Tigers hold off late Redwood Valley rally, win by 5

Tigers 61, Redwood Valley 56

Well, the hits keep coming for the MACA boys basketball team. Now the Tigers are on top of Section 3AA-North. The orange and black took the North crown on Tuesday night. 

Success was here at Tiger Center, where it looked as though social distancing was not being practiced. Hopefully there are no negative consequences of this. 

Again there was a top-notch YouTube-based telecast. Congrats to MACA on the success of this. 

Congrats to the student-athletes on the 18-2 record they have fashioned now. At this stage of the post-season, there surely is no dead wood left. Pipestone lies ahead as the next opponent. At stake is the overall section championship. Action will be at 7 p.m. Friday in Montevideo. 

Balanced scoring promoted our Tuesday success. Four players scored in double figures in our 61-56 triumph. We led 32-24 halfway through. We led by as many as 15 during the second half. The Redwood Valley Cardinals fought back to keep the game interesting. Eventually the clock ran out on the Cardinals. 

We won with 18 of 44 field goal shooting numbers, 41 percent. Jackson Loge scored 21 points on five of 16 shot stats. Thomas Tiernan scored 16 on six of ten. Then we see Brandon Jergenson: 13 points, three of six. Toby Gonnerman scored eleven points on four of seven. No other Tigers scored. 

Jergenson was on with his long-range eye as he made three 3's in six attempts. Tiernan was two of four and Loge one of four. Our team numbers: six of 17, 35 percent. 

Our freethrow performance was 19-for-25, 76 percent. Loge was busy at the line and he was sharp with six of eleven. Jergenson was four of six, Gonnerman three of five and Tiernan two of three. Loge attacked the boards to get ten rebounds, one offensive. Gonnerman went up to get four rebounds, one offensive. The Tigers got 21 rebounds of which three were offensive. Loge led the assist charge with five. 

In steals we see two Tigers with three each: Jergenson and Tiernan. Loge blocked three shots and Tiernan blocked one. 

 

Erratum

Our radio station website does a fine job but it had the score 61-57 in the opening paragraph of its report. I don't mean to be harsh but I initially jotted that down and if it got into my final post, certain people in this community would want to burn me in effigy on main street, howling mobs bearing torches. 

Redwood Valley had the No. 2 seed. Carson Woodford led the Cardinals with 18 points and ten rebounds. Charles LaChapelle sprang off the bench to score 14. Connor Stephenson put in ten. The curtain came down on the Cards' season with their record 14-7. 

Image a violation of taste?

We're now focused on Pipestone. This squad has the nickname "Arrows" and the logo reflects the Native American image of such a thing: questionable in light of today's sense of propriety. I don't use the term "political correctness" because so many people automatically put that down. I don't want to come off like a talk radio host. I think Pipestone could find a substitute logo/nickname. 

Pipestone advanced Tuesday with a 49-45 win over Windom. The top seed in their sub-section was Luverne who fell to Windom 63-56 in the semis.

 

When Tigers were "Morris High School"

Here's a historical treasure: home movie footage of the Morris High School basketball team in March of 1971. It's on YouTube now:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zd-7WCG8A4U 

 

It was a very good year, the year of the Morris Centennial. I was a sophomore in high school. You didn't have to specify boys basketball then because we only had boys! It was "Morris High School" and we sang the school song with the initials "MHS." It would be great to see that come back IMHO. Everyone knows we take in C-A along with other others in the area. Aren't all our home games in Morris? OK so let's sing or chant "M-H-S." 

Home movie or video was rare in the early '70s so the newly unearthed video, courtesy of media enthusiast Del Sarlette, is incredible to watch. Nothing short of transfixing. He was ahead of his time. So fascinating to see all the old familiar faces from when they were in their glorious youth. 

Just as fascinating: observing the cheerleaders. We surely had the traditional cheerleaders then. Some nostalgia is felt but also maybe some misgivings about our culture: girls were meant to be cheerleaders. And, you are in denial if you think the cheerleaders were not chosen according to criteria that had to do with our understanding of "good looking." The criteria was suggested by male culture. 

Eventually our feminine gender broke through to be real basketball players, worthy of just as much attention as the boys. Girls sports started out as a novelty and I'm sure many people thought it would stay basically that way. No! Wrong-O! It is 100 percent legitimate. But let's remember where we came from. 

