Wayne and Merlys first lived on North Main Street in New Richland in the Rudolph Apartments. After they lived there for a few years, they moved 5 1/2 miles northwest of New Richland to the family farm, the Lawrence Wenzel farm site, where Wayne tried his hand at farming.
While he farmed Merlys went to work at the Land O’ Lakes egg plant in New Richland. Following his stint on the farm, Wayne started to drive a big truck instead of a tractor and hauled gravel in one of Ray
Routh’s trucks, for Emil Olson Concrete, and then in the fall he started hauling grain to the Twin Cities for Ray.
For a change of scene, so to speak, Wayne then went to work at the Municipal Liquor Store in New Richland. While Wayne was at the Liquor Store, Merlys went to work for E.F. Johnson Co. in Waseca. The Wenzels decided to start a family and they went on to have four children: Renae, Wade, Tammy and Troy. Wayne shared that they lost Troy, who was only 42 years old, to a heart attack in 2008.
After working at the Liquor Store for five years, Wayne decided to buy his own truck and started to drive for a number of clients. He drove for Shurson Trucking in New Richland, Madson Trucking out of Albert Lea, Kujak Trucking out of Winona, and then in 1990 he started to drive for Worke (DKW) and drove for them for five years, which Wayne said were his most enjoyable years on the road.
Maybe the reason those last five years on the road were the most enjoyable was because Wayne’s wife went and got her CDL license and she "trucked" right along with him.
Over the years Wayne found "lots of good stuff" that interested him, things soon started accumulating and he ran out of room for storing it, so in 1990 the Wenzels rented what had been the Peterson’s Grocery Store on Main Street in New Richland. Merlys and the girls did a good job of displaying "Dad’s collection of Good Stuff” that Wayne didn't want to throw away and the business was established. They soon outgrew the building and a place on the corner of South Broadway and West Division Street became available, so they relocated.
Wayne and Merlys bought the hardware store where Gene Dodge had been in New Richland and Wayne gained a little room and a corner location and the business became the "town central." Wayne opens up 5 in the morning and closes at 4 in the afternoon. The store is a bee hive of activity starting with a co-op coffee party every morning for any number of regular "drop-ins" who bring not only conversation and news, but anything they happen to have on hand that tastes good and serves as breakfast along with Wayne’s bottomless cup of coffee.
Merlys has her cleaning adventures and Wayne has any number of projects he works on plus selling the overload of stock at Dad's Good Stuff. If he doesn't have it, evidently nobody ever made it. From antiques and good old stuff to good new stuff and everything in between, this best describes some of the rare finds in this one-of-a-kind store.
There is a display of Mickey Mouse merchandise to rival Disneyland. Old pictures and farming memoirs, silverware, furniture, books, kitchen equipment, dishes, doilies, games; you name it. There's appropriate pride in his refinishing of furniture and he is well versed in using a paintbrush or replacing a broken window with glass or doing light repairs.
Wayne said no good marriage is without its little flare-ups, but when Merlys threatened to leave him at a truck stop he knew she meant business and he knew he couldn't get along without her. He could only praise this little woman of his and her abilities, which included cooking the best food to be found.
He proudly said she made the best goulash in a quantity of feeding the whole brood and all on one pound of hamburger. You could almost read his thoughts or see him drool at the mouth when he talked about her tater tot hot dish, which he said was his and their two boys' favorite. Then he told me about Merlys' special tuna casserole, and Wayne said that he got hungry just thinking about it.
When asked his favorite dessert he quickly said, “Merlys. She is my dessert, she is a sweetie.”
Wayne said that Merlys would and could do just about anything, including keeping places like the Legion and other businesses clean for a few years and now for 30-some years she has been keeping the homes of 30-some customers "spic and span."
Wayne thrives on activities and Merlys does too, so they make a good pair. Wayne and Merlys have time for each other whether it is going out, relaxing after a hard day’s work or reminiscing about some of the good adventures and trips they have taken together.
Some people are just meant for each other, and these two fit that description, enjoying each other's company, activities, and interests.
There's always some kidding going on between these two, but there is no way they would want to be without the other’s interests, input, and output.
Wayne said he and Merlys like their recliners, as well as quiet, peaceful moments, but they also enjoy it when their 12 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren come to visit. Wayne said those great grandchildren are really great kids.
You may not think of Wayne as being romantic, but he had a standing order with the druggist, Don Entwisle, that if he should not be in town on Valentine’s Day, that Don should deliver a box of his finest chocolate to Merlys. Likewise, he had a deal with Quiram’s Bakery that they, too, make an anniversary delivery if he wasn't able to do it himself.
That's a little secret that a lot of husbands could take to heart!
You may think of love as hearts and flowers, and that is O.K. and part of the game, but real love comes from the experience and depth of two personalities that think as one: Wayne and Merlys Wenzel.
