Profile2015

profile MAY 2015 24TH ANNUAL EDITION

A glimpse into the lives and activities that make our community unique.

A glimpse into the lives and activities that make our community unique.

FARIBAULT

Daily News

Accidents happen, when they do, we are close to Home. can make the roadis to Close recovery ThWe e Road to Rehab toanHome easier one. With precision surgery and expert staff, you will be on your way to a faster recovery and doing the things you love.

(507) 334-6451

(507) 334-1601

to Rehab is o Home

(507) 332-4790

Conveniently located We can make the road to rehabilitation an easier one.

on the Healthcare Campus

With precision surgery and expert rehabilitation staff,

in Faribault

you will be on your way to a faster recovery and doing

(507) 334-6451

the things you love.

(507) 334-1601 507.334.1601

35 State Avenue 路 Faribault, MN www.ofc-clinic.com

Hans Bengtson, MD

Clinton A. Muench, MD

Community

Erik S. Stroemer, MD

People

Robert W. Shepley, MD

Quality

Bradley R. Wille, MD

Healthcare

Page 1 | Profile 2015

ADVERTISERS A&W Restaurant ................... 20

Realife Cooperative .............. 32

ABC Companies ................... 23

Reliance Bank ....................... 31

Advantage Care Hearing Center ................................. 13

Richie Eye Clinic .................. 35

Ahlman’s ................................ 9 Basher’s Sports Bar & Grill .. 20 Bauernfeind Goedtel ............. 38 Bethlehem Academy ....Back Cover Borchert Motors, Inc. ........... 25

SAGE Electrochromics, Inc. ...................... Back Cover Sammon Home Improvement ...................... 37

Cardinal Pointe...................... 35 Exteriors Plus ........................ 31

Southern Heights Dental ....... 15

Fareway Food Stores........ Inside Back Cover

State Bank of Faribault ........... 3

Faribault Chamber of Commerce ....................... 3,40

Wieber Physical Therapy ...... 37

Faribault Rental..................... 25 Farmer Seed & Nursery .......... 3

Publisher: SAM GETT Editor: JACI SMITH

Ultimate Tan ............................ 9

May 2015 | A special of the Faribault Daily News 514 Central Ave., P.O. Box 249 | Faribault, MN 55021

Cover Design & Layout: KATE TOWNSEND-NOET Rice County Circulation Manager: KRIS JOHNSON

Profile 2015 is distributed to subscribers and readers of the Faribault Daily News at no additional charge. It is available for individual sale at the front counter of the Faribault Daily News for $1. All rights reserved. ©2015

R.J. Dwyer Custom Builder, Inc......................... 15

South Central College ..... Inside Back Cover

Faribault Parks & Rec. .......... 40

Profile FARIBAULT

Daily News

WELCOME

I

Faribault.com Faribault.com

t’s hard to believe we’ve been doing this for more than 20 years, but there’s so much to share about Faribault, the supply of stories are endless!

This year we’re looking closely at some interesting aspects of our history, including a local soldier who died before knowing he was awarded the Bronze Star and a famous duel that almost happened between Abraham Lincoln and a local pioneer.

We’ll also profile Rice County’s own personal Swami, chronicle the history of brickmaking in the area and spend some time with Faribault Middle School’s new police liaison.

And of course, we’ll feature our 9 Unsung Heroes and the 2015 Citizen of the Year, Tami Schluter.

This publication is a direct result of the teamwork by the staff of the Faribault Daily News and you — the story ideas and expertise you provide us, the nominations you provide of residents who do good community work and the support through advertising in our publications.

We hope you enjoy the 24th edition of Profile. It’s a keepsake for you that offers a glimpse of just a few of the many reasons why we love Faribault.

Faribault.com

Clubs & Organizations ....... 16 M.A.D.D. Rice County Pork Producers

TABLE OF CONTENTS Citizen of the year ...................................................... 4

Federated Mutual Insurance .. 32 Garlick Water Conditioning .... 2

Downtown Businesses ......... 28

Unsung Heroes ........................................................... 6

H&R Block ............................. 3

Burkhartzmeyer Shoes

War Hero .................................................................... 8

Hy-Vee .................................. 13

Fette Electronics

Mayo Clinic Health Systems ..40

Phone Station

Met-Con Lumber & Hardware..........................38

Weddings by Deb

Nordmeier Bros. ..................... 9

Local Area Churches .......... 26

OFC - Orthopaedic & Fracture Clinic ........ Inside Front Cover

Divine Mercy Catholic Church

Parker Kohl Funeral Home & Crematory .......................... 13

First Baptist Church Peace United Methodist Church

Brickmaking............................................................. 12 The Duel................................................................... 14 Sister Cities .............................................................. 16 POW Barracks ......................................................... 21 Bygone Days ............................................................ 23 School Resource Officer .......................................... 25 Security Bank Clock ................................................ 29 Gas Engine ............................................................... 33 Swami Ken ............................................................... 37

Profile 2015 | Page 2

Page 3 | Profile 2015

“A GROWING CONCERN SINCE 1888” MON thru FRI 8 A.M. - 5:30 P.M. SAT. 8 A.M. - 5 P.M. · SUN. 10 A.M. - 5 P.M.

OPEN YEAR ROUND

IT’S REFUND 507-334-4381 SEASON.

Serving businesses in the Faribault area since 1913.

Honoring the many active members who make the Chamber the leading business organization promoting growth and prosperity.

530 Wilson Avenue NW, Faribault, MN www.faribaultmn.org

8 1 8 N W 4 t h S t . , F a r i b a u l t · 5 0 7- 3 3 4 - 1 6 2 5

Every year the U.S. government issues billions of dollars in tax refunds. So many billions we’re now calling tax season … refund season. And nobody gets more of your money back than H&R Block. Guaranteed.

e r o m y o j n E

!

IT’S IT’S IT’S M O D E IT’S E IT’S FR IT’S IT’S REFUND REFUND IT’S REFUND Put our expertise to work on your refund.

Download the SBF mobile app today!

Partner with Faribault’s community bank for the mobile convenience and freedom you need to enjoy more out of life. Visit us for more freedoms and great service for home mortgages, business financing, and more.

Creating Customers For Life

Online Mortgage Application at:

dollars in tax refunds. So many billions we’re now Every year the U.S.to government issues billions of Put our expertise work on your refund. dollars in tax refunds. many billions we’re now calling tax season … refund season.

AndSo nobody calling tax season … refund season. And nobody gets more of your money back than H&R getsyear morethe of U.S. yourgovernment money backissues than H&R Every billions of Block. Guaranteed. dollars Block.inGuaranteed. tax refunds. So many billions we’re now

STATE BANK OF FARIBAULT

428 Central Avenue 507-332-7401 Faribo West Mall 507-334-6917

Every Every year year the theEvery U.S. U.S. government government year the U.S.issues issues government Everybillions billions year the issues of ofU.S. government billions of issues billions of Every the U.S. government issues of dollars dollars in inyear tax tax refunds. refunds. dollars in So So tax many many refunds. billions billions dollars Sobillions we’re we’re many in tax now now billions refunds. we’re So many now billions we’re now dollars in tax refunds. So many billions we’re now calling calling tax tax season season calling … … refund refund tax season season. season. …calling refund And And nobody tax nobody season. season And … refund nobodyseason. And nobody callingbillions tax season Every year the U.S. government issues of … refund season. And nobody gets getsgets more more of of your your gets money money more of back back your than than money gets H&R H&R more back of than your H&R money back than H&R more of government yourbillions money back H&R dollars tax refunds.

Sogovernment many year billions we’re now Every the U.S. issues billions of Everyinyear the U.S. issues of than Block.

Block.

Guaranteed.

Guaranteed.

Block.

Guaranteed.

Block. Guaranteed.

Block.

Guaranteed. calling tax season … refund season.

And nobodySo many billions we’re now dollars in tax refunds. dollars inthe taxU.S. refunds.

So many billions we’re Every year government issues billions of now gets more of your moneycalling back than tax H&R season … refund season. And nobody our expertise towork workon on your your refund.

Put PutPut our our expertise expertise Put our to tonow work expertise on your toPut refund. refund. work ouron expertise your refund. to work on your refund. dollars intax taxseason refunds.…

Sorefund many billions we’re calling season.

And nobody Block.

Guaranteed. gets more of your money back than H&R calling tax season … refund season.

And nobody gets more of your money back than H&R Block. Guaranteed. gets more of yourtomoney back H&R Put our expertise work on yourthan refund.

Block.

Guaranteed.

Block. Guaranteed.

Every year the U.S.to government issues billions of Put our expertise work on your refund. dollars in tax refunds. So many billions we’re now Put our expertise to work on your refund. calling season … refund season. And nobody Put our expertise to work on tax your refund. gets more of your money back than H&R Block. Guaranteed.

Every year the U.S. government issues billions of

Member FDIC NMLS# 638054

320 4th St calling NW,tax Faribault, MN 55021 season … refund season.

And nobody

Putmore our to work onthan yourH&R refund. gets of yourrefund. money back Put our expertise to work on expertise your 318 N Cedar Ave, Owatonna, 320 4th St NW,Block.

Faribault, MN 55021 MN 55060 Guaranteed.

14-3002

SBF

REFUND REFUND REFUND REFUND SEASON. SEASON. SEASON. REFUND IT’S SEASON. IT’S SEASON. SEASON. SEASON. SEASON. REFUND IT’S REFUND SEASON. IT’S REFUND SEASON. REFUND SEASON. SEASON. 507-334-8888 |507-451-1491 507-334-8888

Not everyone receives a refund.toBased onyour Maximum Put our expertise work on refund. Refund Guarantee, see HRBLOCK.COM for details. OBTP#B13696 ©2014 HRB Tax Group, Inc.

Profile 2015 | Page 4

CITIZEN OF THE YEAR

PERSON OF ACTION

Tami Schluter named Faribault Daily News’ 2015 Citizen of the Year

By JACI SMITH

jsmith@faribault.com

By her own − and anyone else who knows her − definition, Tami Schluter is a person of action.

That’s the reason she’s the Daily News‘ 2015 Citizen of the Year.

But she could’ve been someone else’s citizen of the year, if not for a little bit of perfect timing, and possible divine intervention.

Why Faribault?

Tami and husband Doug’s only child, Makenna, was in high school on an exchange trip when the two got their first taste of life as empty nesters.

They decided to take a road trip along winding Hwy. 61, staying at B&Bs along the way.

When they stopped in Wabasha, they encountered a house nestled across the street from the river.

The two had always wanted a home on the water and since she had her real estate license at the time, the two were able to take a look inside the house. The innocent thought crossed Tami’s mind: “This would make a nice bed and breakfast.”

The seed was planted and soon the hunt began in earnest.

That home didn’t work out, but when Makenna headed off to college in 2006 and another property − one that was already a B&B − went on the market in Wabasha, Tami and Doug began negotiating to buy it.

That didn’t work out, either.

This time, Doug had to take Tami to lunch in a public place to tell her, Tami said.

Meanwhile, in 2007, Makenna told her parents she wasn’t coming home from college that summer. So they put their house in Eden Prairie up for sale, thinking they’d have time to consider

Tami Schluter and her husband, Doug, in a Tilt-A-Whirl car at the Minnesota State Fair. (Photo courtesy of Tami Schluter)

their options.

It sold in 32 days.

“What about this house in Faribault?,” Doug asked Tami one day. The Queen Anne Victorian had been on the market for two years. It wasn’t on any sort of picturesque driving route like Wabasha and they had absolutely

no connection to the community nor knew anything about it.

But they went to look at it anyway.

“And we walked in the door and went ‘Uh Oh’,” Tami said. The house, which belonged to Civil War veteran and early Faribault entrepreneur John Hutchinson,

had a beautiful wraparound porch, natural woodwork, an old fireplace and was just steps from the downtown. Except for the water, it met all the criteria the two had settled upon for their dream home.

The real bonus came when the two realized that a previous

buyer had secured all the necessary permits to open a B&B before her financing fell through.

The city worked with the couple to transfer the permits, the sale closed and by Thanksgiving week 2007, the Schluters owned what is now known at the Historic Hutchinson House B&B.

“It just felt like we were led here,” Tami said.

A love of history and home One of the events that really sealed the deal on Faribault for Tami, she said, was the fact that she got a call from the Faribault Area Chamber of Commerce inviting her and Doug to an event and to meet other community and business leaders.

“Of all the towns we visited and homes we toured, Faribault was the only one that did that and we were impressed,” she said.

Once her preliminary work on the home was finished and they were accepting guests, Tami began to get involved in the community, much like she had in Eden Prairie.

She served on the Chamber of Commerce board of directors for nearly four years and paid particular attention to tourism efforts. She was named its volunteer of the year in 2011. When the Main Street Program came to town, she became involved in it as well.

In 2011, Main Street heard from a consultant who, after a survey and study of the community, suggested an action plan to draw more visitors downtown.

“One of his suggestions was to brand Faribault and use the Tilt-A-Whirl to do it,” Schluter said.

This also intrigued Peggy Keilen, owner of Faribo Air Conditioning & Heating, who served with Schluter on a Main Street committee and who had become friends after meeting Schluter at the Paradise Center for the Arts.

Keilen knew where a couple of old Tilt-A-Whirl cars were and began to try and hook up with Gary Pettipiece of Harley’s Auto Salvage.

See YEAR on 5

Page 5 | Profile 2015

CITIZEN OF THE YEAR

PAST CITIZENS OF THE YEAR

From Page 4 But she didn’t move fast enough for her friend, a person of action.

“She said to me, ‘Well, I just happened to be going by there, how about I stop by?’” Keilen said.

And one visit later, a deal was struck.

Keilen and Schluter could have two of the cars if, once they were restored, they were put on display for the public to enjoy.

The Keilens and the Schluters wondered how to do that one night over dinner. When the show, “American Restoration” came on that same night, Tami had the answer.

That same night, she looked up the show’s website and sent them an email, asking if they’d be interested in restoring a car.