In November of 2018 I wrote a blog on "I Love Morris" reflecting on the traditional cheerleaders, what it meant in our culture at the time. I selected some paragraphs to re-publish here:

 

Cheerleaders in age of #MeToo
We have the changed complexion of society today due to #MeToo. And in principle it's wonderful. But again we must reflect on changed or evolved attitudes over a not very long period of time. I went to high school when we had cheerleaders. Let's be frank as we assess this: Cheerleaders were once "eye candy" meant to complement the real, serious competition of male sports.
We all knew that a certain type of girl would be chosen as cheerleader. Certainly not on the heavy side. If you were to ask a cheerleading advisor or school administrator on whether cheerleaders were chosen on some sort of "glamor" criterion, they would be embarrassed to say yes and would probably say "no." But the truth was 100 percent yes. The basketball cheerleaders had the highest status when I was in high school. There was another group of cheerleaders for football and wrestling but these seemed like the second string. Administrators would deny that but we could develop a pretty strong sense about this.
The basketball cheerleaders were the candidates for being asked to Prom by the sports superstars - we all knew that. We reflect on this the way we reflect on a lot of outdated concepts. It is wonderful to see we have evolved. We must be gentle though with the people my age who might have stumbled a bit getting to where we are today.

 

The photo at right shows our MHS cheerleaders from the time when Del's video was made. I easily remember the names so let's go left to right, just first names: Kathy, Connie, Jane, Robin and Jackie. Jane and Jackie were sophomores at the time, would graduate with my MHS Class of 1973. The Class of '71 which includes Del has its 50-year reunion milestone this year. Not sure yet how the pandemic will affect that. The fans currently attending Tiger games sure don't seem worried. Is that good? Knock on wood. Let us again remember the Elvis Presley song "Funny How Time Slips Away."

 

Del supplied the photo with the remark that it is his "most requested," and even this remark might be considered non-P.C. Is it possible that girls for time immemorial have not appreciated such comments, though they might pretend to?

 

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Close at halftime but a loss at home for MACA

Girls: Sauk Centre 53, Tigers 38

The MACA girls hosted a formidable Sauk Centre team Friday. The Streeters came here aiming to finish their conference schedule undefeated. The odds were good for the Streeters. Their won-lost mark was quite superior. Still, MACA kept the game close for a prolonged time. We trailed by three at halftime, 30-27. 

But the Streeters began surging in second half play, to the tune of outscoring us 23-11. So the Streeters closed out their conference slate with a record of 10-0. They defeated the Tigers 53-38. 

Thoughts now turn to the post-season. MACA has the No. 6 seed in 3AA-North and will vie with Eden Valley-Watkins, No. 3, on Tuesday in the quarter-finals. The No. 3 team gets to host. 

I seem to recall our final game of last season was against EV-W, a game played at Minnewaska Area. I was there. The game proved to be one last taste of normal life before the pandemic launched its shroud over everything. It's fascinating to think back, how we took our normal life and normal activities so much for granted. We have a quite modified perspective now, wouldn't you say? 

My first vaccination shot is done and the second is coming up in a few days, at Prairie Ridge. Thanks to Prairie Ridge for having the vaccine ready to administer when it did. Who knows if I really needed it. I have been 100 percent healthy all winter, never felt better. 

Could the MACA girls have upset the Streeters? I talked with player grandparent Tom Carrington this morning at DeToy's and he questioned the player substitutions. Always interesting to hash over this stuff. It is the fans' prerogative. 

Emma Bowman made two 3-pointers and led MACA in scoring with ten points. Maddy Grove made one '3' and posted nine points. LaRae Kram also made a '3' and her total was six. Sydney Dietz put in five points. These four Tigers each scored two: Meredith Carrington, Cate Kehoe, Lakia Manska and Kaylie Raths. Dietz led in rebounds with eight. Carrington led in assists with four. Grove and Kram each had two steals, and Dietz blocked three shots. 

Tigers on TV

This game was available for viewing on the public access channel. Yes, the "Wayne's World" channel, and we now wonder what will come of this with the decision by Federated to discontinue its cable TV service in 2022. What drastic news! Will a substantial number of people simply choose not to have cable TV anymore? 

It's a valid question because of so much entertainment being available through online, more and more all the time. Are we willing to turn our backs on the traditional TV? Remember how faxing was such a "big thing" for a time? Then it got phased into the background because of new tools. I remember at the old Sun Tribune, how novel the "fax machine" seemed at first. With time we found so many "junk" fax transmissions arriving. It was "spam" before we first heard the term. 

I remember politician Rod Grams "clogging our fax machine," to use the description by our editor. Was Grams a congressman or senator? I can't remember. I do know he was Republican. It seemed his family life totally fell apart once he got the power of his position. What is it about political power that it can do this to people, as we are now learning with Andrew Cuomo of New York? 

Federated Telephone is now telling us that its cable TV service was a "loss leader." They probably should not be admitting that publicly. The principle of "loss leader" seems rather untoward. It can be interpreted as duping people. The business actually loses money on the service but it lures people to the business for other reasons. I remember when the late Lyman Eidsvold of Morris, of Henry's Candy Company, campaigned for a law against this with regard to cigarettes. Cigarettes were being sold as a loss leader. 

