June 13th, 2025 by Gary Osberg
I am oldest of five boys. The first week in June is always reserved for a fishing trip with my brothers, my son Erik, my grandson “Walleye Willie” plus brother Craig’s son Grayson. This year, brother Geoff will not be able to be with us. He had back surgery on May 21st. Cousin John Hagstrom and my brother Brian’s friend Paul joined us this year.
It all started sometime in the nineties. My youngest brother Craig was invited by his father-in-law, Jim Keeler, to go along on a fly-in fishing trip to Trout Lake in Canada. Over time, my other brothers, who were into fishing, were invited to go along. In 2002 brother Bill offered to pay the way for my son Erik, so I decided to go along. They teased me about my tiny tackle box.
I told the camp host, Murdoch, that I would be back every year for the next 20 years. The next year we went to brother Brian’s cabin near Aitkin instead. The year after that we went to Rainy Lake. Erik was working as a weekend sportscaster on WDIO Channel 10/13 in Duluth and he did a story on fishing. He interviewed guide and Rainy Lake resort owner Woody for his TV show. Erik suggested that we try Woody’s instead of the fly-in in 2004. We had a great time, and the greatest part was that Woody had a wonderful pub filled with memorabilia from his hockey days. For many years we went back to Woody’s. We never did do the fly-in again. You can check out Woody’s at www.fairlyreliable.com It is worth the drive just to meet Woody. In 2011 we switched to Brindley’s Resort on Leach Lake. A large house located across the road from the marina worked well for the whole gang, but fishing was tough.
In 2017 we decided to try Holly’s Resort on Otter Tail Lake. Erik is an ambassador for Otter Tail County, and we reasoned that we would have a better chance to find the elusive walleye. We had a great time. Brother Bill and I stay in the small cabin on the lake. Cabin number 14 has six beds downstairs and 3 more in the loft. In 2022 I was the only Osberg that did not have his name on the traveling trophy. My son Erik suggested that I hire Randin Olson with Lockjaw Guide Service www.lockjawguideservice.com to take me to a “secret lake” nearby. The Walleye that I caught in 2022 measured 28 inches. I finally got to put my name on the trophy and it was the biggest fish caught. The next year my grandson Walleye Willie caught a 28 ¾ inch Walleye, so his name went on the trophy for the second time. This year he caught another 28 incher. Next year I am hiring the same guide and going to the same lake to try and get the trophy back to Mill Stream Village.
“You can’t catch them from your couch”. Gary Osberg
May 30th, 2025 by Gary Osberg
This weekend I plan on visiting “Hippe Landing” west of Upsala next to the American Legion Memorial Park on Cedar Lake. The park has one of the best swimming beaches in central Minnesota. There are camping spots also, but I understand there is a long waiting list.
West of the entrance to the park there is a Public Landing with a sign “Hippe Landing”. There used to be an old store located where the landing is now. At one time it was called Cedar Lake Pavilion. In the last years of the store’s existence, there was no signage on the outside of the building. The store was owned and run by Emie Hippe. Emie was a real character and for many years she served ice cream, candy, and pop to kids from the park and 3.2 beer to the adults. The PayDay candy bar was a favorite of mine.
Strangely, you could not buy a Coke there and I always wondered why. One day my brother Craig and I went in to have a drink and I finally had the nerve to ask her, “Emie, why don’t you serve Coca Cola?” She slammed her hand on the bar and said “The dirty rascals. During the war there was a ration on gasoline and the distributor would not deliver. So, my husband Ben used to travel all the way to Brainerd with the empty bottles and bring back the full ones. Then, for some reason they asked us to hold on to the empties and they would pick them up later.” So, what happened Emie? “The dirty rascals changed their mind and would not pick them up.” “What did you do with them Emie, they would be worth a lot of money?” “You will never find them!” she proclaimed, “We buried them under two ton of rock!”
For over 60 years no Coca Cola products were sold from this store, all because someone broke a promise. I am sure that the Coca Cola route driver tried a few times when he would see the Pepsi truck out front, but she never let them put Coke back on the shelf.
