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Never too cold for true Minnesotans

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Neighbors Beth Pilacinski and Marilyn Kaplan don’t let the cool temperatures keep them from enjoying lake life. The duo floats on White Bear Lake during the week until it freezes.

White Bear’s new police chief ready to partner with community

As medical bills mount, plea for help garners response

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Bruce and Janet Bushey return to White Bear Lake from a too-short RV adventure to reopen Olive Branch Oil & Spice Company.

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with a vengeance in 2022 after a two-year remission. Called cholangiocarcinoma, the cancer affects the bile duct. “It is rare,” shared Richards, and may be connected to years of taking an over-the-counter antacid to treat an ulcer. That was pre-olive oil store days when her husband worked in a demanding sales job, she said. “The Olive Branch was his solution; doing what you love to relieve stress.” After months of chemo and off-and-on hospitalizations from serious blood infections, Bushey made the decision to forgo intervention care and entered

including the business, and hit the road in a 38-foot RV. That lifestyle took an abrupt detour when Bushey learned he had cancer and that the new owner was closing their beloved store. So they returned to their community’s welcoming arms and reopened the business at Fourth and Banning (“Bumps in road lead retirees back to olive oil business,” Oct. 7, 2020). They did wish the RV adventure had lasted longer, admitted Richards, and both hoped to someday return to it full time, but that is not to be. Bushey’s cancer, first diagnosed in a New York City emergency room, returned

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New White Bear Lake Police Chief Dale Hager is no stranger to the community. “I’ve been in White Bear Lake since 2014 as a captain, and I have 26 years of experience in law enforcement,” Hager said. Hager grew up in southern Minnesota near Fairmount. “When I was a child, my mother owned a little country grocery store and my dad owned a trucking NOELLE OLSON company, which my brother New White Bear Lake took over,” Hager said. “I Police Chief Dale Hager. was a truck driver for a while, a bartender and a construction worker, but I knew I wanted to be a police officer since I was in high school. I just thought I’d be good at it.” Hager began his career in North Dakota when he was 26 years old. He has served as a Narcotic Task Force member; firearms, field training and defensive tactics instructor; K-9 handler; investigator; and school resource and DARE officer throughout his career. Before being appointed administrative captain, Hager served as sergeant at the Lino Lakes Police Department. Hager said he was honored and humbled when he was announced as the new police chief in August. He began the position on Aug. 28, and says that everyone has been encouraging and supportive. “A lot of police chiefs walk into the position with a lot of fixing to do and, luckily, I’m not in that position,” Hager said. “Our former chief, Julie Swanson, did a great job with the department and I think our current city administration does a fantastic job with the city. I’m in a really unique position, in that all I can do is improve it by taking incremental steps to try to make things a little bit better for as many people as I can, including our staff and our community.” The number one priority for Hager is to get the department back to full strength. “We’re pretty short in the police department right now, and I want to remedy that,” he said. “My goal is to deal with this systemic recruiting and retention problem that we have.” Hager also wants to continue engaging with the community. He said it’s important for law enforcement to reach out to the public.

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A penguin plush toy hitched a ride on Temperance Reinhardt’s backpack while she and her family visited with her new kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Beth Johnson, during a recent back to school open house at Wildwood Elementary School. Elementary school students in the Mahtomedi School District officially begin fall classes this Thursday.

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Para-athlete set for world meet

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feel very honored to be given this opportunity to represent the United States and compete Will Hamilton of White on a global stage.” Bear Lake, a wheelchair Hamilton, whose disability athlete, is one of 22 people is Osteogenesis Imperfecta selected by Move United Type III (brittle bones), works Sport to compete in the 2023 as a concierge/front desk World Abilitysport Games in receptionist at Keystone Place Thailand in December. at LaValle Fields in Hugo, and Hamilton, 28, has been is a certified adaptive trainer. racing and training for seven He is seeking help in years. His events are the covering the personal costs of T52 para-athletes 100, 200, participating. Donations can and 400 meter sprints. After be made online at gofund.me/ competitions throughout the b324c872. country, he said he is ranked Hamilton has also qualified in the top five nationally and for the U.S. Paralympic Track 38th in the world. & Field Team Trials next July “This would be my first time in Chula Vista, California, competing internationally, where Team USA for the 2024 let alone being in another Paralympic Games in Paris country,” Hamilton said. “I will be determined. BY BRUCE STRAND SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR

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In memoriam: Documenting lost Lake Avenue homes

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and the stories behind them, alive. She also wants to bring attention to the loss. “Everything is changing so easily,” Nelson said. “We need to be thoughtful about these tear-downs and let neighbors know that is the intention.” Her connection to the avenue and, in particular, to the blue Cape Cod on the corner of Lake Avenue and Second Street where Nelson lives, is personal. The site was once the Hotel Chateaugay, built in the early 1880s by Frederick W.

