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Discovering The Mature Lifestyle What are yo your local veterans up to today? See inside

Veterans terans Issue

May 18, 2017

May 2017

Richfield vet heads up local Veterans for Peace group BY SUE WEBBER CONTRIBUTING WRITER Steve McK eown w as dr afted in 1965 and served for two years as a r adio operator in V ietnam. He’s got the effects of Agent Orange to prove it. Since 1986, the Richfield resident has been the linchpin f or the local cha pter of V eterans for P eace, an or ganization tha t includes se veral hundr ed v ets from Minnea polis-St. P aul and the suburban areas. “We’re mainly an educa tional group,� McK eown said. “W e’re using our experience to speak at schools, chur ches and colleges . We w ork with other or ganizations for peace.� VFP cele brates Ar mistice Day on No v. 11 with bell ringing, rather than a 21-gun salute. They get to gether on r etreats, enjoy social activities and get to know each other’s families. “We have a lot of v olunteers at the V eteran’s Administr ation,� McKeown said. “It’s what we do.� The gr oup bought a little school bus that is designated an education center for peace. “I’m kind of excited about it,� McKeown said. “We travel around in it and promote the idea of peace.� The VFP cha pter also sponsors a speech and essa y contest, as well as suppl ying banners to schools and sponsoring peace poles. One of McK eown’s big efforts is to educa te people a bout the Kellogg-Briand Pact, an international agreement signed in 1928 in w hich signa tory sta tes

promised not to use w ar to r esolve “disputes or conflicts of whatever nature or of whatever origin they ma y be, w hich ma y arise among them.� The P act, officially known as a Gener al Treaty for Renunciation of War as an Instrument of National P olicy, stipula ted tha t parties failing to a bide b y the promise “should be denied the benefits furnished b y this tr eaty.� The P act renounces the use of war and stipulates that signatories should settle disputes in a peaceful manner. Fifteen na tions signed first, and 47 signed la ter. “It w as the greatest peace mo vement the world has e ver seen, � McK eown said. “The pact passed 85-1 in the Sena te. The onl y person against it said it w asn’t str ong enough. That shows what’s possible. All the P ost Of fices displayed the pact. Can y ou imagine that happening?� The pact w as signed b y Ger many, F rance and the United States first, and then b y most other countries . “The pact has been tough to enf orce,� McK eown said. “But it’ s still law, like the Indian tr eaty. Some people say it’s too idealistic.� It is named f or its authors , U.S. Secr etary of Sta te F rank B. K ellogg and F rench Foreign Minister Aristide Briand. K ellogg won the Nobel P eace Prize in 1929. Kellogg Boulevard in St. Paul was named for Kellogg, who was a Minnesota r esident, McK eown said. K ellogg w as born in New York, moved to Minnesota as a y oung bo y, and pr acticed

and after he served in Vietnam. McKeown’s fa ther serv ed in the U .S. Ar my and spent 32 months in comba t with the 3r d Infantry Di vision, mainl y in North Africa, Sicil y, and Ital y, including Anzio . He w on the Bronze Star f or br avery under fire. McKeown also has a niece and nephew who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He w ent to college on the GI bill, a ttending Nor mandale Community College and getting a degree in geography from the Uni versity of Minnesota in 1978. McK eown w orked as a machinist, and has li ved in Richfield f or 46 y ears in w hat he calls “a tight-knit neighbor hood.� After his first wife died, McKeown met the w oman who w ould become his second wife, Joan Johnson, on the Lake Str eet-Marshall A venue “peace bridge� over the Mississippi River in 1999. The couple helped to start the weekly peace vigil of activists that still gather on the bridge a t 5 p .m. e very Wednesday f or an hour -long vigil against war. The McK eowns ar e both active in peace and justice issues thr ough their chur ch, and also ar e a vid gar deners in the started early in his life . “I kne w Richfield Comm unity Gar den. about the [Kellogg-Briand] pact McKeown and VFP Pr esident in high school in Elkton, South Larry Johnson go to annual theDakota,� McK eown said. “I ology classes at the Academy of paid attention to war.� the Holy Angels in Richfield. His grandfather was wounded The J ohnsons ha ve tw o sons in WWI w hen he serv ed in the and a granddaughter. French-Canadian Ar my, and McKeown lived with him before

Steve and Joan McKeown work together on social justice issues, including Veterans for Peace. (Submitted photo) law in Rochester in 1877. He was the city a ttorney of R ochester from 1878-81 and then the Olmsted County attorney. He moved to St. Paul in 1886.