“I think it was less than 12 hours later they called me back, saying they were excited about it,” Tami said. She still has the voicemail on her phone.

Keilen’s husband arranged to get the car out there and the two launched a fund-raising campaign for the $8,200 necessary to pay for the work.

The car was unveiled on TV last fall and is now in storage awaiting placement on the sidewalk outside Burkhartzmeyer’s shoe store on Central Avenue.

The waiting is the hardest part And therein lies the issue. A person of action doesn’t do waiting well. So when questions arose recently about how the city was spending its lodging tax money, Schluter took an active role.

But this wasn’t a project that a few people could take on and see to fruition.

This was politics, committees and meetings where it seemed sometimes little or no progress was made.

That was frustrating to Schluter, and that in turn earned her a bit of a reputation as a troublemaker. A pot-stirrer.

“The tourism thing, that was important to her because she thought the staff could do a much better job of promoting the community,” Keilen said. “She wants everything to run efficiently and the best it can to promote Faribault, Minnesota.

That’s not a bad thing.”

Neither is stirring the pot every once in a while. So, when a tourism commission was formed as result of the questions Schluter and others asked, Tami agreed to serve on it.

She also continues to push the city to keep its promise to install the Tilt-A-

Tami Schluter, fourth from the left, behind home plate at Target Field with other members of the Faribault Beyond the Yellow Ribbon leadership team. Schluter serves as Faribault BTYR’s treasurer. (Daily News file photo)

Schluter and her dog, Butler, on the porch of her home and bed and breakfast, the Historic Hutchinson House. (Photo courtesy of Tami Schluter)

Historic Hutchinson House owner Tami Schluter reads a little bit of the history of the home, now a bed and breakfast, to a group touring the home. Schluter and her husband restored the home after they bought it. (Jaci Smith/Daily News)

Whirl on Central Avenue. The project has been delayed, in part, by an overzealous installment plan that turned out to be a little too costly for the businesses donating the materials and labor.

Central Avenue is scheduled for 3 p.m.

June 18.

Those aren’t her only projects.

Schluter, accompanied by her everpresent companion, Butler the bulldog,

Still, she presses on, interrupting lunch with a reporter to grab a city official whom she’d never met in person and quiz him on the latest developments with the restored car. The installation on

Past Citizens of the Year 1993 — Irene Purdie 1994 — Helen Hoffman 1995 — Charlie Champlin 1996 — Fran and JoAnn Miller 1997 — Bill Korff 1998 — Keith Shaffer 1999 — Lynn Erickson 2000 — Donn Johnson 2001 — Barb Handahl and Donna Crowl 2002 — Gerry Heyer 2003 — Gary Kindseth Richard Carlander, Lifetime Achievement Award 2004 — James Wolf 2005 — Dan Burns 2006 — Todd Markman 2007 — Milo Larson 2008 — Matt Drevlow 2009 — Dr. George Wagner 2010 — Ron Goettsch 2011 — Nick Stoneman 2012 — Chuck and Paul Mooty 2013 — Chad Wolff 2014 — Henry Doyle

serves as treasurer of Faribault Beyond the Yellow Ribbon, an organization that helps find services for the families of soldiers on active duty; and volunteers on a regular basis for the Community Cafe on Tuesday nights at the Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour. She also volunteers at the Paradise Center for the Arts, both having been on stage acting and behind the scenes designing the programs for the community theater’s productions.

During lunch, she unveiled her latest project: Attempting to take down and preserve the Lavender Inn billboard on northbound I-35 and Roberds Lake Boulevard.

Several others in town were working on that project, too, meeting, looking at photos and comparing notes. Within hours of discovering that information, Schluter had compiled all the research she had done and shared it. A week later, she’d already had another conversation with the owners of the billboard to keep the lines of communication open.

A person of action.

“There’s no project she’s not afraid to tackle,” Keilen said. “To have a volunteer like that is priceless.”

Page 7 | Profile 2015

UNSUNG HEROES

Troy Temple

Malyun Ali Ali had the most nominations of all the Daily News’ Unsung Heroes with three Faribault Middle School students each writing in to tell us about the impact Ali has had in their lives.

“I nominate Mrs. Malyun Ali as an Unsung Hero because she has helped out the community in many ways,” wrote nominator Rukia Ahmed.

That help has included translation services for not only Somali children at the middle school, where she has worked for seven years, but also for their families as needed.

Ali has also served as a bridge between the middle school and families in communicating issues at school or passing along the valuable information that every family with a middle school kid needs.

Ali has also used her skills helping during extracurricular activities so that all children, no matter their background, can feel like a part of Faribault Public Schools.

Most people who’ve encountered Troy Temple have usually seen only half his face.

The other part is generally hidden behind his ever-present video camera.

It is his generosity with his time − and his camera − that has garnered Temple an Unsung Hero award.

“Troy gives his time to record programs for all of the schools. He donates the proceeds from any DVD sales to the schools where he recorded the performance,” wrote Matt Drenth in his nomination.

Temple also lends his expertise to the Paradise Community Players and the Merlin Players, to help make sure their performances are of top-notch quality.

Temple has also served for years in the Faribault Soccer Association, currently as past president, and continues to lend his time to maintaining the fields and helping out during tournaments.

Bruce Shaffer Bruce Shaffer’s history of volunteerism is so impressive, the entire class of 1958 at Bethlehem Academy felt compelled to nominate him.

Shaffer volunteers at St. Vincent de Paul, with RSVP, at the former Clothes Closet and served as a Faribault Senior Center Board member. He provides safe escort for those attending burial ceremonies at local cemeteries and spent many summers wielding tools building homes for Habitat for Humanity. He also served on that board.

He has been a member of the Knights of Columbus funeral guard for more than 45 years, and has volunteered at the community Thanksgiving Dinner for 25 years. “(He has a) long history of volunteerism and fund raising going back to fund raising for the Faribault YMCA and participation in the Indian Princess program,” wrote Marlene Gustafson on behalf of the class of 1958.

Craig Breimhorst Loren Murphy “Loren Murphy is one of the hardest-working retired people I know,” wrote Dorothy DeJong in her nomination.

Murphy’s hard work is all for the birds. He volunteers with the Minnesota Bluebird Recovery program, and has built countless bird houses − and woodduck houses as well. He also helps maintain those that he built.

He, along with local videographer Julie Fox, created an educational video on bluebirds. He’s also is a dedicated attendee of the Bluebird Expo.

DeJong believes that Murphy’s efforts have led to the resurgence of the bluebirds, once a vanishing species.

“He is what America is all about,” DeJong said. “Helpful, one of the most pleasant people you will ever have the fortune of meeting, incredibly smart and dedicated to keeping our natural world beautiful, one bluebird, one woodduck at a time.”

Not many pastors can claim they found their flock by knocking on doors, but that’s exactly what the Rev. Craig Breimhorst did. In 1985, he started Christ Lutheran Church by door-knocking and asking folks to check it out. The first service was held in the basement of his home and his parish grew from there.

Despite the full-time work of a pastor, Breimhorst also has found time to read to the residents of Pleasant View Estates, and also works with local soldiers and their families as part of the Faribault Beyond the Yellow Ribbon organization.

He also lends his sympathetic ear and prayers to victims of unexpected accidents by working with local first-responders.

“I know my dad would frown upon any recognition because he does what he thinks is right, not because of personal gain,” wrote his son, Chad, who nominated Breimhorst. “He truly strives to make the community a better place.”

Profile 2015 | Page 6

UNSUNG HEROES

2015 Unsung Heroes

What is it about the kindness of strangers that warms our hearts so much?

It’s not a rare commodity in Faribault. Each year, the Faribault Daily News solicits nominees for its annual Unsung Hero awards, and each year we hold our breath, wondering how many nominees we’ll get.

We needn’t have worried. More than 40 people submitted names of individuals they believe do much for the community but don’t get recognized as they should.

Here, then, with gratitude on behalf of the community, we present our 2015 Unsung Heroes.

Janet Riach

At 84 and 1/2 years old, Riach is still going strong, according to her nominator Hank VonRuden.

A long-time business owner of the Humphrey Manlift Company in Faribault, Riach is also known for decades of community involvement, including providing much needed rides for Ruth’s House residents. She is also a regular blood donor and volunteer through her church, has participated in fundraising walks for cancer research and is a well-known face at Lincoln Elementary.

Decades of high school athletes know her as a longtime fan of Faribault Falcons athletics and a contributor to the Faribault Booster Club. She has also given generously to the Rice County Historical Society.

Diane Cloeter

The Paradise Center for the Arts quite simply wouldn’t be where it is today without Diane Cloeter.

“Over the past seven years, I personally have witnessed Diane devoting hundreds, if not thousands, of hours to the Paradise Center for the Arts,” wrote her nominator Tami Schluter (who also happens to be our 2015 Citizen of the Year).

Cloeter’s involvement in the Faribault arts scene goes back much farther than that, to when she served on the Faribault Area Community Theater board before it merged with other local arts organizations to become the Paradise. She serves now as secretary of the Paradise Center’s board.

But she’s also been seen painting sets, helping produce shows, selling advertisements, costuming the actors and ushering.

“And always with a smile on her face,” Schluter wrote. “This tiny, 5-foot dynamo is truly an unsung hero.”

Betty Shaw Betty has volunteer work for every season.

For the last six or seven years, each spring and summer, Betty circulates among local garage sales, looking for baby items − strollers, high chairs, cribs, playpens and any clothing she can find.

She then buys the items and stores them in her basement, washing each piece of clothing, fixing up each furniture item, and then delivers them to Pregnancy Options Lifecare Center in Faribault.

At one point, she had over 800 items stashed away in her basement and it took several truckloads to deliver it all, said her husband, Al. In the fall and winter, Shaw has spent 16 years volunteering at the Faribault Lutheran School, helping kids learn to read, write and count. At one point, when the school had a full-time staff opening, she stepped in to cover the open spot, refusing to accept any compensation for the work.

“I know she has success in building positive relationships with the kids because when I visit her in Faribault, small children in the street run up to her yelling, ‘Miss Betty!’” wrote Shaw’s daughter, Cynthia Favre, who nominated her.

Laura McColley Linda Kirby says her daughter Laura McColley’s volunteer list gets longer every year.

McColley is a co-chair of the Faribault community Thanksgiving Dinner celebration and also serves on the board of the city’s Heritage Festival. She fosters kittens through SAFE Sanctuary Animal Rescue, serves as an election judge and volunteers at local gun club events.

She has been seen on the sidelines of the basketball court, helping coach in the Little Miss Falcons basketball program and in the concessions stand at the middle school during its events. A new addition to McColley’s plate is her volunteer work with the track team at its home events.

McColley is also a past Cub Scout leader and is now an active Girl Scout leader.

“This is while working and raising two kids, who keep her busy running them to theater, orchestra, basketball, track, skeet shooting and scouts,” wrote McColley’s mother, Linda Kirby. “I would not be surprised to discover I forgot to mention more volunteering that she does, or even some I am not aware of.”

Profile 2015 | Page 8

WAR HERO

The life of an ‘undecorated war hero’

s t h m

n t t t w h y c w b

t a p

t r

n e s

Dennis Spicer’s grave marker does not mention a citation he received in the Korean War for the Bronze Star for Valor. (Brad Phenow/Daily News)

For Cpl. Dennis Spicer, Korean War brought valor, pain

By BRAD PHENOW

bphenow@faribault.com

T

he life of Cpl. Dennis Spicer was one filled with pain.

“You could see it in his eyes,” his son, Ron Spicer, said. “He lived in more pain 24/7 than most people ever experienced in their life.”

It was a pain that resulted from an incident during his 10-month stint in Korea during the Korean War. At the age of 18 in 1949, prior to even graduating high school, Dennis L. Spicer joined the United States Army. It was something that ran in the family, as three of the five Spicer boys enlisted.

Dennis was a combat engineer and dual purpose infantryman that consisted of construction, demolition, reconnaissance and engaging in combat, sometimes all at the same time.

In April 1951, Spicer took it upon himself to bring ammunition to the front lines, after a volunteer was sought. It was essentially the last task he planned to do in Korea, as he was days away from being shipped back to the U.S. as part of the relief rotation.

But what Spicer didn’t know was that his final assignment would also change his life forever, and that packing his second set of dog tags in his bags preparing for the trip home would lead to a difficult identification process.

In his own words, from a letter sent to Rice County regarding his benefits, he described the event: “After arriving at the point of delivery of said ammunition, [I] was attempting to turn [my] truck around … Without warning, said truck came in contact with a land mine … [I] was blown through the top of the truck and landed at the foot of a 30foot embankment,” Spicer wrote in the memo. “[My] head and face contained a considerable amount of shrapnel; some which was embedded in and around the right eye, some in and around the right ear and some of said shrapnel had passed through the skull and was in or near the brain cavity on the right side of [my] head.”

Though unconscious, Dennis was alive, but that wasn’t immediately known.

“They had him lined up with the dead,” Ron said. “They couldn’t find his dog tags because they were blown away. He had his second set packed in

At the age of 18 in 1949, prior to even graduating high school, Dennis L. Spicer joined the United States Army. (Photo courtesy of Connie Spicer)

his duffle bag because he was leaving the next day.”

Once they were finally able to identify him, his parents received some tragic news.

“They notified his parents that their son was killed in action,” Ron said.

But Dennis was alive.

“Twenty-four hours later someone happened to walk by and caught sight of him taking a breath and said ‘this man is alive, he’s breathing’,” Ron recalled of his dad’s injury.

Dennis’ parents were then again notified, but it was better news. They were told their son wasn’t dead, but rather severely wounded.

“They told them he’d never walk again,” Ron said. “No one expected him to walk.”

But, like most of his life, Dennis battled adversity.

