Zest aug 2015

Zest For 50+ living

AUGUST 2015

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Fun in the sun From small-town festivals to county fairs, find a reason to celebrate all summer

Wanda Nordlie, an Army nurse in 1945, returns to Austria 70 years after American troops liberated Nazi concentration camps

Hutchinson Jaycees honor Skip Quade and Bonnie Westmiller for their contributions to the community

Tips for managing a ‘boomerang’ household

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CONTENTS Senior spotlight:

For 50+ living

Wanda Nordlie of Litchfield returns to Austria with her husband, Don, so she can participate in a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp in Ebensee

AUGUST 2015 Vol. 6 No. 6

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PUBLISHED BY Litchfield Independent Review P.O. Box 307, Litchfield, MN 55355 320-693-3266 Hutchinson Leader 170 Shady Ridge Road NW, Suite 100 Hutchinson, MN 55350 320-587-5000 PUBLISHER Brent Schacherer schacherer@hutchinsonleader.com 320-234-4143 EDITOR Juliana Thill thill@independentreview.net 320-593-4808 Litchfield office 320-234-4172 Hutchinson office CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Kay Johnson

and there are numerous area celebrations, fairs and festivals through early September

ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Kevin True true@hutchinsonleader.com 320-234-4141

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In the news: Meet 2015 Mr. Hutchinson Skip Quade and Woman of the Year Bonnie Westmiller, whom the Hutchinson Jaycees selected based on their contributions to the community

SUBSCRIPTION OR ADDRESS CHANGE Michelle Magnuson 320-234-4142 magnuson@hutchinsonleader.com PRINTED BY Crow River Press 170 Shady Ridge Road NW Hutchinson, MN 55350 Zest is published monthly by the Litchfield Independent Review and Hutchinson Leader newspapers. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior consent of the publisher.

story: 8 Cover Summer is in high gear,

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Money matters: Tips for managing a boomerang household

14 Recipes: Buffalo Chicken Tacos; Easy Raspberry Sorbet

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A WARM WELCOME

S

ummer is in full swing, and many of you have been enjoying the weather and outdoor community events.

For our readers, we’ve included a listing packed with fun activities, festivals and fairs that are happening in the area through early September. Grab your sunglasses, and maybe some sunscreen, and be a part of these small-town celebrations — whether it’s driving a tractor in the Forest City Thresher Days tractor parade, or attending the senior citizen programs at the McLeod County Fair and Meeker County Fair. There are numerous opportunities to enjoy all that our communities have to offer.

While I don’t often write more than one lengthy story about the same person, I made an exception this month for a woman whose military life seems to have come full circle. In honor of Veterans Day in November, I wrote about Wanda Nordlie of Litchfield. She was a nurse in the U.S. Army in the early to mid-1940s. After American troops liberated a Nazi concentration camp May 6, 1945, in Ebensee, Austria, Nordlie arrived with the Army’s 139th Evacuation Hospital. She and others went into the camp to care for former prisoners who were too sick to leave.

About five years ago (65 years later) she met one of those prisoners who was from Hungary but now lives in Ohio. He arranged a trip for Nordlie and her husband, Don, to visit Ebensee in May to take part in an elaborate commemoration marking the 70th anniversary of the lib-

eration. She was the only U.S. service member to participate in the ceremony, which included speeches by survivors and children of survivors, as well as by local and federal dignitaries. Read as Nordlie, 92, recalls the experience of returning to the site of the former concentration camp.

Also in the magazine, we feature Skip Quade and Bonnie Westmiller.

Juliana Thill The Hutchinson Jaycees honored Editor these two remarkable people in late June during Hutchinson’s Water Carnival. Read about how they have contributed to the community in so many wonderful ways.

Normally, I would include the following brief in our calendar of events. However, this month, the calendar is a listing of summer celebrations.

Minnesota Brain Injury Force offers free brain-boosting workshops at 6 p.m. on the third Thursday of the month (May through October) at Hutchinson Health, Room F. In August, Dr. Sarah Peters will discuss what the brain needs to heal and thrive. In September, the focus will be on sleep solutions and stress management. For more information visit the website: www.MNBIF.org.

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IN THE NEWS

Jaycees honor Quade, Westmiller Howard “Skip” Quade and Bonnie Westmiller were named the new Mr. Hutchinson and Woman of the Year, respectively, during Hutchinson’s Water Carnival queen pageant June 19.