I am a Federated customer and would not be one, if it weren't for the cable TV. Was I duped? Because Federated has now announced it is ending its cable TV service. What to do now? It's kind of exasperating. I don't want to do business with a TV service that does not have a local office. And for sure I wouldn't set up electronic bill pay which is what I have with Federated. I wouldn't give a non-local business any license to simply take money out of my bank account. 

With Federated, they're always a friendly phone call away. Just talk to Shelley. 

It's a quandary now. I don't need any more of this after what I went through with water quality issues and the Morris water treatment plant. Hoo boy! Changes, changes, changes. And I'm also having to adjust to the Morris senior center being no more. Yes, there is no more senior center or senior citizens organization. Gone. What hath God wrought?

 

Boys basketball: Tigers 77, Osakis 63

Jackson Loge is starting to get superstar attention in area news media. Sometimes I question this sort of thing. The student-athletes, no matter how good they are, are really just kids in school, going through developmental phases just like all their non-superstar and non-athlete friends. "Superstar" belongs in the NCAA Division I or pro ranks. They can handle that baggage. 

Anyway, Jackson Loge had a lot to do with our 77-63 win at Osakis Friday. It was our 15th win. Osakis too is having an impressive season. Loge is a junior who stands 6 feet-8. He passed 1000 career rebounds Friday. Thomas Tiernan, also a junior, hit a couple of early 3's to put us in good shape on the scoreboard. 

When I began work at the Morris Sun Tribune newspaper, the school actually had a policy that only juniors and seniors played varsity basketball! I found that surprising but I was just an observer. 

The Tigers led the Silverstreaks at halftime 37-25. We shot 52 percent for the night on 30 of 58. Loge made nine of 21 shots for 24 points. Tiernan was five of eight for 12, and Toby Gonnerman was our third double figures scorer: 4 of 7, 11 points. Brandon Jergenson scored nine points and Cole Wente eight. My goodness, we are looking at a "junior brigade," aren't we. 

So we'll soar all the way to the top next season? Believe me, I have observed sports for many years and we cannot assume anything. I remember when Kevin Loge's Tiger team was supposed to go all the way to the top. Their path ended ignominiously at Concordia College. I was there. (I loved the bratwurst from concessions.) 

Other Tigers who scored Friday: Riley Reimers (4), Durgin Decker (3), Hondo Luna (2), Andrew Olson (2) and Sam Kleinwolterink (2). Tiernan was two of four in his 3's. Loge made our other 3-pointer. Our team freethrow shooting numbers were 14 of 28. I think I can figure the percentage for that. Loge was five of seven. 

Loge led in rebounds with 14, four of which were offensive. The Tigers collected 32 rebounds, eleven offensive. Yet another department where Loge led was assists with six. Jergenson led in steals with three of our team total 13. Loge set the pace in blocked shots with six. Gonnerman blocked one shot. 

Yes, Loge is becoming a familiar name to a great many throughout this part of the state. Remember though that these student-athletes might not feel comfortable with the "superstar" label, as they'd just want to be normal happy kids in the hallway sometimes. Let's not "extrapolate" from the pros. I have been around people who do that, including some of my old associates with the Morris newspaper. One person would describe a losing wrestler as a "fish." That's disgusting.

 

My March 13 podcast

I invite you to listen to my "Morris Mojo" podcast recorded from beautiful Northridge Drive, across the field from the old Shopko building. Think spring!

https://anchor.fm/brian-williams596/episodes/The-Lords-day-tomorrow-esfk81

 

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

We're saying "happy trails" to Brad/Ana Miller family

Brad Miller

The 2018 and 2019 UMM commencement programs remain on my late mother's bed. My plan was to deposit one there each year to symbolize my parents' commitment to the institution. 

The programs are placed on top of a wonderful quilt that was courtesy Knute Nelson Hospice, when Mom was still alive. She worked on the UMM campus for many years. She is best remembered as manager of the campus post office. She died in 2018 after having been in home hospice for about a year. 

We are coming up on the third anniversary of her death. She'd be proud to observe the commencement programs on her bed, but disappointed that a 2020 program is not there. The pandemic came along and changed so much. Mom would have a hard time conceiving of it all. 

Dad was born in 1916 so he and his four older brothers had to survive the Spanish flu. His mom and dad likewise survived. But his father Martin died too soon of cancer in 1933. And my Grandma Carrie died of a stroke in 1949. She was age 63, three years younger than I am now, so you could say her death was too soon also. And I never got to meet her. 