“There were five vertebras that were crushed,”

See HERO on 9

Profile 2015 | Page 10

WAR HERO

t s n o n r t H

f m i e

w d t r S w 4 m V

a s “ a An Army illustration of the battle at Chipyong-Ni. (Photo courtesy of Google Images)

From Page 9 Despite the severity, Dennis worked labor all of his life. His family believes it’s this work that allowed him to continue walking, regardless of the pain and the three inches he lost in his stature after the back injury.

“The reason he walked is because he made his muscles so strong in his back,” Connie said.

Dennis will always be remembered as a hero by his family for battling his injuries all his life. But what the Spicers didn’t know was that it wasn’t just a thought. Their father was and is a decorated war hero, despite what his grave marker at Maple Lawn Cemetery says.

It’s something even the Rice County Veteran’s Office was unaware of.

“I don’t have a lot of informa-

Connie, Dennis’ wife, looks at the medals and pins Dennis kept in his Purple Heart box, which doesn’t contain the Bronze Star for Valor.

(Brad Phenow/Daily News)

tion on Mr. Spicer,” said Tracy have this medal.”

Two months prior to Dennis McBroom, Rice County Veterans Service officer. “But the informa- being severely injured, he was tion I do have shows he does not part of “the Gettysburg of the

Korean War,” and arguably one According to his Bronze Star of the greatest regimental defense Medal with V Device citation, actions in American history, ac- which his family was completely cording to some historians. unaware of, Spicer, among Com-

c a pany B of the 23rd RegimentalD Combat Team, “was surrounded by enemy forces. Holdingn high ground, the enemy couldf place intense fire on all areasfi inside the defense perimeter.

Corporal Spicer’s mission wasS to move construction materialt for an underground shelter fors the wounded across a fire-sweptK area of a railroad embankmentp to his platoon work site. With“ protection of the wounded asw his foremost thought, Corporalb Spicer accomplished his missionA rapidly and efficiently. The cour-t age and devotion to duty of Cor-g poral Spicer reflects great credits upon himself and the military t service.”

Spicer was a part of specificn team, all of whom were decorated, according to Merry Helm,h a Korean War author who madea f See HERO on 11 H

Page 9 | Profile 2015

WAR HERO yard, preparing to surprise his parents, walking. said Dennis’ wife Connie, in addi“When my grandma [Dennis’ tion to the shrapnel embedded in his mom] heard someone out there she head. “He was in the hospital for nine went out to the dining room and months.” turned on the light to see my dad When Den[Dennis] standnis left the hospi“... many families have ing there,” Ron tal, he took a bus said. “And she no idea their loved to Chicago where had a heart attwo elderly ladies tack.” one was decorated were laughing at And that’s until they’re going him for being so not exaggerated, young with two Ron explained, through the soldier’s canes. Dennis as the family rewasn’t fond of union then took things after he dies.” being laughed at. place at the hosMerry Helm, author “So he took pital while Denthem [the canes] nis’ mother was and wrapped them around a telephone being treated. pole,” Connie laughed.

Unlike some military members, “He never used them again until Dennis was willing and able to share the cancer took over,” Dennis’ son Rick his stories with his family. His sons recalled.

Ron, Rick and Randy, who died in After several more bus trips, Den- 1984 in an automobile accident, were nis made his way back home, in an well aware of the events in Korea and effort to surprise his parents. And a the injury itself. surprise it was.

Rick (left), Connie (middle) and Ron (right) discuss stories of Dennis while looking at his military photo. (Brad PheThere Dennis stood in his front See HERO on 10C now/Daily News)

From Page 8

• 6 Large Tanning Beds • 2 Stand Up Booths • Private/Secure Rooms • Tanning Products • Walk-Ins Welcome • In Room Stereo

ULTIMATE TAN 1746 GRANT STREET | 332-9948 www.ultimatetanfaribault.com

OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK • 8:00 AM - 9:00 PM

HUNTER

LOCALLY OWNED & OPERATED!

i e e r m B d r r o o s.

N Morristown

Pro Dealer

Snapper dealer since 1965 Lawn, Garden and Snow Sales - Service - Parts

Since 1926

Used Car & Truck Sales

685-4155

X-BOLT AVAILABLE AT YOUR BROWNING DEALER

OVER 5,000 GUNS IN STOCK TONS OF GUN PARTS 10 FULL TIME GUNSMITHS

TOP FLIGHT RANGE FACILITIES

The Best There Is

9525 W. 230 St., Morristown, MN (507) 685-4243 · w w w.ahlmans.com

Page 11 | Profile 2015

WAR HERO From Page 10 the Daily News aware of the citation.

“In some cases, it appears the family is unaware that they should ask for the award to be noted [on a grave marker]. In other cases, many families have no idea their loved one was decorated until they’re going through the soldier’s things after he dies,” Helm said in an email.

McBroom said when the family requested Dennis’ grave marker in 1981, specific citation information needed to be included, and that was not done.

Spicer’s military paperwork, which shows he was honorably discharged less than a year after the injury, only notes the “Korean Service Medal with Bronze Star.” According to Brian Niner, with the American Legion Post 43, that’s a completely different medal than the Bronze Star for Valor.

“We never knew about this and he never received it,” Ron said of the Bronze Star for Valor.

“Now he’s going to get decorated and recognized for what he did.”

And according to Helm, the citation should be sufficient for adding the “BS/V” notation to Dennis’ grave marker.

It’s something the family is now working on, with the help from Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s office.

“Mr. Spicer earned a Bronze Star for his dedicated service to our country and his gravestone should reflect that honor,” Klobuchar said in a statement provided to the Daily News.

“My office has been in contact with Mr. Spicer’s family and will be working with the Veterans Administration to help obtain the actual medal and ensure his gravestone fully recognizes his sacrifice and service.”

The events that led to the citation took place near Chipyongni, Korea.

“The troopers who were there had been backed into a corner and were completely surrounded for several days straight,” said Helm. “… the most important

Dennis will always be remembered as a hero by his family for battling his injuries all his life. But what the Spicers didn’t know was that it wasn’t only a thought. Their father was and is a decorated war hero. (Brad Phenow/Daily News)

part of this battle is that it was very successful in the face of impossible odds and has become a ‘must study’ for combat commanders ever since.”

The bulk of the battle took place between February 13-16, and it’s something Ron does remember hearing about.

“When I read that citation I was like OK this is the one he told us about,” Ron remembered.

The enemy got behind Spicer’s regiment, and they were surrounded, Ron explained, who said their only way out was to go out at night and carry the wounded on their shoulders.

“They all carried someone,” he said. “It wasn’t just a walk across the street. It was so black

once was. you couldn’t see your hands.”

It was a trek that was done “Tumors began to appear quickly after the enemy receded. upon [my] head in various places The valorous efforts led to a where the shrapnel had become citation that was e m b e d d e d ,” rather rare at the Dennis wrote in “I used to tell time, according his memo to the to Niner, and is people, my dad is county. something that a it was an undecorated theAnd cancer that soldier deserves to be recognized war hero. Now resulted in the cane being put for.

In 1980, Den- he’s going to be.” back in Dennis’ nis was diaghand, as Rick reRon Spicer, son of nosed with canmembered, and Dennis Spicer cer. The family eventually led to was told it starta wheel chair. ed in the sinuses, but they were “On Easter Sunday we took shocked to see all of the cancer pictures and he was still walking,” hover around areas where the said Ron. “Within two weeks he shrapnel remained, or where it was in a wheel chair.”

On May 6, 1981, Dennis died at the age of 50. But, like most of his life, it wasn’t without impacting others.

“The night before he died, they started singing hymns,” said Ron of Dennis’ brothers who were ministers and came to be with Dennis and their family in the Veterans Affairs hospital in Minneapolis. “Everyone started singing.”

Dennis was one of many in the VA death ward, Ron explained, but on that particular evening, you wouldn’t have guessed it, the family recalls.

“All these guys were hearing the hymns through the whole wing,” Connie said. “It was God’s work.”

And Rick remembers a comment following his father’s passing.

“They told us the next day that it was the most peaceful night they have ever had on the floor,” he said.

But that’s the effect Dennis had on people.

“There were a lot of people touched by him,” Ron said. “Everything he did.”

Now, the family hopes that his impact on others and his efforts for this country will be recognized like they should have been all along.

“I used to tell people, my dad is an undecorated war hero,” Ron said. “Now he’s going to be.”

“It’s time,” Rick added.

Profile 2015 | Page 12

BRICKMAKING

THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF FARIBAULT City’s brickmaking history still visible today

By ADAM J.S. HOLT

aholt@faribault.com

Follow 14th Street north, and if you’re willing to enter the woods to the west of Good Shepherd Cemetery, you can still find evidence of some of Faribault’s earliest history.

Bits of brick litter the ground outside the woods. And while they’re harder to see once you enter, the shards of brick are there too, bits of dull red that hide under a blanket of dead leaves and trout lilies.

Examine the surroundings, and there are clues as to this site’s past. A hollowed out section of earth here, an unnaturally flat area there. But like any other story you step into too late, the clues mean little without any context.

But on this crisp April morning, Larry Richie is guiding a man and his wife through The flat area pictured was used to dry bricks at Faribault’s St. Martin Brickyard in the 1850s. Bricks had to dry for days before these woods and filling in all the being fired in a kiln. The area is now covered in trout lilies. (Adam J.S. Holt/Daily News) blanks. Richie is giving the two a tour of Faribault’s first brickyard. This area features lots of yellow Paschal St. Martin opened clay, rich with iron that was dehis brickyard in the 1850s, the posited by glaciers moving west first of what would be many across Michigan and Wisconsin brickyards in ages ago. OthFaribault and LIST OF FARIBAULT er parts of the Rice County. BRICKYARDS county feature And while gray clay that 1855: Paschal St. Martin it’s been 150was covered some years and sons by anot her 1860s: T.J. McCarthy since since glacier that a n y b r i c k Brickyard, Heenry Dunham came down w a s m a d e Brickyard, The Peltiers from Canada. here, nature Brickyard The yel1870s: Andrew Misner hasn’t fully low clay will 1890s: Everhard Kaul and produce fareclaimed all Bits of brick still remain more than 150 years after they were created at what used to be St. of St. Martin’s Sons m i l i a r r e d Martin’s brickyard in the north part of town. The brickyard’s remains are now on land near yard.

Compiled by Larry Richie brick. It was Good Shepherd Cemetery. (Adam J.S. Holt/Daily News) Richie dug by hand points to an area that looks like it — everything at St. Martin’s where a pond used to be. There, clay together. of the crick nearby, was used in was scooped out by a giant melon brickyard was done by hand — the clay was mixed with water, Afterward, the clay was the process. The flat area that’s baller. That’s where the clay to and deposited into another no- a single horse hitched to a mill packed into molds and fine white now covered in trout lilies was make the bricks was dug out. table clearing in the woods, a pit that would churn the water and sand, gathered from the banks used to dry the bricks out, for

weeks at a time. The bricks were hand-turned during this process to avoid warping.

Finally, Richie guides the man, Wayne, and his wife, Shirley, to another flat area, where the bricks would have been laid out to be fired in a kiln for days to bake and eliminate all remaining moisture.

This was Paschal St. Martin’s brickyard. Wayne takes an interest in this because his last name is St. Martin. Paschal was his great-grandfather. This is the first time Wayne has been given this tour, despite the many times he’s been back around these woods as he was growing up in this part of town.

There were many more brickyards in Faribault, but all but one were no longer in business by the early 1900s.

Richie jokes that Wayne didn’t continue the family profession.

“Why Wayne didn’t become a brickmaker, I don’t know,” Richie said.

“Well, I was close to it,” Wayne replied. “I was a baker.”

An active legacy

Head back toward downtown Faribault and see that many of the buildings are made of brick. This, like the fact that most towns used to have their own brickyards, isn’t necessarily unique to Faribault.

And the brick on the front sides of these buildings is largely imported. That was on purpose, using pressed, or higher quality brick for the storefronts. But the side and back walls of these buildings is still local brick, and the limestone basements most of them

See BRICK on 13

Page 13 | Profile 2015

BRICKMAKING Moving on

From Page 12 sit on are also made of local product.

But the amount of buildings still standing and occupied in Faribault made with locally produced brick, that’s something not every town can claim.

“A lot of towns have almost been gutted of their history, so to speak, or been lost to redevelopment and everything,” Richie said.

Richie, a local historian, is writing a book about brickmaking and stone in Rice County. And he said two things have helped these old buildings stay sturdy through the years.

One, the quality of the materials was good. The limestone used in basements is of excellent quality. Two, the heritage of the town played a role. Many people of French and Italian heritage settled Faribault, bringing with them exceptional skill in brickmaking and stone masonry.

“When they came to Faribault, they were familiar with how to work with both the brick and the stone. That helped a lot, too,” Richie said. “So the quality of what they were making or using was very good, and they knew how to do it. That’s why most of it is standing today.”

While St. Martin’s brickyard could produce three batches of brick a summer, other larger brickyards started mechanizing the process and could produce more. Everhard Kaul’s brickyard was near St. Martin’s, albeit almost 40 years later and using machines to help.

It took 10,000 brick to build a small house and near 30,000 for a medium-sized house. Alexander Faribault’s house featured a brick chimney, but it has been replaced and rebuilt over the years. Richie said he wishes he had a sample of the original chimney, to see if perhaps, the chimney was built with brick made by St. Martin, which would have been the only local producer at the same time.

Eventually, larger brickyards in Chaska and Minneapolis displaced their smaller counterparts. The larger Twin Cities brickyards could produce thousands of bricks a day.

But for about 50 years, Faribault brickmakers were able to supply most of Faribault’s brick needs. And while most of that legacy still stands downtown, the earliest source of local brick can still be seen to the north.

Parker Kohl Funeral Home & Crematory

Faribault local historian Larry Richie, center, stands with Wayne, right, and Shirley St. Martin on the site that used to be St. Martin brickyard in the 1850s. Wayne’s great-grandfather founded St. Martin brickyard, the oldest brickyard in Faribault. (Adam J.S. Holt/Daily News)

1920 Grant Street Hwy. 60 West Faribault • 334-2085

Open 24/7

Crematory • Pre-Planning • Reception Space James Kohl, Steve Kohl, and John Kohl Three Generations of Trusted Service 607 2nd Ave NW • Faribault, MN 55021 • (507) 334-4458 • (800) 952-0948 www.ParkerKohlFuneralHome.com Follow us on Facebook & Twitter @ HyveeFaribault For Daily Specials!

