Read Previous Chapters:

Chapter 1: The Beginning

Chapter 2: My House

Chapter 3: Holidays

Chapter 4: School

Chapter 5: Recreation

Chapter 6: Lois and Ray

Chapter 7: Motherhood

Chapter 8: Music and Cooking

Chapter 9: Our Homes

The Story of Lois Ann Meyer Bergeson

Daughter, Sister, Wife, Mother, Aunt, Grandmother, and Great Grandmother …

By Lois Bergeson (Reprinted with Permission)

CHAPTER 10: Life at Fairway View

Life at Fairway View Catered Living

We spent a year getting ready for this move. Mark and Sandy came during the summer and got into every drawer I would let them. “Mom, if you haven’t used it for ten years, you probably won’t need it.” The dumpster was full when they left. In November we put the house up for sale. The first persons who looked at it bought it. We had the agreement that we could still live in it until the new apartments were done. On February 6, 2016 we moved in. The boys saw to it and paid for the move. We didn’t ask, they offered.

This was a great place to be. Several couples we knew from church came at the same time so we had friends right away. All of us came to the dining room to have a continental breakfast. It was a wonderful way to start the day and so comforting to have others around.

I cared for Ray for a year. A nursing home was being built as an extension to the Fairway View Complex. I waited until this was finished to transfer Ray. I could walk down there, inside in winter. In summer I took an outside path that was closer. I went to help with meals, for afternoon coffee and at bedtime. Television watching wasn’t for him. I read to him a little every day. It was our ritual to have devotions before bed. I sang to him until he was ready for sleep. That was such a sweet time for us both. Ray left me on Good Friday, March 30, 2018. I still am at home in the catered living apartment. It is a very good place to be.

Did you ever work outside the home?

Early on, I wanted to be a teacher. My first position was third grade in Redwood Falls. After marriage I waited until Mark and Steven were in school to substitute teach at Paynesville and again in Ortonville. A principal in junior high asked me if I would be interested in a half day Title I position that was opening up. I applied and got the job. I liked working with small groups. It was an enjoyable year. In the spring, the superintendent approached me and offered me a half day kindergarten position. I was hesitant as I liked what I was doing. Ray said to me, “I think when opportunities arise we are supposed to take them.” I sat down with the superintendent and told him I was not really qualified. He showed me a couple courses I could take at Morris that would be enough to qualify me. Then I said. “You don’t know if I can do this. You may be getting a pig in a poke!” He told me I could do it as he had been watching me. I had no idea he had been watching me teach. I took the night courses at the college, commuting with other ladies furthering their education. The courses were a breeze as I had done most of it in class already. I taught kindergarten for 15 years.

One of the things I started was for the children to have a circus. It was their chance to perform. The children chose what they wanted to be and mothers would supply any costume. We had some wonderful innovative mothers. In 1984 our school hosted the state kindergarten convention. It was a big deal. Though my co-teacher and I got most the credit, our teaching staff and administration all helped to make it a wonderful affair. We had many workshops, but the most popular was our workshop on planning a room circus.

We tried to add as many experiences for the children as we could. We went to an orchard, chicken farm, state park, and granite quarry. We visited business places and gave programs at the nursing home. I enjoyed dramatizing fairy tales. I had some wonderful actors.

During those years, I chaired the committee for starting a program for the gifted. It was called the ALIVE program and was implemented for several years until the funding disappeared.

The last year I taught I was given the “Teacher of the Year’’ award and a lovely retirement party. That wasn’t the end. In between our travels I substitute taught for all grades until I was 65 years old. (Maybe more, I can’t remember.)

More memories.

College years were a time of spreading wings. I had never had someone to share a room with except for my sister. At MSTC, my friend and I were to be roommates. When we got there, we were assigned a room for 5 on the top floor of old Wheeler dormitory. It was a large room with five beds and dressers.

The roommates were okay, but the added occupants were mice! We got traps and put by each bed. If a mouse was caught by your bed, it was your job to dispose of him. I lived in dread that it would happen to me. I was so homesick the first weeks. I never admitted this as I had told my parents this was what I wanted. I stuck it out and soon it was better.