“In the best institutions, promises are kept no matter what the cost in agony and overtime.” David Ogilvy
May 23rd, 2025 by Gary Osberg
When I was a youngster in Upsala, we always had a Memorial Day service in the school gym, followed by a parade down Main Street. Sometime after I graduated Upsala High School in 1961, the practice died out. Then in the 80’s, Lorna Koehn, a member of the Upsala American Legion Auxiliary, brought back the Memorial Day Celebration in Upsala. I can still picture her marching in front of a group of children, each holding a bunch of lilac flowers.
Once again, this year the Memorial Day celebration in Upsala will start with a program at 10am in the school gym. Following the indoor ceremony, the celebration will proceed to the Veterans Memorial Park directly across the street. The Upsala American Legion has constructed a monument to Veterans from the Upsala area. In 2023 they built a building that serves as a museum displaying military artifacts. My dad’s WWII Navy Uniform is on display. He served as a Radarman on the U.S.S. Vammen, a destroyer escort in the Pacific. At the end of another short ceremony, the children will wait in anticipation for the chance to collect the spent brass shells after the 21-gun salute. They make good whistles.
After that, the folks will walk up to the City Recreation Building where the `Upsala First Responders’ will serve a picnic lunch. Hopefully, there will be some “Bee Bop a Ree Bop Rhubarb Pie”. Whenever you meet a veteran or a service member, simply say “Thank you for serving”. They all deserve our respect.
“My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” John Fitzgerald Kennedy
May 16th, 2025 by Gary Osberg
Many times, we end up taking a path quite by accident. My first career was drafting. I faked my way into that field, but it ended well. In fact, in 1965 drafting jobs were so plentiful that Marcia and I were able to take a four-week honeymoon, knowing that when I got back to Minnesota, I just had to walk into Strom Engineering, and they would send me out to Control Data or Univac “on contract”. In 1969 I became involved in the very first computerized drafting service bureau in the world, Norwood Engineering.
Norwood Engineering was founded by a salesman with Twin Cities Blue Printing, Dick Engebretson. He hired my boss, Ron Crew, at Control Data, who in turn hired me. Our plans included franchising service bureaus, so my title was Franchise Manager. We hired General Office Products to design and furnish our offices in Roseville as well as the one and only franchise that we sold to Bob Johnson in Seattle, Washington.
To make a long story short, the business failed, and I ended up as the last General Manager. I was 26 years old. I had to write a letter to about 14 companies explaining that Norwood Engineering had filed for bankruptcy, and we could not pay their bill. I did add my home phone number at that bottom of the letter.
Because of that letter, my third career was in the office furniture industry. Jim Helstrom, sales manager for General Office Products, received one of those letters and Jim called me. Of course he wanted his furniture back. I had to explain that the President of Norwood, Ron Crew, had taken a loan out at a bank and he had pledged the furniture as collateral. The bank took the furniture. GOP did not have “a position” on the goods sold. The terms of the sale were net 30 days. At the end of the conversation, Jim said, “Well if you ever need a job, let me know.”
I spent 22 years in the office furniture industry. Many years later I called Jim and thanked him for the awesome sales training that he had provided. After Jim passed, I spoke to his son, and he told me that his dad talked about that telephone conversation many times. Maybe this week would be a good week for you to call an old friend or mentor.
“The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.” Vince Lombardi
May 9th, 2025 by Gary Osberg
Today’s message was posted yesterday on my son Erik’s website. It has been used here with his permission. www.erikosberg.com
“Today would have been my mom’s 83rd birthday. My mom was a devout Catholic and a proud Democrat. There weren’t very many Masses she missed. Even if she was away from home, she would find a church to attend. She played the guitar and when I was in elementary school, she led a youth choir called the “Rainbow Children”. We would sing during Saturday evening masses. During my high school years, she would put Holy Water on my shoulders and knees before my wrestling matches or football games. She valued things like compassion and kindness. One time, she even pulled her car over on a busy bridge in St. Cloud to stop traffic and help a mother duck and her ducklings cross the road. With the new Pope being selected today, I imagine she would be filled with hope that he would lead with compassion and care for the sick and poor. Happy heavenly birthday mom. Your legacy lives on.”