During Hutchinson Jaycees Water Carnival in June, a man and a woman are selected each year for the Mr. Hutchinson and Woman of the Year awards. Vice Commodore Jeremy Carter and his wife, Bethany, selected this year’s winners. According to the Carters, Mr. Hutchinson Skip Quade and Woman of the Year Bonnie Westmiller have made significant contributions to the community.

— By Kay Johnson, contributing writer

PHOTO BY KAY JOHNSON

Mr. Hutchinson Skip Quade

BY VICE COMMODORE JEREMY CARTER

I am truly honored to present this award to Skip Quade, a man that has touched so many lives in and around our community.

Here are some of the things people said in support of Skip’s nomination: “He has shown us to be one of Hutchinson’s strongest advocates, guiding the community using his leadership skills.”

Skip’s many contributions to the city of Hutchinson include youth sports and youth activity programs, community projects such as the Hutchinson Farmers Market, McLeod County Veterans Park, fundraising for local facilities and promoting the downtown business district.

He is a supporter of wildlife conservation efforts and is a lifetime member of Gopher Campfire Conservation Club. He has also been involved in the Elks Club, Ridgewater College Foundation, McLeod County 4-H and Twin Point Gun Club.

Quade was born and raised in Hutchinson, quarterbacked the Hutchinson High School football team, and graduated with the HHS class of 1953. He received a bachelor’s degree from Macalester College in 1957, where he met the love of his life, Bobbi, and to whom he was married for 30 years. Upon his return to

Hutchinson, Quade worked for the family business. When his father, Howard, retired, he took over expanding both the sporting goods and electrical businesses.

Skip is also following his father in another way — as Mr. Hutchinson.

His dad, Howard Quade, was honored in 1980.

The new Mr. Hutchinson may tell you his life philosophy has been “Fun first, career second,” and if that is truly the case, he has packed a lot of fun into his lifetime that has truly made a significant impact on many.

Woman of the Year Bonnie Westmiller

BY SECOND MATE BETHANY CARTER

Our new Woman of the Year is someone who has touched the lives of many people and I am excited for her to join our royal family and represent Hutchinson.

“When asked to help, she goes beyond what is asked of her.”

Another quote stated, “Her willingness to help, always with a smile on her face, her kindness, her never saying a bad word about anyone, and her genuine interest in others, makes her the kind of friend anyone would want to have.”

Our new Woman of the Year was

born in 1953 in Litchfield. She graduated from Grove City High School in 1971. After high school, Bonnie attended Hutchinson Vocational School, now known as Ridgewater College, and graduated with a degree in accounting. She worked as an accountant at Shopko for two years when she was approached about an opportunity to work at Citizens Bank in 1973. She retired from the bank in December 1998. She married Mark Westmiller. They shared 23 years of marriage before he died in 2009.

Bonnie is a downtown building owner and leases space to tenants.

She is a member of Christ the King Lutheran Church. She has served as a leader on church council, call committee, task forces, and is a trusted music resource and trusted friend.

She can be heard playing the organ at church services, weddings, funerals and special occasions.

She was one of the first women to join the Kiwanis.

For several summers, Bonnie served on the committee that organized Music in the Park. She also has helped plant flowers in the planters in downtown Hutchinson.

This quote from a nomination letter best sums Bonnie Westmiller: “She deserves to be Woman of the Year because she always puts everyone else first.”

AUGUST 2015 | ZEST

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MONEY MATTERS

Managing a ‘boomerang’ household

D

ue to recent economic realities, multi-generational living has been on the rise for many families.

A 2014 Pew Research Center analysis showed that a record 57 million Americans, equal to a little more than 18 percent of the U.S. population, lived in multi-generational family households in 2012 — double the number in 1980. The major driver was young adults aged 25-34.

According to Pew, nearly 24 percent of these older millennials lived in multi-generational households, an increase from nearly 19 percent in 2007 and 11 percent in 1980.

It’s possible the “boomerang” family trend will remain in place for some time to come. For homeowner parents who also might be juggling the “sandwich” responsibilities of caring for older relatives, paying attention to the financial and behavioral details of taking in family is critical.

Here are suggestions to consider: Your finances come first.

Operating a full house means higher utility and food costs and additional wear and tear on the property.

