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To the Editor:

I am saddened to report the recent death of Lola Thiede. She was the widow of Carl (Butch) Thiede who was one of my close friends and the best man at Harriet’s and my wedding.

She was the daughter in law of Ida and Karl Thiede who ran the Victoria Meat Market and Locker Plant for many years. She also was the sister in law of Gerda and Jerry Schmieg as well as Gloria and Walt Thiede.

Lola was also a very dear friend of Jo (Florence) Hubbard-Hedtke. They were classmates in nursing school and it was Jo and Al Hubbard who introduced Lola to Butch.

She enlisted in the U.S. Army, training at Fort Carson, Colorado. She was stationed in the Philippines during World War II where she nursed survivors of the Bataan Death March. Her unit then went to Hiroshima to nurse the survivors of the atomic bomb.

Butch died very young, leaving Lola with five children to raise. She did a great job doing this and made sure that all five received college degrees.

Ron Holtmeier

Victoria, Minnesota

To the Editor:

I am a local Victoria resident and I have a project for my career exploration class in school where I have to do some informational interviews. Since I would like to be a magazine or newspaper editor when I grow up, I thought I would interview you. Here are six questions I would like you to answer to give me a better understanding of what it is you do and how you do it. Thank you for your time.

1) What inspired you to become a newspaper editor? 2) I am guessing that since you are in charge of Victoria’s only newspaper, you are under a little pressure, so how do you stay on task? 3) Some families in Victoria also grab a copy of other local newspapers. What do you include in your newspaper to keep up with the competition? 4) What kind of school would I need to go to if I wanted to learn the skills necessary to be in charge of a newspaper or magazine? 5) Since I am a kid that is quite familiar with most popular forms of social networking and the web, do you think that I might have a leg up on the competition when I apply for a job in the newspaper or magazine industry? 6) What do you love most about your job?

Al Schoemaker

Victoria, Minnesota

To the Editor:

It takes the Chaska Post Office so long to deliver the Gazette to us. We lived in Victoria for over 30 years and now we have lived on Pearson Lake over 30 years. I still feel as if I belong in Victoria.

Our place really isn’t in Chaska; it’s in Laketown Township. That’s where we have to go to vote. It’s nice and peaceful out here. We have a great beach, just the best for small children. Our grandchildren are scattered all over. One on the West Coast and one on the East Coast, two not too far from us, and six in Portugal! Tim is professor at a college in the city they live in, which is the second largest city in Portugal, Vila Real, the college town. Lisbon is the largest.

When Tim was in the Peace Corps he was sent to Brazil and given two weeks to learn the Portuguese language. The men had to handle delinquent boys there and the women just had to teach girls how to run a home and cook.

We went to Brazil after Tim had about half his time in, and we lived in the house they lived in. They took us to Brazillia. It was on the west end of Brazil. It was designed in a circle. That’s the way the streets were. It was neat and it took two days to drive to it. It was quite an experience.

Tim was in the southern part of Brazil, far from the Amazon. It broke up his time, and two other Peace Corps people were excited about it. It was a learning experience to see how poor they really were and the food they ate. They were learning to grow gardens and take care of the produce they harvested. We had fun and also learned lots.

On the way home we stopped in Pennsylvania to visit a former pastor. Found him a zombie because they sent him to mission in a black country and the people wanted to touch his son because he was so very blond and it all gave the dad a nervous breakdown. They sent him to Pennsylvania where our Moravian church was established in the USA.

I guess I got carried away with this letter. That’s all.

Ardes Koehnen

Chaska, Minnesota

To the Editor:

I can’t tell you how much Tim and I are both enjoying our subscription to the Victoria Gazette. The people of Victoria are blessed to have you. The Gazette is exactly what a small town paper should be.

Sue (and Tim) Phenow

Maple Grove, Minnesota

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