“All great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom; justice; honor; duty; mercy; hope.” Winston Churchill
May 8th, 2025 by Gary Osberg
My Dad served in the Pacific during the second world war. His brother-in-law, my Uncle El, served there also. One of the photos that I had restored is a picture of Dad and Uncle El smoking cigars on an island after V-J Day. You can tell by the look on Dad’s face that the canteens did not have water in them. What are the odds that they ended up on the same island?
After the war Dad had a hard time adjusting to civilian life. One Saturday, Dad and Uncle El ended up having a few too many “beer and a bump” and they went into a recruiting station in Sauk Centre. Dad enlisted in the Army and a few years later our family ended up in Vienna, Austria. For some reason Uncle El didn’t have to go back in.
One of the items that Ma brought back from Vienna in 1953 was a very old statue. A warrior with a breast plate and a sword on his hip. In 1965 she had her neighbor Harold convert it into a lamp and gave it to Marcia and me as a wedding gift. It ended up broken and in three pieces in a box in the basement of The Parsonage in Upsala. Ickler Company in St. Cloud soldered it back together and through my connections at The Paramount Center for the Arts, I found a “bronzer” in Howard Lake, INNOCAST Execuline. They refinished it. The tip of the shaft and the feather on the cap are gold leaf.
When I was in Germany in 2019, I purchased a BMW model car to add to the collection of Vienna items which included a bronze monkey in a top hat. It was a 25th anniversary gift dated 1898-1923. The inscription, which is in German, states “What a monkey my lover is, like an illness or a fever”. Who gives such a gift?
“Real success is finding your lifework in the work that you love.” David McCullogh
April 25th, 2025 by Gary Osberg
Last night I attended an event in the library at the Melrose High School. “Stearns United” invited my son Erik Osberg to join them for pizza and conversation about the current state of affairs. They had heard that Erik has chosen to run for the United States Congress representing Congressional District 7. CD7 consists of 37 counties along the western side of Minnesota.
I left my MPR tote bag at home and simply listened to the folks expressing their concerns about a variety of topics. True, there was a lot of gray hair, but there were a couple of young folks, one who has just been elected to the chair of a local political organization. Getting involved is the first step.
Erik did a great job, and he learned a lot. The election is not until November of 2026 so there are bound to be many more of these occasions. I was reminded of my own venture into politics. I chose to run for the city council in Coon Rapids in 1971. I was given slim chance to unseat the incumbent, but we did manage to pull it off. I do remember having to bring Erik to a similar gathering in the fall of 1972 when he was only three months old. Marcia and I were both to be there, and we could not find a babysitter. I suppose he may have been “imprinted”.
Tomorrow evening is the final concert performance for the season by the St. Cloud Symphony Orchestra. Brad Lambrecht will be conducting “Symphony is Spain and Latin America” at Ritsche Auditorium on the campus of St. Cloud State University. Tickets are available at www.stcloudsymphony.com
Sunday afternoon at 4 you can enjoy “Take This Gift”, a performance by the Great River Chorale and GRC Treble Choir, directed by Mary Kay Geston. They will perform at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in St. Cloud. Tickets at www.greatriverchorale.org
“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear”. Mark Twain
April 18th, 2025 by Gary Osberg
When the family moved from St. Louis Park to Upsala in October of 1956, one benefit to myself was that I got out of having to serve two weeks of “detention” at Park Junior High school. My rebellious nature had already kicked in. The Upsala school population was divided into “farm kids” and “town kids”. That fall I started hanging out with other “town kids”.
For some reason one of us decided to steal a gas cap off of a parked car. I am not sure which “genius” came up with this idea, but in any case, the prank turned into a project. Everyone in town was talking about it and I am sure that old man Miller printed a story in the local newspaper. In time one of the “gas cap gang” confessed to his parents and we all got busted.