Don’t Forget to Check Your Hearing!

W e hav e work ed hard to create a p leasant one- stop shop p ing ex p erience f or ev ery one’ s busy lif esty le.

• Soup and Salad Bar

❏Cholesterol ❏Blood Pressure x Hearing ❏Vision ❏ Proud to offer great service and top of the line products to meet your needs.

Advantage Care Hearing Center JAYNE BONGERS

Owner/ MN. Certified

Faribault • Cannon Falls Farmington • Zumbrota

Come see my new office in the Crossroads Building.

(507) 412-9813

advantagecarehearingcenter.com

• Fresh Seafood

• Market Cafe • Full-Service Restaurant • Full Service Bar

• Hy-Vee’s Kitchen • Culinary Chef • Catering for all occasions

• Full Service Pharmacy • Free Delivery • Drive up

• Chinese Express

• On Line Shopping

• Western Union

• Fresh Baked from Scratch Bakery • Cakes for all occasions

• Largest Variety Fresh Produce

• Postal Sub Station

• Check Cashing

• Senior Discount • 1st Tuesday of Month

• Floral Department • Convenience Store & Fuel Station

Check

• Health Market

out www.hy v ee.com

• Full Service Deli • Gourmet Cheeses • Wine and Spirits • Over 3,500 Items • Money Orders

• Gift Card Center

to see week ly sp ecials!

Profile 2015 | Page 14

THE DUEL

THE MAN WHO CHALLENGED LINCOLN TO A DUEL Faribault pioneer Gen. James Shields had brush with Honest Abe

By JACK LOCKWOOD

editor@faribault.com

While surely residents of Rice County are familiar with the village of Shieldsville and nearby Shields Lake, there is much more to the story of their namesake, Gen. James Shields, than most people know. This is a tale of the tortuous path that led James Shields from his birth in Ireland to a “neardeath” experience with Abraham Lincoln, and finally, to recognition with statues in the Minnesota State Capitol and Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol.

First a brief history of Shield’s life up to the time of the encounter with Lincoln is in order. James Shields was born in Altmore County, Tyrone, in what is now Northern Ireland on May 10, 1810.

He emigrated to Randolph County, Illinois, in about 1826. After studying law and commencing a practice, Shields served in the Illinois House of Representatives beginning in 1836. Notably, he was elected to the Illinois house even though he was not yet a citizen of the U.S., as Illinois law required only that one reside in the State for six months before running for office. He became Illinois State Auditor in 1839.

It was during his stint as State Auditor that his political jousting with Lincoln began. The story begins with a sarcastic, caustic letter that Lincoln anonymously sent to the Sangamon Journal, Springfield’s newspaper. Among other things, Lincoln called Shields “a fool as well as a liar” in the letter. As one would suspect, Shields did not take kindly to this, but might have given this single letter (which Lincoln acknowledged as his) a pass if the barrage of

“I could disarm him having had about a month to learn the broadsword exercise; and furthermore, I didn’t want the damned fellow to kill me, which I rather think he would have done if we selected pistols.”

Abraham Lincoln

cover it—challenge Lincoln to a duel.

Even though dueling was illegal in Illinois, with reputation at stake Lincoln accepted the challenge. (Just think of the consequences if today’s politicians reacted in the same way.)

The duel was set to take place on an island in the Mississippi River, technically in Missouri, but just offshore from Alton, Illinois. Since it was Lincoln who was challenged, he got to choose the weapon used for the duel. Lincoln selected “Cavalry broad swords of the largest size, precisely equal in all respects.” He additionally stipulated that the duel would take place in a box placed on the ground and divided in two. If either opponent stepped over the center line of the box or outside the back line the penalty would be death.

Thus, Lincoln established conditions This portrait of Shields is believed to have been taken while he served as the U.S. senator from Missouri, from that magnified his advantages in length Jan. 22 to March 4, 1879. (Photo U.S. Archives via Wikipedia Commons) and strength. As a contemporary stated, Lincoln had arms “longer than any man anonymous ridicule had not contin- missives were crafted and submitted by Shields concluded that his character I ever knew, when standing (sic) Straiht, ued. Turns out that unbeknownst to Lincoln’s future wife, Mary Todd, and had been besmirched to such a degree both Lincoln and Shields, subsequent a close friend of hers. At some point that there was only one means to reSee SHIELDS on 15

Page 15 | Profile 2015

THE DUEL From Page 14 and letting his arms fall down his Sides, the points of his fingers would touch a point lower on his legs by nearly three inches than was usual with other persons,” according to Illinois state legislator Robert L. Wilson. When Lincoln was later asked by politician Usher Linder about his unusual choice of weapons/ conditions, he acknowledged that he “did not want to kill Shields and felt sure that I could disarm him having had about a month to learn the broadsword exercise; and furthermore, I didn’t want the damned fellow to kill me, which I rather think he would have done if we selected pistols.”

Upon arrival at the dueling site, Lincoln dramatically cut off a branch just above Shield’s head to demonstrate his decided advantage in reach. Cooler heads prevailed. The dispute was resolved without bloodshed in an agreement that Lincoln had not actually written the letters.

Subsequent to this incident with Abraham Lincoln, Shields continued down a colorful and tumultuous path.

He served as a brigadier general in the Mexican-American War, where he was wounded twice. His heroism at the concluding Battle of Chapultepec is commemorated in a painting that hangs in the U.S. Senate. He also served as U.S. senator from Illinois from 1849-1855. After defeat for re-election in 1855, Shields moved to Faribault.

While residing in Faribault, Shields was essentially a real estate developer who promoted land around Shields/Mazaska Lakes as reminiscent of Ireland, primarily to potential immigrants. He founded Shieldsville in 1856. He served as senator from Minnesota from 18581860, but was once again defeated for re-election. It can be assumed that he

This is Shields’ statue as it stands in the state Capitol building in St. Paul.

(Photo courtesy of Wikipedia Commons)

This portrait of Shields was taken by Matthew Brady while Shields served as Illinois’ U.S. senator. (National Archives via Wikipedia Commons)

was not entirely successful with his real estate endeavor as he remained in Faribault only until 1860, then left for California to pursue other business interests.

In yet another example of success-

ful politicians having short memories, Lincoln appointed Shields as a brigadier general of volunteers from California during the Civil War. However, tactical decisions in the “Valley Campaign

of 1862” were called into question and, combined with a considerable dose of political backbiting, resulted in Shields resigning his commission.

Shields moved to Mexico in 1863 where he operated mines. He returned to the United States to live briefly in Wisconsin, then moved to Carrollton, Missouri, in 1866. In 1879, he was elected to fill the Senate seat of the recently deceased Missouri Senator Lewis V. Bogy, but served only three months and declined to run for re-election. His

image represents the state of Illinois in Statutary Hall at the U.S. Capitol rotunda.

He remains the only person in the history of the United States to serve as senator from three different states.

Jack Lockwood grew up in Faribault.

His grandfather founded Lockwood Auto Co. in 1929 and his father took it over and ran it for many years after that. The family still owns property on Cedar Lake, but Lockwood currently lives in Missouri.

Creating

Beautiful and Healthy Smiles

R.J. DWYER inc.

CUSTOM BUILDER est. 1894

JOHN DWYER, AIA ARCHITECT FARIBAULT • 507.334.6433 • SOUTHERNHEIGHTSDENTAL.COM

www.johndwyer.com | 612.270.4429 900 St Paul Ave – Faribault, MN 55021 (507) 334-3496 | rjdwyer.com

Profile 2015 | Page 16

SISTER CITIES

A relationship that lives on Faribault in U.S., Wuerzburg in Germany have ties going back to post-World War II reconstruction

By BRAD PHENOW

bphenow@faribault.com

It’s a piece of history that some argue should be what Faribault citizens are most proud of.

In fact, there were decades where there was little to no communication, and it became a long lost memory, multiple times.

But that was then, and this is now, and the long lost is once again coming back to life.

It all began in 1948 when a military general’s wife called on Approximately 5,000 people were killed, and more than 80 percent of the city was destroyed by the British toward the end of World War II. (Photo courtesy of Google Images)

the citizens of Faribault to rally together and support what, at the time, was the enemy.

Gen. Lewis Beebe worked in Faribault at Shattuck-St. Mary’s School until 1939, when he was ordered to the Philippines where he served as a battalion commander in the 57th infantry.

He, like many other U.S. soldiers, was captured by the Japanese and became a prisoner of war for roughly three years.

After the war, Beebe was released and returned to Faribault where his wife and son Jack had

continued to live during the war.

But his 33-year military career was not yet done, and he was selected to oversee the reconstruction of Germany as a U.S. military commander. It was the city of Wuerzburg, a destroyed and poor community to which he and his wife traveled.

The city was virtually blown to pieces in 1945, in the final weeks of World War II. Approximately 5,000 people were killed, and more than 80 percent of the

The seed of the friendship between the city of Faribault and Wuerzburg was planted more than 65 years ago, and with the trip in 2015, it’s a chance for the city of Faribault and its citizens to once again revitalize the relationship. Pictured is the Wuerzburg Residence, a Baroque mansion built in the 18th century. (Photo courtesy of Google Images)

See CITY on 17

CLUBS & ORGANIZATIONS RICE/SCOTT COUNTY CHAPTER

Advocacy • Victim Support • Education

Mothers Against Drunk Driving

207 Central Avenue • Faribault, MN 55021 Phone: (507) 334-3412 State Office: 1-800-487-6233

w w w. m a d d m n . o r g

R ice County P ork P rod ucers

Page 17 | Profile 2015

SISTER CITIES From Page 16 city was decimated by the British.

After arriving in Wuerzburg, Mrs. Beebe took it upon herself to reach out to the people of Faribault, requesting their help, after seeing the how bad the city truly was. On Nov. 2, 1948, Mrs. Beebe’s letter reached the people of Faribault, printed on the front page of the Faribault Daily News.

It read, in part: “In [Wuerzburg], the people have gone underground, not politically, but literally. I mean that they live in moldy cellars of bomb-shattered burned buildings. When one looks out over the city from the hills which surround it, one sees that hollow skeleton of a city.

“I realized that you are constantly being told that Europe is poor, in fact, so poor that our government has appropriated a vast sum of money to try and ease the situation. Nothing can exaggerate the poverty, nor can you comprehend it, unless you have seen it with your own eyes …

“In order to have a peaceloving, world-minded Germany, we must see that these children survive with a few seeds of fundamental democratic principles.

A helping hand to your neighbor when he is down is one of these.

You can plant this seed through your generosity.”

After reading the plea, the people of Faribault responded, with clothes, blankets, materials and toys being shipped to Wuerzburg. Faribault Mayor John Jasinski’s grandparents, Charles and Gertrude Popelka, were among the residents to take part in the donations.

His grandpa included his name and address on a piece of paper in a suit pocket which was sent to Wuerzburg and eventually worn in a wedding. Jasinski’s grandfather later received a wooden statute as a sign of thanks, and it’s a piece of history Jasinski cherishes.

“We were their protector in a

See CITY on 18 A picture of the damage in Wuerzburg from the April 18, 1999, edition of the Faribault Daily News. (Daily News file photo) It was an American who made the decision to call in U.S. engineers to save what was left of the wartorn city to save the heritage of the buildings.

(Photo courtesy of “Als vom Himmel Feuer fiel”)

Dorothy Beebe is shown with children in Wuerzburg in this 1949 Signal Corps photo from the Faribault Daily News. (Daily news file photo)

Profile 2015 | Page 18

SISTER CITIES

A p

As part of the Mozart Festival, attendees go beneath the “Residenz” for a wine tasting event. (Photo courtesy of “Wuerzburg Scenes of the City”)

From Page 17 time of need,” said Chuck Ackman, former Faribault mayor, who traveled to Wuerzburg for the 50th Anniversary of the relationship in 1999. “It truly made a difference.”

A difference he witnessed firsthand while in Germany.

Ackman traveled with Peter Press, then Buckham Center director, and 17 additional Faribault residents. The trip came following an invitation to the 50th Anniversary of the relationship, which began in 1949 following Mrs. Beebe’s request. But it’s not just a sister-city relationship as many believe it is, Ackman said.

According to Vicki Swedeen, Faribault High School German teacher, to the people of Wuer-

zburg, Faribault is its adopted city, a term known as “patenstadt” in German. They view Faribault as its adopter for the generosity the city showed in 1949.

But prior to the 1999 trip, the lone string holding the relationship together was a student exchange program, which Swedeen began in the late 1980s, and that is credited with revitalizing the relationship after years of little communication.

“Everyone forgot about it,” she said of the relationship back in 1987. “[I thought] wouldn’t it be cool to reinvigorate it.”

With help from a Rockefeller Foundation grant, she traveled to Wuerzburg in 1988, during Wuerzburg’s Mozart Festival, one of the city’s biggest and old-

Much of Wuerzburg is surrounded by vineyards as it’s a large wine-producing city. Through the middle of the city runs the Main River. (Photo courtesy of “Wuerzburg”)

est events.

“I met with the city people and told them all about Faribault and said lets start doing this again,” she said of the exchange program that followed. The number of kids that have gone back and forth since the program’s inception is nearing 800.

A decade after the revitalization, Ackman found the invita-

tion in his mail box at city hall, and it resulted in a chuckle as the thought of a trip to Germany was unrealistic. But after discussing the history, the trip was deemed a must. And still to this day, the trip is one Ackman says he will never forget.

In Wuerzburg, the history of its adopted city is common knowledge, Ackman said.

During his trip, half of a grade school class explained the importance of what Faribault did for them after the war.

