GaryOsberg.com

Good morning from Collegeville,

Today would have to be labeled as a “10” here in central Minnesota. Last Friday I was fishing for bass on Cedar Lake west of Upsala with my son Erik. I taught Erik how to catch bass on that lake when he was only two years old. Now there is a wonderful boat landing where Emie Hippe’s tavern used to be. We were able to get the DNR to post a sign noting it as “Hippe Landing”. Emie sold the property to the DNR for a bargain price because the American Legion put up a fence which cut off the path for a lot of her pop and candy customers that were camping at the American Legion camp ground next door. The legion opened their own store. Emie was a tough business woman who refused to sell Coca-Cola products because someone did not keep their word. During the war, her husband Ben had to drive to Brainerd to pick up the Coke. The distributor asked her husband Ben to not bring the empty bottles to them, but to hold on to them. After the war, the distributor would not take the empty bottles back, so Emie and Ben dug a deep hole and buried them. For over 50 years no Coca-Cola was sold at their store, only Pepsi and Dr. Pepper. Whenever a new driver was hired for the Coke Product delivery truck, someone would have to explain to the driver why he need not bother to stop at “Hippe’s Tavern”. After a while there was no outdoor sign anyway, so it may not have been much of a problem, unless the Pepsi truck was there when the new guy drove by. Always keep your promises no matter what.

The APHC show this week is a rebroadcast of show performed at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on June 1st 2002. Blues maestro Taj Mahal plays “Queen Bee”, western songwriter Stephanie Davis sings, “June is Bustin Out All Over’ and showbiz soprano Marni Nixon joins Garrison on “Wouldn’t it be Loverly”. Peter Ostroushko and Greg Leistz sit in with Rich Dworsky and The Guy’s All Star Shoe Band. In the News from Lake Wobegon, Sally Emmett gets married on the condition that it involves no Lutheranism whatsoever.

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