Taking in family also shouldn’t derail a parent’s career goals or retirement planning, nor should it diminish other necessary financial objectives like maximizing savings or eliminating debt. That’s why dual- or singleparent households might begin with a complete financial assessment before welcoming kids or elders back home.

A discussion with qualified financial and tax advisers might be worthwhile to determine how much expense you can take on. For arrangements that go beyond free lodging to direct cash support of family members, gift tax issues should be explored.

Make a real agreement.

A home is stability and therefore something of significant value. That is why it is appropriate to consider rent or request in-kind services in exchange for room and board. Young adults — particularly those who were fully under parental support in college — need to learn this important lesson even if they are moving home to save money to pay off loans, to buy

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Opening your home to returning family members is a real financial commitment.Think through money, tax and household issues before you say yes.

Jason Alderman Senior director of financial education programs at Visa Inc.

a car or put a down payment on a home. Ask trusted advisers about what makes sense in your situation.

If you decide to accept rent, know there are potential tax issues (www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc415.html) based on the structure, timeframe and expenses related to such an agreement. Legal paperwork might be required, but there also might be rental expenses you can deduct.

Establish timelines.

In the real world, financial arrangements are rarely open-ended.

Depending on the financial, tax and legal advice you receive, as well as local tenant law and personal preferences, you might be signing an official lease for your family member’s stay with a specific timeline of months or years. Whatever the requirements, make sure you have an effective framework that sets specific financial and behavioral rules you want met.

Start with a family meeting.

Before moving trucks arrive, family members should meet for a discussion about the impending move. Start by letting your child or family member talk through why they want to move in, whether they have financial goals tied to the living arrangement and how long they plan to stay. Share the structure you envision, including the payment details you would consider. No matter how agreement is struck, it should begin with a full discussion of needs, preferences, financial terms, and most of all, ways to make the arrangement successful and smooth. Once the move happens, regular conversations should continue about the living arrangement. After all, boomerang families have unique, ongoing financial issues that will require discussion.

Prepare to track expenses.

Once agreed, retrofit your household budget to keep track of higher food, utility and related expenses for cost-sharing and potential tax purposes. Having people you love living with you can have rewards that go beyond simple dollars, but always know what the arrangement is costing you.

Bottom line: Opening your home to returning family members is a real financial commitment. Think through money, tax and household issues before you say yes.

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COVER STORY

Summer sizzles with celebrations It might seem like summer is winding down. However, there are still numerous festivals, fairs, community celebrations, plays, and musicals in McLeod and Meeker counties for people to attend, volunteer at or participate in throughout August and into September

‘The Fantasticks’: July 30, 31 and Aug. 1, 6, 7, 8 Hutchinson Theatre Co. will present “The Fantasticks.” It’s a parable about love, and tells the story of a boy and a girl next door, whose parents have built a wall to keep them apart.

The story is based on the notion that children — of whatever age — cannot fall in love unless their love is forbidden. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Show starts at 7 p.m. at Hutchinson Middle School. Tickets are $18 per person.

Watkins Kraut ‘N’ Wurst Days: July 31-Aug. 1 Residents celebrate their German heritage with activities that includes a parade, cow drop raffle, and a feast of bratwurst and sauerkraut.

Pola-Czesky Days: July 31-Aug. 2

The Flemming-Fold family will perform July 31 at the Meeker County Fair in Litchfield.

July-August Meeker County Fair: July 30-Aug. 2 It’s the “Fairest Days of Summer” for county residents. Visit Litchfield for the Meeker County Fair. People age 65 and older can ride the Ferris Wheel for free from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.

July 31. There will be a senior citizen program at 1 p.m. July 31 in the bandshell. The Flemming-Fold family from southern Minnesota will perform bluegrass, country, old-time, gospel and folk music with yodeling at 1:30 p.m. Doug Ohman of Pioneer Photography will give a talk on historic churches of Minnesota at 7:30 p.m. July 31 at the church. Sherwin Linton will perform at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. Aug. 2 at the bandshell. The fair also will feature traditional activities such as exhibits and showing of livestock, live music and demolition derbies.

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Silver Lake’s annual celebration includes a queen coronation, classic car show, live music, a flea market, parade, tractor pull, a polka Mass on Saturday, and parade on Sunday.

August Stoney Point concert: Aug. 3 Stoney Point, which plays folk, classic, and pop music, will perform a concert in the park at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 3 in Library Square Park along Main Street in Hutchinson.

