AMERY
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2020 VOL. 128 NO. 19 www.theameryfreepress.com $1.00
Smith feels bad weather was just as scary as war
Fall temps breeze market into indoor space BY APRIL ZIEMER EDITOR@THEAMERYFREEPRESS.COM
World-renowned chef Julia Child once said, “You don’t have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces-just good food from fresh ingredients.” Organizers of the Amery Farmers Market are seeing to it, that visitors have even more time to take advantage
BY APRIL ZIEMER EDITOR@THEAMERYFREEPRESS.COM
Editor’s note: To mark the 75th Anniversary of World War II, interviews were conducted with living veterans. This is one in an ongoing series. When all of his other classmates enlisted in the Army after graduating from Duluth Central in 1944, Ross Smith enlisted in the Navy. It was Ross Smith August 1944 and Smith said his family was fine with his decision. “They knew I was going to end up somewhere as everyone was being drafted at the time,” Smith said. Shortly after Smith had graduated, his father bought a hardware store in Pine Island, MN. His parents moved to Pine Island at the same time that Smith left for the Navy. He attended boot camp in Farragut, Idaho. Smith’s most vivid memory from his first day of boot camp was his haircut. “It was terrible. We were all bald headed by the end,” he said. Smith said some of the clothes they threw at him on the first day
of local grown, fresh fare, by phasing the Soo Line Park summer and early fall staple inside to the Amery Community Center. Market manager Val Burke said the idea of hosting an indoor Farmers Market first came from Assistant Market Manager Brenda Boe APRIL ZIEMER | AMERY FREE PRESS
SEE MARKET, PAGE 21
A double rainbow shined over a recent farmers market.
MEGAN NOVAK
2020-2021 Amery FFA Chapter Officer Team New elected Amery FFA Officers shown above L-R: Katherine Elwood, Diedra Meyer, Jonathan Lorsung, Courtney Stream, Hannah Elmer, Anarene Evenson, Megan Osero, Courtney Glenna and Juliana Graff. See additional photos on page 13.
SEE WWII, PAGE 13
Clear Lake grad vies for title of Ms. Veteran America BY APRIL ZIEMER EDITOR@THEAMERYFREEPRESS.COM
CONTRIBUTED
Brandi Pett held fundraiser on a recent trip home to Clear Lake.
New t n Patieer Off
Brandi Pett always knew she wanted to be in the military. “From a young age I believed that there was nothing more honorable than serving your country,” she said. Pett joined the US Air Force in 2003 as an Aerospace Medical Technician (medic), one week
after she graduated from Clear Lake High School. Pett had moved to Clear Lake at the age of 13, after her father’s military service had ended and he started to work for Clear Lake School District as the Transportation Director. She said, “It was a bit of a transition at first to move from Germany to Wisconsin, but I soon fell in love with my brand new
school, homecoming and the fall season. She grew up in the little community with her two sisters Jessica and Jayme and parents Art and Tracy Pett. Pett said her military service was not the standard military experience. “After I got to my first duty station after my clinical rotations I found I
Time is Ticking!
SEE PETT, PAGE 3
Dr. Rollyn Lee Dr. Heather Marks
We are approaching that time of year again – “Use it or Lose it!” Don’t forget to take advantage of your remaining dental insurance benefits before the end of the year. Call our office to schedule an appointment. ~ Always Accepting New Patients ~ NEWS 715-268-8101 editor@theameryfreepress.com
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