My work as a merchandiser/buyer for several national companies allowed me to travel extensively in the US and internationally. I saw and did things I never would have dreamed when growing up in Duluth. Then, 34 years ago I married Trevor Yoho (the old Yoho Photo guy) and over the years we remodeled and resold homes in a housing development in Florida (until Hurricane Andrew); and owned and operated an amusement park in Brainerd. Once we decided to "retire" we took up classic car restoration ...at one time we were insuring 14 cars. As time has passed and Trevor has officially retired, we have culled down the "herd" to only a select 6 or 7.
Since 1993 I have served as the Clerk of our local township. The job evolved from a few hours of work each month to a full fledged Clerk-Treasurer-Administrator position. I do everything from dealing with planning and zoning issues to writing grants for a multi-million dollar 7.8-mile trail project that has strained my patience! I threaten to walk away but Trevor tells me I can't retire until the trail is complete. I am an Election Administrator ... a job that becomes even more essential (and challenging) in years like this; and am a Director in the Cass County Association of Townships.
Our daughter and son both live in Colorado with their families. Lisa and Jason are in Lakewood, where she works as a Lead IT Technician and 9-1-1 dispatcher for the Jeffco Public School system and he manages and teaches at an archery business . Scott and Becca live near Boulder where he works as a Communications Specialist for the city of Longmont and she works for the University of Colorado - Boulder as a grant specialist.
We love spending time with our two amazing grandboys (13 and 17 yrs) and our 24 yr-old granddaughter. The grandboys participate in every imaginable sport, play saxophones (baritone and tenor) and are very active in Boy Scouts, with the oldest achieving his Eagle Scout award in August. Their family will soon increase by one when their Foreign Exchange student arrives from Libya for the 2022-23 school year.
Our equally beautiful inside-and-out granddaughter, who teaches 4th grade at an elementary school in Denver, will be getting married in December to Chris, an enterprising airplane mechanic. They all love visiting Nana and Papa's in Brainerd to play in and on the water in the summer and bask in the Florida sun in the winter.
My day is only complete if I can spend an hour or two knitting...my yoga!
Someday, when I'm no longer organizing class reunions or Township Community Outreach days, or writing grants, I plan to move back to Duluth where I can spend a little more time with my sisters and brothers, and get that little pitter-pat in my chest when I hear a laker tooting at the bridge... must be a throw back to the summer I spent selling rides on the Aerial Bridge.
Words of Wisdom: Will Rogers once said, "Never miss a good chance to shut up" ... I assume that meant writing too...