by Sue Orsen
Christmas holds a special place in the hearts and minds of people of all sizes, and especially children.  It is no wonder that childhood memories come to mind this time of year more vividly than any other time. 
When we bring those memories to the surface, we bring to life the spirit and people of the times.  In so doing, we honor those who have gone before us.
This past year has been especially touching for the Notermann family and other historic residents of Victoria.  When the Notermann Building on Main Street was renovated and given new life this summer, it was like ghosts of the past stepped into our midst.
Just ask Tom Notermann of Victoria about it and the stories of old come alive.  His late father John Notermann, who owned and ran the store for decades, and died in January, 1991, also comes alive. 
But the ghost of Tom's Grandfather Michael Notermann, who died in 1947, stays in the coffin.  And the ghost of Tom's Great Grandfather Arnold Noter-mann, who died in 1915, stays buried at the St. Victoria Catholic Cemetery.  Ghosts only comes alive when there are memories to recall.

Tom is the eldest of 13 children born to John and Ethel Notermann on May 9^th, 1941, at St. Francis Hospital in Shakopee.  John and Ethel's home, where Tom grew up, was "three houses up from Leo's Bar."  This translates to a block and a half from the Notermann Building. 
Because John was working in the shipyards of California during the War, Tom didn't spend much time in Victoria until the War was over in 1945, when he was four years old.
"My dad was a wonderful man," said Tom.  "It was a very happy home.  I had a wonderful childhood.  Mom would get jealous sometimes because Dad was so well known, but I can't recall them argu-ing.  They were wonderful parents.  Mom had to be the disciplinarian because Dad was at the store.  I could never stay mad at my mother.  There was just something that I couldn't stay mad.  When she looked at me, I got soft."
Did Tom know his Grandfather Michael very well?  "No, I didn't," replied Tom, recognizing that his earliest years were spent in California.  "I remember his funeral, though.  I was about 6 when he died and they had him laid out at the house.  I remember going into the kitchen and the living room and there was the coffin.  Michael's home was on the corner across from the lumber yard."
Today Jeff and Joyce Diethelm live in that home.  Current residents and drivers on Highway 5 know it as the most decorated corner in Victoria, with chang-ing seasonal motifs, especially striking with Christmas lights this time of year.  Michael Notermann's home was also about a block and a half from the store.
Daily life for the Notermanns centered on the store.  "My dad would prop me up on the wooden orange crates.  I stocked oranges and put them on display.  I was 6 to 8 years old then.  That's my first memory of the store," said the future fourth-generation grocer.
"When I was a kid," continued Tom, "it was a general store, not just a grocery store.  Half the main floor was dry goods like shoes, cloth, dishes, towels, blankets.  And half was groceries ...
"Downstairs we had furniture - tables and chairs and bedroom sets, cribs and high chairs.  We had men's clothes and farm overalls and work shoes.  Ladies shoes were upstairs.  The biggest thrill for me was the huge toy section.  There were games and trucks, rocking horses, dolls ...
"I also remember that Dad sold win-dow shades.  He had a cutter downstairs too.  It was a general store!  Groceries didn't get to be the big part of it until the '50's ...
"As I grew older, I sorted pop bottles.  There were only about three kinds of pop in those days, and the companies would stop by and pick up their bottles.  We'd get a nickel or a dime depending on the bottle.  That's when I was about 8 or 9 years old ...
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