Family

 

 

My daughter, Sonja, graduated from Morris Area High School in 1995. She finished her course work at Augustana College in Sioux Falls, SD in December 1998, and graduated in May, 1999 with majors in Journalism and Mass Communications and a minor in Government. She was fortunate to have the opportunity to work both in the Washington D.C. and Sioux Falls offices of Senator Tim Johnson (D-South Dakota) as well as for his 2002 and 2008 re-election campaigns. Her current position is Scheduler in his Washington D.C. office. She firmly believes in what Senator Johnson stands for and is proud to be a member of his staff. I enjoy visiting her in Washington and absorbing all of the political and historical lore that makes that a wonderful and exciting city. In addition to her duties as a Senate staffer, she enrolled in graduate school at the University of Maryland (College Park) and earned her Masters Degree in Higher Education Administration in the spring of 2007. Though she thoroughly enjoyed experiencing a campus atmosphere once again, she doesn't talk about a career change in the foreseable future and is committed to serving her boss and South Dakota's citizens.

My son, Trevor, graduated from Morris Area High School and also chose to become an Augustana Viking. Starting out as a Business Administration major, he developed a fascination with the world of politics and graduated in May, 2003 with a Government and International Affairs major. Needless to say (selfishly speaking) I was pretty happy about this development, since nothing energizes like politics. There's nothing like spirited family political discussions for a bonding experience and to get intellectual juices flowing. Trevor worked on the campaign of the Senate Minority Leader, Senator Tom Daschle (D-South Dakota) in Sioux Falls and, like Sonja, was firmly committed to the Senator and was very proud of being a member of the Daschle team. After the 2004 campaign, Trevor moved to Washington D.C. and was fortunate to be given an opportunity to become a member of the National Farmer's Union Washington D.C. Staff. As someone who appreciates having grown up on a farm, I was proud that Trevor was working on agricultral issues. Somehow, it's like he's being true to his heritage and it maintains a link to his aunts, uncles and cousins who successfully farm land that has been in our family for generations. In February 2007, Trevor had the wonderful opportunity to join Hillary Clinton's Senate staff to work on agricultural issues. He immersed himself in developing his New York agriculture knowledge base and took great pride in his boss--her past accomplishments, current leadership on issues and promise of future contributions for not only New York, but for all of us. Trevor is now fortunate enough to be a part of Senator Jim Webb's (D-VA) Senate staff. He's been given the opportunity to work on energy and transportation issues as well as rural and agriculture issues. He's enjoying getting to know more about the great state of Virginia and I'm looking forward to opportunities to visit more of the Virginia historic sites in future trips to D.C. Senator Webb not only had an impressive military carerr but is also a successful author. I'd enjoy reading his books even if I were not a librarian!

I'm really proud of both Sonja and Trevor, both what they do and how they do it and I thoroughly enjoy hearing about their experiences. I go to D.C. as often as I can and I regularly check the web versions of Politico, The Hill and Roll Call.

 

 

I share my "empty nest" in Morris with two calico cats. Both ended up at my house because they had been abandoned as kittens and left to fend for themselves. Celia moved to my house in 1998, thanks to Darla (another cat lover). Then, in the fall of 2001, a small kitten was found injured by the side of the road. Good Samaritans Nancy and Cheryl took her to a vet (who performed the necessary surgery of amputating one leg) and then nursed her back to health. At this point they let me adopt her. Her wonderful disposition and playfulness in the face of adversity prompted me to name her Molly, as in the "Unsinkable Molly Brown." I appreciate their welcome at the door at the end of the day and their willingness to listen and purr without one negative comment.