Past experiences McKeown’s intense interest in banishing interna tional conflict

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Veterans Issue May 2017

Discovering The Mature Lifestyle May 18, 2017

Veterans memorials matter Americans lo ve memorials . As soon as a beloved celebrity dies, memorials in many forms begin, almost immedia tely, to a ppear ar ound the deceased’ s home or favorite haunt. Lik ewise, whenever a teenager is killed in a car accident, within hours , mak eshift memorials spring up along the r oadside at the cr ash site. We have a need to preserve our memory of important indi viduals and gr oups in some tangible way. This is especially true of veterans. Memorials for fallen her oes of all w ars can be f ound in courthouse squar es, par ks and cemeteries all across the nation. Veterans’ memorials ar e e verywhere; and some states are considering legislation to expand potential sites for even more veterans memorials. Obviously, there is a reason for our love affair with memorials. My dictionary defines a memorial as: “something [mon ument, holiday, etc.] intended to celebrate the memory of a person or event.� Veterans memorials ar en’t just orna te edifices named after a war, a battle or a bunch of

Guest column

... by Bob Ramsey

dead soldiers . Memorials cele brate and honor all veterans and serve as constant reminders of who and w hat was lost to war and why. It is important for us to remember. If w e e ver do f orget, it means we ha ve y et to learn the lesson of the losses and will have to suffer more losses in the future. I’m not a veteran. I never had the privilege of serving. Consequentl y I sometimes feel lik e a pr obationary citiz en. I haven’t paid my dues. Others have had to pay them for me. So it’s crucial tha t I’m periodically reminded of my debt. That’s where memorials come in. Memorials not onl y boost our collec-

tive memory , they also ha ve special meaning for each of us individually. For example, a high school principal I kno w cherished a “rub bing� of the name of a former student he had taken from the “wall memorial� in Washington, D. C . He e xplained tha t the student worked hard; but still struggled in school and came up a few credits short at the end of the 12th grade. For some reason, the principal decided to o verride the rules and gr aduate the student anyway. Later, the student was killed in action. At his funeral, the boy’s mother told the principal, “We are so pr oud of our son. He was the first person in our famil y to graduate fr om high school.� The principal’s exception to the rule has allo wed that family to feel a special pride in their son’s memory. That’s just one soldier’ s life narr ative. Ther e ar e other stories behind e very name on the w all that deserve to be remembered. Memorials help pr eserve these memories.

It’s appropriate that we build memorials to our veterans and revisit them regularly. But the most significant memorials are the ones w e er ect in our hearts and minds. I’m reminded of the occasion when our granddaughter-in-law left her job teaching 3-4 year olds. The little students were devastated. Some children cried. Parents were distraught. Then one day, she drew a picture of a lar ge heart and wr ote the students’ names inside the pictur e. One little boy beamed as he told his mother , “Now, I will be in Miss Mar’ s heart forever.� That made it all right. It works the same way with the internal and external memorials w e create. They help us keep our “veterans in our hearts forever.� And that’s where they belong. Bob R amsey is a lif elong educator, fr eelance writer and adv ocate for vital aging. He can be contacted at 952-922-9558 or by email at joyrammini@comcast.net.

St. Louis Park vets represent National Guard, U.S. Army BY SUE WEBBER CONTRIBUTING WRITER Before its building closed April 15, the St. Louis P ark American Legion serv ed to bring to gether v eterans of se veral wars. Among them is Bill MacMillan, a 1967 St. Louis P ark High School gr aduate who served in the National Guard for six years. He joined the American Legion in 1983. “We lost our post home on Ex celsior Boulevard and Highw ay 100,� MacMillan said. “Now we use the Hopkins Post for our meetings . We’re trying to b uild out the Masonic T emple on W alker Street, hopefull y b y August or September.� The Legion a t one time had 600-800 members, said MacMillan, w ho w as its housing chair f or the first eight y ears. “This year our goal is 147 members ,� he said. MacMillan gr ew up w anting to be a cop. “That was my career goal my whole life,� he said. Prior to his time in the ser vice, he had gained an AA degr ee. After the service, he said, “I was a professional

student. I had cr edits in psy chology, speech comm unications and criminal justice.� Ev entually, he earned AA, B A and BS degrees, plus a certificate specializing in criminal justice. He worked at Fred G. Anderson for 15 years, a compan y MacMillan said w as “once was the largest wall-covering store in the U.S.� Then came a 12-year stint in the insur ance b usiness, plus some time working at the Chamber of Commer ce, first as chair of the boar d and then as vice president of marketing and sales. He also is a past pr esident of the St. Louis Park Sunrise Rotary. Then he began working in business development at Citizens State Bank. “Pretty soon I w as working 50 hours a w eek training sales people,� he said. “Bank ers need to be half sales people.� Eventually, he owned his own consulting group, the MacMillan gr oup. He r etired in 2008, at age 59. Now he and his wife, who is controller at Construction Ma terials, Inc., ar e able to spend weekends at their cabin in Danbury, Wis. In the meantime , MacMillan is past chair but still active with on the Discover