The news coming out of UMM now isn't of the kind to lift one's spirits. I suppose when someone retires, it isn't really bad news but in the case of Michelle Behr, it surprised me. She gave me the impression of being quite vigorous with a lot more to offer. I don't know her age and it wouldn't matter to me. Look how old our president of the U.S. is, at the top of the federal government. 

Might Ms. Behr be glad to be relieved of some of the pressures of her job in Morris? I can only imagine the special pressure and challenges brought about by this most atypical 2020-21 academic year. Music concerts livestreamed only. I can brag that I took in some live singing last summer when Brad Miller had small groups gather at the Killoran stage weekly. I wonder if he realized how absolutely rare it was for any kind of performance to happen at that stage, named for Eleanor Killoran. 

 

Look below veneer

We get news today pertaining to UMM choir director Miller. As with Behr, the news is not heartening. The official statements about this are of course very superficial. They are sort of "canned" and are dripping with positiveness toward everyone. As a writer who cut his teeth during Watergate, I'm always amused and a little discouraged by such public statements. The statements suggest everything is absolutely peachy-keen. The people loved their stay in Morris, loved the institution and wish to share a smiley face with all. 

Wish I could put total credence in such statements, because then, what a wonderful utopian world we would have. America in the late '60s was dystopian. We had the Vietnam war. Then we developed a hard-edged cynicism because of the prolonged Watergate affair. The '70s were the Murphy's Law decade. 

We now wonder if the disaster of the pandemic will have consequences tamping down our conditioned optimism. Maybe we'll be programmed to expect some bad outcomes again. Does this mean "The Gong Show" could come back? That's a joke, sort of. 

Ana Miller

OK so Brad Miller is riding off into the sunset. He delivered the goods as UMM choir director. Just as important, he had a young and vigorous family. The family is precisely the type that is needed in our churches today. 

The Millers are/were in First Lutheran of Morris. It's an ELCA church, about which you might suggest it needs to cling to its young and vigorous families. A friend of mine refers to the young adults as "tweeners." He says of these people that "there aren't enough" at First Lutheran, or presumably many other churches, to promote stability for the future. And now we lose the Millers. 

Brad puts a positive sheen on things by saying "we have loved this church, community and university so very much and it will be difficult to say our 'see ya laters' to so many friends." Sounds like he's talking about Lake Wobegon. 

Brad writes "we'd appreciate your continued prayers as we begin this transition process and look forward to connecting with you as we pass through each others' neighborhoods in the future!" 

So they loved it here. But Brad was sending his resume around.

 

Not so far away

Brad announces that he'll be the head choir director at St. John's University/College of St. Benedict. I'm thinking: my understanding is that the U of M is a "plum" place to be for academics, the top of the heap. "U of M" is an ideal pedigree. My father carried that association proudly throughout his life. And Brad is leaving our UMM for a private institution. 

Brad's public statement, public in the sense that he shared it with First Lutheran choir members, is boilerplate positive or happy-face in my eyes, as a veteran of the Watergate era. It opens the question of what the heck is going on? I mean, WHY? An element of discomfort with UMM, its morale or its perceived future? A perception of the U as having an especially difficult time coming out of the pandemic? Maybe a private school can rebound better? These are shots in the dark. 

Michelle Behr

Yes, it is possible there are morale issues at UMM. In terms of attitude it may not be an optimal situation. Is there some discord between departments and divisions? Such things can crop up in academia - maybe that's like saying the Pope is Catholic. Student apathy? I have heard that assessment as well. 

A friend from First Lutheran comments that "Brad's new job in St. Cloud is probably more prestigious, but is that everything?" A different friend of mine noted "Brad and Ana are employed by the U, they have young kids growing up in a small-town atmosphere, and they want to chuck that to move to the gang-riddled St. Cloud area?" 

Ahem: my undergraduate education was in St. Cloud. That was so long ago. The city was a different kind of place. If anything, it was stereotyped as nearly 100 percent Catholic. (I was an agnostic.) 

What can I offer on UMM's alleged morale issues or conflict at present? Well, just this: I look at the old music programs from when my father founded the UMM music department, and I'm struck by how oriented the institution was to West Central Minnesota specifically. Imagine, the Morris campus being created to serve West Central Minnesota! A novel idea I guess. 

I look at the vintage rosters of musicians and they are so centered on outstate western. Places like Ortonville, Elbow Lake etc. And why not get a substantial number of Stevens County youth going to UMM? Shall we go back to this kind of model? There's always room for some big city kids and obviously we welcome students of color and gays, right? Let's all be one big happy family with our focus based on the rich west central area of Minnesota.

Makes too much sense?

