The gifts are wrapped by volunteers and sent home for the children to give out at Christmas.  After shopping, they have a chance to color and enjoy some snacks before heading back to school.

This year the gifts in the Santa Store were made possible by generous donations from the Mountrail County Health Center employees,  Employee Council fundraisers,  Mountrail Bethel Home Auxiliary members, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and other donors. 

~ Written by Mary Kilen, as featured on August 3rd in the Mountrail County Promoter ~

When the flood waters were rising in Minot, Trinity Nursing Home had to make the difficult decision to relocate their residents for the duration. Those residents were sent to facilities around the state with extra space and Mountrail Bethel Home in Stanley was one of those facilities that opened their arms to help. Two of the residents were placed in Stanley, never knowing that the placement would bring together two people who had known each other since 1942.

The first time Valborg Johnson came to work after the two new residents were located at Mountrail Bethel Home, she looked at the names placed by the time clock and to her surprise she recognized one of the names.

In January of 1942, Valborg was growing up with her family on the family farm northeast of Douglas. A neighbor boy had just gotten married and he and his new wife were making their home just across the road. Valborg and her sisters would spend time with the couple as their family grew and they were especially close with her twin boys, who she says were just like brothers to her. She was ten years old when the twins were born. Her older sister would often babysit the boys and she would go along with her.

She and her sister were very close with Annie and her family. She says that when they first got married, the couple was living in an old cook car, similar to the one located at Flickertail Village in Stanley. Annie’s sister was living with them at the time and she, too, had a baby around the same time. The three adults and three babies made their first winter in that cook car. On moonlit nights, Valborg remembers walking across the field to visit them.

Even after time passed and Annie’s husband passed away and she remarried they would still keep in contact. After Annie moved to Minot, Valborg would occasionally see her in Minot and they would catch up. Annie’s son Dale had purchased Valborg’s parents land by Douglas so they had somewhat remained in contact as well.

That first day she saw Annie Larson’s name on the board she was surprised and couldn’t believe it. She went right away that afternoon to make sure it was the same Annie Larson. She knew that two residents were coming, but she never expected either to be someone she knew.

She has seen her every day she has worked during the two months that Annie made her home in Stanley and was somewhat sad to know that Annie would be leaving on Friday, July 29. She will miss her as she always looked for her to visit with her. It is possible that having someone she knew in the facility also made the transition easier for Annie during her stay in Stanley. Valborg says that she even remembered her parents’ names and called them good neighbors when asked.

As the days of her stay were drawing to a close in Stanley, Valborg brought some pictures she had saved over the years of Annie’s twin sons. They were smiling and sharing those memories in the activity room at Bethel Home. Annie and her husband had five sons, two of whom have now passed away, including one of the twins that Valborg remembered so fondly.

While Minot’s flood was a tragedy displacing thousands from their homes, in the face of that tragedy two old friends were brought back together by a twist of fate. North Dakota’s sense of caring for others allowed two people to come together for a while and spend some time reminiscing about the old days and gave them a chance to reconnect in a way that meant much for both the caregiver and the resident.

Pictured at the top are Valborg Johnson and Annie Larson. Below, Valborg shows Annie some pictures she had saved of Annie’s twin sons.

http://mountrailcountypromoter.com/