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September 2021 Tinklenburg has often taken schoolchildren from Nevis and Walker-HackensackAkeley on rides around his parklike farm, using this wagon that he built for safety and comfort.
PHOTOS BY ROBIN FISH / PARK RAPIDS ENTERPRISE
Sharing woodworking with children is
Elmer’s joy E
Lorie Skarpness Park Rapids Enterprise
was such a need for good foster parents. So when we were in our 50s we started doing foster care.”
lmer Tinklenburg of rural Akeley has combined his love Finding a new purpose of children and woodworking Soon after going through the by helping children do special process to become licensed in projects in classrooms for over 30 foster care they got two boys, years. brothers whom they later Tinklenburg grew up on a adopted. Eventually, they fostered farm in southwest Minnesota. “I approximately 20 kids, some of learned carpentry from working them only briefly. with relatives,” he said. “It was “It worked out quite well being something I learned by doing.” foster parents, because my wife, After working in Alaska as a big Patricia, took early retirement game guide and doing maintenance from her job at Ah-Gwah-Ching at a radar site in the Arctic, he soon after we started, so we were came to Akeley to visit relatives. both able to be home with the “That’s where I met my wife children,” he said. Patricia over 50 years ago,” he said. “Once in a while we run into one “She had just lost her husband of our foster kids who has stayed a short time before that and had Tinklenburg uses the wooden in the area,” he said. “One time, two children. We eventually got form at the bottom to hold a my wife was in a store and saw a married, so I started out with a child's toolbox upside-down while young man we took care of when family right away with kids who he was in foster care. She told him were 9 and not quite a year old. We he hammers it together in his he grew up to be such a nice man also had two children together after workshop. He typically drills the and he said, ‘You helped me.‘“ nail holes to make it easier for that and adopted two more.” Now in their 80s, the couple first graders to pound the nails in. still has a heart for helping kids He worked at Warner’s Wood Factory in Akeley for 27 years. although they are no longer a When the factory was sold to Wicks, he took an early licensed foster care home. retirement and started taking care of foster children. “A lady from social services had told us there ELMER’S JOY: Page 9
Art Beat Inside this issue... 2 The fruiting shrub you didn’t know you needed 3 Does Medicare cover home health care? 4 Vision check ups detect early symptoms 10 Fantastic fish
