Minnesota -
Sun and 10,000 Lakes, June 27-30
For our
final trip of the year, we flew into Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the most
convenient airport for our visit to Worthington, Minnesota, a small town of
15,000 residents in the southwest corner of the state and the site of the
Minnesota Elks State Convention. We were
met at the airport by PGER and State Sponsor Dwayne and Sandy Rumney and Grand
Esteemed Lecturing Knight Ray Englland and Bev.
We were escorted to a spacious tour van where we were treated to champagne
and snacks for our one hour drive to Worthington. Upon our arrival, we were stunned when we
pulled into the parking area for a beautiful turn of the century bed and
breakfast, the Dayton House. Built in
1890, this was the home of Dayton’s Department Store founder George Dayton. It later became a nursing home and was
recently renovated and returned to its original splendor. We were greeted at the door by State
President Lynn Rohlf, President Elect George Lehn and other Minnesota Elks. After being shown around by
the docent, Dwayne, Sandy, Tom and I settled into our lovely two-room
suites. We found that we were the only
guests for the weekend and had the run of the house. What a special treat!
Thursday
evening, we had dinner with Past State Presidents at a local bistro, Benlee's
Restaurant. Dinner was excellent and we
very much enjoyed meeting all of the Past State Presidents, their
spouses and guests. Afterward, we stopped at
Worthington Lodge for some social time with the convention attendees and handed
out pins and signed cards.
Friday
morning, Tom, Dwayne, our escort Paul Woll and I had breakfast in the beautiful
dining room on the first floor.
Everything we could possible want was available in the kitchen and we
happily helped ourselves. The gentlemen
left for the opening of the business sessions while Sandy and I had a leisurely
morning preparing for the Ladies Luncheon.
We were picked up by Lois Woll, Paul's wife, who was our escort for the
weekend.
We had a
lovely lunch at the local Lutheran church, followed by musical entertainment by
a local group of ladies treating us to a music medley from the 50's and
60's. Feet were tapping throughout the
performance and they did a wonderful job.
We then met a gentlemen named Marty Rickers. Marty is the sales manager for a local company
named Bedford Industries, founded in 1966 by Bob Ludlow. Their specialty is the production of twist
ties (like you see on your loaf of bread) and Elasti-tags, ties that stretch
and can be applied to more bulky products.
Marty shared with us that Bedford Industries makes 23 million feet of
various types of ties per day! He was a
very good speaker and we found the information about this local company very
interesting.
After the
luncheon, the ladies headed for the local quilt shop, took a sightseeing drive
around Lake Okabena and then back to the Dayton House to put our feet up. We joined up with the men and several other
Minnesota Elks in the afternoon for a visit to Spomer Classics and Museum. The passion of Marv Spomer, the museum has a
beautiful selection of historic cars as well as an amazing display of porcelain/neon signs, advertising items and gas/oil related memorabelia. Marv gave us a personal tour,
sharing the history of many of the signs and automobiles and giving us all a
tour down memory lane.
Friday
evening, Tom, Dwayne and Venita took some time to sit out on the veranda of the
house enjoying the beautiful Minnesota weather and chatting about nothing in
particular. We then made our way over to
the Elks Lodge for a casual dinner and social time with the convention
attendees.
Saturday
morning, Tom decided he would make omelets for anyone who came down for
breakfast, which turned out to be Tom, Dwayne and Paul. (Venita came down too late and had to make do
with a bagel and peanut butter!) After
breakfast, the men left for the business session and the ladies stayed to chat
over coffee at the House. Everyone met
up for the mid-day Memorial Service and Installation of Officers, followed by
lunch at the Lodge.
Saturday
evening we joined the convention attendees for the banquet where Tom
delivered his final speech for our year.
He continued to share his vision for the Elks and how we can begin to
turn around our membership issues. The Worthington
Elks Lodge presented us with commemorative motorcycle t-shirts and a beautiful
handmade buffalo leather portfolio from one of their local merchants, The
Buffalo Billfold Shop. The Minnesota
Elks gave us a beautiful hand-painted wall plaque with Tom’s motto “Elks – A Beacon
of Hope” shining out from the Split Rock Lighthouse and the “Welcome to the
Braziers” underneath. We both looked at
each other and knew immediately where it would hang – at our Washington beach
home!
Sunday
morning found Tom cooking again and this time Venita made it in time for the eggs. We then joined Paul and Lois at their home church, St.
Mary’s Catholic Church for Mass. Built in the 50’s,
it is a lovely church with spectacular stained glass windows. Afterwards, we met up with Ray, Bev, Dwayne
and Sandy and headed for the Sioux Falls airport. The trip home was smooth and uneventful – a fitting
conclusion to a very special weekend.
Congratulations to Chris Heinrichs, Exalted Ruler of the Worthington
Elks Lodge #2287 and his convention committee for a job well done. We had a wonderful time and will long
remember this special time with the Minnesota Elks!
