May 1st, 2026 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. Dad is the one on the right. Uncle El is the one in the front. 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. I guess that Uncle El didn’t do the paperwork correctly, since he 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 both 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 to someone dated 1898-1923. The inscription, 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 27th, 2026 by Gary Osberg
Upsala Motors is a sponsor of programming on 88.9 FM KNSR MPR News every Saturday. They are located “below the hill” in downtown Upsala. A city divided by Two Rivers. Across from Upsala Motors, next to the river, is a Shell gas station with an Italian restaurant, Marliano’s. Famous for their pizza and their Borgstrom Burgers.
The original building on that spot was a blacksmith shop. It is very likely that before the 1900s there was a water wheel in the river to power the many belts and pulleys that operated the various machines. In the fifties the “Smitty” was a jolly old Swede, Gust Olafson. I can still recall the sounds and smells coming from the shop. During the summer, the huge front door was always open, and the ceiling was full of large belts going in all directions.
One spring day, Gust was busy at the forge and anvil when a crusty old Norwegian bachelor farmer came rushing in demanding that Gust drop what he was doing and sharpen his plowshares. After many attempts in his loud demanding voice, the farmer said to Gust, “If you don’t sharpen these shares right now, I will have to take my business to Swanville!
Without even looking up, Gust replied: “Happy Yourney”.
Tomorrow evening is the final concert performance for the season by the St. Cloud Symphony Orchestra. Kornel Thomas will be conducting “Leap into Celebration” at Ritsche Auditorium on the campus of St. Cloud State University. Tickets are available at www.stcloudsymphony.com
Sunday afternoon at 3 you can enjoy “The Music of Living ”, 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
“To simply your life, and spend your energy on things that are meaningful to you, you must acquire a knack for saying no.” Robyn Paper
April 27th, 2026 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 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 gas caps. We had hidden them in a gunny sack 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 on his desk to claim theirs. We appeared in front of the Justice of The Peace in the backroom of the Upsala City fire hall. Justice Bernard Lunder sentenced each one of us to “six months of church attendance”.
Many years later I would visit Bernard at a 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 punishment. 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 may not be too late to get a ticket to see “Hadestown Teen Edition” performed by the St. John’s Prep Theatre in the Stephen B Humphrey Auditorium on the campus of St. John’s University. I saw it last night and it was wonderful. www.sjprep.net.
“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 24th, 2026 by Gary Osberg
Upsala Motors is a sponsor of programming on 88.9 FM KNSR MPR News every Saturday. They are located “below the hill” in downtown Upsala. A city divided by Two Rivers. Across from Upsala Motors, next to the river, is a Shell gas station with an Italian restaurant, Marliano’s. Famous for their pizza and their Borgstrom Burgers.
The original building on that spot was a blacksmith shop. It is very likely that before the 1900s there was a water wheel in the river to power the many belts and pulleys that operated the various machines. In the fifties the “Smitty” was a jolly old Swede, Gust Olafson. I can still recall the sounds and smells coming from the shop. During the summer, the huge front door was always open, and the ceiling was full of large belts going in all directions.
One spring day, Gust was busy at the forge and anvil when a crusty old Norwegian bachelor farmer came rushing in demanding that Gust drop what he was doing and sharpen his plowshares. After many attempts in his loud demanding voice, the farmer said to Gust, “If you don’t sharpen these shares right now, I will have to take my business to Swanville!
Without even looking up, Gust replied: “Happy Yourney”.
Tomorrow evening is the final concert performance for the season by the St. Cloud Symphony Orchestra. Kornel Thomas will be conducting “Leap into Celebration” at Ritsche Auditorium on the campus of St. Cloud State University. Tickets are available at www.stcloudsymphony.com
Sunday afternoon at 3 you can enjoy “The Music of Living ”, 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
“To simply your life, and spend your energy on things that are meaningful to you, you must acquire a knack for saying no.” Robyn Paper
April 17th, 2026 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 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 gas caps. We had hidden them in a gunny sack 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 on his desk to claim theirs. We appeared in front of the Justice of The Peace in the backroom of the Upsala City fire hall. Justice Bernard Lunder sentenced each one of us to “six months of church attendance”.
Many years later I would visit Bernard at a 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 punishment. 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 may not be too late to get a ticket to see “Hadestown Teen Edition” performed by the St. John’s Prep Theatre in the Stephen B Humphrey Auditorium on the campus of St. John’s University. I saw it last night and it was wonderful. www.sjprep.net.
“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 17th, 2026 by Gary Osberg
This is a video I shot from the dock many years ago. You can tell that my grandson is excited about his buddy catching a fish. https://youtu.be/xwfn8dLz0XU?si=4_tLxdFU4CGPSnd3
Willie is already a Master Angler through the Minnesota Fishing Museum & Hall of Fame in Little Falls. Every April the Museum offers an opportunity to meet with members of the Hall of Fame at a “Night with the Pros”
at LeBlanc’s Rice Creek Hunting Recreation and Event Center east of Little Falls. In 2023 and 2024 my son Erik was the auctioneer.
Last year, I had to fill in for Erik as the auctioneer. There were many great items to bid on and in the interest of raising as much money as possible, I always started the bidding at $200. No one bid on a “Half Day fishing with Randin Olson”, so I ended up being the high bidder for that item. It turns out that I saved $100 since the going rate is $300. Not only did I save some money, but it was also Randin that took me to a secret lake in Ottertail County and helped me to land a 28′ Walleye. (photo attached)
This year the event is next Friday, the 17th of April. Simply go to the Minnesota Fishing Museum & Hall of Fame website to purchase your tickets. www.mnfishingmuseum.com
There is a very special event at the Abbey Church tomorrow afternoon. Vocalessence will be accompanied by Organ Virtuoso Greg Zelek at 4pm. Tickets are at www.saintjohnsabbey.org
The Isidore String Quartet is also in town. Go to www.chambermusicstcloud.org for information on concerts this weekend.
