Today is homecoming in Upsala. In my day the football team was the Upsala `Cardinals’, but some time ago Upsala football merged with Swanville and now it is the USA (Upsala Swanville Area) `Patriots’. If it were not raining and cold I would be there in my letterman’s jacket.
In 1957 I was an overweight freshman on the Upsala Cardinal football team. Freshmen wore the old uniforms and old helmets and we did not win any fashion awards. John Atkinson, a senior running back, ran with his knees pumping up and down high and hard. He still managed to make forward yardage. In practice, I would simply bounce off of his knees. The memory of the pain is still with me. That was the year when no other team even scored on the Upsala team. Clarissa got to our three yard line, but our defense held.
A couple of years ago, the 1957 Upsala football team was inducted into the Upsala Sports Hall of Fame. I was one of nine of the twenty-nine original members of the 1957 Upsala Cardinal football team who showed up for our induction into the Sports Hall of Fame. One of the guys, Dave Chuba, came all the way from Ohio. Bob Soltis was the quarterback and captain of the 1957 team. That year Bob was named to the All State Football Team.
It was the second year that inductees were chosen for the Upsala Sports Hall of Fame. Bob’s brother Ralph was chosen the previous year and another brother John, who was a junior on the 1957 football team, accepted an individual award for his brother Bob. There were lots of Soltis boys and they all played football. No one lifted weights in those days, they just threw bales of hay all summer. Us “village kids” had a tough time keeping up. “GO PATRIOTS”
“Man’s finest hour is the moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle victorious.” Vince Lombardi’’
Good morning. It is great to be back. My back pain is under control.
The MPR Net Underwriting Sales Team annual retreat was held at Breezy Point earlier this week. Each fall we gather for two wonderful days of learning and sharing.
One of the cabins at Breezy Point that is available to rent is the 11 bedroom Fawcett House. It was Breezy Point Resort’s founder Captain Billy’s personal residence. My mother, Bernice “Bee” Larson was a nanny for the grandchildren of Captain Billy Fawcett in the 1930s. She had a bedroom in the Fawcett House and spent the winters in Los Angeles with Captain Billy’s son Gordon Fawcett, his wife Vivian and their two children, Gordon Jr. and Dennis.
Wilford Fawcett, better known as Captain Billy, was a millionaire publisher from Robbinsdale, Minnesota. His most famous publication was the Capt. Billy’s Whiz Bang magazine. The book “Humor Magazines and Comic Periodicals” noted that “Few periodicals reflect the post-WWI cultural change in American life as well as Capt. Billy’s Whiz Bang. For much of the 1920’s, Capt. Billy’s was the most prominent comic magazine in America.” Harold Hill refers to the magazine in the song “Ya Got Trouble” in “The Music Man”.
Captain Billy purchased Breezy Point in Pelican Township, from Fred LaPage in 1920 and soon the main lodge was built along with his personal residence. The original lodge was destroyed in a fire in June of 1959. Of course, he rebuilt the lodge and the “Fawcett House” still stands. With 11 bedrooms it is perfect for large family reunions. It was recently renovated. For details on rates and golf packages, go to www.breezypointresort.com
“This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we know what to do with it. Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.” Emerson
Dr. Benjamin Mueller says that fusing L4 and L5 will not work. They are already fusing themselves. My only hope is a Medtronic implant. My appointment with the Medtronic rep and Dr. Marx is next Friday at 2pm. I plan on making a comeback.
Fisher’s Club is a restaurant next to a city owned swimming beach on the north shore of Middle Spunk Lake in Avon, Minnesota.
George “Showboat” Fisher was a major league baseball player from 1922 until 1932. He played for the Washington Senators and the St. Louis Cardinals. He was 33 years old when he opened Fisher’s Club. The dance floor was added in 1937. It was about that time that they started serving their legendary Fisher’s Famous Walleye. The secret recipe is still used today. The main dining room was added in 1953 and the porch was added in 1954.
When George Junior came home from a construction job in Greenland to work with his dad at the Club, ‘Showboat’ told his son, “Stick around to help me here at The Club or I’m going to sell it.” Junior and his wife Sally took over in 1959. It used to be a bottle club. The lockers that the regulars used to store their liquor bottles in are still on the wall with their names on them. Seeing the names on the wall, one of my guests once asked, “Did this used to be a post office?”
The owners, Cory and Jacob Voss, have added a full service bar. Jacob graduated from Upsala High School in 2011. The summer schedule is to be open Tuesdays through Sunday starting at 11am. Be sure to call for reservations, 320-356-7372. www.fishersclub.com
“Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.” Yogi Berra
“Crescent Cove offers care and support to children and young adults with a shortened life-expectancy, and to their families who love them. Around the United States, there are over 4,700 hospice homes for adults. Crescent Cove Respite & Hospice Home for Kids is Minnesota’s first and only home designed just for children and their unique needs, and just the third of its kind in the United States. A vibrant and joyful home-away-from home, our goal is to help families feel Embraced, Assured, and Celebrated.” Source: Crescent Cove website
My brother Brian Osberg is a board member of this wonderful organization. On June 29th Cathy Wurzer interviewed Brian and Leo’s mother on MPR News. Here is the link to the story.
