About Local Folks

The Dahlberg Years 1936-1945
Don Johnson Journals and Letters

12/5/44 Light S. wind - cloudy +30. Election day. Ran kicker to end of Neil Point, crossed mainland to Vallads Bay and then walked via fire tower to Island View. Ev's donuts a flop. Played 6 games of whist, 3 - 3. In to town at 6 p.m. Letter from Alma Lee - in stew because Japs were quitting. [Kay & June Uenida were mother and daughter who had been released from an internment camp to work as domestic help for the Dahlbergs and went with them to California at the end of the Rainy Lake season.]

Memorial ride honors Mike Budak

The question brought silence from Mary Graves. And then, her answer — amidst waves of emotion.
“It’s very sad,” said the widow of Mike Budak. “But I’m very proud. Biking was his life.”
Asked about the meaning of a memorial ride that honors her late husband, Graves also expressed gratitude that people would recognize his talents in some way.
Budak’s cycling career was catastrophically altered when he suffered a severe brain injury 10 years before his death last summer.

By Ariel Arch, Intern

The goal of the 3-Day Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Walk is to get one step closer to a cure for the disease, and to help the thousands of men and women who are diagnosed every year.
To fund scientific advancement to end a disease that ravages victims, friends, family, and communities, impassioned people come together and raise money for Susan G. Komen for the Cure, and the National Philanthropic Trust Breast Cancer Fund.
In 14 different states, supporters make a commitment to end breast cancer by walking 60 miles over the course of three days.

The Dahlberg Years 1936-1945
Don Johnson Journals and Letters
Presented by Byrne Johnson • Part 10

[On 1/30/40, Don and Layna left with Lewis Keyes and Fred Mulkholm(?) to be a part of the staff of the Falls Chamber of Commerce booth at the Chicago Sports Show at Navy Pier. While in Chicago they stayed in the Dahlberg apartment. Following are some quotes from the stay in Chicago.]
• Looked out of windows at 999 Lakeshore Drive and wondered where in the hell all the cars were going. Played imaginary hunting game and bagged my limit.

Local country musician Pat Porter says he feels lucky, and that “life is good, real good.”
Still, the veteran musician favors sad, lonesome country songs.
And he agrees with his favorite country artist, George Strait, when the star sings “Murder on Music Row,” a ballad about how the old authentic country music has become watered down and stripped of its character to make it more palatable to pop culture ...
“For the steel guitars no longer cry
And the fiddles barely play
But drums and rock 'n' roll guitars
Are mixed up in your face
Ol' Hank wouldn’t have a chance

International Falls resident William Durant, a member of International Falls Moose Lodge No. 1259, Loyal Order of the Moose, was one of 146 members of the fraternity summoned to receive the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a member of the fraternity, the Pilgrim Degree of Merit. The ceremony was conducted in the House of God May 24 at Mooseheart, Ill.

Joyce Marble, a 21-year veteran nursing assistant, recently traveled to Sioux Falls, S.D., to receive the Mark Jerstad Certified Nursing Assistant of the Year Award given by David J. Horazdovsky, President and CEO of The Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society.
Marble, a staff member at Good Samaritan Society — International Falls, was chosen to receive the award May 7 from among the 7,000 CNAs who work at the Good Samaritan Society’s more than 240 locations nationwide.

The Dahlberg Years
Don Johnson Journals and Letters
Dahlberg Free Seasons 1936-1945
Presented by Byrne Johnson
Part 9

As the train left the Falls with the Dahlberg family headed back to Chicago on Labor Day, there were sighs of relief, a short period of relaxation and then the job of putting the island to bed for the winter. The boats were pulled up manually using slings and chain hoists in the boat house, the plumbing was drained, furniture covered, final laundry done, windows shuttered and the electric generator was shut down until the following spring.

A life dedicated to local library ended quietly

Falls Public Library enveloped her career and her life, her world and her universe.
And the bound literary works which Marie Knudson chose to fill that universe, took her (and many others) anywhere she wanted to go.
The librarian who served Falls Public Library from 1948 to 1978 and who strengthened the local institution died quietly on Tuesday at Falls Good Samaritan Care Center at the age of 95.

By ARIEL ARCH, Intern

Seeing that other people have little compared to the wealth of most Americans often spurs people to help.
That’s the case with International Falls area resident Harry Batdorf.
Batdorf serves as the Adopt-A-Student program manager with the United States Lutheran Mission Association. He has traveled to Haiti twice with a group from LMA.