White Bear Lake Police Officer Dan Swenson is sworn in by City Clerk Caley Longendyke at a White Bear Lake City Council meeting.

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BEAR’ly Open adapts to ice conditions

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BEAR’ly Open participants use hockey sticks, baseball bats and golf clubs to propel tennis balls down the “fairways” of the frozen course at last year’s event. See page 8 for more information about Saturday’s BEAR’ly Open.

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White Bear Lake Police Officer Ryan Sheak shakes Chief of Police Julie Swanson’s hand in a recognition ceremony at a White Bear Lake City Council meeting. Sheak was shot three times while attempting to serve an arrest warrant earlier this year. He received the Medal of Valor award for his bravery.

One of the darkest days for the city of White Bear Lake and the White Bear Lake Police Department has a happy ending. White Bear Lake Police Chief Julie Swanson and city officials recognized four police officers, seven firefighters and EMS staff for their heroic efforts in an officer-involved shooting earlier this year. Officer Ryan Sheak was critically injured when he was shot several times by a suspect on Jan. 24 while trying to serve an arrest warrant in an apartment in the 3100 block of Karth Road. Swanson said the suspect was well known to the officers and when officers arrived, the suspect was uncooperative and shut him-

BY DEBRA NEUTKENS STAFF WRITER

MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS MONTH: Local organization refreshes its mission PAGE 10

Civil War coming to life in special Memorial Day ceremony

Memorial Day remembered in letters

BY DEBRA NEUTKENS STAFF WRITER

Americans will be celebrating Memorial Day on Monday, May 29. It is one of history’s most solemn days honoring the men and women who died while serving in the United States military. Navy serviceman Greg Tardiff wrote his wife Suzanne every day for nine months while he was on the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga during the Vietnam War. Before he passed away their daughter’s Megan and Ashley compiled the letters into a book called, “Letters from the Saratoga.”

A military love story remembered in letters BY NOELLE OLSON SHOREVIEW PRESS EDITOR

Imagine looking through your parent’s attic and finding a stack of love letters your dad wrote to your mom when he was serving in the U.S. Navy. That’s what Greg and Suzanne’s Tardiff’s daughter Megan discovered, and she decided to put all of the letters into a book called, “Letters from the Saratoga.” Greg wrote the letters to Suzanne when he was a parachute rigger on the USS Saratoga aircraft carrier. “The letters are from the nine months he was on the ship,”

Suzanne said. “I just liked the fact that there was so much to learn about the war in the letters. The thing that really got me was that he was on this huge aircraft carrier for nine months and yet he found something to write every day.” One of Suzanne’s favorite excerpts from the book: “That’s all the new news I have. The ship’s schedule is still the same. The war is still the same. Everything is still the same. Sure will be glad when things start being different. I love you, Greg.” Greg grew up in White Bear Lake and Suzanne lived in Highland Park when they first met in the winter of 1970.

Bill Milashius and Eric Peterson display the handcrafted copper and brass bugles that are near completion. Final fitting, finishing and play tests will be completed prior to the Memorial Day ceremony.

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Before we say goodbye to 2023 and hello to 2024, it is a tradition of the Vadnais Heights Press to look back at some of the most memorable stories of the year. In 2023, pages were filled with a variety of news, including stories about crimes, events, schools, churches, sports, businesses, city government and more.