Marv Nissel Band: Aug. 6 Marv Nissel Band will perform a free concert at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 6 at Central Park, Sibley Avenue North in downtown Litchfield.

Heatwole Threshing Show: Aug. 7-8 Take in threshing demonstrations with more than 150 tractors on display. Crafts and flea market vendors, blacksmith shop, engines and equipment displays, and other demonstrations on Walden Avenue, six miles southwest of Hutchinson.

Winsted Summer Festival: Aug. 7-9 The city celebration includes a car show, sports tournaments, live music,

The Hutchinson Clown Club enjoys entertaining children. pork chop dinner, polka Mass, parade, fireworks, and coronation.

Darwin Twine Ball Celebration: Aug. 8 Dubbed the World’s Largest Twine Ball Collected by One Person, the spherical collection is celebrated with a parade, mini-rod races, craft fair, and pork chop dinner.

Antique Car Run: Aug. 8 The New London to New Brighton Antique Car Run with vehicles from 1908 and earlier covers 120 miles, including traveling through Meeker County, making stops in Grove City, Litchfield and Kingston.

Captain Gravitone & The String Theory Orchestra: Aug. 10 Captain Gravitone & The String Theory Orchestra, which plays a musical mix, will perform a concert in the park at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 10 in Library Square Park in Hutchinson.

Cokato Corn Carnival: Aug. 10-12 The carnival offers free corn on the cob, a parade and live music.

Mary Guentzel Quintet: Aug. 13 Mary Guentzel Quintet will perform a free concert at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 13 at Central Park, Sibley Avenue North in downtown Litchfield.

Grove City AugustFest: Aug. 13-16

Forest City Thresher Days: Aug. 15-16

Grove City celebrates summer with a tractor pull, mud volleyball, horseshoe, trap shooting, classic car show, petting zoo, arts and crafts, parade, and talent show.

Thresher Days include a tractor parade, displays of antique tractors and other farm equipment, along with threshing and corn shredding demonstrations.

MusicFest 2015: Aug. 14-16

McLeod County Fair: Aug. 19-23

Polka Lovers Klub of America will present Music Fest 2015 at Pla-Mor Ballroom, 1904 Ninth St. E., Glencoe.

Polka bands will perform throughout the weekend.

Minnesota Garlic Festival: Aug. 15 The 10th annual Minnesota Garlic Festival Aug. 15 in Hutchinson is a family friendly event. It features fragrant food, chefs, music, artisans, and activities for all ages from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the McLeod County Fairgrounds.

Forest City Stockade Rendezvous: Aug. 15-16 The stockade, a replica of a fort built

by Forest City residents during the

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COVER STORY

Wally Pikal will perform Aug. 19 at the McLeod County Fair in Hutchinson.

1862 Dakota Conflict, is home to a variety of old-fashioned activities, demonstrations and food. Some reconstructed period buildings include a newspaper office, church, woodwright shop, gun shop, pottery and candlemaking shop, and a school.

Visit Hutchinson for the McLeod County Fair. The senior citizen’s program begins at 1 p.m. Aug. 19, featuring entertainment by Sugar Loom followed by Wally Pikal. The White Sidewalls will perform at 5:30 p.m.

Sunday, Aug. 23. The fair also includes traditional activities, such as exhibits and showing livestock, carnival rides, exhibitors, live music, AutoCross and demolition derbies.

September Dassel Red Rooster Days: Sept. 4-7 Labor Day weekend is time to celebrate, with an ambassadors coronation, parade, Minnesota’s largest chicken barbecue, and other activities.

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AUGUST 2015 | ZEST

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SUBMITTED PHOTO

Photographers capture a rare reunion in May as Don and Wanda Nordlie of Litchfield, front row left, stand at what was once a Nazi concentration camp in Ebensee, Austria. With them are former concentration camp prisoner, Andy Sternberg of Hungary who now lives in Ohio, second from right, and Austria’s Minister for Internal Affairs Johanna Mikl-Leitner, right. Behind them are the Nordlies’ nephew and his wife, Jon and Judith Leasia of Denver.

Reuniting to remember Wanda Nordlie and her husband, Don, travel to Austria to mark the 70th anniversary of American troops liberating a Nazi concentration camp in Ebensee. As an Army nurse, she cared for former prisoners too sick to leave the camp.

