Said Jerry, "People didn't seem as friendly in New York.  They were very guarded, very suspicious.  There wasn't as much travel around the country at that time, so people didn't know each other."
After a couple years in New York, Jerry accepted a position in electron physics at a research facility near Los Angeles, California.  "I had a friend who enticed me to work out there for him," explained Jerry.  Marlene found another job teaching first grade.
After two years in California, the Bohns returned to their Minnesota roots where Jerry worked 20 years in electron physics for Physical Electronics of Eden Prairie.  They lived in Minnetonka.
Jerry and Marlene were happy to be back home near family.  Marlene especially spoke of Jerry's mother.  "She was the most wonderful mother in law you could ever have.  She was welcoming, self-giving, a bundle of energy.  She'd work all day long, and then still go shopping with me if I called.  She died only three years ago.  I miss her as much as I miss my own parents, maybe even more."
In 1989 Jerry and Marlene started their own company in Chanhassen
called Applied Vacuum Technology.  "We didn't make vacuum cleaners,"
stated Jerry.  "We made vacuum equipment."
With prodding, he explained, "Some things need to occur in a vacuum.  You make CD's in a vacuum, for example.  An electron gun that creates pictures in a television set has to operate in a vacuum.  It is difficult to create a vacuum.  It's a space where there cannot be even one tiny air leak.  The astronauts learned how to maneuver in space by practicing in a large vacuum chamber.  That vacuum has to be created by somebody." 
In 1997 the Bohns moved their business to Waconia where they came to have a dozen employees.  They sold the business last year with an agreement that Jerry remain on board for another year.  That year is now up.
Barely 58, he said, "We didn't plan on my retirement just yet, but this is a very specialized business so when a buyer came along, we felt we should sell it."  Until last year Marlene had also been working at the business - part time, "doing whatever needed to be done."  Their children, too, found challenges at Applied Vacuum Technology during the summer months of their high school and college years.

This entrepreneurial couple raised three children, the first born in California, the second two in Minnesota.
Deb, 32 today, is married to Curt Kietzer.  They and their children, Alex, 6, and Julia, 3, live in St. Paul.  Deb, an orthopedic surgeon at the University of Minnesota, has three more years of residency left. 
Derek, 28, and his wife Kristi live in Woodbury, a fast growing suburb of St. Paul, and are expecting their first child in May.  Derek is an electrical engineer like his father, except he designs circuits and writes programs for Guidant pacemakers instead of vacuum equipment.
Cindy, 24, and husband Mike Lang live in Chicago.  Cindy is a computer software consultant who writes special applications for various companies and clients.

How did the Bohns come to live in Victoria?  Responded Jerry, "When our youngest graduated from Minnetonka
High School, I thought it'd be nice to
get an empty nester home.  A friend mentioned there was a Kerber Home in
the Parade of Homes so we came out to Victoria to look at it."  But Jerry had said to his wife, "This is too far out!"
"I had been kind of pulling Marlene along with this idea of moving from Minnetonka - she was not thrilled about it," he said, "but when she saw this empty lot here she said she'd move if we could build on it.  It overlooks the ponds, you see, and there is this beautiful view.  But it was already sold.
"Later, the lot went back on the market and we bought it.  It's a beautiful lot and this is a nice little town.  We'll probably live here until our nursing home days.  Everything is on one level for us, including our washer and dryer.  It's amenable to retirement.
"We're not the kind to move south for the winter.  I suspect we'll travel some, however.  But we are cross- country skiers and enjoy the winter.  Marlene walks three miles a day here in the neighborhood, no matter how cold it is."
Added Marlene, "Victoria is close to our friends and relatives.  And I like to help out my children and grand-children."
Not only is their lot in the Deer Run neighborhood beautiful, their home is , too.  It is as open, spacious, and inviting as the people who reside within it.

The Bohns have become active in Victoria - Marlene at the St. Victoria Catholic Church and Jerry as a Victoria City Councilmember.
Said Councilmember Bohn, "Victoria is getting bigger, but I think it will continue to expand a lot slower than neighboring communities.  We have assets - ponds, lakes, wetlands, woods, parks, trails - so this will always be a desirable place to build a home, a desirable place to live.
"We don't want to grow for growth's sake.  We can keep it a pleasant place, a less traditional track-home place.  We like to maintain the rural open feel."

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