Editorial: Let us tell the story of your loved ones

For more than seven years I worked for the newspaper in Farmington. During that time, I got to know a man named Walter Klaus. Periodically, he would amble into the newspaper office with his typewritten columns. I always wondered how long it took for him to type those columns, considering he lost an arm in a farming accident. He left an impression on all of us at the newspaper and on the readers he built up over the years.

Today, Klaus turns 100 and I?had the privilege of visiting him at Augustana Health Care Center on Saturday morning. We got caught up on a few things, then I got to work for the story.

As I was leaving a while later, I got to wondering if the employees and the residents of the home knew Walter’s story, or about the important role he played in our state politics during the 1950s and beyond.

He’s got quite a story to tell, if you ask me.

As I thought about his story, I slowly came to the realization that every person living in that home, and many other homes like it, probably have stories that are just about as amazing as Walter’s.

The real question, though, is this: Who is listening to those stories? This week, I was. I was paid, at least in part, to listen to Walter’s story and then to type it up for you.

Next week, I’d be happy to visit your grandfather and do a story on him. I’d be happy to listen to him, and I’d be happy to type it up for you and for my readers.

So do you know someone whose story needs to be told? It doesn’t have to include service at the state legislature, or service abroad. It could be someone who simply makes the best cheesecake. Regardless, I want to tell those stories in this newspaper.

Please call me at 651-319-4500 or write me: crichardson@hastingsstargazette.com.

— Chad Richardson

Tags: opinion, editorials, hastings, minnesota, spiral, local