August 23rd, 2019 by Gary Osberg
“Welcome Class of 2023” This is posted on the sign at
the entrance to the St. John’s University campus. Yesterday, the Sexton Commons
fountain area had tables set out with coffee, juice and plates of cookies fresh
from the bakery. For many this was a family affair. Most young men and women
were accompanied by one or both of their parents. In the fall of 1961, I
arrived on campus of the University of Minnesota, Main Campus. Coming from a
class of 33 in Upsala and going to a class of thousands was overwhelming. Ma
had moved the family from Upsala to south Minneapolis, in part, to make it
easier for me to attend college.
My two quarters at the “U” were a disaster. The Institute
of Technology was certainly a bad choice. My worst performance was in English
101. Every week I would turn in the blue composition book and every week I
would get a “D” or a “F”. Not paying any attention to Miss Krier in 11th and
12th grade English class at good old Upsala High had caught up with me.
The highlight of the fall of 1961 was the Gopher football
team. They were coached by Murray Warmath and lead by quarterback Sandy
Stephens. They compiled a record of 8 wins and 2 losses. On New Year’s day
1962, they beat the UCLA Bruins by a score of 21 to 3 in the Rose Bowl. When I
came home to Upsala that spring, defeated and broke, Bob Soltis nicknamed me
“Murray” and he called me “Murray” from that time forward.
Live from Here this
week is the final rebroadcast before the start of the new season. On
September 7th the show will be live from The Town Hall in New York
City. Special guests will include Sarah Jarosz and Holly Laurent.
Check out the complete tour at livefromhere.org.
“It’s what you learn after you know it all that
counts” John Wooden
August 16th, 2019 by Gary Osberg
It is another beautiful day on the campus of St. John’s
University. There is a sadness amongst us because our dear friend
Father Hilary Thimmesh died on Sunday. Father Hillary officed next door
to me here on the third floor of Wimmer Hall. I saw him many times during
the week. I always knew when he had arrived, because he would fire up his
electric tea pot. He was an English major after all. Just last
Friday he stopped by to tell me about having learned how to have his computer
read his email messages to him. He was so happy about this newly
discovered technology.
Amongst his many duties, he served as the 10th
President of St. John’s University from 1982 until 1991. He touched
many lives, but I was amazed at his ability to continue to serve. He was
as a floor resident in St. Thomas Hall from 1963 until spring of 2019.
This would have been the first fall that he was not a resident there.
Many of the Johnnie football players were housed in Tommy
Hall. I can imagine the numerous times that he counseled a young man as
the tough times were sure to come their way.
There will be a celebration of the Eucharist of Christian
Burial for Father Hilary at 3:30 today in Saint John’s Abbey and University
Church.
The poem that is attached is dedicated to his memory.
Live from Here this week is a
rebroadcast. The next live performance is on Saturday September 7th
from New York City. Check the schedule at livefromhere.org
August 9th, 2019 by Gary Osberg
It is a perfect 10 today. Sweater weather in August
thanks to the cool air from our neighbor to the north, Canada. I hope to
see you tonight at the Downtown St. Cloud Art Crawl. It runs from 5 until
9.
I am a recovering entrepreneur. I couldn’t work for the
man, I had to be the man. Every one of my attempts failed. Early in my career,
I read an article in an in-flight magazine. I learned that 25% of the
population are “risk-takers”. All of the entrepreneurs come out of this group
as do all of the criminals. I am not sure where I inherited the trait since
neither of my parents were entrepreneurs, but my mother’s brother Eldon was. I
was a juvenile delinquent. My first attempt at business was Draftech, Inc. a
contract drafting service run out of my basement in our home in Coon Rapids. It
was not very long before I went to work selling office furniture for General
Office Products. My second attempt was an energy management company “Office
Environmental Systems”. My office was in the Allstate building behind the car
wash on Division Street in St. Cloud. I was probably the only one in the State
of Minnesota out there on straight commission trying to sell computerized
energy management systems to owners of large office buildings. I sold three
systems in three years and then I went back to selling office furniture in
1982.
I have a collection of business cards that fills
a ring binder. I started working here in on the third floor of
Wimmer Hall in 1999. I just received delivery of another box of
calling cards for Minnesota Public Radio. I go through a box of cards
every couple of years. I hope to go through a few more before I call it
quits.
Live from Here this week is another
rebroadcast of an earlier show. You can see the fall lineup at
livefromhere.org
Oh, I almost forgot, Upsala Heritage Days starts tonight
with a free concert in the city park. The “Best Central Minnesota
Small Town Parade” starts tomorrow at 10:30. Lunch at the Borgstrom House
is awesome. I hope to see you there too.
“We all find time to do what we really want to do.”
