I’m sure many of you grew up where the sun either rose between your place and town or else set between your place and town.
In my growing up, the sun set between where I grew up and town. The first eight grades were in a one room rural school, followed by four years of high school in New Richland.
As a rural student, the other main activity away from the farm was church. Each church was about ten miles apart and up to five miles from where you lived.
It was a different group of youth where I attended your activities at Pontoppidan Lutheran Church, rural Ellendale, Minnesota. The youth either attended Ellendale, New Richland, or Owatonna High School.
After high school the choice was either leave the farm or stay involved in farming. I chose to leave farming, which in turn caused me to leave Pontoppidan Lutheran Church. (I have since been a Lutheran church member in Fargo, North Dakota, Rochester, Minnesota and Albert Lea, Minnesota.)
Hilding Johnson chose to stay involved in farming and also to be a lifetime member of Pontoppidan Lutheran Church.
After my leaving farming, there were various events held at Pontoppidan Lutheran Church at which I would get to visit with Hilding. (Many of you after leaving your roots gravitate to conversing with someone from your roots when visiting your roots. Hilding was that person for me.)
Hilding, I’m sorry to have found out about your funeral service after the fact. I do promise to visit with you at your grave site my next time at Pontoppidan. I enjoyed our earthly visits and am looking forward to our heavenly visits.
Many, many, thanks for the memories.
Genie and I lived in a cabin on the southwest side of Beaver Lake for 37 summers. As a workaholic, I knew family time was most important. Therefore, we went out for breakfast almost every Friday morning in Ellendale. The rest of the year we went out for breakfast in the Albert Lea area, also on Friday morning.
Friday mornings in the Ellendale area, we got to know a young dairy farmer out for breakfast after the morning milking was done. His wife was a teacher in the NRHEG school system; thus, he was on his own for breakfast.
As an AAL (Aid Association for Lutherans) agent assigned First Lutheran Church in Ellendale, I was the agent for Coleen and Arlen Brekke. The Brekkes, Paulsons, and Ottos were well known “praise Him singers” in the NRHEG area.
Roger and Nadine Olson (members of my church Central Freeborn) were the parents of Mrs. Paulson; thus, I knew four of the six “praise Him” singers before seeing Mr. Otto Friday morning.
Genie and I knew he would be out for breakfast as we were. We just didn’t know which restaurant in Ellendale.
The dairy farmer Larry Otto was, as I am, a United States military veteran. Larry went on to become the chaplain in the state of Minnesota for the American Legion. Quite the honor for a former dairy farmer from the Ellendale, Minnesota area.
The three men, along with their wives, were well known for their singing group “Praise Him.”
On December 31, 2022, God called Larry to the place Larry was promised.
Larry, thanks for the memories.