Kiwanis Club of North Suburban Golden K St. Paul

This was our second and final week at the Fairview facility. LaMar announced our return next week to the Roseville oval meeting room and for the rest of the year. Then, he led us in the usual stretch and got the meeting rolling.

Today there were two guests joining us for the meeting and presentation.

We continue to have circle three reports this week. Phil Larson reported on progress for Fred Bergsrud over in England. He is out of the hospital and is still planning to fly back home rather than rely on a ship's physician in case something went wrong. Bill Flittie announced that Art Hedstrom fell down a stairs and broke his hip - ouch! He had had surgery and hopes to get back with us soon - we hope so too, Art! Erv Oelke reported that Ron Ness was at United Hospital undergoing tests. We hope all three will have a speedy recovery.

Things were a little quiet on the Happy Dollars front today - not the usual vacation reporting, grand kids bragging or silly stories. Tom Benson commented on his affiliation with air group 23 and celebrated his 86th birthday with a check to the foundation - Thanks Tom! Bill Flittie put in his dollar to celebrate Anne Marie Forshay's recovery from surgery - mom and dad are helping out over at her home. That's it for this week.

Our holiday buffet and Christmas carol sing-a-long is coming up in the third week of December - start planning for this great food and great entertainment (our Jim Whiting's son will come and lead us). Note that the cost is $12.50 per person - same as last year - so get those checkbooks out!

Today's speaker brought us a little Minnesota history lesson about railroads and the James J. Hill legacy. Bill Flittie introduced Eileen McCormick the curator of the James J. Hill manuscript collection. She had a wonderful power point presentation, which she presented without any written script - an amazing feat considering the details she brought to us today about the life of James J. Hill and his business prowess and railroad development for Minnesota and the United States. With his wife he produced 10 offspring, nine of which live to adulthood.

He amassed his fortune with the creation of three railroads - the Great Northern, the Northern Pacific and the Chicago Quincy. He was a national figure during his lifetime and left in place a lot of significant business successes - the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe railroad is today one of the largest in the U.S. He held the property, which is now North Oaks and had a 235-foot yacht that not only served him as his personal pleasure boat, but also was commissioned during wartime as a steam/sail vessel. He owned a part of the St. John's River and an island in Georgia - Jekyl Island. He had significant real estate holdings and prided himself in advancing technology as demonstrated by his early adoption of gas fireplaces. In his later years he used the power of his money to get into banking, build libraries, endow colleges and preserve art and jewelry for future generations to enjoy. This detailed and interesting presentation was a tribute to one of Minnesota's most prominent citizens. We thank Eileen for her amazing memory and wonderful collection of facts and dates.

Next week we change gears again and will move into the health arena with a presentation on bladder and prostate cancer. Badrinath R Konety is a professor and chair of urologic surgery at the University of Minnesota and is our featured speaker for our special guest session this month. Be sure to tell your friends and bring a guest to this program. Remember, we go back to our usual meeting place at the Roseville oval meeting room for the rest of the year. Our social time is 1:30 - the meeting starts promptly at 2 PM.

3,069 characters - 647 words Submitted by a Kiwanian - Ric Soderstrom, Sr.