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S

eventy years have passed since Wanda Nordlie cared for dozens of former prisoners inside a liberated Nazi concentration camp in Ebensee, Austria.

The prison has all but vanished, yet the memories remain vivid.

Gone are the lice-infested barracks covered in human feces. Gone are the starving men who looked like walking skeletons. Gone is the stench of rotting, dead bodies.

Today, in place of the Ebensee concentration camp stands a clean, modern residential neighborhood. In the center of town, Zeitgeschichte Museum documents Austria’s history from 1918 to 1955. And a prisoner cemetery, garden and memorials reflect on what happened within the walls of the Nazi concentration camp.

“There were bad times there. But when you work amongst such horrible things, you just have to swallow it and get to work,” recalled Nordlie, who worked as a ward nurse with the U.S.

Army’s 139th Evacuation Hospital that entered the concentration camp after it was liberated May 6, 1945.

“I don’t think any of us ever shed a tear (at the time). We didn’t have time for such foolishness. Now, I can just think about it and tear up,” said the 92-year-old Litchfield woman, as tears spilled down her cheeks.

Nordlie, with her husband, Don, returned

By Juliana Thill to the site of the EDITOR concentration camp in May to take part in Ebensee’s ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the camp’s liberation by American troops.

The Nordlies traveled to Ebensee with Don’s nephew, Jon Leasia and his wife, Judith, of Denver.

In Austria, they joined Andy Sternberg — a survivor of four concentration camps, including the one in Ebensee where Nordlie worked — as well as author Dr. Richard Macdonald of Illinois.

Macdonald wrote the book, “Inside the Gates,” about the Ebensee concentration camp, and he included some of Nordlie’s recollections. His late father, Hugh Macdonald, was the commanding officer of the Army’s 139th Evacuation Hospital and Nordlie’s supervisor.

“One of the joys of knowing Wanda is that she has many stories about my father as her commanding officer,” Macdonald said.

Based on memories Nordlie shared about standing up to a Russian officer and U.S. Army Gen. George Patton, Macdonald envisioned her as a spitfire in the 1940s. Yet, today, “she is one of the sweetest persons I have ever met,” he said. However, he added, after spending time with the Nordlies, Macdonald said he can tell, “She still has that spitfire spirit in her.”

Nordlie and Sternberg were two of the featured speakers at the International Liberation Commemoration May 9 in Ebensee. Also speaking at the ceremony were other Nazi concentration camp survivors and children of survivors, as well as local and national dignitaries, including Austria’s Minister for Internal Affairs Johanna Mikl-Leitner.

“On this big day of the 70th anniversary, I would say there were at least 500 people, maybe more,” Don said. “There were representatives from all the nations that had prisoners there. People from France, Spain, Italy, Russia, Poland, Hungary .... It was really quite amazing. They appeared in costume and carried flags. It was just fabulous.”

“It really was,” Wanda agreed, “and the thing was, they treated us like celebrities because we were Americans, and I had been over there at the time when the Nazis were in power.”

Nordlie had prepared a speech about her experiences as a nurse at Ebensee.

However, when she saw the ceremony was outside, “It was such a huge area. I said, ‘My voice is never going to carry.’

Don’s nephew, Jon, took my speech and read it, and read it so well. That worked out so beautifully.”

Afterward, the crowd responded enthusiastically.

“She was the only one who got a standing ovation,” Macdonald said. “Everyone wanted to touch her, have their picture taken with her, including the Austrian minister of internal affairs ... and thank Wanda for saving their relatives or themselves as survivors.”

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SENIOR SPOTLIGHT “They were really sincerely appreciative,” Don added.

“Although Wanda was there, more or less, officially as the representative of the United States — because she was the only one of the services that showed up — they were very grateful to the American service people.”

Then and now The Germans built the Ebensee concentration camp at the foot of the Austrian Alps and Traunstein Mountain, near Traunsee Lake. The lush, green setting on the outskirts of Ebensee stood in start contrast to the dark horrors inside the prison camp.

At the Ebensee camp — one of about 45 sub-camps for the Mauthausen concentration camp near Linz — men were subjected to harsh labor, poor living conditions and limited food supply. The main purpose of the camp was to provide slave labor for the construction of enormous underground tunnels, which were to be used for research and development of the intercontinental rocket, according to Zeitgeschichte Museum in Ebensee.