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something that tries to kill you but doesn't, and you recover to almost 100%, it's like divine intervention," he’d shared in an earlier interview. “It was like living in a twilight zone, but I didn’t die. Although I thought Father (Ralph) Talbot (the priest at St. Mary of the Lake) was administering last rites one day in my hospital room. I woke up after a vivid dream to see him looking in my eyes and putting something on my forehead. I tried to ‘will’ him my thoughts, to tell him, ‘I’m still here.’ We laughed about it later. He said he was giving me a blessing.” The experience with the mysterious condition has given Auger a positive outlook on life, he said. He won’t chance driving again due to a disconnect between his feet and brain, but Auger is OK

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town on daily excursions. As the self-proclaimed “boulevard superintendent,” the former mayor tools around

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Township hosts four-day hockeyfest this weekend

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with that. “After all the years I spent driving people around, I’m perfectly happy to sit in the passenger seat,” he said. Of course, he does drive an electric wheelchair around

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Remembering 1st hockey tourney BY DEBRA NEUTKENS STAFF WRITER

For a man of 93, John Resler has an uncanny memory for names and places. For instance, he remembers the first player to score the first goal in the first-ever state high school hockey tournament: Bears defenseman George Kieffer. Or the tall Thief River Falls star forward (and future Olympian) who shot the

“A friend of mine from work had convinced me to attend a blind date of sorts — it was really a skating/broomball party with lots of people attending, and Greg was to be one of them,” Suzanne said. “At the time, my friend’s husband was driving a school bus for work and I needed a ride. So, I was picked up for our first date on a school bus standing on a snowy corner with a broom in my hand. When Greg walked in, he had his arm around another girl and I said to my friend, ‘What kind of a date is this? He has a girlfriend!’ It was his sister.” Suzanne said the night turned

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winning goal from the blue line to beat White Bear Lake 3-2: Bob Baker. If there is consolation, it is that the Bears placed third in that history-making tourney. Thief River Falls lost to Iron Range powerhouse Eveleth, 4-3. The year was 1945. Resler recalls the event clearly because he was there on the ice playing right wing for the Bears. He was 15. His foremost memory though,

about that inaugural game? “Not winning,” Resler grumbled. “I swear John remembers the day he was born,” quipped wife Virginia. “The tourney was a highlight of John’s life, and he’s never forgotten that they lost (twice).” A well-thumbed scrapbook lovingly compiled by his late mother certainly helps jog any fading

WHITE BEAR TOWNSHIP — The biggest event to occur this year in White Bear Township is here. The first puck of Hockey Day Minnesota 2023 drops Thursday evening, and the weekend-long athletic extravaganza will last through Sunday. All the action will take place at Polar Lakes Park, located at 1280 Hammond Road. An estimated 10,000 people are expected to attend the annual hockey event based on ticket sales as of last week. Preparing for Hockey Day has therefore been a massive undertaking, according to White Bear Township Administrator Pat Christopherson. “We're coordinating our staff and the whole volunteer group that's been working on this to pull this off. We have an appreciation for the people who have put a ton of time into this,” Christopherson said. He added that pulling off the logistics for such a large-scale, public-private event is challenging but that Hockey Day 2023 has momentum behind it and people who are completely dedicated to making it a success. Corey Roberts, who’s on the Hockey Day Minnesota 2023 volunteer committee, praised the committee members who have devoted countless hours and resources to making Hockey Day a reality. The committee is chaired by Jon Anderson and Nick Guzzo. “Most of us started as strangers, and came together as a team to pull this off,” Roberts said. He also noted how the tagline for the event is “more than a game.” “This sport is so rooted in the community that it is more than a game; it's their lives, in a lot of respects,” Roberts said. To anybody who hasn’t yet decided whether they’ll attend, Roberts said they won’t regret getting tickets and experiencing Hockey Day. “It’s going to be a spectacle,” he said.

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Two brass bugles painstakingly handcrafted with machinist precision will sound Taps at the culmination of this year’s Memorial Day ceremony at Union Cemetery. What makes the event special is not just the one-of-a-kind instruments’ debut, but the fact the bugles will be part of the 160th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. Their maker, Bill Milashius, has enlisted two former Army musicians to play what’s referred to as “echo Taps” for the commemoration, meaning one bugle will answer the other. Taps is a 24-note bugle call sounded to signal “lights out” at the end of a military day, honor the fallen at funerals and close patriotic memorial ceremonies. Milashius, a machinist by trade with a passion for crafting entire brass instruments, as well as components, is current commander of the White Bear Lake American Legion Post 168. A veteran of the Army National Guard, he got the idea to build the bugles a few years back with the intention of donating one to the Legion and one to VFW Post 1782. “I’m not someone who just decided to build some horns. I have a strong background in this,” said Milashius, who holds a music degree major and manufacturing minor from St. Cloud State. He also credits mentors who have helped him in his quest to create instruments suitable for the most discerning

