I was talking with my dad the other day about the Moments in Time section that we’ve been running every other week for, to be frank, as long as I can remember. It is overdue, the thanks we owe to Rodney Hatle for the work he did for this town, this paper, and the New Richland historical society. Reed put it best: he was a saint.
Rodney was always kind to me. It was a joy when he came into the office. I wish I had known him better. I would talk with him when he came in, but he would only come in every so often to look through our archives. He worked tirelessly and my words cannot give him the justice he deserves. His work, the pieces and stories that he put together, speaks for itself. As Reed said, he was a saint.
I’ll tell one story about Rodney. It’s a simple one and it was recent, but I feel it’s an example of his dedication. Over the past year, Rodney put together the series we ran on the history of New Richland. Even in hospice, he was still contacting us weekly with his questions, updates, and corrections to his work. I can not say for sure that we got everything right. I can tell you a piece of advice that Reed reminds me of every so often. He calls it the 90, 90, 90 rule and it goes like this: The first 90 percent of a project takes 90 percent of the time, the last ten percent takes another 90 percent, and the finishing touches take another 90 percent of the time. The 90, 90, 90 rule. Simply take the amount of time you estimate will be needed and multiply it by three. Rodney did just that. It takes a special person to do the work he did for this paper and the community.
Reed put it well, “He was a ray of sunshine, a happy man. A happy man is a rare thing in this world and we all deserve to know someone like Rodney. I can’t picture him without a smile on his face.”
Thank you, Rodney, for all you did.