Before the Nazis built the camp’s crematorium in mid-1944, with a chimney that rose high into the air, dead bodies were piled in heaps. Every three to four days the bodies were brought to the Mauthausen crematorium to be burned, according to the website, www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org.

The U.S. Army’s 3rd Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron rolled through the gates and liberated the Ebensee concentration camp May 6, 1945. Nordlie and others attached to the 139th Evacuation Hospital arrived and restored some semblance of humanity amid the filth, starvation and stench, she said.

Ebensee was a small town when Nordlie was there in 1945. When she returned in May, “What I wanted to do is get back to where we worked, where the prison camp was. But it’s all gone,” she said. “I couldn’t find a place

PHOTO COURTESY OF LT. A.E. SAMUELSON/ NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS

After the U.S. Army liberated the Ebensee concentration camp May 6, 1945, many men remained because of poor health. Wanda Nordlie of Litchfield was part of the Army’s 139th Evacuation Hospital that cared for the men until they were strong enough to leave.

SUBMITTED PHOTO

The Ebensee concentration camp once stood at the foot of Traunstein Mountain near Traunsee Lake. Wanda and Don Nordlie of Litchfield visited the area in May.

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SENIOR SPOTLIGHT

that looked familiar to me at all.”

“Now, it’s grown. It’s a good tourist town now,” Don said.

The barracks of the camp were destroyed soon after the liberation, according to Zeitgeschichte Museum.

Apartments were built in 1949, and the area became a residential neighborhood.

However, a few remnants of the concentration camp remain. The gray, stone columns that framed the camp’s entrance gates still arch over the road.

One of the huge tunnels that prisoners built has been transformed into a bilingual exhibit about the camp.

The victims’ cemetery also is in this area, at the place where one of the mass graves — which was secretly created by the Nazis shortly before the liberation of the camp — was found, according to the museum.

Sternberg, 85, who lives in Ohio, was a Hungarian teenager when he and his family were sent to Auschwitz. He was moved to two other concentration camps before arriving at the one in Ebensee. The Nordlies met him at one of Macdonald’s book signings about five years ago in Rockford, Ill. “Andy came up to me and said, ‘Vanda, you saved my life,’” Wanda said, trying to imitate Sternberg’s Hungarian accent. “He had been a prisoner, and I was one of the nurses working in the prison camp. He says he remembers me. But, you know, I was a nurse taking care of these poor prisoners. There was one nurse to a tent with 60 prisoners.”

Sternberg told the Nordlies that the day U.S. troops liberated the camp, “he was scheduled to go up in the smoke stack the next day,” Don said.

To show his appreciation, Sternberg arranged the Nordlies’ trip to Ebensee.

Don, 91, also a veteran, was a U.S. Marine who participated in four combat landings at Iwo Jima. He said he enjoyed visiting Ebensee and touring Austria. “I’ve heard about these places (from Wanda) for a long time. I was more than thrilled to be along.”

For Wanda Nordlie, it was a trip worth taking — to reunite with others, to remember the past, and to create new memories in Ebensee.

“It was so wonderful to go back. It’s been a long time, but those people have not forgotten. The Austrian people are such wonderful people. Even the young ones knew all about it,” she said. I

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Concentration camp survivor Andy Sternberg, left, and former U.S.Army nurse Wanda Nordlie of Litchfield, listen as the Nordlies’ nephew, Jon Leasia, reads Wanda’s speech May 9 during the International Liberation Commemoration in Ebensee, Austria.

SUBMITTED PHOTO

International Liberation Commemoration Below are excerpts from two of the many speeches given May 9 at the International Liberation Commemoration in Ebensee, Austria: Johanna Mikl-Leitner Austria’s minister of the interior “Dear Mrs. Nordlie, regardless (of) your own well-being, you held many human lives in your hands, and you knew how to protect them.You have been dedicated a chapter in a book of Richard Macdonald concerning the concentration camp of Ebensee and due to that chapter,Andrew Sternberg remembered himself that you were an integral part of that time. Mr. Sternberg, since many years you have dedicated your life to letting people not forget what you had to go through under the Nazi regime. People like you were and are the connecting part between past and present, between yesterday and today, between oblivion and remembrance, between the cultures.That’s why this place connects us all together, especially in our fight against ignorance, intolerance and xenophobia.The 70th anniversary of the liberation means 70 years of peace.