He also received a number of thank you notes, one specific card from an elderly woman that stuck with him.

“She reached up and grabbed the sleeve of my suit coat and said ‘your people gave me a

coat’,” he remembers. “She handed me this card and gave it to me with tears in her eyes. How can you not be changed in your world view after having that happen? I still think about it.”

And the interest in Faribault is something Swedeen has experienced on her many trips, too.

See CITY on 19

Page 19 | Profile 2015

SISTER CITIES

SoMinn Media

A few of the members of the Faribault delegation that traveled to Wuerzburg in 1999 are pictured. (Daily News file photo)

From Page 18 “When I walk around Wuerzburg I see Minnesota Twins stuff, Minnesota Wild jerseys, Timberwolves, baseball hats that say Faribault High School, Faribault T-shirts,” she said. “It comes up all the time.”

However, throughout all the trips, one specific memory sticks with her. While she was on a radio show the host asked its listeners to call in if they were recipients of any of the supplies

Faribault supplied following the war.

“The whole thing lit up,” she said of the phone lines. “That was a teary moment.”

As the years continued, the then Lord Mayor of Wuerzburg, Pia Beckmann, among city councilors, visited Faribault in 2004 for the Heritage Celebration.

But since then the relationship once again began to dwindle, as no delegations have traveled back and forth.

“In 2008 we started cutting staff and some of the people who were doing the communication back and forth [left the city],” said Jasinski. “The relationship kind of lulled.”

And when the economy crashed, although the invitations continued, Jasinski didn’t feel comfortable accepting.

But when his mother told him the story about the wooden statue, he said it struck a

See CITY on 20

Local news on your phone And it’s free when you download the Southern Minn Media mobile app.

- Includes news, sports, features, coupons and more from towns throughout the region.

- Built-in technology allows you to scan print content for a digital experience.

- Available for iPhone and Android.

Mayor John Jasinski holds a wooden statue his grandparents received from citizens of Wuerzburg as a sign of thanks. Along with Jasinski is City Administrator Brian Anderson, both of whom will be traveling to Wuerzburg this year. (Brad Phenow/Daily News)

Search for Southern Minn Media and download now!

Profile 2015 | Page 20

SISTER CITIES

From Page 19 chord. And this year, the invitation came as it had in years past, and it was brought to the city council’s attention. They agreed; another revitalization trip was in order.

Jasinski, along with City Administrator Brian Anderson, will make the trip in late May for Wuerzburg’s biggest and oldest celebration, the Mozart Festival.

The festival features 60 events, according to the city’s website, and is focused on music, painting and architecture in the “Residenz” Palace.

“In the wonderful month of May, when trees bloom in the Palace Gardens and red carpets are rolled out in front of the entrance gate of the UNESCO World Heritage Monument, we will celebrate this year’s opening of the unique Mozart Festival, featuring a world-renowned high class musical programme,” Lord Mayor Chris-

tian Schuchardt wrote in an email to Jasinski.

The palace and event is something Swedeen had the privilege of experiencing in 1988.

“It’s a fancy classic concert type thing,” said Swedeen of the event that attracts nearly 25,000 visitors. “They’re going to be doing wine tastings at fancy places, underneath the palace is the residential wine cellar.”

It’s an event Jasinski is looking forward to, but even more importantly, it’s a trip that they both believe is much needed.

“This isn’t just a student exchange, this is a Faribault exchange,” she said. “This is something Faribault needs to be proud of, to the Germans, this is big darn deal.”

And perhaps it’s bigger than most Faribault citizens realize.

According to Eva-Maria Barklind-Schwander, a Wuerzburg international affairs spokesperson, the relationship is something that should act as

a reminder of what the people of Faribault did. She explained the importance in the following email: “… To keep reminding us of what [Mrs. Beebe] instinctively knew — to remain human and empathetic in the face of the aftermath of the war. To foresee that children in physical need and emotional trouble needed to feel empathy and trust rather than being stigmatized as the heirs of National Socialism. That being citizens of the United States of America, Germany or any other nations means little in the moment when we approach each other as human beings and rely upon each other ...

This is why I think we should treasure the special bonds between our towns.”

Brad Phenow covers Faribault and Rice County governments. Reach him in Faribault at 333-3135 and in Northfield at 645-1122 or follow him on Marienberg Fortress is a prominent landmark on the left bank of the Main River in Wuerzburg. (Wikimedia Commons photo) Twitter @BradPhenow.

DAILY SPECIALS! SENIOR DISCOUNT EVERYDAY!* Drive-Thru & Car Hop • Outdoor Patio!

CLASSIC.Indoor TIMELESS. ONE-OF-A-KIND. Fireplace • Outdoor Patio Drive-Thru & Car Hop

Banquet Facilities

All American Food®

Catering Available With Off Premise Alcohol SERVING LUNCH & DINNER!

Delicious BBQ Ribs, Prime Rib, Shrimp, Fish, Great Burgers & More.

Sand Volleyball Tournaments

All You Can Eat

FISH FRY

on FRIDAYS!

Book Your Party With Us! Grad • Birthdays • Fundraisers

1802 NW 4th St., Faribault 507-332-2044 • 507-334-3262 w w w.faribaultbowling.com

Daily Lunch Specials Monday - Friday Happy Hour 3PM-6PM Mon. - Fri.

BEST

Daily Specials Monday:

BBQ $1.59 • Kids Meals $2.99

IN TOWN!

Tuesday:

Coney Dogs 1.59 • Papa Burger 2.49

Wednesday:

Sm. Floats $1.49 • Bacon Cheeseburger $2.79

Thursday:

3 Pc. Chicken Strip Combo Meal $5.99

Friday:

Corndogs $1.49 • $1.00 off Fish Products

ail at

$

a

• orner o

$

ys. 2

60 • F

B

•

.a ari au t. o

Page 21 | Profile 2015

POW BARRACKS

UNEARTHED

The Faribault Canning Company barracks stood near the corner of Second Avenue Northwest and 14th Street. (Daily News file photo)

Faribault Canning Company home to WWII POW barracks

By BRITTNEY NESET

using prisoners-of-war was a popular solution to combat the vast labor shortage experienced Since the nation’s hard work- during the second World War. The Faribault Canning Coming men were all away over seas, bneset@faribault.com

pany, which is now owned by Faribault Foods, constructed four barracks in order to house German prisoners-of-war during World War II. In January of 1944, the Minnesota Canning Association responded to a looming labor shortage due to World War II and requested a grand total of 3,000 prisoners-of-war to work

within the state.

“Every state in the union, plus Alaska, had prisoner-ofwar camps during this time,” said Jerry Ganfield in an interview for the Owatonna People’s Press.

In a time of crisis in the work force, considering that the other states were also participating in housing prisoners-of-war, it’s no shock that Minnesota, Iowa and North and South Dakota also followed suit. Owatonna and Montgomery are two other cities in southern Minnesota that also hosted POWs in their town. The main base camp, Camp Algona, was housed in Algona, Iowa, and

supplied German POWs to Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakota.

In March of 1944, army officers surveyed the area and in April they suggested using the St. James Episcopal Boys School as the location to house the POWS. After the school board rejected the idea, the Faribault Canning Company attained the permits to build four barracks. The barracks were housed on Faribault Canning Company property, near Second Avenue Northwest and 14th Street Northwest.

There were some protests in

regard to housing the prisonersof-war when it first came to the city council in 1944. But the mayor at the time, Hillary Walsh, who served from 1944 to 1948, believed that they had no right to deny the POWs, said Anita Albrecht Buck in her book “Behind Barbed Wire.”

In an interview by the Daily News with Pauline Schreiber in April 1990, Ruth Thibodeau, a woman who worked at the cannery while the POWs were working, recalls being told to stay away from the POWS.

See POWS on 22

Profile 2015 | Page 22

POW BARRACKS

From Page 21 “From what I can remember, they were more like trustees than prisoners,” said Thibodeau.

“They were supervised, but the guards didn’t have guns or anything like that. They [the POWs] had to stay in their designated area.”

Between 150 and 200 prisoners-of-war were housed in the barracks and worked with Faribault Canning company, according to Martin A. Paschke who was a supervisor of the canning company in 1944 when the POWS worked there.

Thibodeau said that most of the POWs were between the ages of 20 and 25.

“They [the POWs] were the best workers we had because they liked it over here,” said Paschke in a 1990 interview with Schreiber for the Daily News.

While living in the barracks, the POWs were expected to work in the fields for the company and had little to do in terms of recreation. In the

A plaque commemorates the location where the barracks once stood. (Brittney Neset/Daily News)

earlier months of summer, the POWs worked at pea vining while from August to September they spent their time snapping corn. In between seasons they

could work with local farmers to harvest grains. All the labor they did while staying at the camps was paid.

Although the POWs didn’t

Southern Minnesota’s Award Winning Magazine SOUTHERN MINNESOTA’S LEADING WOMEN’S MAGAZINE

SEPTEMBER 2014

JAN 2015

FREE

FREE

FREE

WINTER 2015

girlfriends

girlfriends COMMUNITY EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAMS

Wedding Day

Kymn Anderson

FASHION

LOOKING AHEAD

have much to do with their free time, they were allowed a few simple items to keep entertained. According to “Behind Barbed Wire” by Buck, the POWs’ base, Camp Algona in Algona, Iowa, did not supply any recreational items to the men. With help from YMCA field representative Howard Hong (who was from Northfield), YMCA and the Red Cross, POWs were able to read general education texts and play musical instruments.

The prisoner-of-war camp

didn’t last long after the war and the men who had inhabited it were shipped out soon after it ended. Many of the prisoners enjoyed their time spent in the barracks in Faribault so much that they did not want to leave, according to Schreiber and Paschke.

After World War II, the Faribault Canning Company used the four barracks to house other migrant workers who worked in area farms and with the company.

“Later in the late 50s and ear-

After a set-back of breast cancer, Laurie Wolhart sets her sights on her goals

Take a look at some of the best wedding attire and designer wedding gowns available in 2015.

DIRECTOR OF THE FARIBAULT AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND TOURISM

BRIDAL ISSUE 2015 |

gf

| Girlfriends.mn

1

Where local women

turn!

Pick-up your free copy at various area business locations.

www.girlfriends.mn

Faribault Foods as it appears today. (Daily News file photo)

ly 60s migrant workers stayed in these [the war barracks],” said Charlie Boucher in a Facebook post. “My dad drove truck and I’d ride along sometimes. The workers picked the ripe cobs of sweet corn by hand and threw them in the back of the truck.”

Because of the work supplied by the POWs, and later migrant workers, Faribault was allowed to flourish in a difficult time in history.

“Without prisoner help,” said a 1945 Annual Report of Rice County, “it is very likely that the canning company would not have been able to pack their peas or corn.”

Although the barracks supplied great housing for workers in the area, the war barracks were ultimately demolished on April 2, 1990. Faribault Foods demolished the four barracks, the former Bauernfeind and Goedtel Roofing firm and two residences. A plaque to commemorate them is located on-“ site near some of the newerm buildings at Faribault Foods. In place of the barracks on the corner of Second Avenue Northwest and 14th Street, Faribault Foods built a 180,000-squarefoot addition.

Brittney Neset is the editorial assistant at the Faribault Daily News. You can contact her at 507-333-3130 or @brittneyneset on Twitter.

Page 23 | Profile 2015

BYGONE DAYS

Real commitment stands the test of time

“You knew you grew up in Faribault when...” is a Facebook group with approximately 3,200 members. (Screenshot of “You knew you grew up in Faribault when...” Facebook group)

BYGONE DAYS Residents use Facebook to discuss times past, times yet to come

By BRITTNEY NESET

bneset@faribault.com

When most think of Facebook, images of teenagers taking selfies and not-so casually checking in on a former love all come to mind. But one group throws out those stereotypes and welcomes people of all ages to talk about a time gone by in a city they all love, Faribault.

A feeling of nostalgia and looking for connections and memories from the past has brought many current and former Faribault locals together in the Facebook group “You knew

you grew up in Faribault when...” graduated from high school 50 or With a group that has ap- more years ago. Brian Klier, the proximately current owner 3,200 members, of the group and TO JOIN nearly 1,100 of Faribault local, To join the Facebook those joining says he wants to within the last group “You knew you keep the group year, it’s really grew up in Faribault fun and positive no surprise why when...” visit https:// while sharing the group is www.facebook.com/ the great history such a popular groups/faribault/. of the city. one among lo“Part of what cals and those who once lived in excites people about Faribault is Faribault. its history.” said Klier. “I think The group is also home to us- just about everybody that lives ers of all ages. There are mem- here wonders how we evolved bers who are still in high school while there are also those who See PAST on 24

ABC’s stable leadership has built an environment focused on commitment – commitment to our customers with long-term, extensive product support and commitment to our future in the Faribault community.

The test of time

–that’s how you know it’s real commitment.

Proud to have our business part of the Faribault community!

–ABC Companies & the Cornell Family

www.abc-companies.com

Profile 2015 | Page 24

BYGONE DAYS

From Page 23 from a town with horse stables near Central Park, to a city with more than 23,000 people.”

The local Facebook group that brings people from town and out of town is run by a handful of people.

No one is really sure who started the popular group on Facebook. When asked, members responded with a few guesses with who the original owner of the group was, but all of the guesses came up short.

Klier said that the group was originally started in early 2010 but for now, whoever started “You knew you grew up in Faribault when...” will remain a mystery.

“Whoever created the group knew what they were doing and saw the need for sharing history with past and future generations,” said Brian Schimdt, a board member of the Rice County Historical Society.

“It’s an awesome thing for Facebook and the city of Faribault.”

Other than simply running the group, Klier has other ties to Faribault history.

“I guess you could say I’ve been in Faribault and surrounded myself with Faribault all my life,” he said.

Klier’s father owned an electronics, radio and computer repair shop on Seventh Street Northwest in Faribault in the 1980s and early ‘90s.

He also attended Faribault High School and South Central College and now works full time as one of the district’s IT technicians.