Earl Metzger was the local policeman. He gathered us up and forced me to reveal the hiding place of the gunny sack full of gas caps. We had hidden it in a culvert. All of those who were missing their gas cap were told to come to Earl’s garage in Uptown Upsala and sort through the lineup of gas caps to claim theirs. We appeared in front of the Justice of The Peace in the backroom of the Upsala fire hall. Justice Bernard Lunder sentenced each one of us to “six months of church attendance”.
Many years later I would visit Bernard at the nursing home in Sauk Rapids and we would talk about the “separation of church and state”. He simply laughed and said he thought we would benefit from his sentence. Not all of us learned the lesson. The “Black Knights Car Club” was born a few years later. That lead to another crime spree.
“It is unwise to pay too much, but it’s also unwise to pay too little. When you pay too much, all you lose is a little money, but when you pay too little, you stand a chance of losing everything because the thing you bought is incapable of doing what you bought it to do. The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot. It just can’t be done. So, when you deal with the low bidder, it is wise to put a little something aside to take care of the risk you run. And, if you do that, you can afford something better.” John Ruskin
April 11th, 2025 by Gary Osberg
Growing up in Upsala I was a “town kid” not a “farm kid”, but I learned the joy of “tilling the soil” through gardening. I got into gardening by helping my bachelor brother-in-law Jackie with his garden.
The Upsala Swedish Mission Church parsonage was built in 1892 by members of the church. In the 50s the congregation built a new parsonage east of the original one and they sold the old parsonage to Mary Heisick, my wife Marcia’s grandmother. Marcia’s parents, Irene and John Rudie inherited the house from Grandma Mary in 1971, so they sold the farm and moved to town. Marcia’s brother Jackie was a bachelor blacksmith who had never moved away from home, so he got the upstairs bedroom.
Jackie got permission from the church to create a vegetable garden west of the old parsonage. Many years later Jackie was forced to garden with a Yamaha three-wheeler because of bad knees so I offered to help with the tilling only to get yelled at for running over some of the seedlings. Being a “town kid”, I didn’t know the difference between a weed and a seedling. Also, the rows that he had planted were not straight. The next spring I drove stakes in the soil exactly 36” apart and used heavy string to define the rows. I didn’t get yelled at that year.
In 1999 I bought the old parsonage from the estate of my mother-in-law, Irene Rudie, and started to garden in earnest. Most years I had lots of vegetables. My daughter bought the old parsonage from me a few years ago, so now she is the “master gardener”. We are not likely to get the Yukon Gold potatoes in by Good Friday, as the Farmer’s Almanac suggests, but maybe by May 2nd. There are few joys more delightful than eating freshly dug Yukon Gold potatoes baked or boiled, with real butter of course.
“Three-fourths of the people that you will meet tomorrow are hungering and thirsting for sympathy. Give it to them, and they will love you.” Dale Carnegie
April 4th, 2025 by Gary Osberg
Tomorrow is Kaylin Marie Osberg’s 30th birthday. Kaylin is the oldest of my five grandchildren and life has not been the same since she came into this world. My daughter was a single mom, and she was working her way through St. Cloud State as a waitress at Trobec’s in St. Stephen. From the time she was a baby, Kaylin would spend most weekends with her bachelor grandfather in the old parsonage in Upsala. We did a lot of pancakes at the Uptown Café on Saturday mornings and a lot of washing her hair in the kitchen sink on Sunday mornings before church. During the washing of the hair, there was much wailing and thrashing about.
Getting her to fall asleep in her crib at night was not easy. It helped if I sang “It’s Summertime” over and over again while she struggled to stay awake. When she was about five years old, she finally said, “Grandpa, please stop singing that song!”.
Today, Kaylin is co-owner of a promotional products company, Zygoatian LLC. Their moto is “We will print on most anything”. If you need a T Shirt or coffee mug, give her a call. Simply go to www.zygoatian.com . But not this weekend, because her partner Jon booked a trip to California as a Christmas gift. Yesterday was Kaylin’s first time on an airplane. She will be back on Wednesday,
“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes, art is knowing which ones to keep.” Scott Adams
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