 

Addendum: Ana Miller, a supremely talented vocalist, has also been on board with UMM staff as teaching specialist. What a void this family will leave. Is Morris falling into a general pattern of decline? A final thought: I'm sad that Brad never got to direct, to my knowledge, a performance of my father's "UMM Hymn." Maybe the institution is just consciously trying to move away from its past, its roots, its origins, just in the spirit of "moving ahead." Such logic can have merit. But it's such a neat melody, n'est-ce-pas?! Ken Hodgson directed the Hymn periodically through the years, including when Garrison Keillor was here. Next time UMM has an in-person commencement, what a celebratory air the Hymn would provide!

 

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Loge wins duel with Benson's Peterson in offense fest

Tigers 93, Benson 79

The Tigers overcame Benson's Ben Peterson and his 40 points Thursday night. How did we do that? In part it was with 51 points from our Jackson Loge. 

Yes, the game at Benson had quite the exhibition of talent on the hardwood. Peterson and Loge were top-notch in long-range shooting. Fans saw Peterson sink half his long-range tries, six of 12, while Loge split the cords on seven of 12. 

MACA was the 93-79 victor in this game that was a treat for offense aficionados. We're 13-2 now. Benson was left with a 7-9 mark. We had a seven-point advantage at halftime, 34-27. Our second half advantage was likewise seven. 

I would guess that Loge is getting steadily more attention from college recruiters. He made 19 of 34 field goal shots en route to his point harvest of 51. Toby Gonnerman made three of four and posted eleven points. Also scoring were: Brandon Jergenson (8), Riley Reimers (8), Durgin Decker (6), Cole Wente (3), Thomas Tiernan (3) and Sam Kleinwolterink (3). Kleinwolterink got his three points on one-for-one in 3's. Loge was the standout here with his seven makes, then we see Jergenson (2), Decker (1), Wente (1) and Kleinwolterink. 

Loge and Gonnerman made six and five freethrows respectively. The Tigers had 33 rebounds with nine coming offensively. Tiernan with his seven assists led there. Decker had two steals of our team total four. Loge blocked three shots while Reimers and Gonnerman each blocked one. 

Peterson was dominant for his Braves but teammate Cole Hedman also scored well with 17 points. Other Braves who scored: Juan Espinoza (9), Abe Peterson (8), Matt Laumeyer (4) and Sam Lenarz (1). Ben Peterson was joined in the 3-pointer attack by Espinoza (three of five), Abe Peterson (2/5) and Hedman (2/8). 

Espinoza grabbed nine rebounds, complemented in this department by Ben Peterson (5) and Lenarz (4). Ben Peterson led in assists with three and steals with two. Ben Peterson was nearly perfect in freethrows, eight of nine.

 

Girls: Hancock 47, MACA 39

An outstanding Hancock Owl team came to Motown Thursday and stayed unbeaten. Outstanding yes, no doubt, but one has to wonder why MACA can't fare a little better just based on comparative town sizes. Not only is Morris' population substantially larger - no comparison really - we also take in Chokio-Alberta. 

Yours truly spent years covering C-A's stand-alone basketball teams for the Morris newspaper. There was lots of excitement as with Christy Staples of the girls team. I enjoyed working with the late Jill Willis who coached the Spartan girls. I remember Jill was amused when I penned a big headline suggesting C-A might be a "team of destiny" that season. Well it was true even if my writing reflected a little hyperbole. Moi? Well, I did veer toward interpretive reporting sometimes. 

In the 1980s the small schools seemed to generate a lot more excitement than Morris. It took a while for Motown to adjust things up a notch. I don't think Morris GBB was ever able to quite catch up with Hancock before the four-class system was instituted. 

What is the population of Morris? What is the population of Hancock? Are these numbers meaningful for the purpose of analysis? Many of my fellow Morris residents were enraged that I would ask such questions. These people didn't seem very constructive, just resentful and angry. 

I enjoyed working with Paul Daly when he coached the C-A boys, although I wish he had spent less time ice fishing. Just kidding! It's just that ice fishing is not my cup of tea. I could have a hard time reaching Paul sometimes - evidently he had no phone in his fishhouse. I smile as I remember those "old times." 

So, this year's Hancock girls showed superiority over the MACA Tigers Thursday at Motown, score of 47-39. So the Owls are 15-0 while the orange and black has 4-11 numbers. I watched the post-game interview with the Morris coach on the public access channel. It was very dry, boilerplate, predictable. OK not interpretive. (Or is it "interpretative?) Coach Dale Henrich talked about how his team "played hard" in a losing cause. 

Why is it that a group of athletes representing a town of 5,334 - this doesn't account for C-A - struggles vs. a stand-alone town from down the road, population 795? I ask questions like this. My media brethren do not, would consider it sacrilege. "Nothing to see here," I guess. 

