Posted: 6/14/05
Volunteers of the Year reign is ending
Ruth Pongratz: more than just a green thumb
Editorís note: Ruth Pongratz received the Founders Day Volunteer of the Award last year along with Maynard Welscher. They were chosen by the Founders Days officers from a list provided by previous Volunteers of the Year. Here is a profile on Pongratz.
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
Itís easy to see why Ruth Pongratz was named the 2005 Volunteer of the Year.
She has her hands in a lot of gardens, literally and figuratively. She is very active in Caledonia Green, a 10-year-old group that is responsible for all the beautiful flower beds in Caledonia. She and Jeanne Miller are the co-chairwomen.
ìTheyíre all planted and going,î she said while fielding a few questions from one of her many former biology students at good old Caledonia High School.
Ruth, or should I say Mrs. Pongratz, still has the teacher demeanor. No, she didnít tell me to sit up straight and pay attention. But I knew enough to ask my questions without a lot of hemming and hawing, and she gave me a 10-point quiz when we were finished.
Just kidding.
ìGood volunteers,î she said, getting back to the subject at hand, Caledonia Green. ìGood workers, or this wouldnít happen.î
One of their next projects is an unfortunate one in a sense. The group is going to raise money to replace four benches in the sensory garden by the playground next to the swimming pool. They were destroyed by a vandal or vandals.
Ruth wasnít excited to be talking about that, because itís not exactly an upbeat subject. But vandalism is a reality of life in cities large and small. ìItís frustrating for the community,î she said, and frustrating for those who try to help.
But she was quick to change the subject, and rattled off a list of good kids who are helping, Kasey Klug, and Bulman boys, the Girl Scouts. She even roped her grandson, Marty, into dead-heading some flowers.
Ruth has other hobbies and activities too. She is active in the Chamber of Commerce and at her Church, St. Johnís Lutheran. She likes playing cards. She even called substitute teaching at school a hobby. She taught school for 34 years, from 1951-1986. The fact that she considers substitute teaching a hobby says a lot about who she is both as a volunteer and a teacher.
Ruth helps put together the plant exchange in the spring and fall. ìWe had the best one this spring we ever had,î she said. She also helps out at the AmericInn, of which she and her husband, John, are part owners.
Ruth sees a lot of positives in Caledonia. The flower shops, the new school, the motel, the community center. She paused and asked, ìWhat else?î
Then she caught her breath and continued: all the new homes, the Chinese restaurant, the horse and mule sale. ìThe fairgrounds itself has improved so much,î she said.
Those paintings uptown by Jeannie Barber, the Buckley Apartments, the nursing home.
Yikes, I could see a 10-point quiz coming.
ëI donít know, lots of things,î she said.
And she went on. The closeness of the Mighty Mississippi. The beauty of our area, the wildlife, the Wild Turkey Capital of Minnesota designation (she worked on that project too).
There was more that Mrs. Pongratz could have said. But the next class was about to start. This one had to do with dirt and flowers, no doubt.
The nightcrawlers in the ground are now safe from her dissecting knife.
John and Ruth have two children, Peggy Burg, Hokah, and Dana, La Crescent. They have six grandchildren.
Maynard Welscher keeps plugging away
Editorís note: Maynard Welscher and Ruth Pongratz were named Founders Days Volunteers of the Year last June. Below is a short profile on Maynard. Two new 2005 Volunteer of the Year awards will be given at the queen coronation on June 16.
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
Maynard Welscher, 76, doesnít think he deserves the Volunteer of the Year award he received last year from the Founders Days committee.
He said that more than once during a visit with this reporter at his Blue View Dairy Farm five miles southeast of Caledonia on County Road 14.
But anyone who knows Maynardñand a lot of people know Maynardñwould respectfully disagree.
It isnít just his community involvement that earned him the award either, although that is an ample list. His upbeat attitude is what sets him apart from many folks.
He scattered that positive philosophy throughout our interview.
ìI donít deserve it,î he said about the award. ìYou canít take it with you, but if you leave a good name, that means a lot to your family.î
Maynard likes working with people and getting things done. And if the cause is right, he wonít stop till the job is done. Thatís the Welscher way. Helping other people is important to him.
ìAnd you donít always have to be paid,î he added.
Maynard is president of Houston County Farmerís Union, treasurer of Crooked Creek Watershed, Treasurer of the Caledonia Rural Fire District, and chairman of the Mayville Towns Board.
ìThat takes a lot of time, that stuff,î he admitted. But he likes it, and he has the time to do it now that he is retired, sort of.
He still has an active hand on the farm, which three of his sons, Joe, Jim and Jay, now run. They milk about 150 cows, and farm about 820 acres of land that they own and rent.
Maynard does the books and drives tractor for some jobs. ìWherever they let me help,î he said. ìI canít work like I used to, I tell you that.î
He also cuts the lawn, tends a big garden, raises pumpkins to sell at Mary Annís Floral & Gift Shop in Caledonia every fall. (Mary Ann Schmitz is his sister.) And donít forget his 35 short horn cattle.
He likes to golf too, despite his arthritis. ìSome will laugh at me,î he said. ìEvery Holey Thursday.î Maynard said that his brother-in-law, Ray Frank, coined the phrase Holey Thursday to refer to the weekly menís golf outings at Ma-Cal Grove every Thursday afternoon.
Maynard starts his day at 4:30 a.m. ìEvery day. Year round,î he said. Heís always been a morning person. ìYou do twice as much in the morning.î
Maynard spent most of his life running the dairy farm. He also sold Harvestores for five years.
ìSilos,î I said.
ìTheyíre not silos, theyíre Harvestores,î he replied with a laugh, and dusting off a sales pitch he no doubt used in his prime.
Itís a great farm, he said, and his boys take good care of it.
We ended our interview with Maynard behind the wheel of his trusty John Deere Gator. He uses it a lot, and claims he would have to live in town if he didnít have it. ìIíve got to go over and chore,î he said, and off he went.
Maynard and his wife, Mary, have nine children: Jackie, Jeannie, John, Joe, Jim, Judy, Jan, Jay, and Janice. They have 31 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Caledonia Argus
314 West Lincoln St.
P.O. Box 227
Caledonia, MN 55921-0227
507/724-3475
E-Mail: editor.argus@ecm-inc.com