Outside Looking In
Goodbye Betsy
Every day someone loses a loved one, a pet or a friend and feel the hurt deep within themselves. But a vehicle?
Old Betsy, who many people in Minneota have ribbed me about for hanging onto her for so long, finally breathed her last breath of gas last week.
Betsy was my 2001 Chevy Blazer that my father had purchased new from Amdahl Motors in Pipestone. When my father passed away in 2005, the vehicle had only 45,000 miles on it.
Because my father was more like a best friend to me than a father, I sold the vehicle I owned previously and replaced it with Betsy, as he had named it.
Even up to the day Betsy called it quits, each time I was about to open the door to get into the vehicle, I looked at the two "LT" letters attached near the driver's door that was the model of this particular Blazer. The "LT" stood for Luxury Touring. Ironically, those two letters were also the initials of my father, Lawrence Thoma, which also made it difficult for me to replace Betsy with a new vehicle.
Betsy had a lot of minor aches and pains. The driver's window didn't work, there was a big rusted hole below the driver's door, and it rode down the road like a lumber wagon. But I never had a major repair on the vehicle over the 17 years that I drove it despite the odometer reading 325,600 miles.
The day that old Betsy died, I was traveling from my home in Willmar to Benson to drop something off last Wednesday. As I approached Kerkhoven, which is halfway between Willmar and Benson, Betsy stalled and I coasted her into town. It finally came to a stop in front of Nolan Baker Ford, a small dealership in a small town.
I have known the mechanic there for many years and went inside to see if he could repair it so I could at least make it back to Willmar. But he assured me that Betsy needed to be put down instead of investing a lot of money into keeping it running for a few more miles.
It so happened that this dealership had a vehicle I really liked at a price that I liked even better. The driver's window works, there is no rust and it rides as smooth as silk; all things I'm still getting used to.
I don't miss Betsy as a vehicle, but I miss what she stood for. It was as if I was saying goodbye to my father all over again.
Bethel Thanksgiving
Minneota is one of the most generous and supportive towns I've ever seen. And one of the most kind and generous things I've come across is Bethel Fellowship's annual Thanksgiving dinner.
Pastor Tom Nomeland called to let me know that his church will again be serving the dinner on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 24.
The free family-style sit-down dinner is open to the public and is prepared and served by members of Bethel Fellowship Church. Serving begins at noon.
The meal will consist of turkey, ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, squash, stuffing, cranberries, bread, pie and ice cream, and beverages.
Konold's Cardinals
The Willmar Cardinals, coached by Minneota native Jon Konold, fell to Marshall 24-13 on Saturday night in the Section 2AAAA semifinals in Marshall.
Willmar, which finished the season 6-4, was seeded No. 3 and defeated Faribault 28-12 in the quarterfinals. Marshall (9-0), seeded No. 2, received a first-round bye.
It was just the second time all season that Marshall allowed double-digit points in a game. The Tigers came in against Willmar allowing only 4.4 points per game this season and have posted four shutouts.
Marshall will face top-seeded Hutchinson Friday in the championship in Hutchinson.