Kudos to the Owls who are ranked eighth in Minnesota 'A'. They trailed at halftime by two, then Tony Thielke must have drawn up some superior strategy. Congrats to Tony. I'm sure Randy cheers a lot these days. I always enjoyed working with Randy Thielke of Hancock. Owls hoot! 

Owl Carlee Hanson scored all ten of her points in the second half. It was Rylee Hanson on top of the scoring list with 12, plus this Owl had seven rebounds. Tori Pahl contributed ten points and seven rebounds. The lead changed hands often in the game. The Owls started showing command in the last two minutes. 

For MACA, Maddy Grove was our leader with eleven points. Meredith Carrington and Cate Kehoe each scored seven. Emma Bowman put in six, Sydney Dietz and LaRae Kram three each, and Kaylie Raths two. Carrington and Kehoe each made two 3-pointers. Kehoe nailed both her attempts. Grove and Kram made our other 3's. Dietz and Kram each grabbed four rebounds. Carrington stole the ball four times.

 

The softball fields project

I am sharing here an email I sent to a friend the other day sharing about the pumped-up UMM softball fields improvement project. They may not be called the UMM fields any more, as it's what they call a "cooperative project," meaning that various pockets are going to be picked. Here's the email I sent:

 

Do you ever have occasion to drive past the UMM sotball fields or "complex" as it's called? You realize of course the big "improvement project" there. My walking routes go past there.

I take no pleasure in being critical but what the heck is going on there? I notice hardly any difference in the place. Only noticeable difference is a little shack-like structure in the middle. Now the City of Morris has announced it is putting a hold on any further contributions to this? Am I naive in asking why the City of Morris is even involved with this? What's the City of Morris interests?

It has been known as the UMM softball fields and it seems to me the U has plenty of money to do big things like this. The city has jacked up our water bills. Oh, the "treatment plant." If the government really wanted us to have this plant, maybe government could cover the cost as an ENTITLEMENT to the people. Oh, like the big gov't subsidies to oil companies. I will not be planting zinnias this summer, I need to reduce water consumption. That's a shame.

 

Is the City of Morris getting suspicious of the whole thing? When you're in charge of the public purse, you must be highly vigilant about all the pocket-pickers around, the interests who talk big but really just want money. I didn't come into town on a turnip truck. Here's an email from a different friend who seeks to illuminate some. Maybe it's too late to turn back now, just like with the godforsaken water treatment plant.  

 

Relative to the softball field, when Blaine (Hill) was on his weekly radio show recently, he said something about the city having contributed some money to that project, but then whoever is in charge of the project came asking for more money. So, Blaine said no more .

 

Let's not overlook the "Zonar" controversy at the school. Sounds like a name from a science fiction novel. The supt. had to "apologize" at one point and that's rare among administrative people, the alternative being to spin, rationalize, whatever. Here's some input I got on that:

 

The supt. apologizing wasn’t really necessary, but apparently some conspiracy-theory people got excited about “passes” that contained computer chips being given to all kids that ride the buses. The purpose was to make sure if a kid missed their stop, or didn’t get on the right bus, or get on when they were supposed to so that the school would know right away. The buses are/will be equipped with a “reader” that can get the card info even if it was in the kid’s backpack (like those readers in financial institutions and airports that can scan people when they walk buy and read what denominations of paper money they have in their wallets or purses). From personal experience, I can see how we would have benefited from that program when son (name withheld) had a bus mix-up once when he was in kindergarten. But, the school isn’t supposed to track kids against their own free will – compromise of freedom, doncha know.

 

That's earl, brother (apologies to the late Earl Wilson).

 

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Northern Pacific Railway allowed family to blossom

NP locomotive No. 2223, 1948

My mother grew up in the company town of Brainerd MN. It was a company town with the railroad, Northern Pacific. 

Not long after Mom passed away in 2018, I went through items in her bedroom and found her father's Northern Pacific ID card. It was in a leather wallet that had his name engraved. 

My grandfather Andrew died long before I came into the world. The little newspaper headline announcing his passing was blunt: "Andrew Ohlson, retired NP worker, is dead." Well it was a fact. It came about in the midst of the World War II years, on October 12, 1943. 

Brainerd appears in WWII history in a very sad way: its National Guard unit was activated and was captured by the Japanese in the Philippines.

My mother Martha left her studies at Hamline University to return home and support the family. At Hamline she formed a good friendship with Coleen Gray the future Hollywood actress. Coleen's real name was Bernice Jensen. She is best known for her films "Nightmare Alley," "Red River" and Stanley Kubrick's "The Killing." 