One of our roommates had a heart problem and asked for a room on a lower floor. I asked to be moved with her. Moving day came on a weekend that I was home on the farm. Upon returning, I discovered that one of the other girls had taken my place. I was miserable, not only that I lost my room, but that a friend would do this. Lucky for me, my sister, who was home visiting from Brooklyn, had driven me back to college. She went to our house mother and explained the situation. I got my room and lived there that year. The next year, my high school friend and I got to room together. That was the best combination. It was a happy year. On the first warm day in spring, girls would traipse through our room to crawl out the window. On the roof they would sunbathe. I tried it once and got the worst sunburn of my life. I never tried that again.

That first fall, I asked my then boyfriend to the Sadie Hawkins Dance. My roommate helped me with my attire. I had a very short skirt made from material I had, I did look cute if I do say so myself. My date was a very good dancer. The jitter bug was just coming in. When that type of music was played, he could dance the dance. I was a good follower. Suddenly we were the only couple on the floor and everyone was watching us. I was so surprised when the annuals came out in the spring. A picture of us dancing was in the centerfold.

I was in choir. It was enjoyable as it was full of music majors who were very talented. I learned so much. Our tours were within Minnesota. We went to towns such as Madison, Montevideo and Morris. When my youngest brother was there 14 years later, the choir went to Europe on tour.

Adult shenanigans.

Ray was so great about sensing when I was stressed out. He would arrange so we could have a weekend away. Sometimes we were by ourselves, sometimes with friends. This was a winter day. Four couples were going to the motel in Morris.

The snow was falling. It got very bad for driving. I had to watch the white line on the edge to make sure we were on the road. We commented then that if our sons knew what we were doing, they would wonder about our sanity. At the motel, we discovered we were almost the only guests. We had wonderful service. Ray loved chocolate. At the evening meal, one of the men arranged for a chocolate sundae to be brought to Ray for dessert. It looked so delicious. Ray dug in to find instead of ice cream, it was mashed potatoes. Ray said he liked potatoes so he ate the whole thing!

We were in Miami. Florida, with friends. We were there for a Lutheran Brotherhood Convention. With time off, we went to see The Ten Commandments at a downtown theater. It was a long movie and we didn’t have much time to get back for the evening banquet. Reaching the car, we discovered our friend had locked the keys in the car. What to do? What are the chances of having the driver’s window open very slightly and in the gutter lay a wire coat hanger? Bending the wire into a hook and some masterful manipulating, the keys were recovered. We made it to the banquet on time. We have had angels watching over us so many times.

Another story I should tell is being in a parade. Going to the Steam Thresher’s Reunion at Rollag is always fun as many family members are involved. My youngest brother lets me bunk in his camper right on the grounds. I had been there for two days and decided it was time to go home. I was in the campground. My sister-in-law was trying to tell me where to drive to get to the East gate to leave. As usual, I wasn’t listening closely. All I heard was turn right at the stop sign. This I did, but it was the wrong stop sign. I was on a one-way road that went all around the hill. There was no turning off. I almost was around and discovered a huge steam tractor behind me and another in front of me. I had driven into the parade. I panicked. Here was this little old white knuckled lady in a silver Malibu, about to be crushed by these huge machines. A cry went out to a parade guide. “How do I get out of here?’ A polite young man said to turn right before the train track. I did this.

Whew, the tractors were gone. In front of me was a sea of spectators. Now where could I go? A kindly gentleman said if I waited for one small tractor to move, I would see a trail I could follow. Coming over the rise, there was the east gate. I was going to get out without anyone knowing of my screw up. Oh, no, right by the gate was my niece’s husband with a huge grin on his face. He waved. He knew exactly the mistake I had made. The next Christmas, my gift from him was a yellow card with a parade number so I could be in the parade legally next year! The story was out so we all could have a hearty laugh. 

Thoughts as I wind up this writing.

It has been fun to look over my life as I am writing. It sounds like a very happy one and it was. That doesn’t mean bad things never happened. Most of them are so close to my heart that I can’t write about them. Maybe I will someday. The thing is, through it all, I chose to be happy. I still do.

I have lived alone for four years. It isn’t a bad thing. I always have my God. I have friends down the hall. I have family to call or e-mail. I have my hobbies. Though I can’t do handwork anymore because of numb fingers, I can still paint, decorate, sing, and write. Memories fill my mind with so many cozy pictures. Old age can be a good place. My sister would scold me for saying “old.” I am still 16 in my heart and most of the time, act like it. For me, it is a time when I can be myself. I am free to be silly, free to be serious, free to speak my mind, free to try something new, and free to up lift. I like the old, but am not afraid of change. I want to live life instead of coasting. However, there is nothing wrong with a nap.

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