Blue House on the market
Music in unlikely place
How home acquired colorful hue
Piano fills hardware store
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CHANHASSEN
THURSDAY, JULY 28, 2011
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Villager
After tragedy Local graduate witnesses Norway coming together BY MARK W. OLSON editor@chaskaherald.com
“It was a sea of people. I have never seen anything so powerful, strangers were hugging and crying in each others arms,” reports Kristina Kelly, a 2006 Chaska High School graduate, now living in Norway. She was describing a July 25 rose vigil she attended and photographed, held in memory of the more than 70 people killed in the July 26 bombing and shooting attacks. Anders Behring Breivik is accused of both July 22 attacks. Kelly grew up i n C h a n h a s s en , still home to her parents, Cole and Teri Kelly. In 2010, Kel ly g raduated from the University of North Carolina, where she studied photography and sculpture. She is continuing her photography PHOTO COURTESY OF KRISTINA KELLY studies about 22 miles south of Oslo Chaska High School graduate over the summer. Kristina Kelly, studying “I was actually photography near Oslo, supposed to be in attended Monday’s rose vigil the city on the day and took pictures of the of the bombing but mourners. due to rain we decided to stay at the house,” Kelly said, in an e-mail. “I was sitting in my room when I heard a rumbling and just thought it was thunder but at the same time it was strange because it only happened once. About 20 minutes later I found out the sound was actually the bomb explosion. We were all in shock and turned the television on right away.” Kelly fl ipped through Norwegian channels until she found CNN and learned about the explosion. Two hours later, she learned about the slaughter on the island of Utoya. “There was a mood change in the house, everyone was silent just listening to the news, e-mailing and calling home to let their families know we were alright,” Kelly said. As a photographer, her immediate impulse was to photograph what was happening, Kelly said. “But not knowing exactly who was involved with this we decided it was safer to stay put. Once I heard of the shooting, I felt
Tragedy to page 2 ®
PHOTO BY FORREST ADAMS
Denny Johnson (white cap) swims for the Lake Minnewashta Regional Park public swimming area. He is followed by Eric Haycraft (Yellow), Patty Costello (blue) and Steve Gunther.
Bodies of water BY FORREST ADAMS fadams@swpub.com
The first rule about the open water swim on Monday nights is it’s by invitation only. It’s only for the hard core, people in training for a triathlon who can complete a 0.7 mile swim in short order before they turn around and swim back, from one side of the lake to the other, sometimes twice. More than a dozen colored silicone swim caps cut through the clear water under a partly cloudy sky Monday evening. The time was 6:30 p.m. A wave of energy, kicking legs and stretched out arms moved toward the public swimming area at Lake Minnewashta Regional Park. They were the fi rst large group of the week to swim across Lake Minnewashta. Denny Johnson was one of them. A 65-year-old retired attorney from Edina who is now training for his fi rst ironman triathlon, the Wisconsin Ironman, sched-
Triathletes regularly train with swims on Lake Minnewashta
uled for Sept.11, 2011. An Ironman Triathlon consists of a 2.4mile swim, a 112-mile bike and a marathon (26.2 miles) run, raced in that order and without a break. Patrick Ward, Minneapolis, was another. The fit 20-something is training for an event called Vineman Triathlon later this month in Santa Rosa, Calif. The Vineman brings competitors through Sonoma County’s wine countr y. In 2 010 there were approximately 700 entrants. Others in Monday’s swim group were preparing for the 5-mile Minnetonka Challenge open water swim this weekend, the Ironman Boulder triathlon on Aug. 4 or another event in the rapidly growing sport of triathlon. Steve Gunther, host of the swim, said he thinks triathlons are “the new golf,” in terms of their growing popularity and attraction to business executives and others looking for a recreational challenge. The second group of the week swims
on Wednesday mornings. They gather at 6 a.m. at Gunther’s Chanhassen home. Gunther said this group is typically about 40 people. Both groups are guided by buoys and monitored by two kayaks and a pontoon as they traverse the lake from Gunther’s private beach, which is visible across the lake from the park beach.
CAMP GUNTHER Steve and Helen Gunther have owned a home on Lake Minnewashta since 1998, and it wasn’t long before they were training for their fi rst triathlon. Steve said ever since he has been hooked to “the training lifestyle” and has competed in about eight triathlons each year as far away as Switzerland. More than travel to competitions in exotic locales, Gunther said another positive aspect of bringing triathlons into his life has been the camaraderie with other people
Triathletes to page 2 ®
Fate keeps bringing them together BY UNSIE ZUEGE uzuege@swpub.com
Back in fi rst grade, Halle Witherspoon noticed that like her, Grace O’Malley was hanging back from the other kids on the playground at recess. The two girls were starting their first-grade year at Bluff Creek Elementary School in Chanhassen. Halle said she remembered approaching Grace and saying, “I see that you don’t play with anyone on the playground either.” The two girls bonded over their shared shyness, and soon learned that they had a lot more in common. They liked the same things, had the same interests, and became best friends. C oi ncident ly, t hei r mom s, A i me e O’Malley and JJ Witherspoon met and befriended each other, too. So it was a sad day when in third grade, Halle’s family, the Witherspoons, moved to
Phoenix, Ariz. But the girls and their moms kept in touch through e-mail, phone calls, and annual visits when the Witherspoons returned to the Twin Cities to visit relatives. “The girls have always had such a connection,” Aimee O’Malley said. Near the end of last school year, in May, Grace’s fi fth-grade class at Bluff Creek had a new project to work on. Fifth-grade teacher Julie Myhr signed up to have the students participate in The Great Mail Race. It’s a letter writing program for schools across the United States. The project enables students to write letters to classrooms all across the country. In addition to helping students with their language and grammar skills, it also teaches them about the 50 states, the capitols, and other interesting facts about each state. “Our class received two letters,” Grace said. “Mrs. Myhr held them up during class.
One was from Oklahoma. Then she held up the second letter and said, ‘Who wants to open this one?’ I raised my hand. I opened it and started reading. “The letter said, ‘Hi my name is Halle,’ and it went on about what she liked to do in school,” Grace said. “And then I read, ‘I know a girl named Grace…’” “She called me up and said, ‘I got your letter!’” Halle said. Halle and her family are currently in the Twin Cities visiting. Last Friday, the two girls and the two moms spent their day at Mall of America. There they celebrated Halle’s birthday. She turned 11 on Thursday, July 21. Grace turns 12 in September. Halle explained that her school — Desert Sun Academy — in Phoenix also participated in The Great Mail Race. When it was time to choose schools to which they’d send
Pen Pals to page 2 ®
INSIDE OPINION/4 OBITUARIES/6 FAITH /7 SPORTS/13 CALENDAR/18 CLASSIFIEDS/20 TO REACH US SUBSCRIBE: (952) 345-6682 EDITOR: (952) 345-6471 OR E-MAIL EDITOR@CHANVILLAGER.COM.
PHOTO BY UNSIE ZUEGE
Friends Grace O’Malley, left, and Halle Witherspoon first met on the playground at Bluff Creek Elementary as first-graders. Years later they became accidental pen pals. They’re holding Halle’s letter that found its way to Chanhassen and to Grace.
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