.  Last year they built a building that serves as a museum displaying military artifacts. My dad’s WW2 Navy Uniform is on display. He served as a Radarman on the U.S.S. Vammen, a destroyer escort in the Pacific.   At the end of another short ceremony, 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, ending at 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

Category : General

Comments Off on May 24, 2024

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 became 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 as well as 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.  In case they wanted to talk it over, I did add my home phone number at that bottom of the letter.

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 a bank and he 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 for you 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

Category : General

Comments Off on May 17, 2024

This is a reprint from 20 years ago.

A few years back, my nine-year-old granddaughter Kaylin Marie and I went to Wadena to pick out a yellow lab puppy. I had talked it over with her parents and they had agreed that I could buy Kaylin a male pup. 

When we arrived at the breeders, there were seven puppies playing behind a short fenced in kennel.  I proceeded to lift each pup and placed the male pups outside the fence.  I told Kaylin that she could choose one of the puppies running around the yard.

She looked at me and said: “Grandpa, I want that one”, pointing to a shy puppy that was sitting at the door of the doghouse inside the fence.  I replied, “No, that one is not a male.”  She said, “But why do we have to get a male?”   I went on to explain that the females cost more and besides that was the plan that her parents had approved.  “But Grandpa” she responded, “Don’t you know that girls are smarter than boys?”   We named her Sandy.

Tomorrow is the fishing opener.  You may want to head to Otter Tail County.  There are 1,048 lakes in Otter Tail County.  More than any other county in the United States.  My son sent me this quote.

 “The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of that which is elusive,    but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope.”  Author Unknown

Category : General

Comments Off on May 10, 2024

My Dad served in the Pacific during the second world 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 me 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. The tip of the shaft and the feather on the cap are gold leaf.

When I was in Germany in 2019, I purchased a BMW model car to add to the collection of Vienna items which included a bronze monkey in a top hat. It was a 25^th anniversary gift dated 1898-1923.  The inscription, which is in German, states “What a monkey my lover is, like an illness or a fever”.   Who gives such a gift? 

TODAY is the 25^th anniversary of Barb Treat starting her job as an Account Executive for Minnesota Public Radio in Bemidji, Minnesota.  Congratulation Barb.

“Real success is finding your lifework in the work that you love.”  David McCullogh

Category : General

Comments Off on May 3, 2024

The High School Juried Art Exhibition is held each year at the Paramount Center for the Arts.  The closing reception and Awards Ceremony is tonight.  If you have not already seen the great artwork created by high school students, hopefully, you will get a chance to attend tonight.  The reception starts at 5:30. The Awards Ceremony is at 6:30.  Light refreshments are provided.   

For over 40 years the High School Art show was presented by Visual Arts Minnesota.  My daughter, Kerry Osberg, was the Executive Director for many years and so there is a lot of history with our family and this wonderful event.  Kerry teaches art at Upsala School.  Last year she was teaching at the Swanville school.  One of her students, Courtney Och, entered a drawing of a Jaguar. I had told Kerry to put a sold sign on the painting before it was hung in the gallery. I attended the award ceremony with Courtney, her father, and a friend of Courtneys’. When it was announced that Courtney’s piece was the first-place winner, my reaction was so loud that the MC told the audience “He bought the piece”.  It is not often that the artist is willing to sell their work, but you may find something tonight that you will love. 

Saturday evening, the St. Cloud Symphony Orchestra is performing “A New Home” in Ritsche Auditorium on the campus of St. Cloud State University.  “Music is a great storyteller. Sometimes all we need to hear are few notes and we are transported back to a place or felling from the past.” There is a pre-concert discussion at 6:30. The concert starts at 7:30.  Tickets are available at www.stcloudsymphony.com

On Sunday afternoon Great River Chorale,  directed by Mary Kay Geston, is performing “Songs for the People” , American Folksongs and hymns, African American Spirituals and gospel music.  The performance is at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in St. Cloud at 4 PM.  Tickets at www.greatriverchorale.org  and at the door.

“Caution! The left-brained world wants you to “be realistic, quit dreaming, be more like us, get your head out of the clouds and your feet on the ground.”  To advance and prosper, steadfastly ignore that advice.”  Marilyn Grey

Category : General

Comments Off on April 26, 2024

Fifteen years ago we buried Brother Willie in the St. John’s cemetery.  In June of 2008 we celebrated his 92^nd birthday in his room in the retirement center on the second floor of the Quad.  I brought him a choice of a cold bottle of O’Doul’s or a cold bottle of Budweiser.  He chose the Budweiser. 

It was in 2001 that I first noticed an old man kind of shuffling towards Wimmer Hall where the studio of Minnesota Public Radio is located. I stopped and introduced myself.  I asked him what he did, and he responded in a gruff voice, “My name is Brother Willie and I work in the woodshop.  I make a table and chair set, haven’t you seen them?  They are for little ones.”   Since I had a six-year-old granddaughter at the time, I asked him if he would make a set for me.  “Oh, I don’t know, there are many orders ahead of yours, I don’t know if I will live long enough to make a set for you.”   I responded,  “No problem, I will pray for you every day and I am sure that you will live long enough to make them.”   

