Outside Looking In

Small world

Gary Johnson and his family placed an ad in the Mascot last year to honor his mother, Alta (Muhl) Johnson, who was turning 99 on Aug. 5.
A few days ago, Gary informed me his mother would turn 100 this year and wanted to again honor her with another ad. I asked him if he wanted the ad similar to the one the year before and that I could look it up because I had all of last year's papers in my home office where I live in Willmar.
"My mom's sister lives in Willmar and she is 93," Gary then informed me.
I asked him what her name was just in case I might know who she is.
"Mary Lou Lindstrom," he replied.
I was shocked. Mary Lou Lindstrom is the mother of the best friend I've ever had, John Lindstrom, whom I graduated with from Tracy High School.
Alta was the oldest child of four to Peder and Cora Muhl. Lowell was next in line, then Mary Lou and then baby brother Carroll. Lowell and Carroll have since passed away.
Mary Lou said her older sister was "always loking out for me. She also was very trustworthy. If she said something, one could take it to the bank as she always followed through."
Mary Lou said that she was never able to milk the cows on the family farm north of Minneota, so Alta took over that chore, while Mary Lou tended to the garden.
John Lindstrom and I lived across the street from one another in Tracy, but when the tornado hit and severely damaged the Lindstrom home, his family moved to the other end of town. We were just nine years old then and I remember being devasted that my friend was moving to what seemed like a million miles away.
Our home was twisted partly off the foundation by the F5 tornado, yet we were able to live in it for one more week while my parents looked for a new home for us.
My dad came home one day and said he had bought a house and that we could move in right away. It ended up being only a block away from the Lindstrom's home.
Growing up, John and I rode our bicycles to nearby Swift Lake and fished together, we played wiffle ball together in his back yard, and just hung out a lot.
When we were in high school, John was the third baseman on our baseball team and I played shortstop when I didn't pitch, so we played next to each other on the diamond, just as we did on our Chuck's A&W softball team.
When John's parents split up many years ago, Mary Lou moved to Willmar. John now takes good care of her. Mary Lou is one of the kindest and sweetest women I have ever met in my life and much of that has rubbed off on her seven children. Mary Lou lives on the north side of Willmar and I on the south side.
Unfortunately, work began consuming my life and I have spent very little time with John over the years, even though we live in the same town and I still love him like a brother. It's something I regret a lot as I've never quite had a friend like him.
Maybe writing this will allow me to understand friendship should never take a back seat to work.
The Mascot wishes Alta a Happy 100th Birthday, just as I'm sure John and Mary Lou do, too.

Pancakes please
Kristjan Schram and Elizabeth Nunberg, who I wrote about a few weeks ago, are flying to thw Twin Cities from their home in Reykjavik, Iceland and then driving to Minneota on Wednesday, July 27 in order to show their children and their spouses the St. Paul's Lutheran Church they were married in.
Kristjan's great-great grandfather, Kristjan Gunther Schram, an Icelandic immigrant, helped build St. Paul's church. Although neither Kristjan or Elizabeth ever lived in Minneota, they decided to get married in that church to honor her roots.
I will be showing them other places of interest such as the St. Paul's cemetery where his great-great grandfather and other ancestors are buried, and the Big Store building.
They have requested blueberry pancakes and City Hall Bar & Grill manager Jordan Dressen has courteously agreed to make them for the group, even though they aren't on the menu.

Mudhen morning
For some odd reason, the person or persons in charge of making the brackets for the Region 9C amateur baseball tournament have the top seed, Minneota in this case, playing in the winner's bracket semifinals at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, July 31 against Madison in Dawson.
Normally, the higher seeds play the later games in most tournaments. In this case, the elimination bracket games will be played at 2:30 and 4:30 p.m.

Contact Us

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

Phone:(507) 872-6492