William Feather
August 6th, 2019 by Gary Osberg
In the winter of
1971, I attended a Coon Rapids City Council meeting to complain about the
snowmobiles that were running up and down the streets in my neighborhood. I was
not impressed with my representation, so that fall I decided to run for the
Third Ward Council seat. I had met a few folks at a caucus in 1970, so with
their help, we managed to pull off an upset victory. The fellow that we beat
was a Vice President of a large insurance company and he was going for his
third three year term. I think what did him in was his decision to distribute a
legal document with all of his qualifications on one side, filling up the whole
sheet, and my qualifications on the other side, taking up not even half of the
page. Things like: “Attended college”. After all, I was 27 years
old when we started the campaign. It was kind of mean spirited.
One of the guys
that helped me get elected was Gene Merriam. We had spent a lot of hours
collecting rummage for a garage sale fundraiser, so we got to know each other
quite well. The next year Gene ran for Council at Large and he won that seat.
Rick Reiter ran for the first ward seat and he won. In late 1973, we filled
a vacancy in Ward 2 by appointing Dave Therkelsen. We served together in the
year 1974. It is hard to believe that 45 years have gone by.
A couple of years
ago we met for a 43 year reunion. We decided that we were all too long in the
tooth to solve the world’s problems, so someone else is going to have to do it.
We simply spent two hours sharing stories and laughing.
Live from Here this week is a rebroadcast of an older show. The new season starts September 7th from New York. Check it out at www.livefromhere.org
“Aside from the strictly moral standpoint, honesty is not only the best policy, but the only possible policy from the standpoint of business relations. The fulfillment of the pledged word is of equal necessity to the conduct of all business. If we expect and demand virtue and honor in others, the flame of both must burn brightly within ourselves…honesty begets honesty; trust, trust; and so on through the whole category of desirable practices that govern and control the world’s affairs.”
James F. Bell
July 26th, 2019 by Gary Osberg
Last Friday I wrote about my short career as one of the
400,000 folks who had worked on the Apollo project. After one week on the
job, due to my total lack of drafting skills, I was transferred to the Polaris
Missile team in the same Honeywell building on Stinson Boulevard in North
Minneapolis. I was assigned as an engineer aid to Nevin Jahns.
When I left in March of 1965 to go off to college, they had
a going away party. I was able to find the Polaris Submarine tie clasp
and the compass set that they had gifted me, but I must have worn out the
briefcase lugging books. (that is a joke).
Now here is where it gets weird. On Saturday, my
daughter Kerry threw her annual “summer birthdays” party at her place in
Upsala, the old parsonage that was built in 1892 by the Swedish Mission Church
members. My brother Bill came to the party and he presented me with an
envelope that contained many cards that had once been given to me. A
collection of 21st birthday cards and even some 40th
birthday cards. I have no idea how it was that he had them in his
house. On Sunday I took the time to go through the stack. One of
the cards was a Bon Voyage card from the Polaris Missile team. On
the back of the card, Carol had written the names of all 38 members of the
team. The only two names that I had recalled where those of the engineer
that I was assigned to, Nevin Jahns and the boss Ralph Webb. There was
also a birthday card signed by Carol and Ardyce. That is how I was able
to identify her handwriting on the back of the Bon Voyage card. Weird huh?
Live from Here this week is a rebroadcast. The
next live show is from New York City on September 7th.
You can listen to old shows on the web: livefromhere.org
“Think all you speak, but speak not all you think.
Thoughts are your own; your words are so no more.” Patrick Delany
July 19th, 2019 by Gary Osberg
Apollo 11 landed on the moon 50 years ago tomorrow. I
have been watching a lot of public television and listening to stories on
MPR. What an amazing accomplishment!
In 1963 I was a contract draftsman in Minneapolis.
Minnesota Engineering sent me to Honeywell Stinson Boulevard to report to
a drafting department. I had just started on this career and I was
self-taught. The truth was, I was not very good at the task. It
turned out that Honeywell was working on gyroscopes for the Apollo project.
After a couple of days, the department head confronted me and told me that I
was the worst draftsman that he had ever met. He transferred me to the
Polaris project in the next building. I reported to , Nevin Jahns and he
took me on as an engineer aid. My job was to make changes to sepias of
drawings. The simplest of tasks. I worked hard and I managed to
stay there until March of 1965 when I left to return to St. Cloud State
College. At my going away party they gave me a Polaris Submarine tie
clasp and a briefcase for my books plus a compass set that belonged to the
young fellow that had my job, but never returned to work after a long
weekend. I never knew his name or what happened to him. He must have
hated the job. My good fortune.
If you go to MPRnews.org you can listen to an interview with
Cathy Wurzer and Nancy Atkinson who lives near Upsala. She has written a
new book, “Eight Years to the Moon, the History of the Apollo
Missions”. She was in our studio last Friday, linked to a live
broadcast on Maine Public Radio. She has uncovered a lot of details.
Live from Here this week is a live show from
the Green Music Center in Rohnert Park, CA. Guests include The Tallest
Man on Earth, Lulu Miller, Zakir Hussain, Ganesh Rajagopalan and Gaby
Moreno. Enjoy the show.