Klier’s ties to the Faribault School District is one of the reasons why he can supply such great, vintage photos to the group. A majority of the photos he posts came from the Faribault Middle School or Faribault High School media centers.

“The Faribault Junior High School (now Middle School) used to have a Camera, Video, and Computer club. When I was a member of this club, I recall those interested in photography could learn photography techniques and then check out a camera so they could take pictures and have them developed,” said Klier. “The photos seen on the group have many unknown authors, but thankfully the original slides and prints were kept in good condition.”

When Schmidt was young, he

FACEBOOK QUOTES

The old junior high and senior high school in Faribault that is a popular topic of discussion on the Facebook group. (Photo courtesy of “You knew you grew up in Faribault when...” Facebook group)

A photo depicting what downtown Faribault looked like in the past. (Photo courtesy of “You knew you grew up in Faribault when...” Facebook group)

used to run around the brewery that had been in the Fleckenstein building and collecting old items from the building started his love for history.

It has also inspired him to try and help preserve it for Faribault and other cities in Rice County.

“I think this group is awesome,” said Schmidt. “We needed something for the history of Faribault that past and future generations can find out what happened all those years ago.”

When asked about their favorite moments or memories on the site, neither Brian Klier nor Brian

The Facebook group offers a place to gather and discuss topics of years gone by. The group’s news feed is updated multiple times a day, with members and former members of the community recalling their childhoods or other fond memories of the past.

The community also offers insight on topics that a person may be unsure of. If you post in the group with a question, it’s almost certain that the members will have some sort of answer for you or at least a suggestion on where to start looking.

Brittney Neset is the editorial assistant at the Daily News. You can Schmidt had one concrete answer. contact her at 507-333-3130 or @ Klier loves stories that run paral- brittneyneset on Twitter. lel to his own life and experiences in Faribault. He also enjoys when people recall their memories of play- MORE INFORMATION ing video games at Magicland as well To help contribute to the as their “May Bottke” stories. growing history of Faribault, Schmidt, on the other hand, please consider donating couldn’t pin down one particular any old documents, papers moment or memory from the group or other items of times that he likes more than the others.

“I like when people post other remembered to the Rice stories and I get to go ‘oh, that’s County Historical Society. If how that really worked or oper- you have questions, contact ated!’” said Schmidt. “Every story is the Rice County Historical intriguing to me.”

Society at 507-332-2121.

Here’s what its members had to say about the value of the Facebook page, “You knew you grew up in Faribault when ...” ”A time gone by...and a time yet to come. For those of us that grew up here in this amazing, beautiful town, we shall never forget the moments in time that we were able to ride our bikes anywhere, and everywhere. The doors were not locked and everyone knew their neighbor. A time when the neighbors did not hesitate to pick up the phone and snitch us out.

The picnics, the parades, the candy stores, the bakery, the butcher, the dairy store. A time when small business depended on us, and we depended on them. The beauty that surrounded us daily throughout the seasons, yet we didn’t quite appreciate it as we too were growing. Now we get to go back, to reconnect, and remember with those that understand, and those that long for understanding of a time gone by.”

— Theresa Wait Grimes “The discussions are like an all city reunion that wouldn’t happen but for this site. The new member ongoing count is quite amazing, the growing number of commentors/contributors increases weekly. It’s a good thing.”

— Sandra Ballenthin Van Erp “I grew up in Faribault and was so excited when I stumbled on ‘You knew you grew up....’ Facebook group. The members have brought back so many wonderful memories of this great American town. I don’t have many photos of my childhood so the photos shared have drawn my heart back to where I spent the first 20 years of my life. I have even reacquainted myself with some long lost friends because of this group.”

— Jeff Osmund “This FB page is a great watering hole to connect with old friends, neighbors, family, and new people. We all get inspired by an image or story, chime in, and create mini-oral histories. I find myself lost in thought about Faribault more than ever before, remembering details. Sometimes I post and sometimes just enjoy “listening.” Together, over time, we’re writing Faribault’s history, one minimemoir at a time.”

— Wendy Wustenberg

THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE LAW

SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER

Page 25 | Profile 2015

Meet Faribault Middle School’s new school resource officer

By CAMEY THIBODEAU

cthibodeau@faribault.com

Faribault Middle School resource officer and Faribault detective Brittany Owen is following in her mother’s footsteps.

Owen’s mother was also a police officer and school resource officer.

“She loved her job and I looked up to her,” Owen said.

Owen, who joined the Faribault Police Department in February 2013, became the school resource officer at FMS in Sep-

tember 2014.

A Hastings, Minnesota, native who still lives there, Owen wanted to work in a town similar in size to her hometown where she could build relationships and get to know people.

She recalls a boy who got in trouble at the beginning of the school year but now wants to be a police officer. She is now helping him get into the Faribault Police Explorer program, which is designed to introduce teens Faribault Middle School resource officer Brittany Owen enjoys building relationships and working with everyone at FMS.

See LAW on 26 (Camey Thibodeau/Daily News)

RENTALS All your spring lawn & garden needs!

• Tillers

• Bobcat

• Aerators

• Excavators

• Dethatchers

• Pressure Washers

BORCHERT

MOTORS, INC. Established 1928

Complete Auto Repair for 87 Years

• Lawn & Garden Tools • Earth Augers • Carpet Cleaners

• And so much more!

Just call or visit for rental details!

Steve,Gordy Paul & Ben have a combined 98 years of auto repair experience. We offer Quality & Affordable Auto Mechanical repairs.

80 Western Ave NW, Fbo • 507-334-3232 Store Hours: M-Fri: 7am - 8pm, Sat: 7am - 5:30pm, Sun: 11am - 4pm faribofarmandhome.com

See or call for FREE ESTIMATES at 334-7271 located at the North edge of Faribault on Highway 3.

Open 8-5pm Monday - Thursday, 8-4pm Fridays

Profile 2015 | Page 26

SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER

From Page 25 and young adults to the complexities of police work.

“The kids always have questions,” said Owen.

“Are you a real cop? Is that real gun? Have you ever tased anybody? They’re so curious.”

In her position as school resource officer, Owen wears many hats. Hall monitor, counselor, social worker and friend.

Sometimes, it’s as simple as just listening.

“I’ve pulled kids out of the bathroom who are skipping class and crying,” said Owen. “I just talk to them and let them talk.”

In fact, many kids just stop in to her office to say hi, including one boy who pays Owen a visit every day. He smiles and waves as she walks past him in the hallway between classes.

Another student used to tell Owen that she hated cops. Now she stops by Owen’s office to talk with her.

“A lot of the time, there’s something going on at home,” said Owen. “I just want them to know I’m here to help them.”

Owen said the kids are usually quite honest and really open up to her.

When kids aren’t showing up at school, Owen and Faribault Middle School social worker

See LAW on 27 Brittany Owen helps a student with her locker. (Camey Thibodeau/Daily News)

Local Area Churches

“Exalting His Name Together” - Psalm 34:3

9:00 am Sunday School 10:00 am Morning Worship 6:00 pm Evening Family Night 6:30-8:00 pm Wednesday Awana Club During School Year

Home of Hispanic Baptist Fellowship 1108 Westwood Dr, Faribault | 507-334-4885 | www.firstbaptistfaribault.org

P eace U nited M ethod ist Church 205 North Division Street, Morristown, MN • 685-4466

S erv ices ev ery S und ay at 9 : 3 0 am Sunday School for ages PreK through 6th grade Coffee and fellowship after every service Wednesday Peace for Kids ( PreK-5th grade) 3: 30-5: 00pm Monthly youth events ( Birth-12th grade) Peace Memorial Garden for personal reflection

Com e to v isit or stay f or a lif etim e. Our d oors are op en and our build ing is hand icap accessible! W e welcom e y ou in the lov e of J esus!

O ur M issio n is to p hy sically and sp iritually sp read the w o rd o f G o d .

Weekend Masses Saturday

4:00 pm......... Divine Mercy

Sunday

Weekday Masses Mon Tues Wed

8:00 am......... Divine Mercy 10:00 am....... Divine Mercy 12:00 noon.... Divine Mercy

Thurs Fri

5:00 pm......... Divine Mercy

Sat

(Español)

5:30 pm ...... Divine Mercy 8:30 am ...... Divine Mercy 8:30 am ...... Immaculate Conception 8:30 am ...... Divine Mercy 8:30 am ...... Immaculate Conception 8:30 am ..... Divine Mercy

Church Location

139 Mercy Drive, Faribault, MN Parish Office and Mailing Address 4 2nd Ave SW, Faribault, MN 507-334-2266 www.divinemercy.cc

SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER

Page 27 | Profile 2015

Brittany Owen became the Faribault Middle School resource officer in September 2014. (Camey Thibodeau/Daily News)

From Page 26 Amanda Vonbergen do home visits to try to determine what’s going on.

“We work together a lot, including with kids in crisis situations,” Vonbergen said. “I like having her here.”

Vonbergen oversees various student groups to help combat bullying, friendship groups, for students dealing with high anxiety, stress and anger management.

Several times throughout the school year, Faribault Police K-9 Chase shows up unannounced at FMS to do random searches, something most of the kids love,

according to Owen.

“Chase can search lockers and classrooms in a fraction of the time it would take us to do it,” said Owen.

Chase and all her fellow officers are always willing to lend her a hand when needed, according to Owen.

Faribault Police Chief Andy Bohlen described Owen as “an exceptional officer and a great SRO” in an email.

She also enjoys working with everyone at FMS, which is attended by 861 students in grades 6-8.

“Everybody here is great,” said Owen. “I really like it at this school. It’s a learning experience

FMS RESOURCE OFFICER STATISTICS

Bullying is a big deal and is taken seriously at FMS. Any reports of bullying are referred directly to the principal, in compliance with a Minnesota law passed last summer, according to Owen.

Counselors, administrative staff, principal, assistant principal, social worker and teachers are all working together to have zero tolerance for bullying.

Owen is pleased that everyone at FMS works very well together.

Her favorite part of working not making threats toward other as an SRO is building relationpeople.

“These are kids. They make ships with kids, especially those mistakes,” Owen said. “You have who want nothing to do with her. She also likes to see kids to be forgiving.”

Child protection: 4 Suicide threats: 4 Possession of a dangerous weapon: 4 Below are select statistics Criminal sexual conduct: from FMS resource officer 2 Brittany Owen’s reports Threats: 6 from Sept.-Dec. 2014.

Tobacco incidents: 1 Fights/assaults: 15 Alcohol incidents: 3 Thefts: 13 Drug incidents: 1 Truancy/home visits: 8 Criminal damage to property: 3 Runaways: 4

for me too.”

One of the most serious offenses Owen has dealt with involved a student who brought a large knife to school, but was

learn from their mistakes.

The worst part of her job is when kids are being abused or neglected at home.

“It’s so important that we’re here to help them when they’re young,” she said.

During the summer, Owen will work on patrol. She currently assists with investigations and is sometimes on-call at the police department. She also assists with alcohol and tobacco compliance checks at Faribault businesses.

Reach reporter Camey Thibodeau at 333-3128. Follow her on Twitter.com @CameyThibodeau.

Profile 2015 | Page 28

Your Hometown Electronics Store for Over 51 Years!

Visit Historic Downtown Faribault

Bringing Wedding Dreams to Life for Over 25 Years!

Complete bridal and formal wear

• Flat Screen TV Sales & Repair • Computer Repair • Off-air Antenna Sales • Security Systems Also see us for Commercial Security Systems & Surveillance Service.

FETTE ELECTRONICS

Weddings By Deb

Mon-Fri 8:30-5:30, Thurs 8:30-8:00, Sat Closed

weddingsbydeb.com 214 Central Avenue Faribault • 507-332-7171

334-3412 • 205 Central Ave • Downtown Faribault • WWW.FETTEELECTRONICS.COM

We Get You Connected Consulting al • r i Installation rai i Since 1984

Licensed & Bonded

Phone yste s • oi e ai yste s • Messa e n o d P ayers esi n nsta ation estin erti ation o oi e ata et or a in erhead Pa in yste s • e urity a eras

BU R K H A RT Z M E Y E R S H O E S WE KNOW FEET. WE KNOW SHOES.

4Large Inventory Of Footwear For Men, Women & Children 4 Specializing In Hard To Find Sizes & Wide Widths 4Dedicated Employees Who Cater To Your Needs

Providing Help For All Of Your Footwear & Foot Health Needs For Over 3 Generations

1 9 4 9 - 20 1 5

Service Available 24 Hrs/day, 7 Days a Week

334-3735 | 1-800-944-0105 Full Staff with Over 200 Years Combined Experience! www.phonestation.com

Top row (L-R) Dee Wirz, Bruce Burkhartzmeyer, Michelle Phillips, Brian Burkhartzmeyer, Larry Olson, Lanny Shreck, Bottom row: (L-R) Joan VanDyke, Brian Mullenmaster Becca Tutewohl, Buck Burkhartzmeyer, Putts Burkhartzmeyer

2 CERTIFIED PEDORTHISTS ON STAFF

www.burkhartzmeyershoes.com • Downtown Faribault • 507-334-7774

SECURITY BANK CLOCK

Page 29 | Profile 2015

A FARIBAULT ICON

Restoration of 100-year-old Security Bank clock nears

By CAMEY THIBODEAU

cthibodeau@faribault.com

For 100 years, the Security Bank clock has been a landmark in downtown Faribault.

After sitting broken and idle for several years, the clock is finally garnering the care and attention it deserves just in time for its 100th anniversary.

The Security Bank clock started ticking in 1915, 21 years after the Security Bank opened next to the Faribault Opera House on Central Avenue between Third Street and Fourth Street in 1894. Five years later in 1899, the bank relocated to Pictured are three proposed options for the Security Bank clock face. The fourth photo is proposed lettering for the Security Bank clock. (Photo courtesy of a three-story stone building at the the Heritage Preservation Commission) corner of Central Avenue and Third Street where it occupied two-thirds of the building’s first floor.