Andrew's obituary didn't flesh out enough of his life, unfortunately. I have the clipping from the Brainerd Daily Dispatch, a newspaper that today has the word "daily" excised. Yes there is downsizing in the print media. The paper is today twice weekly. The obit reported that Andrew passed "at the NP Hospital in St. Paul." He was age 73. Mom said the cause was a stroke. 

Andrew's funeral was at a church with the same name as the one we came to join in Morris: "First Lutheran." 

Andrew was born in 1870 in Sweden. He came to the U.S. as a young man. He lived in Brainerd for 40 years and worked as machinist helper at the NP shops. His widow Hilda lived long enough to join the Williams family in Morris. She too succumbed to a stroke. She died at Stevens County Memorial Hospital on August 19 of 1963. It was three months before the assassination of JFK. The Williams family was settled into our residence on Northridge Drive, Morris. She was age 77 when she left this life. I was a third grader at Longfellow Elementary School in west Morris. 

 

The image at right shows the Ohsons when my mom was a young girl. She's the one at left. Along with parents Andrew and Hilda, the photo includes Mom's sister Mildred.

 

Back home for internment

It was essential for Hilda to have her final resting place in Brainerd. So she's spending eternity at Evergreen Cemetery there. I compliment the cemetery on having an outstanding website that presents photos of every marker. 

"Ohlson" is an unusual spelling, so when I found a marker for "Johanek Ohlson" my interest was piqued. I learned she was Andrew's first wife. Nothing unpleasant to recount here in terms of conflict or anything like that. Johanek died in 1920 at the age of 46. I don't recall Mom ever saying anything about her. My aunt Doris related in a Christmas card a couple years ago that to her knowledge, Andrew and Johanek had no children. 

Andrew married Hilda and began a family of three children. He was at an advanced age for doing this. 

I find it sad I cannot find more information on Johanek. I found the alternate spelling "Johanna." Oh, and Andrew's cemetery marker has his last name "Olson" without the "h." But the cemetery directory has the name spelled right. Odd. 

I am rather haunted knowing nothing about Johanek, the love of my grandfather's life for a chapter. She was a human being with a story. 

I was eight years old when Grandma Hilda passed. I can share an amusing anecdote about her: Not only did this Scandinavian use the term "uffda," she knew the variant "ishta." Years later Del Sarlette would inform me of the distinction between the two: "Ishta" suggested something worse! For example, if I peed into the toilet and didn't flush after every time, Hilda might grab my collar and say "ishta!" 

I remember making the trip to Brainerd for Grandma's funeral at the Nelson-Doran Funeral Home. My aunt Mildred and her children were there. She had five total but I don't think all were born yet. I was especially close to the two oldest, "Dianne and Debbie." My ties with them ended in an ignominious way with the parents breaking up. Certainly I will not elaborate here. 

The NP logo

Years later Dianne reached out to us, actually showed up at our front door unannounced, and after that we made kind of a halting re-acquaintance with the group. It was with some sense of inhibition. No reason it couldn't be closer. I gathered Mom felt those kids had a volatile quality. Could I handle that? Mom's gone now so I guess I have to decide. Yes Mom is gone! I must be autonomous.

 

God bless Julio

Mildred's last years were at the Dorchester House in Lincoln City, Oregon. One time Mom and I were on the phone with her when "Julio," a janitorial guy, entered her room to change a light bulb. After that, I'd always tell Mildred "say hello to Julio." It seemed a comfortable place. She eventually died from esophageal cancer, not a pleasant way to go. She was cared for in home hospice by her daughter-in-law from her second marriage. My mom ended up in home hospice with yours truly. 

Mildred was blessed, or resilient, landing on her feet with a new relationship after her first husband. I grew up in a nuclear family where the bond of my parents never came into question, not one iota. I can't relate to the kind of discord that is so common. I can only try to grasp it in the abstract. You know, maybe this is why I'm living life as a loner now: don't want to take the risks. I want my life to continue being as placid as possible, because that was my norm growing up. Troubled waters? It might upset me too much. 

Grandma Hilda was born in Limhamn, Sweden, on December 16, 1885. Andrew's obit did not specify his native city in Sweden. Awfully economical obit for ol' Andrew. There had to be some interesting aspects to his life. I flipped over his Northern Pacific ID card and found his signature. Handwriting rather like mine, cursive of course. I now use the leather wallet for my debit cards. What would Andrew and Hilda think of "paying with plastic?" I can hardly keep up with all the changes in the year 2021. 

 

The image at right shows the Ohlsons at a later time. Mother Hilda poses with my mom Martha (left), Edwin and Mildred.

 
My mom graduated from Brainerd High School in 1942. She played with the band for ceremonies in connection with the star-crossed Brainerd National Guard unit. 

My father directed the Brainerd High School choir from 1941 to 1942. I never did inquire about how far his relationship with Mom developed at the time. I mean, something must have happened. 

