‘LOVE WHAT YOU DO, AND HAVE FUN Bremer Bank’s Tamara Langen injects a sense of humor into everything she does — and she does a lot for Perham BY DAWN DUNCAN For Luminous
“T
he Lord led us to Perham, where we didn’t know a soul.” These words, spoken by Perham resident and community leader Tamara Langen, may seem hard to believe given how wellknown and connected she is in the community today. But the Hallock,
Minnesota native and her husband, James, had no prior ties to Perham when they chose to live here. The couple had been living in the big city of Minneapolis for 10 years when James finished chiropractic school. Ready for a slower pace and a smaller town, they found Perham — and have called it home ever since. With her roots deep in farm country, Langen grew up hauling water, flushing the toilet only once a day, and being the last of four to bathe in the family tub. Those humble beginnings taught her about work ethic at a very young age.
“You start out by putting on your boots as soon as you can walk and you go gather eggs from the chicken coop,” she recalls of growing up on a farm. “Next, you help in the garden, feed the animals, work on 4-H projects, sew, quilt with the ladies at the church, and babysit for everyone you know.” When she got a little older, she started using the three-wheeler to check crops and moisture levels of the grain, would fetch tools to fix equipment, and made meals to deliver to the farm workers. She watered the garden, hoed weeds in the beet field,
Tamara is an incredible leader and strong, savvy business person
Langen with her granddaughter, Morgan, in front of the mural in downtown Perham. Submitted Photo / Tamara Langen / Luminous
18 | LUMINOUS 2021
—TIM BIRKELAND, BREMER BANK MARKET MANAGER