During a complete remodel in 1914, the stone façade was removed from the entire building and another story was added and it was refaced with brick. The following year, the landmark chime-clock tower was installed on Central Avenue, according to articles compiled by former Rice County Historical Society Director Susan McKinna.

No one seems to recall exactly when the Security Bank clock stopped working. Once it did stop, however, people noticed.

One of those people was Al Burkhartzmeyer, co-owner of Burkhartzmeyer Shoes located one block south of the Security Bank building on the corner of Central Avenue and Second Street.

Before Burkhartzmeyer died in 2012, he designated that any

See ICON on 30

Profile 2015 | Page 30

SECURITY BANK CLOCK

From Page 29 memorials received in his name go to restoring the clock. Because Burkhartzmeyer was a longtime member of the Faribault Rotary Club, his fellow members adopted the project in his honor after he died.

In October 2014, the building owner granted a preservation easement to the City of Faribault that would convey ownership of the clock to the city, permitting it to repair, restore and maintain the clock permanently.

At that time, the Rotary Club ramped up fundraising efforts for the clock project.

According to a design review application filed with the Heritage Preservation Commission, the preferred design is to recreate how the clock looked in the 1950s, but with modern internal components.

As much as possible, the existing metal would be refinished, but much of it will likely have to be replaced. The dials and movements would also probably be

replaced, according to the HPC. “We want it to look like it’s restored, but we also want it to have some modern security and modern fixtures so it will be able to be maintained easily,” said Faribault Rotarian Kymn Anderson.

The clock’s final design will be up to City Council.

In November 2014, City Council came to a consensus to supply funds to get the Security Bank building clock restoration project moving.

In essence, the agreement gave ownership of the clock to the city, which will be responsible for upkeep, but will require the building owner to pay for its utilities.

Community Development Coordinator Kim Clausen said staff was working with Mike Elwood, owner of the Hickory Dickory Doc Clock Shop in Faribault, to develop the repair estimates. After examining the clock, Elwood provided a preliminary estimate of $24,700.

See ICON on 30 Security Bank clock in the late 1920s. (Photo courtesy of Rice County Historical Society)

We’ll help you grow... your trusted partner for digital marketing solutions in Southern Minnesota

sm mlD

southern minn digital southernminndigital.com

Page 31 | Profile 2015

SECURITY BANK CLOCK

Elwood said he has worked on four-dial street clocks before, Elwood said the process will and as far as the components it’s have several stages. not a big concern. Elwood, who The repairs include remov- grew up in Faribault and rememing the clock, installing four bers the clock even as a child, was new stained glass looking forward dials, four new “It was a great to the project. stained glass panBecause els, clock hands, event to finish up Faribault Roclock controller, the fundraising tary Club was new rolled copstill short of the for the project. nearly $25,000 per to wrap the support beams It was a pleasant repair cost, the and lastly reincity council voted surprise that we to gap fund the stalling the clock.

Some of the in Febhad people who project work would reruary, with the quire Elwood couldn’t attend expectation that to contract out, Rotary repay mail checks in.” the Clausen said, but the city when the Elwood thought Rotary Club President renovation costs the whole process are raised.

Tony Langerud would take bePreliminary tween three and numbers indifour months. cated that the Faribault Rotary “(We) don’t want to rush it, Club had raised over $25,000 towe’re dealing with stained glass,” ward the clock restoration projhe said. “It won’t be rushed through.”

See ICON on 32

From Page 30

According to the Heritage Preservation Commission, the preferred proposal is to recreate the stained glass, lettering and clock face of the Security Bank building clock as depicted in this drawing from the 1950s. (Photo from Heritage Preservation Commission)

We’re Redefining Service

TIME FOR SPRING IMPROVEMENTS

Step into a new kind of bank, designed to make money management easier.

WE’VE MOVED!

Learn more about how we’re redefining service.

Visit our website at reliancebankmn.com

2300 N.W. 30th Street Faribault, MN 55021 507.331.2493

250 OFF

$

Any Home Improvement of $3000 or More Exp. 11-1-15

EXTERIORSPLUS.CO

Member FDIC

Locally Owned Affordable Rates Financing Available

MIDWEST INC.

Call J im

Lic. # 20453738

T od ay F or F R E E E S T I M AT E S !

4329 Dayton Circle, Faribault, MN. 55021

j am es.p .f ritz@ gm ail.com

(507) 334-9100 (612) 207-9910

Profile 2015 | Page 32

From Page 31 ect following a fundraiser on April 25, which raised about $10,200, according to Faribault Rotarian Kymn Anderson.

Fundraising was nearly completed about six months after the organization started a focused effort, according to Rotary Club President Tony Langerud.

“From our rough estimate, we’re awfully close to our goal, with somewhere between zero and $2,500 left,” Langerud said.

“It was a great event to finish up the fundraising for the project.

It was a pleasant surprise that we had people who couldn’t attend mail checks in. People in the community are really pulling together and wanting to see this project to completion.”

Clausen said the HPC’s color selection was given to Elwood at Hickory Dickory Dock and he was communicating with a stained glass company.

She said the clock should be finished by early- to mid-July.

SECURITY BANK CLOCK SECURITY BANK AND CLOCK TIMELINE 1894: Security Bank opens 1899: Security Bank moves to corner of Central Avenue and Third Street 1914: Security Bank building remodeled 1915: Security Bank clock installed 1966: Security Bank moves to new building on corner of Fourth Street Northwest and First Avenue Northwest 2012: Al Burkhartzmeyer, a Faribault Rotary member for more than 50 years, dies and designates memorials in his name go to restoration of clock. Rotary undertakes the clock restoration project in honor of Burkhartzmeyer.

October 2014: Building owner grants a preservation easement to the City of Faribault that conveys ownership of the clock to the city, permitting it to repair, restore and maintain the clock permanently.

February 2015: City Council unanimously approves a gap fund for the renovations of the historic clock, and awards the repair contract to the owner of Hickory Dickory Doc Clock Shop Mike Elwood.

April 2015: According to early estimates, Faribault Rotary completes fundraising for clock restoration project.

Early-mid July: Clock’s estimated completion date

The Security Bank clock in 1956. (Photo courtesy of Rice County Historical Society)

R E ACOOPERATIVE LIFE

2125 7th Street NW, Faribault, MN (Across from the King Mill Dam)

Stacey Johnson

Senior Marketing Marketing Representative Representative

507-455-5299 507-455-5299

Think You Can’t Afford Health Benefits?

Contact one of us today to learn more about innovative health insurance plan options, including high deductible plans and health savings accounts—because quality, cost-effective benefit options are key to financial health.

4 Starting Price $22,975 Jessica Grayson

Commercial Service Representative

507-455-5358 Federated Insurance P.O. Box 328 Owatonna, MN 55060 Fax: 507-455-8434

Federated Mutual Insurance Company • Federated Service Insurance Company* • Federated Life Insurance Company Owatonna, Minnesota 55060 • Phone: (507) 455-5200 • www.federatedinsurance.com *Not licensed in the states of NH, NJ, RI, and VT.

© 2014 Federated Mutual Insurance Company

4 No Closing Costs 4 Heated, Secure Underground Parking

Realife gives you the freedom to enjoy the retirement life you have always dreamed of.

•

4 Scenic Garden or Lake Views

Office Hours: M-F 9-3:30 Please call Diane at 507-334-4407 for more information or a tour.

realifecoop.org

4 9 Different Floor Plans

GAS ENGINE

Page 33 | Profile 2015

A Faribault gas engine sits on display at the State Bank of Faribault. The engine is around 100 years old, and State Bank acquired it in 2006. It was manufactured by the Faribault Engine Manufacturing Co. in town in the early 1900s. (Adam J.S. Holt/Daily News)

ENGINE OF THE CITY Rare Faribault engine wasn’t easy to get back home

By ADAM J.S. HOLT

To most people, the red-painted machine is just that: a red-painted machine. It’s obvious that it at one time did something, but what that somehere’s a 1,300-pound relic on display at thing was isn’t quite so evident. Why it’s here isn’t the State Bank of Faribault. It rests under immediately obvious, either. The word, “Faribault” a staircase in the southern expansion of is painted in script on the machine in more than one place, implying some connection to the city. the building. aholt@faribault.com

T

The relic is a gas engine built by the Faribault Engine Manufacturing Company in town in the 1910s. To collectors, it’s basically the Honus Wagner baseball card of gas engines.

The fact a Faribault engine resides in Faribault, where it was built 100 years ago, doesn’t seem all that notable on the surface. The reality is that it took a lot of time, effort and money to bring this engine home.

“A lot of people come through the bank and

they just have no idea that, one, these were even built, they didn’t even know what it was,” State Bank vice president John Carlander said.

Initially, Carlander was one of those people.

So were Bill Heller and the late Dick Sunsdahl, who helped locate the engine that now sits in the State Bank.

“Dick Sunsdahl and I both were interested in them because we both were interested in Faribault history for a long time,” said Heller, the first vice president of the Rice County Historical Society.

“We were both looking for one and didn’t know it until we just happened to run into each other.”

Sunsdahl’s interest in finding a Faribault engine can be traced in part to his nephew, David,

See ENGINE on 34

Profile 2015 | Page 34

GAS ENGINE

The first page of a Faribault Engine Manufacturing Company catalog features a drawing of the plant, which still stands today where Lockerby Sheet Metal is located. (Courtesy of the Rice County Historical Society)

From Page 33 who collects gas engines.

“It all started about 20 years ago, I’d say,” David said. “I ran across an ad for a poster of the Faribault engine. At that time, I wasn’t aware that the Faribault engine was even something that had been manufactured. So I thought on a whim, I’d just order this and give it to him for Christmas or a birthday or something.

So he had it hanging in his shop.”

Later, David Sunsdahl saw a flier for an auction of antique

machinery and tools collected by Dale and Janice Hindal. Among the items listed was a Faribault engine. Dick wanted one.

David figured $10,000 wouldn’t be enough to win the engine. It turns out, he was understating things.

Dick knew he wouldn’t be able to afford that. But he still felt that the city deserved to have one of the engines it once produced. The goal changed.

“Not necessarily to be able to own one himself, but to get one back to town,” David said.

THE FARIBAULT ENGINE COMPANY The company that made the rare Faribault engines didn’t have a long history.

Incorporated in a couple incarnations in the early 1900s, the company made various one-cylinder gas engines, as well as engines for railway cars to replace hand cars.

At one time late in its life, the company was reported to be making five engines a week to high demand.

A fire destroyed the plant and building in 1916, but production resumed after two weeks. The company also announced it was going to start producing kerosene engines, as gasoline prices were increasing at the time.

A May 26, 1916 article in the Daily News was the last recorded reference to the company.

So with that in mind, Dick Sunsdahl found that State Bank would be in the market to purchase one, as it was finishing its new expansion and was looking for some more Faribault history to display.

“What we thought we would do is create an atmosphere of character,” Carlander said. “Of who we are and what Faribault was, and try to put that on display here when we have the space and pieces.”

Heller, Dick and David went to the auction in Byron to try and bid on behalf of State Bank.

“So we both wound up going over there and we were told we could bid a certain amount,” Heller said. “Well, it went way over that.”

Larry Lucke of Nebraska wound up taking the engine. His winning bid? $32,500.

The Faribault Engine Co. was incorporated in 1907, after earlier incorporation as the Faribault Manufacturing Co., which had consolidated some other companies in 1904. The factory was located where Lockerby Sheet Metal is now.

The company produced gas engines, which were used for a variety of tasks. According to a

An informational advertisement for a Faribault engine sits next to the restored model that’s housed by the State Bank of Faribault. (Adam J.S. Holt/Daily News)

statement in a company catalog for its engines, they were good for “pumping water, grinding feed, shredding corn and filling silos.” The one-cylinder engines were easily mounted and moved, and some came on carts for ease

of movement.

“They actually, in their day, they probably made a lot of them,” Heller said. “But now at this point in time, they’re pretty rare. It was also considered a very good engine. I guess that’s

another reason why they’re hard to find.”

Part of the collectibility of the Faribault engines stems from the fact it’s a Minnesota-made

See ENGINE on 35

Page 35 | Profile 2015

GAS ENGINE From Page 34 engine. While many midwestern states had more than 100 manufacturers of engines, there were maybe 60 companies in Minnesota that made them.

According to an article by Gas Engine Magazine, Minnesotan producers of engines included Red Wing Motor Co., LE Spear of Northfield and Charles A Stickney company of St. Paul.

As electricity became more widely available in the area in the late 1930s, the need for gas engines just wasn’t there. So many ended up disappearing.

“So what happened, these engines just got either scrapped and thrown away, or pushed into granary,” David Sunsdahl said. “It was the one that got pushed into granary that were able to survive the scrap iron drives of the second world war, and consequently, you can still find one out there.”

Dick Sunsdahl wasn’t ready to give up on finding a Faribault engine. But after doing some research, it turned out there were likely five specimens out there. And almost nobody was willing to sell.

Eventually, Dick found one a lot closer than he might have expected — in Kenyon.

“Then we got our heads together again and we found out another guy in the area had one,” Heller said. “So we went and talked to him. Well of course, as soon as the other one sold for big money, then this guy, of course, he wanted the same thing for his. It was all restored, as you see it in there today.”

Harlan Hjermstad owned an engine identical to the one the Hindals auctioned, except his was restored. Initially, Hjermstad wasn’t keen on selling his.

See ENGINE on 36 This Faribault gas engine is one of anywhere from three to five engines still in existence today. (Adam J.S. Holt/Daily News)

Care You Trust From People You Know.

Cardinal Pointe of Faribault!

Exceptional Living for Adults!

• Affordable Home Ownership • Located by Central Park • Walking distance to downtown • Washer & Dryer in each unit • Spacious Community Room • Sun Room • Underground Parking • Library/Computer Area • Woodworking Shop • Car Wash

Call For a Personal Tour!

