Mike Neeley introduced us to his son, Scott, who was visiting prior to relocating to Manhattan, Kansas.
Cindy made us aware of an opportunity to help sort donated medical supplies. This effort is organized by Mano a Mano, a non-profit organization working to help the poor in Bolivia, Several Rotarians expressed interest and more are welcome to help. Stay tuned for possible dates.
Co-President John Marg-Patton noted that the Board will meet on Monday, August 27th at 6:45PM at the Marg-Patton residence, 1152 Rose Lane, New Brighton. Parking is very limited so park on Beach Rd (the road leading to the boat launch).
Cindy reviewed the District Governor’s newsletter, highlighting the following:
- September 15th Rotary Riders Event
- Camp Enterprise Article
- District Membership up by 26 members since July 1
- One Rotary Summit
Click here to download the newsletter.
Ed James reminded us that our Norwegian Exchange Student, Maria Klakegg, will arrive on Tuesday, August 28th, 6:05PM at the MSP Humphrey Terminal. We’d love to give her a proper Rotary welcome, so everyone is invited to greet her at the baggage claim area when she arrives. Please email Ed edethola@yahoo.com if you are going so he can let you know if there is a change in schedule.
Happy Bucks Summary:
- John Ordway is celebrating 42 years of marriage to his 1st wife, Marla.
- Mark Beisswenger chimed in that he was married 44 years ago this week. Did someone offer to send a sympathy card to Gayle?
- Dave Hoel thanked all those who helped with the Hot Dog Feed.
- Dave Hoel, Cindy Carlson and Dana Rebelein are all recovering from recent vacations.
- Garry Johnson just returned from a mission trip to Alaska.
- Ed James’ Nigerian professor visited him last week and was amazed at the lack of visible security at the Governor’s mansion, unlike the multiple layers of security around the corresponding residence in Nigeria.
-Mike Neeley was able to empty out his mother’s Iowa home as well as get a couple of full price offers on the property.
- Gerry Tietz has some great ham radio equipment for sale.
Mike Neeley introduced our speaker, Jeff Schott, who spoke about the “Steamboat Minnehaha”. The steamboat has had two lives; the first one beginning in 1906, when Lake Minnetonka was the place to be during the hot Twin Cities summers. Before good roads and reliable cars, streetcars would bring people to the lake and steamboats would make regular routes around the lake to get passengers where they needed to be. These six boats were, for all intents and purposes, floating streetcars. In fact, they were actually built in the same factory as the streetcars and looked very much the same (see photo).
As roads and cars improved, the steamboats were used less and less until they were decommissioned in 1926 and soon were sunk in deep water on Minnetonka.
Fast forward a half century to 1975, when diver Jerry Provost began to search for the sunken steamboats. In 1978, he found the Minnehaha submerged on the north side of Big Island. It took three cranes and many airbags to raise it, but the surprisingly intact hull floated without repair after being submerged for more than fifty years. Because the steam engine and much of the interior of the boat had been removed before sinking it, a great deal of time, effort and money would be needed to restore the boat. During the ten years it took to determine who should actually own the boat, the hull itself deteriorated and would need to be replaced, further increasing the cost to restore the classic steamship. The restoration was accomplished in time to launch the “new’ Minnehaha exactly 90 years after its maiden voyage and she has been in continuous service now for 23 years; three years longer than her original run. More information is available at the website. Jeff and Mike are shown below.
