WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2016
Serving Polk County’s St. Croix Valley since 1897
VOL. 118 NO. 25 www.osceolasun.com $1.00
SPORTS: Osceola boys basketball win streak at six. PAGE 10
Everything new is old again Social media brings local history buffs together through ‘Polk County Again’
SUZANNE LINDGREN | THE SUN
Laurel Wright, a student at Osceola High School, has been accepted to MIT.
BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM
Adam Hallberg’s roots run deep in Polk County, generations deep. His father’s grandparents, Swedish immigrants on both sides, farmed and homesteaded here at the turn of the century. His mother’s side goes back a generation further, to the days of logging on the St. Croix River and, later, the settling of Cushing in the 1870s. “When I was a kid I loved to sit and listen to the stories my uncles and dad would tell at the Hallberg family farm during Christmas,” says Hallberg, who was raised in Balsam Lake and graduated from Unity High School in 1996. Especially intriguing
COURTESY KIRK GAYLORD
The Polk County courthouse circa 1900. Hallberg notes the wood stacked next to it.
was a photo album his father’s mother had assembled, containing pictures from the early 1900s. “It sparked something in me to see my relatives young and full of life,” he explains, “to see relatives like my Grandpa Hallberg, who I never met. … Seeing my grandparents and g r e at- g r a ndp a r ent s at such a young and vibrant stage of their life was amazing. They
were not so different than me.” Now, similar photos and stories have become the substance of Polk County Again, an online community Hallber founded on the social media site Facebook. Family trees and rabbit holes
The story behind Polk County Again begins with Hallberg’s research into his own
family tree, inspired by the stories and photos of his ancestors. “I went to newspaper ‘morgues,’ had an Ancestry account, the whole deal,” he says. “While researching my family, I saw many other stories and pictures of Polk County’s past. It was honestly inspiring to me. “I started reading about our towns in SEE COUNTY, PAGE 19
Osceola student accepted to MIT BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM
It was exactly 5:28 p.m. Dec. 16 when Laurel Wright found out she’d been accepted to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as MIT. “They have a specific time when they release the decisions,” said the Osceola High School senior. “It was 6:28 Eastern Time. That’s tau (6.283185…), which is two times pi. So that’s 5:28 our time.” Wright, a part-time
clerk at the Osceola Public Library, was working and hadn’t told her coworkers that the decision was about to be released. As soon as she found out, though, she shared the news. “Everyone was really excited, and so was I,” she recounts. “My boss (Kelly McBride) had me call my mom right away.” Wright, who had applied to the private research university through an early admissions process, chose the SEE WRIGHT, PAGE 19
Motorbooks founder to walk across Zanzibar
Unpaid parking tickets? Not this year.
BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM
Nearing completion of his eightieth year on the planet, Tom Warth, Marine – but known to Osceola residents as the founder of Motorbooks – thought it fitting to mark the occasion with a trip around the world. A key stop on the way: Zanzibar, where he’ll lead a walk to raise funds for the nonprofit organization he founded 28 years ago, Books for Africa. A group of 25 will make the 20-mile trek across the east African island on Feb. 3 and 4. On Feb. 5, Warth’s birthday and a holiday on the Muslim island, the group will celebrate with a party on the beach. “I’m sending all my friends an invitation,” he says mischievously, “but I’m saying if they can’t come they should send a donation of $80 for my eightieth birthday.”
BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM
Tom Warth, Marine, will walk across Zanzibar Feb. 3 and 4 to raise money for Books for Africa.
Though Books for Africa is an international organization, Warth says its core is the St. Croix Valley. “It’s really the people in the valley who started it,” he says. “We started with books donated from the Osceola schools and library, the Scandia Marine Lions Club have been supporters, and orSEE WARTH, PAGE 19
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ELFSBORGARN
Warth will walk across Zanzibar, a semi-autonomous island off Tanzania in east Aftrica. From there he’ll travel to Uganda, visiting the library in Jinja where he was inspired to found Books for Africa.
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Osceola residents who have avoided paying parking tickets in the past will be less likely to get away with it in 2016, as changes to enforcement are in the works. “Last year more than 100 tickets went unpaid,” Police Chief Ron Pedrys told village board members Jan. 11. “It’s not fair to people who do pay.” Going forward, the Osceola Police Department plans to follow state laws for dealing with unpaid citations. If tickets are not paid after the OPD takes specified steps – written notification of late fees and warnings for eventual suspension of vehicle registration, SUBSCRIPTIONS 715-294-2314 office@osceolasun.com
for instance – the Wisconsin Department of Transportation will suspend registration of the vehicle. “It’s something we always could’ve done,” said Pedrys. “It’s just not something we did.” For the OPD the move will mean extra tracking and paperwork, but Pedrys believes it’s the only fair way to ensure compliance. He’s currently ironing out the details of the change, which could require a new ordinance, but residents should consider the change in effect. Once the enforcement plan is complete it will be retroactive to Jan. 1. SEE VILLAGE, PAGE 18
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