Andrew Sternberg Concentration camp survivor “I am one man among many men and women who were imprisoned. ...

In 1944, I was a 14-year-old boy in Nagkayizsa, Hungary. They posted notices in my town, terrorized my family and confused me. I was rounded up in a courtyard and ended up in a ghetto. My whole family was transported to Auschwitz.They never left Auschwitz. I was transported to Mauthausen. I was given Number 68840. Eighty-thousand died in Mauthausen. I was transported to Melk on June 3, 1944. The daily dead grew in numbers. Daily food was sparse. Starvation was all around us.

Between April 9 and 14, 1945, Melk was evacuated. I was transported to Ebensee by train. Such beautiful mountains. So beautiful that I thought that no one would ever find us or look for us. Liberation was May 6, 1945. I returned to Hungary, learned a craft, went to Budapest, and in 1956 went to America. For me, the value of life is the right and opportunity to have freedom and love — with family and with the warmth of the sun in the morning and a peaceful sleep at night under the light of the moon.”

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FOOD & FUN Buffalo Chicken Tacos

1 1-ounce package, taco or hot taco seasoning 2 tablespoons cooking oil 3/4 cup water 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts 1 avocado 1/2 cup ranch dressing, prepared 6 flour tortillas warmed Hot sauce, to taste 2 ounces blue cheese crumbled 3/4 cup carrots, shredded 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

avocado (in mixing bowl) into small chunks and mix with ranch dressing until smooth. Remove chicken from marinade and discard used marinade. Grill chicken over medium-high heat, about 8 minutes per side or until thoroughly cooked.

Remove chicken from grill and place on cutting board.

Slice chicken into thin SOURCE: WWW.CULINARY.NET/MISSION FOODS Combine taco seasoning, oil and 1/4 cup strips and serve hot alongwater to make marinade. Reserve 1/2 cup. side warm tortillas. Serve Place chicken in re-sealable plastic bag and add marinade. with build your own sides/garnishes of hot sauce, blue Marinate in refrigerator for 30 minutes or longer. Mash cheese, carrots, cilantro and the avocado ranch dressing.

Crossword puzzle Across 1. Goes (for) 6.Take into custody 10.“Don’t go!”

14. Kind of skeleton 15. ___ Minor 16. Halo, e.g.

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Crossword puzzle answer on Page 15

ZEST | AUGUST 2015

57.The “A” of ABM 58. Italian dry white wine 59. 20-20, e.g.

60. ___ Piper 61.“Come in!”

62.Arid 63.“God’s Little ___” 64.Aquarium fish

Down 1. Delhi dress

2. Final, e.g.

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30. Smallest of the Great Lakes 32. Press and release a mouse button 34. Boris Godunov, for one 35.“Empedocles on ___” (Matthew Arnold poem) 36. Scandinavian shag rugs 40. Pertaining to the sacred texts of Islam 41. Kind of manner 43.Trade goods or services without money 45. Hints 46.Axe handle 47. ___ tube 49.Atlas enlargement 51. Perry Como’s “___ Loves Mambo” 52. Bang-up (hyphenated) 53. General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (acronym) 54.“... happily ___ after” 55.“Buona ___” (Italian greeting)

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FOOD & FUN

Easy Raspberry Sorbet is a tasty way to cool off during the summer.

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Easy Raspberry Sorbet 1 cup boiling water 1 package (4-serving size) Jell-O Raspberry Flavor Gelatin 6 ounces frozen lemonade concentrate (Do not thaw) 3 cups raspberries 1 8-ounce tub Cool Whip Whipped Topping, thawed 12 waffle cones Stir boiling water into dry gelatin mix in large freezer-proof bowl at least two minutes until gelatin is completely dissolved. Stir in frozen lemonade concentrate.

Refrigerate 15 minutes, or until slightly thickened (consistency of unbeaten egg whites). Mash raspberries with fork. Add to gelatin mixture along with whipped topping; stir with wire whisk until well blended. Cover.

Freeze four hours or until solid. Remove from freezer 15 minutes before serving. Let stand at room temperature to soften slightly. Scoop into cones or dessert dishes. Return any remaining raspberry mixture to freezer.

Makes 12 servings.

Answer to Crossword Puzzle published on Page 14

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