North Shore Living
November 2024 Newsletter
-- Jean Marie Modl
Did you know the Brooklyn Bridge was for sale in Grand Marais? I found it at the Oddz and Endz Thrift Store, a stunning vintage fine art print of the original design drawings for the bridge. The drawings are delicate but if you look closely, you can see all the marks made by the engineers in the late 1800s. The first time I walked the Brooklyn Bridge was Christmas 2007. It was a beautiful evening, Manhattan was alive with light, and I was surrounded by people from all over the world.
Bridges are for making important connections and I am grateful for the network of people and groups that have come forward with generous holiday donations and special events for the care center. Thank you to everyone. We are still collecting holiday decorations. You can bring donations to the NSH Registration desk. Call Jean Marie at 218-387-3518 if you have any questions. We are excited to share the new decorations with everyone this holiday season.
The care center has contributed to an important connection over time, well into the future. The new Grand Marais City Hall includes a time capsule in its construction and the care center residents were asked to share some stories for the capsule. Here is a story from Linda Johnson:
Linda Johnson was going home from partying late one night in the 1960s. It was after her mom’s 11pm curfew. Riding her scooter home, Linda stopped at the back door of the restaurant El Ray where she worked as a waitress. The restaurant was on the harbor and was owned by Eleanor and Ray Sjoberg. The Blue Water Café is in the same spot now.
Linda discovered Ray making sandwiches in the middle of the night. She offered to help because the sandwiches were for the firefighters. There was a big wild fire up the Gunflint Trail. Ray asked if Linda Johnson could get into Johnson’s Big Dollar grocery store because they needed more sandwich supplies.
Linda woke up her dad Tumsey. “Tumsey” is Norwegian for “little devil that stirs up trouble but doesn’t get into trouble,” a nickname his sister’s gave him when they were growing up. Tumsey told Linda how to get into the store. Tumsey Johnson was part of the Grand Marais volunteer fire crew for many years.
When Linda and Ray got into the store, Ray immediately set up the slicer in the butcher shop so they could slice up more cheese and meat for the sandwiches. They used all of the bread and butter that was in the store. They left a note.
When Uncle Paul arrived at the store the next morning, he called Tumsey and said, “Did you know someone was in the store last night?” Tumsey explained the situation. Ray and Linda were up all night preparing food for the firefighters. Then a crew of fighters showed up for early breakfast at the El Ray restaurant.
The fire fighters were easy to please and chipped in to serve themselves and each other. Everybody was happy and grateful to be well fed. The firefighters invited Linda to come help them fight the fire. But Linda said, “No, thanks. I’m going to finish my shift and go home to bed.”
Veterans Day on November 11 was marked by a special visit from four veterans: Robert Mattson, Rodney Carlson, Wayne Johnson, and Gordon Salisbury. These gentlemen chatted with the residents and then each of them took a few minutes to share their service history with us. It was very moving and we appreciated the honor of their visit.
We are all looking less shaggy these days because we have a new hairdresser visiting the care center. Lindsay Pearson from Silver Bay will be coming each month and helping us look our best. The special attention that a hairdresser gives each of us is precious and these are happy days for all of us.
The Portage Band launched our holiday season with another wonderful dance this month. Many of our residents have personal connections to the band members and the Grand Portage community. They take great personal pride in these special evenings.
We have re-connected with a wonderful Sing-A-Long group: LaVona playing piano, Marsha playing guitar, and Linda helping us sing. They bring along special song books and it is really fun. The music includes Elvis Presley tunes, folk tunes, and hymns. They plan to sing with us each month.
Each week, Ken Netland and Becky Kayser lead a Bible study group for the residents and Music Man Tom Novotny puts together a special Happy Hour for us. On Sunday afternoons, church services are offered by community volunteers. Each month, Penny Ortmann reads stories, Doug Sanders is our Piano Man, and Barb Wright creates delicious home baked treats for us.
These important connections are bridges into the community that enrich the lives of the residents. My friend Janet says that our lives are built around parallel universes. We have our worlds of family, church, school, work, and community groups. The more bridges we can build between these worlds, the richer our lives will become.
Bridges are about reaching out and making important connections. Build as many bridges as you can, and if you ever find yourself in New York City, be sure to walk the Brooklyn Bridge.