Bill Davies served with the 101st Airborne Division of the U.S. Army and was awarded the Bronze Star for meritorious service. (Submitted photo)

Bill MacMillan served in the National Guard for six years. (Submitted photo)

St. Louis Park board, and has been a fire commissioner in St. Louis P ark f or 18 years. “I enjo y v olunteering,� said MacMillan, a 66-year resident of St. Louis P ark who has a daughter and three grandsons.

Bill Davies

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Bill Da vies, w ho gr ew up on a far m in W isconsin and no w is a 45-y ear St. Louis Park resident, is a v eteran who is a lifetime member of the American Legion and VFW. He served two years with the 101st Airborne Di vision of the U .S. Army, one of them in Vietnam, and was awarded the Bronze Star for meritorious service. “Four of us hung ar ound to gether in Vietnam, and tw o of them ha ve their names on the w all [V ietnam V eterans Memorial W all in W ashington, D .C.] now, along with 60,000 others ,� Davies said. He has an AA degr ee from Penn State and a B A degree from the University of Wisconsin. Davies w orked as a man ufacturer’s representative f or his fa ther-in-law’s manufacturing firm fr om 1969 to 2008. He joined the Rotary in 1982. He was chair of the National Catholic Committee for Scouting, which provides ministry to Ca tholic y outh, and no w serves as vice chair f or finances. Davies also serv ed on the Na tional R eligious Relations Committee Davies has won the Silver Beaver award

A lifelong St. Louis Park resident, MacMillan joined the American Legion in 1983. (Submitted photo) for distinguished service and Silv er Antelope award f or outstanding service to young people, both presented by the Boy Scouts of America. Davies w as first pr esident of the St. Louis Park Football Association in 2000 and a t one time helped with gir ls’ fast pitch softball. “I started the veterans marching in the Parktacular Parade five years ago,� Davies said. “W e do the Edina par ade on the 4th of July, too.� He and his wife , K ay, a n urse a t Abbott Northw estern Hospital fr om 197087, have three children, all gr aduates of St. Louis Park High School. LEGION - TO NEXT PAGE

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Veterans Issue May 2017

Discovering The Mature Lifestyle May18, 2017

Veteran and wife, both scientists, help area students BY SUE WEBBER CONTRIBUTING WRITER Paul Bauhahn of F ridley is an Air Force veteran who soaked up knowledge during his military service and just k ept on stud ying and learning after his discharge. Bauhahn, a r etired Honeywell r esearch scientist, and his wife , Ruth, a retired Medtr onic human factor scientist in pr oduct development, ha ve de voted their li ves to contin ually educa ting themselv es and helping childr en to cultivate an inter est in math and science. Following gr aduation from the Uni versity of Chicago with a bachelor’ s degree in ph ysics, Bauhahn joined the Air F orce as a comm unications officer and learned about electronics. “My last assignment was w orking a t an or ganization supporting a high-level command center using sta te-of-the-art equipment,” Bauhahn said. “I learned so m uch electronics w hile teaching in the comm unications officer school tha t I specialized in electrical engineering after I left the Air Force.” He earned a second bachelor’s degr ee a t Michigan Sta te Uni versity while taking gr aduate courses in ph ysics. Then followed gr aduate school at the University of Michigan, w here he obtained master’s degr ees in both physics and electrical engineering, and a doctorate in electrical engineering. Growing up in Michigan, w here his fa ther taught mechanical engineering and an aunt taught biology, it w as just assumed tha t Bauhahn would go to college , he

