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CROSBY-IRONTON COURIER
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
Mary Lou Houle blessed to live,
work on the Cuyuna Range
By Sandy Davis
“Life is like a piano. What
you get out of it depends on
how you play it.”—Tom
Lehrer
Mary Lou Houle has
played it well, and feels
blessed for what she has gotten out of life. Born and
raised in Crosby, she was a
nurse in the Crosby area for
over 50 years. When she was
young, she couldn’t decide
between her love of music or
a career in nursing. Luckily
for C-I, she was able to do
both. She began taking piano
lessons when she was eight
years old. By the time she
was nine, she was the proud
owner of her own piano. She
became so proficient at the
piano that she accompanied
the Crosby-Ironton choir and
band concerts during her high
school years. Her decision to
become a nurse came about
when she helped care for her
dying grandmother, and also
when a broken ankle sent her
to Duluth and she was cared
for by student nurses.
After graduating from the
St. Cloud Hospital School of
Nursing, she met her husband, Al, who was introduced
to her by her cousin, Joe Plut.
Mary Lou takes great joy in teaching others
how to dance across the ivory keys.
They settled down in her
hometown of Ironton. She
was employed at the Miner’s
hospital until 1964, when she
made the transition to the
newly built Cuyuna Range
District Hospital. She enjoyed
the various roles she had during her career: floor nurse,
obstetrics coordinator, patient
care administrator, and patient
advocate.
She has many fond memo-
ries of her patients, but two of
them have a special place in
her heart. As a young nurse of
only 23, she helped deliver a
baby who was not expected to
live. Mary Lou was right there
alongside the doctor to help
Mary Lou and Alvin Houle on the steps of their home
administer aid, and to this day
Mary Lou has lived in all of her life.
calls this woman her “Miracle
Baby.” She would again play a
significant role in the delivery
of a baby years later, and in did what I was trained to do.” to work at the hospital. After Catholic Church in Crosby
her own modest words, ”only That baby’s mother was so her semi-retirement in 2002, (mostly on Saturday night
grateful for Mary Lou’s liv- she began teaching piano les- mass) and at Cascade United
ing-saving skills that she sent sons in her home and happily Methodist Church on Sunday
a bouquet of flowers to her on shared her gift of music with mornings.
the first anniversary of her many students. She interMary Lou feels fortunate
baby’s birth. The card that twined her love of music and to live and work on the
accompanied the flowers read, compassion for her patients by Cuyuna Range. She appreci“One going on two, thanks to holding the piano recitals at ates life and also the special
Mary Lou.” Those flowers the Crosby Care Center in privilege of caring for people
have continued to arrive every order to share the music with in her small town community.
year for 40 years.
the residents.
She feels blessed by the path
Mary Lou and Al raised
Music will always be a she chose. She has touched
their four children in the same part of Mary Lou’s life, and many people not only through
house in which she was raised. she continues to share her life her nursing career, but also
Mr. Houle taught History at long love of music by playing with her musical talent.
C-I and Mary Lou continued organ at both St. Joseph’s
Serpent gets
new look for
photo opps
—Brenda Booth photo
MIKE MEYER OF MAZEPPA and
Kerrie Erikstrup of K & M Signs in
Ironton gave Kahnah’bek a new coat
of paint recently. The city of Crosby
provided the funding for the refurbishing of the landmark in Crosby
Memorial Park on Serpent Lake.
Kahnah’bek came to
Crosby in June, 1977, just
prior to the statewide firemen’s convention held in
Crosby. He was purchased by
the Crosby Chamber of
Commerce, currently known
as the Cuyuna Lakes Chamber
of Commerce. He is made
from styrofoam forms and
weighs 2,500 pounds, stands
20 feet high, is 20 feet long
and was sculpted by Creative
Display, Inc., of Sparta, WI.
The original paint job
included over 20 shades of
color. The chamber offered a
cash prize to name the serpent.
Maxine (Archibald) Larson of
Anoka and Bay Lake was the
winner of the contest. She
named him Kahnah’bek
Sagahgon, an Indian name
meaning ‘snake’, referring to
a local legend of a notorius
savage knows as Snake,
whose lodge stood on the
shores of the lake that became
known as snake’s lake or
Serpent Lake.
Miss C-I Pageant
seeks former
participants
THIS EARLY-MORNING photograph of Crosby Memorial Park on
Serpent Lake's Kahnah'bek recently
won Voter's Choice in the first-ever
University of Minnesota Extension
Center's Community Vitality photo
contest. Through this photographic
initiative, University of Minnesota
Extension supports outstate, home-
Senior Service
Corps volunteers
are needed
Make a difference in your
community—join the National
Senior Service Corps! There
are two opportunities to serve:
—Foster
Grandparents
tutor and mentor children in
schools, head starts and shelters
working one-on-one and in
small groups with children in
need of extra assistance.
—Senior Companion volunteers are assigned to seniors
they visit each week to keep
them living independently by
assisting them with grocery
shopping, getting to medical
appointments and helping them
get out into the community.
Retirees (age 55+) receive a
small tax-free stipend and
mileage for serving 15-20 hours
a week.
Marcia Ferris is the LSS
Regional
Senior
Corps
Manager. For more information
on how to volunteer and an
application, call or e-mail 8396650 or Marcia.Ferris @lssmn.
org.
town communities. Winners of the
photography contest received a gift
certificate to use at a local business
of their choice. Randy Harrison submitted this photo and will be spending his $100 winnings at Cycle Path
& Paddle, a Crosby-area business
providing recreational products for
purchase or rent.
The
Heritage
Days
Committee and the Miss C-I
Scholarship Pageant are seeking former Miss C-I Pageant
royalty to be their guests at
this year’s pageant on
Thursday, Aug. 13.
If you or someone you
know was a contestant or royalty in past pageants, please
contact Linda at 545-4438 or
call the C-I Courier office at
546-5029.
CHRISTOPHER BOUCHER repels down the
cliff face at Quarry Park in Waite Park recently
while working on his climbing merit badge with
the Central Minnesota Council Boy Scouts of
America. Boucher is a member of Troop 45 in
Brainerd. Photo by Kenneth Toole.
Brain injury
support July 9
People with brain injuries
and their caregivers are welcome to attend a free support
group on Thursday, July 9,
from 6 to 8 p.m. at Cuyuna
Regional Medical Center’s
Clinic Conference Room in
Crosby. There is no charge
and no reservation is needed.
Deerwood
Legion Post and
Auxiliary meet
The Walter Scott Erickson
American Legion Post and
Auxiliary #557 of Deerwood
meets the third Tuesday of
each month at 7 p.m. at the
Deerwood Legion. The next
meeting will be held on
Tuesday, July 21.