“That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for
mankind.” Neil Armstrong 9:56pm central time. Sunday, July 20,
1969
July 12th, 2019 by Gary Osberg
The 34th annual Hagstrom Osberg golf tournament
was wonderful. No, the MING team did not win this year either. We
came in at one over par in the best-ball game. The winning team was
made up of a young grandson Adam, two grandsons in law, Corey and Matt and a
son in law Kelly of my sister Kathie Kimpling. They came in at 4
under par. Her husband Duaine shared in the limelight. My
granddaughter Kaylin brought T shirts for everyone so that next year, at the
big 35th, we can do the group photo again. I am hoping
to talk my friend Denise into coming once more to shoot a few rolls of film.
If you need T shirts for your group photo, simply check out
RealZygoatian.com
Walleye Willie is now giving lessons on how to catch
catfish. If you want the link to the YouTube video, just ask.
Live from Here this week is another
rebroadcast. Next Saturday they will be live from the Green Music Center
in Rohnert Park, CA.
“Vision without action is a daydream. Action without
vision is a nightmare.” Japanese Proverb.
July 5th, 2019 by Gary Osberg
Tomorrow is the 34th annual Hagstrom/Osberg Golf Open. We
have this family tradition every year at the Little Falls Country Club on the
second Saturday of July. My mother’s sister, Leone, Auntie to me, married
Duane Hagstrom, owner of Hagstrom Chevrolet in Upsala, Minnesota. Between the
two sisters there are 10 of us 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. Not so
much anymore.
There was a time when you had to use at least one drive and
one putt for each of the team members. Now there are no such rules. There is a
traveling trophy with the names of each year’s winning team engraved on a brass
plate. Kevin and I are due. It has been a while. After golf we will 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 Fourth of July Celebration was a safe
one. I decided to escape the fireworks in St. Joe and spent the night before
the 4th here on campus at the Abbey Guesthouse. I highly
recommend it. Very peaceful. The supper was awesome.
Simply call Brother David at 320-363-2573.
Live from Here
this week is a rebroadcast of an old show. The next live show is in two
weeks at Green Music Center in Rohnert Park, CA. You can check it out at
livefromhere.org
“What we do upon some great occasion will probably depend
on what we already are; and what we are will be the result of previous years of
self-discipline.” H.P. Liddon
July 1st, 2019 by Gary Osberg
A few weeks ago I told you the story about Emie Hippe and
her tavern on Cedar Lake west of Upsala. As I mentioned, her tavern was
the source for candy and ice cream for us youngsters who were swimming at the
American Legion Memorial Park beach. That part of the story was about the
Coke bottles and their demise.
The rest of the story picks up when the American Legion
decided that too may folks were sneaking into the park and not paying for the
privilege of boating and swimming at one of the nicest beaches in central
Minnesota. The decision was made to put up a high fence around the
park. Unfortunately this cut off easy access to the candy store.
Emie was very upset. So much so that she decided to deed her property to
the DNR so that there would be a boat landing, free to the public. No
need for folks to pay the fee to launch their boat at the Memorial Park and
Camp Ground. That is why when you pass the entrance to the Legion
Park the next sign is “Hippe Landing”. I had asked the county to
put up a sign saying “Hippe’s Landing”, but close enough. Thanks to my
old friend Gene Merriam who was the DNR Commissioner at the time.
The Live from Here show this week is a
rebroadcast. The next live show is on July 20th. I for one
enjoy the encore performances. I love the young musicians that Chris
features.
“Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them
to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be.” Thomas a
Kempis.
June 21st, 2019 by Gary Osberg
I was unable to make the Camp Confidence Fishing Tournament
last Saturday, so my son Erik asked one of Walleye Willie’s friends to fill in
for me. Cooper is also 10 years old. They had to get up before 5am
and drive to Madden’s Resort. They headed out with about 60 other boats
at 8am. Most of the boats were owned by professional fishing guides who
had volunteered to take two paying guests to try for either 3 walleye, 3
Northern or three largemouth bass. You could also choose to enter a mixed
bag of one of each species. They fish until 2pm and then they have a
weigh in. “Team Wadena” tied for second place in the mixed bag
category and took first place for the “Lunker Walleye”. A 27 ¾ inch
fish. Erik caught the walleye and the two boys each caught one of the
other two.
The bad news is I have been replaced by Cooper. Oh
well, I could buy a bigger boat and go along to take pictures. A photo is
attached.
Live from Here this week is a
rebroadcast. You can check out the tour schedule at livefromhere.org
Enjoy the show.
“It’s widely known that among salesmen; as among fishermen,
about 25 percent of them wind up with about 75 percent of the winnings.
And evidently it’s not so much the flashy presentation of the persuasive
personality that brings in the big money as it is the systematic perseverance
in finding and following up leads.” University of Chicago’s
Industrial Relations Center.
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