Ole Pappy

Thank you Jim Fink

It was hard to believe when I walked outside of the Minneota American Legion Monday night on Memorial Day and felt raindrops “Falling on my head.”

By the time we got around to the dedication of the new Veteran’s Park and the outside part of the Memorial Day ceremony, we were caught in a torrential downpour.

Now, that couldn’t have been worse timing. For Jim Fink, the Minneota American Legion Commander, it had to be catastrophic.

He and other veterans have worked their hands off trying to get the park ready for the big night. And then the rains came.

Not much went right as Jim and others fought the clock to get the project finished. The cement for the flag poles did not arrive in a timely fashion.

They couldn’t get the electricity hooked up for the individual flag poles.

The makers of the Pavers, those rocks dedicated to veterans, couldn’t get the new batch of rocks done in time.

Then, of-course, it rained! Of-course, the sun will come up, the park will eventually be finished and in Memorial Days to come, it will shine like a new star. But Monday night, it was a complete catastrophe.

During the reading of the veteran’s names for the Light the Light presentation, the thunder rumbled through the sky and it was impossible to hear what was going out over the loudspeaker.

That, of-course, is the bad news.

The good news is that Minneota has made a major leap ahead of other small communities through the construction of this incredible park. It will stand for years as a beacon to the area and will honor the memories of so many fallen heroes.

While many added their names to the list of donations for the project, and many others lent physical support to the project — nobody put their life on the line for this project like Minneota American Legion Commander Jim Fink.

He went as far as to approach the Minnesota Legislature to get a law changed so he could ask the Lyon County Board for a donation to the project.

They complied, and Fink got his donation. The driving force for Jim was a desire to see veterans from our area honored for giving themselves to our country and our town.

It’s a memorial that will now stand the test of time. I’ve had an old tradition that hasn’t been utilized in recent editions of The Mascot.

And that’s to award a special honor, called, “Rose of the Week,” to someone who deserves it. So to you, Jim Fink, I award, “The Rose of the Week.” Well done Commander!

LAUGH A LITTLE: Unscheduled stop This one is straight from Ole Pappy’s newspaper, “The Cosmos News.” Was watching an old movie and suddenly the cowboy’s horse stopped dead in it’s tracks. It wasn’t until later when we found out why. It was Injun’ trouble!

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: As my Ole Pappy used to say, “Most people ask, ‘What’s In It For Me?’ When, they should be asking, ‘What good can I do?’”

Ole pappy had something there. He always taught to help the other fellow before you helped yourself.

Thanks Ole Pappy!

Byron Higgin

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The Minneota Mascot
Address: 201 N. Jefferson
Minneota, MN 56264

Phone:(507) 872-6492