I visited Br. Willie in the woodshop many times. The first time I noticed a small wooden wagon filled with blocks. He made the blocks out of scraps of oak wood.  Most likely the oak had been harvested from the Abbey forest.

I always left him one of my calling cards and reminded him of my order for the table and chairs.  One day the phone rang, and it was Brother Willie.  My table and chair set were finished. Over the years I took delivery on two children’s table and chair sets plus 8 of the small wagons filled with blocks of many shapes and sizes.  Years later Br. Willie had to stop working in the woodshop, but he still would make his rounds going thru the garbage searching for aluminum cans.  He donated the money from the cans to the poor.

Brother Willie was best known for his role as night watchman on campus.  The pub in Sexton Commons is named after him and George Maurer wrote a song named “The Brother Willie Shuffle”.  He was a great man, and he is missed.  My friend Dave Phipps drew the caricature attached and you can purchase a T-shirt with the same at the St. John’s Abbey Gift Shop in the Great Hall on campus.

“Success has nothing to do with what you gain for yourself.  Success is what you do for others.”  Brother Willie (William Jerome Borgerding, OSB)

Category : General

Comments Off on April 19, 2024

Upsala Motors is a sponsor of programming on 88.9 FM KNSR MPR News every Saturday.  They are located “below the hill” in downtown Upsala.   A city divided by Two Rivers.  Across from Upsala Motors, next to the river, is a Shell gas station with an Italian restaurant, Marliano’s.  Famous for their pizza and their Borgstrom Burgers.  

The original building on that spot was a blacksmith shop. It is very likely that there was a water wheel in the river to power the many belts and pulleys that operated the various machines.  In the fifties the “smitty” was a jolly old Swede, Gust Olafson.  I can still recall the sounds and smells coming from the shop.  During the summer, the huge front door was always open, and the ceiling was full of large belts going in all directions.

One 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 doing and sharpen his plowshares.  After many attempts in his loud demanding voice, the farmer said to Gust, “If you don’t sharpen these shares right now, I will have to take my business to Swanville!

Without even looking up, Gust replied: “Happy Yourney”.

“To simply your life, and spend your energy on things that are meaningful to you, you must acquire a knack for saying no.”  Robyn Paper

Category : General

Comments Off on April 12, 2024

Today is Kaylin Marie Osberg’s 29^th birthday. Kaylin is the oldest of my five grandchildren and life has not been the same since she came into this world.  My daughter was working her way through school at St. Cloud State as a waitress at Trobec’s in St. Stephen and from the time she was a baby, Kaylin would spend most weekends with her bachelor grandfather in the old parsonage in Upsala.  We did a lot of pancakes at the Uptown Café on Saturday mornings and a lot of washing her hair in the kitchen sink on Sunday mornings before church.  There was much wailing and thrashing about. 

Getting her to fall asleep in her crib at night was not easy.  It helped if I sang “It’s Summertime” over and over again while she struggled to stay awake.  After many years, she finally said, “Grandpa, please stop singing that song!”. 

Now Kaylin is co-owner of a promotional products company, Zygoatian LLC.  Their moto is “We will print on most anything”  She runs her business out of her home close to Lake Mille Lacs in Wahkon.  If you need a T Shirt or coffee mug, give her a call.  Simply go to www.zygoatian.com  . 

Today is also the 16^th Annual “Night with the Fishing Pros Fundraiser” at the Rice Creek Event Center east of Little Falls.  Doors open at 4 dinner is at 6:30. My son Erik is the MC and auctioneer.  I hope to see you there. You can get your tickets here:   https://www.eventbrite.com/e/night-with-the-fishing-pros-fundraiser-tickets-810553375967

“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes, art is knowing which ones to keep.”  Scott Adams

Category : General

Comments Off on April 5, 2024

One more thing about the scam in Sun City West.  VRBO is not the villain in this story.  The host is the villain.  One of my sister’s daughters did some investigating and it turns out that the owner of 12506 West Skyview Drive in Sun City West operates under three different names.  The scam doesn’t always work.  Sometimes the renter does check in by email between the hours of noon and 4pm MST.   The fellow is simply mean.  My brother and I are planning to gather documentation on the many attempts that he made to check in and get instructions on how to enter the house and mail a packet to the Attorney General in Arizona.

On the bright side, Bill and I got to spend the whole two weeks at Kathie and Duaine’s home in Sun City West.  We were able to have coffee with the Granite Falls men at Bashas’ grocery store every morning from 9 until 10.  The numbers are lessening with the aging of everyone, but I did manage to get addicted to “Bear Claws”. 

The birthday party for brother Geoff on Sunday the 17^th was a blast.  The weather was perfect.  Sister Kathie has wanted a recreation of the picture of the six siblings that was taken in 1984 at a family gathering at the lake.  We managed to pull it off. Brother Bill even took his shirt off for the occasion.  Photos are attached.

One other thing, VRBO did send brother Bill a $2,600 refund, 80% of our rental fee.  

“Life is not a matter of holding good cards, but of playing a poor hand well.”  Robert Louis Stevenson 

Category : General

Comments Off on March 29, 2024