Most days, White Bear Lake’s former mayor can be found in his happy place: peering under the hood of a car and listening to the musical sound of an impact driver. Paul Auger is in his element at Knutsen Auto Service, his new hangout now that Auger’s Garage is closed. The business started in 1919 by his grandfather, Henry Louis Auger, on the corner of Fourth Street and Bald Eagle Avenue “sailed into the sunset” a year ago. It was time, Auger said. He was 69 after all, and his scary bout with a paralyzing illness in 2017 left him debilitated. Auger never regained use of his left hand, and although he can walk short distances

with the use of special braces on his lower legs, he is more comfortable in an electric wheelchair. Contracting Guillain-Barre Syndrome six years ago was life-changing for Auger, the city’s mayor from 1995 to 2010. He spent months in the hospital, his entire body paralyzed. It started with tingling in his foot. Within 24 hours, Auger was in intensive care hooked up to a mechanical ventilator to breathe. Every muscle in his body became immobile as white blood cells attacked the myelin sheath around his nerves, disrupting the electrical impulses to the brain and spinal cord. Even his eyes were stuck open, because he couldn’t blink. "It's not something I want to remember, but to have

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self in the bedroom and refused to come out. “The officers on the scene spent a great deal of time talking and negotiating with the subject to attempt to get them to come out of the room,” Swanson said. “This is not uncommon for any interaction that we've had with him, and officer Ryan Sheak, a SWAT negotiator, has great experience with that and had a great rapport with the subject.” The suspect continued to yell at the officers and after several minutes he suddenly came out of the room and fired gun shots at the officers. Sheak was struck by the gunfire, and officers fired back as the they retreated from the apartment. “There was quite a bit of chaos,

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pie baked by Marshall's mom. The gangster, John Dillinger, was reputed to have been fond of his mother's pies, Marshall said. But one evening, while the whole family was out in Grant visiting Marshall's grandfather, crooks backed a truck up to the store and stole the cash from the till, along with all the groceries. All the money his parents had borrowed from his grandparents was in that store and was lost, Marshall said. As a youth, Marshall

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WHITE BEAR LAKE — A 33-year-old White Bear Lake man faces multiple felony charges, including attempted first-degree murder, after allegedly shooting White Bear Lake Police Department Officer Ryan Sheak last week. Daniel Loren Holmgren Jr. was arrested early Jan. 25 and taken to the Ramsey County Jail after exchanging gunshots with police officers in the Lakewood Hills apartment building

in the 3100 block of Karth Road, according to court documents. The officers arrived the night of Jan. 24 to arrest Holmgren on a felony domestic assault warrant in Ramsey County in connection with a March 2021 case, for which he had failed to make a court appearance. Officers entered the apartment unit with the permission of Holmgren’s family members, who were also present. He was in his bedroom and became belligerent after the officers

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“Thank you for being here.” That's what retiring Mahtomedi Mayor Judson Marshall would often say to people when he came upon them serving the community in any capacity. Marshall, himself, has “been here” serving the community as mayor for the past 20 years. In fact, he has been here since he was born in 1932. The Mahtomedi Street Car line was still running at that time, and Wildwood Amusement Park was also still operating – just. “By the time I got to it in 1936, they were tearing the amusement park down,” Marshall said. The street car tracks, where people got out at the end of the line in Mahtomedi, were elevated at the south end of the lake, he said. “The amusement park and street car were historic icons for Mahtomedi, just as the Lift Bridge is an icon in Stillwater, except that Mahtomedi doesn't have theirs anymore because we couldn't wait to get rid of them and replace them with buses,” Marshall said. The street car paid an important role in Marshall's life. His mother was from Grant, and his father from North St. Paul. The two of them met at the street car stop in North St. Paul and later moved to Mahtomedi. There they rented space in the Copeland building and ran a store that was noted for its candy and graham cracker crust

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Traveling along the pumpkin patch trail

The Kenneth Puffer house at 4669 Lake Ave. was torn down after the family sold it. Kenneth died in 2009 at age 90; his wife Patricia was 99 when she died. The civic-minded couple raised six children in the home.