In the summer of 1955, I was 11 years old, and we were living in St. Louis Park. My mother signed me up for bible camp. I have no recollection of where the camp was other than “up north”. I got so home sick, that an older couple was enlisted to drive me to Upsala and my Godfather, Ralph Johnson, drove me the rest of the way back home to 1620 Colorado Avenue in his brand new 1955 Chevy. I turned 12 at the end of August.
The next summer Ma sent me to bible camp once again and this time I remember packing a carton of Pall Malls so that I could make money selling packs of cigarettes to other campers. This was the beginning of my “delinquent years”.
I left this off my resume when I applied for this job at MPR in 1999.
“You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island of opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land; there is no other life but this.” Henry David Thoreau
The 39th annual Hagstrom/Osberg Golf Open Tournament, “The H2O”, will be held tomorrow at the Little Falls Golf Course.
My mother’s sister, Leone, Auntie to me, married Duane Hagstrom, co-owner of Hagstrom Chevrolet in Upsala, Minnesota. Between the two families there were 10 cousins. Auntie’s youngest, Kevin, is a very good golfer and for many years he and I won this best ball event every year. For that reason, we named our team ‘Ming’. After all, we were a dynasty.
Because of my back surgery, all I can do is putt. When I was 12 years old we lived at 1620 Colorado Avenue in St. Louis Park. There was a Putt-Putt close by and I spent a lot of time there every summer.
In 2020 I was able to sink a birdie putt on hole number 1 and another on hole number 3, so we were 2 under par after three holes. The rest of the team included Cousin Kevin, my brother Brian and his wife Jean Marie, plus brother Craig and his son Grayson. Craig’s daughter McKenzie drove the cart. We finished 6 under, which meant that the trophy was back is in my living room for the first time since 2009.
After golf we gather at brother Bill’s house near the golf course for a picnic and the award ceremony. We are fortunate to have a number of traditions in our family. I trust that your summer will be filled with many family events as well.
“It’s good sportsmanship to not pick up lost golf balls while they are still rolling.” Mark Twain
“Put your John Hancock here.” Next week these `United States of America’ will celebrate a 247th birthday. Fifty-six men, members of the Second Continental Congress, signed `The Declaration of Independence’ on July 4, 1776. The largest signature on the `Unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America’ was that of John Hancock. Hence the idea that “Your John Hancock” means your signature.
The final paragraph of The Declaration of Independence reads: “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm Reliance on the Protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our Sacred Honor.” A signed copy is displayed at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. May we all pledge to do the same this coming Tuesday as we celebrate “Independence Day”.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Thomas Jefferson.
“Happiness is a warm puppy”. Charles Schulz. “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. The Constitution of the United States of America.
In the February 27, 2006 issue of The New Yorker there was an article on pursuing happiness. It turns out that by nature we have been hardwired to emphasize the negative. Survival depended on being wary. The curious and unwary could be eaten by bears or tigers. “Call no man happy until he is dead” was a popular Greek saying. According to many psychologists, once we are out of poverty, the most important determinant of happiness is our “set point”, our natural level of happiness, which is largely inherited.
Of course, we have no control over our set point. Those of you who have more than one child know that children do seem to be wired differently. Same parents, same conditions and yet so different. However, we can control our attitude. “As a Man Thinketh” by James Allen made quite the impact on me. We also can decide if and how much volunteer work we will do.
Ready for the secret to happiness? Here it is: “Happiness is equal to your set point S, plus your life conditions C, plus a bit of volunteer work, V. H = S + C + V”. If you want a copy of the article, let me know.
In January of 2021 I posted this note and mentioned that during the pandemic, it was hard to do much volunteer work. The executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters responded to my email declaring that it was possible to be a Big Brother using Zoom. In May of 2021, I met with my “Little”. On our first outing I told the young man, “I suppose you were hoping for a 27 year old Big Brother, not a 77 year old one.” He simply smiled in response. On June 4th I attended his high school graduation party and his mother gave me a big hug. It was a very gratifying experience. Maybe you should check out www.bigdefenders.org
“Happiness is hard to put into words. It’s also harder to source, much more mysterious than anger or sorrow, which come to me promptly, whenever I summon them, and remain long after I’ve begged them to leave.” David Sedaris
The Osberg Men’s Annual Fishing Trip was awesome. Just like last year, I stayed in the cabin until Monday afternoon. Then our guide Randin Olson, my son Erik, his son Walleye Willie and I headed for the secret lake. One of 1,048 lakes in Otter Tail County. It wasn’t long before I had a bite and I managed to reel in a 27” walleye. Up until then the biggest fish caught belonged to Cousin John, but now I was in the lead. Shortly thereafter, 14 year old Walleye Willie landed a 28 ¾ walleye. Now his name goes on the trophy.
On June 19, 1865, Union troops arrived in Texas proclaiming that enslaved Black people were free. More than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was supposed to end slavery in the United States. Now Juneteenth is a National Holiday.
Later today, Higher Works Collaborative will celebrate the African American Male Forum 26th Annual Juneteenth Event at Lake George Municipal Park in downtown St. Cloud. The event is from 3 pm until 9pm. More detailed information is available online at H W C M N dot org. I hope to see you there.
“Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy to a friend.” Martin Luther King Jr.
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