Upcoming Cemetery Tour & the Hormel Family Military Connection

We hope you were able to find time to relax and spend time doing the things that rejuvenate your spirit last weekend.  We also hope you paused to remember all those who have served our country through military service.  You may already be in that spirit if you were able to visit the Traveling Vietnam Wall Memorial recently at the Fairgrounds.  What a great honor for Austin to have hosted that special reminder of a part of our nation’s history. 
 
Join us for another event that will focus on those from Mower County whose legacies include service in a variety of military branches.
 
The Hormel Historic Home and the Mower County Historical Society have partnered to offer another tour of Oakwood Cemetery on Sunday, June 3.  This tour will focus on the lives of soldiers and will feature stories dating from the Civil War through Vietnam.  Jaimie Timm, curator at the MCHS, will lead groups of up to 15 people on an hour long journey through the sometimes tragic, but always inspiring, lives of our Mower County heroes.
 
According to Timm, she will highlight lives such as that of Norman Lee Hinkle of Austin.  Hinkle was the 8th Mower County soldier to die in Vietnam.  A 1966 graduate of AHS, he was a paratrooper with the 101st Airborne.   He took basic training in Fort Leonard Wood, MO and advanced training at Fort Ord, CA followed by paratrooper training in Fort Benning, GA.  He died on a Navy hospital ship while undergoing surgery to remove shrapnel in 1968.
 
Another story like that of Donald Gehling from Grand Meadow will offer a taste of what some soldiers felt during their service.  In a letter home in 1967 he wrote, “You ask if I was wondering about the world.  Well, frankly I am.  I am over here with many other guys fighting for what we believe in and the folks back home don’t seem to care.” 
 
We have written before of George Hormel’s connection to military efforts of the past.  From the Civil War (Uncles Herman and Henry Decker), to the Spanish American War (brother Ben Hormel and cousin Jay Decker), to WWI (son Jay), George’s family did their part in preserving the freedoms of America.  Both George and Jay had great respect for men who participated in military service and supported them through holding jobs during deployment and specifically recruiting those who had returned home from service.
 
We hope you will join us for this moving tour to honor our veterans.  Space is limited so please register at the HHH or online at https://www.hormelhistorichome.org/calendartickets.html.

Upcoming Events:
 
Sunday, June 3
Oakwood Cemetery Tour, Mower County Soldier Stories
Led by Jaimie Timm of the Mower County Historical Society
3:30 or 5:30 p.m.; 60 minute tour
Cost is $8 for members of the HHH or Historical Society and $10 for nonmembers
Limited to 15 per tour.  Tickets available at www.hormelhistorichome.org/calendar
Cost is $8 for members of the HHH or Historical Society and $10 for nonmembers
Limited to 15 per tour.  Tickets available at www.hormelhistorichome.org/calendar

Monday, June 4
ASD Parent/Caregiver Network Event
Securing the Future for Persons with Disabilities
Free, open to the public
6-8:30pm
Light supper provided.  RSVP: 507-433-4243 or autism@hormelhistorichome.org
Will your child be able to make their own health, educational, and financial decisions when they turn 18?  If no, are you prepared for that?
Do you have questions about how to become your child's legal guardian in order to continue to make decisions in these key areas?
Would you like to learn about ways to provide financially for your special needs child while protecting their government benefits?
Presented by: Roger Strege and Joe Kukla