I discovered press clippings about great accomplishments by the Brainerd High School choir in contests under Dad. Dad answered the call of wartime and served in the Pacific theater as gun crew commander on a merchant ship, an oil tanker. Toward war's end, he was assigned to the USS Appalachian. He visited the mainland of Japan in war's immediate aftermath, found the Japanese people to be incredibly humbled and passive. 

 

I needn't know, I guess

How did Mom and Dad resume their relationship? I never asked. They never talked much about their wedding ceremony. It seemed very small, not a public event at all. Two adult friends posed with them for a photo, but I never learned anything about them. Well, if my parents had wanted me to know more, they could have told me. 

Dad began teaching at the U of M-St. Paul School of Agriculture. I was born in January of 1955 in the east metro suburb of Ramsey. This I confirmed from a genealogy website a few years ago. There was something traumatic about my birth and I don't know if this involved me or my mother. I heard hints about this but didn't seek to explore - too unpleasant. It was a C-section birth. 

I did learn that Mom had a stillborn child before me. I learned she could have no more kids after me. So if you resented me because I was an only child, don't blame my late mother. 

  

Brainerd, a blessed place

My family went back to Brainerd quite often through the years. I considered it God's country. Such beautiful lakes and forest country, a contrast from our (flat) Morris area. 

Mom's two siblings Mildred and Edwin are with her in heaven. Her best friends in Brainerd were in a Northern Pacific family too - these were the Schiels, Art and Myrt and their three children. Mom was BFF with Ruth Schiel. Ruth's siblings were Frank ("Sparky") and Gloria. Gloria's son Richard ("Dicky") was killed by friendly fire in Vietnam in 1966. We attended his funeral in Brainerd. I remember the graveside service at Evergreen Cemetery where Gloria was inconsolable. 

What an unnecessary loss. God works in ways mysterious. A few years ago when "Lady Bird" Johnson died, the media gave it very little attention. My boomer generation did not care to extend much respect to the Johnsons, as LBJ pushed the USA's involvement in 'Nam. I might suggest "damn his memory." The war trumped his civil rights work.

 

The best memories

I fondly remember playing cards with Art and Myrt on the porch of their cottage at Pelican Lake. Talk about God's country! That was right on the doorstep of heaven. We played the "31" card game. 

"You done me dirt," Myrt would say if she felt I dealt her a bad hand. She had a wonderful and unique personality, could put a smile on anyone's face. 

Dicky's brother Lyle has been an incredibly versatile person in his life: multiple marriages and jobs, and I envy him for that skill, adjusting to new circumstances. Seriously. Here I sit in the same home where I was in '63. 

In Brainerd, NP Railroad shops historic district

I haven't been to Brainerd since about 1980. A shame, I'll really have to try to get back. I soaked in quite a bit of Brainerd as I was growing up, so much so my memories have value for the Crow Wing Historical Society. My family took part in the community's Centennial in 1971. I guess we had time for both Brainerd's Centennial and our own in Morris, same year. 

 

It's all about the railroad

Brainerd owes its existence and much of its importance to the Northern Pacific Railway. Before it was decided that the railroad would come to the area, there was no Brainerd and no thought of a settlement there. The railroad brought mechanics, laborers and merchants. 

The most notable event in the history of the NP was the completion of a through line to the west coast in August, 1883. Somewhere out in Montana, the rails met, thus joining the east to the west by "hands of steel." A golden spike was driven and ceremonies spread along the Northern Pacific line. 

As World War II drew to a close, extensive additions were made by the railway shops in Brainerd. The NP merged with other lines in 1970 to form Burlington Northern Railroad, which became BNSF in 1996. 

Mom's friend Ruth was married to Chuck and they had one child, daughter Nancy who is my age. Ruth and Chuck are deceased. Chuck joined my dad and I for a hunting trip out to Wyoming. I got a deer but not a trophy. Neat to see the "mule deer" out there. Ruth and Chuck Closson were big in the "Eastern Star" organization. If you know anyone in the organization, you know what all this involves: lots of pomp and rituals. I haven't seen Nancy since the '70s, so unfortunate. 

The community of Brainerd stays close to my heart.

 

My podcast for March 3

My mother would be pleased I'm sharing spiritual-themed thoughts for this Lenten season of 2021. I allude to the special challenges of the mainstream Christian denominations. There is decline. Mom cherished her church which is now in the ELCA, and I compliment that synod on its inclusive and progressive attitudes. Here is the permalink to my "Morris Mojo" podcast:

https://anchor.fm/brian-williams596/episodes/Another-Lenten-week-erdhtg  

 

Edwin Ohlson in service to his country. He's with sisters Martha (left) and Mildred.

 - Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com