“The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of that which is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope.” John Buchan
April 10th, 2026 by Gary Osberg
Sunday will be Kaylin Marie Osberg’s 31st 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 worked her way through St. Cloud State University 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” repeatedly 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 . Zygoatian LLC is one of the sponsors of the St. John’s Prep Theatre production of “Hadestown Teen Edition”. The show opens on Friday April 10th in the Stephen B Humphrey Auditorium on the campus of St. John’s University. Information and tickets are available at www.sjprep.net
“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes, art is knowing which ones to keep.” Scott Adams
April 10th, 2026 by Gary Osberg
This is a video I shot from the dock many years ago. You can tell that my grandson is excited about his buddy catching a fish. https://youtu.be/xwfn8dLz0XU?si=4_tLxdFU4CGPSnd3
Willie is already a Master Angler through the Minnesota Fishing Museum & Hall of Fame in Little Falls. Every April the Museum offers an opportunity to meet with members of the Hall of Fame at a “Night with the Pros”
at LeBlanc’s Rice Creek Hunting Recreation and Event Center east of Little Falls. In 2023 and 2024 my son Erik was the auctioneer.
Last year, I had to fill in for Erik as the auctioneer. There were many great items to bid on and in the interest of raising as much money as possible, I always started the bidding at $200. No one bid on a “Half Day fishing with Randin Olson”, so I ended up being the high bidder for that item. It turns out that I saved $100 since the going rate is $300. Not only did I save some money, but it was also Randin that took me to a secret lake in Ottertail County and helped me to land a 28′ Walleye. (photo attached)
This year the event is next Friday, the 17th of April. Simply go to the Minnesota Fishing Museum & Hall of Fame website to purchase your tickets. www.mnfishingmuseum.com
There is a very special event at the Abbey Church tomorrow afternoon. Vocalessence will be accompanied by Organ Virtuoso Greg Zelek at 4pm. Tickets are at www.saintjohnsabbey.org
The Isidore String Quartet is also in town. Go to www.chambermusicstcloud.org for information on concerts this weekend.
“The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of that which is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope.” John Buchan
March 27th, 2026 by Gary Osberg
Many years ago, I attended a Waite Park Chamber event hosted by MinnWest Bank. The speaker was Jill with Express Employment Professionals. Her opening statement concluded that, on average, we will each have three careers and 27 jobs in our lifetime. At first, it sounded like a bit much, but then I started counting. My three careers were drafting, office furniture/equipment sales and now nearly 27 years helping folks to “get the word” out on Minnesota Public Radio. I did have more than 20 jobs.
My first job was working at Ramlo Grocery in Upsala, (my grandparents owned the store) for fifty cents an hour. The summer between my junior and senior year in high school I worked for my step-grandfather, Francis Johnson, as a house painter in Little Falls. As I mentioned in a previous note, in 1962 I got into the drafting field thanks to my sister’s friend, Barry Larson. I worked my way up from being a draftsman on the Polaris project at Honeywell to being a manager with the very first computerized drafting service bureau in the U.S., Norwood Engineering.
We were way ahead of our time and after a rough first few months, I was laid off on the day of my daughters first birthday. The two founders had been the sales force, and they had been let go by the Board of Directors. Two guys that I had hired made up the entire production crew. They went on strike. Every day we would go to the office and negotiate for my return and then we would buy a 12 pack of beer and go to the lake for lunch. After a few weeks, the new President agreed to take me back. Since we no longer had anyone in sales, I became the sales force.
One of the two guys who went on strike for me was Eckart “Butch” Herter. Butch took me aside to tell me that my handshake sucked and that, if I was planning on being a salesman, I had better read “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie. He was right on. He died way too young of cancer. The other friend just retired from running a movie theater in Hutchinson. In 1972, he and his wife were chosen as God parents for my son Erik. I owe both Red and Butch big time. The selling career has been very, very good to me.
“If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with success unexpected in common hours”. Henry David Thoreau
March 20th, 2026 by Gary Osberg
Today is the first day of spring. Signs of spring have not been abundant. I have not seen a robin yet, nor an earth worm. The ice is still on all the lakes around St. John’s. But hope springs eternal.
My drafting career ended in the early seventies. The second of my five careers was in office furnishings. I started working as a sales rep for General Office Products in 1971. Roy Utne was part owner. Shortly after I started working there, Roy called me into his office and said: “Osberg, if you get a 10 and a 2 and a meaningful lunch, you will be falling off of your billfold.” It is not easy to get a 10 and a 2 appointment and a meaningful lunch. Ever since covid, getting a face-to-face appointment is much harder. If I do my job right, I meet three new people every month. This month I made my goal.
When you come to my “celebration of life” at the Paramount Center for the Arts, there will be a grey ring binder on a table in the lobby. Inside of that ring binder you will find a list of the 24 companies that I have worked for since 1961 and 44 calling cards. The first calling card has only my name: Gary Michael Osberg. Every graduate of Upsala High School class of 1961 got a box of calling cards to send along with the invitations to the graduation ceremony. The last 8 cards are all from Minnesota Public Radio. Titles changed, logos changed and we used to have a fax machine.
Tonight, at 7:30, the Beo String Quartet is performing at the Paramount Center for the Arts in downtown St Cloud. Tickets are available at www.paramountarts.org I have two tickets in row G for the performance for the first person to reply to this email. I will leave them at the will call window for you.
“That it will never come again is what makes life so sweet.” Emily Dickinson
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