Later that year Mel Hazelwood and Sharon Ess were married at Mount Calvary Lutheran Church in Excelsior.  It was December 29th, 1962, the same year they met. 
There was no honeymoon trip because they both had to work Monday morning -- Sharon at the clinic in Minneapolis and Mel at Napco in Hopkins as a machinist.
At first the newlyweds lived at the Ess home in Excelsior since Sharon's parents were working out of town at the time.  Then they rented a little house on County Road 32 near Lake Waconia.  "We were so happy there," said Mel.  "Heat came out of the floor and we were tickled pink to have our own little place."
Daughter Cindy was born in 1963 and shortly thereafter the little family moved to a rental duplex near the Waconia fairgrounds.
"Then one night we went for a walk with Cindy," recalled Sharon, "and we turned the corner and saw a little house for sale."
Mel finished the story.  "We bought our first house.  We paid $13,800.  You can hardly buy a car for double that today.  I took out a GI loan, assumed the mortgage, and had payments of $70 a month including taxes and insurance.  We lived there almost ten years."
Meanwhile, Mel had stepped into a company that would propel him from the ground floor to the top rung of the ladder.  "I took a job in 1964 as a shipping clerk at Minnesota Rusco," he said, "and then they needed a sales person, so I did that, and then they needed a sales manager, so I did that.  The company originated in 1955.  I started in 1962 and I bought it in 1975.  I've owned it since 1975."
What is Minnesota Rusco?  Mel tells the story.  "We sell home improvement products like windows and doors.  We have several different brands.  We're a privately owned distributor.  We go to shows and the State Fair, and that's how people find out about us.  Today I've got 40 employees and an office in the Edina-Minnetonka area.  We've got a lot of following, a lot of referrals.  We don't walk on water but we do a good job.  I know a lot of people.  And now our son Mike is the sales manager."
Prior to Mike's birth in 1967, Sharon had been working for Dr. Bean and Dr. Clark at the Lakeview Clinic in Waconia.  Mel takes credit for introducing his wife to the Waconia doctors.  "I heard them saying they had to hire a lab tech," he explained, "and when I reached home I said you better get to work."
Sharon sort of smiles at her husband's retelling of the past, but she doesn't contradict him.
In 1968 Sharon moved over to the Western OB/GYN building in Waconia and worked for Dr. Watson, only retiring in 2001.  Her work involved drawing blood, doing blood chemistries, and meeting patients.  Sharon doesn't miss the work so much as she misses "the girls" she worked with.
The Hazelwood homefront had also changed during this time.  With two active children, the little house in Waconia didn't quite fill the bill.  Mel tells the story ...

"It was about 1973.  Some friends came over one evening -- it had to be 110 degrees in the shade -- and they said they found a house for us.  So we drove out to look at it over by Victoria on County Road #43.  It was two and half acres in the countryside, and we decided to take the big step.  The kids loved it.  There was so much space.  Mike had a snowmobile.  We'd have parties for 200 people at a time outside in the yard."
In addition to their own children, Mel and Sharon also took on the responsibili-ty, at three separate times, for three foreign exchange students who came from Denmark, Chili, and Brazil.  The Hazel-woods remain especially close to their "son" from Denmark, who came to call his American parents, "Mom and Dad."
Says Sharon, "Irving came for Cindy's wedding and is coming for Mike's too.  Mike is getting married in August.  Having those students in our family made life very exciting.  We were always active with them.  Actually, it was Cindy's idea.  It was our daughter who signed us up for the program."
After Waconia High School, Cindy went on to graduate cum laude from Carleton College in Northfield and Northwestern Law School in Chicago.   She became an attorney and married David Lutz, also an attorney.  They have two sons, Jeremy, 6, and Aaron, 3, and live in Eagan.  Cindy is a stay-at-home mom now, except when she's chasing for hockey and swimming activities for their boys.
Mike graduated in Business from the University of Minnesota at Duluth.  He lives in Chanhassen and will marry his fiance, Monica, in August.  His dad is pleased to have him on board as sales manager for Minnesota Rusco.
If we press forward in time, to October of 1992 to be exact, we find Mel and Sharon moved into town, into Victoria, into a spanking new home on Narcissus Street.  Mel tells the story ...
"It was just getting to be too much work and the two-story steps weren't fun.  Then we went for a walk and found this property.  We knew they were developing here, and I know Marv Hartman builds good homes.  I got to use our own windows and doors and siding."
The spacious and beautifully decorated home, which they designed themselves, is nestled into a private corner of mature maple and oak trees with a creek bed winding through their back yard.  "In the spring when our windows are open we can hear the trickling water," said Mel. 
Neither of the Hazelwoods are idle for very long, no matter where they live or where their various walks lead them.  Mel has been an active member of the Victoria Lions for almost 25 years, and has served as president and long time Tail Twister for the club.  He's a charter member of the Victoria American Legion and a member of the Waconia Masons, including a Shriner for 25 years.
Mel loves hunting deer, hooking pan-fish, and running marathons.  He has run in seven marathons.  "For my first mara-thon I trained 1,000 miles in eight months," he said, "but now my knees hurt.  And no more golf either.  It's too time consuming."
Sharon enjoys water aerobics and has belonged to a book club for 30 years.  Her latest reads include Three Granite Islands by a Minnesota author, Joan of Arc by Mark Twain, and Sweetness of the Soul.
Together they are members of Faith Lutheran Church in Waconia where they've served on several different committees.  Together they also enjoy their cabin on Round Lake up near McGregor, north of Minneapolis, through all four seasons, for swimming, fishing, snowmobiling.

With all that time together, are there any complaints?  "He's very neat so I can't complain," said Sharon.  "But I don't like it when he calls me on his way home from work.  He could get distracted while he's driving."
Revealed Mel, "She procrastinates once in a while, and she's a bit slower than I am."
Counters Sharon, "I think you need somebody mellow in a marriage."
What else do you need for a success-ful marriage?  Mel tells the story.  "You can't give up like young people do today just because you get mad at each other.  Sharon didn't throw the towel in.  And it's really kind of nice to find things you both enjoy.  We both enjoy Mexico, especially Puerto Vallarta.  And we like it up north.  We liked water skiing years ago and swimming.  You need things in common, and you need to work at it.  The biggest issue is communication.  You have to talk constantly.  With the busy world today, you sit down for supper and you don't see anybody anymore."
Mel has a way with words and a way with life that is at once endearing and in-sightful.  He makes people smile, and think.  And during these past 40 years, Sharon has learned to check both the back door and the front door as her husband continues to cruise for love and romance with his smiling bride at their wonderful home in Victoria.  Cupid wins again!