Ruth meets with a group of fourth-grade girls at Stevenson Elementary School in Friday twice a week. (Submitted photo) said. Community College . He “The money I sa ved discovered then tha t some from my time in the service of the students didn ’t and benefits paid for quite know alge bra or trigoa bit of m y educa tion,” nometry. he said. “I w as also a r e“I started looking a t search assistant in gr adu- what I could do in the ate school w hile w orking schools to fix the pr obon my Ph.D.” lem,” Bauhahn said. Paul met R uth w hile He f ound tha t Daryl they w ere students in Vossler, principal a t Stegraduate school. Ruth was venson Elementary School pursuing a master’s degree in Fridley, was “very open in educa tion. “R uth w as to trying new things.” a fa bulous pianist; tha t’s “He’s a gr eat guy , and what attracted me to her ,” he has a gr eat staff,” BauPaul said. “We had similar hahn said. taste in music. She has lots What followed has been of ener gy. She’ s har d to an e xciting v enture f or keep up with.” Bauhahn and his wife , Following the couple’ s as w ell as f or the F ridley marriage in 1971, R uth Schools. taught eighth-gr ade ma th The Bauhahns have probefore she and Paul moved vided financial support to Minnesota. They ha ve to suppl y Bedtime Ma th lived in Fridley since 1977. material, including tablets, In his w ork as an engi- to the school. Bedtime neer a t Honeyw ell, Bau- Math is a non-profit orgahahn de veloped micr o- nization focused on mathwave, millimeter w ave and ematics educa tion for micromechanical de vices, young childr en. The onand w orked with lasers line venture was launched for di verse a pplications. in F ebruary 2012 with a He retired in 2011 with 13 daily email tha t pr ovides patents. a playful daily math probRuth, w ho gr ew up in lem f or kids to do with Gary, Indiana, r etired their par ents, m uch like a from Medtr onic with five bedtime story. patents r elated to the deThen R uth got into sign of medical devices for math competitions involvspinal cord stimulation. ing tough math word problems, and began w orking After r etirement, Bau- on them with a gr oup of hahn taught ph ysics with six girls at Stevenson. calculus a t Nor mandale Each T uesday and

Thursday since last fall, Ruth has met with six girls at Ste venson Elementary School to w ork on pr oblem solving. At the same time , P aul meets with six f ourthgrade bo ys a t the school to work on algebra. Sometimes he stops teaching algebra and talks a bout physics. “The kids lo ve that,” he said. “I want kids to learn to think.” Fridley School of ficials have high pr aise f or the Bauhahns’ contributions. “They’ve done some things f or us w e w ouldn’t be a ble to do without them,” Stevenson Elementary School Principal Daryl Vossler said. “They’ ve just been gr eat to ha ve around. They ar e passionate a bout educa tion. Math and science are what they’re about.” Veronica W esterman Mathison, Primary Y ears Programme coor dinator thr ough the F ridley Schools IB curriculum and also the district’ s math coor dinator, said she met the Bauhahns in 2015. “Tha t fall they a pproached us a bout w anting to w ork with kids on Bedtime Math. We kicked it off in January 2016.” The small-gr oup w ork followed. “Ruth is mentoring the girls; she’s inspiring them,” Mathison said. “She’s getting them to think outside the bo x, a bout jobs or car eers. R uth r eads so many books. It’s amazing that someone w ho taught so tr aditionally [in ear lier years] is k eeping up with research and how to apply math with kids.” The girls do small group work, r esearch and in vestigative studies , and complete action projects at the end of fourth grade. “The Bauhahns ar e

Paul works with a group of fourth-grade boys each Tuesday and Thursday. (Submitted photo) modest and shun r ecognition, Ma thison said. “They’ve helped us with resources and professional development for teachers,” she said. “They’ve done so much a t Ste venson. They are quite the couple; they are fa bulous. W e ar e beyond fortunate.” Paul is al ways stri ving for mor e. He and R uth have pur chased er ector sets to help students w ho weren’t doing w ell. And he’s adamant tha t “TV is a disaster” because it dissuades students fr om working hands on to discover the world.

“It still amaz es me ho w much tr ouble kids ha ve with ma th,” P aul said. “Something’s ha ywire. Part of the problem is that kids don’t work hands on. That’s frustrating to me. “A lot of kids don’t realize how much they’re missing. I’d like them to understand ther e’s a gr eat big world out ther e. Ther e’s so much to learn. I’m still studying. I’m just curious . It’s fun. If w e could just get kids to realize the huge benefit of working hard in school. They don ’t realize how important it is. We’ve got to get things fixed.”

LEGION - FROM PREVIOUS PAGE Kay is a member of P atient P artners, a gr oup of 40 r etired doctors and n urses w ho w ork with patients at the hospital as needed. A.J. EIDE A.J. Eide, another W isconsin native, is a W orld War II v eteran w ho serv ed in the U .S. Ar my for two y ears, 1945-46 on Saipan, an island in the western South P acific. He spent some time in the hospital after being wounded. He and his family moved to St. Louis Park in the mid-1950s, and Eide w orked as a machinist until he retired in the 1980s. He also enjoyed rebuilding old cars. He and his wife had two children (one deceased), and they now have three grandchildren.

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