Hometown Worship

Our Hometown Worship section is where you'll find our area churches directory, special features about local churches and church leaders and obituaries. Devotional pieces from Pastors Bill Mantel, Henry Koopman, Tim Homstad (West Side Church), Bob Mankaka (Amazing Grace), Brandt Johnson (Tamarack Church of Christ), Rick Perry (Kimberly Community Church) grace the pages of this section, along with columns by Lisa Koehler (Faith Page Coordinator).

BY MIKE HEASER
Editor

In 1954, Eagle Lake School fourth grader, Judy Koivisto (Weimer), 9, was reported to have the longest tresses in the Cromwell area. Her brown hair measured 31 inches from center part to tip.

Except for an occasional trim by her mother, Frances Weimer, she had never had it cut, and the plan was to let it grow until she graduated high school.

Three years later Judy was entering the seventh grade, but her long locks of hair would not be joining her. “I was getting such terrific headaches from the weight of the hair,” Judy said. So in 1957 she cut it and has kept it short ever since.

Judy kept the locks as she had plans of having a wig made. In those days that was the going trend, but she never went through with it however.

Now she is revisiting the idea but not to have the hair not return to her head. Instead she has sent the braided hair to Locks of Love – a public nonprofit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children under age 18 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis.

Judy’s plan to donate the hair began at the Country Inn restaurant in Cromwell. She was visiting Mr. and Mrs. Floyd Balsness about the Cromwell Historical Club, and they were discussing historical memorabilia donations. Judy brought up her braids she had held on to all these years.

“I should donate my braids,” Judy said. “They’re historic.”

Judy explained that Mrs. Balsness told her she should donate the hair to Locks of Love.

“I hadn’t even thought of it,” Judy said. She was led to Tracy Goranson’s Hair It Is salon in Cromwell. There Tracy explained that she sends hair to Locks of Love, and that she would surely send Judy’s – this being the most unique donation by far.

Judy’s 51-year-old hair has remarkably stood the test of time as her four braided locks look as though they were cut yesterday.

According to Locks of Love, hair cut years ago is usable if it has been stored in a ponytail or braid.

Hair must also be at least 10 inches long from...

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We got the call. Justin, our five-year-old grandson was on his way to the hospital: Tammie said, "Please pray!"

In 1980 Carol and I built the house on County Road No. 2 in Northern Minnesota. We lived there for 13 years and raised our children through the teenage years. We eventually sold the house to our son John with his wife Tammie and four children.

The diesel pickup truck with an extended cab was parked in the asphalt driveway with the boat attached. The overall length of the truck is 26 feet and the boat is 21 feet plus the trailer length. It was spring - time to shed the Minnesota winter and prepare for the opening of walleye fishing.

My son John, his wife Tammie and four children are fishermen. In a state with 10,000 lakes, they regularly test out as many lakes as they can each year by towing the boat with the pickup truck to different lakes.

It was the middle of the day - in the middle of the week, and preparation on the boat was complete - it was time to move the boat from the center of the driveway onto a grassy area to wait for the weekend. John asked his son Justin to walk out to the end of the driveway and get the mail while he moved the boat.

Justin was a bright five year old accustomed to getting the mail and challenged by trying to pronounce the words on the envelopes. As John got in the truck, Justin was on the grass alongside of the driveway.

John checked his mirror, and Justin was clearly on the grass reaching the mailbox. John began backing. Justin reached in and took the mail out of the box and started to read the contents. He then instinctively began walking up the middle of driveway as the boat was being backed up.

The boat on the trailer hit Justin in the head and knocked him to the ground. There was no sound, no thud and no anomaly in the steering some 50 feet away. As the roar of the diesel engine drowned out any noise, John continued backing up assured Justin was on the grass retrieving the mail on his way to...

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