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Entire contents copyright © 2002 by Stephen Farley. All rights reserved.

Who I am…

Born: September 9, 1925
Birthplace: North Platte, Nebraska
Came to the Twin Cities in 1959

“I started fishing when I was 19 years old. I lay on the banks of a little creek and dug worms off the bank and tied a string to my finger and fished. I was very good at it. I did all the preparation myself—I didn’t want to have anyone else do it for me.

“I was a waitress all my life. I would go out and fish on my days off, at least once a week. I had some very exciting days out at Lake Minnetonka—where the fish were jumping and rolling all around you.

“I wouldn’t go there to fish anymore since the water in the lake got so bad, I couldn’t eat the fish. I don’t know why people are so careless with our lakes here—they throw things in the water and don’t care what happens. I think it’s our job to keep things clean that God gave us.

“When I was a little girl, we lived on a farm. They started taking all the trees down, and I told my mother, “They’re taking down the watershed, so they’re gonna have floods.” I don’t know where that came from—I had never heard it from anyone else. I was maybe in the first grade. Did you ever have that happen to you? Wonder where that came from? Some things you are born with.”

My favorite place…

Favorite Place: Southwest Senior Center with Flowers

“The dining room is my favorite place because of the flowers. A lot of pretty flowers in there right now. Anyplace is my favorite place as long as the colors and flowers are out.

“At different times of the year, different places are my favorites. In the summer it’s the Rose Garden; in the fall it’s 37th Street because of the coloring. Everbody I ride with in the fall, I take them down to 37th Street—it’s just glowing! One of God’s gifts to us.”