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Officer Dan Swenson is officially the newest police officer in the White Bear Lake Police Department. “Dan is one of our own,” Police Chief Dan Hager said. “He was born here and raised here in the city of White Bear Lake. He graduated from White Bear Lake High School and he later graduated from Bethel University.” Hager said Swenson’s first exposure to law enforcement was when he volunteered at the White Bear Lake Police Department in 2007. “He worked both as a reserve and as a part-time community service officer for White Bear Lake for four years,” Hager said. “During that time, he not only worked as an employee for us, but he volunteered over 1,100 hours for the White Bear Lake community.” According to Hager, Swenson stated that while serving as a reserve, he thought he was doing something meaningful for his community and it lit a spark in him to become a police officer. He attended Century College to obtain his law enforcement certificate. His first job as a police officer was with the Prairie Island Police Department, where he served 10 years. “His time working for this department, located on a large reservation here in Minnesota, provided him with some very valuable and unique experiences, which has served him well over his career,” Hager said. “Dan left the Prairie Island

Nick and Benny Aberg carry their pumpkins down a path during a recent trip out to Pine Tree Apple Orchard. Other activities at the orchard include a corn maze and weekday wagon rides on Oct. 18, 19 and 20 from Noon – 4 p.m. The pumpkin patch is open through Sunday, Oct. 22.

There’s a sense of urgency now to Lynn Nelson’s ongoing research on Lake Avenue, a one-way thoroughfare she calls White Bear’s favorite walking path. The public relations professional is working on a book that chronicles the changing face of the avenue, whose popularity dates back to horse-and-buggy days during the 1880s’ resort era. As more of the avenue’s gems are torn down, Nelson hopes to keep their memory,

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Will Hamilton at the 2023 Gopher State Games in Lakeville.

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When life hands you lemons, you find a way to mix it with olive oil. That’s been Bruce Bushey’s modus operandi as “Master of Olives” for the last 12 years, showcasing his knack for pairing oils and vinegars in recipes customers appreciate. It’s been the proverbial labor of love for Bushey and wife Janet Richards, who owned the Olive Branch Oil & Spice Company in downtown White Bear Lake. Yes, there was a short respite from ownership in 2018, when the couple decided to sell everything,

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To say that teaching is in the blood of the Hibbard family would be an understatement. Allen Hibbard taught for 38 years in the White Bear Lake Area Schools. He was also a dean at College Spanish Language Village. He passed away in 2003. “He was one of the founders of foreign language in the state, and he taught Spanish and history,” son Bill Hibbard said. Allen’s wife, Clare Hibbard, was a media specialist for approximately 18 years and taught English for two years in the district. “My favorite memory is when a former student told me I inspired her to be a librarian,” Clare said. “I guess she admired my work.” Deb Hibbard is married to Clare and Allen’s son Bill. She teaches third grade at Willow Lane Elementary. “I think my favorite thing about teaching is the relationship you build with the kids,” Deb said. “All the hugs and stuff that you get when they see you or when they run into you somewhere. You’re a special person in their life and they’re special to me.” She continued, “Another memory for me is how many people stop in my room and ask, ‘Are you related to Allen and Claire Hibbard?’ That’s kind of neat when they come in and share memories

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Boat builder plays role in retelling of Olympic history The exquisite cedar shell that carried eight young men to glory in the 1936 Berlin Olympics still hangs in a place of honor at the University of Washington rowing house. Handcrafted by legendary boat builder George Pocock, the “Husky Clipper” is the last survivor of that historic day on the water

87 years ago, when members of an underdog rowing team competed for an Olympic medal in front of German Dictator Adolph Hitler. The inspiring true story of the college kids who shocked the rowing world arrived on the big screen Christmas Day. The movie, directed by George Clooney, is based on a best-seller by Daniel James Brown called “The Boys in the Boat.” And there happens to

be a local connection. White Bear Lake grad Steve Chapin, a master boat builder who lives on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, had a paid consulting role in the sports drama as an expert on the Pocock racing shell. Chapin, class of ’75, grew up on Bald Eagle Lake. His affinity for wooden boats started at a young age, he said, always helping his father Tom maintain the

waterskiing family’s 16foot power boat. Long story short, Chapin graduated as an engineer from the University of Minnesota, but his real passion was boat building. A layoff from his job in the cities was the catalyst to the Pacific Northwest and a master boatbuilding school in Port Townsend, Washington. That was 1989. He stayed, SEE BOAT BUILDER, PAGE 10

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