FARIBAULT • 507.332.9900 • RICHIEEYECLINIC.COM

• Guest Room • Cooperative living for adults 55+

500 3rd Ave NW • 507-331-1922 • cardinalpointe.clearsiteinternet.com

Profile 2015 | Page 36

GAS ENGINE

(Adam J.S. Holt/Daily News)

From Page 35 But with some convincing, he agreed to sell it to State Bank’s Dick Carlander and his son, John.

“I like to see younger people see what went on and what our forefathers could do,” Hjermstad said in an archived Daily News article about the engine’s sale. “If it was going to be stuck in the back of a machine shed, that wouldn’t have cut a lot of mustard with me.”

It cost a lot to get the engine into the State Bank’s hands.

But it was an important, lesser known piece of Faribault his-

tory, and fit with the displays of old Faribault-related memorabilia at the bank.

Dick Sunsdahl died in 2011, but it was with the knowledge he was able to bring a Faribault engine home.

“He kept me informed on all of that,” David Sunsdahl said. “It was a real pet project of his. He was so darn proud to see that come together.”

For Heller though, the hunt isn’t quite over.

“I’m still looking for one for myself,” he said. “I had a clue on where there was a [Faribault-made] handcar engine. A lot of these things are

kept pretty secret, because the guy that told me about them, he couldn’t remember where it was any more. That’s called convenient amnesia.”

That’s also one of the problems with collecting things. Sometimes, it just becomes unfeasible to try and acquire rare items. And with the going rate for Faribault engines sitting around $32,000, Heller isn’t figuring he’ll end up with one. He has another one-cylinder engine that was used to run a city of Faribault cement mixer. He paid about $150 for it.

“You can see why that lets

out most of us,” Heller said. “I realize that maybe they’re worth it, but I wouldn’t even think of paying that kind of money for one.”

That makes it all the more remarkable that the Carlanders decided it was worth it to have a Faribault engine on display in Faribault — especially since they, like Heller and the Sunsdahls, didn’t even know there was such a thing until relatively soon before the hunt started.

“The main thing is, Faribault’s important to us,” John Carlander said. “The history The plate on the State Bank of Faribault’s Faribault gas and culture is important to us, engine shows it is serial number: 795. (Adam J.S. Holt/Daily and what Faribault was about.” News)

Page 37 | Profile 2015

SWAMI KEN

Swami Ken: a homegrown American country Swami

By MATT BIGELOW

mbigelow@faribault.com

Ken Purmort is a world-renowned Swami, and he lives just outside Faribault. He travels around the world; his goal isn’t to collect disciples, make money or change people’s religion. His goal is educate others on the benefits of meditation. He’s a normal guy with a normal family, living in a normal home. His job and way of life may be much different than the average Faribault native, but Swami Ken doesn’t see himself as any better or worse than anybody else.

He’s a home grown American country swami.

Swami Ken is also known as Swami

- H OM

E

I M

“Everyone’s spirituality and religion is personal.

Each person has his or her own path. “ Swami Ken

Kenananda. The term “ananda” means “bliss” in Hindu philosophy and the art of meditation is a form of achieving bliss in everyday life.

We live in a fast-paced, resultsbased, “what have you done for me lately” world. Swami Ken’s meditation is an opportunity to take the time to

P R OV E M

ST I L L Y O U R I N V E ST M E

slow down. It is a way to relieve stress, discover one’s self and ultimately find happiness.

Swami Ken was initiated into meditation by his guru, Sri Shivabalayogi Maharaj, who he met in 1988.

There are different stages and levels of meditation, one of which includes “tapas,” which is defined as continuous meditation for over 12 hours a day until God’s realization is attained. It is a stage Swami Ken described as being a state of erased consciousness where all judgment is gone and the mind stops. During this time, Swami Ken meditated for 10-15 hours a day and upon completion, he began teaching

See SWAMI on 39

E N T S -

B N

E

Swami Ken has been traveling around the world teaching his meditations for nine years.

He spends 7-9 months a year traveling and when he isn’t, he lives just outside Faribault.

(Matt Bigelow/ Daily News)

ST T !

I m p rove you r hom e’ s ap p earance with new sid ing, w ind ows f rom S am m on H om e I m p rove m ent.

EXPERT INSTALLATION OF:

WE’VE GOT YOUR BACK.

•US Seamless Steel Siding •Aluminum, Vinyl and Steel Siding WE ALSO HAVE

Walsh Vinyl Windows • Thermally-Designed, Insulation Glass • Tilt-In Sashes For Year-Round Cleaning Convenience • Custom-Designed • Lifetime Warranty • Low E Available • White-Beige-Wood Grain

FREE ESTIMATES

Since 1960

and your knees. and your neck. and your shoulder. and your ankles. and your wrist. and your balance...

Call to discover how hands-on physical therapy can help you get back to life

Lic. #2476

19 61 Card inal Lane, S uite A F aribault 5 0 7 - 3 3 3 - 29 86 www.wieberp hy sicaltherap y .com

Profile 2015 | Page 38

Many Services. One Source.

Great Results.

We are a full service construction organization serving southern Minnesota and northern Iowa.

We Can Do That!

“Bringing Real Estate Ideas to Reality”

We, at Bauernfeind Goedtel won’t be comfortable....until you are.

Investment Real Estate Residential Homes

Commercial Properties

John Jasinski—507-291-1341 Matt Steeves—507-330-5534 Jesse Akemann—507-291-0022 Local Sales Agent

OVER 45 YEARS EXPERIENCE MDC Real Estate Providing Residential and Commercial Real Estate Services Local Real Estate Specialist providing its clients with a professional, reliable real estate transaction. Our specialist are here to service your real estate needs.

HVAC • ROOFING • SHEET METAL

John Jasinski—507-291-1341 | Matt Steeves—507-330-5534 | Jesse Akemann—507-291-0022 507-332-2266 www.mdcrealestate.com Broker Local Sales Agents

Call Today!

Residential Homes | Commercial Properties | Investment Real Estate

We’re Open To The Public For All Your Home Project Needs Residential Homes Commercial Properties

(507) 332-6823

Investment Real Estate Financing Specialists

15760 Acorn Trail, Faribault (507) 332-2266

SWAMI KEN From Page 37

Page 39 | Profile 2015

There is a strong demand for ways to reduce stress and Swami Ken says his service has helped countless individuals all across the world.

When he isn’t traveling and teaching his meditations, Swami Ken lives a simple life and enjoy normal things like watching football, and Swami Ken had nothing but good things to say about Faribault and the people living in the city.

“We’ve been in Faribault since 1999 and people have been so accepting of us here,” Ken said. “It is a fantastic place to live; everyone has been great to us and in general very helpful.”

Swami Ken teaches his meditations to all people of any religious background. You can learn more about his story and his meditation online at Swamikena.org.

his meditations to the masses.

He’s been on tour for the last nine years and he spends seven to nine months out of the year traveling around the world, teaching meditation to as many people as possible.

Swami Ken teaches his meditations to anyone and everyone, no matter their faith.

He’s been to mosques, temples, churches, synagogues, companies and schools. He’s been all over the world, teaching meditations to everyone because there are benefits, no matter the religious affiliation.

“Everyone’s spirituality and religion is personal,” said Ken. “Each person has his or her own path. Every religion has its own form of inward, Swami Ken has been all over the world teaching his meditations to everyone of every religious background. Here he is at a and meditating can help put Lutheran church in Minneapolis. (Matt Bigelow/Daily News) people on their path.”

At the core, Swami Ken’s am I? What am I about? What by subjecting it to silence. The exactly what they need the first Meditation has become meditation is meant to allow are the people around me about? mind naturally resists silence time and want to continue, oth- increasingly important in the Matt Bigelow covers sports for people to find There are always but through time and repetition, ers need a reason to start but it medical field and it has become the Daily News. You can reach happiness. It MORE questions in life the mind gives in and people ultimately is up to the individual a major aid for soldiers who’ve him at 507-333-3129 or online can help peo- INFORMATION and the medita- can discover a certain calmness and maintaining self-discipline. returned home from overseas. via Twitter @FDNMattBigelow ple alleviate tion helps you that wasn’t known before.

You can learn stress because learn how to enPeople by nature have desires i n n a t u r e , more about Swami joy life, be happy and wants. There is a feeling of meditation is Ken’s story and and find clarity.” a need for attachment to somea way people his meditations at Swami Ken thing for everyone. Swami Ken’s can escape the swamikena.org said he recom- meditation can allow people a busyness, the mends meditat- release from those desires by multi-tasking and the non- ing every day, but it doesn’t take finding contentment. stop that is everyday life by countless hours to be effective.

“Expansion throughout the simply settling into their own Twenty minutes to an hour a day universe leads to more desire,” minds and slowing life down. can make a huge difference is said Ken. “Judgment is the effect It is a way to break down the anyone’s life. of that desire. conditioned mind and find a “It’s rejuve“The less desire The less desire clarity that can serve as a step nation for the one has, the less one has, the less judgment they towards discovering a more body and the ideal self and it can help peo- mind alike,” have. Meditajudgment they ple establish a closer relation- s ai d Viv i an tion allows for ship with their God, whoever Purmort. “I’ve have. Meditation an increased that may be. focus in the taken up medallows for an “What he’s doing isn’t ask- i t at i o n a n d moment, which ing people to change their re- when I mediincreased focus in leads to a less is ligion or their personal path,” tate, my day more mentalsaid Vivian Purmort, Swami goes smoother the moment, which ity.”

Ken’s wife. “It is a way to help and I just feel Swami Ken leads to a less is people find their inner self.” better in gensaid the medimore mentality.” tation comes “We live in a world filled eral.”

Pick up with judgments,” said Ken. n atu r a l ly to Meditation Swami Ken Your FREE “The mind is always going; can serve as a some people, there are always reactions and method of conwhile others Copy! judgments. There are always templative introspection. It is a take more time to realize the questions in daily life. Who way to take control of the mind full affects. Some people find

Your FREE get out source to Southern Minnesota

Profile 2015 | Page 40

Get in. Get care.

Get back to your day.

Express Care convenience!

Express Care at Mayo Clinic Health System in Faribault offers quick, convenient care for non-emergency illnesses and injuries for the entire family.

Illness and injury happen at the most inconvenient times. At Expre Care services are available to patients 18 months and older and appointment is necessary.

Mayo Clinic Health System Express Care Crossroad Professional Building 1575 20thHealth St. NW,System Faribault, MN 55021 Mayo Clinic Express Care

FREE HELP FOR SMALL BUSINESS Call the SBDC and get the help you need:

Business Plan Development Feasibility Analysis Financial Analysis Market Research Marketing Advertising and Sales Loan Packaging

Strategic Planning Recordkeeping E-commerce Human Resource Management Overall Management Best Practices for Business

Free and confidential business assistance from trained and experienced business counselors.

Phone: 507-334-4381 or sign up online under Business Resources at www.faribaultmn.org

507-333-3351 Crossroads Professional Building 1575 320th Streetp.m.

NW, Monday-Friday Faribault, MN 55021 to 7:30 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday-Sunday 3 to 7:30 p.m. Monday–Friday 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday–Sunday

mayoclinichealthsystem.org mayoclinichealthsystem.org

Choices. Value. Opportunities.

ENROLLING NOW

OVER 50 PROGRAMS TO CHOOSE FROM ON TWO CAMPUSES For more information

NEW IN FARIBAULT IN 2015 CARPENTRY & MECHATRONICS A member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System. South Central College is an Equal Opportunity Employer and Educator and has ADA accessible facilities. For TTY communications, contact MN RELAY Service at 711 or 1-800-627-3529.

www.southcentral.edu | (507) 332-5800 | admissions@southcentral.edu

Our Founder’s Vision

“ Not On Sundays”

Fareway Stores, Inc. has been providing economical food distribution since 1938, when our first store opened in Boone, Iowa. When choosing where to open a new store, we still follow the saying of one of our founders “Follow the black dirt”. He believed the Company’s values were in perfect sync with those living in the country’s breadbasket - people who were hardworking, who understood the value of a dollar and to whom family was everything.

Those same values have allowed Fareway to grow to over 100 stores in the midwest with stores in Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, Minnesota and South Dakota.

Our founding families believed in the powerful influence of “a day of rest” for family, health and ultimately success. Our employees work hard six days a week to bring you the best service and quality groceries.

Grocery 334-1661 • Meat Dept. 334-1662 • Floral Dept. • 334-2626 Mon-Sat 7am-9pm • www.fareway.com • 430 NW 2nd Ave, Faribault

NOW OPEN! FARIBO LIQUOR STORE 114 4th St NW, Faribault Mon-Thurs 10am-8pm Fri-Sat 10am-9pm

“At Fareway, you’re family.”

We take this to heart and we’re proud to treat our customers and employees with the utmost care and respect. Fareway will not be open on Sunday, but on Monday we’ll be open, refreshed, anxious to serve you and grateful for your patronage.

Thank you for understanding this important day off for our hardworking employees, so we can provide you with the best service.

Faribault Catholic Schools SageGlass® advanced dynamic glass has made Faribault

A Legacy of Love & Learning.

its home since 1999, and we continue to grow. SageGlass is a product of Saint-Gobain and we encourage you to visit our website to learn more about our company and check on our latest employment opportunities (click on “Careers” at the top of the home page).

Preschool

• 2, 3, 5 Full and Half Day Options

K-5 Grade School

• Strong Academics & Offerings in Art, Music, PE and Technology info@sageglass.com www.sageglass.com SAGE Electrochromics, Inc. 2 Sage Way Faribault, MN 55021 USA 507.331.4848 877.724.3321

6-8 Middle School • 1 to 1 Laptop Program

9-12 High School • 99% Graduation Rate

Saint-Gobain, the world leader in the habitat and construction markets, is celebrating 350 years. Since its creation in 1665, Saint-Gobain has adapted to the many changes in the world.

Join the celebration. #SaintGobain350

WWW.DMCS.CC 507-334-7706

WWW.BACARDS.ORG 507-334-3948